How the Premier League table would look if season started when Lampard took over at Everton

Paul Okey
23 May 2022

Seamus Coleman celebrates with Everton fans May22

A look at Everton’s form compared to the rest of the Premier League since Frank Lampard’s appointment on January 31.

Congratulations to Frank Lampard who took over at 16th-placed Everton and delivered…a 16th-placed finish.

It was enough to spark joyous scenes at Goodison Park as the Toffees fought back to overcome Crystal Palace, securing their Premier League status for another year.

It was a mark of just how bad it got under Lampard that relegation seemed almost nailed on ahead of their home clash with Chelsea.

However, three wins and a draw, including a 1-0 win over his former club, ensured Everton went into their final match of the season at Arsenal with the pressure off - as evidenced by their 5-1 defeat.

And for all the talk of leaving Everton just where he found them, a look at the league table since Frank junior's arrival doesn't actually make bad reading for the former Derby boss.

Mid-table form under Frank

The Toffees would actually be 13th in the Premier League if results were taken from January 31 - the date of Lampard's appointment - onwards.

That would actually put them level on points with Manchester United - albeit having played two games more - and above West Ham.

It would also rank Lampard higher than his former England team-mate Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa.

It is some way behind their cross-city rivals, however, with Liverpool having picked up 24 more points in the same period, from two games fewer. The Reds are actually the only team not to have lost a league game in the time period.

Tottenham's rise to the Champions League spots is reflected in their third place in the table, while Newcastle's transformation under Eddie Howe sees them fourth.

Another upwardly mobile team is Brentford, with the arrival of Christian Eriksen helping the Bees gain 23 points from their 15 games played post Lampard's appointment.

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Liverpool	16	14	2	0	36	7	44
2	Man City	15	11	3	1	44	12	36
3	Tottenham	18	11	2	5	43	16	35
4	Newcastle	17	11	1	5	23	19	34
5	Arsenal	17	11	0	6	38	23	33
6	Chelsea	14	8	5	3	28	15	27
7	Leicester	18	7	5	6	28	22	26
8	Crystal Palace	16	6	6	4	19	12	24
9	Brentford	15	7	2	6	22	19	23
10	Burnley	20	6	5	9	18	26	23
11	Brighton	16	6	3	7	19	21	21
12	Man Utd	16	5	5	6	21	27	20
13	EVERTON	18	6	2	10	19	31	20
14	Aston Villa	17	5	4	8	24	22	19
15	West Ham	15	5	4	6	19	20	19
16	Wolves	17	5	2	10	19	27	17
17	Leeds	17	4	4	9	18	39	16
18	Southampton	16	4	3	9	17	33	15
19	Watford	18	2	3	13	11	37	9
20	Norwich	16	1	3	12	10	39	6

At the bottom

Norwich and Watford's relegation has long since been confirmed on the back of woeful runs of form since the start of February, with neither into double figures for points gained.

Burnley were actually bottom when Lampard took over but picked up six of their seven wins after January 31 to give themselves a great chance of avoiding the drop. Defeat on the final day, coupled with a win for Leeds, however, saw them slide into the Championship.

Going into that final day, Leeds were odds-on for the drop, with their form since February putting them among the three worst teams in the division. Their 38 goals conceded was also the worst of the 20 clubs. However, the 2-1 success at Brentford not only lifted them out of the bottom three in the Premier League table, it also lifted them out of the Frank Lampard form table with Southampton replacing them on the back of nine defeats in 12.