This is the Premier League Sharp-shooters, a weekly column that looks at the men who score the goals in the EPL.
After only 2 rounds of the new season (18 matches), 13 countries (14 if you include a pair of OG’s scored by Welshmen) are represented on the PL scoring charts. Testimony if it were needed to the international flavour of England’s national sporting obsession.
With the Manchester United v Tottenham game still to come Monday evening, it was a good weekend for home-bred players, with 8/20 (40%) of all goals scored coming from Englishmen.
Not surprisingly the majority source of goals over the first two weeks has been English-born players, who have claimed almost a third of all goals scored so far. What’s possibly less surprising is that Republic of Ireland is next in the list with 5 goals (13%).
Spare a thought for County Tipperary’s Shane Long of West Bromwich Albion. The former Reading striker has scored against ManchesterUnited and Chelsea in his first two games for his new club who have yet to garner a point from two close encounters.
Amazingly, Long’s goal on Saturday against Chelsea is the only one to come in the first 10 minutes of a game so far. Other Irishmen to hit the target – Wes Hoolihan (Norwich City), and the Wolves pair, Stephen Ward and Kevin Doyle.
South Americans have also contributed as many goals as the Irish. As well as the more familiar names of Man City’s Aguero and Liverpool’s Suarez, there was an opening day debut goal for a less well-known Argentinian, Mauro Formica at North-West neighbours Blackburn Rovers.
Trinidadian Kenwyne Jones of Stoke gets this week’s award for the “Late, Late, Show” with his 94th min equalising goal at Norwich City, who must have thought they had done just about enough to hold on for their first win back in the top flight. There was a first Premier League goal for Belgium’s Ritchie de Laet in that game, a happier moment than last week’s when he gave away a penalty resulting in the goal which secured Wigan a point.
If De Laet, a few months shy of 23, is the youngest player to score this season so far, then evergreen Kevin Davies at 34 is the oldest, adding to his record Bolton EPL tally with a valiant header against Man City on Sunday. It counted for nothing however as the City billionaires did enough to win 3-2.
At 20, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey has a claim he probably doesn’t wish to promote, but could contest de Laet in being the youngest EPL scorer this season. He was precisely, and unluckily, in the wrong place at the wrong time to gift Liverpool their opener at The Emirates on Saturday.
Six players from different countries have all hit a pair of goals so far – Aguero (Arg), Suarez (Uru), Long (Ire), Silva (Spa), Klasnic (Cro) and Dzeko (Bos). Three City men, and not an Englishman on the board. What odds Wayne Rooney to become a 4th Manchester player on the list, and hoist the flag for the English goal-getters. A goal Monday night against Spurs will do the trick!
With the Manchester United v Tottenham game still to come Monday evening, it was a good weekend for home-bred players, with 8/20 (40%) of all goals scored coming from Englishmen.
Not surprisingly the majority source of goals over the first two weeks has been English-born players, who have claimed almost a third of all goals scored so far. What’s possibly less surprising is that Republic of Ireland is next in the list with 5 goals (13%).
Spare a thought for County Tipperary’s Shane Long of West Bromwich Albion. The former Reading striker has scored against ManchesterUnited and Chelsea in his first two games for his new club who have yet to garner a point from two close encounters.
Amazingly, Long’s goal on Saturday against Chelsea is the only one to come in the first 10 minutes of a game so far. Other Irishmen to hit the target – Wes Hoolihan (Norwich City), and the Wolves pair, Stephen Ward and Kevin Doyle.
South Americans have also contributed as many goals as the Irish. As well as the more familiar names of Man City’s Aguero and Liverpool’s Suarez, there was an opening day debut goal for a less well-known Argentinian, Mauro Formica at North-West neighbours Blackburn Rovers.
Trinidadian Kenwyne Jones of Stoke gets this week’s award for the “Late, Late, Show” with his 94th min equalising goal at Norwich City, who must have thought they had done just about enough to hold on for their first win back in the top flight. There was a first Premier League goal for Belgium’s Ritchie de Laet in that game, a happier moment than last week’s when he gave away a penalty resulting in the goal which secured Wigan a point.
If De Laet, a few months shy of 23, is the youngest player to score this season so far, then evergreen Kevin Davies at 34 is the oldest, adding to his record Bolton EPL tally with a valiant header against Man City on Sunday. It counted for nothing however as the City billionaires did enough to win 3-2.
At 20, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey has a claim he probably doesn’t wish to promote, but could contest de Laet in being the youngest EPL scorer this season. He was precisely, and unluckily, in the wrong place at the wrong time to gift Liverpool their opener at The Emirates on Saturday.
Six players from different countries have all hit a pair of goals so far – Aguero (Arg), Suarez (Uru), Long (Ire), Silva (Spa), Klasnic (Cro) and Dzeko (Bos). Three City men, and not an Englishman on the board. What odds Wayne Rooney to become a 4th Manchester player on the list, and hoist the flag for the English goal-getters. A goal Monday night against Spurs will do the trick!
