The Centurions Of Premier League

Le Tissier is widely regarded as the greatest player Southampton ever had in their entire history. The former England international remained loyal to his boyhood club throughout his career despite interest from some top rated clubs like Tottenham and Chelsea. Tissier managed just eight caps for the English national team while most of his career achievements came at the club level.

He played as an attacking midfielder for Southampton and was the first ever midfielder to score over 100 goals in the League.

Matthew played for Southampton player from 1986 down till 2002 and made a total of 456 appearances for the St. Mary’s club in all competitions.

He was well known for his superb technical ability and super penalty taking ability as he converted 47 times out of 48 spot kicks.

Le Tissier made his professional debut for Southampton in a 4–3 defeat at Norwich City in the Football League First Division, and by the end of that season had scored six goals in 24 league games, including a hat-trick against Leicester City.

He also the PFA Young Player of the Year award for the 1989–90 season, as he bagged an impressive 20 goals in the League to help Southampton to a 7th place finish on the table.

His highest scoring Premier League season came was 1993-94 when he scored 25 goals for the Saints.

Didier Drogba is amongst the greatest Chelsea players of all time.

He racked up a number of accolades for the Blues including the coveted UEFA Champions League which he played a major part in winning.

Drogba signed for Blues in the summer of 2004 for £24m making him the most expensive Ivorian player in history.He helped Chelsea claim back to back Premier League titles in his first two seasons at the West London outfit.

He also became the first African player to score 100 Premier League goals in 2012 as well as the first player in history to score in four separate FA Cup finals.

Drogba left Chelsea in the summer of 2012 but made an unexpected return to the side in 2014. He was part of the side that won the Premier League title in the 2014-15 season as he contributed four goals in the team’s league campaign.

Drogba was apparently re-signed in 2014 for his influential nature rather than his goal scoring ability as he helped to rally the troops to win the title. He also chipped in four goals for the side and put in a number of quality performances.

With a career record of scoring ten goals in 10 finals and winning 10 trophies at club level, Drogba has been referred to as the “ultimate big game player”.

Bent featured in the premier league for Ipswich, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Fulham.

He started his Career at Ipswich town but score just one premier league goal in 5 appearances for the side, although he managed 42 goals in the Championship for Ipswich.

He then went on to sign for Charlton Athletic for a fee of £2.5million. He was Charlton’s top goalscorer for two consecutive seasons with 31 goals spread across the two seasons.

He later joined Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee of £16.5 million in 2007, after 18 goals In 60 appearances for Spurs he signed for Sunderland where he scored an improved 32 goals in 58 appearances.

Not long after his impressive spell with Sunderland he signed for Aston Villa where he played for five seasons scoring 21 goals in 62 appearances although he went on loan to Fulham in 2013 with three goals in 24 appearances.

Scholes is widely regarded one of the greatest midfielders to grace a football pitch and has been Compared closely with the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Xavi Hernandez.

He is the most decorated English footballer of all time, having won a total of 25 trophies, including 11 Premier League and two Champions League titles.

He was a one-club man as he played for Manchester United throughout his career and scoring an impressive 107 goals in 499 appearances for United.

Scholes announced his retirement from football in 2011 to begin a coaching career at Manchester United from the 2011–12 season onward. However, he later came out of retirement to help United as they were having an injury crisis at the time. He announced his final retirement in May 2013.

We take a look at another United all-time great Ryan Giggs. Giggs spent his entire playing Career with Manchester United and had since gone on to take up the position of Assistant Manager at the club.

Giggs is the most decorated player in football history. During his time at United, he lifted 13 Premier League winner’s medals, four FA Cup winner’s medals, three League Cup winner’s medals, two Champions League winner’s medals, a World Club Cup winners medal, an Intercontinental Cup winners medal, a UEFA Super Cup winners medal and nine FA Community Shield winners medals.

Giggs made his premier league debut in 1991 in a game against Everton in a 2-1 defeat, although he scored in his first full start for the Red Devils in against Manchester City, he then went on to make a total of 628 appearances for United scoring 109 goals for the side.

Heskey started out his career coming through the youth ranks at Leicester City; he made his league debut in 1995, he then went on to score 33 goals in 123 games for Leicester.

Following his promising performances at Leicester, he earned himself a move to Liverpool for £11 making him Liverpool’s most expensive signing at that time. At Liverpool, he won multiple honors, including the FA Cup in 2001.

He secured a move to Birmingham City in 2001 where he racked up 14 goals in 68 appearances, after Birmingham’s relegation from the league he signed for Wigan Athletic for a club record fee of £5.5m scoring just 15 goals in 82 appearances.

Following a move to Villa in 2008, he didn’t score more than three a season as he bagged just 9 goals in 92 appearances for the Villains. It was evident that age is taking a toll on Heskey’s goal scoring abilities.

He was released from Aston Villa in 2012 after the club’s management had realized it was time for them to change their striking options.

Dion Dublin started out his footballing career as a centre-back for Norwich City, although he went on to make his name as a centre-forward. He had spells with Norwich City (twice), Cambridge United, Manchester United, Coventry City, Millwall, Aston Villa, Leicester City and Celtic.

He secured a move to Manchester United without making a single Premier League appearance for Norwich City. He scored just 2 goals in 12 appearances for the Red Devils.

The Englishman then went on to have a successful spell with Coventry City, scoring 61 goals in 145 appearances. He later secured a move to Aston Villa in 1999, scoring 48 goals in 155 appearances.

Wright made a move to Arsenal in September 1991 for a then record fee of £2.5million, scoring on his debut against Leicester City in a League Cup tie before scoring a hat-trick on his League debut against Southampton.

Ian Wright spent seven years at Arsenal making 191 appearances and scoring 104 goals in the process. On 13th September 1997, he broke Cliff Bastin’s goalscoring record for the Gunners with a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers.

The English professional later went on to play for West Ham where he spent two seasons where he scored just 9 goals in 20 league appearances.

Steven Gerrard is currently ranked as one of the greatest Premier League midfielders of all the time. His playing caliber was definitely something special in the league, as he racked up an impressive 120 goal tally as a midfielder.

Gerrard played as a Central Midfielder, Right Winger and Attacking Midfielder for Liverpool, although he played more frequently as a Central Midfielder in the later stages of his career.

Legendary footballer Zinedine Zidane in 2009 said that he considered Gerrard to be the best footballer in the world.

In 2005, the English professional was honored as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or Bronze Award. He has also won a nomination in the PFA Team of the Year for a record eight times and FIFA World XI three times. The star player also won the nomination for the UEFA Team of the Year as well asPFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2006 apart from winning FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009.

He came so close to helping Liverpool to the Premier League title in the 2012-13 season, although a slip in a game against Chelsea seemed to have hindered their chances at the title.

In his spell with Aston Villa, Yorke started out as a right winger until the 1995–96 season, when he became an out and out striker and quickly established himself as one of the Premier League’s top center forwards.

Yorke was an integral part of the Villa team that reached the League Cup Final in 1996. Villains won 3–0 against Leeds United with Yorke getting on the scoresheet. On 30 September 1996, the Trinidadian stunned the Soccer analysts with a hat-trick against Newcastle United in a 4–3 defeat.

Yorke scored 60 goals for Aston Villa before securing a move to Manchester United where he bagged 48 in 96 appearances. He also featured for Birmingham City, Blackburn and Sunderland.

Anelka was a mercurial force in the Premier League and is widely regarded as on of League’s best foreign players of all time.

Nicolas played in English top-flight for Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, but he enjoyed most of his playing days with the Blues scoring 38 goals in 125 appearances.

Anelka had an impressive goal tally for Manchester City between 2002-2004, scoring 37 goals in 89 appearances for the Citizens.

Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has described him as a quick player with good aerial ability, technique, shooting, and movement off the ball.

Keane was well known for his versatility up front as he could take on a number of attacking roles for any team. He was also technically gifted and possessed a natural goalscoring ability.

Robbie signed for Coventry City as a teenager for a record fee of £6m and enjoyed a stunning start to life in the Premier League with two goals on his debut against Derby County. The youngster then went on to score 12 goals in 31 appearances for the side.

The Irish professional then joined Leeds United following an unsuccessful spell in Italy with Inter Milan.

Following his time at Leeds he then went on to sign for Spurs, the club in which he made his major mark in the Premier League scoring a whopping 80 goals in 197 appearances for the London outfit.

He made a return to Tottenham in the 2008-09 season following a short stint at Liverpool but managed just 11 goals in 41 appearances upon his return to Spurs.

Keane wrapped up his League career with short spells at West Ham and Aston Villa.

The Dutch footballer began his Premier League career with Leeds United in the 1997-98 season scoring an impressive 16 goals in 33 appearances for the side. He then scored 18 goals in his following season to become the highest goalscorer in the 1998-99 season.

Hasslebaink then went on to sign for Chelsea where he would get most of his Premier League recognition.

The Dutchman scored 23 league goals in his first season with the Blues, winning his second Premier League Golden Boot in the process. He was also part of the starting XI in the 2002 FA Cup Final and made a career best second-place league finish with Chelsea in the following season. The veteran managed 69 goals in 136 appearances for Chelsea.

Hasslebaink then moved to Middlesbrough on a free transfer in 2004, before joining Charlton Athletic in 2006 where he managed just two goals in 25 appearances.

Defoe began his career as a youth player at Charlton Athletic before moving to West Ham as a 16-year-old.

The Englishman made his professional debut for West Ham in 2000, and after a season-long loan spell at Bournemouth, he became an established member of the West Ham first team.

After West Ham’s relegation in 2003, Defoe joined Tottenham where he made his mark as a striker becoming the club’s 5th Highest Goalscorer in their entire history.

Defoe also holds the Premier League record for the most goals scored as a substitute, with 22, as of 11 January 2014.

Defoe currently plays for Sunderland under Sam Allardyce where he has scored just eight goals in 29 appearances.

Robin Van Persie is arguably one of the best Premier League players of the decade following his impressive displays for Arsenal and Manchester United.

Persie joined Arsenal in 2004 for £2.75 million as a replacement for the Legendary Dennis Bergkamp. Despite being named Gunners’ captain for the 2011–12 season, he joined rivals Manchester United in July 2012 in search of better opportunities at trophies.

In his first season at United, he won the Premier League and finished as the highest Goalscorer in the league with 26 goals, winning his second consecutive Premier League Golden Boot award.

Over the years, Van Persie started suffering from injury problems that prompted United to sell him to Fenerbahce in 2015.

At the mention of Teddy Sheringham the club that comes to mind is Tottenham Hotspur. Sheringham played for Manchester United, Portsmouth and West Ham, but he enjoyed his best playing days as a Spurs player and till this day, he is regarded as one of the best players in club’s history.

Teddy racked up 97 goals in 236 appearances for Spurs in a career that is spread over two stints at the London outfit.

Five years after signing for Spurs in the 1992-93 season, Sheringham joined Manchester United where he went on to win three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one UEFA Champions League.

In 2001, he was named both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year.

Sheringham returned to the White Hart Lane in the summer of 2001 where Tottenham finished runners-up in their quest for the 2001–02 League Cup title.

The English professional then went to have short spells at Portsmouth and West Ham before announcing his retirement at the age of 42.

Ferdinand started out his premier league career with QPR, and he was part of the QPR team that featured in the Premier League’s inaugural season in 1992. He helped Rangers to a fifth-placed finish with 20 goals in 37 appearances.

Following three premier league seasons with QPR, Ferdinand signed for Newcastle ahead of the 1994-96 season, and he bettered his debut tally for QPR scoring 25 goals in 37 games in his first season at the St James’ Park.

However, as years went by, his goal scoring rate began to dwindle although he still managed superior goal returns for Tottenham and Leicester City. His lowest club tally came during his time with West Ham and Bolton.

Liverpool Legend Michael Owen was quite the player in his days, following his impressive individual accolades including the coveted Ballon d’Or award that he received as a Liverpool player in 2001.

Owen started out his Premier League career with Liverpool where he went on to score 118 goals in 216 appearances for the Reds in a career that spreads over eight seasons at the Anfield.

Owen is the youngest player to have reached the 100 goal tally in Premier League history and is also listed amongst the seven players who have scored 150 or more goals in the League.

Owen also had successful spells with Manchester United and Newcastle before calling time on his career as a Stoke City player.

Fowler is widely regarded as one of the best Premier League players of all time, and he enjoyed a spectacular 11 year Liverpool career in two stints. He was a real fan’s favorite as he never failed to impress with his natural goalscoring abilities.

He scored 128 Premier League goals for Liverpool before he subsequently went on to play for Leeds and Manchester City. He re-joined the Reds in 2005. Following two seasons in his second spell at Anfield, he signed for Blackburn Rovers in 2008 making three appearances and scoring no goals.

He previously held the record for fastest Premier League hat-trick, but the record is currently held by Southampton’s Sadio Mane after he scored against Aston Villa in the 2014-15 season.

Robbie hung up his boots in 2012 in a bid to pursue a managerial career as he previously held a player-manager post at Muangthong United in Thailand.

Thierry Henry is the highest-scoring foreign player in the Premier League with 175 goals in 8 years at Arsenal.

Despite featuring for a host of top European clubs including Barcelona, it was Emirates Stadium where Henry registered his name as a world-class player.

Despite Henry’s slow start to life in the Premier League, Arsene Wenger turned Henry into a goal scoring machine as he emerged as Arsenal’s top goalscorer for almost every season during his Arsenal career.

Henry’s play was boosted by his then Arsenal team-mate Dennis Bergkamp, who often assisted Henry in goals as the Dutchman possessed an eye for a pass like no other.

With Arsenal, he won two league titles and three FA Cups. In 2003 and 2004 Henry was runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year which Ronaldinho won at that time. He was also named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice, and the FWA Footballer of the Year three times.

Chelsea legend Frank Lampard definitely deserves all the plaudits for making it to the top 5 of the list, as he is the highest scoring midfielder in Premier League history. He is widely regarded by the media and fans alike as the one of the greatest midfielders in modern day football.

He is currently Chelsea’s record goalscorer after a stellar 13-year career for the Blues.

Lampard started out his premier league career as a West Ham United player where he scored 24 goals in 148 appearances for the side.

Chelsea were interested in signing him following his impressive performances on the pitch as he played a significant role in West Ham’s successes in the 90’s.

Lampard signed for Chelsea in 2001 for a fee of £11m, and he then went on to make 429 league appearances for the Blues scoring 147 goals.

Apart from his premier league goal scoring exploits he is also second in the Premier League’s all-time assists table, behind Ryan Giggs.

Manchester United’s very own; Wayne Rooney makes it to the top 3 on the list with 187 premier league goals.

The United forward arrived at Old Trafford from Everton at the age of 17 following promising performances in the league with 15 goals in 67 premier league games.

Since joining Manchester United, Rooney has won five Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League crown, one FIFA Club World Cup trophy, three FA Community Shields and two Football League Cups.

Notwithstanding with a glittering career, Rooney’s performances have dwindled significantly over the past few years, mostly because of a change in playing position by current United boss Louis Van Gaal.

Nonetheless, Rooney remains on course to break Andy Cole’s goal record as the both of them are level in terms of Premier League goals scored.

Andy Cole played in the premier league for Arsenal, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sunderland although he enjoyed his best playing days with Manchester United where he secured numerous titles and individual accolades.

Cole is amongst the few players in the premier league to have bagged all possible honors in the English top-flight, including the PFA Young Player of the Year award, as well as the coveted UEFA Champions League title.

Cole enjoyed a goal-ridden Premier League career as he scored 187 times in the League. He scored almost half of his goal, 93 to be precise, while playing for Manchester United.

On 11 November 2008, Cole pulled curtains on his fantastic football career that spanned over 19-years.

Number one on the list is a man who needs no formal introduction; Alan Shearer or better yet ‘The spectacular one’.

He is Newcastle’ as well as the premier league’s highest Goalscorer as he bagged 148 goals in 302 appearances for the Magpies.

Shearer started out his premier league career with Blackburn as he arrived at the club for a then record fee of £36m. He scored 16 goals in 21 games in his first season at Blackburn which led many to believe he was a future star.

He then went on to score 112 goals in 138 appearances for Blackburn over four Seasons before moving on to the club where he would make history to become the Premier League’s highest Goalscorer (Newcastle).

The closest player to matching his feat seems to be Wayne Rooney as he is still actively playing football for Manchester United, although he still has a long distance to cover to reach Shearer’s benchmark.

Shearer was widely regarded as a perfect striker because of his superior technical ability, expert decision making, great pace and Aerial ability as well as a great natural goalscoring instinct.