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The nature of football has changed a lot over the past two decades, and so have the tactics. Those familiar with the tactical aspects of the game will recall that the 4-4-2 formation was the once the most common formation in football.Over the years, the 4-4-2 has given way to formations that have room for just one striker. Almost no team today sets out to play with two strikers, and it seemed that the era of famous strike partnerships was done.However, Leicester City have brought back the 4-4-2 formation this season and it has been so successful that they presently find themselves two points clear at the top of Premier League table.This presents the perfect opportunity to take a look at some of the best strike partnerships that have enthralled us all in the Premier League.Just which of them was the best of them all? It’s important to note that we are only looking at partnerships in which both the players were strikers. So partnerships like Rooney and Ronaldo, where one of the players was a winger, or Silva and Aguero, where one of the players is a central midfielder, are ineligible.
#8 Quinn and Phillips (Sunderland)
Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips were a partnership that complimented each other beautifully on the field and posed an ever-present dual threat to any defence in the league. Quinn with his ability to win headers and dominate in the air, and Phillips with his pace and direct running, together formed one of the most complete partnerships the Premier League has ever seen.
This partnership was so successful that every club wanted to replicate the formula, but none could.
Quinn and Phillips scored 159 goals from 171 appearances for Sunderland. In the 1999/2000 season Phillips won the Premier League Golden Boot as well as the European Golden Shoe, scoring 30 goals. Quinn chipped in with 14 that season.
#7 Klinsmann and Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur)
In the 1994/95 season, Jurgen Klinsmann and Teddy Sheringham teamed up at Tottenham to set the Premier League on fire. Klinsmann was one of the best strikers in Europe when he was purchased by Tottenham, and he didn’t disappoint. Klinsmann scored 21 goals and Sheringham contributed 18 that season.
Sheringham and Klinsmann partnership didn’t last long, as the very next season Klinsmann left to join giants Bayern Munich. However, for that one season, the pair ensured that there was an overflow of goals for all Spurs fans to enjoy, and they were as clinical a partnership as any to have played in the top flight of English football.
#6 Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen (Chelsea)
In the pre-Roman Abramovich days, Chelsea were nowhere near the successful club that they have been since his and more importantly, his money’s arrival at Stamford Bridge. Post-Abramovich, Chelsea have seen some of the who’s who of world football turn out for them, but, the partnership of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen holds a very special place in the hearts of all Chelsea fans who saw them play.
In the 2001/02 season, the pair scored a total of 50 goals for Chelsea and were responsible for the rise in Chelsea’s reputation in Europe. This partnership was largely responsible for earning Chelsea a Champions League qualification, which made the Blues a very attractive option for any eccentric Russian Billionaires out there, looking to buy a football club.
Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen didn’t last long once Roman Abrahamovic took over, but had it not been for the efforts of Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen, there may not have been an Abramovich era!
#5 Shearer and Sutton (Blackburn Rovers)
In the 1994/95 season, Blackburn Rovers won the Premier League as dark horses, and Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton were at the center of this success. Shearer scored a jaw-dropping 34 goals that season and Chris Sutton scored 15, and together they proved to be a combo too tough for any side to stop.
Interestingly both the strikers had been purchased by Blackburn for what at the time was record-breaking transfer fees. Alan Shearer was the first of the pair to arrive for a fee of £3.3 million, which was the then British transfer record. Blackburn soon broke the record when they purchased Chris Sutton from Norwich City for a sum of £5 million.
Blackburn won the league in the pair’s very first season together, and the goalscoring exploits of the pair earned them the nickname of ‘SAS’. The Blue and Whites were crowned the champions of the top flight of English football for the first time since 1914 in that season.
#4 Wright and Bergkamp (Arsenal)
Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp formed a formidable strike Partnership for Arsenal for many years. Dennis Bergkamp, many will say and not just Arsenal fans, was perhaps the most technically gifted footballer to ever play in the Premier League. As good as he was with scoring goals, he was even more lethal when he was supplying the final killer ball to his partner.
Ian Wright was just an out and out goal scoring machine, and held the record of Arsenal's highest ever goalscorer, till Thierry Henry broke it. Few Premier League partnerships have complimented each other as well as Wright and Bergkamp did.
In most cases the service or the assists come from the midfield, however in the case of this partnership, when Bergkamp wasn’t scoring jaw dropping goals, it was he, who was setting up Wright for tap ins. The duo were prolific for many years and key to Arsenal’s double winning side of 1998.
#3 Fowler and Owen (Liverpool)
Younger readers may not recall, but Michael Owen was considered one of the best strikers in Europe during his stay at Anfield. Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler formed a strike partnership that was the envy of many clubs.
Fowler and Owen played together for Liverpool from the 96-97 season up to 2001, and during their time together at the club, they scored a total of 173 goals for the Reds.
The pair was instrumental to Liverpool’s treble winning season of 2000-01. Fowler scored in League Cup final, and in the penalty shoot-out to help Liverpool win the trophy while Owen scored twice in the FA Cup final as Liverpool came from behind to win. The treble was completed just days later, when Liverpool defeated Spanish side Alaves 5-4 in a thrilling UEFA Cup final where Fowler scored Liverpool’s 4th goal.
Liverpool soon won a fourth trophy when they beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in the UEFA Super Cup. Michael Owen scored the third goal for Liverpool in the contest. The pair of Fowler and Owen was the star in Liverpool’s most trophy filled period of the past 25 years. In addition, they also helped Liverpool to a number of Champions League qualifications.
#2 Cole and Yorke (Manchester United)
Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke have the most amazing numbers to back their presence on this list. A total of 94 goals together in 105 appearances, a treble winning season in which they helped the side with 53 goals, multiple Premier League Titles and FA Cups!
The amount of success that Manchester United had with Cole and Yorke upfront, especially their treble winning season, will perhaps never be matched by another partnership.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it was Cole and Yorke’s strike partnership that was pivotal to helping Manchester United become the global brand that they did in the late 90s, and in that their contribution goes far beyond the numbers on the pitch.
#1 Henry and Bergkamp (Arsenal)
Dennis Bergkamp is the only player to feature on this list twice. Henry and Bergkamp are two of the most complete and technically gifted strikers to ever grace the Premier League. When you combined the two into a partnership, the end result was even greater than the sum of its parts.
In their six years together for Arsenal, they lifted two Premier League trophies and three FA Cups. The two strikers were a vital part of Arsenal's Invincible campaign when Arsenal went the entire season without losing a single Premier League game.
Henry was the more prolific goalscorer of the duo, but a great many of the goals he scored, were from Bergkamp’s assists. These were two strikers who were not only great goal scorers but also scorer of great goals, and together were an absolute delight for football lovers to see in full flow
