News

History Favours August’s Losers

|
Image for History Favours August’s Losers

With September’s Premier League action ready for a return at the weekend following the international break, there are a number of clubs still to register a point.

Whilst Manchester United lead the way at the top of the table after three games, it’s early doors obviously but fans of Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion will certainly be delighted with their own starts but it’s clearly a case of ‘must do better’ when it comes to Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and West Ham United who sit in the relegation spots.

You don’t have to look far in the media to hear rumbles of concern amongst either of the three clubs’ fanbases at this point, but the PremierLeague.com have given hope to those who language on zero for 2017/18 so far, because historically in the Premier League since the rebrand, clubs with no points after the opening set of fixtures are actually more likely to survive on average than they don’t.

Now Bournemouth, Palace and West Ham have set a new record with three straight defeats because three teams in the top flight have never achieved that before, but that goes down in pub trivia and counts for little else.

The statistics show that nearly two thirds of clubs to have lost their opening three matches go on to avoid the drop to the Championship as sides with two wins at this stage as just as likely to be circuling the drain come the end of the campaign.

Out of the 76 sides that have been relegated across the 25 years of the Premier League’s existence, on eight of those sides were looking for their first points of the campaign after three games and that is from a total of 22 clubs who have been beaten in the opening three games of any given campaign.

For the geeks amongst us, 15 of the clubs who went down had only earned one point from nine, but a further 35 had won one of their opening three games or had drawn three.

In 2012/13 Southampton joined West Brom (2011/12) in having no points from nine yet stayed up, but of course some sides aren’t as fortunate as West Ham fans will remember back in 2010/11 where a similar start saw them finish bottom.

Eight of the relegated sides had two wins from the opening three – Middlesbrough (1992/93), Palace (1997/98), Nottingham Forest (1998/99), Coventry City (2000/01), Middlesbrough (2008/09), Burnley (2009/10), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2011/12) and Hull City (2016/17).

Wolves actually went down having picked up seven points from their opening three games that year and no side has gone down after a 100% start although Ipswich Town almost became the exception back in 1994/95.

Statistically speaking, those teams sitting on four points (18 relegated), three points (17 relegated), and one point (15 relegated) have more reason for concern that those on zero, but curiously sides on six points (7 relegated), two points (six relegated), and five points (four relegated) have almost just as much to think about.

Season
Club
Down
Season
Club
Down
1992/93
Wimbledon
N
2002/01
West Brom
Y
1993/94
Southampton
N
2003/04
Wolves
Y
Swindon
Y
2005/06
Sunderland
Y
1994/95
Leicester
Y
2007/08
Bolton
N
1996/97
Wimbledon
N
2009/10
Bolton
N
1997/98
Aston Villa
N
Portsmouth
Y
Southampton
N
2010/11
Stoke
N
1998/99
Southampton
N
West Ham
Y
1990/00
Newcastle
N
2011/12
Blackburn
Y
2001/02
Middlesbrough
N
West Brom
N
Southampton
N
2012/13
Southampton
N



Bloggers

Share this article

Because We Love Football

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *