A Bloomfield Road goals record, King Kenny's league and Barton's boast... Martin Tyler has the stats.
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Tyler's Starting Stat - Liverpool too slick for City
I was at Anfield on Monday night to see Liverpool remain unbeaten at home in 2011, while Manchester City still haven't won away from home this year in all competitions (10 games). Their last away win was 3-1 at Newcastle on Boxing Day when Andy Carrol scored with a header - his last Premier League goal for his former club. He has now scored four goals against Manchester City in five appearances, but this was the first time he has ended up on the winning side. Carroll can celebrate scoring his first goals for Liverpool in his sixth appearance, while he didn't score in his first 17 for Newcastle. That strike was his 13th league goal this season, including six headers.
City's wretched record at Anfield continues. They have now won only one of their last 20 league visits and two of their last 38. Having won 3-0 at home in August, they missed out on doing their first league double over Liverpool since 1937 when they were champions.
Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher played in his 662nd game for Liverpool and is now just three games away from equalling Emlyn Hughes and Ray Clemence in second place on the all-time list. He is unlikely to reach the top of the list, however, as Ian Callaghan leads the way on 857.
KING KENNY
Hi, I read in your most recent post that you produced a Premier League table starting only when Roy Hodgson took over at West Brom. I was wondering if it would be possible to do something similar for Kenny Dalglish's new reign at Anfield? The best I can find on the internet is a 10-game form guide, but it would be interesting to see how he would have done had the Premier League season started when he took over. Thanks, Craig.
MARTIN SAYS: If the Premier League had started when Kenny Dalglish was appointed Liverpool caretaker manager in January, the club would be in third position, just two points behind leaders Manchester United. The Reds' record under Dalglish reads: P12 W7 D2 L3 F21 A11 Pts 23. Only Manchester United have won more Premier League games in that period and only United and Everton have scored more goals. It must be pointed out that Liverpool have played more games than the likes of Arsenal, Everton and Spurs in this time.
The team that lost to Liverpool on Monday night - Manchester City - are down in 10th below the likes of Aston Villa and West Brom, while Sunderland are bottom of the table having picked up only five points in their last 10 games.
Premier League table since January 8 2011:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1. | Man Utd | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 25 |
| 2. | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 23 |
| 3. | Liverpool | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 23 |
| 4. | Arsenal | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 22 |
| 5. | Everton | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 16 | 6 | 19 |
| 6. | Tottenham | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 17 |
| 7. | West Brom | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 17 |
| 8. | Fulham | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 16 |
| 9. | Aston Villa | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 2 | 16 |
| 10. | Man City | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 14 |
| 11. | Bolton | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 14 | -2 | 13 |
| 12. | Birmingham | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 13 |
| 13. | West Ham | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 12 |
| 14. | Newcastle | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 11 |
| 15. | Stoke | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 22 | -7 | 11 |
| 16. | Wolves | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 22 | -7 | 11 |
| 17. | Wigan | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 10 |
| 18. | Blackpool | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 34 | -15 | 8 |
| 19. | Blackburn | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 17 | -6 | 7 |
| 20. | Sunderland | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 23 | -13 | 5 |
BLOOMING WITH GOALS
Hi Martin, After watching the football this weekend a question sprung to mind. No away team, or indeed Blackpool, have kept a clean sheet at Bloomfield Road this season. If this continues against Wigan, Newcastle, Stoke and Bolton, will this be a Premier League record? Thomas Winter
MARTIN SAYS: In fact, Thomas, it is already a record! In Blackpool's 15 home games so far this season, they have scored in every one - and so have their opponents. No side has both conceded and scored in 15 home games in a 38-game season before, so Blackpool set a record last Sunday - and they still have four games left to add to that tally. Spurs were the closest to miss out on scoring there, but Roman Pavlyuchenko scored in the third minute of injury time.
Back in 1993/94, Queens Park Rangers scored and conceded in 16 games, but of course they had 21 home games that season. The results that featured a "nil" were as follows:
QPR 0-4 Leeds
QPR 1-0 Wimbledon
QPR 0-0 West Ham
QPR 1-0 Blackburn
QPR 3-0 Ipswich
Here are the teams that scored and conceded in the most home games in one season:
38-game season:
FIFTEEN: Blackpool (2011)
FOURTEEN: Arsenal (2002), Arsenal (2003), Burnley (2010), Everton (2001), Southampton (2005)
42-game season:
SIXTEEN: Queens Park Rangers (1993)
FIFTEEN: Ipswich (1993), Newcastle (1995), Oldham (1993), Queens Park Rangers (1994), Southampton (1995), Tottenham (1994)
FOURTEEN: Leicester (1995), Oldham (1994), Sheffield Wednesday (1993), Swindon (1994)
JEEPERS KEEPERS
Hi Martin, Another one for you. It just occurred to me that this past weekend, we saw a fourth goalkeeper start a game for Arsenal in the league (Lehmann, Almunia, Fabianski and Szczesny) this season. If Lehmann picks up a knock and we have to start reserve keeper James Shea, that would make five - would this be some type of record? If not, which team has had the most number of goalkeepers start a game in the league within a single season? Thanks, Arun Kumar (Arsenal fan)
MARTIN SAYS: We put this to the boffins at Opta and they have confirmed that Arsenal are the first team in five years to start four different goalkeepers in a season. Opta's records only go back to the 2002/03 campaign, but in that period no side has started more than four goalkeepers in one campaign.
Five clubs have started four goalkeepers in that time and they are as follows:
Everton in 2002-03: Wright (33 starts) Simonson, Gerrard (2) Baardsen (1)
Sunderland in 2002-03: Sorensen (21 starts) Macho (12) Poom (4) Myhre (1)
Southampton in 2004-5: Niemi (28 starts) Smith (5) Keller (4) Blayney (1)
Everton in 2005-06: Martyn (20 starts) Wright (14) Turner, Westerveld (2)
Arsenal in 2010-11: Fabianski (14 starts) Szczesny, Almunia (8) Lehmann (1)
We can also tell you that in the 2005/06 season Everton actually used FIVE goalkeepers. As mentioned above, Nigel Martyn, Richard Wright, Iain Turner and Sander Westerveld all started matches, but John Ruddy also appeared for them in that campaign as a substitute.He came onto the pitch in a game against Blackburn in February 2006 when Turner was sent off for handling outside the area. With Martyn and Wright injured, Ruddy was the only choice for David Moyes on the bench and so came onto the field and managed to keep a clean sheet in a 1-0 win!
BARTON THE BEST?
Hi Martin, Just read Joey Barton saying this season he has been the best English midfielder. I was wondering, taking into account, goals scored, assists and passes completed. Which midfielders have been the top performers this season - and not just English ones? Thanks, Azz La (Newcastle Utd fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Joey Barton has scored four Premier League goals and only makes 23rd on the overall list of goalscoring midfielders in this season's top flight (according to Opta's definition of a midfielder). There are several Englishmen ahead of him in that list, including Kevin Nolan, Theo Walcott, Frank Lampard, Stewart Downing, Ashley Young, Marc Albrighton, Matthew Etherington and Scott Parker.
Goals by midfielders (2010/11):
1. Kevin Nolan (12)
2. Clint Dempsey, Florent Malouda, Rafael van der Vaart (10)
5. Tim Cahill, Charlie Adam, Dirk Kuyt, Samir Nasri, Nani (9)
10. Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale (7)
(Joey Barton is in joint 23rd on 4 goals)
When it comes to assists, Barton fares much better. He has assisted seven Premier League goals this season, which puts him at joint-sixth on the overall list of midfielders and joint-second on the list of English midfielders, behind Ashley Young - who could be classed as a second forward, rather than an authentic midfielder like Barton.
Assists by midfielders (2010/11):
1. Nani (14)
2. Andrey Arshavin (11)
3. Chris Brunt, Cesc Fabregas (9)
5. Ashley Young (8)
6. Joey Barton, Stewart Downing, Theo Walcott (7)> 9. Morten Gamst Pedersen, Charlie Adam, Darren Fletcher, Seb Larsson, Matthew Etherington, Jermaine Pennant, Rafael van der Vaart (6)
And finally, in terms of pass completion, Barton is ranked the 27th best midfielder by Opta. The top passer in their list is actually an Englishman - Danny Murphy - while fellow England players Gareth Barry and Jack Wilshere also make the top 10:
Successful passes by midfielders (2010/11):
1. Danny Murphy (1642)
2. Michael Essien (1596)
4. Gareth Barry (1365)
5. Alex Song (1354)
6. Yaya Toure (1330)8. Jack Wilshere (1279)
9. David Vaughan (1272)
10. John Obi Mikel (1247)
(Joey Barton is in 27th on 972 passes)
THE FINAL HURDLE
Hi Martin, Love the column, always a joy to read. Quick question - as an Arsenal fan, I feel like we're consistently in the title race each season but tend to tail off towards the last 10 games or so. I'm wondering if you can let me know how Arsenal's average points per game in the last 10 games of each season compares with those of Chelsea and Man United since we last won the title (both for individual seasons and as a whole)? Thanks! Arun Kumar (Arsenal fan)
MARTIN SAYS: In each of the last four seasons, Arsenal have scored fewer points than both Manchester United and Chelsea in their final 10 games of the campaign. In 2006/07 they only picked up 13 points out of the final possible 30, which is their lowest return in the period since their last Premier League win (2003/04). When Arsenal won the league in 2003/04 they remained unbeaten in their final 10 games, but even if we include that season, then Arsenal have picked up fewer points overall than their two rivals, as the following stats show:
Points gained in the last 10 games of the season:
2009/10
Arsenal: 17, Chelsea: 25, Man Utd: 25
2008/09
Arsenal: 23, Chelsea: 25, Man Utd: 25
2007/08
Arsenal: 18, Chelsea: 24*, Man Utd: 23
2006/07
Arsenal: 13, Chelsea: 20*, Man Utd: 20
2005/06
Arsenal: 23, Chelsea: 19, Man Utd: 23
2004/05
Arsenal: 25, Chelsea: 24*, Man Utd: 15
2003/04
Arsenal: 20*, Chelsea: 18, Man Utd: 17
* Unbeaten
OVERALL
Arsenal: 139 (an average of 19.9 points in the final 10 games)
Chelsea: 155 (an average of 22.1 points the final 10 games)
Man Utd: 148 (an average of 21.1 points in the final 10 games)
So far their records in the final 10 games read: Arsenal: DDW, Chelsea: WDW, Man Utd: LWWW
STARTER FOR HOW MANY?
Dimitar Berbatov is currently the leading Premier League goalscorer (he has just scored his 21st goal against Fulham as I type this) and could well go on to be the top scorer at the end of the season despite not being first choice for quite a bit of the last few months. So I was wondering, Martin, if he could be on to set some sort of record for being the top scorer with fewest starts in the season? Stephen Fitzgibbon (Manchester Utd fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Berbatov has started just 23 of Manchester United's 32 Premier League games so far, so could reach a maximum of 29 starts if he begins the remainder of their games. No player has ever topped the scoring charts after starting fewer than 30 of his side's Premier League games. Back in 1997/98 Michael Owen played in 30 games for Liverpool and was joint-top scorer and in 2005/06, Thierry Henry started 30 games (plus two more appearances as a substitute), but still managed to score 27 goals to win the Golden Boot.
Thus, if he does hold on to his position at the top of the scoring charts - which seems likely as Carlos Tevez is injured - then he would become the first man to do so, having started fewer than 30 games.
Starts by top scorer in each Premier League season:
| Season | Top scorer | Starts | Sub apps | Goals |
| 1992/93 | Teddy Sheringham | 41 | 0 | 22 |
| 1993/94 | Andy Cole | 40 | 0 | 34 |
| 1994/95 | Alan Shearer | 42 | 0 | 34 |
| 1995/96 | Alan Shearer | 35 | 0 | 31 |
| 1996/97 | Alan Shearer | 31 | 0 | 25 |
| 1997/98 | Dion Dublin
Michael Owen
Chris Sutton | 36
34
35 | 0
2
0 | 18 |
| 1998/99 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Michael Owen
Dwight Yorke | 36
30
32 | 0
0
0 | 18 |
| 1999/00 | Kevin Phillips | 36 | 0 | 30 |
| 2000/01 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | 35 | 0 | 23 |
| 2001/02 | Thierry Henry | 31 | 2 | 24 |
| 2002/03 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 33 | 1 | 25 |
| 2003/04 | Thierry Henry | 37 | 0 | 30 |
| 2004/05 | Thierry Henry | 31 | 1 | 25 |
| 2005/06 | Thierry Henry | 30 | 2 | 27 |
| 2006/07 | Didier Drogba | 32 | 4 | 20 |
| 2007/08 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 31 | 3 | 31 |
| 2008/09 | Nicolas Anelka | 33 | 4 | 19 |
| 2009/10 | Didier Drogba | 31 | 1 | 29 |
| 2010/11 (so far) | Dimitar Berbatov | 23 | 6 | 21 |
Tyler's teaser
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