The Top Five Most Underrated Strikers Of The Premier League Era

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4 years ago

Categories: Galleries, West Ham United News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, Spurs, West Ham, Wolves

After taking a look at the most underrated attacking midfielders in Premier League history last week, it is now the turn of the strikers.

There have been so many world-class forwards over the past thirty years, it can be easy to overlook some players who have actually scored consistently in the top flight of English football without really being appreciated.

Some of that is down to the fact that not all players can play for the biggest clubs and win silverware so their achievements are more related to individual accolades rather than contributing to title wins.

So today we look at five strikers whose contributions have not always been widely recognised. Press the next page to discover who we have chosen.

5) Mark Viduka

An excellent all round forward, the Australian was adept at holding up the ball as well as being a great finisher. His stand out spell in the Premier League was during his four years at Leeds where he scored 68 goals in 160 appearances.

Viduka helped the Whites to fourth and fifth place finishes during his first two campaigns at the club before financial problems led to him being sold to Middlesbrough.

4) Craig Bellamy

The Welshman’s talent was clear from a young age but his poor discipline and attitude did affect his game time early on in his career. After a decent spell at Newcastle, he began to show what it was all about at Blackburn and Liverpool before an injury-ravaged eighteen months at West Ham led to a move to Manchester City.

Bellamy was never a prolific goalscorer, but he had undoubted natural ability, and even after the Abu Dhabi takeover of the Citizens, his talent still shone through before going on to having another spell at Liverpool.

3) Jermain Defoe

Still playing for Rangers at the ripe old age of 38, Defoe has been a regular goalscorer throughout his senior career. Starting out at West Ham, he went on to play for the likes of Tottenham, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Bournemouth in the top flight.

He racked up 163 goals during his time in the Premier League but he has not always been given the credit he deserves for his consistency and longevity.

2) Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

The Norwegian was generally seen as a “super-sub” at Manchester United but he scored 92 goals in 235 Premier League appearances, which is no mean feat when you consider that in 84 of those games, he started on the bench.

Solskjaer could well have scored even more goals if Sir Alex Ferguson had picked him to start more often but with so much competition up front, the striker had to be satisfied with the games he was given.

1) Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

The Dutchman won two Premier League golden boots at Leeds and Chelsea, and yet, he is rarely mentioned when it comes to the best strikers of the last thirty years.

Perhaps Hasselbaink’s lack of silverware played a role. He only won a Charity Shield with Chelsea during his time in England, but as an individual, his consistency in front of goal should not be underestimated.