Top 7 mini-league

[supercity88]

We've seen the Top 4 become the Top 6 but with Newcastle's emergence this season is it safe to call it a big 7 now (just so the rags and dippers stay relevant of course).

Putting that to one side, the head-to-head between the top sides always makes interesting reading and could give an indication of where the title may head. I've included Newcastle because they've played 4 of the top 7 now and only lost once (a last-minute goal at Anfield). Table ranked by points per game.

Team	W	D	L	Pts	Pts per game	GF	GA	GD
Arsenal (P3)	2	0	1	6	2	7	6	1
Rags (P6)	3	2	1	11	1.8	11	9	2
Liverpool (P4)	2	0	2	6	1.5	6	5	1
City (P3)	1	1	1	4	1.3	9	7	2
Newcastle (P4)	1	2	1	5	1.25	6	6	0
Chelsea (P2)	0	2	0	2	1	3	3	0
Spurs (P4)	0	1	3	1	0.25	4	9	-5

Results and fixtures below*.

Results

United
United 2-1 Liverpool
United 3-1 Arsenal
City 6-3 United
United 0-0 Newcastle
United 2-0 Spurs
Chelsea 1-1 United

Arsenal
United 3-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 3-1 Spurs
Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool

Liverpool
United 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle
Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool
Liverpool 1-0 City

City
Newcastle 3-3 City
City 6-3 United
Liverpool 1-0 City

Newcastle
Newcastle 3-3 City
Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle
United 0-0 Newcastle
Spurs 1-2 Newcastle

Chelsea
Chelsea 2-2 Spurs
Chelsea 1-1 United

Tottenham
Chelsea 2-2 Spurs
Arsenal 3-1 Spurs

Fixtures (subject to TV)
Chelsea v Arsenal 6/11
Spurs v Liverpool 6/11
Newcastle v Chelsea 12/11
Chelsea v City 2/1
Arsenal v Newcastle 2/1
United v City 14/1
Spurs v Arsenal 14/1
Arsenal v United 21/1
Liverpool v Chelsea 21/1
Spurs v City 4/2
Newcastle v Liverpool 18/2
Spurs v Chelsea 25/2
City v Newcastle 4/3
Liverpool v United 4/3
City v Liverpool 1/4
Newcastle v United 1/4
Liverpool v Arsenal 8/4
United v Chelsea 22/4
Newcastle v Spurs 22/4
Spurs v United 25/4
City v Arsenal 26/4
Arsenal v Chelsea 29/4
Liverpool v Spurs 29/4
Newcastle v Arsenal 6/5
City v Chelsea 20/5
Chelsea v Newcastle 25/5

* Some games to be re-arranged including City v Spurs and Arsenal v City.

 

[mexico1970]

There is only a top 4, anything else is just red top propaganda.

 

[bluenova]

There is only a top 4, anything else is just red top propaganda.

Clearly there is a top six financially (more recent accounts are skewed heavily by Covid, but this has been the picture for pretty much the last decade, with Spurs and Arsenal recently swapping positions).

Newcastle obviously can't compete with these numbers at all, and their cash splurge so far has been similar to Nottingham Forest - up front spend that will be spread over the next few years, in the hope of increasing success (in Forest's case, that means staying in the PL, for Newcastle that means cracking the Champions League and leveraging their Saudi based sponsorships).

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

Think the interesting thing for United is they still look better against teams that attack them than they do against teams that sit back. Think we can all agree that Erik ten Hag is a much, much better manager than Ole (may god bless him, the incompetent fuck), but they're still squeezing results against top teams by quick counter attacking football.

 

[Dodgy Gangster]

It’s an interesting mini table. I’m a bit worried by the rags - apart from bottling it completely against us they’re on a very good run.

 

[vmsuhail]

It’s an interesting mini table. I’m a bit worried by the rags - apart from bottling it completely against us they’re on a very good run.

They've played all of the Top 7, so their next fixtures will be relatively easier. Their GD is still zero, which shows they don't have the right balance to go on a long winning run.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

It’s an interesting mini table. I’m a bit worried by the rags - apart from bottling it completely against us they’re on a very good run.

Draw, win, draw, win, loss. 8/15 points. 8 points off top. It's ok form, given who they have played, but it's not exactly very good either.

 

[N1985]

Those Rag results don't even tell half the story. They should have lost at least 3 of them. They'll get twatted off lesser teams that take their chances.

 

[bluenova]

It’s an interesting mini table. I’m a bit worried by the rags - apart from bottling it completely against us they’re on a very good run.

If you're genuinely worried, the bookmakers will happily take your money, and if you're right, you will be rich at the end of the season :)

 

[I'm With Stupid]

The rags are that typical team that’s good enough to give the big teams a game by playing counter attacking, but not good enough to break down stubborn opponents who do the same to them.

 

[supercity88]

The rags are that typical team that’s good enough to give the big teams a game by playing counter attacking, but not good enough to break down stubborn opponents who do the same to them.

That's how I see it. And I think Arsenal are similar to be honest. They've battled in a lot of games to get the results but I do think we'll see them continue to drop points unexpectedly as per this weekend. Chelsea are still looking to gel (we keep saying that don't we), Spurs have fallen off a cliff and Liverpool are shocking. We've not played well yet but the fact we're still right up there means when it does click we should sail off into the distance and win our third in a row which will of course shut the doubters up - especially when that big eared CL bastard is won with it in Istanbul.

 

[beast]

4

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

That's how I see it. And I think Arsenal are similar to be honest. They've battled in a lot of games to get the results but I do think we'll see them continue to drop points unexpectedly as per this weekend. Chelsea are still looking to gel (we keep saying that don't we), Spurs have fallen off a cliff and Liverpool are shocking. We've not played well yet but the fact we're still right up there means when it does click we should sail off into the distance and win our third in a row which will of course shut the doubters up - especially when that big eared CL bastard is won with it in Istanbul.

I think if I was a rival fan the worrying thing would be City look like they have a gear to go up still, and are putting wins together, where, as you say, on the pitch it looks to me like every other team is playing about par for where you'd expect them to be (with Liverpool well under, and Newcastle and Arsenal a bit over).

 

[tregyblue61]

I thought the rags have 3½ wins?

Didn't they beat us 3-2 in the 2nd half the other week?

 

[HelloCity]

It’s way too early in the season to look at a table like this.

 

[JASR]

@supercity88 can I ask that you add another column PPG (points per game), and make that the order of the table, as it’s probably the best way to cater for the disparity of games played

 

[supercity88]

@supercity88 can I ask that you add another column PPG (points per game), and make that the order of the table, as it’s probably the best way to cater for the disparity of games played

You can ask.