Saido Berahino And The Premier League's Most Infamous Goal Droughts

Saido Berahino And The Premier League's Most Infamous Goal Droughts
11:32, 23 Oct 2017

Saido Berahino can’t buy a goal at the moment. Two weeks ago he was recalled to the starting line-up for Stoke and won his side a penalty, which he elected to take. Fraser Forster guessed the right way and palmed his effort to safety. As if to highlight his failings, and make matters worse, Berahino was replaced by Peter Crouch in the second half, who then tapped home the winner.

It was painful to watch and Berahino hasn’t scored a competitive goal since February 27, 2016, when he helped West Bromwich Albion to victory over Crystal Palace. Although he’s missed a lot of football for various reasons in the intervening period, it’s now 33 appearances without finding the net, 19 of which have been for Stoke, and 31 hours and 33 minutes of goalless action in total. On Saturday he was unable to make an impression after a brief cameo coming off the bench.

What may be of some comfort to Berahino is that he isn’t alone in suffering a barren spell, particularly after joining a new club. Valued for their composure in front of goal, even the best of strikers can start to feel the pressure and begin snatching at chances they would ordinarily stick away with ease. Here are just a few of the Premier League’s most infamous goal droughts.

Fernando Torres – Chelsea

In the Roman Abramovich era, Chelsea have always been prone to a vanity purchase. With so many millions at their disposal, they can afford to indulge their owner’s whims. Sometimes just being seen to make waves in the transfer market, to tempt away another club’s prize possession simply because you can, is enough. As Abramovich’s cartoon equivalent Mr Burns once remarked, ‘What good is money if it can't inspire terror in your fellow man?’

Andriy Shevchenko was the most notable example of the Chelsea owner needlessly flexing his financial muscle, foisting an elite but not especially well-suited striker onto an uncompromising manager. He became symbolic of their divided purpose, straining relations with Jose Mourinho even further, particularly as Abramovich’s pet project played infrequently and often struggled when he did.

Fernando Torres was another such statement of intent. A £50million signing from Liverpool famed for his lightning speed and explosive finishing, he was awkward and leaden-footed throughout his time at Chelsea. He went 14 games without a goal for his new club, the weight of expectation dragging him down. Torres finally scored as a late substitute against West Ham but, despite winning plenty of trophies in West London, he was a shadow of his former self.

Diego Forlan – Manchester United

In many respects, the Uruguayan is a classic case of ‘what might have been’. Forlan travelled to England in January 2002 expecting to negotiate terms with Middlesbrough upon arrival, but ended up signing for Manchester United instead. Alex Ferguson hijacked the deal at the last moment and the lure of Old Trafford and Champions League football was impossible to resist.

In the remainder of that first season, Forlan played 18 times in all competitions without scoring. He became a target for tabloid mockery and the pressure grew. A penalty was required to get off the mark against Maccabi Haifa but it wasn’t until 26th October, nine months after joining, that he found the net for the first time in the Premier League. He was mobbed by teammates after equalising at home to Aston Villa.

There would be just 17 goals in total for United, including a memorable match-winning brace at Anfield, and he left for Villarreal as something of a joke figure. Yet Forlan proved himself spectacularly in Spain, twice claiming the European Golden Shoe and becoming one of the deadliest strikers in world football. Sometimes a change of scenery is all that’s needed.

Peter Crouch – Liverpool

If anyone can sympathise with Saido Berahino’s current situation, it’s Peter Crouch. He may have more than 100 Premier League goals to his name without ever being truly prolific, but for a while he floundered terribly. Some impressive form in Southampton’s relegation season had earned him a move to Liverpool.

The step up in standard, and added scrutiny of his performances, took some getting used to. Given his height and slender frame, Crouch has always been an unusually conspicuous footballer but he stood out for all the wrong reasons as he toiled in front of goal. He even repeated Berahino’s trick of missing a penalty, although Boudewijn Zenden atoned by heading in the rebound.

The drought was ended with a brace against Wigan in December. There were doubts over whether he would be credited with the first, which took a deflection and was then inexplicably helped over the line by the goalkeeper, but he demonstrated great technique to lob in the second.

Ade Akinbiyi – Leicester City

Much mocked during his two years in the Premier League with Leicester, it’s easy to forget just how devastating Akinbiy was when he first broke through in the lower divisions. Not quite up to scratch at the top level, where more subtlety was needed, his pace and power could be unstoppable against lesser opposition.

Sixteen goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers, on the back of 19 the season before for Bristol City, earned him a £5.5million move to the Foxes, where he was intended to replace the departing Emile Heskey. The supporters turned on him a couple of months into his second season as the misses racked up, with boos ringing around Filbert Street following a particularly wasteful display against Liverpool.

Akinbiyi was seized on by the tabloids as the worst striker in the Premier League after that, a tag he found difficult to shake. He never went hiding though and the seven-month goalless spell was ended with a close-range finish to beat Sunderland and briefly lift Leicester out of the bottom three. He tore off his shirt and ran to the touchline in delight.

Helder Postiga – Tottenham Hotspur

Back in 2003, Tottenham were a completely different animal. Right now they are genuine title contenders built around a nucleus of exciting young players, but 14 years ago it couldn’t have been much different. Under Glenn Hoddle they were a decidedly middling team with some overpaid but underperforming players.

Tottenham had dabbled with a promising foreign striker before. Sergei Rebrov came with excellent credentials and a stellar scoring record for Dynamo Kiev but failed to adapt to the Premier League after signing for a club record fee. Unfortunately for all concerned, Helder Postiga fared much worse.

A Portuguese international who’d scored 18 goals in his final season for Porto, he registered just twice for Tottenham. His first came in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, before he eventually broke his league duck in January 2004, helping Spurs to a 2-1 win over Liverpool at White Hart Lane. Unfortunately for England fans he found his scoring touch ahead of the Euros, equalising during normal time and converting his penalty in the shoot-out to help Portugal progress.

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