Derby Down but Not Out

Four goal Man United broke the 400 point barrier in the Promroiship, as they and fellow Promroiship rivals Arsenal increased the gap between them and the rest by 7 points. The complicated scoring system really came into its own this weekend, with Derby v Fulham receiving the lowest points total this weekend despite not being last on MOTD. Presumably, even the BBC believed the relegation of a Midlands team was newsworthy. However, relegating a four goal thriller to fifth in the running order, behind a three goal match involving Sunderland and West Ham and a couple of other four goal matches, saw a pitiful return for an uncharacteristically early Derby appearance on Match of the Day. Reading v Blackburn's nil-nil bore draw picked up the same amount of points as the matches at Birmingham and Sunderland, where more goals were scored so the elevated position in the running order was justified. Liverpool's appearance in Sunday's Merseyside derby drops them into would be the relegation places in a normal league. Fans may forgive Benitez for their team's pitiful performance in the Premier League while they regularly reach the Champions League final, but will they forgive such poor performances by the Reds in the Promroiship?

A reminder, points are calculated using the following formula:

(Points for position in running order - number of goals in match) * number of matches on MOTD

where a team gets 10 points for featuring in the first Premier League match, 9 for the second etc.

Promroiship Results March 29th 2008 (Match of the Day Running Order)

Bolton v Arsenal........35
Man Utd v Aston Villa...35
Birmingham v Man City...28
Sunderland v West Ham...28
Derby v Fulham..........14
Portsmouth v Wigan......21
Reading v Blackburn.....28

The Promroiship Table after Round 13

Manchester United ...413*
Arsenal .............383*
Reading .............356*
Fulham ..............322*
Birmingham City......314*
Sunderland ..........308*
West Ham United......300*
Newcastle United.....298
Chelsea .............297
Tottenham Hotspur....281
Portsmouth ..........272*
Aston Villa .........262*
Middlesbrough .......253
Everton .............247
Manchester City .....237*
Bolton Wanderers ....222*
Wigan Athletic ......211*
Liverpool ...........207
Derby County.........200*
Blackburn Rovers.....191*

* indicates match played in Round 13