Four!

[TheBunnyman]

That's how many draws there have been in the PL so far this season, out of a total of (I'm guessing) about 70 matches. Pretty incredible. What's going on? Is it just a statistical quirk which will iron itself out before the end of the season, or is everyone going all out for victory, or... what?

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

*Ducks*

 

[Skullflower]

[quote author=Sheik Yerbouti link=topic=36094.msg952045#msg952045 date=1254064819]
*Ducks*
[/quote]

haha

 

[Squiggles]

I can't believe there's been such a dramatic shift in tactics over the time of one summer so it's likely it's merely a "quirk".

Kinda hope I'm wrong, though. Draws are no good to anybody.

 

[Frogfish]

Statistically (rounded of course) 25% of all matches should be draws on any given weekend ... so just 4 is an amazing stat.

 

[Judge Jules]

Fella's having a shower when his little lad walks in and asks: "What are those for?"

"FOUR?!"

 

[TheBunnyman]

From the Guardian...

Something strange has happened in the Premier League this season. Only four of the 66 top-flight matches played have ended as draws. It is a remarkable statistic that has prompted much head-scratching in the world of football following another weekend when not a single Premier League game finished with teams sharing the points.

Various theories have been put forward, from poorer defending to more attack-minded formations and the idea thatthere is a growing imbalance between top and bottom, although the one Pat Nevin will not accept is that the four draws are a statistical quirk without explanation. "I don't think that can be a fluke," said the former Chelsea winger who now works as a media pundit. "It's an extremely odd stat but it strikes me as too odd to be dismissed."

It is certainly bizarre when compared with previous years. Over the past 17 seasons the lowest percentage of draws during a Premier League campaign stands at 20% (2005-06) and the highest at 31% (1996-97). The average over the course of that period is 27%, a figure which suggests that there ought to have been about 17 draws at this stage of the season, more than four times the current total. So what has changed?

Nevin believes many clubs have been bolder in their approach, leading to an increased number of goals (2.95 pergame on average this season compared with 2.48 last) and, as a result, fewer draws. "I think you need to look at how systems have possibly adapted," he suggested. "There was a period where a lot of teams set out either as 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 and that really does lead to stalemate. But fewer teams are doing that now, including those near the bottom.

"On Sunday I was at Sunderland versus Wolves. Both teams were playing 4-4-2 and it was an open game but I think Burnley are the perfect example. Most teams who have come up in the past, especially if they have had a couple of hammerings, think 'let's be sensible and get back to basic defending'. But Owen Coyle [Burnley's manager] is not going to do that. He's going to keep on attacking even though there might be a few heavy defeats."

Maybe this is what Jimmy Hill envisaged would happen almost 30 years ago when he proposed the introduction of three points for a win and talked about revolutionising football. The number of draws decreased thereafter but not to a huge extent and many would argue that in later years the advent of the Premier League and the financial riches that accompany top-flight status have led to a number of clubs adopting more cautious tactics.

It is notable this season that the biggest change has taken place among the leading sides. Not one of the clubs in the top 11 has drawn a game yet, a sharp contrast from this time last year, when Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United had each registered two draws. Furthermore, matches between the top six clubs have been much more high-scoring, perhaps indicating a greater desire to chase three points as well as a fall in the standard of defending.

Liverpool are a case in point. Rafael Benítez's side have transformed themselves into the Premier League's great entertainers, with their seven matches this season producing 32 goals. Admit- tedly a couple of early defeats have not helped Liverpool's cause but Benítez could not have failed to notice that Manchester United won the title last season despite losing twice as many games as their Merseyside rivals, who ultimately paid the price for drawing 11 of their 38 matches.

Should the Liverpool manager open up at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Nevin will begin to believe that the game really has changed. "The classic drawn game of the season is Chelsea v Liverpool, so let's see what Benítez does.

"He's been a little bit less cautious so far but I would instinctively think he will go back to two sitting midfielders for Chelsea and, if he does, we're not out of the woods yet. But if he plays with one sitting midfielder, then maybe the world has turned."

 

[dossena]

We won twice against you, you cock!

 

[Judge Jules]

Quite, but what do you expect from an ex-bluenose?

 

[Squiggles]

We won't open ourselves up at the Bridge.

The thing to do is get them - hard, from the kick off and enforce your game upon them. Wigan did this and had them rattled, but they'll be really, really fired up for this so it's not going to be easy.

The saving grace is their manager said he has no idea why they lost on Saturday, which indicates there's not much of a plan B if things aren't working out.

 

[WhyAlwaysMe?]

Wow time to start laying draws..

 

[amber cabs]

backing draws I'd say, this can't last