9 February MW 23
GOALS GALORE
As has been highlighted many times here and elsewhere, this season has been one packed to the gunnels with red cards, own goals but above all else goals, goals and more goals. This week’s avalanche of 45 added to the already impressive tally in notching up the highest total for a PL weekend of ten matches. Saturday’s total of 26 in just five games, at 5.2 per game was the highest ratio in a single day of action.
Looking for a rationale behind this rash of scoring a host of theories have been suggested and in truth they all have credibility so it’s a combination of factors. From counterpressing to fewer out-and-out defenders to Sheffield United’s record-breaking porous defence [59 in 23 matches is on course to put 2007/08 Derby’s shame in the shade], have made the net bulge more than is considered normal.
MORE TIME = MORE GOALS
One of the main reasons put forward is the instruction, that was brought in this season, to ensure that there is sufficient allowance made when play is halted. This has led to significant amount of additional added time, on average around eleven and a half minutes per match, which is more than three minutes over last season. That equates to 19 extra hours played which is the equivalent of nearly thirteen more matches over the season. As pointed out previously on here all this added time is when there are tired minds and bodies which will lead to more slip-ups.
A curiosity of the current rate of 3.2 goals is that there are no individual goalscorers who are leading form the front. Erling Haaland and Mo Salah are joint top scorers with 14, which is just over half a goal a game. While both have missed a handful of matches so the lower rate is understandable, consider that in his debut season Haaland clocked up nearly a goal a game, there is a considerable drop-off from those heights.
RECORD BREAKERS
If the current rate of 3.2 goals per game is maintained it will yield a total of 1,216 for the season, way ahead of last season’s record of 1,084 [for a 20 club season]. The highest ever number of goals scored was 1,222, which was in the first Premier League season when there were 82 more matches played.
Last weekend was not on the scale of the much-fabled and almost fantastical Christmas Eve 1963, which generated 66 goals in just ten games but then again that blue riband weekend will never be emulated.
The Football Mine 