scientificfair.co.uk

A goalkeeper is the last line of defence for a team. Teams with prolific goalkeepers concede fewer goals and improve their chances of winning. In the 2019/20 season so far, the English Football League (EFL) has seen some excellent goalkeeping. In this post, we look at goalkeepers with the most clean sheets in the EFL this season.

1. Kiko Casilla – 15 Clean Sheets

Having failed to impress while at Real Madrid, the Spanish goalkeeper is now making headlines in English top-flight football at Leeds United. This season alone, Casilla, having played 35 matches so far, has 15 clean sheets to his name. His goalkeeping proficiency is the main contributing factor to his team, Leeds FC topping the standings in the league this season.

2. Brice Samba – 12 Clean Sheets

Before the 2019/2020 season, Samba was a relatively unknown name in the English top-flight football. However, he is now the subject of many footballing analysts and a nightmare to many strikers in the league. Samba has 12 clean sheets this season, allowing his team, Nottingham Forest, to stay in contention for a playoff spot.

3. Bartosz Bialkowski – 12 Clean Sheets

Bartosz continues to be a dependable goalkeeper for Millwall this season. Previously an average team in the EFL, Millwall are now chasing a playoff spot this season. While the team is impressive this season, they owe most of that to Bartosz’s brilliance at the back. He has 12 clean sheets so far this season as well.

4. Christian Walton – 12 Clean Sheets

Tying in position two with Samba and Bartosz, Blackburn’s Walton is also proving critics wrong this season. The goalkeeper has 12 clean sheets so far. His impressive displays are one of the main reasons Blackburn is chasing a playoff spot this season. The team sits tenth on the log, three points adrift of the playoff spot.

Being the Lower Division of English topflight football, many expect that the English Football League (EFL) will primarily feature local players. While this is true to some extent, some foreign players play in the league and who have left a mark on it. Some have even gone ahead to become top scorers. In this post, we look at foreign players that have been EFL Golden Boot winners.

1. Teemu Pukki

Now playing for Norwich in the Premier League, Teemu Pukki was the EFL Golden Boot winner for the 2018/2019 season. This win came after he scored 29 goals in a single season to help his team win promotion to the Premier League. The figure made Pukki appear second on the list of players with the most goals in a single EFL season.

2. Matej Vydra

The Czech striker is a household name among EFL fans. Matej used to play for Derby County and, in the 2017-2018 season, finished the EFL league as its Golden Boot winner. This win did not comes as a shock to many as the striker had been prolific the entire season.

Additionally, his team Derby County were playing beautiful football that was crowned with Matej’s Golden Boot win. Matej now plays for Burnley FC in the Premier League. Matej scored 21 goals in the 2017/2018 season.

3. Ross McCormack

Ross McCormack holds the record as the third player with the most goals in a single EFL season. While playing for Leeds United in the 2013-14 season, Ross scored an impressive 28 goals that season to win him the Golden Boot. This win made him one among the few non-English players to win the EFL Golden Boot. Many who recall his revelation season continue to hail the Scot for that time when he wowed the EFL with his goal-scoring prowess.

Football is full of surprises. These surprises are not a reserve of the top leagues. The English Football League (EFL) has its own fair share of surprises that, at times, blow people’s minds away. Some of these shockers come in the form of teams that end up winning promotion to the EPL from the EFL. In this post, we look at the story of one such surprise.

Where It All Started

When Aston Villa signed John Terry from Chelsea in the summer of 2017, everyone expected that the club would go one to gain promotion. With John Terry’s league winning status, it was hoped, would help boost the morale of the players.

This morale was there, and a finish in the playoff spots was somewhat a positive result for the team. However, the joy would soon fade quickly when Fulham dented their hopes of promotion. In the EFL Championship final of that year, Fulham beat Aston Villa 1 – 0 to secure promotion.

What followed was a summer of overhaul. It all started with firing the then manager Steve Bruce. A direction that saw many people receive mixed reactions. But the board affirmed that it needed a more progressive manager. The club also sold a ton of its players.

The Shocker That Was 2018/2019 Playoff Final

Aston Villa’s overhaul of the squad received extensive criticism, and at the start of the 2017/2018 season, many bookmakers had no hope of the team winning anything. However, the club would prove its critics wrong and beat Derby County FC 2 – 1 in that season’s playoff final.

From a team that bookmakers even thought of fronting as most likely to get relegated to a playoff finale winner, no one saw that coming. Aston Villa were surprise winners of the playoff final and earned the third and final promotion slot.