In this second part of the this year last year comparison, we will see the top 4 for last season as well as a look at the mini league table for top 8 teams only.
So Man City have improved by 3 points andconceded 4 goals less however they have scored 2 goals less so far also. This is still better goal difference so it could win them the league, we will have to wait and see.
|
Man City Last Season |
Man City This Season |
||||||||||
| Opposition |
Home |
Man City |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
Opposition |
Home |
Man City |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
| Blackburn |
H |
3 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Southampton |
H |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Liverpool |
A |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
Liverpool |
A |
2 |
– |
2 |
1 |
| QPR |
H |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
QPR |
H |
3 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Stoke |
A |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
Stoke |
A |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
| Arsenal |
H |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Arsenal |
H |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
| Fulham |
A |
2 |
– |
2 |
1 |
Fulham |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Sunderland |
H |
3 |
– |
3 |
1 |
Sunderland |
H |
3 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| West Brom |
A |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
West Brom |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Swansea |
H |
4 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Swansea |
H |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| Wolves |
A |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
West Ham |
A |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
| Tottenham |
H |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
Tottenham |
H |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Aston Villa |
H |
4 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Aston Villa |
H |
5 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| Chelsea |
A |
1 |
– |
2 |
0 |
Chelsea |
A |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
| Wigan |
A |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Wigan |
A |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
|
TOTAL |
29 |
|
14 |
29 |
TOTAL |
27 |
|
10 |
32 |
||
If we look at Manchester United, their purchase of RVP has helped them to score 2 goals less this season and gain 2 points less in the process. At the other end of the pitch they have conceded an extra 7 goals. Interestingly, United are yet to draw a game.
|
Man UtdLast Season |
Man UtdThis Season |
||||||||||
| Opposition |
Home |
Man Utd |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
Opposition |
Home Away |
Man Utd |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
| Everton |
A |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Everton |
A |
0 |
– |
1 |
0 |
| Fulham |
H |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Fulham |
H |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Blackburn |
A |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Southampton |
A |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Wigan |
H |
5 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Wigan |
H |
4 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| Liverpool |
A |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
Liverpool |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Tottenham |
H |
3 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Tottenham |
H |
2 |
– |
3 |
0 |
| Newcastle |
A |
0 |
– |
3 |
0 |
Newcastle |
A |
3 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| Stoke |
H |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Stoke |
H |
4 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Chelsea |
A |
3 |
– |
3 |
1 |
Chelsea |
A |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Arsenal |
H |
8 |
– |
2 |
3 |
Arsenal |
H |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Aston Villa |
A |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Aston Villa |
A |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Norwich |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Norwich |
A |
0 |
– |
1 |
0 |
| QPR |
H |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
QPR |
H |
3 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Wolves |
H |
4 |
– |
1 |
3 |
West Ham |
H |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
|
TOTAL |
35 |
|
11 |
35 |
TOTAL |
33 |
|
18 |
33 |
||
Moving on to Arsenal and we see a worrying trend of losing points compared to last year. We have dropped 9 points down on the same fixtures last season and lost 5 goals somewhere. On the positive side, the worst defence in the country has conceded 4 fewer goals even with our backup keeper in place. I really hope Theo, Giroud, Podolski start firing and scoring goals for fun as there’s much work to do. Also notice Man Utd this season have conceded the same number of goals as our tally for last season but no talk of crisis and worst defence ever!
|
Arsenal Last Season |
Arsenal This Season |
||||||||||
| Opposition |
Home |
AFC |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
Opposition |
Home |
AFC |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
| Sunderland |
H |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Sunderland |
H |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
| Stoke |
A |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
Stoke |
A |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
| Liverpool |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Liverpool |
A |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| Blackburn |
H |
7 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Southampton |
H |
6 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Man City |
A |
0 |
– |
1 |
0 |
Man City |
A |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
| Chelsea |
H |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
Chelsea |
H |
1 |
– |
2 |
0 |
| Wolves |
A |
3 |
– |
0 |
3 |
West Ham |
A |
3 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Norwich |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Norwich |
A |
0 |
– |
1 |
0 |
| QPR |
H |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
QPR |
H |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| Man Utd |
A |
2 |
– |
8 |
0 |
Man Utd |
A |
1 |
– |
2 |
0 |
| Fulham |
H |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
Fulham |
H |
3 |
– |
3 |
1 |
| Tottenham |
H |
5 |
– |
2 |
3 |
Tottenham |
H |
5 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Aston Villa |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Aston Villa |
A |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
| Everton |
A |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Everton |
A |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
| TOTALS |
29 |
|
18 |
30 |
TOTALS |
24 |
|
14 |
21 |
||
Moving on to last season’s title challengers, Spurs, we see they have scored the same, conceded 1 more (not from us we must unfortunately add) and dropped a point to last year.
|
Spurs Last Season |
Spurs This Season |
||||||||||
| Opposition |
Home |
Totts |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
Opposition |
Home |
Totts |
vs |
Opp |
Points |
| Newcastle |
A |
2 |
– |
2 |
1 |
Newcastle |
A |
1 |
– |
2 |
0 |
| West Brom |
H |
1 |
– |
0 |
3 |
West Brom |
H |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
| Norwich |
H |
1 |
– |
2 |
0 |
Norwich |
H |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
| Bolton |
A |
4 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Reading |
A |
3 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| QPR |
H |
3 |
– |
1 |
3 |
QPR |
H |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Man Utd |
A |
0 |
– |
3 |
0 |
Man Utd |
A |
3 |
– |
2 |
3 |
| Aston Villa |
H |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Aston Villa |
H |
2 |
– |
0 |
3 |
| Chelsea |
A |
0 |
– |
0 |
1 |
Chelsea |
A |
4 |
– |
2 |
0 |
| Blackburn |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Southampton |
A |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Wigan |
H |
3 |
– |
1 |
3 |
Wigan |
H |
0 |
– |
1 |
0 |
| Man City |
A |
2 |
– |
3 |
0 |
Man City |
A |
1 |
– |
2 |
0 |
| Arsenal |
A |
2 |
– |
5 |
0 |
Arsenal |
A |
2 |
– |
5 |
0 |
| Wolves |
H |
1 |
– |
1 |
1 |
West Ham |
H |
3 |
– |
1 |
3 |
| Liverpool |
H |
4 |
– |
0 |
3 |
Liverpool |
H |
2 |
– |
1 |
3 |
|
TOTAL |
27 |
|
20 |
24 |
TOTAL |
27 |
|
21 |
23 |
||
Now a quick look at the points differences in games only involving last seasons top 8. Since we last looked, there is a marked decline at Chelsea and Liverpool whilst Newcastle have improved slightly. Arsenal have seen no change here since the previous article. Everton are the biggest surprise in my opinion, again very little investment at Everton yet they have managed an improvement. It may be down to new signings only giving you a boost for a season before a new signing is needed whilst Everton have had lots of stability and bred familiarity within the squad.
|
Team |
No of top 8 teams |
Points Last |
Points This |
+/- Points this |
|
Chelsea |
6 |
6 |
11 |
5 |
|
Everton |
4 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
|
Man Utd |
6 |
11 |
12 |
1 |
|
Tottenham |
6 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
|
Man City |
4 |
7 |
6 |
-1 |
|
Arsenal |
6 |
10 |
8 |
-2 |
|
Newcastle |
5 |
7 |
5 |
-2 |
|
Liverpool |
7 |
11 |
4 |
-7 |
So overall, whilst our defence has improved, it’s not really looking good for Arsenal. I predict the finger being pointed at the RVP sale but I don’t think that is the main factor. To me, the rest of the league is getting stronger so we are made to look weaker relatively speaking. I was actually in two minds on whether or not to write this article up as I don’t really like putting negativity out there but for the sake of an analysis I thought it was worth it but I will probably stick to just Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal and Spurs from now on as it is getting rather long.
——————————–
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
The sites…
- For the parent who really wants to know what is really going on in schools
- Referee Decisions – just what are the refs up to this season?
- The weight loss programme: The only guaranteed wayto stay fit
I find the article very balanced and pertinent. No need to apologize for the negative aspect concerning Arsenal in this first third of the season. It is what it is. Switching 3 players is a big change for any team, it affect the mechanics and requires adjustments that take time. I’m sure the team will sort out the glitches.
On another note, as pointed out in a recent post, we are the only team of the Big 4 to have played 6 home games. All the others played 7. We have 2 consecutive home games, with Swansea and West Brom, and Olympiakos away in between. On paper it looks good for 6 points, and maybe an away draw at the Greeks.