While sat in the pub watching the Villa game an intoxicated Dorset person (once again) bellowed Saints were in a false position as we've not played the top teams yet. I tried my usual reply, that I'm unaware more points are given for winning against Man City rather than Hull. But what if they were. After some discussion with various (variably drunk) footy fans the general view was a win against a âtopâ club would be worth a point or two extra. A draw against them (esp' away) maybe an extra point. However what constitutes a âtopâ club proved rather contentious. You can imagine the ire of the Spurs fan who felt they should be included. I went for the top 4 last season plus Man Utd, using the point made by someone on the list re Villa and history. They might have been in the elite once but not for a long time. As I say often to my Pompey mate, history is in the past. Looking at a combination of money splashed, ground capacity and recent success (inc qualifying for Champions League) the top 5 pick themselves. So I did some quick maths, and here is the table adjusted with 2points extra if you win, 1 point extra if you draw against a top five team. - [TABLE] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD]Adjusted Points[/TD] [TD]Current Points[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Chelsea[/TD] [TD]38[/TD] [TD]32[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Man City [/TD] [TD]29 [/TD] [TD]24 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Southampton [/TD] [TD]26 [/TD] [TD]26 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Man Utd[/TD] [TD]22[/TD] [TD]19[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]West Ham [/TD] [TD]22 [/TD] [TD]18 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Swansea [/TD] [TD]22 [/TD] [TD]18 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Newcastle [/TD] [TD]21 [/TD] [TD]19 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Everton [/TD] [TD]19 [/TD] [TD]17 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Arsenal [/TD] [TD]18 [/TD] [TD]17 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Spurs[/TD] [TD]18[/TD] [TD]17[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Stoke[/TD] [TD]17[/TD] [TD]15[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Liverpool[/TD] [TD]14[/TD] [TD]14[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]West Brom[/TD] [TD]14[/TD] [TD]13[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Crystal Palace [/TD] [TD]14 [/TD] [TD]12 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Sunderland [/TD] [TD]14 [/TD] [TD]13 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Aston Villa[/TD] [TD]14[/TD] [TD]12[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Hull[/TD] [TD]13[/TD] [TD]11[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Leicester[/TD] [TD]13[/TD] [TD]10[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Burnley[/TD] [TD]11[/TD] [TD]10[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]QPR[/TD] [TD]9[/TD] [TD]8[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Bold = top team, Green = position better, Red = position worse There is a small hit for Saints as Man City overhaul us, but bloody hell Liverpool are in the poo poo. Chelsea gained most points, Saints and Liverpool were the only teams whose points were unaffected.
RAWK already have an alternative league table format that has a lot of merit. might be interesting to compare your effort.
The RWAK thread has been interesting to follow and to me acts as a bit of a barometer on how the rest of the country view us. A lone voice asking for us to be included in the analysis went unheeded for a while but finally they recognised us as contenders. To be fair, their current thinking is very much reflective of our own. If we can come through this next run of games to January unscathed, we will be hot favourites for a Champions league slot but there is some pressure on us. Not huge though because most neutrals expect (or hope) that we will drop away. Personally I am with Ronald on this one. It could well be that Villa and Burnley will be tougher than the games against City and United.
I saw the RAWK one some time ago, the saga resulting in eventual inclusion of ourselves was painful! It's much more sophisticated but addresses a slightly different question being focused more on rivalry between the top few. I guess I just got so fed up of the easy expert's claim that the points we'd already won were in some way so inferior to clubs like Spurs and Liverpool. So I tried to even it up a bit. All pants really of course, one of the flaws is the top 5 can't beat themselves (though Liverpool seem to be trying) so can potentially earn less bonus points than Saints, Everton etc. If we beat Man City next Sun we would leap over them in the above table, the RAWK one would have us off the scale then I think.
Sadly not - the Man City game is a par three game for us; to remain on track, we have to beat them according to the RAWK table/methodology. In fact it matters more to us than to them as it's only a par one game for them as it's an away match against a top side. I like it because it's rather elegant in its simplicity.
