How the EFL see West Brom's season in unweighted points
Only three other sides in the EFL have recorded a better points per game ratio than West Brom this season
by Tom VictorAs uncertainty continues to reign over the future of the EFL season, we’ve begun getting accustomed to a series of points-per-game calculations.
If it ends up being impossible to conclude the 2019/20 campaign, the EFL has said unweighted points per game will be used as the basis for determining the finishing positions of the clubs in the Championship.
And if this proves to be how things end, it will be as sure a sign of any that West Bromwich Albion deserve to go back up to the Premier League.
Slaven Bilic’s side have 70 points from their 37 games, for an unweighted average of 1.89.
Only Leeds United have a higher average in the Championship, with 1.92, while Swindon Town (1.92) and Coventry City (1.97) are the only clubs in the other EFL divisions who have averaged more over the course of the campaign.
League One Coventry have picked up 67 points from the 34 games they have played so far, while League Two’s second-placed side Swindon Town have 69 points - the same as league leaders Crewe Alexandra but from one game fewer.
Even if you look up at the Premier League, only Liverpool (2.83 points per game) and Manchester City (2.04) can best Bilic’s men.
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A weighted points per game calculation, taking into account home and away matches, would also not change the identity of the Championship’s top two or their finishing positions, with Leeds still pipping West Brom to the title.
Incidentally, 1.89 is broadly on track with with what has been required for a top two spot in recent years: over the last decade, Fulham in 2017/18 (1.91) and Brighton in 2015/16 (1.93) are the only Championship sides to average more than 1.89 and miss out on automatic promotion, while Cardiff City won the league with 1.89 points per game in 2012/13.
The last time the Baggies won promotion to the Premier League, back in 2009/10, their points per game was even higher at 1.98, helping them end the season a full 12 points clear of third-placed Nottingham Forest.
Points per game - top 20
Club: Points per game (unweighted)
Coventry City: 1.97
Leeds United: 1.92
Swindon Town: 1.92
West Bromwich Albion: 1.89
Crewe Alexandra: 1.86
Plymouth Argyle: 1.84
Cheltenham Town: 1.78
Rotherham United: 1.77
Exeter City: 1.76
Wycombe Wanderers: 1.74
Fulham: 1.73
Oxford United: 1.71
Portsmouth: 1.71
Fleetwood Town: 1.71
Peterborough United: 1.69
Sunderland: 1.64
West Brom latest
Brentford: 1.62
Nottingham Forest: 1.62
Doncaster Rovers: 1.59
Colchester United: 1.57
Northampton Town: 1.57