Liverpool and Spurs would be in the Champions League if hitting the post or bar was a goal... it's Martin!
Martin's back with some statistical gems...
Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here!
Every week on skysports.com he answers your questions and offers you statistical gems from what he's seen as he tours the world commentating for Sky Sports.
Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts want your queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.
So if you have spotted something from a match or have been stumped by a pub quiz question, simply email skysportsclub@bskyb.com and he will do his best to help.
Tyler's teaser
But as usual we'll kick off with a question for YOU. Click play to see this week's Tyler's Teaser.
Martin's Starting Stat
I was at St James' Park on Sunday to see Laurent Koscielny score his second goal of the season and it turned out to be a vital one, as was the other in a draw away to Man City. The game also marked Aaron Ramsey's 150th Arsenal appearance and a farewell to 38-year-old Steve Harper, who says he wants to play on elsewhere after his 199th Newcastle game over 20 years (112 in the Premier League). The highlight was playing in the 1999 FA Cup final.
It was a third home defeat in a row for Newcastle after the 0-3 against Sunderland and the 0-6 against Liverpool. It was the third time these two time clubs have met on the last day of the season and Newcastle had won both of the previous encounters; 2-0 in 1994 and 4-2 in 2000. Newcastle finished with 31 goals conceded at home - their worst record since the 31 they conceded at home in 1985/86 when there were 21 home games.
Tottenham got 72 points, which would have been enough to reach the Champions League in 10 of the last 11 seasons. They were denied by an Arsenal side that finished with a 10-game unbeaten run, winning eight and drawing two. They only lost one of their last 16 games.
They've now finished above Spurs in each of the last 18 seasons and Arsene Wenger maintained his 100 per cent record in that regard. The last time Spurs finished higher was 1994/95 when Tottenham were seventh and Arsenal 12th. This is the fourth time in the last eight seasons that the North London clubs have finished fourth and fifth after 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2010/11.
SCORES LIKE NEVER BEFORE
Dear Martin. Great column and commentary as always. I heard that Manchester United's 5-5 draw with West Brom was the first 5-5 draw in Premier League history. Can you tell me how many other "unique" scorelines we've had during the Premier League era - ie scorelines that have only ever happened once? Keep up the good work. Kris (Barnet fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Sunday's result was certainly a rare occurrence. It was indeed the first time we have seen a 5-5 draw in the Premier League and it's the first top-flight game to finish 5-5 since a meeting of Newcastle and QPR in September 1984. Opta have also told us that it's only the second time in history that Manchester United have drawn 5-5 - the other occasion being a Division Two game against Lincoln in 1895.
As it stands, there are eight scorelines in Premier League history that have occurred once and only once and, in fact, two of them have occurred this season. The other was the 7-3 scoreline that Arsenal enjoyed against Newcastle at the Emirates in December. Furthermore, four of these games involve Manchester United.
Thanks to Opta, here are the eight "unique" scores in Premier League history:
9-0: Manchester United won 9-0 against Ipswich on March 4, 1995
6-3: Southampton beat Manchester United 6-3 on October 26, 1996
7-4: Portsmouth famously beat Reading 7-4 on September 29, 2007
6-4: Tottenham beat Reading in another crazy game on December 29, 2007
9-1: Another big win for Tottenham, against Wigan on November 22, 2009
8-2: Manchester United beat Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford on August 28, 2011
7-3: Arsenal beat Newcastle by this scoreline on December 29 this season
5-5: Sunday's draw between West Brom and Man Utd is the latest "unique" score.
Just as a personal memory, I watched one 5-5 draw myself back in 1966 between West Ham and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was a privilege to be there and a game I've never forgotten.
JUST LUK AT THAT
Hi Martin. I've just got back from The Hawthorns after watching an amazing game between Manchester United and West Brom. On the drive home we were discussing how many players have scored hat-tricks as substitutes as Romelu Lukaku did in this game and I thought I would email in and ask Martin Tyler. Can you tell us if this is a first? John (West Brom fan)
MARTIN SAYS: It's worth pointing out that Romelu Lukaku became only the third player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick against Manchester United; the others being David Bentley (in a 4-3 win for Blackburn in February 2006) and Dirk Kuyt (in a 3-1 win for Liverpool in March 2011).
To answer your question, he became only the fifth player in Premier League history to have scored hat-tricks as substitutes. The others were as follows:
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Manchester United v Nottingham Forest (06/02/1999)
The first - and perhaps most famous - substitute hat-trick scorer in the Premier League was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who came on with 19 minutes left of Manchester United's game at Nottingham Forest in February 1999 and scored not three, but four goals in the last 10 minutes as the away side claimed an 8-1 win. I was there that day and it was a fabulous achievement.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for Chelsea v Wolves (27/03/2004)
The second man to achieve the feat was Chelsea's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who came on with 30 minutes left when his side were 2-1 down at home to Wolves. Frank Lampard equalised and then Hasselbaink scored three times in the final 13 minutes to secure a 5-2 home win.
Robert Earnshaw for West Brom v Charlton (19/03/2005)
West Brom were drawing 1-1 with Charlton in March 2005 when Robert Earnshaw was brought on with 26 minutes to go. The Welshman scored three times in the final 17 minutes to secure a 4-1 success for his side at The Valley.
Emmanuel Adebayor for Arsenal v Derby (28/04/2008)
The most recent player to have scored a Premier League hat-trick as a substitute is Emmanuel Adebayor, who came on at half-time for Arsenal at Derby in April 2008. He netted three times as the Gunners ran out 6-2 winners and it was especially painful for the home side, who'd also conceded an Adebayor hat-trick in a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal earlier in the same season!
Some of you may recall that Manchester United's Javier Hernandez walked away with the match ball after their 3-2 win at Aston Villa earlier this season. He claimed three goals as a substitute, but his second was recorded as a Ron Vlaar own goal by the dubious goals panel so that does not count.
I also recall commentating on Ronnie Rosenthal scoring a hat-trick as a substitute for Tottenham in an FA Cup tie against Southampton in 1995. The game was 2-2 at full-time and finished 6-2 after extra-time, so I guess this counts as a hat-trick as a substitute AND an unusual scoreline!
UNITED LOSING LEADS
Dear Martin. Have Manchester United ever been three goals ahead in a Premier League game before and not won it or have West Brom secured a "first" on the last day of the season? Clive (West Brom fan)
MARTIN SAYS: When Manchester United went 3-0 up against West Brom on Sunday it was the 177th game in the history of the Premier League in which they have led by that margin (or more). Out of all of those occasions, this was only the second time when they have failed to win.
The only other time that they let a three-goal lead slip was in January 1994 when they were 3-0 up against Liverpool at Anfield, only for two goals from Nigel Clough and one from Neil Ruddock to see the home team stage a remarkable comeback. I commentated on that match and it's an early classic that has been shown many times on Sky Sports since.
West Brom's achievement is even more remarkable when you consider that Manchester United have led Premier League games by 2+ goals on 360 occasions and they have gone on to win 349 of those games. So they've only let a two-goal lead slip 11 times in the competition's history and they have NEVER lost a Premier League game in which they have led by two goals.
Thanks to Opta here are the 11 occasions when Manchester United have led a Premier League game by two goals and not won it:
| Date |
Team |
Opponent |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Max Goals Ahead |
| 04/01/1994 |
Manchester United |
Liverpool |
3 |
3 |
A |
3 |
| 08/12/1996 |
Manchester United |
West Ham United |
2 |
2 |
A |
2 |
| 12/12/1998 |
Manchester United |
Tottenham Hotspur |
2 |
2 |
A |
2 |
| 05/05/1999 |
Manchester United |
Liverpool |
2 |
2 |
A |
2 |
| 26/08/2000 |
Manchester United |
West Ham United |
2 |
2 |
A |
2 |
| 23/09/2000 |
Manchester United |
Chelsea |
3 |
3 |
H |
2 |
| 09/12/2000 |
Manchester United |
Charlton Athletic |
3 |
3 |
A |
2 |
| 11/09/2010 |
Manchester United |
Everton |
3 |
3 |
A |
2 |
| 16/10/2010 |
Manchester United |
West Bromwich Albion |
2 |
2 |
H |
2 |
| 22/04/2012 |
Manchester United |
Everton |
4 |
4 |
H |
2 |
| 19/05/2013 |
Manchester United |
West Bromwich Albion |
5 |
5 |
A |
3 |
Of course, I have also seen this Manchester United team come back from three goals down on more than one occasion, including the 5-3 win over Tottenham and, more recently the 3-3 draw with Chelsea.
WOOD YOU BELIEVE IT?
Dear Martin. I have lost count of the number of times Liverpool have hit the woodwork this season and I swear that Liverpool would be in the top four if all of those shots had gone in. Luis Suarez has been particularly unlucky with that. Can you show us what the Premier League table would look like if all the shots that hit the bar or post were counted as goals? (Iain, Liverpool fan)
MARTIN SAYS: This is a question we are constantly asked throughout the season, so now the campaign has finished it seems like a good time to answer it!
I can tell you that Liverpool have hit the frame of the goal frame 19 times this season, the third highest tally in the Premier League level with Fulham and behind Everton (21) and Manchester United (24). In fact, only Robin van Persie and Romelu Lukaku (7) have hit the post or bar more than Luis Suarez (6) this campaign.
Number of times each Premier League side hit the goal frame in 2012/13:
Man Utd (24)
Everton (21)
Liverpool, Fulham (19)
Tottenham (17)
West Brom, Southampton, Man City, Arsenal (16)
Stoke, Newcastle (12)
Swansea (11)
Aston Villa (10)
West Ham, QPR, Reading (9)
Chelsea (8)
Norwich, Wigan, Sunderland (7)
Opta have recalculated the results of every Premier League game with each strike of the frame counting as a goal and the resulting table is below - and as you suspect it has made quite a dramatic difference to the standings.
As you can see, Manchester United would still have won the Premier League from Manchester City, albeit with an increased winning margin of 13 points, but the other Champions League spots would have gone to Tottenham and Liverpool. Spurs would have got 17 more goals and four more points under this scenario, while Liverpool's 19 additional goals would have earned them an additional 14 points and seen them leapfrog both Arsenal and Chelsea.
At the other end, Wigan will be rueing their luck. Under these circumstances, they would be safe on 39 points with Newcastle going down instead.
Premier League 2012/13 if shots that hit the frame of the goal were recorded as goals:
| Position |
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Man Utd |
38 |
30 |
3 |
5 |
110 |
57 |
53 |
93 |
| 2 |
Man City |
38 |
24 |
8 |
6 |
82 |
41 |
41 |
80 |
| 3 |
Tottenham |
38 |
23 |
7 |
8 |
83 |
52 |
31 |
76 |
| 4 |
Liverpool |
38 |
23 |
6 |
9 |
90 |
45 |
45 |
75 |
| 5 |
Arsenal |
38 |
22 |
8 |
8 |
88 |
41 |
47 |
74 |
| 6 |
Chelsea |
38 |
21 |
9 |
8 |
83 |
50 |
33 |
72 |
| 7 |
Everton |
38 |
19 |
10 |
9 |
76 |
57 |
19 |
67 |
| 8 |
West Brom |
38 |
17 |
5 |
16 |
68 |
68 |
0 |
56 |
| 9 |
Stoke City |
38 |
13 |
10 |
15 |
46 |
55 |
-9 |
49 |
| 10 |
Southampton |
38 |
11 |
12 |
15 |
65 |
73 |
-8 |
45 |
| 11 |
West Ham |
38 |
13 |
5 |
20 |
54 |
71 |
-17 |
44 |
| 12 |
Swansea |
38 |
11 |
10 |
17 |
58 |
72 |
-14 |
43 |
| 13 |
Norwich |
38 |
11 |
10 |
17 |
48 |
70 |
-22 |
43 |
| 14 |
Fulham |
38 |
11 |
7 |
20 |
69 |
80 |
-11 |
40 |
| 15 |
Sunderland |
38 |
9 |
12 |
17 |
48 |
68 |
-20 |
39 |
| 16 |
Wigan |
38 |
12 |
3 |
23 |
55 |
84 |
-29 |
39 |
| 17 |
Aston Villa |
38 |
10 |
8 |
20 |
57 |
88 |
-31 |
38 |
| 18 |
Newcastle |
38 |
10 |
7 |
21 |
57 |
87 |
-30 |
37 |
| 19 |
QPR |
38 |
8 |
6 |
24 |
39 |
80 |
-41 |
30 |
| 20 |
Reading |
38 |
5 |
8 |
25 |
52 |
89 |
-37 |
23 |
NOT ON THE SPOT
Dear Martin. As a Spurs fan I'm still disappointed that we didn't make the Champions League and I wonder if we would have made it if a few more decisions had gone our way. It was interesting that we didn't have a penalty in the whole season. Has this ever happened to a team in the Premier League before? Anthony B (Spurs fan)
MARTIN SAYS: Spurs have not been awarded a Premier League penalty since the penultimate game of the 2011/12 season against Aston Villa. It is extremely rare to see a team go through a whole Premier League season without being awarded a spot kick - indeed the last occurrence before this season was 2004/05 - but Spurs are not alone in feeling hard done by. Swansea City have also gone through the whole of 2012/13 without getting a penalty in the Premier League. It's the first time in the 21 years of the Premier League that TWO teams have gone a whole campaign without taking a penalty.
Before Spurs and Swansea it had only happened to five teams in 20 seasons. Those teams were:
1994/95: QPR
1998/99: Wimbledon
2000/01: Southampton
2003/04: Blackburn
2004/05: Charlton
So Spurs and Swansea can certainly count themselves unlucky. It's no wonder Swansea players weren't sure who should be taking the penalty they were awarded in the Capital One Cup Final!
Out of interest, Manchester United became only the fourth side in Premier League history to not concede a single penalty kick in a season (Arsenal in 1999-00, Newcastle in 1995-96 and Bolton in 1997-98).
SIX AGAINST THE CITY
Hi Martin, quite an engrossing column. I'm already looking forward to next season's statistical gems. Norwich City's three goals at the Etihad en route to a stunning win reminded me of their impressive showing against the defending champions in December in a game which amazingly they netted a similar amount of goals. It's even more endearing to see that the Canaries achieved a feat that none of the teams in the top five couldn't. I would therefore like to know the teams that have scored more than five goals in the two meetings against the defending champions but finished their league season outside the top five? Mark Kawanga.
MARTIN SAYS: According to our friends at Opta, Norwich have become only the eighth team in Premier League history have scored six or more goals against the defending champions across two fixtures. Their 4-3 defeat at Carrow Road and 3-2 win at the Etihad have seen them join a very select list.
To answer your question, of the previous seven teams to achieve this feat there have been two that have finished the campaign outside the top five. Back in 1995/96, Coventry City beat defending champions Blackburn 5-0 at home and lost 5-1 to them away (a total of six scored) before finishing down in 16th place. And back in 1996/97, Southampton famously beat Manchester United 6-3. They also lost 2-1 to the defending champions that season so recorded SEVEN goals against them before finishing 16th in the table.
Two other sides have scored seven goals against the defending champions; Chelsea did so against Manchester United in 1999/00 and Manchester City famously did it against their neighbours last season. No defending champion has ever conceded more than seven to a single opponent the following season.
Teams to score 6+ goals in a season against defending champions:
| Team |
Reigning Champion |
Season |
Goals v Champion |
Position |
| Southampton |
Manchester United |
1996/97 |
7 |
16th |
| Chelsea |
Manchester United |
1999/00 |
7 |
5th |
| Manchester City |
Manchester United |
2011/12 |
7 |
1st |
| Coventry City |
Blackburn Rovers |
1995/96 |
6 |
16th |
| Liverpool |
Blackburn Rovers |
1995/96 |
6 |
3rd |
| Manchester United |
Arsenal |
2004/05 |
6 |
3rd |
| Liverpool |
Manchester United |
2008/09 |
6 |
2nd |
| Norwich City |
Manchester City |
2012/13 |
6 |
11th |
