Goals & Goalscorers - comparison & analysis:

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Eggs

Player Valuation: £100m
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.
 

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.

Vernon is really underrated.

As a side project I converted every league season we have played into a season where there had been an average of 3 goals per game. Vernon suffers a bit on that metric, essentially he played at a time when more goals were scored. Royle and Sharp fair better, as does Lukaku.
 
Good post that Eggs, I think it is quite illuminating that Lukaku and Cottee (Who often got slagged off on here) are so high on the list, whereas Dunc, (who I never rated) is held up as a legend.

...of course there’s more to a strikers game than goals but it is interesting. I’m with you on Ferguson, but I wouldn’t have Cottee or Lukaku ahead of Sharp in my assessment of an all-around striker.
 
Good post that Eggs, I think it is quite illuminating that Lukaku and Cottee (Who often got slagged off on here) are so high on the list, whereas Dunc, (who I never rated) is held up as a legend.
It's basically all passion and loyalty with Dunc. And that's great, clubs need that, but it would be nice if we held our good players up on at least an equal pedestal.
 
Vernon is really underrated.

As a side project I converted every league season we have played into a season where there had been an average of 3 goals per game. Vernon suffers a bit on that metric, essentially he played at a time when more goals were scored. Royle and Sharp fair better, as does Lukaku.

....I’m sure @roy vernon isn’t surprised. Another factor might be penalties, as Vernon had a brilliant record from the spot but I didn’t notice many in our ‘63 title winning season when he was top scorer.
 
....I’m sure @roy vernon isn’t surprised. Another factor might be penalties, as Vernon had a brilliant record from the spot but I didn’t notice many in our ‘63 title winning season when he was top scorer.

Vernon from records is really a bit of a forgotten man. His record is excellent and he doesn't get mentioned much in our greatest 11's, but scored a lot of goals and won the title. From post war players, aside from Lineker he has the best scoring rate. He did play in an era where more goals were scored though, which changed a lot as the 60's went on. Royle is really underrated.

I should add, the pre-war era is fascinating. It's a whigs who of scorers. Southworth, Chadwick, Young, Milward, Geary,Parker, Settle, Lawton, Freeman etc.
 

...of course there’s more to a strikers game than goals but it is interesting. I’m with you on Ferguson, but I wouldn’t have Cottee or Lukaku ahead of Sharp in my assessment of an all-around striker.
Ask Gary Lineker, Heath and Gray their views on Sharp, a vastly underrated striker, but not by Everton fans. He had few equals in the air and had a touch that lukaku could only dream of having.
 
Great post Eggs.Saw a lot of Big Fred's goals what a record.Unfortunately never won anything with us.The cup final in 66 must have been heartbreaking for him not to have played.That was the thing in that period after we won the league in 63 apart from the 66 success we never won anything till 69.It was weird because we had some of the most talented players I've ever seen as an Evertonian.Europe was as big a let down as the league cup in that era.
 
Great post Eggs.Saw a lot of Big Fred's goals what a record.Unfortunately never won anything with us.The cup final in 66 must have been heartbreaking for him not to have played.That was the thing in that period after we won the league in 63 apart from the 66 success we never won anything till 69.It was weird because we had some of the most talented players I've ever seen as an Evertonian.Europe was as big a let down as the league cup in that era.

...good point, Donny. I recall Pickering coming back on with a huge bandage on his head in one of those European games. I think we got knocked out by an Hibernian team managed by Jock Stein. Europe was a missed opportunity.
 
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Roy Vernon's tally includes penalties.

Pickering's doesn't, as he did not take them.

Take the penalties out and Pickering is the top dog.

Don't get me wrong, however, I saw both and both were superb servants for us.
 

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