How is your team faring this season, compared to the games they played against the same opposition this time? Read on to find out…

The Uncle Jeff Coefficient was devised by Jeff Becker of Edgware, London – he’s the uncle of pod guest Benji Lanyado. Jeff was born in Whitechapel and has been a West Ham season ticket holder since the 1950s. Sometime in the mid-90s he started tracking West Ham’s points tally compared with equivalent fixtures the previous season, and the Uncle Jeff Coefficient was born. Here’s Jeff telling the story of how he almost got Stanley Matthew’s autograph once.

We looked at the 17 clubs that have been in the Premier League both this season and last and looked at how their results this season compared with those against the same clubs last season. The Uncle Jeff Coefficient Score is the difference in points from those games.

For the games against the three promoted clubs, we have simply allocated the equivalent results against the three relegated clubs from last season. So: Norwich City = Cardiff City, Sheffield United = Fulham and Aston Villa = Huddersfield Town. Of course, this makes the whole thing an imperfect system…but this isn’t supposed to be science: it’s good fun, isn’t it?

1 – Leicester City +8

Your Uncle Jeff leaders, Leicester are streaking ahead thanks to rather surprisingly getting a better result at Sheffield United than they did at Fulham, but also taking advantage of Tottenham’s woe this term as opposed to the 2-0 defeat at home last year. The Brendan Affect in full flow.

2 – Newcastle +5

Well who saw this coming? It’s all been pretty grim for Newcastle of late, but thanks to winning at Tottenham, West Ham and Manchester United – all of which they lost last term – they score pretty high with Uncle Jeff. Will they be able to keep it up? Almost certainly not, but it’s nice for now.

3 – Liverpool +4

Really, it would be a shock if Liverpool hadn’t improved this season. Basically, they’ve absolutely horsed everyone this term except Manchester United, and have picked up four extra points by beating Leicester at home, and Chelsea away, both of which they drew last season.

4 – Brighton +3

Sacking Chris Hughton was viewed as a gamble, but not as far as Uncle Jeff is concerned. Thanks to bettering their result against Tottenham (and that’s becoming a theme) and beating Norwich at home when last season they were bested by Cardiff, Graham Potter has overseen a marked improvement on the seaside.

5 – Bournemouth +2

Eddie Howe gets pretty annoyed if Bournemouth haven’t improved season-on-season, so he’ll be delighted to learn his 2019/20 side are edging ahead of the 2018/19 version, in terms of equivalent fixtures. Beating Manchester United has helped,

6 – Southampton +2

Weren’t expecting this, were you? Naturally, if this was judged by the levels of humiliation in every defeat, they would be way down on the 2-1 defeat they got away with at home to Leicester last season. But partly thanks to beating Sheffield United, as opposed to being one of the few teams who lost to Fulham a year ago, they’re in credit this term

7 – Burnley +1

It feels about right that Burnley are about in the middle, a middling position for a middling team. Beating Southampton and Everton this season makes up for only drawing with Brighton and Aston Villa, and their results in total leave them a point up on last season.

8 – Chelsea 0

All about perception, this game. The mood is so much better at Chelsea this season, due to the Fun Time Frankie Lampard Factor, but according to Uncle Jeff they’re about even. They lost to Manchester United this season rather than drawing last, drew with Sheffield United rather than beating Fulham and drew with Leicester rather than losing last December.

9 – Crystal Palace 0

Another side who have broken even, but far from their results being the same, they’re actually wildly different. Indeed, only four of their 11 have been the same as last term, the only consistent being getting nothing from Manchester City or Spurs, drawing with Everton and beating Villa/Huddersfield. And they say Roy Hodgson is boring and predictable.

10 – Everton -1

The way things are going for Marco Silva at the moment, he’d probably take this. Drawing with Spurs last weekend, rather than the 6-2 tanning of last season, is a step up at least, while Silva’s own ego will have been soothed rather by beating Watford at home, when they could only draw before. For his sake, let’s gloss over losing to Villa when they beat Huddersfield.

11 – Manchester United -4

Ole’s at the wheel, and he’s four points down from the same opponents last season. Losing at home to Crystal Palace this term when they drew last took care of a couple of those points, and last weekend’s defeat to Bournemouth, where they won a year earlier put a dent in things too.

12 – Watford -5

The teams that beat Watford last season but could this time around should probably take a long look at themselves: so step forward Newcastle United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Bournemouth for some serious self-examination, who all took three points from the Hornets in 2018/19 but only managed draws this season.

13 – Arsenal -6

The sight of Unai Emery standing in the Portuguese rain, at about 4pm on Wednesday, in the Europa League, was a bleak enough sight, and we almost don’t want to point out that they’re six points worse off this season. Not beating Spurs this season as they did last was one kick in the pants, as was being beaten at Sheffield United when previously they won quite handily at their substitutes, Fulham.

14 – Manchester City -8

Is this a surprise? Probably not. It’s all pretty straightforward really: City have dropped eight points this season, drawing with Spurs and losing at home to Wolves and at Norwich, while they won the equivalent games last season. Are teams figuring out how to play them? And can they figure out how to get around that figuring out?

15 – West Ham -9

Well at least they were consistent against Manchester City. A 5-0 defeat this opening day almost mirrors the 4-0 shoeing last November. But that’s where the similarities broadly end: all three wins this term have been against sides they beat last season (or equivalents), and points have been blithely frittered away elsewhere.

16 – Wolves -9

Another team that could be the victim of some figuring out. Wolves have only actually lost two games this season, but won both of the equivalents last term (at home to Chelsea and away at Everton), and dropped another sprinkling of points in draws, while gaining a few with that extraordinary win at City.

17 – Tottenham -11

Oooof. We’ll say again: ooof. It’s probably to quicker to point out where Tottenham haven’t dropped points: their three wins this season are mirrored from last season’s, while three of their four defeats have been in games they won before. Liverpool was the other, which they lost 2-1 both times. Grim times, by pretty much any measure of things.

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