Outside the Box: New year, same old problems for Wolves, Wigan and Wham

Category: Football

Publish Date: 01-01-2011 07:00 PM -0500

It is rare for a final table to give such an accurate guide to performance the following season as was the case over the course of 2010. West Ham, Wigan and Wolves, the three clubs closest to relegation last May, have spent much of this season in the bottom three, while the same five teams who finished at the top have been there again. Our overall League table for 2010 therefore has a familiar look to it. Manchester United have 80 points, Chelsea 75, Arsenal and Manchester City 70 and Tottenham 66. West Ham's full haul from the 12 months was a mere seven wins and 34 points, behind Wigan, Wolves and the underachieving Birmingham, all on 37, then Fulham with 38. Clubs promoted from the Championship played three or four more games, which gave Newcastle 73 points at an average of 1.78 per game, fractionally less than Spurs. Unexpectedly, the biggest falling away compared to the second half of last season was Everton's, from 39 points with only two defeats between January and May, to 22 and only four wins this season. The relegated teams, Burnley, Hull and Portsmouth, have all sat around halfway in the Championship this season and are bunched together above the bottom five in our table.

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