Top 10 No.9s

This top 10 might as well be called the top 10 strikers or top 10 centre forwards as those kind of players are often referred to as no.9s.

The role of a no.9 has changed a lot in recent years as they're now being asked to do more than just score goals in that they're being asked to be involved with the build up and work hard without the ball.

We do still have the out and out no.9 who teams get the ball up to straightaway and it's Erling Haaland who brought that kind of player back into fashion with the impact he's made since he's been at Man City.

But a lot of no.9s these days are more involved with the build up play and do more without the ball.

The Premier League has seen many great no.9's over the years and there is a long list of them. Anyone of them could've made the list.

But I believe that I have the best 10 of them on the list and here it is:

Alan Shearer

Harry Kane

Wayne Rooney

Sergio Aguero

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Andy Cole

Thierry Henry

Robbie Fowler

Erling Haaland

Didier Drogba

10. Robbie Fowler

Fowler was a goal scoring machine when he was at Liverpool and especially during his early years as he scored goals at an incredible rate.

He was a striker who was quick, agile, and could score a variety of goals including headers, volleys and strikers both in and outside the box.

He showed a lot of promise during those early years at Liverpool after breaking into the first team but his career soon began to dip because of injuries.

Injuries hampered him for the majority of his career and it was probably because of that blistering pace he had which can result in a player picking up a lot of injuries.

His game time at Liverpool decreased towards the end of his time there with injuries being the likely reason as his goal returns dropped and his starting place was taken by Emile Heskey.

9. Didier Drogba

Drogba changed the role of a no.9 in this country by being able to play up front on his own which very few teams were doing at the time he arrived.

He had everything you wanted from a centre forward in that he was big, powerful, strong, good in the air, had pace, and could score almost any kind of goal.

Very few defenders could handle him on his day because pf his size and presence and he was also a man for the big occasion as he always turned up in the big games.

He scored 104 goals across two spells at Chelsea and he was an integral part of the side that won those back-to-back titles under Jose Mourinho and the team that won the title under Carlo Ancelotti.

8. Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Van Nistelrooy was a predator in the box when he was at Man United as he was always in the right place at the right time to score goals and many of them.

A number of people have described him as a box player as he always remained in and around the six yard box hoping for the ball to come into him before scoring the goals.

He scored all kinds of goals throughout his time at United and at an incredible rate too with his 10 game scoring streak during the 2003-04 season being an example of that.

He was also a player with pace, first class movement and strength and all of them were what made him an effective goal scorer.

He won the golden boot in the 2002/03 season scoring 25 goals and all of them were key in Man United winning the title that season.

7. Erling Haaland

Haaland hasn't been in the Premier League for very long, but he's already put himself among the greatest strikers the Premier League with the amount he's scored and the rate he's scored them at.

He scored a record breaking 36 goals in his first season which won him the golden boot and he bagged another one the following season where he netted 27 times.

He looks set to add a third to his collection this season as he's been in fine form and is currently leading the goal charts with 14 for the season.

He's just one goal shy of 100 Premier League goals and if he can stay in the Premier League for the next few seasons and beyond, he could potentially break Alan Shearer's all-time goal record.

6. Andy Cole

Cole was one of the finest finishers the Premier League seen because of his ability to score a variety of goals including chipped shots, strikes both in and outside the box and volleys.

As well as his goal scoring abilities, he was a player who was agile, quick and could create chances for other players.

He won the golden boot in his very first season in the Premier League with Newcastle in the 1993/94 season where he netted a then-record breaking 34 goals.

He became one of the best strikers in the league for a number of years at Man United where he won five Premier League titles and scored the majority of his goals.

The goals he scored for United played a key role in every title winning team he was part of including the 1999 treble winning season where he formed an incredible partnership with Dwight Yorke.

5. Wayne Rooney

Rooney is one of the greatest strikers that England have ever produced as he could score a variety of goals, would track back to help his team out defensively, was good in the air and could also create chances for his teammates.

But I don't think his career has been given the respect it deserves when you look at the amount of goals he's scored and the trophies he's won.

He won everything on offer at Man United including five Premier League titles and is also United's record goal scorer with 253 goals.

But he's never been held in the same high regards as some of the great strikers in the game despite being the player he was.

He showed so much potential when he started out as a 16 year old at Everton and he went on to fulfil that potential at United where he had some career.

4. Harry Kane

Kane did have his doubters early on in his career following some difficult loan spells which led to a lot of people believing that he was never going to make it.

But that all changed when Mauricio Pochettino took over at Spurs as it was under Pochettino where he finally got his chance and developed into one of the best strikers in Europe.

He would later go on to become an all-round forward as did like to drop deep and create chances for his teammates as well as score goals towards the end of his time at Spurs.

He's currently second on the all-time Premier League goal charts with 213 goals and a winner of three golden boots in 2016, 2017 and 2021 respectively.

3. Sergio Aguero

Aguero took Man City onto the next level when he arrived by taking them from being a top four challenging team to a team that could challenge for the title.

He proved that in his first season as he scored 24 goals to help City win their first Premier League with his dramatic late winner against QPR on the final day being the goal that won City the title.

He continued to prove it over the next number of seasons as he scored 20+ goals in five of the next nine seasons and won four more Premier League titles with his goals playing a key role in each of them.

He was the best striker in the Premier League on his day because of the amount of goals he scored and variety of goals he could score as well.

He was an integral part of the success City achieved during the early years of the Abu Dhabi ownership because of the goals he scored.

2. Alan Shearer

Shearer as all of you probably know is the record Premier League goal scorer with 260 goals and he's had that record for many years now.

He was one of the finest marksmen of his generation as he was good in the air, could hold the ball up, strong and could score a variety of goals including headers, volleys and strikes both in and outside the box.

He was a clinical finisher for both Blackburn and Newcastle as the stats can back up and it was with Blackburn where he won the Premier League title in 1995.

He formed an effective strike partnership with Chris Sutton that season which along with his goals played a key role in Rovers winning the title.

1. Thierry Henry

Henry had to be my no.1 because for me he's the greatest no.9 in Premier League history as he could both create and score goals.

He's won more golden boots than any other striker with four and he also holds the record for most assists in a season with 20 from the 2002/03 season which he currently shares with Kevin De Bruyne.

He was one of the greatest players of his generation as he was quick, agile, could link up with teammates and could score a variety of goals.

He won three Premier League titles at Arsenal where his goals played a key role in every single one and especially during the Invincibles season where he netted 30 times.

He also formed a very good striker partnership with Dennis Bergkamp which is one of the greatest striker partnership in Premier League history.

MY TOP 10:

1. Thierry Henry

2. Alan Shearer

3. Sergio Aguero

4. Harry Kane

5. Wayne Rooney

6. Andy Cole

7. Erling Haaland

8. Ruud Van Nistelrooy

9. Didier Drogba

10. Robbie Fowler