Two months ago, you could have got odds of 80/1 that Andy Carroll would be the top goalscorer in the Premier League this season. However, the Newcastle striker has embarked on a goal spree which means he has to be taken seriously in the race to win the Golden Boot.
Ladbrokes are the only firm to offer double figure odds with their quote of 12/1, which can be explained by the fact that the Magic Sign don’t have big liabilities on the England international. At each-way terms of ¼ the odds for the first three places, this price is worthy of consideration when Carroll stands on ten goals.
The other player on ten at the moment is Carlos Tevez, although the striker’s odds have been on the drift from the moment that he handed in a transfer request at the start of the week. Many people who backed him at 14/1 in August must have thought they were on to a good thing, although Boylesports are prepared to lay 7/1 since the latest reports coming from Eastlands. Ladbrokes are wary of taking on Tevez and still have 3/1.
Both of these players are currently one goal behind Dimitar Berbatov, with the Bulgarian available at 4/1 with Stan James to remain top of the pile come the end of the season. In my opinion, these odds are too short, especially as Sir Alex Ferguson opted to leave Berbatov on the bench for the recent 1-0 win over Arsenal and might do the same for the weekend trip to Chelsea.
In addition, eight of the forward’s eleven goals have come in two matches, at home to Liverpool and Blackburn. When Berba’s in the mood, he’s really in the mood, although it could well be the case that Wayne Rooney (50/1 Coral) starts taking the lion’s share of the Manchester United goals.
Rooney was wasteful from the penalty spot against the Gunners, a day after Didier Drogba had missed from ten yards for Chelsea and it’s clear that the Ivorian is not firing on all cylinders this season. However, the Blues striker is only four goals behind Berbatov, with William Hill offering 4/1 that he retains his Golden Boot ahead of his rivals this season.
It’s hard to see any of these four players being beaten to the Top Goalscorer award, despite the fact that Samir Nasri (33/1 Ladbrokes) and Johan Elmander (50/1 Skybet) have eight goals to their name this season. In the case of Nasri, he is ultimately a midfielder who has enjoyed a recent purple patch but can’t be expected to score on a regular basis.
Elmander has never been as prolific as the first half of this season and the fact that Kevin Davies takes the penalties weighs against the Swede. Nevertheless, Drogba and Rooney might find themselves removed from duty after their weekend misses!
