Championship at risk of ‘boring’ event that’s happened just once in the last 10 years

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We are well into the business end of the season now, and the race for the Championship’s top scorer award is still on, with numerous players in the running.

The current season looks set for an exciting finish as we enter the business end of the campaign, but the Golden Boot race continues with seven league games remaining.

The list includes some of the best players in the league but it’s all to play for if one player hits a rich vein of form between now and the third of May.

Players such as Haji Wright (0.68) and Tyrese Campbell (0.70) can count themselves unlucky with injuries, with both leading the way for goals per 90 so far this term.

• READ MORE: The highest points tallies in Championship history: Can Leeds United or Sheffield United break the record this season?

The top scorer in the Championship is set to be one of the lowest ever tallies on record

Championship fans have been lucky enough to witness a four-horse race at the top of the table for the majority of this season. Although, Leeds United, Sheffield United, and Burnley have taken charge ahead of Sunderland.

It’s strange, really — none of them have a striker scoring 20+ to fire them to promotion, which is perhaps a sign of the times. Speaking of, there remains plenty to be decided in the race, with both the automatic run-in and the play-off run-in as well.

What happens in both boxes will dictate the fate of many teams between now and May, which includes some of the best attackers in the league. They could be among the players due a Premier League switch from the Championship this summer as well.

Sunderland unearthed a real gem when they borrowed Wilson Isidor from Zenit St. Petersburg in the summer, having now signed him permanently since. He is one of the outstanding centre-forwards in the division, while most fans agree Josh Sargent is the best striker in the Championship.

The stat displayed is not entirely accurate. That’s because it is only once in the last 10 Championship seasons that the top scorer in the division finished on a lower tally than 25 goals.

In that time, Aleksandar Mitrovic notched 43 in a single season. Yet, no one is going to get remotely close close to even 25 strikes this season.

Sargent has scored at a rate of nine in his last 11 Championship matches and he is likely to be the favourite to win the award if he continues that in the next five weeks, but that would still see him hit around 18-21 at this point.

It’s not even certain that someone gets to 20, let alone 25. It could be a very boring season on that front, with very few players catching fire and the goals spread more throughout teams via relying more on their attacking midfielders and wide forwards.

• READ MORE: Championship play-off dates, fixtures, and teams in Premier League promotion mix

What was the Championship like the other time this happened?

Sargent may struggle to hit the tally that Matej Vydra and Lewis Grabban bagged in 2017/18. The pair shared the award with 20 goals apiece, which is five lower than the next lowest tally in that time — Andre Gray in 2015/16.

If you look back at any title-winning team of the last few years in this division, you’ll probably find that their line was led by a quality striker. Forwards are often multifaceted and can be some of the best players in the Championship, but we’re only concerned with the goal machines of recent times here.

That’s why we have also looked at the top scoring Championship players of all-time, including players who are currently playing in the second tier and looking to break into the top ten. It’s interesting that just seven years ago, these lists were dominated by central strikers, though.