… revealed in the fascinating trends and statistics below
The bookmakers seem to agree on the 15 leading contenders to be next season’s Premier League top-scorer. they are:
Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Robinho, Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Dimitar Berbatov, Jermain Defoe, Carlos Tevez, Andrei Arshavin, Frank Lampard and Roque Santa Cruz.
Through a process of elimination, our stat-lovin’ friends at chickendinner have discovered that Nicolas Anelka will not successfully defend his top scorer award, and the eventual winner is quite surprising.
Here it comes…
Over the last decade Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2000-01) is the only player to have won it in his first season with a new club. That rules out: Michael Owen, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz
The last nine winners were all playing for a Big Four side. That rules out: Robinho, Jermain Defoe
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to have been Premier League top-scorer without always playing as an out-and-out striker. That rules out: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrei Arshavin
The last British top-scorer was Kevin Phillips in 1999-00. That rules out: Wayne Rooney
Still standing: Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Robin van
Manchester Utd star isn’t exactly lacking in self confidence
When Cristiano Ronaldo told us all how much he deserved the Golden Boot, it was quite clear that he had slain the dragon named humility. Following Manchester City’s failure to capture Kaka, the tricky winger has categorised himself as a “special” player, capable of commanding a transfer fee of over £100m:
“Special players are maybe worth that. I agree with that. When you are good, when you are a special player, you are more expensive than the other ones. That’s normal.
“It’s like cars. Some cars are better than others, that’s why they’re more expensive. It’s the same with players. But this is only my opinion.”
After his expert explanation of why things that are better cost more, Mr Ronaldo went on to give himself a rating out of ten:
“I can’t say 10, so nine.
“I think I can improve all the time. 10 is the maximum and I haven’t reached the maximum yet, so I’d give myself nine. I hope 10 out of 10 is to come. I believe it will.
And finally, C-Ron gave us an insight intohis greatest struggle in life - living up to his own brilliance:
“I’ll try to be as good as I was last season but it’s hard.”
People talk about dog years, or leap years, but time never drags quite like the months between football seasons. Grown men wander around shoe shops on Saturday afternoons, totally lost and alone. People aren’t sure whether they should be punching each other in the face or not during evenings out, so nights on the town are just one awkward stand off after another.
Thank the sweet baby Moses, then, for our great pals over at Chickendinner. They’ve decided to hell with all this waiting around stuff, and have kicked off the football betting season already. Click the links below for a world of informative fun.
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