South African Premier League is ranked among the best leagues in the world but the strikers have failed to live up to that billing.
Percy Tau of Mamelodi Sundowns and Rodney Ramagalela of Polokwane City are leading the pack with 11 goals each after 27 rounds of matches.
It looks like this will be the sixth season where strikers have failed to go beyond the 15 goal mark.
Bafana Bafana legend Siyabonga “Bhele” Nomvethe was the last striker to take the Absa Premiership by storm.
Bhele, who’s plying his trade at AmaZulu, netted 20 strikes to walk away with the PSL Golden Boot during his stint with Moroka Swallows in 2011/12.
13, 10, 14, 14 and 13. These are not lottery numbers but the number of goals notched up by our top strikers in the past five seasons.
Katlego Mashego won the Golden Boot with 13 goals with Swallows in 2012/13 and the numbers dropped rapidly in 2013/14 when Bernard Parker’s 10 strikes were enough for him to be crowned best in the league.
Former Bafana goal poacher Phil Masinga has attributed the lack of goals to many factors.
“We don’t have a lot of out-and-out strikers now. Strikers who will stay in the box and score goals. We don’t have those predators who stay in box. Strikers like Lukaku (Romero of Manchester United) - those are box strikers who only think about putting the ball in the back of the net," Masinga explained.
“Tau has been great to watch this season. He has scored and assisted in more goals. He is more of a ball player who likes to play away from the box. He should have scored more than 15 goals but he has been unlucky. I hope he can score more in the remaining matches," Masinga said.
Last season Lebohang Manyama clinched the Golden Boot gong after netting 13 goals for Cape Town City.
Katlego Mashego was known for his scoring prowess. Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Collins Mbesuma still holds the record for the most goals in a single PSL season was the first player to win the Golden Boot twice under PSL era. Mbesuma netted 25 strikes for Kaizer Chiefs in 2004/05, and scored 14 for Black Aces in 2015/16.
In 2014/15, Moeketsi Sekola netted 14 goals for Free State Stars to be crowned the best striker in the league.
“The style of play of some of the teams have also contributed in the lower tally of goals by strikers in the past seasons. Most of the teams rely on counter-attacks. There are few teams that play an attacking brand of football,” Masinga concluded.
Wilfred Mugeyi (Bush Bucks, 22), Pollen Ndlanya (Kaizer Chiefs, 21), Mbesuma (Chiefs, 25) and Siyabonga Nomvethe (Swallows, 20) are the only marksman to score 20 goals or more.
The Golden Boot is named for Lesley Manyathela, who scored 18 goals for Pirates in 2002/03, but died a few months afterwards.