Martin Tyler's stats and facts: Overdue managerial sackings and sharp-shooting relegation rivals

This week Martin Tyler's stats and facts column assesses the length of time a club has gone without a win and avoided relegation, English clubs attempting 'tiki-taka' and goal-shy goalscorers. Read on to find out more.

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Martin’s starting stats

I was at Sunderland v Chelsea on Saturday where we saw only the second ever draw between the two clubs in the Premier League. The only previous draw was a 0-0 in December 2001, also at Sunderland. In the 27 Premier League meetings, Sunderland have won six, drawn two and lost 19.

This was the first time Chelsea have failed to score in their unbeaten 20-game season so far. It was their first clean sheet in an away Premier League game since the famous 2-0 at Liverpool in April 2014.

They missed out on the chance to equal Manchester City for the best top division start after 13 games. City had 35 points in 2011/12 and Chelsea have 33 this season. A win would have levelled that record.

This was the third consecutive meeting between the clubs in all competitions in which Chelsea have failed to win after a 2-1 League Cup semi-final loss and the 2-1 Premier League game earlier this year.

Chelsea had won their last nine league away games at Sunderland in the Premier League. This was their first failure to win there since the 0-0 draw I referred to earlier.

Chelsea extended their overall Premier League unbeaten run to 16 games, since that home defeat to Sunderland on April 19. It was on the fourth draw in that time.

They also took their unbeaten run on weekends after European games to 22 matches. They are also unbeaten in their last 22 games in all competitions since a 3-1 home defeat by Atletico Madrid, a match in which Thiabut Courtois, Filipe Luis and Diego Costa were in the opposing team. Those players have all not lost since playing for Chelsea.

Winless wonders

Hi Martin, I love reading your weekly column and have a question that I hope you may be able to answer for me: what is the longest winless streak that a team has been on during any single season, and yet have still retained their Premier League status? Tom (Leicester City fan)

MARTIN SAYS:  Amazingly, West Bromwich Albion went 15 matches without winning a single match in the 2004/05 season, and yet the Baggies still managed to retain their Premier League status come the end of that campaign.

West Brom, who went through three different managers that season in the form of Gary Megson, Frank Burrows (in a caretaker capacity) and then finally Bryan Robson, were unable to record a victory from October 16, 2004 until they finally managed to claim three points against Manchester City at the Hawthorns on January  22, 2005. However, Robson was still able to keep the club up following a 2-0 home win against Portsmouth in their final league match of the campaign.

Meanwhile, there are also four clubs who went 14 games without a win and still avoided the drop come the end of the season, including Ron Atkinson’s Coventry City who only survived on goal difference in 1995/96.

The other three sides were Kevin Keegan’s Manchester City who finished in 16th place in 2003/04, Steve Bruce’s Sunderland, with the Black Cats ending up in 13th position in 2009/10, and Joe Kinnear’s Wimbledon, who found themselves in 14th spot in 1995/96.

And there are five teams who endured 13-game winless runs without suffering the pain of the drop, with Jim Smith’s Derby County coming closest to losing their Premier League status when they finished the 2000/01 season in 17th place.

The other four clubs were John Lyall’s Ipswich town (1992/93), Bryan Robson’s Middlesbrough (1995/96), Newcastle United, who had two managers in the form Sam Allardyce and Kevin Keegan back in the 2007/08 campaign, and Wigan Athletic, who went through three coaches in the same season before Steve Bruce finally brought an end to their long winless run.

Longest winless streaks that a team has been on during any single season, and yet have still retained their Premier League status

15 games (ending on 16 January 2005): West Bromwich Albion (2004/05)

14 games (ending on 4 December 1995): Coventry City (1995/96)

14 games (ending on 11 February 2004): Manchester City (2003/04)

14 games (ending on 28 February 2010): Sunderland (2009/10)

14 games (ending on 23 December 1995): Wimbledon (1995/96)

13 games (ending on 11 November 2000): Derby County (2000/01)

13 games (ending on 12 April 1993): Ipswich Town (1992/93)

13 games (ending on 19 March 1996): Middlesbrough (1995/96)

13 games (ending on 17 March 2008): Newcastle United (2007/08)

13 games (ending on 9 December 2007): Wigan Athletic (2007/08)

Pass masters

What is the most amount of passes recorded in a single Barclays Premier League match? Who played that match? Stephen Walsh

MARTIN SAYS: The record for the most amount of passes made in a Premier League game came in a match between Manchester City and Stoke City in December 2011. The home team won 3-0, with 1,206 passes registered in that particular encounter.

Second on this list is a game between Chelsea and Sunderland when 1196 passes were made in a 5-0 home victory for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side at Stamford Bridge.

The highest number of passes recorded in a single Premier League game

Manchester City v Stoke City  (21/12/2011) - 1206

Chelsea v Sunderland (01/11/2008) - 1196

Manchester United v Fulham (26/03/2012) - 1195

Arsenal v Hull City (04/12/2013) - 1192

Manchester United v Queens Park Rangers (14/09/2014) - 1189

Swansea City v Newcastle United (06/04/2012) - 1182

Everton v Fulham (28/04/2012) - 1172

Arsenal v Swansea City (01/12/2012) - 1169

Arsenal v Fulham (18/01/2014) - 1162

Swansea City v Tottenham Hotspur (19/01/2014) - 1152

Not many scorers

Hi Martin, I wanted to know what is the lowest number of different scorers a Premier League team has had during a single season? (Gill from Canterbury)

MARTIN SAYS:  You may be taken aback to discover that it is Arsenal who in fact hold the record for having the fewest number of different goalscorers in a Premier League campaign, although that was of course a very different Gunners team back to the one we have grown accustomed to watching over the last few years under current boss Arsene Wenger.

Twenty years ago in 1993/94 the north London club were enduring a relatively lean patch in front of goal in the league under then-manager George Graham, although I must point out that the Scot did guide them to a domestic cup double in the previous season.

However, in the top flight they had just six different goalscorers in that campaign in strikers Ian Wright, Kevin Campbell, Alan Smith, forward Paul Merson, midfielder Ray Parlour and centre-back Steve Bould.

Meanwhile, Jean Tigana’s Fulham had only seven different players who found the back of the net in the 2001/02 season, with strikers Louis Saha, Barry Hayles, Steve Marlet and midfielders Luis Boa Morte, Steed Malbranque, Sylvain Legwinski and Bjarne Goldbaek on target for the west London club in that campaign.

There have also been four sides with only eight different goalscorers in a single Premier League season, Tottenham Hotspur (1994-96), and Coventry (1996/97) on two occasions, Wimbledon (1998/99) and West Ham United (2002/03).

Finally 11 teams have had nine different players who hit the target in a single Premier League campaign, and these were Coventry (1997-99) and Sunderland (2008-2010), both twice, Liverpool (1994/95), Manchester City (1995/96), Leeds United (2001/02), Tottenham (2001/02), Manchester United (2002/03), Bolton Wanderers (2003/04), Fulham (2005/06), Middlesbrough (2008/09) and Birmingham City (2009/10).

Lowest number of different scorers a Premier League team has had during a single season

1993/1994 - Arsenal 6

2001/2002 - Fulham 7

1994/1995 - Tottenham Hotspur 8

1995/1996 - Tottenham Hotspur 8

1996/1997 - Coventry City 8

1998/1999 - Wimbledon 8

2002/2003 - West Ham United 8

1994/1995 - Liverpool 9

1995/1996 - Manchester City 9

1997/1998 - Coventry City 9

1998/1999 - Coventry City 9

2001/2002 - Leeds United 9

2001/2002 - Tottenham Hotspur 9

2002/2003 - Manchester United 9

2003/2004 - Bolton Wanderers 9

2005/2006 - Fulham 9

2008/2009 – Middlesbrough 9

2008/2009 – Sunderland 9

2009/2010 - Birmingham City  9

2009/2010 – Sunderland 9

The sack race

Hi Martin. While I am by no means asking for a dismissal, I thought it was worth noting that we haven’t seen a manager sacked yet this season. I was interested to see if there had been a season without a single manager being relieved of his duties? #TylersTeasers Pravan Hinduja (Arsenal fan)

MARTIN SAYS: Unsurprisingly, no Premier League season to date has transpired without a single manager being relieved of his duties. The 2014/15 season is currently fourth on the list of the longest start to a season without a managerial departure, although had Tony Pulis’ exit from Selhurst Park occurred just a couple of days later this season would hold the record at the other end of the scale.

However, the shortest we have had to wait for a parting of company came in the 2004/05 season, when Paul Sturrock survived just two games before leaving St Mary’s by mutual consent, with Harry Redknapp filling the position on the south coast.

Chelsea and Newcastle hold the record for the most early managerial dismissals at three apiece. Ian Porterfield (1992/93), Gianluca Vialli (2000/01) and Jose Mourinho (2007/08) were all given their marching orders from Stamford Bridge. Chris Hughton (2010/11), Ruud Gullit (1999/00) and Kenny Dalglish (1998/99) all happened to be the first Premier League managers to leave their jobs when they were shown the St James’ Park door.

Amazingly, Portsmouth feature twice on this chart, but the shock does not come from their double inclusion but instead from the identical date on which Pompey decided to relieve both Alain Perrin and Paul Hart of their duties at Fratton Park. November 24 is a date which many a Portsmouth manager has dreaded!

The former Manchester City and Sunderland manager Peter Reid unfortunately features twice on this list, after his early sackings at the Stadium of Light, in the August of the 2002/03 season, and at Maine Road in the August of the 1993/94 season.

However, the record for the longest we have had to wait for a manager to leave his post came in the maiden Premier League campaign (1992/93). Chelsea manager Ian Porterfield, along with the other 21 managers held on to their jobs until February 15, but a failure to prolong Chelsea’s fine start to the campaign into the new year condemned Porterfield to dismissal and he became the first manager to be sacked in the Premier League era.

Date of first Premier League managerial departure in each season:

1992/93 - Ian Porterfield (Chelsea) 15/02/93

1995/96 –Roy McFarland (Bolton Wanderers) 02/01/96

2010/11 – Chris Hughton (Newcastle United) 06/12/10

2011/12 – Steve Bruce (Sunderland) 30/11/11

2005/06 – Alain Perrin (Portsmouth) 24/11/05

2009/10 – Paul Hart (Portsmouth) 24/11/09

2012/13 – Roberto Di Matteo (Chelsea) 21/11/12

2006/07 – Iain Dowie (Charlton Athletic) 13/11/06

1997/98 – David Pleat (Sheffield Wednesday) 03/11/97

1994/95 – Osvaldo Ardiles (Tottenham Hotspur) 1/11/94

1996/97 – Ray Harford (Blackburn Rovers) 25/10/96

2002/03 – Peter Reid (Sunderland) 07/10/02

2001/02 – Peter Taylor (Leicester City) 30/09/01

2013/14 – Paulo Di Canio (Sunderland) 22/09/13

2003/04 – Glenn Hoddle (Tottenham Hotspur) 21/09/03

2007/08 – Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) 19/09/07

2000/01 – Gianluca Vialli (Chelsea) 12/09/00

2008/09 – Alan Curbishley (West Ham United) 03/09/08

1993/94 – Peter Reid (Manchester City) 28/08/94

1999/00 – Ruud Gullit (Newcastle United) 28/08/99

1998/99 – Kenny Dalgish (Newcastle united) 27/08/98

2004/05 – Paul Sturrock (Southampton) 23/08/04

Not shot shy

Hi Martin. Last weekend’s game between QPR and Leicester produced 51 shots on target and I was interested to see whether that was enough to claim a Premier League record. Ryan from Barking

MARTIN SAYS: With the help of our friends at Opta I can confirm that last weekend at Loftus Road produced 52 shots (no necessarily on target) in fact, the most in a Premier League match since the 2006/07 season, with Harry Redknapp’s side claiming the three points thanks to Charlie Austin’s second half header. It must have been wonderful entertainment for everybody.

Saturday’s game cleared three games in which 49 shots were made. In the 2010/11 season Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool played out a 2-2 draw when Trotters pair Martin Petrov and Mark Davies staged a late comeback to stun Lancashire rivals Blackpool.

Manchester United’s opening game of the 2011/12 season also produced 49 shots on goal, when Sir Alex Ferguson’s team staged a second half blitz to beat Tottenham 3-0 at Old Trafford. Goals from Danny Welbeck, Anderson and Wayne Rooney sealed the points for United.

Southampton’s trip to Villa back at the tail end of last season saw the fewest number of shots produced in a Premier League game since 2006. With the home side locked in a relegation scrap with West Brom, Norwich City, Cardiff, Fulham and Sunderland, it was no surprise that a precautionary approach was taken to the game. Naturally the game ended goalless with none of the nine shots able to beat Brad Guzan or Artur Boruc who was in goal for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

Most shots in a Premier League match (inc blocks) since 2006/07:

29/11/14 - Queens Park Rangers v Leicester City (52)

27/11/10 - Bolton Wanderers v Blackpool 49

22/08/11 - Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur 49

22/09/12 - Swansea City v Everton 49

Fewest shots in a Premier League match (inc blocks) since 2006/07:

19/04/14 – Aston Villa v Southampton (9)

17/03/07 – Wigan Athletic v Fulham (10)

21/10/06 - Aston Villa v Fulham (11)

21/02/10 Manchester City v Liverpool (12)

03/05/08 – Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland (12)

01/12/07 – Wigan Athletic v Manchester City (12)