Did Any National League Top Scorers Emulate Vardy? – Part 1 – Opinion

National League sides return to training next week with the new season just over six weeks away from commencing. Many discussions will start to be had about who is the favourite for the title, who will drop into regional football and who might be the next Jamie Vardy and break onto the scene as the league’s top goalscorer.

But have any of the previous top goalscorers had an impact anywhere near that of Vardy’s? We’ll be taking a look back starting with Vardy himself, across three articles, at the National League’s top scorers and what happened to them and their footballing careers.

2011-12: Jamie Vardy – Fleetwood Town: 

Title Winners: Fleetwood Town

Play Off Winners: York City

Relegated: Bath City, Darlington, Hayes & Yeading United, Kettering Town

Jamie Vardy started his career as a Sheffield Wednesday youth product before his release in 2003. The striker dropped into non-league football with Stocksbridge Park Steels and FC Halifax Town before joining Fleetwood Town. Vardy finished as the Conference Premier’s top scorer in his first season with the Cod Army and helped Fleetwood to the title and promotion with 31 goals to his name. 

He never played in League Two for Fleetwood as he was snapped up by Leicester City for £1 million. Vardy has since had a trophy winning career with the Foxes including winning the Championship title twice, the Premier League, FA Cup, FA Community Shield and the Premier League golden boot. The 37 year old made 26 appearances for England, including in the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, and has signed a new one year deal with Leicester ahead of the 2024-25 season. 

2012-13: Matt Green – Mansfield Town

Title Winners: Mansfield Town

Play Off Winners: Newport County

Relegated: AFC Telford United, Barrow, Ebbsfleet United, Stockport County

Matt Green played for a total of fifteen different clubs during his playing career with his most prolific spell during the 2012-13 season with Mansfield Town. Green started his career in the Bristol City academy but was released and went on to play for a number of Conference Premier and League Two sides including Newport County, Torquay United and Oxford United. 

Green joined Mansfield Town in 2011 and helped the Stags to the Conference Premier title in 2012-13 with a total of 25 goals during the season. He made a total of 87 league appearances for the club and scored a total of 54 goals. His prolific time at the club earned him a move to Championship side Birmingham City in 2013.

The striker never made an impact during his two seasons at Birmingham having been injured for the majority of his time there. After ten appearances and one goal for the Blues he returned to Mansfield and spent the remainder of his career in the lower reaches of the EFL without really making much of an impact.

The 37 year old was a member of Lincoln City’s EFL Trophy winning and League Two promotion squad in 2017-18 & 2018-19 respectively. Green has predominantly spent his time in non-league football since then with the likes of Gloucester City, Yate Town and last season with Eastbourne Borough.

2013-14: Andre Gray – Luton Town

Title Winners: Luton Town

Play Off Winners: Cambridge United

Relegated: Tamworth, Hyde, Salisbury City, Hereford United

Arguably the player that has been the closest to emulating Jamie Vardy’s success. Andre Gray started his playing career as a product of the Shrewsbury Town youth academy before earning a professional contract with the Salop. 

He didn’t make an impact in Shropshire, making a total of four appearances before ending up with Conference North side Hinckley United. Gray went on to score 29 goals in 65 appearances for the non-league side. His spell for Hinckley led him to signing for Conference Premier side Luton Town despite supposed interest from Championship and League One clubs. 

Gray was part of the Luton Town side that reached the FA Cup fifth round in 2012-13, knocking out Premier League Norwich City in the process. The following season, he finished as the league’s top scorer with 30 goals in 45 appearances, helping Luton gain promotion back to the EFL as champions. After impressive performances during his 111 appearances for the Hatters, Gray earned a move and three year deal at Championship side Brentford. 

The striker went on to play 47 times for the West London club and scored 18 goals in 2014-15 helping the Bees reach the Championship play-offs before losing in the semi-finals to Middlesbrough. In the summer of 2015, Gray joined Championship side Burnley and secured promotion to the Premier League having scored 23 goals in 41 appearances. 

During his time in England’s top tier he scored 23 goals for Burnley and Watford and was a runner up in the 2018-19 FA Cup with the Hornets. He has since had spells with Queens Park Rangers, Aris and currently plays in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Riyadh. The 32 year old is of Jamaican descent and has made 13 appearances for The Reggae Boyz scoring 3 times. 

2014-15: John Akinde – Barnet

Title Winners: Barnet

Play Off Winners: Bristol Rovers

Relegated: Alfreton Town, AFC Telford United, Dartford, Nuneaton Town

John Akinde is a name familiar to many within EFL and non-league football. Having pulled on the shirt for 15 different EFL and non-league clubs, his most prolific time as a goalscorer was in the fifth tier with Barnet. 

He began his career at Ebbsfleet United before loan spells on the Kent coast with Whitstable Town and Margate. He tasted success at Ebbsfleet winning the FA Trophy in 2007-08 prior to a move to Bristol City in the Championship, making 16 appearances for the Robins across three seasons but only scoring the one goal. 

Akinde then spent the next nine seasons in League One and Two for various clubs before dropping to the Conference Premier with Alfreton Town where he scored 18 goals in 43 appearances. It was his time at the Derbyshire side that caught the attention of Barnet. The London born striker was the Conference Premier top scorer in 2014-15 scoring 31 goals in 45 games for the Bees to help them secure the title and promotion to the EFL. 

The striker continued scoring on his return to the football league with 56 goals across the next three seasons for Barnet. Akinde never hit the heights of Vardy or Gray but scored 15 goals for Lincoln City during their League Two promotion campaign in 2018-19. A spell at Gillingham followed before a move to Colchester United whom the 34 year old made 14 appearances for last season.