Ranking the Top 20 Strikers in Premier League History on Their Heading Ability
In scoring the winner against Hull City at the end of February, Stoke City's Peter Crouch equalled a Premier League record.
The giant forward has now scored 46 Premier League goals with his head over his varied career with several different clubs, a total which can only be matched by the division's all-time record goalscorer Alan Shearer.
But who are the other forwards in the division's history who are head and shoulders above the rest?
Let's get ranking.
20. Kevin Campbell
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Like plenty of the other forwards on this list, you wouldn't necessarily call forward Kevin Campbell a archetypal "big man," but his good movement often got him into positions from which he could score plenty of headers.
He managed 22 Premier League goals with his head over a career which included high-profile spells at Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and Everton.
19. James Beattie
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Of James Beattie's 90 Premier League goals, 22 were scored with his head, ensuring the former Southampton and Everton forward was always seen as a tough proposition to play against throughout a career which had its ups and downs.
Beattie earned five England caps without managing to score for his country, but domestically he was usually a force to be reckoned with.
18. John Hartson
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Although more of a legendary figure at Celtic due to five years spent with the Scottish giants, Welsh forward John Hartson also represented four clubs in the Premier League and was a handful in the air for all of them.
Arsenal, West Ham United, Wimbledon and Coventry all benefited from Hartson's robust, largely aerial approach, while he also managed 14 goals for his country during a 10-year international career.
17. Brian Deane
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The first goal in Premier League history was a header, and it was scored by a man who was pretty good in the air.
Brian Deane scored that famous goal for Sheffield United against Manchester United back in 1992, and an impressive 24 of his 70 Premier League strikes came in a similar manner during a career in which he represented Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Leicester City among others.
16. Andy Cole
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Known more for his athleticism and his quickness around the penalty area, Premier League goalscoring legend Andy Cole also amassed 29 strikes with his head during what was a long and successful career at the top level.
Instead of rising above defenders and almost bullying them into submission, Cole instead relied on clever movement and an ability to get into good positions for his headed goals, but they were no less impressive.
15. Teddy Sheringham
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He played a lot more games than he did in the competition, but it is still surprising to see that Teddy Sheringham scored the same amount of Premier League headers as well-known aerial powerhouse Duncan Ferguson (35).
Lauded for his technique and his ability to read a game, Sheringham was nonetheless useful with his head, too, and demonstrated this in the colours of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and others.
14. Robbie Fowler
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One of best and most natural finishers of the modern English game, Liverpool icon Robbie Fowler's primary skills lay in putting the ball in the back of the net using whatever means he could.
Those means included a pretty decent heading ability. He scored 28 times in the Premier League with his head, with one of the most memorable coming in the final minute in the second classic 4-3 thriller between Liverpool and Newcastle United in 1997.
13. Kevin Davies
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Premier League defenders up and down the land still wear the bruises they picked up duelling with forward Kevin Davies, who is most remembered for 10 years at Bolton Wanderers.
An uncompromising, no-nonsense forward, Davies was always giving defenders a hard time and proved to be one of the most physical forwards of the 2000s, scoring 79 Premier League goals for the Trotters.
12. Dwight Yorke
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Lacking the stature of many of the players mentioned here, forward Dwight Yorke nonetheless proved to be pretty potent with his head, scoring 36 times with it in the Premier League.
After coming to prominence with Aston Villa, it was the Trinidadian’s switch to Manchester United in 1998 that really saw him hit the big time, and his partnership with Andy Cole was so vital in United’s historic 1998/99 treble-winning campaign.
11. Emile Heskey
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Tall, powerful and blessed with great power and strength, it was easy to see why many wanted to see more of a goals output from Emile Heskey, but he still managed to score more than 100 goals in the Premier League, including 28 with his head.
One of his most famous headed goals came in the Champions League, however, with his powerful effort proving crucial as he scored the vital goal in Liverpool's 2-0 win over Roma at Anfield back in 2002.
10. Didier Drogba
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One of the catalysts of the modern Chelsea, the sheer power and brute force of Didier Drogba means that he is a nightmare to contend with anywhere on the pitch, and that also includes when the ball is in the air in front of goal.
Drogba's most famous header will forever remain the equalising goal in Chelsea's Champions League final triumph in 2012, a goal which cements his place in his club's legend forever.
9. Mark Viduka
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The term "handful" could have been invented for Mark Viduka in the early 2000s, when he spearheaded the attack of a hugely impressive Leeds United team and was a force to be reckoned with both in the air and on the ground.
The Australian scored 17 Premier League headers and had a leap which was hard to stop if he timed it right.
8. Andy Carroll
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In the current Premier League, there are few forwards who can match the heading ability of West Ham's Andy Carroll who—when fit—can almost be an unplayable force when the ball is in the air.
After coming through at Newcastle and his struggles as a big-money signing for Liverpool, Carroll had shown signs of finding his feet under Sam Allardyce at the Hammers this season before his injury curse sadly struck again.
7. Niall Quinn
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As one half of a successful partnership with Kevin Phillips, Irishman Niall Quinn was a huge success at Sunderland around the turn of the century, while goals for Arsenal and Manchester City also feature on his CV.
Almost 45 per cent of his 58 Premier League goals came via his head, and Quinn was a potent weapon for any team he was a part of.
6. Les Ferdinand
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A veritable Premier League legend, Les Ferdinand scored goals for six different clubs in the Premier League—most notably Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle and Tottenham.
Ferdinand also picked up 17 England caps and used his athleticism to make him a tough proposition to defend against when crosses came into the box, with 43 of his 149 Premier League goals coming from his head.
5. Tim Cahill
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Although not a conventional forward and more of a midfield player, Australian Tim Cahill was a hugely effective attacking weapon during his eight years at Everton and was often used in attack by former Blues boss David Moyes,
He scored 31 Premier League goals with his head prior to a move to the New York Red Bulls in 2012, with his trademark leap and ability to arrive into the box late making him hugely effective for the Merseysiders.
4. Dion Dublin
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An impressive 45 of Dion Dublin’s 111 Premier League goals came via his head, with the forward proving most potent at Coventry City and Aston Villa following an earlier spell in the lower leagues with Cambridge United and then with Manchester United.
Dublin won four caps for England—all in 1998—and was a constant threat to defences due to his power and excellent leap.
3. Peter Crouch
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His height advantage over most opponents makes it a little easier for Peter Crouch to win a header than it is for other forwards, but the former England man has utilised that height well during what has been a successful career.
Crouch scored a Premier League record-equalling 46th headed goal in Stoke’s recent win over Hull, with the Potters just the latest English club to benefit from his aerial ability.
2. Duncan Ferguson
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The only man in Premier League history to score more than half of his goals in the competition with his head (51.47 per cent), Scottish firebrand Duncan Ferguson is a hero on the Goodison Park terraces thanks to goals in two different spells at Everton.
Tall and powerful, Ferguson combined these physical qualities with an almost venomous desire to win, and he was always considered to be one of the toughest opponents that any contemporary defender had to try and contain.
1. Alan Shearer
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The 1990s Premier League was a hotbed of excellent forwards—with many of them English and listed here—but none of them could compare to the competition’s record goalscorer Alan Shearer.
The former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United forward combined powerful shooting, a physical presence and great heading ability to make him one of the most feared forwards in Europe at the time, with 46 of his Premier League goals coming via his head.
All stats are taken from this Mirror article and this list from MyFootballFacts.com.
