The most successful Premier League team of the decade has undoubtedly been Manchester City, with four league titles and two FA cups. But another interesting stat is how they came to earn 63 more points than their nearest rivals in those years.
The graph below shows the cumulative points won by the Premier League champions of the decade. At the end of the 2011 season (and including points won in 2010 from the 2009/10 season), City were 27 points behind champions Manchester United. By 2013 this had extended to 38 points, but by New Year’s Eve 2019 this had swung to a 63 point lead for City.
Cumulative points won from 1st January 2010 to 31 December 2019
One of talking points of the decade that this analysis has raised, is how in the closing years of the decade, teams have started winning over 90 points, and even into the 100’s? Before 2017, no team had scored 90 points but in the last three seasons, four teams have achieved this, with more big points hauls expected by the end of this season. You can see this in the sudden change in angle on the points line for clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool.
The question is, if the Premier League is getting more competitive, and anyone can beat anyone else, as we’re told by broadcasters and pundits, why has the average number of points for champions gone from 85 between 2011-2016, to 97 between 2017-19?
A second interesting question is raised by a team much lower on the graph, Leicester City. They may only have 307 points earned this decade, but they have one thing most teams don’t have, a Premier League title. So what is more important, the accumulation of points to earn more money, or a season of glory? As a supporter would you rather have one winning season or 10 seasons of qualifying for the Champions League?
So what does the next decade have in store?
Surprisingly, the happiest supporters on the 1st of January are those who support a team with no domestic trophies and only the fourth highest points total – Liverpool. The reason is shown in the graph above by how their points accumulated line has angled up dramatically since 2017. Supporters love to remind opponents of their glorious past, but like most sports, people are driven by future hopes. Liverpool are one of the teams in the 90+ points club, and with a Premier League title almost in the bag, it looks like Liverpool and Manchester City will be the powerhouses of the early twenties.
Beyond that I wouldn’t like to say, just look at the fall from grace of the 2011 champions Manchester United.
Sport.dat 