EFL in Focus - September 2024
A monthly look at the best performers in the English Football League; full of stats and graphics for teams and players alike. September 2024 edition.
Every month for the 2024-25 EFL season I’m going to be plucking out some of the best performers from across the Championship, League One and League Two and shining the spotlight on them.
From individual players to team performances - with the help of Opta - here’s the pick of the bunch for September 2024.
Championship
Sitting just a point off top spot after the first seven matchdays of the new Championship season, Blackburn Rovers have made a stunning start to their campaign. With many pundits and fans alike expecting a midtable finish at best for the Lancashire side in 2024-25, Rovers have hit back on the pitch, remaining as just one of three sides in the entire Football League to still be unbeaten heading into October. It’s also the first time that they’ve gone unbeaten across their opening seven games of a league campaign since 1994-95 in the Premier League, the year in which they famously lifted the trophy for the first and only time.
Much of their success to this point has been underpinned by their fantastic goalscoring return, netting 14 goals in the Championship - the joint-most in the division alongside Sunderland. That’s a tally that’s been drastically aided by their sharp shooting approach, with their collective 57.4% shooting accuracy and 22.9% conversion rate both acting as the highest in the competition.
Whether Rovers can keep their momentum going for much of the rest of this season will be interesting to see, but under manger John Eustace they look to be full of confidence across the board.
Just one place and one point behind Blackburn are their fierce rivals Burnley, who have also enjoyed a strong start to the campaign despite enduring a rather up and down summer transfer window. After suffering relegation from the Premier League last term, manager Vincent Kompany departed Turf Moor for Bayern Munich of all places and with him, plenty of stars additionally left the club.
In fairness though, new manager Scott Parker has really steadied the ship and after picking up 14 points through their opening seven league outings, the Lancashire side seem poised to capitalise further. Like their rivals mentioned above, Burnley’s goalscoring has played a major part in their success to this point, netting the third-most goals in the Championship (13) which has aided big wins against Luton and Cardiff.
But on top of that, and despite the loss of key players such as Dara O’Shea, Ameen Al-Dakhil and Vitinho over the past few months, the Clarets have functioned well from a defensive perspective. With just four goals conceded - the second-fewest in the second flight - that could prove to be their best route to promotion come May.
Speaking of well organised defensive sides, Sheffield United have also proved to be extremely difficult to breakdown in the Championship this campaign. That’s helped the Blades to remain unbeaten in the league so far, as they’ve kept a league-leading five clean sheets whilst conceding a league low three goals in the process.
When digging a little deeper, United’s numbers are impressive and point towards the club maintaining at least a play-off position this campaign as a direct result. On the defensive front, Chris Wilder’s side have faced the third fewest shots in total (61) and second fewest shots on target (15) and it’s pretty evident that most of that had been a by product of his side’s strong work ethic across the field.
That’s can be highlighted by the fact that United’s squad in 2024-25 rank second for clearances made (182), second for possession recovered (297) and seventh for tackles made by players (122) combined, a really strong foundation to build from for the rest of this campaign.
On the individual player front, it’s West Brom’s Josh Maja who leads the race for this season’s Championship Golden Boot after seven games. After becoming the first West Brom player to score a hat-trick in their opening game of a league season since Alf Bentley in 1913-14, the Nigerian forward has gone from strength to strength, adding another four goals to his seasonal tally since.
That’s already more in English league football than across his prior three season combined, as he remains on course for the best scoring return of his career - 16 goals netted across 38 Ligue 2 matches for Bordeaux in 2022-23.
His teammate Tom Fellows also deserves a mention here, as he leads the competition for assists recorded thus far, picking up five across his opening seven league appearances of the season.
Remarkably, that’s already one more than across his 33 Championship outings last season combined, and with four of those coming from from open play this term, he remains as one of the divisions most potent playmakers.
A goal on his England under 21 debut in early September against Austria capped off his month nicely!
Lastly, Alfie Doughty continues to highlight himself as one of the division best players as he continues to assert his dominance across the chance creation tables.
Despite Luton’s poor start to the campaign, the 24-year-old has created more chances than any other Championship player (22), whilst his 106 passes played into the box are 41 more than his closest competitor. In truth, I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t seal a move back to the Premier League come January.
An extra Championship stat: With his hat-trick against Derby County at the weekend, Borja Sainz became the first Norwich City player to score an away league hat-trick for the club since James Maddison against Hull City in March 2018.Â
League One
Into League One where it’s Birmingham City who lead from Wrexham as somewhat expected before the start of the campaign, but it’s Lincoln City who sit in third spot as they continue to defy all the odds to put in impressive display after impressive display.
A club who have been on the up for the past year or so, much of the Imps’ success has stemmed from their solid defensive line who have conceded chances worth just 6.1 xG in total. That has in turn seen them concede just six league strikes in total, a figure that only Stevenage and Wigan Athletic (both 5) can better.
What’s been impressive to watch is Lincoln’s use of possession, as even though they’ve averaged just 37.1% of the possession in total during their matches to this point - the lowest of any side - they also rank fourth-lowest as a team for times losing the ball. A lesson on how to be clinical at its absolute best.
Two other sides in League One that have surprised so far are Blackpool & Mansfield Town, who both occupy a top five spot heading into the month of October.
The Tangerines have looked brilliant under new manager Steve Bruce since he took over, and to this point, they’ve struck the joint-most goals in the division alongside leaders Birmingham (16).
Mansfield too have found that scoring is their best route to success, netting 13 times from an xG total of 11.82 - the fifth-highest in League One - which points towards continued goal scoring output for the foreseeable future.
Heading back to Blackpool and it’s Lee Evans who has been their most important player to this point of the campaign.
Not only has he recorded a league-leading four assists through his opening eight league games, but he also leads the individual leader boards for chances created (28 - 10 more than any other player) and ranks second for passes played into the box (88) in England’s third tier.
The former Welsh international is far from a one trick pony though, and his defensive displays have also caught the eye. That’s because amongst all midfielders in League One, he additionally ranks third for both duels won (53) and times winning possession for his side (51).
Speaking of midfielders who continue to produce from an attacking perspective, no player has scored more goals than Barnsley’s Adam Phillips in League One.
His five strikes from midfield make him one of the most prolific goal scorers in English league football at present, whilst his return of 4.12 xG in total ranks him second in the division behind only Mansfield’s Lee Gregory despite playing further back on the field.
On top of that, he’s recorded one assist and it’s no coincidence that when he’s in form, the Tykes usually win as referenced by the fact that his four goalscoring displays have all brought positive results for the Yorkshire side.
Although Wigan continue to struggle for some much-needed consistency in England’s third tier - especially in the attacking third - their plight could be worse was it not for Sam Tickle’s displays in goal.
Still only 22 years of age, his performances to this point have helped the Latics to concede just five goals in total whilst he’s played his part in the club keeping five clean sheets - both league-high figures at the end of September.
To delve deeper, no goalkeeper who has played in five or more matches in the division holds a better save percentage (82.1%) so it’s little wonder why Arsenal have reportedly become the latest big named side to register their interest in the England under 21 international.
An extra League One stat: Following his side’s 3-0 win over Burton Albion at the weekend, Steve Bruce has become the first ever Blackpool manager to win each of his first four league games in charge of the Tangerines.
League Two
Lastly, it’s on to League Two where it’s Walsall who remain as the closest competitors to top spot holders Gillingham.
The Saddlers rounded out a solid September by claiming a huge 4-0 home win over Colchester United over the weekend as they continue to perform as the league’s best attacking outfit. Alongside Notts County, Walsall head into October as the divisions top scorers with 16 goals, whilst across England’s top four tiers, no side has accumulated a higher xG total than them (16.01).
Manager Mat Sadler continues to do a fantastic job then, and with his side also ranking second in League Two for fewest shots faced (64) from a defensive perspective, he’ll be excited by their possible promotion prospects this campaign.
Just behind Walsall, Barrow sit third in the early League Two standings heading into October, thanks to their return of five wins and just two defeats to this point.
Their initial success this campaign doesn’t come as a shock though, as ever since returning to the Football League ahead of the 2020-21 season, the Cumbrian side have proved a handful at this level. Those first two seasons saw them punch above their weight to avoid relegation and since, they’ve gone from strength to strength, threatening to finish in the top seven with a 9th placed finish two years ago followed by an 8th placed one in 2023-24.
Only Gillingham (6) have recorded more than Barrow’s four clean sheets thus far in the fourth tier, with the Bluebirds also ranking in the top three for expected goals against (5.66). Their defensive solidity can perhaps be best highlighted by the above graphic as at the end of September, they are the only League Two side to have had more than 55% touches in comparison to their opposition in each of their six central defensive zones.
Although Bromley’s form has curtailed in recent weeks following the explosive start they enjoyed during their maiden EFL campaign, striker Michael Cheek continues to find the back of the net on a regular basis.
So far this league season, he’s netted five goals for the Ravens - the joint-most of any player in League Two - with his latest strike at the weekend against MK Dons helping his side to pick up a vital point on home soil.
Simply put, his influence could be the difference between Bromley keeping their EFL status come the end of the campaign.
After barely saving themselves from relegation to non-league football last season, Colchester United have enjoyed a much better showing so far in 2024-25 and a lot of that is down to the influence of midfielder Jack Payne.
His arrival on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic over the summer looked like a bit of a coup on paper and that’s already been confirmed after just eight matches. That’s because not only does he lead the division for assists recorded (4), but the 29-year-old EFL journeyman also tops the charts for chances created (25) by a fairly substantial margin.
Given that he also ranks in the top five league wide for both passes played into the box (64) and successful passes ending in the final third (97) by an individual player, he could prove to be the difference maker between play-off finish and midtable mediocrity for Colchester this term.
And finally, we’re going to mention Grimsby Town midfielder George McEachran who has played a huge part in his side’s upturn in form during the month of September.
The former Chelsea youngster joined the club this summer and if he continues this level of performance, frankly, he’s unlikely to remain at Blundell Park for too long. Usually deployed in the centre of the Mariner’s midfield three, no player in League Two has recorded more tackles than him this term (30), whilst the 50 times he’s won possession back for his side can only be bettered by Walsall’s Ryan Stirk (52).
An extra League Two stat: After netting vs Harrogate at the weekend, Bradford City’s Andy Cook has now scored 49 goals in total since the start of the 2022/23 season; with only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (73) scoring more often across England’s top four tiers in that time.
Spare a thought for..
Cardiff City, Portsmouth, Burton Albion, Cambridge United, Morecambe and Accrington Stanley who still all remain winless in the EFL so far this season.
Managers Steven Schumacher and Erol Bulut too, who became the latest to lose their jobs this month at Stoke City and Cardiff City respectively.
See you in a month’s time for the next EFL roundup!