By Brian Sears 21 August 2015 No Premier League team in the past 22 seasons has won the title after winning a single point or less in their first two games. So in that sense, purely statistically, Chelsea have a slim chance of retaining their crown. They have one point from two games. In fact the only […]

By Brian Sears 1 May 2015 Barring one of the most absurd sets of results this weekend that the game of football has ever seen, Bournemouth’s promotion to the Premier League will be confirmed. They play at Charlton while Middlesbrough are at home to Brighton and it would need a loss for Bournemouth coupled with […]

By Brian Sears 12 September 2014 It may all change when Louis Van Gaal finally unleashes his new-look starting XI against QPR at Old Trafford on Sunday but his starting XIs so far in this nascent Premier League season have been among the youngest in the division and among those with the most English players […]

By Brian Sears 15 July 2014  The Premier League is about to start its 23rd season, the 23rd season since England’s top division was rebranded ‘Premier League’ and effectively broke away from the rest of English football. The 23rd season of the ‘money era’ when TV riches have poured into the game in ever-increasing amounts. The […]

By Brian Sears 8 August 2014 With the 2014-15 English football season about to begin, and with every fan still at the stage where they can dream that this will be the year, the notion of where a club ‘deserves’ to be is again a topic of relevance. Up and down the country there will […]

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By Brian Sears 5 November 2013 Manchester City’s mauling of Norwich on Saturday was their biggest ever win in the Premier League era. It was also the 32nd time in the Premier League, since 1992, that one team has thrashed another by scoring seven or more goals. The graphic below details every one of those […]

By Brian Sears 13 September 2013 Newcastle have been in the Premier League for 19 of the completed 21 PL seasons since the top division was revamped in 1992-93. They missed that inaugural year, and then the 2009-10 season. Of all the teams they’ve played in those 19 seasons, this weekend’s opponents Aston Villa have […]

By Brian Sears 16 August 2013 Chelsea have the best opening-day record in the Premier League era, winning their first league match of the season 13 times in the past 21 years and drawing another five for a total of 44 points from 21 games, or 2.1 points a game. Manchester United have the next […]

* In 1985, Steven Bridge, a lifelong fan of Charlton Athletic, was a mature student, age 31,  living in Kent and studying theology in London. As part of his degree, he wrote an extended ‘Man in Society’ essay. As a football fan concerned by a blight on the beautiful game, he made hooliganism the subject […]