The Premier League's streets will certainly never forget this half-century of cult heroes, who we still adore almost two decades on
40. Jermain Defoe
Defoe celebrates after scoring against Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)
Defoe came of age just as Barclays were getting their teeth into the Premier League – and by the time he hung up his boots in 2022 he was nestled into the top ten all-time leading goalscorers in Premier League history, one shy of Robbie Fowler in ninth place.
The bulk of these goals came during two stints with Tottenham, where he remains one of the fans’ most popular players of the modern era. He was also a regular in the England set-up, netting 20 goals in 57 Three Lions appearances.
39. Peter Crouch
Peter Crouch scores a scissor kick for Liverpool (Image credit: Getty)
The man who inspired more cliches than any other player in the 2000s, 42-time England international Crouch could have become one of the defining players of the ‘Barclaysmen’ era… were it not for becoming a household name in retirement.
Whether it was his ability to utilise his ‘good touch for a big man’ or his ‘Plan B’ differential abilities, Crouch delivered the goods for Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Spurs, and Stoke in the Premier League, while on the international front he introduced the robot dance to a whole new generation.
38. Dimitar Berbatov
Berbatov in action for Spurs (Image credit: Getty)
“There is a saying in Bulgaria - great quality doesn’t require much effort,” Dimitar Berbatov told the Mirror in 2011 and who are we to argue?
Depending on your point of view, the Bulgarian forward’s laconic style meant he was either lazy or a technical genius. If you watch back the former Tottenham, Manchester United and Fulham forward’s greatest goals now, then you’ll no doubt opt for the latter: if we ever come back as a footballer in a future life, we want to be like him.
37. Djibril Cisse
Djibril Cisse while at Liverpool (Image credit: Alamy)
Former Liverpool striker Cisse – or Lord of the Manor of Frodsham as he was known after his purchase of a manor house in Cheshire – arrived in the Premier League in 2004 to much hype. And that was just from the region’s hairdressers…
A gruesome leg break suffered just three months into his Liverpool career stalled his progress, but the Frenchman returned before the end of the 2004/05 season to feature in the famous Champions League win over Milan. He would only last two seasons at Anfield before heading back to France with Marseille but did return to the Premier League in 2011 for an 18-month spell with QPR.
36. James Beattie
James Beattie in action for Southampton (Image credit: Getty Images)
James Beattie and his frosted tips epitomised the ‘Barclaysman’ era, with the striker bursting onto the scene after completing the ‘Reverse Shearer’ in moving from Blackburn Rovers to Southampton. He would net 91 Premier League goals during top-flight stints with Saints, Everton and then Stoke City.
The Lancaster-born forward had power, strength, was comfortable on the ball and had a deadly right foot and would win five England caps, but was unable to usurp Emile Heskey from the role of the traditional centre-forward in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s team. Beattie went into coaching after hanging up his boots and after a year-long spell at Accrington Stanely, he joined up with Garry Monk and was part of his backroom staff at Swansea, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday.
35. Amr Zaki
Amr Zaki while at Wigan (Image credit: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Having used players from seemingly every other country on earth, Wigan finally did the reasonable thing and turned to a loanee from Egyptian giants Zamalek by bringing in Zaki for the 2008/09.
Zaki’s persistent refusal to return home from international duty on time drove Steve Bruce around the bend (like a twisted flax), extraordinarily leading the manager to say in a club statement, "I just feel it's time that we went public on just what a nightmare he has been to deal with because I can honestly say that in all my time in football I have never worked with someone as unprofessional.”
Still… Zaki got ten goals in 29 Premier League appearances to help Wigan finish 11th, so… worth it? (He later played for Hull, but there was absolutely nothing notable about that six-game spell.)
34. Kevin Phillips
Kevin Phillips scores for Sunderland (Image credit: PA)
The fact Kevin Phillips didn’t actually make the Premier League 100 club (ending up with 92 goals overall) made him easier to include on this list. That would have made the former Sunderland great too polished, maybe a little mainstream.
The only Englishman to win the Premier League golden boot between Michael Owen in 1999 and Harry Kane in 2016, 26-year-old Phillips stunned everyone in 1999/2000 by smashing in 30 goals for newly-promoted Sunderland to help them finish 7th. Phillips was never able to reach those kinds of numbers again, but nonetheless remained a reliable goalscorer for Sunderland and then Southampton, earning eight England caps along the way.
The striker spent the rest of his career specialising in helping sides get promoted from the Championship but not always following them up. West Brom, Birmingham, Crystal Palace and finally Leicester benefited from exactly that service, before Phillips finally hung up his boots in 2014, aged 40.
33. Kevin Nolan
Kevin Nolan arguing with Howard Webb (Image credit: Getty)
There is probably nobody more Bolton Wanderers or more Sam Allardyce than Nolan, who came through the club’s youth system just in time to enjoy – and play a key part in – their rise to a lengthy and successful Premier League spell. Bolton brought in flair players to help them on their way, but bruising goalscoring midfielder Nolan was the player it was built around.
His best goalscoring form actually came at Newcastle, though, for whom he scored 29 times across two seasons (one in the Championship, one in the Premier League) before joining West Ham. He repeated the trick there, helping Allardyce’s side get promoted with 12 goals and then helping them establish themselves in mid-table with a further ten.
32. Youri Djorkaeff
Youri Djorkaeff upon signing for Bolton (Image credit: Alamy)
Youri Djorkaeff’s career took him to some of the most glamorous cities on the planet. Monaco, Paris, Milan, New York and… Bolton.
The anti-Nolan, as he was in many ways, had already claimed World Cup and Euros gold with France when he made the unlikely move to the Reebok Stadium in 2002 aged 33.
For two and a half seasons, Djorkaeff served as the link between Bolton’s more muscular players and their more creative stars – as well as chipping in with goals at a rate of roughly one every four games. At Blackburn, he could barely last longer than an hour. He still had class.
31. Ali Al-Habsi
Al-Habsi in goal for Wigan against Southampton (Image credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
You are a true streets-won’t-forget Premier League player if you’re the only player from your country to have played in England’s top flight. Still the Premier League’s only Omani, Al-Habsi had spells at Bolton, Brighton, Reading and West Bromwich Albion but is best remembered for his time at Wigan Athletic.
Despite Wigan’s overall poor defensive record, the goalkeeper was particularly useful to have in Fantasy Premier League thanks to his penalty-saving ability. Al-Habsi kept out six spot kicks in 111 top-flight outings, ranking him among a lot of much better-tenured stoppers in the all-time Premier League table. Naturally, that means Wigan’s player of the season for 2010/11 makes our list.
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For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
