Interesting and very encouraging stat

[Striker 2]

We''re currently in the bottom eight of the Prem. Of the seven teams around us, we''ve played three, and taken 7pts. We still have 11 games to play against these seven teams.

Look at it another way, and 8 of our 11 games have been against teams in the top 12.

Still worried we''re going to struggle this season ? No, me neither.

[Power Hamster 0]

Which means that we have some very winnable games coming up after the international break.

However I wouldn''t read too much into these sorts of statistics. Last season, for example, we took as many points off the top 6 as we did off the bottom 6.

[YellowNets1901 0]

I fully expect us to win at Newcastle or take a point. I see no reason why we should lose that game. They defended well yesterday but we have enough to cause them problems.

[It's Character Forming 1,204]

Yes the fixture list for us this season is very uneven if you look at when we play the top teams.  Our first 10 games included Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton, Man C.  In the following 9 games (to take us to half way when we''ve played all teams once), only Man U and Liverpool are standout tough fixtures.

 

Then in the second half of the season, the same thing happens in reverse but more extreme - we have Liverpool, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal as our final four games, but the fixtures before then are easier as a result. 

 

We now have a mid-table pack of 9 teams with 10-14 points, we are just below the middle of that pack on 11 points in 15th place.  We now have a long run of 23 fixtures which is as easy a run of games as you will ever see in the Prem (repeat after me "there are no easy games...") with just isolated difficult fixtures like Man U etc.  But to be in 15th place now after our difficult start is a good place to be.  The challenge is to take advantage of this run we''re just starting to put enough points on the board that we''re safe after 34 games.

 

One or 3 points away at Newcastle would be an excellent start.

[morty 0]

[quote user="Striker"]We''re currently in the bottom eight of the Prem. Of the seven teams around us, we''ve played three, and taken 7pts. We still have 11 games to play against these seven teams.

Look at it another way, and 8 of our 11 games have been against teams in the top 12.

Still worried we''re going to struggle this season ? No, me neither.[/quote]I tend not to get dragged into "oh we''ll beat them, we''ll draw there" kinda hopes, but I do see what you''re saying here[Y]

[Bob W 0]

Realistically there are 7 teams in this league with aspirations or expectations of qualifying for a Champions League spot (2 Manchester clubs, 2 Liverpool clubs and 3 London clubs). Of the remaining 13 clubs all are seeking to consolidate their position in the league, but all are at risk if they have a poor run of being involved in a relegation fight.

You can consider these 13 clubs as being in a separate league of their own, with the clubs that come bottom needing to take points from the Champions League contenders to have any hope of avoiding relegation.

So far we have played 6 games against the other teams in this "lower" league and taken 10 points from those games. Only Hull and Southampton have taken more points per game from those other teams. Newcastle have the same points per game as City. Villa, Swansea, Cardiff, West Ham, Palace, Sunderland, Fulham, West Brom and Stoke have all taken fewer points per game.