A new study has shown the counties in England which have produced the most footballers who have scored at least 200 goals for English football league clubs over the years.
Researchers at Bookmakers compiled a list of 103 English-born footballers who have scored 200+ goals in their careers for English clubs (including in the Premier League and English Football League) and then looked into where they were born. And Greater Manchester-born players top the list, with 11 of the players born in the city-region featuring in the rankings.
The Greater Manchester-born players include: Jimmy Hampson, who was born in Little Hulton and scored a total of 290 goals for Nelson and Blackpool; David Jack who was from Bolton and scored 267, most of them for Bolton Wanderers and latterly Arsenal; Geoff Hurst who hailed from Ashton-under-Lyne and scored 228, most of them for West Ham; Francis ‘Franny’ Lee, who also hailed from Bolton and netted 228, primarily for Manchester City between 1967-74, and Manchester-born Peter Dobing on 208 goals, including 31 for Manchester City between 1961-63.
Here, we take a look at the top 10 highest English-born goalscorers and where they all came from.
1. Arthur Rowley, 434 goals
A Midlands football legend, Arthur Rowley is a true great. Nicknamed “The Gunner” because of his explosive left-foot shot, he holds the record for the most goals in the history of English league football, scoring 434 from 619 games. Born in Wolverhampton, he played for West Brom, Leicester City and Shrewsbury Town
2. Dixie Dean, 379 goals
Born in Birkenhead, Dixie Dean is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time. He won the first division with Everton, and is still the only player in English football to score 60 league goals in one season
3. Jimmy Greaves, 357 goals
Jimmy Greaves is England’s fifth-highest international goalscorer with 44 goals, which includes an English record of six hat-tricks, and is Tottenham Hotspur’s second-highest all-time top goalscorer, behind Harry Kane. Greaves is the highest goalscorer in the history of English top-flight football with 357 goals. Photo: na
4. Steve Bloomer, 352 goals
Widely regarded as Derby County’s greatest ever player, Worcestershire-born Steve Bloomer helped the Rams to three league titles.