High Draw Lowers Score

The mid-week round of Premier League fixtures gave us a rare Match Of the Day which featured every team in the division for the first time this season. This meant those at the top of the running order had the potential for big points provided that they did not get involved in a high scoring match and those last on Match of the Day needed a no-score draw to avoid losing points overall.

As it turned out Arsenal and Tottenham blew their chance to improve their Promroiship position with a 4-4 draw which, while appearing first on Match of the Day, only netted the teams 20 points. Compare that to Liverpool and Portsmouth who scored 80 points after the 1-0 victory for the Reds appeared second on MOTD, catapulting Portsmouth into second from eighth and slightly reducing Liverpool's gap at the top mainly due to the fact Pompey have only appeared four times on Match of the Day this season thanks to European commitments. West Ham climbed off the bottom by virture of playing Manchester United and netting 60 points this week. Steve Bruce's problems were magnified as Wigan replaced them at the bottom. Manchester City dropped a massive eleven places after only their second Promroiship appearance this season.

Newcastle and West Brom were last on Match of the Day and got negative points because they played the day before. Detractors of the Promroiship may claim this makes it unfair but I am sure matches on previous days have been intermingled in the past (althought they are very unlikely to appear first). Consider the following: would Manchester United have appeared last if they had played in the only match on the night before?

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

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur......20
Liverpool v Portsmouth...........80
Manchester United v West Ham.....60
Hull City v Chelsea..............40
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers...10
Stoke City v Sunderland..........40
Bolton Wanderers v Everton.......30
Middlesbrough v Manchester City..10
Fulham v Wigan Athletic.......... 0
Newcastle United v West Brom....-20

The Promroiship Table after Round 10 (08/9)

Team..................Total...Apps..Average
Liverpool..............336......7....48.0
Portsmouth.............173......4....43.3
Manchester United......233......6....38.8
Hull City..............259......7....37.0
Chelsea................132......4....33.0
Everton................225......7....32.1
Arsenal................285......9....31.7
Stoke City.............179......6....29.8
Sunderland.............237......8....29.6
Fulham.................216......8....27.0
Newcastle United.......178......7....25.4
Bolton Wanderers.......203......8....25.4
Tottenham Hotspur...... 99......4....24.8
Aston Villa............ 96......4....24.0
Blackburn Rovers.......235.....10....23.5
West Ham United........139......6....23.2
Middlesbrough..........227.....10....22.7
Manchester City........ 42......2....21.0
West Bromwich Albion...168......9....18.7
Wigan Athletic......... 98......6....16.3