Short Term Memories, Bias and Goals

This past week the results of a poll undertaken by the English Premier League to find the "best goal in the competition, ever" were released. The goal which gained the most votes was the one scored by Wayne Rooney with this bicycle kick vs Manchester City, only last year.

Voted by the public, with no limit on the number of times each person could vote- the award turns into a biased popularity contest like the "Idol" series or the NBA All-Star game. Remember earlier this year when Yao Ming- the Chinese basketball behemoth-  led all votes for the NBA Western All-Star line-up despite retiring the year before! It does help when you have a large population base to vote you in every year regardless of injury or retirement, doesn't it?

In this age of social media and the internet, public voting cannot be seen as the foolproof way of judging "officially"who the "definitive" winners are. The selection of Rooney's goal also highlighted the human tendency to have short memory spans. The fact that Rooney's goal is only a year old and there have been A LOT of great goals in the EPL's history suggests that the votes came from teenagers who don't even remember what they had for breakfast let alone who Denis Bergkamp or Alan Shearer are.

Back to the Rooney's goal, don't get me wrong, it is a fantastic goal but it's not even his best one in the EPL. I regard this volley from him a couple of years back as his best. To collect a high ball so sweetly and truly I believe required far more skill than the bicycle kick, even though it may not be as aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

The following are my personal top ten goals of the EPL to date ranked from ten to one. Links to goals are the names.

10- Robin Van Persie-Arsenal- Volley vs Charlton Athletic 2006

We start with 'The Flying Dutchman' who caught this low cross so sweetly with his left foot that even though the ball didn't go past the keeper by much he never stood a chance. To sprint in and connect so well requires a lot of control and timing, traits which Van Persie continues to show in the EPL.

9-Eric Cantona-Manchester United- Chip over keeper vs Sunderland 1996

This goal for me is just as much about the celebration as it is about the goal itself by the majestic Frenchman. The perfect chip over the keeper is followed by Cantona just standing still, chest puffed out looking at the crowd saying to them "I am fabulous, no?" It was even re-enacted very realistically in this Oscar award winning film a couple of years later. The goal sums up Cantona's personality so well, panache tinged with arrogance-a true Frenchman.

8-Alan Shearer- Newcastle- Volley vs Everton 2002

Great volley from arguably the greatest player to play for Newcastle. Great power, enough said.

7- Tony Yeboah- Leeds United- Half-Volley Comet vs Wimbledon 1994

Now I have a couple of confessions to make.
a) I love watching and taking powerful shots in football.
b)I had never heard of Tony Yeboah.

Its a shame that I haven't been able to appreciate the powerful Ghanaian until now because he has scored some great goals in the EPL. Known for his powerful shots (surprise?!?) this was his best, faking the defender out and then winding up for the shot well outside the box onto the bottom of the crossbar. Love it!

6- Steven Gerrard- Liverpool- Downtown Half-Volley vs Middlesbrough 2004

Being a Liverpool and Stevie G fan I had to put his best EPL goal in here. Gerrard has scored his fair share of long range goals but he hit this one so sweetly, curling in from left to right from 35 metres out. A total beast goal.

5- Paprise Cisse- Newcastle- Incredible curling half-volley wonder goal vs Chelsea 2012

This happened a week and a half ago and I believe is one of  the top 5 EPL goals straight away. See my other post where I covered it. The angle is so tight and Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper from the Czech Republic (convenient?), is a very good keeper as he showed in the FA cup final last weekend. To beat him on that angle was astounding.


4- Thierry Henry- Arsenal- Flick, Turn, Shoot, Repeat vs Manchester United 2000

Thierry Henry was known for his flamboyant, explosive style of play and this goal sums it all up. Back to the goal, he has the presence of mind to flick it up, swivel and then kick with the same foot a volley into the top right corner- all with a defender draped over him. The speed of it catches my attention, blink and you could miss it.

3-Paolo Di Canio- West Ham United- Kung Fu Volley vs Wimbledon 2000

Paolo Di Canio- what a personality first and foremost. The Italian has been a very perplexing figure, a self proclaimed fascist, he has been sent off for pushing refs and winning a fair play award for a deliberate handball to stop play for an injured opposition player. He was still a genius on the football field and this goal typifies him. With a cross coming in he leaves his feet before the ball arrives and kung fu kicks the ball into the goal expertly like he does it every other day. Even the way he celebrates with team-mates is classic- "give me your applause! C'mon you know I am the best!". What a player. What a goal.

2- Matthew Le Tissier- Southhampton- Juggling act vs Newcastle 1993

The finish was vanilla but the lead up to be in that situation was sublime. Le Tissier was a goal scoring machine in the early days of the EPL. Blessed with great touch and feel for the game, this allowed him to beat multiple players with ease as in this case. Three juggling touches and he beats three defenders into the box where the goalkeeper is stranded. Stunner.

1- Denis Bergkamp- Arsenal- ?!?!?!?! shot vs Newcastle 2002

When you watch this goal the first couple of times you still can't fathom how he does this! People claim that it happened by accident but that is very short sighted I believe and does Bergkamp a disservice. He was a brilliant striker for Arsenal and Holland and had the knack of getting goals from unlikely positions. I don't think he planned to do it until the ball was coming towards him, it just happened, a moment of genuis. Realising that where the defender was positioned Bergkamp taps the ball past him one way while spinning the other. A truly astonishing and unique goal which I believe should be called the best EPL goal to date.


Well there is my top ten to date, I would love to hear your comments and views on the topic. What is your favourite goal? What kind of goals do you like?