“What is the biggest points difference between a top- and bottom-placed side? Has a team ever finished a season 100 or more points ahead?” asks Tom Solan.
The inequality of modern football means that a chasm between first and last is increasingly common. In the past it was rare, and not only because it was two points for a win until Jimmy Hill had one of his finest brainwaves. The leagues were generally closer, which makes Everton’s achievement in 1984-85 even more remarkable. They romped to the title with 90 points, which put them 73 points ahead of Stoke (17). And it would have been even more had they not lost three of their last four games after clinching the title with time to spare.
