When Odion Ighalo nutmegged Eric Dier and beat Hugo Loris to equalise for Watford against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday he scored for the sixth successive game and netted his 30th league goal of 2015. It confirmed the striker’s status as the leading scorer in English football’s top four tiers this year and also ensured he achieved a feat unrivaled in Hornets history for 55 years.
Research by Watford Mailing List’s Jon Sinclair shows the Nigerian international is the first player to score 30 league goals in a calendar year for Watford since Cliff Holton netted 35 in 1960 and only the fifth to net at least 30 from a January to December period in the club’s history.
Frank McPherson tops the list of Watford’s top league scorers in a calendar year with 37 in 41 appearances in 1929, followed by Holton’s 35 in 42 appearances. Fred Pagnam is third with 34 in 43 appearances in 1922, while Ighalo (37 appearances) has matched George James’ (31 appearances) achievement of scoring 30 in 1930.
In terms of goals in all competitions, Ighalo is the ninth Watford player to score 30 or more in a calendar year.
The list of those to have achieved that feat is:
Cliff Holton (1960): 41 goals in 51 appearances
Frank McPherson (1929): 40 goals in 46 appearances
Fred Pagnam (1922): 36 goals in 45 appearances
George James (1930): 34 goals in 33 appearances
Ross Jenkins (1978): 32 goals in 51 appearances
Keith Mercer (1977): 31 goals in 49 appearances
Luther Blissett (1982): 31 goals in 55 appearances
Cliff Holton (1959): 30 goals in 49 appearances
Odion Ighalo (2015): 30 goals in 38 appearances
Ighalo is one game away from making more Hornets history because if he scores against Manchester City on Saturday, he will equal McPherson’s feat of netting in seven consecutive league matches in the 1928/29 season.
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