Indeed. It’s far more nuanced than simply ‘the best team always wins the league’.
There are times when the best team have injuries and suspensions at key times that another team have at less key times and fewer key players, or not at all. In even finer detail to that there are times where certain players are injured or suspended and you face a certain team in the fixture list without them that those players would have done well against.
Some seasons, you can have a run of fixtures where the teams you face are bang in form and have all their players fit yet when your rival plays them they’re in their worst form of the season, have a load of players out and the points gained each are a bit skewed. Or one team facing a team who’ve had an easy fixture seven days before and they’re bang at it against you, but when your rivals play them they’ve just come off a tough CL away game or an FA Cup replay that went to extra time and they’re knackered.
Sometimes things like a stupid Winter World Cup that nobody wanted can have a big effect, more players involved in international games, players coming back injured or too fat from internationals, while another team doesn’t have as many involved so their season is affected less.
Even things like the weather make a difference. One team could play Everton in storm when there’s a mud bath of a pitch and it’s a total leveller, whereas your rivals play them in nice spring sunshine.
That’s why one season is never a good barometer to judge a team.
The team who wins the league deserves to win it but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the best team.
