ToffeeWeb - Season 2009-10

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Stats vs teams below and above us

There has been a lot of talk about how often we haven't been able to finish off some of the poorer teams this season (or any season really). With this in mind, does anybody have stats on Everton results against all teams lower than us in the table and all teams ahead of us (and perhaps bottom half and top half of the table) for this season?

It will be interesting to see how our results compare between the categories and may shed some light as to whether we are indeed losing points from 'easier' games. If the results can be dissaggregated by 1st half of season and 2nd half of season that would be illuminating as well.

Thanks.
Anthony Gird, South Africa Posted 03/05/2010 at 12:58:49

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Stefan Tosev
1 Posted 03/05/2010 at 15:02:05

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Versus Top-Half Opposition:

Club (Place) Pld vTH W D L PpG Pts

Everton (8) 37 18 5 7 6 1.2222 22

Versus Bottom-Half Opposition:

Club (Place) Pld vBH W D L PpG Pts

Everton (8) 37 19 10 6 3 1.8936 36

Based on the second part of the season we are second behind only Man Utd.

Graeme Hodgkinson
2 Posted 03/05/2010 at 15:18:13

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There used to be a regular poster who would, at regular intervals in the season, compare each of our results with that of the previous season. Replacing each relegated team from one year with a promoted team of the current year.

It always made for an interesting read, even if meaningful conclusions were somewhat hard to come by...

My apologises for not remembering the name of the poster, but I'm sure MK or LL will shed some light!

Bring it back if possible!

Michael Kenrick
Editorial Team
3 Posted 03/05/2010 at 16:00:14

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Graeme, that was Steve Flanagan, ace TW Stato.

Sadly, Steve has not been able to provide us with much recently by way of stats so it's back down to me I'm afraid. I did have a spreadsheet set up for doing that but unfortunately it is hugely labour-intensive and time-consuming to reorder the game stats from the previous season so they match the sequence of the current season's games.

I bet it's something you can do a lot more easily in a database, but you'd still have to prep a macro or SQL or something, and then you only use it once a year... and by the time next year comes around, you've forgotten how it worked or where you hid it, and you end up reinventing it again!

Maybe I'll take a look at it again over the long hot summer evenings... NOT!

Tony Waring
4 Posted 03/05/2010 at 16:56:47

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Is this the Toffee University website? I only just scraped O-level maths and I'm sure we didn't encounter macros, SQLs and the like — are they specially queer logarithms by the way?

What we really need to know is how many yellow cards have we had this season when the opposing player was wearing green socks? Now there's a real problem for you! Talking of socks — and nothing to do with current subject — can anyone explain why some nancy players pull them over their knees? They look like a lot of soft tarts; it surely isn't a fashion statement. Here endeth the lesson. QED - Quaint Effeminate Dilettantes.

Tony J Williams
5 Posted 03/05/2010 at 19:22:35

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Interesting thought but in the end pointless, the league is over 38 games so it makes no difference where the points come from, just as long as they DO come. We fared better against the "big" teams this season but probably worse against the relegated ones.

Iain Love
6 Posted 03/05/2010 at 19:38:10

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There are a lot of teams below us who look upon a draw against us as a decent result, in the same way we would view a draw against the teams above us. This determines the way they set up against us and if we are missing our creative players ie Arteta & Pienaar we struggle.

When we had Donovan playing, that gave us another option, instead of just our left hand side, and that is one reason we did very well when he was here. Aka T Steven & K Sheedy.

What people forget sometimes is that we are viewed as a decent side, and played against with respect.

Gavin Ramejkis
7 Posted 03/05/2010 at 22:58:42

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Tony Waring, sympathise with your sock theory, my own red rag is long sleeves and gloves, proper softy style.

David Moore
8 Posted 03/05/2010 at 23:25:25

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Here are all the results against teams above and below us with a tally at the end. Our Score is always first.

Above Us

Arsenal (H) 1-6
Aston Villa (H) 1-1
Man Utd (A) 0-3
Liverpool (H) 0-2 (turning point of season)
Tottenham (H) 2-2
Chelsea (A) 3-3
Arsenal (A) 2-2
Man City (H) 2-0
Liverpool (A) 0-1
Chelsea (H) 2-1
Man Utd (H) 3-1
Tottanham (A) 1-2
Man City (A) 2-0
Aston Villa (A) 2-2

Total Played 14 W-4 D-5 L-5 Total 17

Below

Burnley (A) 0-1
Wigan (H) 2-1
Fulham (A) 1-2
Blackburn (H) 3-0
Portsmouth (A) 1-0
Stoke (H) 1-1
Wolves (H) 1-1
Bolton (A) 2-3
West Ham (A) 2-1
Hull (A) 2-3
Birmingham (H) 1-1
Sunderland (A) 1-1
Burnley (H) 2-0
Sunderland (H) 2-0
Wigan (A) 1-0
Hull (H) 5-1
Birmingham (A) 2-2
Bolton (H) 2-0
Wolves (A) 0-0
West Ham (H) 2-2
Blackburn (A) 3-2
Fulham (H) 2-1
Stoke (A) 0-0
Pompey (H) ???
Total P-23 W-11 D-8 L-4 Total 41

GRAND TOTAL P-37 W-15 D-13 L-9 Points 58
3 more up for grabs against Pompey.

David McKitt
9 Posted 04/05/2010 at 11:48:19

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Gavin my red rag is SHORT sleeves and gloves! Whats the point!!

Robert Workman
10 Posted 04/05/2010 at 15:38:01

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Graeme (2):
Just did a quick check on results compared with last season, substituting promoted for relegated teams results:

Games 1-10 = minus 2 points
Games 11-19 = minus 3 points (minus 5 points overall at half way mark)
Games 20-29 = plus 5 (therefore no difference overall)
Games 30-37 = minus 2

So, with just the Portsmouth game to come, Everton are 2 points worse off overall than last season, by this method of comparison. Bearing in mind that last season produced a home defeat, any positive result on sunday would result in a change in the final comparative figure. Incidentally, 17 games had the same result as last season.

Interestingly, the start to the season (first quarter) was not so bad, in this comparison, as it seemed in reality. Clearly the third quarter was when the real progress was made (including wins against Man City, Chelsea and Man Utd — an increase of 7 points over last season).
Make of it what you will!

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