Football: A game of what-ifs

Every football fan on the planet has a list of excuses of what could change to allow their team to excel. “If we didn’t concede from corners we would be top of the league,” or “if we stopped giving away penalties we would not be in the bottom three.”

In reality though, it is very interesting to see hypothetically just where in the table a team would be if they didn’t concede goals from one specific avenue, or how the side would be getting on without a certain player’s influence.

However, instead of voicing your opinion without any real evidence or statistics to back it up, a new website called League Of Your Own has been created to churn the numbers for you.

Ever wanted to see where Liverpool would be on the table without Luis Suarez? Or which team would have the most improvement if they stopped conceding from free-kicks?

All this and much more can be calculated at League Of Your Own, with the new and improved Premier League table at your fingertips as an aid for you to make your point.

From having a quick play on the user-friendly website I have come up with a few interesting factoids that will be relevant to Premier League followers.

• Stoke – a team renowned for their aerial ability, would be four places higher in the table than they currently are if you take out all Premier League goals scored from corners this season.
• If every Premier League game finished at half-time this season, Liverpool would be top of the table. Cardiff would be bottom.
• If you take out all the goals scored from the penalty spot, Newcastle would be level on points with Manchester City.
• Without Romelu Lukaku, Everton would be ninth, not fifth.
• If Arsenal had not signed Mesut Ozil, taking out his goals and assists, they would still be top of the Premier League table. Take out Aaron Ramsey’s goals and assists and they would be second.
• If you take out goals scored in first or second half injury time, Manchester United would be fifth, not eighth.