I love a stat, so I had a look at who had completed the Premier League/League
Cup double and got to thinking about the effect of the League Cup.
Team
|
Played
|
Won
|
Drawn
|
Lost
|
For
|
Against
|
Points
|
Points per game
|
Position
|
Chelsea 2015
|
12
|
8
|
3
|
1
|
17
|
10
|
27
|
2.25
|
1st to 1st
|
Man City 2014
|
12
|
9
|
2
|
1
|
33
|
10
|
29
|
2.4167
|
4th to 1st
|
Man United 2010
|
10
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
20
|
4
|
25
|
2.5
|
2nd to 2nd
|
Man United 2009
|
12
|
9
|
1
|
2
|
22
|
13
|
28
|
2.333
|
1st to 1st
|
Chelsea 2007
|
11
|
6
|
5
|
0
|
16
|
5
|
23
|
2.0909
|
2nd to 2nd
|
Man United 2006
|
12
|
9
|
2
|
1
|
20
|
7
|
29
|
2.4167
|
2nd to 2nd
|
There’s been a lot of talk about the League Cup’s place in
the calendar. As one of the only leagues with two domestic cup competitions, it
seems practical to scrap it. It would enhance the prestige of the FA Cup,
reduce the ire-inducing fixture congestion, and perhaps offer England’s players
a bit of respite in a tournament year.
Someone made the excellent point however that the League Cup
final marks the beginning of the business end of the season, and as such, the
crucial third or so of the season where the cream rises to the top. Manchester
City take on Liverpool this Sunday, with one eye on an achievable Premier
League title.
With this in mind I have taken a look at the form of sides
who have won the League Cup while also in a title race. Over the last ten
years, six occasions have produced a winner with an eye on the title, and their
form is excellent.
Manchester United’s win in 2010 preceded the finest form,
with the Red Devils yielding an average of 2.5 points per game, conceding just
four goals in ten games. However, they failed to overhaul Chelsea, who matched
their form over the final 10 games to pip United to the title by a point.
 |
| Sir Alex was no stranger to a League Cup |
The Chelsea of 2014/15 followed their League Cup victory
with 2.25 points per game, also yielding the lowest average goals scored of any
of the six examples, achieving just 1.42 goals per game in the final fixtures. They
were however already five points clear with a game in hand, and managed to lose
only one game in the process.
The Manchester City 2013/14 example is an interesting one.
Having beaten Sunderland in the League Cup final, the Citizens managed an
impressive 2.42 points per game over their final 12 league fixtures, but rather
more impressively scored 33 goals at 2.75 per game. It’s worth noting they had
to keep up with the free-scoring Liverpool in one of the most goal-laden
Premier League title chases in history.
So like I said, a bit of fun. But, if you want to take
anything from this in terms of 2015/16, there is a little more. The average
points per game from all six examples is 2.3 – this translates to 27.6 points,
which if we round up to 28 would give Manchester City 75 points. Enough? It
would leave Leicester needing 23 points from 12 (1.92 points per game) and
Tottenham and Arsenal needing 25 points at 2.083 points per game.
Does it mean anything? We’ll see.
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