10 away from history: Can Jordan Rhodes become the Championship’s greatest ever goalscorer? | OneFootball

There was a palpable sense of déja-vu at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday, with Danny Ward and Jordan Rhodes both on the scoresheet for the first time since 10 years ago as Huddersfield Town defeated Stoke City.

Rhodes in particular has had a glittering career which can be split between his prolific spell at Huddersfield pre-2012 and his journey around the league as a goalscoring hired gun at Blackburn, Boro and Sheffield Wednesday after that, racking up £30m in cumulative transfer fees along the way.

But, now into his second season back at the club where he arguably produced his best performances, the question is: can Jordan Rhodes grab ten more goals to become the Championship’s all-time top scorer?

The answer is not as straightforward as one might think.

Rhodes currently has two years to go on his Huddersfield contract, which will expire when the former Scotland international is 34.

The striker therefore finds himself in a race against time for two reasons: firstly, there is no guarantee that a forward-thinking and predominantly youth-focused Terriers side will extend Rhodes beyond the summer of 2024; and secondly, Rhodes’ output has significantly decreased despite his goal at the weekend as he ages into the twilight of his career.

Plenty of prolific strikers have continued their rate of goalscoring into their mid-30s in the second tier – Kevin Phillips, Lewis Grabban and Daryl Murphy to name but a few – but the stats show that Rhodes may not progress in the same way.

In the past six seasons, the striker has failed to put up more than seven strikes in a single campaign, averaging 4.5 goals per season since turning 26.

If he maintains that same strike rate, he’ll fall just short of Billy Sharp’s record by the time his contract with Huddersfield comes to an end – and despite his goal last weekend, it should be remembered that Rhodes only came on as an 83rd minute substitute for Danny Ward.

Unless he can wedge his way into more minutes for Huddersfield, it’s difficult to see Rhodes’ knack of scoring in seven minute cameos continuing consistently over the rest of the season.

It would also be foolish to ignore the Billy Sharp factor.

The legendary Sheffield United talisman is four years older than Rhodes, but sits 9 goals ahead of him in the all-time league scoring standings and clearly still has something to offer, having registered 14 goals and 7 assists for the Blades last year. He has made appearances in every game this season, so Rhodes will surely be hoping that father time catches up with Sharp soon.

It is shaping up to be a truly intriguing race for the all-time scoring title over the next few years.

It’s going to be a close one.