Aguero vs Henry: The Greatest PL #9?

Ibrahimorich

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Out of the 2, Henry, but as someone else pointed out, neither are number 9s. So Shearer.
 

KirkDuyt

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If these guys aren't number 9s, what are they? I'm getting too old to understand football :(

Anyway, Henry by a mile. Spectacular player.
 

hasanejaz88

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Aguero isn't close to peak Henry. I don't think any player I have seen in the EPL other than Ronaldo can come close to peak Henry.

That player wasn't just a 30+ goalscorer but a 10+ assist maker a season as well. He was insane from 2000 - 2006. Aguero can only match his goalscoring but Henry's overall play can't be matched by the Argentine.
 

Withnail

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I'd agree with most on here as I don't think Aguero is in the same league as Henry at all.

If it was a straight choice of who you'd want in your team, it'd be peak Henry for his goals, assists and all-round terrorising of the opposition.
 

roonster09

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If these guys aren't number 9s, what are they? I'm getting too old to understand football :(

Anyway, Henry by a mile. Spectacular player.
Maybe 9.5 but that's mainstream now, so would say they were 9.25
 

KirkDuyt

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Strikers.
But isn't the striker the dude up front in the middle? I remember being confused about FIFA classifying some players as ST and other as CF. They belong up front and score goals. Stop over complicating this silly game of kick ball.
 

2mufc0

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Aguero isn't close to peak Henry. I don't think any player I have seen in the EPL other than Ronaldo can come close to peak Henry.

That player wasn't just a 30+ goalscorer but a 10+ assist maker a season as well. He was insane from 2000 - 2006. Aguero can only match his goalscoring but Henry's overall play can't be matched by the Argentine.
100
 

KirkDuyt

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I'd probably take prime Henry over PL Ronaldo as well honestly. Though it's hard to compare.

Real Ronaldo is a different story of course.
 

RochaRoja

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But isn't the striker the dude up front in the middle? I remember being confused about FIFA classifying some players as ST and other as CF. They belong up front and score goals. Stop over complicating this silly game of kick ball.
Maybe it’s a cultural thing but for me “striker” is a position (i.e all teams have at least one) and “number 9” is a role that is performed by specific kinds of strikers like Vieri, Toni, Llorente, Carroll, Hartson, Ferguson, Shearer etc. Historically a number 9 in England would have been someone like Dixie Dean, Nat Lofthouse or Jackie Milburn but not Jimmy Greaves or Geoff Hurst.

I remember that FIFA position name thing and that was very weird. CF was the more withdrawn one and ST was the centre forward. In reality the two strikers being SS and CF would have made a lot more sense.
 

KirkDuyt

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Maybe it’s a cultural thing but for me “striker” is a position (i.e all teams have at least one) and “number 9” is a role that is performed by specific kinds of strikers like Vieri, Toni, Llorente, Carroll, Hartson, Ferguson, Shearer etc. Historically a number 9 in England would have been someone like Dixie Dean, Nat Lofthouse or Jackie Milburn but not Jimmy Greaves or Geoff Hurst.

I remember that FIFA position name thing and that was very weird. CF was the more withdrawn one and ST was the centre forward. In reality the two strikers being SS and CF would have made a lot more sense.
Ah so a 9 is like a poacher?

Also, Nat Lofthouse, are you a million years old?:lol:
 

RochaRoja

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Ah so a 9 is like a poacher?

Also, Nat Lofthouse, are you a million years old?:lol:
More of a physical battering ram than a poacher really. A player who would wrestle defenders, elbow goalkeepers, head a brick and give Andy Gray an orgasm.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen the lion of Vienna in action but that’s one of the first names that popped into my head when thinking of the quintessential old fashioned English centre forward. :lol:
 

KirkDuyt

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More of a physical battering ram than a poacher really. A player who would wrestle defenders, elbow goalkeepers, head a brick and give Andy Gray an orgasm.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen the lion of Vienna in action but that’s one of the first names that popped into my head when thinking of the quintessential old fashioned English centre forward. :lol:
Ah so a Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink type :p
 

JB7

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If we're talking a proper number 9 it's Shearer or RVN surely, give them a chance around the penalty area and they were just deadly.
 

Zlatattack

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Of the two - Henry by a mile.

Aguero is a top players, really good, wish we'd signed him - but people feared Henry. In his PL pomp he invoked the same fear that Messi and Ronaldo do today. He's not as good as they are, but he was in his time, talked about in a similar manner.

Overall though - Shearer. Just a battering ram of goals.
 

Chipper

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I wonder what Agueros' best five years are? I'm sure his goals would be up there but wonder what his assists would be like.
As it was my post from another thread that was quoted here's the equivalent combined goals + assists numbers:

Aguero
2014/15 - 34 goals + assists (33 apps)
2015/16 - 26 (30)
2016/17 - 23 (31)
2017/18 - 27 (25)
2018/19 - 29 (33)
Totals: 139 in 152, 0.91 per game

Taken it from 14/15 onwards they're certainly his best 5 years in a row of goalscoring.

Reminder of the other two:

Shearer
1992/93 - 20 goals + assists (21 apps)
1993/94 - 35 (40)
1994/95 - 47 (42)
1995/96 - 38 (35)
1996/97 - 32 (31)
Totals: 172 in 169, 1.02 per game

Henry
2001-02 - 29 goals + assists (33 apps)
2002-03 - 44 (37)
2003-04 - 36 (37)
2004-05 - 39 (32)
2005-06 - 35 (32)
Totals: 183 in 171, 1.07 per game

Might as well do a best-fit equivalent to the other stat I chucked up, the 8 season one when it comes to just goals. It's slightly different for Aguero as he'd not long turned 23 when he came to the Premier League. Can't do ages 22-29 with him like you can with the other two.

Henry's Arsenal PL career 1999/00-2006/07, Age 22-29, 254 appearances. 174 goals, 0.69 goals per game

Shearer 1992/93-1999/00, Age 22-29, 253 appearacnes, 176 goals, 0.70 goals per game

Aguero 2011/12-2018/19, Age 23-30, 239 appearances 164 goals, 0.69 goals per game
 
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RochaRoja

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If comparing Shearer, Henry and Agüero, it’s definitely worth considering that, of the three, Henry’s best years coincided with the overall standard of defenders in the PL being higher than either Shearer or Agüero’s era.
 

11101

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Aguero was the better number 9 i.e traditional striker, but Henry was the better player.

For what its worth Aguero was better than Shearer.
 

Tostao_80

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Henry easily for me. The real question is who would be 2-5 on ability, durability and meaningful contributions to trophy-winning sides. This:

Shearer
Aguero
Rooney
Van Nistelrooy

But if the question is who was the greatest at peak that's a tough one. I'd still go with Henry by a hair, but you could make a case for any of those five, even Ruud.
Not sure that Rooney or Agueros peaks come anywhere near Titis, especially Roo. Henry was legit top 3 in the world (2nd behind Dinho at best). At no time were any of those other forwards considered amongst the world's top 3 players.
 

harms

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Aguero isn't close to peak Henry. I don't think any player I have seen in the EPL other than Ronaldo can come close to peak Henry.

That player wasn't just a 30+ goalscorer but a 10+ assist maker a season as well. He was insane from 2000 - 2006. Aguero can only match his goalscoring but Henry's overall play can't be matched by the Argentine.
Suarez was quite close to be fair - but that was only for one season.
 

Chipper

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If comparing Shearer, Henry and Agüero, it’s definitely worth considering that, of the three, Henry’s best years coincided with the overall standard of defenders in the PL being higher than either Shearer or Agüero’s era.
Yes, that's certainly worthwhile consideration when computing pure numbers from different periods in time, even within the relatively short life-span of the PL.

Along similar lines, and more obviously, when looking much further back in time you'd need to remember that more goals per game were scored full stop in the 1950s etc. compared to today if looking at raw numbers. Taking that premise it should be applied within the PL too, in certain periods of times it was easier or harder to score.

Just watching the games I'd agree Henry was by and large up against better defenders.

I suppose one could try to use something like average goals scored per game in the league as a whole and see how much a player stood out from his peers if doing it by numbers. Luckily I've found a site that will help with that. I do think eyeballing it is best to judge the strength of defeders, but we'll see how this turns out anyway for a bit of geeky fun:

Average goals scored in a Premier League game:
1992/93 - 1999/00 (Peak Shearer) - 2.62
1990/00 - 2006/07 (Henry at Arsenal) - 2.60
2011/12 - 2018/19 (Aguero at City) - 2.74

So by the numbers Aguero has had the easiest time of it. There's always other things to consider though.
 

KirkDuyt

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Never imagined them ever ending up in the same list :D

Ricky was just successfully operated on a brain aneurism.
 

Karel Podolsky

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Never imagined them ever ending up in the same list :D

Ricky was just successfully operated on a brain aneurism.
I was looking for a Dutch striker that I saw played in I think a friendly match, yess! I have found him! Another Dutch no. 9 Erik Meijer. :lol:
I can't believe I still remember a nobody who played in one match 26 years ago.
 

KirkDuyt

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I was looking for a Dutch striker that I saw played in I think a friendly match, yess! I have found him! Another Dutch no. 9 Erik Meijer. :lol:
I can't believe I still remember a nobody who played in one match 26 years ago.
Wow, how the hell do you know him. He's a rather annoying pundit nowadays.

Also, how can you ommit our most iconic striker ever; Dirk Kuyt :nervous:
 

RedRonaldo

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Henry was the 2nd best players in the world during his prime, behind only to Ronaldinho, who was in his prime too, that says something.
Augero is great striker in Premier league, but he was never close to being considered the best in the world.
 
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Aguero was the better number 9 i.e traditional striker, but Henry was the better player.

For what its worth Aguero was better than Shearer.
Disagree, Shearer is the better striker.

As a Utd supporter, Shearer was one of only a few players I genuinely feared playing against - you can add Messi, Ronaldo x 2 and Henry to that list. Aguero is a fantastic striker, but plays in a great team - Shearer was devastating in teams that were nowhere near as good as Man City.
 

SadlerMUFC

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No.

Ronaldo's 3 years of WC'ness don't eclipse Henry's 5.
Yes they do. CR7 is the greatest player the EPL has ever seen. Sure, if he stayed around longer he would have built his legend even more, but nobody has ever been as good as CR7. If we are talking about the entire career then it has to be Shearer as #1. But we are talking about the best player and last I checked, CR7 won the WPOTY award, not Henry...
 

KirkDuyt

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Yes they do. CR7 is the greatest player the EPL has ever seen. Sure, if he stayed around longer he would have built his legend even more, but nobody has ever been as good as CR7. If we are talking about the entire career then it has to be Shearer as #1. But we are talking about the best player and last I checked, CR7 won the WPOTY award, not Henry...
Premier League Ronaldo isn't really peak Ronaldo is he? I was more impressed with Henry in the PL as well honestly. Of course Ronnie went on to achieve far greater things, but still, an argument can be made for Henry looking solely at the PL.

Well and I suppose international career wise.
 
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Chipper

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Yes they do. CR7 is the greatest player the EPL has ever seen. Sure, if he stayed around longer he would have built his legend even more, but nobody has ever been as good as CR7. If we are talking about the entire career then it has to be Shearer as #1. But we are talking about the best player and last I checked, CR7 won the WPOTY award, not Henry...
Not directed at me, but are we?

Different people might be talking a cross-purposes here. To me best and greatest are different. Greatest is, well their greatness, the kind of thing that includes legacy/longevity. Best would be more of an objective thing and could be a much shorter-lived deal.

To put it another way, every or nearly every player playing today is better than every player who played 100 years ago. They're not necessarily greater.
 
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adexkola

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Yes they do. CR7 is the greatest player the EPL has ever seen. Sure, if he stayed around longer he would have built his legend even more, but nobody has ever been as good as CR7. If we are talking about the entire career then it has to be Shearer as #1. But we are talking about the best player and last I checked, CR7 won the WPOTY award, not Henry...
Ok

Premier League Ronaldo isn't really peak Ronaldo is he? I was more impressed with Henry in the PL as well honestly. Of course Ronnie went on to achieve far greater things, but still, an argument can be made for Henry looking solely at the CL.

Well and I suppose international career wise.
It's not. And I'm being kind with regards to saying 3 years... It's actually 2.5 if you remove the first half of the 08/09 season.
 

11101

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Disagree, Shearer is the better striker.

As a Utd supporter, Shearer was one of only a few players I genuinely feared playing against - you can add Messi, Ronaldo x 2 and Henry to that list. Aguero is a fantastic striker, but plays in a great team - Shearer was devastating in teams that were nowhere near as good as Man City.
I think Shearer's true greatness was down to his longevity in the league. On ability to score goals alone, the numbers suggest Aguero is better.