90's Premier League Strikers

[Nero]

The Independent has an article highlighting the quality of English Strikers in the Premier League in the mid-90's. It's easy to forget and was certainly a top generation:

Alan Shearer
Ian Wright
Andy Cole
Les Ferdinand
Teddy Sheringham
Robbie Fowler
Stan Collymore

All genuinely top players. It is at times hard to understand why England has such a dismal International Tournament record.

 

[atypical_boro]

The Independent has an article highlighting the quality of English Strikers in the Premier League in the mid-90's. It's easy to forget and was certainly a top generation:

Alan Shearer
Ian Wright
Andy Cole
Les Ferdinand
Teddy Sheringham
Robbie Fowler
Stan Collymore

All genuinely top players. It is at times hard to understand why England has such a dismal International Tournament record.

I often wonder this.

The thing people forget, though, is that while those players seemed great compared to the rest of England, none of them ever really tested themselves abroad and none had major, sustained success in European competition except probably Cole at the end of the 90s.

Shearer obviously had a great Euro 96 but only really had one good major international tournament.

The PL was so far behind Serie A and to some extent La Liga at the time, that although these players were good, they weren’t all really proven to be top level/world class.

That’s my theory anyway.

 

[WeeGord]

David Hirst was excellent too, though sadly his abysmal injury record meant he never reached the heights he perhaps could have.

 

[petrio]

There was also Lineker at the start of the 90s, Owen at the end. You also had the likes of Sutton, Rat Boy Phillips etc. The lack of tournament success was down to quite a few factors e.g. Graham Taylor who used to pick players like Carlton Palmer to play for England, when there were far better players who he could have picked. As well as this, there were other international teams who were just better than England. There was Germany, Italy, Argentina, Brazil etc..