What scoring records can Glenn Murray overhaul?

Unless you’ve been living on one of the moons of Saturn since Saturday, you’ll know that Glenn Murray’s double against Fulham moved him onto 97 goals for Brighton and Hove Albion.

That took him above the great Peter Ward in the all-time list. Only four more players have scored more goals than Murray in the Albion’s 116 year history, only two in peacetime football and only one in post-war football.

As we wrote in our Brighton and Hove Independent column, Murray has done more than enough to be considered the greatest Brighton striker of all time.

But where does he stand in terms of the records? Which could he possibly overhaul? Here are some of Brighton and Hove Albion’s scoring records and what he needs to do to overhaul them.

Record all-time goalscorer – Bert Stephens, 174
Bert Stephens’ record of 174 was set between 1935 and 1948, with 78 of those goals being scored during the peculiar circumstances of war-time football when teams would play with right backs in goal and pluck supporters out of the crowd to make up the numbers. That shouldn’t take anything away from Stephens’ numbers though – he was 29 when war broke out, about to hit the prime of his career and already had 87 Albion goals to his name, suggesting that he’d have passed Tommy Cook’s peacetime record of 123 regardless. Even more remarkable was that he was a left winger, as opposed to a striker.

Given that Stephens is so far ahead of the field with 51 more goals than Cook, it seems unlikely that his record will ever be beaten. Murray stands 77 behind it. If he’d have had say, an extra five seasons with the Albion, he might have done the unthinkable and overhauled it. Nice one, Gus.

Record peace-time goalscorer – Tommy Cook, 123
The Albion’s record scorer in peacetime football is Tommy Cook. Cook was the ultimate Sussex sportsman, also playing as an accomplished batsman for Sussex and winning one England cap when leading the line in a 2-1 away win over Wales. His 123 goals arrived 209 appearances between 1921 and 1929.

Murray would need 27 more goals to overtake Cook and become the Albion’s leading peacetime goalscorer. Given that he actually seems to be getting better with age and Chris Hughton is still yet to find anyone better to lead the line, it isn’t inconceivable that he could do it. We’ve all written Murray off enough times to know that he is full of surprises.

Record post-war goalscorer – Kit Napier, 99
Well within Murray’s sights is the post-war goal scoring record of Kit Napier. Napier hit 99 goals between 1966 and 1972 after signing from Newcastle United and there are some striking similarities between Napier and Murray. Both played for Workington early in their career, both scored twice on their debut and Napier was described as “looking a little lazy at times”, an accusation that Murray had fired at home on more than one occasion in his first spell at the club.

With Murray needing just three more goals to pass the 99 mark, if there was a market available betting online on whether he was going to become Brighton’s record scorer in post-war football then you’d want to stick your house on it.

Record top flight goalscorer – Michael Robinson, 37
Michael Robinson led the Albion’s front line for three of the clubs four previous seasons in the top flight, scoring 37 goals along the way to earn a move to Liverpool where he won the league, League Cup and European Cup.

Murray currently sits on 15 goals in the top flight, so he’d need to double his current total and then some to overhaul Robinson. Two more seasons and a similar strike rate to the last campaign could see him do it.

Scored 10 or more goals in six consecutive peacetime seasons – Kit Napier
Napier’s scoring feats also extend to him being the only player in peacetime football to score 10 or more goals in six consecutive seasons. Now, there’s obviously a debate to be had about whether Murray can challenge for this accolade, given that he spent five years away from the club.

If the record counts for consecutive seasons played for the Albion, then a double figure haul this year will be his sixth in a row. He notched 14 last season, 23 in 2016-17, 22 in 2010-11, 14 in 2009-10 and 12 in 2008-09. Had he managed one more goal in 2007-08, he’d already have equalled the record having scored nine times despite only arriving from Rochdale at the end of January.

Most seasons as the Albion’s top scorer – Kit Napier, 5
Napier’s goalscoring feats saw him finish as top scorer in five of the six seasons that he played for the Albion, only missing out in the 1969-70 season to Alan Gilliver.

Murray has top scored in 2017-18, 2016-17 and 2010-11. Nicky Forster beat him by one goal in both 2009-10 and 2008-09, meaning that he needs two more top scorer finishes to draw level with Napier for another record. Not beyond the realms of possibility.

Most hat-tricks – Tommy Cook, 8
Cook doesn’t just stand apart as peacetime top scorer, but he also has eight hat-tricks to his name. They came against Aberdare Athletic, Plucky Little Bournemouth when they were actually little and plucky, Reading, Everton, Newport County twice, Merthyr Town and Milllllllllllllll.

Murray has half that number having scored trebles against Cheltenham Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton Orient and Norwich City. His four leaves him behind Cook, Jock Davie, Stephens and Arthur Atwood. Given that we’ve only managed to score three times in five Premier League games since winning promotion, Cook won’t be too concerned about this record being taken away from him.

Oldest goalscorer – Bullet Jones, 38
How long can Murray keep going for? That’s the question plenty of us have asked as he approaches his 35th birthday. Never having relied on pace and still as fit as he’s ever been, it doesn’t look like he is going to slow down anytime soon.

The Albion’s oldest ever scorer was the brilliantly named Bullet Jones who netted the last of his 69 goals for the club in a 3-0 win over Gillingham in October 1919 at 38 years and 208 days old. We’d need another four years of Murray for him to overtake Jones, whose name presumably would’ve led to a front page headline in The Sun for his glamorisation of gun crime.