We are fast approaching the business end of the season in League One and questions are still to be asked about who will win the title, make the play-offs and avoid the drop.
However, there is another league table of sorts that is set up for a grandstand finish as the Golden Boot race is tighter than ever. Devante Cole and Jamie Reid currently sit joint-top with 17 goals a-piece, but they both only have one in their last five, meaning some big-name strikers are hot on their heels going into this weekend.
The names that make up third to fifth on the current standings are perhaps three that would have been far more hotly tipped than Reid and Cole before a ball was kicked. Jordan Rhodes, Colby Bishop and Alfie May have all proven themselves to be clinical finishers at this level previously, something the top two somewhat lacked before this campaign.
There is a real array of attacking quality in the English third tier and any one of them could go on a run that might not only earn themselves the golden boot, but see their team celebrating promotion come May.
Who won’t it be?
Jonson Clarke Harris – Peterborough United
Jonson Clarke-Harris has won two of the last three golden boots in League One and was a big favourite to repeat the fete once more. However, the 29-year-old has just six league goals this time out and has even found himself on the bench in recent weeks. A twist of fate that not many saw coming and rules him out from being anywhere near the top of the scoring charts.
Aaron Collins – Bolton Wanderers
Winger Aaron Collins scored 16 times for a Bristol Rovers side that finished 17th in 2022/23 and earned a deserved move to promotion chasing Bolton Wanderers. There would have been hopes he could kick on and perhaps compete with the top finishers this campaign but despite his 25 starts he has notched just three times.
The longshots
Ephron Mason-Clark – Peterborough United
Ephron Mason-Clark has been superb for Peterborough United this season, stepping up in place of the struggling Clarke-Harris, and his performances earned him a £3.5 million move to Coventry City who he will link up with in the summer. He has ten league goals thus far but none since his brace at The Valley on the 13th of January. Barring a late surge, that probably rules him out of a push for the Golden Boot to cap off a stellar season for the 24-year-old.
Ruel Sotiriou – Leyton Orient
The attacking midfielder is very much proving he can compete at League One level having spent the last four years in League Two at Leyton Orient. Orient’s first campaign back in League One has been a successful one and their recent form doesn’t rule them out of making the play-offs. Sotiriou has four in his last five which has elevated him right up the scoring charts but he has perhaps lacked the consistency all year to be one of the contenders.
Outsiders
Dion Charles – Bolton Wanderers
Dion Charles looked a sure bet to be one of those competing for the top goal scorer when he had 13 league goals prior to the New Year. However nearly two months later, the right winger still sits on 13, a pretty unexplainable dry patch considering Bolton have not wavered in their promotion push. This leaves Charles still just four behind the top scorers but no goal for nine league games would mean backing him to suddenly kick back into gear might be a tad ambitious.
James Collins – Derby County
James Collins is no stranger to scoring goals in the EFL having bagged at almost every club he’s played for, but after just three goals in 30 games for Cardiff City in 2021/22 you could have been forgiven for thinking he was tailing off. Since joining Derby County, the now 33-year-old scored 11 in 29 last season and already has 13 in 25 this campaign. With Derby unbeaten in five he could well be a outside shout for the Golden Boot.
Paddy Lane – Portsmouth
Dangerous winger Paddy Lane had been accused of inconsistency since his January 2023 arrival at Portsmouth. Although in the last four games, the 23-year-old has been the catalyst for firing Pompey six clear at the top of the table. He’s grabbed four goals including a man of the match performance vs Northampton Town during that spell. He’s now on 11 so has some catching to do, but if he continues this form who knows how many he could end up with.
Chasing pack
Jordan Rhodes – Blackpool
As probably the biggest name on this list Jordan Rhodes has been synonymous with scoring goals in the EFL for over a decade. With 15 so far this campaign he’s exceeded ten goals for the first time since 2016 and Blackpool look to have made one of the best loan signings in recent League One history. The reason he doesn’t make the front runners list is due to him being without a goal since the 23rd of December and he has spent most of this month out with a rib injury. If he can hit the ground running when fit again, there is no reason why he can’t win the Golden Boot he won back in 2012 with a record 36 goals.
Sam Hoskins – Northampton
Hoskins has been a big reason as to why Northampton Town have enjoyed a positive return to League One this season and has an impressive 14 goals so far, making him the highest scoring winger on this list. Northampton have a reasonably favourable run in which could play a factor in Hoskins winning a sensational golden boot and further cementing himself as a Northampton legend as he is now in his ninth season at the club.
Chris Martin – Bristol Rovers
Another of a few veterans on this list, Chris Martin scoring goals has been one of the few constants in a topsy-turvy season for Bristol Rovers. The 35-year-old has nine goals since Christmas, and it has firmly put him in with a shout of being the top scorer in the division. The lack of consistency for Bristol Rovers could stop him going on a run that will be needed to come out on top, but he’s got the ability if the circumstances are right.
Front Runners
Devante Cole – Barnsley
At 28, Devante Cole seems to have finally found the form required to be a top-level striker in League One. He has played with a range of strike partners in Barnsley’s 3-5-2 system but has been the talisman since August and has continually kept Barnsley in the automatic promotion race. Despite still leading the pack he has just one goal in five matches and has allowed others to start to catch. With several of the top six still to play he will have to score in some big games if he’s to cling on to top spot, but nothing this season has suggested he won’t.
Jamie Reid – Stevenage
Nicknamed ‘Big Goal Reidy’, his 17 goals has allowed Boro fans to dream of a day out at Wembley to reach the Championship for the first time in the club’s history. He was still playing in the National League in 2020 so four years later to be joint-top scorer in League One is quite remarkable. If Steve Evans’ side are to pull off the incredible this campaign, his goals could well be the reason and he might pick up an individual honour in the process.
Alfie May – Charlton Athletic
Alfie May was one of the big signings of the summer as he swapped Cheltenham Town for the capital in a move to Charlton Athletic. Whilst everything seems to be going from bad to worse at The Valley at the moment with the side facing relegation, May has continued to score goals for fun. Sitting on 16 goals he will be hoping his goals can change the teams’ fortunes and rescue them from the drop.
Colby Bishop – Portsmouth
Colby Bishop has been a proven goal scorer in League One for three years now, so it is no surprise that he’s right up there again. Without ever hitting a true purple patch he has consistently scored since August, and it has Portsmouth currently top of the table. With six wins in seven, Pompey are flying towards the Championship and Bishop’s clinical nature could be the reason they get over the line.
Who will be the top scorer?
With some inconsistent form from teams, it seems sensible to boil it down to two strikers who play for teams that are flying high on good form. Devante Cole and Colby Bishop are both dreaming of firstly celebrating promotion in May and there’s a realistic chance they both could.
Cole will need to improve on his one in five, but his reliable fitness record and consistent good performances will likely keep him in the running until the final day. Bishop though has been here before; he’s challenged the best goal scorers in this division for three seasons running and with Portsmouth threatening to run off into the sunset he stands a great chance of being the man holding the Golden Boot in a few weeks’ time.
