It was quite a weekend for Premier League bogeymen. Chelsea’s Didier Drogba continued his merciless tormenting of Arsenal by taking his record to 12 goals in 12 games against them, Birmingham City’s Kevin Phillips scored his 8th and 9th goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers to seal the points in the Midlands derby at St Andrew’s, while Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt added another derby winner to the decisive braces he scored at Goodison Park earlier this season and in 2007. Sport.co.uk looks at ten other players who have opposition fans shaking their heads and lamenting the fact that “he ALWAYS scores against us!”…
1. Wayne Rooney vs Arsenal – The Manchester United forward’s excellent run and finish at the Emirates last week confirmed his status alongside Drogba as Scourge of the Gunners. His spectacular first league goal for Everton ended the 30-game unbeaten run that Arsenal boasted at the time and he scored against them in the return game at Highbury in the same season. He then joined United and won the controversial penalty that ended the 49-game unbeaten run of Arsene Wenger’s famous “Invincibles” (before going on to score himself in the last minute) and he has carried on this footballing beef ever since.
2. Tim Cahill vs Sunderland – Everton’s Australian talisman opened the scoring in the Toffees’ recent 2-0 win against Steve Bruce’s Black Cats, striking the latest blow for an opposition against whom he scored an FA Cup semi-final winner in 2004, a goal in an FA Cup tie for Everton the following season, a last-minute winner at the Stadium of Light the following season and a brace in a 7-1 win at Goodison Park in 2007.
3. Danny Murphy vs Manchester United – The veteran Fulham midfielder scored in the Cottagers’ 3-0 over the Red Devils in December, adding to the remarkable hat-trick of winners he scored at Old Trafford for Liverpool in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
4. Louis Saha vs West Ham United – Everton’s French striker scored a fabulous goal out of the blue at Upton Park earlier this season as the Toffees ran out 2-1 winners. Last season, he grabbed two goals and an assist in the last ten minutes as David Moyes’ side came from behind to win 3-1 at the same ground, before Saha scored another brace in another 3-1 win in the return match at Goodison.
5. Michael Owen vs Manchester City – The Manchester United striker’s 96th-minute winner against City at Old Trafford earlier this season rubbed more salt into a wound which has also had to withstand a hat-trick for Liverpool at Maine Road in 2002 and, well, goals on pretty much every other time that he’s played them. West Ham have also felt the brunt of the former England man’s goalscoring prowess on more occasions than they would argue is really necessary.
6. Kevin Davies vs West Ham United – The Hammers’ are simply a bogeyman’s dream: Bolton Wanderers target man Davies had scored 7 goals in 7 games against them prior to this season.
7. Paul Scharner vs Everton – Along with West Ham, Everton are the bogeyman’s natural prey. If years of succumbing to Ian Rush and Les Ferdinand wasn’t painful enough, Wigan Athletic’s Austrian defender has scored against them on no less than four occasions and, when the two clubs met at the DW Stadium recently, there was a surreal sense of anticipation when Scharner was thrown on as a sub, given how little he is generally known for his goalscorer’s touch.
8. Emmanuel Adebayor vs Tottenham Hotspur - Manchester City’s Ivorian striker scored 8 goals in north London derbies against Spurs during his time at Arsenal.
9. Darren Ambrose vs Watford – The Crystal Palace playmaker has scored in every fixture home and away against the Hornets since 2007, a run which extended into its 5th game when he scored a double in a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park in November.
10. Darren Bent vs Bolton Wanderers – The former Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur striker marked his Sunderland debut in August with the winner at the Reebok Stadium, a stadium at which he scored twice for Spurs last season. He also scored both goals in a 2-0 win against the Trotters for Charlton in 2006.