the stats for this year are mental throughout the EFL, here are the comments from the QPR preview for our match with Baggies tonight.......Originally Posted by TaketheCannoli
There are four unbelievable teams streaking far away at the top hoovering up record amounts of points, and one absolute whipping boy at the bottom essentially giving up six points to everybody. Since Sky invented football in 1992, the top four of this division has never had as many points after 35 games as Leicester, Leeds, Ipswich and Southampton have now. Over the past ten seasons the amount of points required for automatic promotion has averaged out at 85.5 with 89 the highest (twice) and 81 the lowest (last season, though Sheff Utd in second did get 91). Leicester are on 81 already. Sunderland, meanwhile, have the lowest points total (47) for a team sitting tenth at this stage.
QPR are one of four teams from 19th to 22nd who all have 38 points – no team sitting third bottom after 35 games has ever had that many before in the modern era. Two seasons ago, 2021/22, albeit affected by points deductions, 38 points would have kept you up. Over the last ten years the number of points required to survive without the need to resort to goal difference has varied between 38 (21/22) and 52 (16/17) averaging out at 43.8. In 18/19, and 15/16, 41 points would have kept you up; in 17/18 and 14/15 the total required was 42 – QPR can effectively get to that tonight, and still be deep in the shit.
QPR have won three in a row, Sheff Wed have now won four. Swansea have won three from five, Stoke two from four, Millwall two in a row, Huddersfield three out of six. On Saturday, as the previous week when QPR narrowly beat Rotherham at home, news filtered through from elsewhere that everybody else had won. As well as being a really bad year to be shit, it’s also an incredibly dangerous season to get in that check in queue to Mykonos too early – looking at Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Watford all suddenly losing for fun on 44 points.
Only once (Peterborough in 12/13 relegated with 54) has 52 points not been enough to survive in this league. What on earth the total is going to be this year is anybody’s guess at this point.
It is that point of the year now where you cannot but help look at other fixtures and pray for favours from elsewhere. We’re in the uncomfortable position of suddenly wanting Leeds to win games, with Huddersfield and Stoke this week and Sheff Wed and Millwall to come shortly. Our opposition on Wednesday could be kingmakers at the bottom as well – West Brom play six of the bottom seven including ourselves, all of them away bar Rotherham at home. Watford, meanwhile, having already gifted points to Huddersfield and Millwall now have Swansea and Birmingham in the next week or so.
You can drive yourself insane tossing the permutations until you conclude it’s about us. We’ve got to look after ourselves. On Saturday, really for the first time in two years, it looked like we might just be capable of doing that.
if anyone wants to read arguably the best fan journo in the division you could do worse than read our Clive's full piece which the above was taken from; or one of his brilliant and very honest match reports
https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footba...%80%93-preview
https://www.fansnetwork.co.uk/footba...2%80%93-report
sorry to the Leicester fans for the second but it's still a good read.
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