Scoring is hard enough as it is, let alone when you don't have penalties to aid your record - but not for this Premier League marksman
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992, 34 players have entered into the exclusive 100 club by scoring a century of goals - but only two have ever done so without taking a penalty in the English top flight: Les Ferdinand and Emile Heskey.
While Sadio Mane, Peter Crouch and Andy Cole all bagged 100 times for their respective clubs without a penalty goal on their record, all three also missed from 12 yards on one occasion each in the Premier League. That, therefore, leaves just Ferdinand and Heskey part of an even more exclusive club than the 100 club.
Heskey didn't need penalties to boost his record (Image credit: Getty Images)
"First and foremost, scoring 100 goals in the Premier League is not an easy feat - there's only a select few people that have achieved that, which is fabulous," Heskey tells FourFourTwo on behalf of luckyblock.com. "But to do it where I'm not taking any penalties is a bit more special."
The former England striker explains that he never got handed the responsibility because an established penalty taker already existed at each of the clubs he moved to. Apart from the occasional shootout - or League Cup fixture - Heskey had to settle for a spectating role on the pitch when it came to penalties.
"I came into the Leicester side very young: I was 17 at the time. We had the likes of Gary Parker, all these established players. I wasn't going to go, at 17, 'I'm going to take the penalties, shut up and leave me to it'. You've got to fall into place and then it just carried on from there.
Les Ferdinand is the only other player to hit 100 Premier League goals without taking a penalty (Image credit: Getty Images)
"I was just happy to be part of a winning team and I didn't get many opportunities to take a penalty. I took one in a shootout in the League Cup against Arsenal, and I also missed one [for Liverpool] against Blackburn in the League Cup as well, but that was it.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"Being in the 100 club without taking a penalty is certainly a nice thing to have."
Emile Heskey was speaking to FourFourTwo on behalf of luckyblock.com.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
