MOST LEAGUE GOALS

Most League Goals in a Season were scored by William “Dixie” Dean (Everton) – 60 Goals in 39 Games – 1927/28.

Dean was undoubtedly one of the greatest players and goalscorers of his generation, and his exploits of the 1927/28 league season may never be bettered. Only 21 years old at the time, Dean netted a hat-trick on the final day of the season to reach the staggering 60-goal tally, and went on to score a total of 349 goals in 399 appearances. Fittingly, there is a statue of Dean outside Everton’s home ground Goodison Park. Most Premier League Goals in a Season by One Player. 

Erling Haaland now holds the record for the most goals in a Premier League season, with 35 (so far). The record previously belonged to Alan Shearer (1994/95) and Andy Cole (1993/94) with 34 goals. However, this was during a period when the Premier League season consisted of 42 games rather than the current 38. 

Mohamed Salah previously held the record for most goals in a 38-game Premier League season after he netted 32 times for Liverpool in the 2017/18 season, his first season at Anfield. After scoring on his debut at Watford on the opening weekend, he never went more than two league games without scoring, and only missed two of Liverpool’s 38 Premier League games. Having missed a penalty against Huddersfield earlier in the season, Salah set the new record with a goal in a 4-0 win over Brighton on the last day of the season. 

Players Who Scored 30+ Goals in a Premier League Season: 

    Rank                     Name                            Season          Total     Matches   Average

1	Erling Haaland	2022/23	35	31	1.13
2	Andy Cole	1993/94	34	40	0.85
3	Alan Shearer	1994/95	34	42	0.81
4	Mo Salah	2017/18	32	36	0.88
5	Luis Suarez	2013/14	31	33	0.94
6	Cristiano Ronaldo	2007/08	31	34	0.91
7	Alan Shearer	1995/96	31	35	0.89
8	Alan Shearer	1993/94	31	40	0.78
9	Kevin Phillips	1999/00	30	36	0.83
10	Harry Kane	2017/18	30	37	0.81
11	Thierry Henry	2003/04	30	37	0.81
12	Robin van Persie	2011/12	30	38	0.79

The top tier in English football today is the Premier League, replacing the FL First Division for the 1992-3 inaugural season. Since the 1888-9 season, the first year of top flight football, 109 different individual players have been named top scorer. Players from Spurs have been named top scorer more than players from any other club, appearing 13 times on this list. Jimmy Greaves, the all-time top goal scorer in top flight history, won it 4 times whilst at Tottenham. 18 different nationalities are represented and although the vast majority of players are English, there were 16 times where the top scorer in the First Division was Scottish. Since the Premier League started, the player (or players) is awarded the Golden Boot Trophy, for the most league goals in the season. In the Premier League era, Thierry Henry has won the Golden Boot more times than anyone else, winning this accolade four times, all with Arsenal. Wayne Rooney the Premier League's third highest goal scorer, does not appear on this list at all.

Once a rarity, a more widespread assortment of nationalities has achieved this success in recent years, in the 2018-19 season, it was shared between three players from different African countries, then in the 2021-2 season Son Heung-Min from South Korea, finished level with Egypt's Mohamed Salah. Sergio Aguero won the award once, scoring 26 in the 20154-15 season. The Argentinian striker, who between 2011 and 2021, scored 184 goals, to become the top foreign top flight goal scorer.

Since the turn of the millenium, only three Englishmen have won the award. In the 1999-2000 season Kevin Phillips won with 30 goals for Sunderland. This was a record for most goals by a debut player, in a 38 match season, until Erling Haarland broke it in the2022-3 season. Harry Kane, Spurs, won the Golden Boot in successive seasons when he scored 25 in 2015-16 and then 29 in the 2016-17 season. He won it again in the 2020-1 season with 23. The third is Jamie Vardy, the Leicester City striker scored 23 goals in the 2019-20 season. 

However no one has come close to breaking the records set by the legendary Dixie Dean. The Everton striker hit 60 goals in a single season nearly a century ago which is still a record today. Also his 310 goals scored for Everton is still the record for most goals scored for one club, who also still holds the records for most hat-tricks, overall and in a single season. 

Below the first season of the Football League and scorers

Football League (only division at the time) 1888-9: Top Scorers

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals	Matches played	Goals per match
1	John Goodall	Preston North End	21	21	1.00
2	James D. Ross	Preston North End	18	21	0.86
3	Albert Allen	Aston Villa	17	21	0.81
4	John Southworth	Blackburn Rovers	16	21	0.76
	Harry Wood	Wolverhampton Wanderers	16	17	0.94
6	Thomas Green	Aston Villa	14	21	0.67
7	James Brogan	Bolton Wanderers	13	22	0.59
	David Weir	Bolton Wanderers	13	22	0.59
9	Frederick Dewhurst	Preston North End	12	17	0.71
	Herbert L. Fecitt	Blackburn Rovers	12	17	0.71
	Alexander Barbour	Accrington	12	19	0.63
	Alexander Higgins	Derby County	12	21	0.57
	Thomas Pearson	West Bromwich Albion	12	22	0.55

John Goodall, Preston NE. 21 goals in 21 games.

Personal information
Date of birth	19 June 1863
Place of birth	Westminster, London, England
Date of death	20 May 1942 (aged 78)
Place of death	Watford, England
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Kilmarnock Burns
1880–1883	Kilmarnock Athletic
1883–1885	Great Lever
1885–1889	Preston North End	66	(56)
1889–1899	Derby County	211	(76)
1899	New Brighton Tower	6	(2)
1901–1903	Glossop	35	(8)
1903–1907	Watford	62	(14)
1910–1912	RC Roubaix
1912–1913	Mardy
International career
1888–1898	England	14	(12)
Managerial career
1903–1910	Watford
1910–1912	RC Roubaix
1912–1913	Mardy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals