Just 16 goals won this season’s Cymru Premier golden boot – why the drastic drop?
The 2024-25 JD Cymru Premier Golden Boot has been won with the lowest goals total in the national league’s 33-season history.
Louis Lloyd of Caernarfon Town and Penybont’s James Crole shared this season’s award with 16 goals apiece. Yet five times in the past the winner has amassed 40 goals or more.
Is it a case of defences or goalkeepers getting better, or present day strikers not having the same ‘goalden’ touch of their predecessors?
Since the Cymru Premier was reduced to 12 teams in 2010-11, no player has scored 30 league goals or more.
Before that, the national league varied in size.
1992-93 to 1994-95: 20 teams
1994-96 and 1996-97: 21 teams
1997-98: 20 teams
1998-99: 17 teams
1999-2000 to 2002-03: 18 teams
2003-04: 17 teams
2004-05 and 2005-06: 18 teams
2006-07: 17 teams
2007-08 to 2009-10: 18 teams
2010-11 to present: 12 teams
Of course, the league is set to increase in size from 12 to 16 clubs in 2026-27.
So definitely a reason for the reduction in goals since the ‘Super 12’ was introduced would be partly down to less games in the newer format.
Previous seasons included 38, 40 and 34 matches per team.
Since 2010-11, there have always been 32 games – 22 in the first phase, where all 12 sides compete against each other, then another 10 in phase 2, when the CPL splits into two groups of six – top half and bottom half
Are there other reasons for the decline in net-finding?
Have standards dropped since 2010-11? Not judging by the overall improvement in results and performances of our clubs in Europe.
One thing is for sure….Marc Lloyd Williams’ record of 47 Welsh Premier goals in a season and his all-time best tally of 319 are never likely to be beaten.
It will be interesting to see the effect on the goals chart when the 16-team league comes in, though.
CYMRU PREMIER TOP GOALSCORERS SEASON-BY-SEASON
1992–93 Steve Woods (Ebbw Vale) 29
1993–94 Dave Taylor (Porthmadog) 43
1994–95 Frank Mottram (Bangor City) 31
1995–96 Ken McKenna (Conwy United) 38
1996–97 Tony Bird (Barry Town) 42
1997–98 Eifion Williams (Barry Town) 40
1998–99 Eifion Williams (Barry Town) 28
1999–2000 Chris Summers (Cwmbrân Town) 28
2000–01 Graham Evans (Caersws) 25
2001–02 Marc Lloyd Williams (Bangor City) 47
2002–03 Graham Evans (Caersws) 24
2003–04 Graham Evans (Caersws) 24
2004–05 Marc Lloyd Williams (Total Network Solutions) 34
2005–06 Rhys Griffiths (Port Talbot Town) 28
2006–07 Rhys Griffiths (Llanelli) 30
2007–08 Rhys Griffiths (Llanelli) 40
2008–09 Rhys Griffiths (Llanelli) 31
2009–10 Rhys Griffiths (Llanelli) 30
2010–11 Rhys Griffiths (Llanelli) 25
2011–12 Rhys Griffiths (Llanelli) 22
2012–13 Michael Wilde (The New Saints) 25
2013–14 Chris Venables (Aberystwyth Town) 24
2014–15 Chris Venables (Aberystwyth Town) 28
2015–16 Chris Venables (Aberystwyth Town) 20
2016–17 Jason Oswell (Newtown) 22
2017–18 Greg Draper (The New Saints) 22
2018–19 Greg Draper (The New Saints) 27
2019–20 Chris Venables (Bala Town) 22
2020-21 Chris Venables (Bala Town) 24
2021-22 Declan McManus (The New Saints) 24
2022-23 Declan McManus (The New Saints) 26
2023-24 Brad Young (The New Saints) 22
2024-25 Louis Lloyd (Caernarfon Town)/James Crole (Penybont) 16
GOLDEN BOOT TITLES
7 – Rhys Griffiths
5 – Chris Venables
3 – Graham Evans (Caersws)
2 – Marc Lloyd Williams, Eifion Williams, Declan McManus, Greg Draper
1 – Michael Wilde, Jason Oswell, Louis Lloyd, James Crole, Brad Young, Chris Summers, Tony Bird, Ken McKenna, Frank Mottram, Dave Taylor, Steve Woods
CYMRU PREMIER LEAGUE ALL-TIME GOALS LIST (UP TO END OF 2024-25)
1 Marc Lloyd Williams 319
2 Rhys Griffiths 272
3 Chris Venables 242
4 Michael Wilde 235
5 Lee Hunt 209
6 Chris Summers 177
7 Greg Draper 165
8 John Toner 161
9 Graham Evans 157
10 Stuart Rain 150
- WHILE WE ALWAYS DO OUR BEST TO BE 100% ACCURATE ALL STATISTICS ARE SUBJECT TO CONFIRMATION