I was just looking at stats

[Peter R]

Stoni and others who analyse these things more than I do... how important is having bona fide goal scorers in your team?

Some have poo pooed a call for clinical finishers at, I would imagine, any club. Those who do so have interpreted this call to mean that defence and other areas of play are of lesser importance. Far from the truth. Leicester is a great example of having it both ways.

Having said that, is it pure coincidence that in the EPL, four of the top five goal scorers in the EPL play for teams in the top four? and six of the top ten scorers also belong to the top four?

In La Liga, seven of the top scorers play in the top three in the standings!!

In the Bundesliga, five of the top six scorers play for top four teams!

In Serie A, six of the top ten play for top four teams!

In Ligue 1, five of top six scorers play for top four teams!

Is there a correlation here? for my analytically-challenged brain?

[Paul Marin]

Stoni and others who analyse these things more than I do... how important is having bona fide goal scorers in your team?

Some have poo pooed a call for clinical finishers at, I would imagine, any club. Those who do so have interpreted this call to mean that defence and other areas of play are of lesser importance. Far from the truth. Leicester is a great example of having it both ways.

Having said that, is it pure coincidence that in the EPL, four of the top five goal scorers in the EPL play for teams in the top four? and six of the top ten scorers also belong to the top four?

In La Liga, seven of the top scorers play in the top three in the standings!!

In the Bundesliga, five of the top six scorers play for top four teams!

In Serie A, six of the top ten play for top four teams!

In Ligue 1, five of top six scorers play for top four teams!

Is there a correlation here? for my analytically-challenged brain?

You have shown the correlation. But if you go back in history, (which I haven't) I think you will find that this is a consistent pattern across all leagues. There is no question that good and solid defending are key as well.

[Stonigut]

Great defense sets the table for great attacks and............ If you have great attackers on top of that you win the league a few times every ten years.

Confirmation of that is to look at the gd on the top four teams in all those leagues, the goals against are all the lowest by miles in those leagues this gives them the chance to compete every game. Do you remember when pool had the three S's two of the best ball strikers in EPL and I kept saying that a championship team cannot give up as many goals as Pool even with the great strikers, they gave up fifty goals that season and did not win.
Great defense leads to a great attack and if you can get great finishers then you will win championships year in year out!

[Paul Marin]

Great defense sets the table for great attacks and............ If you have great attackers on top of that you win the league a few times every ten years.

Confirmation of that is to look at the gd on the top four teams in all those leagues, the goals against are all the lowest by miles in those leagues this gives them the chance to compete every game. Do you remember when pool had the three S's two of the best ball strikers in EPL and I kept saying that a championship team cannot give up as many goals as Pool even with the great strikers, they gave up fifty goals that season and did not win.
Great defense leads to a great attack and if you can get great finishers then you will win championships year in year out!

Stoni - this is a common philosophy that I think most of us who know ball take as a "given". However, it is much more difficult to find players (strikers and scoring midfielders) who can pop the ball in the back of the net that virtually any other role on a football pitch.

[Stonigut]

It may seem common but there is more to it than that, the deeper idea of the role of field position in play in a team with consistently superior defending versus a team with adequate defending, what are the implications on ability to launch attacks, it would seem that a defense that is superior and limits the number of shots on target or possession in final third will give it's attack more opportunities than a team which concedes more shots on target consistently and concedes possession in final third by opponent, thus forwards of superior defense team may get more opportunities for attack, never done that analysis but that is the detail I think is buried underneath that.