25/05 - 15:00
We're getting close to the pinnacle of our 'Playmaker 72' list - and our 'Top 10' is now on the horizon.
It's certainly been no easy task, but - just to clarify - our '72' is less a roll call of the best footballers in the EFL and more a tribute to those players who have enjoyed the most memorable seasons while racking up the most impressive stats.
Whatever the criteria, we're confident in our selections of the most outstanding players through the Championship, League One, and League Two and welcome any debate on the subject!
Next up, we have a player who had two loan moves to EFL clubs this season and became the top scorer for both of them...
It's not easy for a young player to go from one successful loan spell to another in a season. It's even more difficult to do it by stepping up to a higher level but that's exactly what Joe Taylor has done this season.
The Luton Town forward began the campaign at struggling Colchester United where he shone and quickly outgrew his surroundings.
In 25 league games for the U's, Taylor chipped in with 11 goals and two assists. Considering that Colchester lost 16 of those games and were always looking like a team that may have to worry about the drop (which they eventually avoided) it's really impressive just how prolific Taylor was.
And despite not having played for Colchester since January 1st when his loan ended, Taylor was the club's top scorer for the entire 2023/24 season.
With that loan completed, Taylor went to Lincoln City and became the Imps' top scorer for the 2023/24 season – not a bad double-whammy!
Just to underline how well the 21-year-old has done on loan at Lincoln City this season, Taylor featured in 19 League One games where he scored 10 and assisted three.
👟 Joe Taylor picks up the Golden Boot award!
— Lincoln City FC 🇺🇦 (@LincolnCity_FC) April 28, 2024
🤝 This award has been sponsored by Logicool.#WeAreImps pic.twitter.com/aJk0JgPI9X
In that short period, Taylor had the best goals-per-90 minutes in the third tier. With 0.61 goals per 90, Taylor ranks ahead of the likes of Alfie May (0.60), Jordan Rhodes (0.59), Chris Martin (0.57), and Colby Bishop (0.53).
Similarly, with 13 direct goal involvements (goals + assists) per 90, Taylor tops that chart with 0.8 per 90 – ahead of Karamoko Dembele (0.72), Rhodes (0.71), and Jonson Clarke-Harris (0.63).
If there is any one disappointment for Taylor this season is that the Imps just missed out on the League One play-offs, finishing just two points behind sixth-placed Barnsley. However, only Portsmouth (44) and Derby (43) won more points (42) than Lincoln from Taylor's debut onwards.
So while the Welsh U21 international wasn't able to get his side up to the Championship this season, it would be no surprise to see Taylor playing in the division whether with Luton Town or on loan again next season.
Considering how easy Taylor found the step up from League Two to League One this season, he should have no problems in the Championship.
18: Eiran Cashin 19: Ali Al-Hamadi 20: Jack Clarke
21: Isaac Olaofe 22: Carl Piergiani 23: Jaden Philogene 24: Alfie May
25: Will Evans 26: Jamie Reid 27: Morgan Whittaker
28: Conor Chaplin 29: George Thomason 30: Mickey Demetriou
31: Stephy Mavididi 32: Marc Leonard 33: Josh Sheehan
34: Matt Smith 35: Kwame Poku 36: Illan Meslier 37: Aden Flint
38: Ronnie Edwards 39: Josh Sargent 40: Alex Gilbey 41: Ben Sheaf
42: Jobe Bellingham 43: Devante Cole 44: Jacob Greaves 45: Paddy Lane
46: Herbie Kane 47: Dan James 48: Archie Collins 49: Karamoko Dembele
50: Haji Wright 51: Dan Crowley 52: Cameron Brannagan 53: Aaron Collins
54: Andy Cook 55: Connor Shaughnessy 56: Jannik Vestergaard
57: Willy Gnonto 58: Ellis Simms 59: Charlie Hughes 60: Fatawu Isshaku
61: Sam Hoskins 62: Paul Mullin 63: Chris Martin 64: Omari Hutchinson
65: Isaac Hutchinson 66: Sam Tickle 67: Ben Hinchcliffe 68: Michał Helik
69: Lewis Wing 70: Rob Apter 71: Kyle Walker-Peters 72: Alex Palmer
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NameJoseph William John Taylor Born/Age2002-11-18(21 -yrs-old) Nationality Wales England PositionForward (Striker) | |
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