I'll give you some examples :
ENGLAND 1966
Our very own Jackie Charlton famously asked Alf Ramsey why he'd picked him when there were other, more accomplished centre-halves around - and he was no spring chicken either. The manager replied that he wasn't picking the best players, but the best team.
Bit of an insult if you took it the wrong way, but also an insight into his thinking and the importance of the right blend of characters.
KEEGAN AND BROOKING
Both players were flawed - Keegan was limited but made himself the best player in Europe through sheer hard work and determination, despite being neither an out-and-out striker or midfielder; Brooking wasn't quick and rarely headed the ball - but together they had an almost telepathic understanding.
LUFC 1992
On paper, our squad wasn't amazing. It was decent, but two years previously was in the second division. There were a few internationals, granted, but mostly it was quality journeymen like Whyte, Fairclough and Chapman. What made it was the midfield - the perfect midfield.
That blend is arguably better than Revie's, especially given Eddie Gray's injury record, despite individually the likes of Bremner, Giles and Lorimer being better individual players than Batty, McAllister and Strachan. Legend that he was, few Leeds fans would argue Gary Speed was a better player than Eddie Gray when the latter was on it. But Sgt Wilko had picked players with a point to prove. Belligerent, slightly bitter, written-off, battered, bruised and war ravaged mercenaries who came together for one last showdown assault on the league .. and won.
I always thought it would make a great movie if the story started when Mr Wilkinson arrived at the club. It's arguably the biggest title upset until Leicester came along anyway. Which brings us nicely to ..
LEICESTER CITY 2015/6
We all know the story here.
Kick-started by Nigel Pearson, this bunch of "no-hopers" had a few talented individuals but came together and raised their collective game like no other team in history and is as close to our side of '92 as you can get when you think about it.
Again, it's all about character and the blend of youth and experience, a little luck and a lot of skill and determination. Get a good goalkeeper, a strong spine, some pace, a couple of really technical players in attack and a couple of nasty bastards and get them to gel.
No prima donnas. No trouble-makers. No player bigger than the club (yet) and sit back and enjoy.
LEEDS UNITED - PRESENT
The jury's out on the keeper but I think he looks better with every game and trust TC and the scouting team's judgement so far.
Jansson - O'Kane - Saiz is as good a spine as you'll get in this division. We have pace in abundance now, but especially up the pitch. Saiz (again) and Alioski are destined for great things, while Hernandez and Dallas when fit and with a full pre-season are proving to be invaluable too. Jansson (again) and Berardi are the hard men, but we also have Phillips and Vieira to grow into those kind of players.
We've finally got rid of the Sick Note 6, so there shouldn't be any rotten apples left now, and we've also cleared out potential moaners in Murphy and Dave who really should be first team regulars by now.
As for Wood leaving I think we should adopt Liverpool's approach in attack and play three or four mobile, interchangeable forwards and not worry about who the number 9 is. Firmino's not exactly a target man or a classic centre-forward but their entire front-line contributes goals and assists and like the OP posited, that's what we need : a spread of goals from across the team.
Luckily, I think we're a bit stronger than Liverpool at the back too
I'm really positive about this season.
This is the best time I can remember since we dropped down, anyway.
Let's enjoy the ride, eh ?
