Players With The Most Own Goals In Premier League History

  • Richard Dunne is the all-time leader of Premier League own goals with seven

  • From iconic defenders to cult heroes, an array of players feature among the most own goals in Premier League history

  • Read below for a complete list of the Premier League’s leaders in an unwanted category

Sometimes Premier League own goals swing football betting. Sometimes they break hearts, and sometimes it is a moment of comedy destined to show up on montages for years to come.

Amid all the Premier League records to hold, scoring the most own goals might just be the most unwanted. It takes a certain type of defender, some misfortune, and a lot of Premier League matches played to feature on this list.

Even players who have a claim to a place in an all-time Premier League XI rank in the top 10 in own goals.

Plenty of familiar names feature below. Others are less well-known. Here are the all-time leading Premier League own goal scorers…

Players With 5 PL Own Goals

Rio Ferdinand, Richard Rufus, Neil Ruddock, John O’Shea, Phil Neville, Gareth McAuley, Zat Knight, Federico Fernandez, Lewis Dunk, Michael Duberry, Scott Dann and Henning Berg are all tied on five own goals apiece.

Ferdinand has a case as the best defender in Premier League history. With 504 appearances, though, five own goals isn’t exactly surprising.

Others are more remarkable. Lewis Dunk has plenty of years to climb this list.

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Richard Rufus played just 99 times in the Premier League, averaging an own goal roughly once every 20 matches – making him a top pick in Premier League odds for scoring own goals.

Federico Fernandez has played around double as many times as Rufus, but he’s still around 300 appearances behind Ferdinand.

Dunk and Fernandez could yet break into the next tier of Premier League own goal scorers. Let’s move on to the group with six own goals each.

Frank Sinclair - 6

Across long stints with Chelsea and Leicester, Frank Sinclair amassed six own goals in the Premier League. Where others are surprise inclusions here, Sinclair is a player known for his own goals.

He was a cult hero in west London. Always giving every ounce of energy, and throwing his body all over the pitch, Sinclair might not have been the smoothest in possession, but he was invaluable to his teams.

Ryan Shawcross - 6

Few have excelled at the undervalued art of last ditch defending quite like Ryan Shawcross. A warrior for bruising Stoke teams, Shawcross was a leader of men and Potteries hero.

His defensive play was at times divisive. It was ultimately effective, though, as the Potters stuck in the Premier League for longer than any expected.

With deep defence and a love for bold blocks, Shawcross was always an own goal candidate. In a career like his, six is a reasonable tally.

With the hard-nosed approach to the game, Shawcross also ranks joint-51st in all-time yellow cards, just ahead of Branislav Ivanovic.

Jonny Evans – 6

From Manchester United to West Brom and Leicester, Jonny Evans has enjoyed a long and successful career in the top flight. The Northern Ireland international continues to deliver at the highest level deep into his thirties.

Evans has adapted to different systems and different central defensive partners as he has changed clubs.

Whether needing to mark powerful forwards or organising a low block, Evans has proven himself to be an impactful defender.

The three Premier League winners’ medals probably outdo the six own goals.

Wes Brown – 6 

Just like John O’Shea and Jonny Evans, Wes Brown is best remembered for his days in the red of Manchester United - during the peak of their Premier League predictions powers.

Brown was a versatile, reliable player during the best days of the Alex Ferguson era.

Brown is in the odd position of having more own goals than goals scored. He scored just four times in over 300 Premier League appearances.

If looking at appearances per own goal, Brown ranks relatively well compared to some others in this list.

Martin Skrtel - 7

Martin Skrtel was the exact type of defender to rack up the own goals. The last-ditch, blood-and-guts nature of Skrtel’s game fitted perfectly with the image of an own goal specialist.

Skrtel was alarmingly keen to put his body on the line, which often resulted in unfortunate deflections into his own net.

Skrtel played 242 times in the Premier League for Liverpool. While his game wasn’t flawless, he could never be accused of bottling a challenge or not trying.

His seven own goals were varying degrees of embarrassing, but it was well worth it for the times his never-say-die attitude saved Liverpool.

Phil Jagielka - 7

Only 51 players in Premier League history have made more appearances than Phil Jagielka.

A stalwart for Everton, Jagielka ascended to earn numerous England caps, and often provided stability across eras on Merseyside.

He bookended his Everton stint with periods at Sheffield United. Yorkshire is where Jagielka made his name, and he returned in 2019.

Twice named Everton’s Player of the Season, the Sale-born centre-back is one of the Toffees’ best players since the turn of the century.

Jamie Carragher - 7

A Premier League medal might have eluded Jamie Carragher, but that’s not to downplay his legacy. The Sky Sports pundit was involved in several tight title races, and he ranks ninth all-time in Premier League appearances.

With his varied skillset, he could easily have gone down as one of the best Premier League midfielders had he made the transition further up the pitch.

So often left as the last line of the defence, though, Carragher was also an own goal candidate throughout his career.

Seven isn’t an awful haul given how long he played, but some of the own goals are particularly comical.

Richard Dunne – 10

What a claim to fame. Richard Dunne and own goals are synonymous.

Dunne enjoyed a long and solid Premier League career, but unfortunately this most undesirable of honours is how he will be best remembered.

Playing for Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa and QPR, Dunne played in 431 Premier League matches. His rate of own goals actually isn’t as bad as many others.

Playing for so long, however, means he’s clear at the top of this list.

July 19, 2021
Premier League
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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

Sam Cox
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Team GB Swimming: Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of The Olympic Games

  • Team GB rank fifth in total Olympic swimming medals
  • The Olympics is the peak in swimming, and provides a chance for athletes to write their names in the history books
  • Read below for more on the history of Team GB swimming and the Tokyo 2020 GB swimmers

The internet isn’t exactly awash with swimming betting tips, but that’s destined to change this summer. Swimming, like other lesser-followed sports, has an intense spotlight on it in an Olympic year.

Team GB swimming has perhaps been overshadowed in previous Olympic cycles. While there’s been success for stars like Adam Peaty, eyes are often attracted away to the velodrome or track.

The swimmers head to Tokyo with numerous legitimate medal chances, however. Peaty is a dominant force. Others have the track record to put them in contention for a gold.

This article covers some history about Team GB swimmers and the complete list of competitors at Tokyo 2020.

Team GB Swimming History

Swimming has been a staple at the Olympics for over a century. Team GB have been a consistent medal threat since earning seven medals in the 100-metre indoor pool at London 1908.

Names like Rebecca Adlington and Adam Peaty are familiar to the British public.

Others might not be as well known in general, but from Henry Taylor’s 400-metre win in 1908 to Anita Lonsbrough’s gold in 1960, Team GB’s swimmers have frequently broken records and made history.

Lonsbrough’s triumph in Rome, for instance, led to her becoming the first British woman to carry the Union Jack into an opening ceremony a couple of years later, and she was also the first woman to win Sports Personality of the Year.

Long before inplay betting, Brits have been enjoying success in the Olympic pool. While toppling the Americans is always a difficult task, Team GB has been competitive, which is reflected in the all-time medal tables.

The Tokyo Team GB swimmers are led by Peaty, of course, but plenty of others have enjoyed success. Kathleen Dawson has four European Championship gold medals to her name.

Aimee Willmott is preparing for her third Games, and has picked up plenty of hardware since Rio, including the 400-metre medley gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 

Tokyo 2020 GB Swimming Team

Adam Peaty, Duncan Scott, James Wilby and Luke Greenbank were the first four names added to the Team GB swimming roster. A further 24 joined them in late April following selection trials in London back.

Ben Proud, a former world champion, shone in the trials, earning a place on the team. The men’s freestyle team is looking particularly strong after several impressive efforts during the trials.

The extra year to prepare for these Olympics has proved favourable for many of the swimmers. Kathleen Dawson was just one example of this, as she posted the eighth-fastest time ever in the 100-metre backstroke.

Team GB has a raft of brilliant young swimmers. The chance of medals in Tokyo varies, but these Games will be invaluable inexperience regardless of their results.

Even those who survey sports betting on a daily basis may not be familiar with all of these names, but there’s a good chance some will ascend to stardom in Japan.

Here’s the full 28 strong Team GB Swimming roster as of June 29th 2021.

  • Freya Anderson
  • Kieran Bird 
  • Kathleen Dawson
  • Tom Dean 
  • Luke Greenbank 
  • James Guy 
  • Anna Hopkin 
  • Calum Jarvis 
  • Dan Jervis 
  • Harriet Jones 
  • Joe Litchfield 
  • Max Litchfield 
  • Ross Murdoch 
  • Adam Peaty 
  • Jacob Peters 
  • Ben Proud 
  • Molly Renshaw 
  • Matthew Richards 
  • Duncan Scott 
  • Alys Thomas 
  • Sarah Vasey 
  • Jacob Whittle 
  • James Wilby 
  • Cassie Wild 
  • Brodie Williams 
  • Aimee Willmott 
  • Alicia Wilson 
  • Abbie Wood

Most Successful Team GB Swimmers

Team GB’s men have won 38 total Olympic medals. This is good for seventh on the all-time medal table by total, though the 10 golds won places them in sixth.

It’s a similar story for the women, with Team GB sitting sixth in total, but seventh in golds.

The six total gold medals for Team GB’s female swimmers is four fewer than the Japanese, and that tally is carried by Rebecca Adlington, who won two golds and two bronze medals across the Beijing and London Olympics.

Ahead of Tokyo, Adlington remains Team GB’s most successful Olympic swimmer of all-time. The Mansfield-born star has world titles to her name, too, and was rewarded with an OBE.

Adlington’s Olympic glory puts her ahead of the pack, though Jazmin Carlin was within touching distance of doing her own double, as she picked up silvers in the same events in Rio.

With a gold and a silver in Rio, Adam Peaty heads to Tokyo with Adlington’s record in his sights. Peaty has over 30 total golds to his name, and has completely dominated the recent World Championships.

Having broken 13 world records, and with golds at every major event, it’s not a reach to say Peaty is already Britain’s most successful swimmer despite being behind Adlington in the Olympic stakes.

Just like Team GB’s cycling efforts, a wave of investment around the London Games in 2012 has seen most of their medals come in the last few Olympics.

The seven medals in 1908 were the start of Team GB’s extensive medal haul in the pool, however, and others have contributed along the way, including Adrian Moorhouse’s gold in Seoul in 1988, and David Wilkie’s three medals (one gold, two silver) across the Munich and Montreal Games in the 1970s.

With three World Championships golds on top of his Olympic hardware, Wilkie ranks alongside Adlington and Peaty as the greatest British swimmers.

The Tokyo 2020 team has plenty of podium experience beyond Peaty, though, including two-time Olympic medallist James Guy, and former world champions Ben Proud and Ross Murdoch.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Darko Bandic / AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 29th June 2021

July 19, 2021
Olympic Games
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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

Sam Cox
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