Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 1946 0.00 2.54 3.36 2.95 1947 3.27 2.75 3.87 3.30 1948 2.91 2.86 3.82 3.20 1949 2.82 2.92 4.05 3.26 Avg. 3.00 2.77 3.78 3.18 Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 1950 2.70 3.33 4.25 3.43 1951 3.06 3.14 4.32 3.51 1952 3.23 2.90 4.11 3.41 1953 3.26 2.71 3.90 3.29 1954 3.52 2.70 3.52 3.25 1955 3.40 2.72 3.75 3.29 1956 3.31 2.74 3.78 3.28 1957 3.49 2.76 3.24 3.16 1958 3.73 2.87 3.30 3.30 1959 3.66 2.93 3.23 3.27 Avg. 3.34 2.88 3.74 3.32 Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 1960 3.50 2.42 3.36 3.09 1961 3.73 2.66 3.15 3.18 1962 3.42 2.52 3.17 3.04 1963 3.32 2.42 3.10 2.95 1964 3.40 2.11 2.79 2.77 1965 3.34 2.09 2.75 2.73 1966 3.15 2.18 2.54 2.62 1967 3.00 2.00 2.73 2.58 1968 3.03 2.10 2.72 2.62 1969 2.63 2.07 2.34 2.35 Avg. 3.25 2.26 2.87 2.79 Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 1970 2.62 1.93 2.36 2.30 1971 2.36 2.10 2.26 2.24 1972 2.51 2.01 2.21 2.24 1973 2.51 1.87 2.14 2.17 1974 2.40 2.07 2.32 2.26 1975 2.63 1.95 2.43 2.34 1976 2.66 2.26 2.50 2.47 1977 2.56 2.22 2.71 2.50 1978 2.66 2.13 2.75 2.51 1979 2.63 1.90 2.70 2.41 Avg. 2.55 2.04 2.44 2.35 Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 1980 2.51 1.88 2.51 2.30 1981 2.66 1.92 2.71 2.43 1982 2.54 1.98 2.79 2.44 1983 2.74 2.10 2.55 2.46 1984 2.71 2.39 2.56 2.55 1985 2.79 2.10 2.16 2.35 1986 2.79 2.06 2.61 2.49 1987 2.63 1.93 2.40 2.32 1988 2.50 2.10 2.39 2.33 1989 2.44 2.11 2.28 2.28 Avg. 2.63 2.06 2.50 2.39 Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 1990 2.60 2.24 2.42 2.42 1991 2.77 2.29 2.16 2.41 1992 2.52 2.27 2.40 2.40 1993 2.80 2.80 2.51 2.70 1994 2.42 2.42 2.60 2.48 1995 2.53 2.53 2.54 2.53 1996 2.63 2.63 2.70 2.65 1997 2.64 2.64 2.75 2.68 1998 2.77 2.77 2.66 2.73 1999 2.76 2.76 2.64 2.72 Avg. 2.64 2.54 2.54 2.57 Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 2000 2,50 2,50 2,63 2,54 2001 2,76 2,76 2,88 2,80 2002 2,63 2,63 2,53 2,60 2003 2,58 2,58 2,67 2,61 2004 2,67 2,67 2,67 2,67 2005 2,53 2,53 2,58 2,55 2006 2,61 2,61 2,46 2,56 2007 2,55 2,55 2,48 2,53 2008 2,55 2,55 2,69 2,60 2009 2,60 2,60 2,90 2,70 Avg. 2.60 2.60 2.65 2.62 Season England Italy Spain Avg./season 2010 2.61 2.61 2.71 2.64 2011 2.51 2.51 2.74 2.59 2012 2.56 2.56 2.76 2.63 2013 2.64 2.64 2.87 2.72 2014 2.72 2.72 2.75 2.73 2015 2.69 2.69 2.66 2.68 Avg. 2.62 2.62 2.75 2.66
So this is how the average combined goal ratios in all three leagues have developed: 1940s 3.18 1950s 3.32 1960s 2.79 1970s 2.35 1980s 2.39 1990s 2.57 2000s 2.62 2010s 2.66 Goal ratios have been rising steadly since the 1970s. To me this shows that traditionalists are right when they state that offensive players today are at an advantage compared to offensive players in the past because there is less lenient refereeing and more protection given to offensive players. Equipment is getting better and the top players in the top leagues are being treated to individually tailored equipment which enhances precision in shooting and passing, as do pitches that are in a much better shape these days. Top speed dribbling is less dangerous today as ruthless tackling from behind is outlawed. Defenders are more likely to get send-off which gives offensive players numerical advantages. The sophisticated defensive systems of today demand very high level of concentration which wears on players over the course of a game and increases the potential for errors due to lapses in concentration. Offensive players facing zonal systems are also less likely to get deterred at the moment they receive the ball, unlike in man-marking systems with the constant presence of marker shadowing every move an offensive player makes in the dangerous zones.
This is the development per league: England 1940s 3.00 1950s 3.34 1960s 3.25 1970s 2.55 1980s 2.63 1990s 2.64 2000s 2.60 2010s 2.62 From lowest-scoring decade to highes: 1970s 2.55 2000s 2.60 2010s 2.62 1980s 2.63 1940s 3.00 1960s 3.25 1950s 3.34 Italy 1940s 2.77 1950s 2.88 1960s 2.26 1970s 2.04 1980s 2.06 1990s 2.54 2000s 2.60 2010s 2.62 From lowest-scoring decade to highes: 1970s 2.04 1980s 2.06 1960s 2.26 1990s 2.54 2000s 2.60 2010s 2.62 1940s 2.77 1950s 2.88 Spain 1940s 3.18 1950s 3.32 1960s 2.79 1970s 2.35 1980s 2.39 1990s 2.57 2000s 2.62 2010s 2.66 From lowest-scoring decade to highes: 1970s 2.35 1980s 2.39 1990s 2.57 2000s 2.62 2010s 2.66 1960s 2.79 1940s 3.18 1950s 3.32
But how do you explain the ridiculous goal rates of the 1950s and before? And the sudden drop in the 70s? Interesting statistics indeed. Another important statistics is the spread of goals. For example, it could be possible that in today's games, the average teams don't score more many more, but the top 4-5 teams are much more dominant. There is also, perhaps, an aspect of arms race. Maybe tactically speaking, defense was superior to offense in the low-scoring eras, while offense has once again taken the lead.
Here is the ratio of the average goals scored by the two highest scoring clubs in La Liga to the average goals per club: 2015-2016: 111.0/52.15 = 2.13 2014-2015: 114.0/50.45 = 2.26 2013-2014: 102.0/52.25 = 1.95 2012-2013: 109.0/54.55 = 2.00 2011-2012: 117.5/52.50 = 2.24 Five season total: 553.5/261.90 = 2.11 1975-1976: 60.5/42.50 = 1.42 1974-1975: 62.0/41.39 = 1.50 1973-1974: 63.0/39.44 = 1.60 1972-1973: 48.5/36.44 = 1.33 1971-1972: 52.0/37.50 = 1.39 Five season total: 286/197.28 = 1.45 I used ratios rather than what percent of the goals were scored by the two highest scoring clubs because La Liga had 18 clubs in the 1970s.
More balance regarding offensive and defensive players (5 offensive players vs. 5 defensive players in the WM system of the 40s and 50s). That balance became unbalanced beginning in the 1960s in favor of defensive players. To me that is the main explanation but certainly there are a number of other factors. What's interesting is that modernists usually attribute it to the evolution of tactical systems and the level of sophistication increasing steadily. But that leaves the question why there were less goals scored in the 1940s compared to the 1950s. If it's really down to tactical evolution that would mean teams were tactically more sophisticated in the 1940s than in the 1950s. Also, since the 1970s have the lowest goal ratio it would mean they had the highest tactical sophistication and that is has gone downhill since then. Of course that's nonsense. Just goes to show that the simplistic approach of modernists ("the game has evolveld so drastically that everything is harder today than in the past") is nonsense (in my view). Many modernists usually only focus on the tactical evolution ignoring other crucial factors. To me, life has become harder for defenders but easier for offensive players.
Is this the same for the World Cup, European Cup (Champions Cup) or the Bundesliga? I ignore the European Championships because before 1980 there are only 3-4 matches: Between 1955 and 1976 the Champions League/European Cup had a goals per game above 3.00. With the exception of 1967-68 (2.70), 1971-72 (2.78), 1972-73 (2.81). After this also above 3.0 in 1984-85, 1990-91 and 1998-99 for the last time. * Funnily, those three 'lows' have become vintage seasons for the key protagonist(s) in the collective mind. https://scoreshelf.com/bkcs/en/Champions_Cup World Cup had for the last time in 1970 a goals per game of 3.0 or above. Bundesliga was between 1964 and 1988 always above 3.0 goals per game (only exceptions: 1966-67, 1968-69). With many seasons above 3.30 and some of them above 3.50 as well (1973-74, 1976-77, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1984-85). After that only 3.0 gpg in 1994-95, 1996-97, 2003-04 and 2013-14. https://scoreshelf.com/blcs/en/German_Bundesliga I know goals per game isn't the only point. Yes, the ratio of the top teams to the average is important too. Scoring over 90 or 100 goals as team.
I did not look at the Bundesliga because it is historically less relevant than the English, Italian and Spanish leagues who have a long history of professionalism while the Bundesliga was semi-professional in the first 10 years of its existence and still housed semi-professional clubs in the 1980s. Some leagues are prone to higher goal-per-game ratios for example the Dutch Eredivisie the highest scoring of the notable European leagues while the comparable Belgian league has always been one of the lower scoring ones. The Albanian league has always been one of the very lowest scoring leagues if I remember correctly. What I am trying to say is that goals-per-games ratio comparisons over decades - which some modernists have discovered as a tool to postulate the superiority of modern football - is not very meaningful in cross-decade comparisons when notable differences already exist between leagues in the same time frame (e.g. Belgium and the Netherlands). Modernist logic usually goes: high goal-per-game-rario equals less sophisticated level. I have tried to show in this thread that this reasoning is not convincing. Let's look at the Bundesliga: it had the lowest goal-per-game ratio around 1990. Hardly anyone with knowledge about the Bundesliga would argue that it had reached its highest peak level at that time. To the contrary, it was tactically backward with man-to-man marking in defense still being the sacred cow of almost all teams and zonal defense being considered "suicidal".
The Albanian Superliga has 10 clubs. Through 34 out of 36 games, there have been 1.89 goals per game. Kukesi is in first, and they have 8 scoreless draws (23.5 percent of their games). None of the top leagues would have a club that had 8 scoreless draws anywhere near first.
I mentioned the Bundesliga (and World Cup and European Cup) because it deviates from the Italian-Spanish-English pattern. The Dutch and Belgian league do not deviate from the pattern (i.e. 1970s and to a lesser extent 1980s as low point). Lowest ever scoring seasons of the Belgian league were, in order, 2010-11 (2.11), 1971-72 (2.39), 1972-73 (2.39), 1981-82 (2.50), 2005-06 (2.54), 1970-71 (2.55), 1986-87 (2.58), 2011-12 (2.58). Since after this also 1974-75, 1975-76 and 1978-79 were particularly low scoring this decade fits the general pattern. The Dutch league had their lowest ever seasons between 1968 and 1972. Followed by 1990 - 1992, 1972-73, five other 1970s seasons etc. Also here the 1970s will surely rank at the bottom. Hence, no surprise, between the mid 1960s and late 1980s the Bundesliga was consistently higher scoring than both of them. The difference with the already 'attacking' Eredivisie (not the Belgian league) was in a handful 1970s seasons as big as 0.50 and even a gap of 0.72 as in 1976-77, with a minimum distance of 0.30 (in 1978-79). So in those two cases the 1970s will rank at the bottom as well. The Bundesliga however is since 1986-87 a different story.
I always had a gut feeling that the Eredivisie was a very high-scoring league in its heyday because the three top teams (Ajax, Feyenoord, PSV) were often scoring around 90-100 goals per season and high scores were regularly seen (7-1, 8-0, 6-2 etc.) almost every weekend. I gathered that impression when I read the section "international football" in old vintage Kicker magazines of the 1970s. Now I had a closer look at the GPG from 1960 to 1990 and it struck me that while the Eredivisie was of course a "goal friendly" league it was clearly below the Bundesliga in that department.
I mentioned Belgium and the Netherlands to show that even in the same time frame two comparable leagues can have notable differences regarding GPG stats. Season NDL BEL Diff 1960 3.69 3.14 0.55 1961 3.68 2.90 0.78 1962 3.51 2.97 0.54 1963 3.42 2.67 0.75 1964 3.43 2.69 0.74 1965 2.83 3.03 -0.2 1966 3.24 2.69 0.55 1967 3.14 2.70 0.44 1968 2.87 2.75 0.12 1969 2.60 2.76 -0.16 1970 2.67 2.78 -0.11 1971 2.64 2.55 0.09 1972 2.65 2.39 0.26 1973 2.77 2.39 0.38 1974 2.96 2.77 0.19 1975 2.85 2.63 0.22 1976 2.83 2.72 0.11 1977 2.81 2.85 -0.04 1978 2.93 2.82 0.11 1979 2.85 2.72 0.13 1980 2.88 2.82 0.06 1981 3.46 3.05 0.41 1982 3.31 2.50 0.81 1983 3.15 2.81 0.34 1984 3.52 2.82 0.70 1985 3.21 2.95 0.26 1986 3.11 2.70 0.41 1987 2.99 2.58 0.41 1988 3.15 2.63 0.52 1989 2.96 2.76 0.20 1990 2.75 2.64 0.11 TOTAL 3.06 2.75 0.31 The Eredivise outscored the Belgian league by a considerable margin. In 31 seasons there were only 4 seasons where Belgium outscored the Eredivisie. Why is this of interest to me? Simply to prove that the popular claim of many modernists that goes like this "legend xy played at a time when goalscoring was easier than today and thus his exploits are less impressive when put into perspective" is not as significant as they would like to think. Because then we could argue the same not only across decades but in the same time frame concerning different leagues. If that claim was true, then it would lead us to suggest that the exploits of players in the Eredivisie were easier to achieve than those in the Belgian league (or more crass: the Albanian league). Of course that is not true at all. That's the only reason why I brought up the Dutch and the Belgian leagues (comparable leagues with notable different GPG).
Any reason known why goalscoring in the Eredivisie soared so significantly starting with season 1980-81?
Well yes I didn't deny the difference with the Belgian league (although in the 1970s they were closer to each other than to the BuLi, with a minmimum delta of 0.30 throughout the 1970s). But both leagues fit the general pattern and are in this respect not an outlier. In this 1960 - 1990 timeframe there were only two Belgian clubs who scored over 90 goals in a season. RWDM in 1974-75 (92 goals, with 20 teams) and Anderlecht in 1984-85 (100 goals, 18 teams). In many seasons there were only just 16 teams however (don't know and don't want to invest the time to re-calculate this). Ajax for instance - the club most synonymous with the intention to score goals - achieved over 90 goals in 1959 - 1961 (with a league goals per game over 3.70, more than 1 gpg higher as a decade later), 1966 - 1973, and then finally 1981 to 1987.