After ranking the March 2007 Goal of the Month, one of the best we can remember, our attention turned to other fantastic examples.
Was a month with Wayne Rooney’s effort against Bolton and Peter Crouch’s hat-trick goal against Arsenal really the best, or are there other contenders?
Let’s have a look…
December 2006
Many will call this month the best ever, and it’s easy to see why.
Paul Scholes came out on top with his in-off-the-bar volley against Aston Villa, but the month also contained Matt Taylor’s long-range belter for Portsmouth against Everton and an outside-of-the-boot strike from Chelsea’s Michael Essien which might be the most aesthetically-pleasing Premier League goal ever.
Even the ‘lesser’ goals, like Keith Gillespie’s volley for Sheffield United, would have been contenders to win in most other months.
April 2005
You’ve got to spare a thought for Shay Given, who was beaten by Wayne Rooney’s unstoppable volley and Youssef Safri’s in-off-the-bar 40-yarder for Norwich within the same month.
April 2005 also featured Erik Edman finding the corner of Liverpool’s net from way downfield, and a belter from Steven Gerrard against Middlesbrough.
We still feel bad for Given, though. And for Safri, who somehow didn’t win for this.
September 1995
Any month with a Tony Yeboah special is going to be good, but it wasn’t just about the Ghanaian’s strike against Wimbledon.
Premier League newcomer Dennis Bergkamp was beginning to show the league what to expect with a powerful effort into the top corner, while Mark Bright’s volley against QPR gets better with every look.
However, when even Carlton Palmer is getting in on the act, curling into the far corner with the precision of peak Therry Henry, you know it’s a special month.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t1lEzFGOSE
October 2013
Remember Pajtim Kasami’s goal for Fulham against Crystal Palace? Of course you do. Yet somehow the sensational chest and volley, one of the best Premier League goals of the last decade, didn’t even win goal of the month.
You’re probably thinking it would take something very special to beat that, and you’d be right.
Not Daniel Sturridge’s wonderfully deft chip for Liverpool against West Brom, a goal which would have won the award in most other months, but rather that Arsenal team goal against Norwich finished off by Jack Wilshers.
Kasami remains the people’s champion, though.
January 2016
January 2016 gave us our first glimpse of the brilliance of Adama Traoré, as he raced 70 yards and beat several Sunderland players before laying on a flying volley for Aston Villa team-mate Carles Gil. When it came to the votes from Match of the Day viewers, though, it didn’t even make the top three.
That’s because it shared a month with some other crackers, including Wayne Rooney’s cheeky backheeled finish against Swansea and a beautifully shaped Roberto Firmino curler in Liverpool’s cracking 3-3 draw against Arsenal.
That month’s winner, though, was also the goal of the season. And when we rewatch Dele Alli’s volley against Crystal Palace, it’s hard to argue.
It wouldn't be Spurs v Palace without reliving this goal…
🔥🔥 @dele_official 🔥🔥#THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/WINMgfzhg8
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 12, 2019
December 2018
December might not have produced last season’s goal of the season – that honour went to Vincent Kompany’s May strike against Leicester – but it was chock-full of crackers. That’s not even a Christmas pun.
Some were great but not award-worthy, like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s North London Derby curler and Ricardo’s blasted winner in the reverse fixture to Kompany’s strike. Others were good enough to draw audible gasps, like Harry Kane’s left-footed long-ranger against Wolves and a beauty from Victor Camarasa to earn Cardiff a win at the King Power Stadium. Even Gerard Deulofeu’s solo effort against the Bluebirds would have been up there in most months.
The winner, though, was Andros Townsend – a man with two entries on the shortlist. His rocket against Burnley at the start of the month wasn’t too shabby, but it’s the volley in the win over Man City which took the plaudits, and rightly so.