Ranking every top goalscorer in the Championship this century

It takes a team to win a title, but no title-winning team is complete without a prolific striker who knows how to stick it in the back of the onion bag (score).

This list of Golden Boot winners is choc-full of Championship legends, many of whom went on to score goals in the Premier League, and a handful who even represented England.

But where does your club’s hero rank in the list of the greatest Championship goalscorers of all time?

 

24=. Peter Whittingham - Cardiff City, 20 goals (2010)

Peter Whittingham was a Cardiff City legend who made over 400 appearances for the club, scoring 85 goals. He peaked in 2010 when he shared the Golden Boot, scoring the lowest tally of any winner this century. Sadly, Whittingham passed away in 2020 at the age of 35.

 

24=. Nicky Maynard - Bristol City, 20 goals (2010)

Sharing the golden boot that year was Bristol City hotshot Nicky Maynard. His tally of 20 goals represents his best-ever performance at Championship level, which he failed to build on the following year. Despite that, he earned a move to West Ham for the 2011/12 season.

 

23. Matej Vydra - Derby County, 21 goals (2018)

Vydra has two 20-goal seasons to his name. The first came on loan at Watford, but his Golden Boot-winning effort saw him rattle in 21 goals for Derby. The Rams lost in the play-offs and he moved to Burnley, scoring eight goals across four Premier League seasons.

 

22. Marlon King - Watford, 21 goals (2006)

King’s trials and tribulations off the pitch are well documented. By the time King retired in 2014, he’d received numerous convictions and served three stints in jail. On the pitch, the forward fired in 21 goals for Watford, as the Hornets beat Leeds 3-0 in the play-off final.

 

21. Jamie Cureton - Colchester Utd, 23 goals (2007)

Cureton is one heck of a goalscorer. He scored 68 of his 351 goals for his hometown club, Bristol Rovers, but his best-ever season at this level came in a Colchester United shirt. He loved a move as much as a goal, turning out for 22 different teams across a 30-year career.

 

20. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake - Plymouth & Wolves, 23 goals (2008)

The Manchester United youth prospect landed at Plymouth Argyle in 2006 where he quickly took to Championship football. Having scored 11 goals by Christmas 2007, the Pilgrims were powerless to keep him. He continued his fine form at Wolves, totalling 23 for the season.

 

19. Nathan Ellington - Wigan Athletic, 24 goals (2005)

Also known as The Duke, Ellington was prolific during his time at Wigan. The bustling forward scored 57 goals in three seasons as the Latics secured promotion to the second tier. His Golden Boot-winning season earned him a move to Premier League side West Brom.

 

18. Danny Graham - Watford, 24 goals (2011)

Graham’s form earned him a move to the Premier League, but not before he thumped in 24 goals in 45 matches, which earned him a place in the Championship PFA Team of the Year. In 2022, he hit the wrong target, ploughing his Land Rover through a shop. No one was hurt.

 

17. Andre Gray - Brentford & Burnley, 25 goals (2016)

The physical figure of Andre Gray has appeared in five of England’s top six leagues, deciding to skip League One to rob us of a fairytale stat. He claimed the Golden Boot when scoring two for Brentford and 23 for Burnley. At 32, he moved to Saudi for the big bucks.

 

16. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake - Wolves, 25 goals (2009)

A prolific repeat of 2008. ‘He hit the bouncer on the head, Sylvan, Sylvan. The police they called it GBH, Sylvan, Sylvan. He’ll put the ball through someone’s legs, he’ll turn around and shout nutmegs, Ebanks-Blake is Wolves’ number nine’.

 

15. Aleksandar Mitrovic - Fulham, 26 goals (2020)

Mitro started scoring goals at 16 in his native Serbia and looked like a handful from the second he arrived at Newcastle. He found his true home at Fulham, scoring 111 goals in 206 appearances, 26 of which he knocked in during 2020. Probably all headers.

 

14. Svetoslav Todorov - Portsmouth, 26 goals (2003)

Few had heard of Todorov when West Ham plucked him from Bulgaria in 2000. Harry Redknapp seemed to like him but left the Hammers shortly after. He signed him again at Portsmouth, where he produced his only decent season in English football. He was rarely fit.

 

13. Andrew Johnson - Crystal Palace, 27 goals (2004)

Johnson spent eight of his last nine years as a professional in the Premier League, where he first appeared as a 23-year-old after firing Crystal Palace to promotion. The last of his 27 goals came at home to Walsall on May 1, helping the Eagles qualify for the play-offs.

 

12. Rickie Lambert - Southampton, 27 goals (2012)

Lambert was ridiculously prolific during spells at Bristol Rovers and Southampton, always looking a cut above the level. The England international won three Golden Boots, scoring 0.56 goals per game from 2008 through 2012. Just google his half-volley vs Swindon. Oof.

 

11. Daryl Murphy - Ipswich Town, 27 goals (2015)

The towering Irishman spent most of his career struggling to match the goal tally he achieved at Ipswich, though admittedly there was more to his game. His 27-goal outburst during the 2014/15 season was the only time he breached the 20-goal barrier in a single campaign.

 

10. Louis Saha - Fulham, 27 goals (2001)

Louis Saha playing Championship football just wasn’t fair. That season, he combined with Luis Boa Morte to score 53 goals. He may not be remembered as a Premier League great, but he averaged a goal every three matches during a career marred by unfortunate injuries. 

 

9. Sammie Szmodics - Blackburn, 27 goals (2024)

Szmodics was the talk of the town during the July 2024 transfer window on the back of single-handedly saving Blackburn Rovers from relegation. Scoring more than 20 goals in a season for the first time in his career, and tallying 33 across all competitions.

 

8. Chris Wood - Leeds United, 27 goals (2017)

The New Zealand international scored 30 goals across all competitions. That’s an impressive landmark, and it was the only time in his career he scored 20+ goals. He left three games into the following season, prompting the Whites to offer free replacements for shirts with his name on them.

 

7. Chuba Akpom - Middlesbrough, 28 goals (2023)

The Arsenal academy project made 38 starts in his first season at Boro but was shipped out to PAOK on loan the following year, before being dropped to the Under 21s by Chris Wilder. Perhaps that was a wake-up call, as Akpom netted 28 in 38 the following season.

 

6. Shaun Goater - Man City, 28 goals (2002)

Feed the Goat and he will score. After scoring 70 in 209 for Rotherham, and 40 in 75 for Bristol City, Goater joined Man City for a fee of £400,000. That was a small price to pay for a man who scored over 100 goals and helped the club to a promotion.

 

5. Ross McCormack - Leeds United, 28 goals (2014)

Two years before winning the Golden Boot, McCormack became the first Leeds player to score in six consecutive matches in over 50 years. After scooping numerous awards, the Scotsman left the following window. Probably because Massimo Cellino was mental.

 

4. Teemu Pukki - Norwich City, 29 goals (2019)

After failing to catch fire at Celtic, Pukki netted double-digits in nine consecutive seasons at Brondby and Norwich before moving to MLS in 2023. His goals were worth 22 points to the Canaries, who achieved automatic promotion and finished 10 points ahead of Brentford. 

 

3. Glenn Murray - Crystal Palace, 30 goals (2013)

Making the move from Brighton to Crystal Palace didn’t go down too well with the Seagulls, but their avian cousins got over it when he scored 30 goals and fired them into the Premier League. Five years later, he returned to Albion and got them promoted to make up for it.

 

2. Ivan Toney - Brentford, 31 goals (2021)

The England international averaged 23 goals a season from his League One days with Peterborough through to three seasons at Brentford, until a suspension for betting activities halted that run. His 31 goals carried the Bees to promotion from the Championship.

 

1. Aleksandar Mitrovic - Fulham, 43 goals (2022)

Will anyone ever break Aleksandar Mitrovic’s record? Given that the winner of the 21 seasons before his remarkable goalscoring exploits averaged 25 goals, it’s safe to say it should stand for a while. To score a goal per game in any league is no mean feat, and the big Serbian did it again when netting 28 in 28 for Al Hilal. Whilst earning billions, probably.

 

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