Archive for January 2008
Africa Cup of Nations records
One of the records there is about the most goals in the finals which is held jointly by Laurent Pokou (Ivory Coast) and Samuel E'too of Cameroon. But the interesting bit about Pokou is that he scored those 14 goals in just two tournaments in 1968 and 1970.
He also holds the record for most goals scored by an individual in one match which is five he scored when the Ivory Coast beat Ethiopia 6-1 in the 1970 finals. That record I am sure will stay for some time.
Another useful site is the Wikipedia which has a lot of detail about the Nations Cup.
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Liverpool tops home draws
Its rivals for the title Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have drawn 1, 2 and 4 respectively at home and losing none whereas Liverpool have lost once.
One other interesting fact is that Liverpool actually tops the table in terms of draws as the following table shows:
| Position | Team | Home | Away | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Fulham | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 4 | Blackburn | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | Man City | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | Middlesbrough | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | Portsmouth | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 9 | Bolton | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 11 | Tottenham | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 12 | West Ham | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 13 | Birmingham | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 14 | Chelsea | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 16 | Wigan | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 17 | Derby | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 18 | Reading | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 19 | Everton | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 20 | Man Utd | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Turn a few of those draws into wins and the actual league table would be totally different.
A-League - Season Goals review
Please note that this comparison is only for the regular home and away seasons.
| 05/06 | 06/07 | 07/08 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Goals | 232 | 218 | 220 |
| Home team goals | 112 | 125 | 113 |
| Away team goals | 120 | 93 | 107 |
| Home team wins | 28 | 38 | 27 |
| Away team wins | 35 | 26 | 29 |
| Draws | 21 | 20 | 28 |
A few observations
Its not surprising that season 3 saw the highest number of draws and most of these draws were early in the season.
Just like season 1, there were more away wins than home wins although it was far much tighter in the just ended season.
However, home teams scored more goals than away teams overall which means that even though away teams won more games, their wins were narrower on average than home wins.
Africa's home advantage
Ghana itself has hosted the tournament by itself twice and won the competition both times and the only time they failed to win was when it co-hosted the tournament with Nigeria in 2000.
The last two tournaments in 2004 and 2006 were won by the hosts Tunisia and Egypt respectively and if Ghana wins that will be three in row.
The last time hosts won the tournament three in a row was between 1959 and 1963 and interestingly it was Ghana who was the team to make it three in a row for the hosts in 1963. Ghana is in exactly the same position as in 1963 to make it three out of three.
Hosts have won the tournament nine times out of 25 giving a percentage of 36 percent.
So its interesting to see whether Ghana will complete the hatrick for hosts. All will be known on 10th February in Accra.
Melbourne's hundred goals
| Team | Home | Away | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide United | 59 | 40 | 99 |
| Central Coast Mariners | 48 | 40 | 88 |
| Melbourne Victory | 53 | 49 | 102 |
| New Zealand Knights | 19 | 9 | 28 |
| Newcastle Jets | 44 | 43 | 87 |
| Perth Glory | 42 | 42 | 84 |
| Queensland Roar | 36 | 41 | 77 |
| Sydney FC | 45 | 52 | 97 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 15 | 10 | 25 |
Please note that the table also includes the now defunct New Zealand Knights whose franchise was replaced by
the Wellington Phoenix.
Some observations:
So Adelaide needs just one goal to reach 100 whilst for Sydney FC are just three goals short.
Of the teams that started from season 1, Queensland Roar has scored the least number of goals at 77
Wellington Phoenix has nearly scored the total number of goals that the New Zealand Knights scored in two full seasons. Phoenix just needs three goals to reach Knights tally.
Perth Glory has scored an equal number of goals at home and away
