Strikers that don't score goals

[Gazza no8]

Obviously when you think striker you think goals, but what about these strikers that carve a career as a professional that hardly ever score goals. Heard on Soccer sat them name a striker who has scored 4 goals in 2 years.. wtf. How do these players get away with it?. Is it as easy as saying they contribute in other ways?.

Firminio has got to be classed as the most high profile one of these?.

 

[Jan Žižka]

1st guy I thought of was Heskey.

He got 130 goals in 633 games.

Take him 48.6 games in a season to hit 10 with those figures.

 

[PMB1872]

Obviously when you think striker you think goals, but what about these strikers that carve a career as a professional that hardly ever score goals. Heard on Soccer sat them name a striker who has scored 4 goals in 2 years.. wtf. How do these players get away with it?. Is it as easy as saying they contribute in other ways?.

Firminio has got to be classed as the most high profile one of these?.

Firmino’s record at Liverpool has only really been crappy since the start of last season, but I think they could definitely do better than him now.

 

[Khal Drogo]

Christian Benteke after he left Aston Villa. Will be lucky if hes scored more than half a dozen a season since

 

[PMB1872]

Won’t go down well with the guys from NI but David Healy’s 99 goals in 428 club games is a pretty grim effort for a striker.

 

[SuperGers07]

Emile Heskey always seemed it

 

[UpStepsTheHammer]

Drogba is one that scored nowhere near as much as people remember

Edit : I looked it up and he scored 100 in 226 games in his first Chelsea spell. I’ve made an arse of this

 

[Partickger]

Makes me think of Franny Jeffers at us. Managed to just hide throughout a match, Mladenovic was another one who was just a ghost on the pitch although not a striker.

 

[Main Stand]

Drogba is one that scored nowhere near as much as people remember

Edit : I looked it up and he scored 100 in 226 games in his first Chelsea spell. I’ve made an arse of this

That’s only league games too, you just got your edit in before I replied

 

[Gazza no8]

Jay Aston Emmanuel-Thomas

Started for Livi against us at the weekend......

11 goals in 5 years. How do these guys still get clubs?.

 

[Acidhouse88]

Another one for me is Gabriel Agbonlahor 75 goals in 350 apps

 

[mr_snrub]

Christophe Dugarry was one, 55 caps for France as well!
Mbo Mpenza as well (think we were linked with him back in the day).

 

[WalterSandy]

The dude liverpool sold to Bournemouth for nearly 20mill !

 

[Main Stand]

The dude liverpool sold to Bournemouth for nearly 20mill !

Solanke, I’ve always found him rotten but he’s started this season well. The masterbating over him on here was bizarre.

 

[Gazza no8]

Lee Erwin (guy who got skelped by big Moshni)

32 goals in his 8 year career so far. Currently at St Mirren

 

[brain]

The dude liverpool sold to Bournemouth for nearly 20mill !

Yeh Solanke. Most people on this board were obsessed with signing him last summer for some reason.

 

[Main Stand]

The king of clubs, Moses Ashikodi.

 

[W*A*T*P]

Roberto Firmino - 58 in 181 games for Liverpool. Didn’t score at Anfield once last season I believe

 

[norm1890]

I always thought Giroud but I think his record actually fairly decent, maybe its his style of play - a bit laconic maybe. But great career.

 

[Main Stand]

Roberto Firmino - 58 in 181 games for Liverpool. Didn’t score at Anfield once last season I believe

To be fair, one in three is an alright record considering his role is to create goals for the other two. Should definitely have more, but one in three is alright at any level.

 

[KL2]

Firmino is definitely the main example at the moment, the last 2 years have been brutal. Its not as if he doesn't get opportunities either, he misses some amount of clear chances.

His overall play has dropped off massively this season as well, down in pretty much every category. He's gone from being a key piece to their set-up to someone needing replaced.

 

[UpStepsTheHammer]

That’s only league games too, you just got your edit in before I replied

No idea why I thought that. Anyway the other players I was thinking of were Messi and Shearer

 

[Jjbscotty]

Morelos 2020 version 5 in 27.

 

[TQ3]

Another one for me is Gabriel Agbonlahor 75 goals in 350 apps

And most of them were when he was in his early 20s. He had a couple of good seasons at Villa, then dried up like Madonna’s gash.

 

[Disco Deejay]

Frannie Jeffers after leaving Everton, 22 goals in almost 200 games over 12 years, including 0 in 14 games for us.

 

[BlueBritain]

Fernando Torres was roughly 1 in every 3 games and that's only that high because he was dynamite at Liverpool.

For a player with his talent, his goal scoring ratio should have been much higher.

 

[WeWillFolllow]

Out of curiosity, what do people consider a good goal:game ratio for a top level striker?

Firmino seems to be getting it hard on this thread, but I’d say a 1-in-3 strike rate isn’t too bad in the EPL. This is also ignoring the fact that some strikers have a lot of secondary responsibility e.g. pressing and acting as a focal point.

 

[Jjbscotty]

Fernando Torres was roughly 1 in every 3 games and that's only that high because he was dynamite at Liverpool.

For a player with his talent, his goal scoring ratio should have been much higher.

He was basically finished at the 2010 World Cup when he was only 26.

 

[Main Stand]

Benjani, best transfer story every though.

Quite a few guys of that ilk, kept getting gigs at lower EPL clubs. Kenwyne Jones, Valeri Bojinov and our very own Daniel Cousin who’s record was pretty poor.

 

[Blue Phoenix]

Steven Fletcher always puzzled me. Good overall contributor but I cannot recall his goal tally being that great.

 

[Main Stand]

Fernando Torres was roughly 1 in every 3 games and that's only that high because he was dynamite at Liverpool.

For a player with his talent, his goal scoring ratio should have been much higher.

I was going to say him but he was done round about 2011, major knee surgery after the WC he never recovered from.

 

[PunkScott]

This begs the question, if they aren't doing the job they are meant to, why are they played in that position?

 

[Main Stand]

Steven Fletcher always puzzled me. Good overall contributor but I cannot recall his goal tally being that great.

I like Fletcher as a player, usually good for 10-12 goals in the Prem. Good shout though because he’s not a natural goal scorer.

 

[Main Stand]

This begs the question, if they aren't doing the job they are meant to, why are they played in that position?

Not every striker is there to solely score goals to be fair.

 

[Baz]

Guivarch and Giroud immediately come to mind as being the main strikers without scoring when France won their two world cups. Giroud never even managed a shot on target in the tournament.

I suppose they could say their job was to distract the defenders and make space for the better players like Zidane, Griezmann, Mbappe etc. to score.

 

[BigPol 71]

Jay Aston Emmanuel-Thomas

Started for Livi against us at the weekend......

11 goals in 5 years. How do these guys still get clubs?.

The boy is like a hoose wae legs, imagine he has been used as battering ram. Noticed on Sunday his touch on the ground was terrible, poor man's heskey

 

[senefelder]

Joe Jordan, went over two years without scoring for Scotland, and was still an automatic pick. 55 caps, 11 goals, and is considered a great.

 

[Jonathan E]

You can still be a top player as a striker without being prolific as a goalscorer.

Joe Jordan scored 117 career goals in 508 games, yet played at the top level in England and Italy and in three World Cups.

 

[barcelonabear]

Obviously when you think striker you think goals, but what about these strikers that carve a career as a professional that hardly ever score goals. Heard on Soccer sat them name a striker who has scored 4 goals in 2 years.. wtf. How do these players get away with it?. Is it as easy as saying they contribute in other ways?.

Firminio has got to be classed as the most high profile one of these?.

Firminio role is totally unique I’m not really a fan of it but it works for them (Morelos is doing the Same role this season and it doesn’t suit him at all), it involves starting in the 9 position and pulling into the 10role taking defenders with you creating space

 

[Khal Drogo]

Connor Wickham is another striker whos been about for years but seems to be a guy in form when he scores 2 goals in 25 appearances. Im sure hes had a couple of ridiculously high transfer fees as well

But I think we have a winner with Solanke. Great shout

 

[Jonathan E]

Double post.

 

[Jonathan E]

Joe Jordan, went over two years without scoring for Scotland, and was still an automatic pick. 55 caps, 11 goals, and is considered a great.

Snap!

 

[Jjbscotty]

Jozy altidore in English football with Sunderland and hull 2 in 70.

 

[Brick_Top]

You can still be a top player as a striker without being prolific as a goalscorer.

Joe Jordan scored 117 career goals in 508 games, yet played at the top level in England and Italy and in three World Cups.

Bergkamp was near enough 1 goal in 4 for Arsenal but was outstanding for them and is regarded as one of their greatest ever players.

It really depends on your game as a whole.

There is undoubtedly a lot of dross and overpaid strikers around though.

 

[BiopsyJones]

Roberto Firmino - 58 in 181 games for Liverpool. Didn’t score at Anfield once last season I believe

Add 37 assists to that. Firmino doesn't score like Salah or Mane, but when he's not playing they are a different team, and not for the better.

 

[DelPiero]

Guivarch and Giroud immediately come to mind as being the main strikers without scoring when France won their two world cups. Giroud never even managed a shot on target in the tournament.

I suppose they could say their job was to distract the defenders and make space for the better players like Zidane, Griezmann, Mbappe etc. to score.

Always found that weird with Giroud given he’s actually got a fair amount of goals for France.

Pretty sure he’s like their second highest scorer now or something.

 

[Main Stand]

Always found that weird with Giroud given he’s actually got a fair amount of goals for France.

Pretty sure he’s like their second highest scorer now or something.

I would be surprised if he didn’t beat Henry’s record, great striker. 9 behind I believe, hope he does it.

 

[Airfix]

Joelinton at Newcastle united. £40m for a couple of goals.

 

[Bob Belcher]

You've got to consider the teams these guys are playing in. Some of the guys mentioned in here are never going to bang in 30 a season playing in shite teams that don't create many chances for them to score.

 

[Coplandbear]

Kevin Davies

88 league goals in 15 seasons apparently.