I think it was Mark Twain who spoke about ‘lies, damned lies & statistics’, but whilst goalscoring data might not tell the whole story, i don’t think it lies.
Prompted by a discussion with the folk in the Old Pictures thread, I did a quick bit of analysis to determine our true goalscorers. I might have missed somebody obvious, so feel free to fill in any gaps. Some of the outcomes surprised me a little. Apologies if the odd calculation is wrong.
As a rule of thumb, I considered those with an approximate minimum of 100 games, and post-1960 only.
The Attackers
Roy Vernon 176 games, 101 goals. Ratio a goal every 1.7 games.
Fred Pickering 97 games, 56 goals. 1 in 1.7
Romelu Lukaku 110 games, 53 goals. 1 in 2
Bob Latchford 236 games, 106 goals 1 in 2.2
Joe Royle 232 games, 102 goals. I in 2.2
Tony Cottee 184 games, 72 goals. 1 in 2.5
Graham Sharp 322 games, 111 goals. 1 in 2.9
Alex Young 228 games, 77 goals. 1 in 2.9
Adrian Heath 226 games, 71 goals. 1 in 3,1
Paul Rideout 111 games, 29 goals. 1 in 3.8
Duncan Ferguson 239 games, 60 goals. 1 in 3.9.
i‘m amazed at Vernon’s exceptional goal quota, especially as i never saw him as a conventional centre forward. As I recall, he largely partnered Alex Young. I’m reminded of Brian Labone saying; “Taffy Vernon was about 10st wet through. He looked about as athletic as Pinocchio.” Fantastic record for a player who contributed lots more than goals. Respect.
The Wingers
Derek Temple 234 games, 72 goals. 1 in 3.2
Kevin Sheedy 274 games, 67 goals. 1 in 4
Trevor Steven 210 games, 48 goals. 1 in 4.3
Johnny Morrissey 250 games, 43 goals. 1 in 5.1
Alex Scott 149 games, 23 goals. 1 in 6.4
Again, surprised by Temple’s goal ratio. Of course, this doesn’t tell the whole story as ‘assists’ are a key aspect of wide play. Regardless, it seems our most successful teams had decent goalscoring contributions from wide positions.
Midfielders
Alan Ball 208 games, 66 goals. 1 in 3.1
Jimmy Husband 165 games, 44 goals. 1 in 3.7
Andy King 195 games, 49 goals. 1 in 3.9
Tim Cahill 226 games, 56 goals. 1 in 4
Mikel Arteta 162 games, 27 goals. 1 in 6.
Graham Stuart 136 games, 22 goals. 1 in 6.1
Ross Barkley 150 games, 21 goals. 1 in 7.
Howard Kendall 229 games, 21 goals. 1 in 10.9
Colin Harvey 320 games, 18 goals. 1 in 17.7
Peter Reid 158 games, 18 goals. 1 in 19.8.
No surprise Ball is tops. Bit of conjecture, some might see Jimmy Husband as an attacker, but he was an attacking midfielder for me. I chucked Harvey, Kendall and Reid into the list to demonstrate two of our greatest ever teams had two defensive midfielders who didn’t contribute goals.
Defenders
Derek Mountfield 106 games, 19 goals. 1 in 5.5
Mick Lyons 390 games, 48 goals. 1 in 8.
Leighton Baines 342 games, 29 goals. 1 in 11.7
John Hurst 349 games, 29 goals. 1 in 12
Seamus Coleman 256 games, 20 goals. 1 in 12.8
Mountfield phenominal, especially considering how important some of those goals were. Mountfield and Hurst, vital scoring CBs in title winning teams.
Prompted by a discussion with the folk in the Old Pictures thread, I did a quick bit of analysis to determine our true goalscorers. I might have missed somebody obvious, so feel free to fill in any gaps. Some of the outcomes surprised me a little. Apologies if the odd calculation is wrong.
As a rule of thumb, I considered those with an approximate minimum of 100 games, and post-1960 only.
The Attackers
Roy Vernon 176 games, 101 goals. Ratio a goal every 1.7 games.
Fred Pickering 97 games, 56 goals. 1 in 1.7
Romelu Lukaku 110 games, 53 goals. 1 in 2
Bob Latchford 236 games, 106 goals 1 in 2.2
Joe Royle 232 games, 102 goals. I in 2.2
Tony Cottee 184 games, 72 goals. 1 in 2.5
Graham Sharp 322 games, 111 goals. 1 in 2.9
Alex Young 228 games, 77 goals. 1 in 2.9
Adrian Heath 226 games, 71 goals. 1 in 3,1
Paul Rideout 111 games, 29 goals. 1 in 3.8
Duncan Ferguson 239 games, 60 goals. 1 in 3.9.
i‘m amazed at Vernon’s exceptional goal quota, especially as i never saw him as a conventional centre forward. As I recall, he largely partnered Alex Young. I’m reminded of Brian Labone saying; “Taffy Vernon was about 10st wet through. He looked about as athletic as Pinocchio.” Fantastic record for a player who contributed lots more than goals. Respect.
The Wingers
Derek Temple 234 games, 72 goals. 1 in 3.2
Kevin Sheedy 274 games, 67 goals. 1 in 4
Trevor Steven 210 games, 48 goals. 1 in 4.3
Johnny Morrissey 250 games, 43 goals. 1 in 5.1
Alex Scott 149 games, 23 goals. 1 in 6.4
Again, surprised by Temple’s goal ratio. Of course, this doesn’t tell the whole story as ‘assists’ are a key aspect of wide play. Regardless, it seems our most successful teams had decent goalscoring contributions from wide positions.
Midfielders
Alan Ball 208 games, 66 goals. 1 in 3.1
Jimmy Husband 165 games, 44 goals. 1 in 3.7
Andy King 195 games, 49 goals. 1 in 3.9
Tim Cahill 226 games, 56 goals. 1 in 4
Mikel Arteta 162 games, 27 goals. 1 in 6.
Graham Stuart 136 games, 22 goals. 1 in 6.1
Ross Barkley 150 games, 21 goals. 1 in 7.
Howard Kendall 229 games, 21 goals. 1 in 10.9
Colin Harvey 320 games, 18 goals. 1 in 17.7
Peter Reid 158 games, 18 goals. 1 in 19.8.
No surprise Ball is tops. Bit of conjecture, some might see Jimmy Husband as an attacker, but he was an attacking midfielder for me. I chucked Harvey, Kendall and Reid into the list to demonstrate two of our greatest ever teams had two defensive midfielders who didn’t contribute goals.
Defenders
Derek Mountfield 106 games, 19 goals. 1 in 5.5
Mick Lyons 390 games, 48 goals. 1 in 8.
Leighton Baines 342 games, 29 goals. 1 in 11.7
John Hurst 349 games, 29 goals. 1 in 12
Seamus Coleman 256 games, 20 goals. 1 in 12.8
Mountfield phenominal, especially considering how important some of those goals were. Mountfield and Hurst, vital scoring CBs in title winning teams.