Posted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 8:34 pm
I just googled it, (go me) and after 25 games last season the Mancs had 58 points. After 25 games Arsenal had 60 points, and Chelsea had 54 points. We had 43 after 24 games, and Aston Villa 41 after 25 games.
Now judging by that, the comparisons as I see them are:
The Mancs are 56 points after 24 matches. So despite going on a fantastic run and winning game after game on the bounce, they would still only be one point ahead of last years total should they win their game in hand. Just goes to show that them falling out of the blocks wasn't an optical illusion, they did.
Arsenal have 44 points after 25 matches, 16 points less than at the same stage last season. It's been a poor effort by Wengers men, and I suppose they would claim that losing Hleb and Flamini to enforced transfers, as well as Rosicky and that little striker bloke to injury, as well as fabregas has hindered them. Maybe, but it does look like they are weaker than they were last season after all.
Chelsea have 49 points from 25 matches. It was around this stage last season that they delayed gazelled and started winning every week. They ran on past us and past Arsenal to take the Mancs into a photo. They are currently five points back from where they were before that run even started, so once again they don't appear to be as good a side.
We have 54 points from 25 games. If we assume we would have won our 25th game last season, we are 7 points better than we would have been then, which is an excellent effort. Last season at the same stage, we would still have been fourth funnily enough, as Arsenal, the Mancs and Chelsea would have been ahead of us. We're not in last season though, we're in this (thankfully) so it's a very good effort which is getting rewarded in terms of league position.
Aston Villa are 51 points after 25 games. They are 10 points better off than they were last season, which is also an excellent effort. Curiously, their position relative to us hasn't really changed that much from the same stage last season. Last season we managed to pull clear of them so hopefully we will this time too.
My conclusuion is that both us and Aston Villa have improved some. Thier improvement is largely due to them buying a couple of new players I think, ours is largely due top our excellent first dozen games or so. We must have been doing something different in those first 12 matches to what we'd done previously, but we can only speculate as to what it was.
The other inescapable conclusion is that both Chelsea and Arsenal aren't as good a team as they were last season, or historically. Man Utd appear to be roughly the same, and I think they are gearing up now for the push for home and lots of consecutive victories.
Interesting though when you look at it.
Now judging by that, the comparisons as I see them are:
The Mancs are 56 points after 24 matches. So despite going on a fantastic run and winning game after game on the bounce, they would still only be one point ahead of last years total should they win their game in hand. Just goes to show that them falling out of the blocks wasn't an optical illusion, they did.
Arsenal have 44 points after 25 matches, 16 points less than at the same stage last season. It's been a poor effort by Wengers men, and I suppose they would claim that losing Hleb and Flamini to enforced transfers, as well as Rosicky and that little striker bloke to injury, as well as fabregas has hindered them. Maybe, but it does look like they are weaker than they were last season after all.
Chelsea have 49 points from 25 matches. It was around this stage last season that they delayed gazelled and started winning every week. They ran on past us and past Arsenal to take the Mancs into a photo. They are currently five points back from where they were before that run even started, so once again they don't appear to be as good a side.
We have 54 points from 25 games. If we assume we would have won our 25th game last season, we are 7 points better than we would have been then, which is an excellent effort. Last season at the same stage, we would still have been fourth funnily enough, as Arsenal, the Mancs and Chelsea would have been ahead of us. We're not in last season though, we're in this (thankfully) so it's a very good effort which is getting rewarded in terms of league position.
Aston Villa are 51 points after 25 games. They are 10 points better off than they were last season, which is also an excellent effort. Curiously, their position relative to us hasn't really changed that much from the same stage last season. Last season we managed to pull clear of them so hopefully we will this time too.
My conclusuion is that both us and Aston Villa have improved some. Thier improvement is largely due to them buying a couple of new players I think, ours is largely due top our excellent first dozen games or so. We must have been doing something different in those first 12 matches to what we'd done previously, but we can only speculate as to what it was.
The other inescapable conclusion is that both Chelsea and Arsenal aren't as good a team as they were last season, or historically. Man Utd appear to be roughly the same, and I think they are gearing up now for the push for home and lots of consecutive victories.
Interesting though when you look at it.