Didn't see a discussion on this elsewhere, but here is the historic chart of scoring leaders: 1996: Roy Lassiter (Tampa Bay) - 58 points (27 goals, 4 assists) 1997: Preki (Kansas City) - 41 points (12 goals, 17 assists) 1998: Stern John (Columbus) - 57 points (26 goals, 5 assists) 1999: Jason Kreis (Dallas) - 51 points (18 goals, 15 assists) 2000: Mamadou Diallo (Tampa Bay) - 56 points (26 goals, 4 assists) 2001: Alex Pineda Chacon (Miami) - 47 points (19 goals, 9 assists) 2002: Taylor Twellman (New England) - 52 points (23 goals, 6 assists) 2003: Preki (Kansas City) - 41 points (12 goals, 17 assists) 2004: Amado Guevara (MetroStars) & Pat Noonan (New England) - 30 points 30 points!!! For comparison sake, a look at the top 5 from each year: 1996 NAME TEAM(S) GAMES GOALS ASSISTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Roy Lassiter TB 30 27 4 58 2 Eduardo Hurtado LA 26 21 7 49 Preki KC 32 18 13 49 4 Raul Diaz Arce DC 28 23 2 48 5 Brian McBride CLB 28 17 3 37 1997 NAME TEAM(S) GAMES GOALS ASSISTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Preki KC 27 12 17 41 2 Jaime Moreno DC 20 16 8 40 3 Raul Diaz Arce DC 22 15 6 36 4 Ronald Cerritos SJ 22 12 10 34 5 Giovanni Savarese MET 29 14 4 32 1998 NAME TEAM(S) GAMES GOALS ASSISTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Stern John CLB 27 26 5 57 2 Cobi Jones LA 24 19 13 51 3 Welton LA 31 17 11 45 4 Roy Lassiter DC* 31 18 8 44 Raul Diaz Arce NE 32 18 8 44 1999 NAME TEAM(S) GAMES GOALS ASSISTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Jason Kreis DAL 32 18 15 51 2 Roy Lassiter DC 30 18 11 47 3 Ronald Cerritos SJ 31 15 9 39 4 Stern John CLB 28 18 2 38 Joe-Max Moore NE 29 15 8 38 2000 NAME TEAM(S) GAMES GOALS ASSISTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Mamadou Diallo TB 28 26 4 56 2 Clint Mathis MET 29 16 14 46 3 Ante Razov CHI 24 18 6 42 Diego Serna MIA 31 16 10 42 5 Adolfo Valencia MET 31 16 9 41 2001 NAME TEAM(S) GAMES GOALS ASSISTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Alex Pineda Chacon MIA 25 19 9 47 2 Diego Serna MIA 22 15 15 45 3 John Spencer COL 23 14 7 35 4 Jeff Cunningham CLB 22 10 13 33 5 John Wilmar Perez CLB 25 8 15 31 2002 NAME TEAM(S) GAMES GOALS ASSISTS POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Taylor Twellman NE 28 23 6 52 2 Carlos Ruiz LA 26 24 1 49 3 Jeff Cunningham CLB 27 16 5 37 4 Ante Razov CHI 25 14 8 36 5 Ariel Graziani SJ 28 14 5 33 2003 PLAYER TEAM GP GOALS ASTS PTS Preki KC 30 12 17 41 Carlos Ruiz LA 26 15 5 35 Ante Razov CHI 26 14 6 34 Taylor Twellman NE 22 15 4 34 John Spencer COL 27 14 5 33 This really was the year of parity: Noonan and Guevara and the 9th place scorers (Buddle and Ruiz) were separated by a mere 6 points.
Yet another reason to describe this season as pretty weak...compared to others that is. Now watch as the playoffs product the most stunning and entertaining football you've ever seen...errrrr.... not. (one wonders when the anticipation of the next season is greater than the current one!?! )
Looking back at the stats, Cobi Jones had a remarkable 1998 season. I don't remember what happened in the last cycle, but I wouldn't mind seeing MLS take a break when we have World Cup Qualifiers. Hopefully this will allow for more consistency week-to-week among the teams, and result in more scoring. This may or not be the reason, though, as it looks like we are on a trend from last year where there are no dominant scorers, but rather a group of pretty good scorers. If nothing else, expansion and more games means that 30 points won't win a repeat title
It is weak. The 2004 winners woudl not have placed in the Top 5 of any of previous 8 years. Better defenses? Not so much as less talent to go around, I think. This is not a knock on Guevera or Noonan, both of whom I would love to have in Dallas. And whatever happened to the Golden Boot. I remember we were supposed to get one (Jeff Bradlye I think). Then I have heard nothing since.
Looking at past leaderboards, it's hard to see a decline in talent. For instance, the top two scorers in 2002 were Twellman and Ruiz, both of whom are still good young forwards. Number three was Jeff Cunningham, who's only 28 but is no longer a consistent starter. Number four is Razov -- never too special -- and number five is Graziani ... Brian Ching has been an upgrade over him. If anything, I'd say the big change is playing style. With so much emphasis on the counterattack, teams are less and less willing to push forward and take chances. Scoring is down across the board. In addition, many national team players faded down the stretch this year, focussing on the qualifiers instead.
Not that this explains the across the board drop in scoring, but Carlos Ruiz played in only 20 games this year, if he played another 5-6 games he might have matched his 15 goals from 2003. But yeah, it was a pretty miserable year for the big time scoring threats. Though here were a lot of 10-11 goal scorers, I don't know how that compares to previous years.
This is an interesting point. As it turns out, though, the main problem isn't so much that scoring is more even (in which case there would be more high-scorers, just not such lofty peaks). It's that scoring is declining. These are the individual goal-scoring totals you asked for: Code: 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 27 16 26 18 26 19 24 15 12 23 15 19 18 18 15 23 15 12 21 14 18 18 16 14 16 14 11 18 12 18 15 16 14 14 14 11 17 12 17 15 15 11 14 12 11 14 12 16 14 15 11 13 12 11 13 11 14 12 15 10 12 12 10 13 11 13 12 13 10 11 11 10 13 10 13 10 13 9 11 11 10 13 10 13 10 12 9 11 10 10 11 10 11 10 12 8 11 10 9 11 10 11 10 11 8 9 9 9 11 9 11 10 10 8 7 7 9 10 8 10 9 10 8 7 7 8 10 8 10 8 9 8 7 7 7 This year, the #1 scorer was tied with the 1997 leader for the lowest share of total goals - he scored about 3.1% of them. The number 10 scorer was second all time, behind 2002, with 2.6% of total goals. The number 20 had the biggest share of all time, with 1.8%. So part of this definitely seems to be caused by more balanced scoring - considering MLS hasn't lost many of its marquee scorers (unless the league wanted them gone), I'd say that's probably because of rising, not declining, talent.
Okay, my own questions have led me to gather some data, how to interpret that data, I don't know: 10 goal scorers by season (# of goals greatest to least): 1996/32 15 (27, 23, 21, 18, 17, 14, 13, 13, 13, 13, 11, 11, 11, 10, 10) 1997/32: 12 (16, 15, 14, 12, 12, 12, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10, 10) 1998/32: 19 (26, 19, 18, 18, 17, 16, 14, 13, 13, 13, 11, 11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10) 1999/32: 14 (18, 18, 18, 15, 15, 14, 13, 12, 12, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10) 2000/32: 14 (26, 18, 16, 16, 15, 15, 15, 13, 13, 12, 12, 11, 10, 10) 2001/27: 8 (19, 15, 14, 14, 11, 11, 10, 10) 2002/28: 11 (24, 23, 16, 14, 14, 13, 12, 11, 11, 11, 11) 2003/30: 11 (15, 15, 14, 14, 12, 12, 12, 11, 11, 10, 10) 2004/30: 10 (12, 12, 11, 11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10, 10) non-soccer playing variables to keep in mind: a) # of games: 96-00: 32, 01: 27, 02: 28, 03-04: 30 b) expanison years 96, 98 c) contraction year 02 d) World Cups 98, 02 e) hex qualifying 97, 01 f) clock counting down & shootouts 96-99 g) overtime 2000-2003 h) ties 2004 32 game seasons 96: 15 scorers / highest 27 (expansion year) 97: 12 scorers / highest 16 (hex) 98: 19 scorers / highest 26 (expansion, WC) 99: 14 scorers / highest 18 00: 14 scorers / highest 26 26-28 game seasons 01: 8 scorers / highest 19 (hex) 02: 11 scorers / highest 24 (contraction, WC) 30 game seasons 03: 11 scorers / highest 15 04: 10 scorers / highest 12 edit: looking at this data with the non level-of-play variables doesn't really conclude anything. There is a flow and ebb thing going on from 96-02 for both goal scorers and highest goal total, but after that, the pattern dissolves. (notice even numbered years have always had a 20 goal scorer until this year) I'm thinking it has to do with level of play factors, and I don't know enough about the tactics, etc, to make any analysis. I will say one thing though, I think expansion will open things up again.
This marked the third straight year of goalscoring decline, and was an all-time low for goals per game: Year.....GP.....G...G/GP 1996....160...539..3.37 1997....160...522..3.26 1998....192...685..3.57 1999....192...549..2.86 2000....192...612..3.19 2001....158...519..3.28 2002....140...421..3.01 2003....150...433..2.89 2004....150...392..2.61 Total..1494..4672..3.13 Other leagues from the 2003-2004 season: League....GP.....G..G/GP Holland..306...911..2.98 Germany..306...909..2.97 Spain....380..1015..2.67 Italy....306...816..2.67 England..380..1012..2.66 France...380...884..2.33
Thanks for putting these up again, Kenn. As you and I have discussed in the past, the change in tactics has been driven by what works. Defense has been winning championships, and that's what happened again this regular season ... the Wizards and Crew are only 5th and 6th in goals scored, but they're 1st and (tied for) 2nd in goals allowed. So unless people want even more defensive soccer, they should hope these teams slip up in the playoffs. (Of course, expansion may help to open things up a bit.)
IIRC, European goalscoring suffered a sharp decline around the late 60's. Since then, things have been fairly steady there, although the long-term trend is still a gradual decrease.
I posted on this a month ago or so, in regards to the quality of play (seeing as total goals have declined...). It resulted in a fairly large thread, but that has tapered off. I don't think the total amount of points or goals is what matters. Instead it should be points per game for indiv. players. For example, Gueverra was much more effect than Noonan, simply because he played more then 400 fewer minutes than Noonan. That is a substantial amount, almost 4 games. Obviously the counter is PKs. I think that's a bs argument right there. PKs, like any other shot are not automatic. Gueverra made them automatic, but that's another story. I'm busy right now, so I wouldn't be able to compile those stats, for all the seasons, and compare them to this season, but I think points per 90 will give us a better understanding of the drop in total points. The real reason that goals have dropped so low, at least in my opinion is two fold. First of all, you don't have garbage teams that the best players used to cushion their stats. In other words in '96, LA TB, and KC really ripped on opponents (DC started off horribly, then really got into it late in the season), because they had a couple of core players who were very talented. They ripped opponents, so you have, in my opinion parity. With that comes the fact that management now is using their assets better. Everyone is getting everything they can out of the salary cap, again insuring there isn't much disparity between teams. Finally, the coaching in the league I feel has improved greatly. Teams are well scouted, and teams usually come out prepared for what they face. Players really don't have the space that Valderama had in '96. I really believe that. How do you solve this? Improve the quality of reffing. I really feel if the gaems had better flow, there would be more goals scored. Secondly, increase the cap. Probably the best method to get better players here. Finally, this is my general observation, but were games over the last two weekends the best matches of the season in terms of quality play? I saw a lot of SUPERB goals scored, and good possesion soccer. The DC-Metros match was after the SJ 5-5 barnburner earlier in the year, the most exciting match I remember at least. Not sure what others think.
Yes and with extreme parity you will never have teams that have enough talent to punish such bunkerball. Makes for a pretty uncompelling product. Oh, the refs aren't helping either. When you can bulldoze players (except Mr Adu of course) with little chance of being penalised the offenses around the league will be at a great disadvantage.
I could not disagree more. Point are irrelevant and misleading in a league that counts secondary assists. The assists numbers can be inflated as a result and it would be hard to tell. Want proof. http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/history/archive.jsp?year=2003&content=stats_team 2003 Season Columbus Crew 44 goals 47 assists 1.47 pts/game SJ Earthquakes 45 goals 57 assists 1.90 pts/game Thats nutty. It would appear that the Quakes were a 30% more effective offense when in truth they only scored 1 more goal. As long as we have this nutty rule regarding secondary assists points will be meaningless to me. The only good barometer is scoring goals. And as we see that is down three years running. Take the power away from the hacks! Now! There is a reason for this. 1) Both teams try to play attractive, creative, imaginative soccer not negative soccer. 2) Niether team has this kind of physical style that has come to dominate this league where players get run over without consequences. I could spend a season watching SJ play losing ball but lose interest quickly when I have to watch teams like KC and Columbus play winning soccer.
Agreed. Plus, its just not any fun to watch players push each other over for 90 minutes. If the refs would take stricter control of games, we'd see a lot more goals, more excitement on the field, and maybe even more fans in the stands.
I think what is interesting to note is the relatively big jump in goals per game from 97' to 98' What was so special that year? Expansion in 98'.. Bet the farm on it, the goals per game average will go up considerable next season..
I understand what you are saying, but in America we count assists, and they are a valuable asset in telling how a team plays. Who knows, maybe those secondary assists were from deep passes that started the play out. In other words they are just as key as to the actual goal. Also, I was arguing for points per game, or goals per game if you like, just not to look at gross figures because I think those can be skewed easily.
Alot of teams dont play an attacking style of Football. The MLS needs a team like Arsenal one that scores goal after goal. The MLS dosent have that team yet and need one. The MLS has the talent but, Every year there are less goals scored.
Bottom line is contraction made the league more even, and expansion should open it up a little. This year, the top players all missed five games due to qualifying, and it's hard to adjust to having different lineups every week. I would love to see a comparison with goals scored during World Cup Qualifying weeks, the week after, and regular weeks.
Lots of places count assists. Only they are meaningless the way we do it because they can make teams look wildly more successful than they are. Secondary assists should not be counted. How can gross figures be any more misleading than what I just showed you? The only thing that mattere in this game is how many times the ball goes in the back of the net. All this other stuff is just statistical cirlce-jerkery.