Every now and then you hear that someone is labeled the worst striker in the Premier League - so I spent some hours last night investigating who truly are the worst strikers in the Premier League ever. Of course this is very difficult so I mostly based the ranking on goals and assists pr game, but I tried to take into consideration the following :
a) Team-mates - getting assists or goals usually happens more frequently with DeBruyne or Shearer in the team.
b) Was the player a regular or did many of his appearances come as a sub ?
c) Did the players overall contribution include more than goals ? Okazaki would have been a candidate but his hard-work helped win Leicester the title, despite him not contributing much in terms of goals or assists.
d) Did the player struggle with injuries in his career ? Connor Wickham would have been a candidate but his injury records can explain his poor stats
And -I required a minimum of 100 matches in the P.L - which saved a lot of really poor players like Vincent Jansen, Ricky van Wolfsvinkel, Mateja Kezman, Jozy Altidore and Robert Rosario.
First I want to give an honorable mention to a few strikers who never quite made it to the bottom of the list:
El-Hadji Diouf, Marcus Gayle, Henrik Pedersen, Diomansy Kamara, Andy Weimann and Tresor Lua Lua
10. Saido Berahino - 133 matches (23 goals 3 assists)
If we were to judge Berahino on his last 3-4 seasons, he would win by a million miles. But at one stage he was a really promising player with WBA - scoring 14 goals in one season as a 21-year old. But once he decided to leave WBA and join Stoke it was all downhill. He scored 4 goals the first season, was frozen out the next - and when he finally joined Stoke in 2016 he scored exactly 0 goals in 2 seasons
9. Riccardo Fuller - 141 matches (19 goals 7 assists)
After scoring a lot of goals for Preston he was picked up by Portsmouth and had an awful time scoring 1 goal in 31 matches. He re-discovered his form in the Championship with Stoke - scoring 25 goals in 2 seasons as Stoke got promoted. Fuller did really well in his first seasons in the P.L, scoring 11 goals - but then only scored a total of 7 goals in his next 75 matches.
8. Marouane Chamakh - 103 matches (15 goals 6 assist)
Why Wenger signed Chamakh is a strange one - he was never even that impressive in Bordeaux - scoring 13 goals in 34 matches in his best season. He scored 9 goals in his first season at Arsenal, but only 1 in 11 in the second season. Crystal Palace thought it would be smart so sign Chamahk and he repaid that faith by grabbing an impressive 7 goals in 60 matches.
7. Victor Anichebe - 204 matches (26 goals 13 assists)
Anichebe joined Everton as an 15 year old and made his debut 17 years old and scored on his 2nd league match, but after 92 league matches he had scored just 7 goals. The form improved slightly in 2011/12 and 12/13 where he scored 11 goals in 38 matches, but was sold to WBA where he scored 6 goals in 55 matches. He finished his time in the P.L but scoring 3 goals in 11 matches for Sunderland.
6. Fabio Borini - 111 matchs (16 goals 5 assists)
Fabio Borini is probably the luckiest footballer on the planet - he has played for Roma, Chelsea, Liverpool and Milan despite not being good enough for either club - and has never scored 10 league goals in a season. He started by playing 4 matches for Chelsea, impressed on loan to Roma and scored 9 in 24 matches. Brendan Rodgers who had him at loan for Swansea signed him for Liverpool where he scored 2 goals in 25 matches. Started ok with Sunderland but ended up with just 14 goals in 82 matches. Before leaving for AC Milan where - surprise, surprise - he was awful as well.
5. Danny Graham - 124 matches (18 goals 5 assists)
Denny Graham started his career with Middlesbrough where he scored 1 goal in 15 matches. He signed for Carlisle and had 2 good seasons in League 1 with 30 goals in 91 matches. Was picked up by Watford where he scored 38 goals in 91 matches in the Championship. Swansea signed him and he scored 12 goals in his first season, before he only managed 3 goals in 18 matches the season after. Moved to Sunderland and scored 1 goal in 2.5 seasons, before Hull thought it would be smart to take him on loan. 1 goal in 18 matches later, they realized, it probably wasn't.
4. Kevin Lisbie - 113 matches (14 goals 6 assists)
Lisbie played the first 10 seasons of his career at Charlton but onyl managed 14 goals in 113 matches. He had one season in 2001/2002 where he managed 5 goals in 22 matches, but was never good enough to play in the Premier League. Lisbie finished his time in England with a couple of good seasons in the Championship and League 1 for Colchester and Leyton Orient.
3. Luke Moore - 145 matches (20 goals 4 assists)
Moore made his debut for Villa 17 years old. In his first 32 matches he only scored 1 goal, but during the season of 05/06 - the young striker scored 8 times in 32 matches. But Moore never had a good season again after that. He scored 5 goals in 28 matches over the next 2 seasons, moved to WBA where he was even worse and scored 1 goal in the Premier League in 21 matches. He finished his P.L-career with Swansea, scoring 5 goals in 37 matches.
2. Junior Hoilett - 161 matches (16 goals 8 assists)
Hoilett was a big talent as a youngster, he made his debut for Canada at 15 and joined Blackburn 17 years old and even was on trial with Man United. He struggled in his first season where he didn't score in 22 matches, but started to show some of his talent by scoring 12 times for Blackburn in 59 matches during the next 2 seasons. He was sold to QPR and had an awful time where he scored just 12 times in 4 seasons, 2 in the Premier League and 10 in the Championship. Returned to the Premier League with Cardiff in 2018, and scored 3 goals in 32 matches.
1. Andy Clarke - 123 matches (11 goals 6 assists)
Wimbledon had a reputation for finding gems in the lower leagues - Andy Clarke was an exception. Clarke was the most expensive played ever to be signed from non-league football (£250.000 from Barnet in 1991). He scored 6 goals in 46 matches before the First Division became the Premier League, and spent a further 6 seasons at Wimbledon in the Premier League scoring 11 times in 123 matches, 5 of those came in 92/93. Clarke was totally out of his depths in the P.L but rediscovered his scoring touch with Peterboro in the second and third division. He will however be remembered as the least lethal striker in the Premier League.
a) Team-mates - getting assists or goals usually happens more frequently with DeBruyne or Shearer in the team.
b) Was the player a regular or did many of his appearances come as a sub ?
c) Did the players overall contribution include more than goals ? Okazaki would have been a candidate but his hard-work helped win Leicester the title, despite him not contributing much in terms of goals or assists.
d) Did the player struggle with injuries in his career ? Connor Wickham would have been a candidate but his injury records can explain his poor stats
And -I required a minimum of 100 matches in the P.L - which saved a lot of really poor players like Vincent Jansen, Ricky van Wolfsvinkel, Mateja Kezman, Jozy Altidore and Robert Rosario.
First I want to give an honorable mention to a few strikers who never quite made it to the bottom of the list:
El-Hadji Diouf, Marcus Gayle, Henrik Pedersen, Diomansy Kamara, Andy Weimann and Tresor Lua Lua
10. Saido Berahino - 133 matches (23 goals 3 assists)
If we were to judge Berahino on his last 3-4 seasons, he would win by a million miles. But at one stage he was a really promising player with WBA - scoring 14 goals in one season as a 21-year old. But once he decided to leave WBA and join Stoke it was all downhill. He scored 4 goals the first season, was frozen out the next - and when he finally joined Stoke in 2016 he scored exactly 0 goals in 2 seasons
9. Riccardo Fuller - 141 matches (19 goals 7 assists)
After scoring a lot of goals for Preston he was picked up by Portsmouth and had an awful time scoring 1 goal in 31 matches. He re-discovered his form in the Championship with Stoke - scoring 25 goals in 2 seasons as Stoke got promoted. Fuller did really well in his first seasons in the P.L, scoring 11 goals - but then only scored a total of 7 goals in his next 75 matches.
8. Marouane Chamakh - 103 matches (15 goals 6 assist)
Why Wenger signed Chamakh is a strange one - he was never even that impressive in Bordeaux - scoring 13 goals in 34 matches in his best season. He scored 9 goals in his first season at Arsenal, but only 1 in 11 in the second season. Crystal Palace thought it would be smart so sign Chamahk and he repaid that faith by grabbing an impressive 7 goals in 60 matches.
7. Victor Anichebe - 204 matches (26 goals 13 assists)
Anichebe joined Everton as an 15 year old and made his debut 17 years old and scored on his 2nd league match, but after 92 league matches he had scored just 7 goals. The form improved slightly in 2011/12 and 12/13 where he scored 11 goals in 38 matches, but was sold to WBA where he scored 6 goals in 55 matches. He finished his time in the P.L but scoring 3 goals in 11 matches for Sunderland.
6. Fabio Borini - 111 matchs (16 goals 5 assists)
Fabio Borini is probably the luckiest footballer on the planet - he has played for Roma, Chelsea, Liverpool and Milan despite not being good enough for either club - and has never scored 10 league goals in a season. He started by playing 4 matches for Chelsea, impressed on loan to Roma and scored 9 in 24 matches. Brendan Rodgers who had him at loan for Swansea signed him for Liverpool where he scored 2 goals in 25 matches. Started ok with Sunderland but ended up with just 14 goals in 82 matches. Before leaving for AC Milan where - surprise, surprise - he was awful as well.
5. Danny Graham - 124 matches (18 goals 5 assists)
Denny Graham started his career with Middlesbrough where he scored 1 goal in 15 matches. He signed for Carlisle and had 2 good seasons in League 1 with 30 goals in 91 matches. Was picked up by Watford where he scored 38 goals in 91 matches in the Championship. Swansea signed him and he scored 12 goals in his first season, before he only managed 3 goals in 18 matches the season after. Moved to Sunderland and scored 1 goal in 2.5 seasons, before Hull thought it would be smart to take him on loan. 1 goal in 18 matches later, they realized, it probably wasn't.
4. Kevin Lisbie - 113 matches (14 goals 6 assists)
Lisbie played the first 10 seasons of his career at Charlton but onyl managed 14 goals in 113 matches. He had one season in 2001/2002 where he managed 5 goals in 22 matches, but was never good enough to play in the Premier League. Lisbie finished his time in England with a couple of good seasons in the Championship and League 1 for Colchester and Leyton Orient.
3. Luke Moore - 145 matches (20 goals 4 assists)
Moore made his debut for Villa 17 years old. In his first 32 matches he only scored 1 goal, but during the season of 05/06 - the young striker scored 8 times in 32 matches. But Moore never had a good season again after that. He scored 5 goals in 28 matches over the next 2 seasons, moved to WBA where he was even worse and scored 1 goal in the Premier League in 21 matches. He finished his P.L-career with Swansea, scoring 5 goals in 37 matches.
2. Junior Hoilett - 161 matches (16 goals 8 assists)
Hoilett was a big talent as a youngster, he made his debut for Canada at 15 and joined Blackburn 17 years old and even was on trial with Man United. He struggled in his first season where he didn't score in 22 matches, but started to show some of his talent by scoring 12 times for Blackburn in 59 matches during the next 2 seasons. He was sold to QPR and had an awful time where he scored just 12 times in 4 seasons, 2 in the Premier League and 10 in the Championship. Returned to the Premier League with Cardiff in 2018, and scored 3 goals in 32 matches.
1. Andy Clarke - 123 matches (11 goals 6 assists)
Wimbledon had a reputation for finding gems in the lower leagues - Andy Clarke was an exception. Clarke was the most expensive played ever to be signed from non-league football (£250.000 from Barnet in 1991). He scored 6 goals in 46 matches before the First Division became the Premier League, and spent a further 6 seasons at Wimbledon in the Premier League scoring 11 times in 123 matches, 5 of those came in 92/93. Clarke was totally out of his depths in the P.L but rediscovered his scoring touch with Peterboro in the second and third division. He will however be remembered as the least lethal striker in the Premier League.
