The Golden Shoe and Espadrille

The race for the greatest individual prizes in football is back on!

The Golden Shoe and Espadrille are becoming two of the most prestigious awards in the game, with past winners including Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba.

We all love goals and we love the men who score them even more, but just who are the best at sticking the ball in the back of the net?

Is it the player who nets the most, or the striker that always seems to pop up with that vital goal in big matches?

Well here at Soccer AM we think the players with the best goals-to-games ratio should be recognised, which is why every week we - with a little help from our friends at Opta - will be revealing who are statistically the best front men in Europe.

The Golden Shoe takes into account all the players from the top four divisions in England as well as the SPL, while The Espadrille will be focusing on the best forwards from Italy's Serie A, Spain's Primera Division and, of course, our very own English and Scottish top flights.

To qualify, players must have played in at least half of their side's matches this season and only league goals count.

The Golden Shoe

It hasn't been the best of weeks for Gary Hooper. The heartache of a Scottish League Cup final defeat with Celtic was followed by his withdrawal from his first ever England U21 squad due to injury.

He can however take some comfort in the knowledge that he's still in pole position for his first ever Golden Shoe, although Dimitar Berbatov's late winner against Bolton on Saturday means he won't be taking anything for granted.

With a goals-to-games ratio of just 0.08 separating top and fifth, this year's competition is still wide open. In fact, it isn't inconceivable that Gillingham's Cody McDonald could be crowned the most prolific striker in England and Scotland come the end of the season.

McDonald remains in 10th position, despite helping the Gills extend their unbeaten run to 12 league games against Burton Albion, with a solitary effort in the 1-1 draw.

However, with a ratio of 0.61 he will feel top spot is still well within his reach.

And he isn't the only one. Robin van Persie moved up one place into fourth, as he helped Arsenal come from two goals behind to rescue a point against West Bromwich Albion.

While new entrant Danny Graham's sensational form in recent weeks has earned him a place in the top ten for the first time this season - with Conor Sammon dropping out.

*Accurate as of 22/03/11

The Golden Espadrille

What's this, a third week in a row where Lionel Messi has failed to hit the back of the net... has the world gone mad!?

OK, maybe that's little bit over the top, but the way the Barcelona magician has been playing this season, three games without scoring constitutes a goal drought!

Add in to the mix the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo also failed to score this week and all of a sudden we've got a proper race on our hands.

La Liga's finest maybe a few lengths ahead, but Udinese's Antonio Di Natale is making up ground fast. The Italy star has hit overdrive since the turn of the year, including a run of seven goals in his last four matches.

There's no disguising the fact that there is still plenty of ground to cover, but if Serie A's top marksman can continue his fine run of form in front of goal he will no doubt push Messi and Ronaldo all the way to the finish line.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table one of Europe's finest striker's is in danger of dropping out of the top ten altogether.

David Villa might be a World Cup winner, but that counts for nothing in this competition. The Barcelona striker finds himself without a goal in his last four appearances for the Catalan giants and will need to find his shooting boots soon if he wants to remain amongst this year's elite.

*Accurate as of 22/03/11