By Brian Sears 7 May 2010 So to another dramatic denouement of close-run action, intrigue, drama and tension. But less about the general election. Let’s talk football. The Premier League season ends on Sunday and everyone wants to know one thing: who’s going to win the title? The bookies – and probably the instincts – […]

By Brian Sears 30 April 2010 It’s going to the wire, and we’re not just talking about the title. The Premier League could still see a record number of goals scored this season, and other club milestones in scoring could be reached. Without further ado, here’s what to look out for between now and the […]

By Brian Sears 23 April 2010 This is the 15th season of the 20-club Premier League, and whatever happens in the remainder of it Manchester City are already assured of one thing: their best-ever Premier League season by points total in a 38-game season. Yes, yes, it might well have cost City approximately a squillion […]

By Brian Sears 16 April 2010 Last Sunday, three of the four Premier League games ended 0-0, including Manchester United’s trip to Blackburn. When Rovers are judged on their tally of no-score bore draws (seven this season, yawn) they are officially the most boring team in the Premier League. Liverpool-Fulham was also a snooze if […]

By Brian Sears 9 April 2010 A top six finish in this season’s Premier League is probably beyond Birmingham despite their fine campaign under Alex McLeish. But another kind of top six finish is realistically within their grasp: they remain on course to achieve one of the best ever seasonal performances for a club in […]

By Brian Sears 2 April 2010 So the Premier League enters the home straight for another season and statistical seers (not to mention Sears) strive to grab a passing morsel of numerical nuance from their historical data. Most clubs have but six games to go. As a statistician trying to work out what’s next (snow, […]

By Brian Sears 31 March 2010 Many things in life are uncertain, from the changing of the seasons (these days) to whether the world will explode when the Large Hadron Collider really gets a move on, although reports of the initial collision of protons at record energy levels in a tube beneath Switzerland are encouraging. […]

By Brian Sears 26 March 2010 As every musical statto knows, Queen’s 1984 hit single, ‘It’s a Hard Life’, derives in part from the Leoncavallo opera, ‘Pagliacci’, and close to the start of the song, Freddie Mercury sings: This is a tricky situation I’ve only got myself to blame It’s just a simple fact of […]

By Brian Sears 19 March 2010 Liverpool, beware. Premier League goal scoring this season remains on course to hit record heights, and Liverpool’s opponents this weekend, Manchester United, remain one of three clubs still in the hunt for the Holy Grail-esque “50 goals at home in a Premier League season”. Now some people might argue […]

By Brian Sears 12 March 2010 Some things in life are barely credible, and some are so incredible you’d need your head examined if you fell for them. And in the tier above that, you have Chelsea’s record of consistency in the Premier League. Except their consistency is a provable fact of extraordinary quality. We’re […]