With 64 points already and 4 games to go, and needing 7 to be sure of getting 4th place, we're on course to better our 68 points in 96-97 when we were 2nd. The table this year shows how polarised the league is : probably the top 5 or 6 are going to get more points than we did to be 2nd in 96-97 (all 6 could get 70 points or more which would be a record) and they will also be the only teams with positive goal differences - all the other teams from 7th down have negative balances. And if we did manage to win all 4 remaining games, we would be only two points behind our 95-96 total of 78, which would be a great achievement.

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2002

Answers

It would indeed be a great achievement. It would be nice to end with 4 wins out of 4 wouldn't it, especially as in that 95-96 season we faltered towards the end.

-- Anonymous, April 14, 2002

What's more impressive is reaching near that total and playing less games (hasn't the PL slimmed down the number of teams since then?). Are the top sides getting better or the quality of the lower opposition getting worse?

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

1995-96 was the first 20 team season.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

Thanks Softie. So are the top sides better than before, and the bottom sides worse? And the bottom sides are winning Div 1 by record margins and scoring buckets of goals, so is Div 1 worse too?

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002

The top sides are better now, or there are more top sides.

The season we got promoted we came third, then the next season Forest came third after promotion.

That would never happen now, such is the strength of the top 3 in particular. Ipswich almost did it mind...

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2002