Sponsored by Flexible BT TV
Substitutes are an integral part of football. It can be easy to think of subs as mere understudies, not good enough to start, but competent enough to fill the bench. And that may be true in some cases, but subs can also be a vitally important part of a gameplan. Bringing on a quick striker to take advantage of defenders’ tired legs, throwing on a target man to cause chaos in the dying minutes, sending on a third centre-back to protect a lead. These are basic tactics but have become pillars of the Premier League. Some players are so good coming off the bench, they are dubbed a ‘supersub’, their own quality almost counting against them forever more.
BT TV recognise the importance of subs, both in football and in your everyday life, which is why they have launched an Unlimited Subs package this season, allowing you to watch all 220 Premier League games in one place.
Each month, BT TV is the only place where fans will be able to switch seamlessly between BT Sport, a Now TV Sky Sports pass and Amazon Prime video. It’s the televisual equivalent of alternating between Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back in 1999, but as many times as you want.
To celebrate the launch, we have listed – in our humble, statistically backed up opinion – the best five super subs in Premier League history.
5. Edin Dzeko
He might have only scored 13 goals coming off the bench during his time at Manchester City, but with a minutes per goal ratio of 89.1, few can boast better efficiency as an impact sub. The Bosnian also scored one of the most important goals in Premier League history: the equalising header against QPR on the final day of the 2011/12 season, before Sergio Aguero made it 3-2 to clinch City’s first ever Premier League title. As substitutions go, City could not have asked for much better.
4. Javier Hernandez
Only two players have scored more goals off the bench than Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, but he only makes it to fourth in this ranking. With a record of 19 goals as a substitute, averaging one every 93.4 minutes, it’s clear to see why Sir Alex Ferguson bought him after the 2010 World Cup. But his all round game couldn’t quite compare to the three players ahead of him in this list.
3. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Life as a manager might have aged Solskjaer a bit over the past few years but there is a reason he became known as the babyfaced assassin. Used almost exclusively as a substitute by Sir Alex Ferguson, his efficiency coming off the bench ensured he stayed at Manchester United for nine years. Plus, he scored arguably the most important goal in the club’s history. His most impressive substitute-related accolade, though, has to be scoring four goals in 12 minutes after coming on against Nottingham Forest that same season in 1999. Four goals, Ole? That’s insane.
2. Jermain Defoe
Forget subs for just a second, Jermain Defoe is one of the best strikers in Premier League history, full stop. He has scored the eighth most goals in the league’s history, just one behind Robbie Fowler, and is still playing regularly for Rangers at the age of 37. He has also scored more goals as a substitute than any other player in the Premier League, with an incredible record of 24. But unfortunately for Defoe, he falls just short of first place in this list.
1. Olivier Giroud
It couldn’t really be anyone else, could it? During his time in the Premier League, at Arsenal and Chelsea, the Frenchman has scored 20 goals off the bench, with a minutes per goal ratio of 88.6 – better than anyone else on the list. While he would probably like to start more games, the impact Giroud can offer in the latter stages of a game, both linking up attacking play and as a target man makes him such a valuable sub. There is no other player who possesses quite the same set of skills as Giroud, and for that he is our number one super sub.
