I hadn’t seen a “2016 league table” for the EFL clubs, so I thought I’d quickly pull one together for the top four English divisions. I’ve used points won per game to rank the teams (then goal difference) and only included league matches. This obviously falls under the “bit of fun” category, but it’s always interesting nonetheless.

Top 20

First of all, focusing on the positive, here’s the top 20:

So Brighton are the best-performing English league side in 2016 when you correct for how many games each team has played, having only lost five matches and averaged over two points per game. The only other club to have racked up more than two points per league match were current Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Interestingly, despite getting relegated, Newcastle’s strong start to this season means that they still make the top 20.

The full table

If you want to see where your club ended up in the 2016 standings, here’s the full table in one huge graphic:

Starting with the bottom, there were 12 clubs who failed to accumulate at least a point per game in 2016, with the lowest rate that of Crystal Palace, which makes their recent dismissal of Alan Pardew pretty understandable. The Eagles performed worse than even the two clubs who were relegated out of the EFL last season.

Despite winning the Premier League last season, Leicester’s poor start to their title defence leaves them outside the top 20.

Goals scored and conceded

Seeing as this proved pretty popular, I’ve quickly added a few more tables looking at goals scored and conceded per match.

Starting with goals scored, here’s the top and bottom 10:



Liverpool and Chelsea both sustained a goalscoring rate of over two goals per game in 2016, with Bristol Rovers the most regular-scoring club outside the top flight.

There were six teams who failed to net even one goal per game, with Oldham unfortunately bottom of the pile. The Latics’ return of 32 goals in 47 matches averages out just a shade above two goals in every three games, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them look to recruit a new goalscorer in January.



2016’s top side Brighton weren’t the most prodigious scorers (although they made the top 10), but in defence they shone, conceding goals at the lowest rate. The Seagulls were one of nine clubs in the top four divisions to have leaked goals at a rate of fewer than one per game, with five of the top six residing outside the Premier League.

The most leaky defence in 2016 was that of Morecambe, although the Shrimps kept the rate of damage to under two goals per match. Top flight Crystal Palace and Swansea – both who have recently dispensed with their managers – complete the bottom three, with Stoke making it three Premier League teams in the bottom five.