National League Xmas Summary

With the festive season upon us and the end of the year in sight, Playmaker are here to run through the National League stats you simply need to know this Christmas. 

From prolific marksmen to assists merchants, clean sheet specialists to yellow card magnets, we have got you covered. 

Off we go!

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Top Scorer: Paul McCallum (Eastleigh) - 18 goals

Averaging a mightily impressive goal a game, Eastleigh striker McCallum has been in outstanding form so far this season - three of his strikes proving to be matchwinners for the 11th-placed Spitfires. 

The 30-year-old former Chesterfield forward has scored 46% of his side's goals this season - a bigger portion of a team's goals than any other player - and he has also supplied two assists into the bargain. 

With a bumper festive calendar of football in store, it appears McCallum is set to peak this Christmas, his double in a 5-3 win over Aldershot last weekend meaning he has hit nine goals in his last six appearances. 

Watch out Dorking (23rd December) and Dagenham & Redbridge (Boxing Day), who are next up for Eastleigh!

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Top Assist Merchant:

Currently in the play-off places, Gateshead have played some impressive football so far this season and 23-year-old former Sunderland midfielder Stephen Wearne has been at the heart of it.

With 10 to his name so far this season, Wearne tops the National League assist charts and he has also banged home 10 goals himself to show he knows where the back of the net is. In fact, no player in the fifth tier has been more productive than Wearne this term - the aforementioned Paul McCallum the only other player in the division with 20 goal involvements.

What is even more impressive is that Wearne is the ONLY player across the top five tiers of English football to register double figures for both goals and assists in 2023/24. 

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Super Sub

It's perhaps an unwanted claim to fame, but there is definitely an art to making an impact off the bench - and Chesterfield's Joe Quigley has had the midas touch in that respect this season.

An integral part of the Chesterfield side that currently tops the National League by eight points, Quigley has delivered in a big way for the Spireites this season with five of his seven goals coming as a substitute.

A modern day Solskjaer, Quigley averages a goal every 80 minutes this term, which is an even better goals-to-minute ratio than the division's top scorer McCallum.

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Most Minutes:

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the quartet of players to see most game-time so far this season in the National League are all goalkeepers: Rochdale's Louis Moulden, Ebbsfleet's Mark Cousins, Kidderminster stopper Christian Dibble and Maidenhead's Craig Ross all tied on 2160 minutes.

There is an interesting aside here, as Moulden has bagged more assists (3) than any keeper in the top five tiers so far this season - which is very impressive! 

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Most Cautions Received:

This is probably not the chart you want to top out of those we're covering in this summary. but someone has to lead the way...and that man is Chesterfield's Mike Jones.

He may only have played 14 National League games so far this season, but Jones has been booked in 10 of them, although to his credit he has yet to receive a red card.

Eastleigh's Scott Quigley can match Jones, in terms of the quantity of bookings he has received - but the Chesterfield man is out on his own when it comes to his minutes-to-booking ratio! 

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Most Clean Sheets: 

With a name that is eerily resemblant of a current Premier League stopper, Halifax Town's Sam Johnson is top of the pile for National League shutouts this term with eight.

Currently just outside the play-off places, Halifax have the meanest defence in the fifth tier this term (only 21 goals conceded), and they have a chance of doing something this season if they maintain their watertight defensive record.

Before we sign off, we should highlight a curiousity regarding Kidderminster's Christian Dibble (who also featured in our 'Most Minutes' section above!). Dibble has racked up seven National League clean sheets this season, despite his team languishing second from bottom in the table! Despite only shipping 30 goals this term, Harriers have had gigantic problems in front of goal  - only hitting the net a measly 17 times so far in 2023/24. Where would they be without Dibble and his backline?!