As Manchester City lifted their second Premier League title in 3 years-in the process giving Manuel Pellegrini his first title in Europe- it is fair to say that the best team, over the course of the season, emerged victors. Just a few miles away, Liverpool-and Steven Gerrard- were contemplating a missed chance. The Merseysiders had the title within their sight and stumbled in the last lap. Even as these two teams were involved in the title race, the relinquished champions-Manchester United– were contemplating a wretched campaign which saw them finish seventh.
But what Liverpool’s narrow miss should not overshadow is the fact that they have made huge strides this season (although data shows that their points tally is a significant over achievement and, possibly, a freak occurrence) even though they “slipped” on the last step. Manchester United’s decline, on the other hand, has mirrored their arch-rivals’ rise. This is reflected in our “Corresponding Fixtures Difference Table” which sees Liverpool at the top and United at the bottom.
Before we look at the season-end Corresponding Fixtures Difference Table, let us reiterate what has been mentioned in every article of this series. For the sake of uniformity, we are comparing Hull City’s fixtures to Reading; Crystal Palace’s fixtures to QPR; and Cardiff City’s fixtures to Wigan.
The table is shown below.
In what is a perfect symmetry of sorts, while Liverpool have garnered 24 more points than last season, Manchester United have tallied 24 points less than last season (+24 for Liverpool and -24 for Manchester United). The reasons for the swing in fortunes of both clubs have been discussed to death and need no repetition.
One notable aspect of our table is the fact that all top half sides-except Tottenham and Manchester United- have improved on their point tallies compared to last season. It must be noted here that these numbers only indicate statistical improvements and may or many not necessarily indicate a corresponding improvement in performance levels. That require deeper investigation.
For instance, Manchester City have just 8 points more -86 this season, 78 the last- than the previous season, but their improvement in terms of their goal scoring ability and attacking verve has been phenomenal. In 2012-13 they scored 66 goals; in 2013-14 that tally stood at 102. Also, Liverpool have scored 24 points more than last season in the process scoring 29 goals more. Interestingly, Liverpool have conceded 7 more goals this season compared to the previous campaign: 43 in 2012-13 and 50 in 2013-14.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton, Stoke City and the much-maligned Alan Pardew managed Newcastle United all finished with significantly higher point tallies than last season.
Southampton too deserve plaudits for their verve and aggressive style of play which is reflected in our table that places them just below Liverpool with a points difference of +15(Remember Crystal Palace’s difference of +20 is just an indicative figure compared to QPR’s points tally from last season). While their attacking play has-rightfully-received all the media attention, Southampton have made significant defensive improvements this season conceding 14 goals less this season compared to last season(46 in 2013-14 and 60 in 2012-13). It can be safely assumed that the signing of Dejan Lovren has played a notable role in this improvement.
Stoke City’s increase in points is quite remarkable when you consider the fact that they chose to pursue a new playing style under Mark Hughes. That has seen them score 11 more goals this season compared to last season-45 and 34 respectively-but has also come at the cost of being more open at the back-52 conceded this season compared to 45 last season.
Newcastle’s numbers are embellished by the fact that they had a wretched campaign last season as the team struggled to cope with the “burden” of Europa League. This season, after the departure of Yohan Cabaye their season ground to a halt. Post Cabaye’s sale, the Magpies picked up 11 points from 15 games. No surprise then to see Alan Pardew under pressure to keep his job.
Let us also look at the Corresponding Home Points Difference and Corresponding Away Points Difference tables.
The most striking aspect of both these tables is the position of Manchester United right at the bottom. As we have discussed time and again this season, Manchester United have been woeful at home losing to Everton, Newcastle United, Sunderland, Manchester City, Liverpool and West Brom ending up with a paltry 30 points at Old Trafford. This is the 8th best home record in the league. Once a fortress, Old Trafford was relatively easy to breach even for teams in the lower half of the table. That even Stoke City had a better home record than the Red Devils is a damning indictment in itself.
West Brom, who flirted with relegation all season, are down by 13 points this season and occupy the penultimate position in the table. A large portion of their decline this season can be attributed to their wretched home form which led to the sacking of Steve Clarke and the appointment of Pepe Mel. The Spaniard struggled to adapt to English football and it was only because of the relegated teams’ poor run of results that the Baggies did not get sucked into a relegation battle in the final weeks of the season.
Stats are compiled by Chaitanya Gööner with the help from footballwebpages.co.uk