A coupla days ago I quoted some percentages that used to be accurate back in the mid-nineties - and rightly so some good folks asked if they were still up to date.

so... i did a bit of digging and sourced this document: http://www.oregonyouthsoccer.org/assets/coaches/Trends_in_Modern_Football_UEFA.pdf

i hope that link works - if not this fanpost will also be a separate blog on my Portland Timbers columbian newspaper blog site.

IMHO this pdf file is well worth the read from front to back....

Here are the stats as they stand in the mid 00's – I would guess that this document is about 4-5 years old (couldn’t find anything this extensive elsewhere) - if someone can that would be great - for now though these numbers are obviously more up-to-date than what I had... I will be working on a 'what does this mean?' and offer those additional thoughts for the sharks to feed on in another fan post...

48% of goals scored are after 1 touch at most

29% of goals scored are after 2 touches at most

12% of goals scored are after 3 touches at most

7% of goals scored are after 4 touches at most

4% of goals scored are after 5 touches and more

Goals scored from set pieces 30% (PK, Direct Free Kick, Indirect FK and Corner Kick)

Open Play - 70% of goals scored in open play are the result of accelerated attacks or counter-attacks

Open Play - 30% of goals scored are the result of controlled built up attacks

Open Play - 70% of shots come at the end of sequences of 1 to 3 passes;

Open Play - 90% of shots come at the end of sequences of 6 passes or less

First goal scored = 75% of the time that team wins.

40% of the goals from open play were the result of a quick break.

50% of goals are scored from a cross (1 out of two goals)

79% of goals are scored from inside the 18 yard box

63% of goals are scored between the penalty spot and goal line

so - bottom line - the numbers have changed a wee bit but the law of averages appears to me to be just about the same - set pieces are critical to scoring goals and a ton of goals are scored with just a very few number of passes...