Swansea lead wild Championship start as goals fly in
The Championship has scored 277 goals in its first eight rounds, the second-highest total at this stage since the division took its current name in 2004.
That is 36 more than at the same point last season, even though one fewer match has been played, after an opening block of eight games packed into 37 days in September, according to BBC Sport. The league, England's second tier, now pauses for a near three-week international break.
Swansea City lead the way. They have 17 points from eight games.
It is a low total for leaders. Only once since 2004 has the team on top after eight matches had fewer than 17 points. Seven points separate the top 15 sides.
QPR, Stoke City, Bristol City and Charlton Athletic sit in the chasing pack behind Swansea. Wolves and Portsmouth both have a game in hand, after their fixture was postponed because of Carabao Cup clashes.
History says take the early table with a pinch of salt. Six teams before Swansea had led after eight games with 17 points. Only two of them, Leeds United in 2019-20 and Sheffield United in 2022-23, went on to win promotion to the Premier League.
Brighton offer another warning. They were top after eight games in 2012 with 16 points and finished fourth, then lost in the play-offs, the end-of-season knockout tournament for promotion.
What makes this stand out is how open it feels. No one has pulled clear. A single win can lift a mid-table side into the top six, and a single defeat can drop a contender back into the pack.
At the other end, Burnley are bottom. They have four points and no wins from eight games entering the break.
No side has ever been promoted from the Championship after going winless in its opening eight fixtures. Preston, Cardiff and Derby are the only other sides averaging fewer than a point a game.
Derby deepened Burnley's trouble on the Saturday before the break, rescuing a last-gasp draw at Turf Moor.
Burnley arrived in this season with recent highs still fresh. They won the 2022-23 title with 101 points under Vincent Kompany, then went down with 24 points the next season. They were promoted again with 100 points and only 16 goals conceded under Scott Parker, then were relegated with four games left last season, which led to Parker's exit.
Nicky Hayen was appointed manager 29 days before the first game of this season.
The goals have a clear pattern. Crosses, balls played in from wide areas, have produced 47 goals. That total has been beaten only once in the past nine seasons at the same stage.
Headers account for 44 of those 47. That is the most by some distance over the past five seasons.
Throw-ins are back as a weapon too. Nine goals have come from throws, the second-most at this stage in the past 14 seasons behind only the 12 scored last season. For context, from 2013-14 to 2020-21, only 14 goals in total across those eight seasons had come from throw-ins by this point.
One of the early stars is Bristol City's Rio Cardines. The full-back, on loan from Crystal Palace, has six assists. No player in Europe's top leagues had more at that point.
West Bromwich Albion are another early story. They sit in the top five after eight games, a year after finishing in the bottom five.
