To be fair the PL has been more competitive in terms of the gap from 1st to 4th than it was back in the mid 2000's. That's not surprising given the rise of City and improvement of Spurs in recent seasons. If you look at the graph below you can see it doesn't vary that much of late. The really important line is the yellow one climbing like a rocket
10 points between top 4 with 3 games left, could be less than that come the end. Might be most competitive season in PL history Just cos United are out of it doesn't mean it ain't so
Got to agree with Tobes and saint on this one... If you finish with one more point than the team in fifth then you finish fifth, not fourth which is the minimum required for CL. But it was interesting to see the final points tallies for the last five seasons for illustrative purposes.
With you now. I was still looking at it from the point of view of beating the one who made 4th though, not the one who made 5th. #confused
But your logic is flawed. As in the first example Arsenal actually gained a further 9 points than us in 5th, so if they'd have only gained 64, where did the other 8 go? and what were the results that changed to suit your maths? The simple facts are that in 2009 the benchmark for 4th was 72 points, that where the bar was set - by Arsenal - in 4th
Read his last post, makes more sense. The teams who finished 4th had a set amount of points, but didn't even need that to qualify for the champions league. Arsenal last season had 1 point more than 5th and qualified.
His logic is fine but your point is also valid and shows that having a single value as a proxy for competitiveness will inevitably have some error associated with it
Fair enough, its the way I see it. We can look at it your way too: 008/09 - Arsenal got 72 points 2009/10 - Tottenham got 70 points 2010/11 - Arsenal got 68 points 2011/12 - Tottenham got 69 points 2012/13 - Arsenal got 73 points All of which will be beaten this season, making it a tougher season. Happier now?
Ironically this season could see the bar set at as high as 79 by Arsenal, with us potentially missing out with as many as 78!
There's a good chance this season may go down as the most competitive since the dawn of the PL. The highest total for 4th place is Pool in 07/08 with 76. Could be beaten. The smallest gap between 1st and 4th is 7(75-68) in 96/97. Unlikely to be beaten. The smallest gap between 1st and 4th (since top4 made the CL) is 11(87-76) in 07/08. Could be beaten.
That depends though Dave. To get top 4 it has been harder because the other top 3/4 teams have been consistently winning. Maybe the wording in the title is wrong as you're right, it suggests the whole league is tough where as the teams at the bottom with low points would suggest they are easier. However to get top 4 has been harder because in order to do it, you've had to be far more consistent and win more games than in other years.
That would be a cruel way to miss out - considering your total points tally. I really hope you beat Arsenal to the 4th spot. Two Mersyside clubs in the CL would be fantastic for the City
More teams achieving higher points tallies indicates that outside of the top half a dozen the standard is pants.
