Haven't Won In Leicester Since 1954.

One set of numbers that gets brought up more than most, though, it seems to me, is a past record. How often do you hear, if watching football, things like 'Fulham haven't won here since 1959, so what chance have they got?', as if a game that took place in 1962 will bring its relevance crashing down on Clint Dempsey et al. I like the 'We've Met Before' features, but only for the curiosity value. Look back at the Town team in any previous meeting with a any club, and delight in finding players you'd forgotten, or tried to forget.

Being a pedant, and feeling a bit grouchy of late, I'm going to do a table of previous results against teams, as if Town having beaten Carlisle in 1981 is important to the 2011/12 season. Obviously, it'll have to be balanced on a Points Per Game ratio, because we've played different amount of games against teams (hello, Stevenage fans... not sure why you're reading this, but, y'know, whatever) but it will be interesting, at the very least, to see if there's any correlation. Maybe past records are more insightful than you think. I can envisage an argument wherein records against better teams will be worse, so if they're performing well again, it will match up. Let's see if it does.

I've only used games up to the end of the 2010/11 season, because pedantry indicates that using results from a season I'm trying to explain would end up being a little circular and worked as 3 points for a win because that is the current system, though I'm aware it would make things different before 1981.

Here, then, is the table of Town's record against teams; Stevenage, of course, are bottom, but discounting that, it's a surprising (for me, anyway) line-up. Town's record in this is the record of teams playing against them (the reverse of their own record). Obviously, the better performances from team will have a lower points per game ratio, which is why the ppg is ranked ascending, rather than descending. For interest's sake, I've included what would happen under 2 points for a win at the end, and the rankings within parentheses at the beginning.

Congratulations to Huddersfield and Tranmere, and commiserations to Scunthorpe, Rochdale and MK Dons (highlighting how poor their performance against Town has been overall since they were formed). Other interesting outcomes in that Charlton and Brentford are so high - largely because of Town's inability to win at Griffin Park or the Valley. Wycombe's lower mid-table position is impressive, given they haven't beaten Town since Martin O'Neill left, while Sheffield Wednesday's appalling record at Leeds Road/McAlpine leaves them 16th. Massive indeed. Worth noting that Preston and Sheffield Utd, both former giants of the game, improve their record in the 2 points table.

Moving on, then, to the flip side of that table - opposition teams' record AGAINST Town. Its only ruddy Charlton again, isn't it? What does that mean? Charlton do better against Town than Town do against League One as a whole. Interestingly, though (and this IS interesting), the 0.03 ppg difference - barely a draw and a half over 50 games - only exists in the 3 points for a win form of the table. In 2 points for a win, Town lead by 0.04 ppg.

Picking hairs, I'm sure you'll agree. What I would say about that, though, is that Town average 1.47 points per game against ALL the teams in League One. The average opposition record is 1.12, so to be 0.35 above that (16 points over a 46 game season) is impressive indeed. Town have, historically, the wood on the teams in this division. If history came into it at all, they would probably win the league this season.

It doesn't, though, does it?