BENNY'S VALUABLE INFORMATION OF THE WEEK

As we enter the final weekend of the Premier League season, the league actually makes for some interesting reading.

If you are quite a sad person, like myself, who is fascinated by football statistics, you will see that despite what the press says, the top half of the league is getting stronger, while the bottom half is getting much weaker.

Thankfully for most, the gap between the very top teams is actually not as large as it has been in previous years.

To illustrate these observations I have compiled a league table showing the highest points totals for each position in the history of the Premier League. This will only cover the period of which it has been a 38 game season.


BEST EVER POSITIONAL POINTS TOTALS’ OVER A 38 GAME PREMIER LEAGUE

YEARS 1995-2010


Pos/Team Year Pts GD This season’s best possible scenario
1. Chelsea 2004-05 95 +57 Chelsea 86
2. Liverpool 2008-09 86 +50 Man Utd 85
3. Chelsea 2008-09 83 +44 Arsenal 75
Arsenal 2007-08 83 +43
4. Liverpool 2007-08 76 +39 Tottenham 73
5. Leeds 2001-02 66 +16 Man City 69
Ipswich 2000-01 66 +15
6. Chelsea 2001-02 64 +28 Aston Villa 67
7. Blackburn 1995-96 61 +14 Liverpool 65
8. Tottenham 1995-96 61 +12 Everton 61
9. Nottm Forest 1995-96 58 -4 Birmingham 53
10.Leicester 1997-98 53 +10 Stoke 50
Tottenham 1999-00 53 +8 Blackburn 50
11.Newcastle 1999-00 52 +9 Stoke 50
Coventry 1997-98 52 +2 Blackburn 50
12.Middlesbrough 1999-00 52 -6 Fulham 49
13.Everton 1999-00 50 +10 Fulham, Sunderland
Blackburn, Stoke47
14.Fulham 2002-03 48 -9 Bolton/Wigan 39
15.Leeds 2002-03 47 +1 Bolton/Wigan 39
16.Aston Villa 2002-03 45 -5 Wolves 38
17.Bolton 2002-03 44 -10 West Ham, Bolton
or Wigan37
18.West Ham 2002-03 42 -17 Hull City 32
19.Middlesbrough 1996-97 39* -9 Burnley/Hull 30
20.Nottm Forest 1996-97 34 -28 Portsmouth 22#

*3 pts deducted that season
#10 pts deducted this season




Five possible conclusions to draw from the results:

1) - It’s not a vintage season at the top of the league.

2) - Rafael Benitez has performed better at Liverpool than some people might suggest.
He has the highest ever 2nd place and 4th place finishes in Premier League history.

3) - The teams challenging for the minor European places are stronger than ever.
The points records for 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th are all likely be broken this weekend.

4) - The mid-table teams are not as strong as they once were.

5) - The points totals needed to stay up have fallen dramatically. West Ham were relegated with 42 points in 2002-03. However, this season they would already have secured at least 14th place.




REFERENCES:

Wikipedia.org