Every corner of the country is home to football legends who have gone down in the history books as some of the best – but which county in England has produced the players who have scored the most goals?
Well, the team at Bookmakers have the answers. They have revealed the counties in England which produce footballers that have scored at least 200 goals in the English football league (including Premier League and the Football League).
The team took 103 English footballers who scored 200 goals or more, then researched their birth towns and placed them into a county. These are the counties with the highest numbers:
County |
Number of highest-scoring footballers from the county |
Greater Manchester |
11 |
West Midlands |
10 |
Greater London |
9 |
Tyne and Wear |
8 |
Merseyside |
7 |
South Yorkshire |
7 |
Derbyshire |
6 |
Gloucestershire |
6 |
County Durham |
5 |
North Yorkshire |
3 |
Nottinghamshire |
3 |
Cumbria |
2 |
Hampshire |
2 |
Kent |
2 |
Leicestershire |
2 |
Lincolnshire |
2 |
Northumberland |
2 |
West Yorkshire |
2 |
Wiltshire |
2 |
Bedfordshire |
1 |
Cambridgeshire |
1 |
Cheshire |
1 |
East Riding of Yorkshire |
1 |
Essex |
1 |
Hertfordshire |
1 |
Lancashire |
1 |
Oxfordshire |
1 |
Shropshire |
1 |
Somerset |
1 |
Staffordshire |
1 |
Worcestershire |
1 |
Greater Manchester takes first place as the county with the most footballers to score 200 goals or more, with 11. These include Jimmy Hampson, born in Little Hulton, who scored 290 goals and David Jack, born in Bolton, who scored 260 goals. Other players born in Greater Manchester who have scored more than 200 or more goals include Peter Dobing, Geoff Hurst and Francis Lee.
Ten footballers that have scored 200 goals or more were born in West Midlands, the second highest on the light. These include Arthur “The Gunner” Rowley, born in Wolverhampton and scored 434 goals, and Joe Smith, born in Dudley and scored 315 goals. Other players from West Midlands who have scored more than 200 or more goals include Steve Bull and Bob Latchford.
Nine of the highest-scoring footballers were born in Greater London. Those who have scored 200 or more goals include Harry Morris, who was born in Spitalfields and scored 289 goals and Arthur Chandler, born in Paddington and scored 281 goals. Other top-scoring players born in Greater London include Harry Kane, Ian Wright and Tony Cottee.
Tyne and Wear is in fourth place, with eight footballers. Some of these footballers include Alan Shearer, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, who has scored 283 goals, Pop Robson, born in Sunderland, with 265 and Stan Mortensen, born in South Shields, who has scored 225.
Merseyside and South Yorkshire are tied on seven, while six footballers who have scored 200 or more goals were born in Derbyshire and Gloucestershire.
The team at Bookmakers also analysed which English footballers have scored the most goals ever. Arthur Rowley is the English footballer who has scored the most, with 434 goals throughout his career.
See the complete list below:
Footballer |
Number of goals scored |
Birthplace (town/city) |
Birthplace (County) |
Arthur Rowley |
434 |
Wolverhampton |
West Midlands |
Dixie Dean |
379 |
Birkenhead |
Merseyside |
Jimmy Greaves |
357 |
Manor Park |
Essex |
Steve Bloomer |
352 |
Cradley |
Worcestershire |
George Camsell |
345 |
Framwellgate Moor |
County Durham |
John Aldridge |
329 |
Liverpool |
Merseyside |
Joe Smith |
315 |
Dudley |
West Midlands |
John Atyeo |
314 |
Dilton Marsh |
Wiltshire |
Vic Watson |
312 |
Girton |
Cambridgeshire |
Harry Bedford |
308 |
Calow |
Derbyshire |
Harry Johnson |
305 |
Ecclesfield |
South Yorkshire |
Cliff Holton |
293 |
Oxford |
Oxfordshire |
Jimmy Hampson |
290 |
Little Hulton |
Greater Manchester |
Harry Morris |
289 |
Spitalfields |
Greater London |
Ray Crawford |
289 |
Portsmouth |
Hampshire |
Ernie Hine |
288 |
Barnsley |
South Yorkshire |
Tom Keetley |
284 |
Derby |
Derbyshire |
Alan Shearer |
283 |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
Tyne and Wear |
Arthur Chandler |
281 |
Paddington |
Greater London |
George Brown |
276 |
Birmingham |
West Midlands |
Dixie Dean takes second place, with 379, while Jimmy Greaves is third with 357.
Steve Bloomer scored 353, George Camsell 345, and John Aldridge scored 329.
A spokesperson from Bookmakers said: “Talented footballers have been born in every corner of England, yet some counties are producing more than others. It’s interesting to see which areas of the country have the highest figures. We hope the next generation of footballers will be inspired by this research, wherever they may live.”