Why Liverpool Need To Focus Their Wins in 2016/17

Regular readers will have noticed that this blog has gone very quiet in recent months. Sadly not because I have secured a writing or statto job somewhere, but because I've been too damn busy in the real world.

Anyway, after Liverpool recorded a 2-0 win over Watford in a relatively low key end of season contest, I noticed something about the number of wins that they've had this season so thought I'd pen a very quick post on why it's worth thinking about ahead of next season.

Over the last seven seasons, the Reds have had all kinds of different campaigns: reaching European semi-finals, firing managers mid-season, reaching both domestic cup finals or one at home and one in Europe, and obviously what all Kopites want to see more often, a high octane title challenge.

These seasons (from 2009/10 onwards) have featured between forty-three and sixty-two games in all competitions (or will once this campaign is complete), but have a look at how many wins Liverpool have recorded each season:

Although the total number of games played will cover a nineteen game range by the end of this season, the number of wins will only be spread across a range of five at most (and excluding 2013/14, it may only range across two, depending on how 2015/16 pans out).

My theory is that teams have a fairly set number of wins in them season after season, and it's only the total number of games that changes particularly. There may be more wins in the cups, as Liverpool had in 2011/12, or they may mostly be in the league, as we saw to great effect in 2013/14 when the team had a week off between most matches. More games leads to more rotation and and/or injuries, which means lower quality players play more and so it's harder for the team to win those games when using weaker teams.

None of this is set in stone of course. With a top manager, some successful work in the transfer market, and some luck with injuries and suspensions it would obviously be possible to win more games. Indeed, this is what everyone obviously hopes for as the new seasons dawns every August.

Over the last seven seasons though, Liverpool have averaged 25.6 wins in all competitions per season. This season, Leicester City have won twenty-five games in all competitions, and as I'm sure you're vaguely aware, they've won the league. So if my theory here is correct and Liverpool have about twenty-five wins in them in 2016/17, then I want to see as many of them as possible in the league please.

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