Saturday, November 15, 2008

Gunners Ruled Out by Math?

For those that don't understand the English Premier League, there are twenty teams that play each other once away and once at home. Each match is worth 3 points. Draws are worth 1 point and losses earn the team a big zed. This means that each team plays 38 matches, for a potential 114 points. The side with the most points at the end of the season is the Premier League Champion side.

Although the Football Association (FA) has been around since 1863, the current English Premier League arrangement has only been around since 1992. That means 16 seasons are on the books. The first three seasons had 22 teams, so we're going to toss those results for math's sake. That means we have 13 seasons in our database. In those 13 seasons, no team has won the title after dropping more than 39 points. In an average season, the winner drops 30 points. In the past 3 seasons the winners have dropped no more than 27 points, and averaged dropping only 25 points.

This brings me to my point. With only 13 matches booked, Arsenal has already dropped 16 points. We are quickly approaching the point at which an Arsenal title would require a miracle season. Hang in there, Gunners! For better or worse, there's a lot of season left.

2 comments:

Mike said...

The Gunners are still young. I thought they are really a year or two out from making a lot of noise.

Mike

Matthew Bradley said...

Young, indeed. Great promise in the coming seasons. But if they will hold on, there's no reason they can't finish strong this season.

Good to hear from you, Mike. I hope all is well.