2011/12 · Rebuilt without Manchester City
Manchester City won 2011/12 on goal difference, 15 seconds after United's season had ended. Take City out and Tottenham finish second, beyond the reach of the Munich final that cost them a Champions League place.
The story
On 23 October City won 6–1 at Old Trafford: Balotelli twice, Agüero, Silva and Džeko twice, with Evans sent off early in the second half. It was United's heaviest home defeat since February 1955, and it mattered more than anyone knew. Had it finished 2–1, the two clubs would have ended the season with identical records, and Premier League rules would have required a play-off.
City were top on Christmas Day for the first time since 1929, 44 points to United's 42. On New Year's Day Ji Dong-won rounded Joe Hart and scored for Sunderland with the last kick of the game. On 11 March City lost at Swansea and gave up the lead for the first time in five months. On 8 April Arteta's 87th-minute goal at Arsenal left them eight points behind with six games left, and the BBC wrote that their title hopes were “in tatters”.
Then United slipped. They lost 1–0 at Wigan and drew 4–4 with Everton, and on 30 April Kompany's goal in the derby put City top on goal difference. On the final day the clubs started level on 86 points. United won 1–0 at Sunderland. At the Etihad, QPR led 2–1 until Džeko equalised in the 92nd minute. Barton had been sent off for QPR. Then, 15 seconds after United's final whistle, Agüero scored in the 94th minute. It was the first Premier League title decided on goal difference, and City's first English top-flight title since 1968.
Without City none of that final afternoon survives, and the table below has a new champion and a new runner-up.
The table
Clubs lose only the points they took off City, so a club that lost both games loses nothing. Everyone who finished below City moves up a place automatically; we count it as a change only when a club climbs further, or its fate changes.
| Pos | Club | Pts | GD | Move | Real pos | Real pts | City pts | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester UnitedChampions | 89 | +62 | Up 1 place | 2nd | 89 | 0 | 36 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 88 | 26 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur (top four) | 69 | +30 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 4th | 69 | 0 | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 63 | 33 |
| 3 | Arsenal (top four) | 67 | +25 | No change | 3rd | 70 | −3 | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 73 | 48 |
| 4 | Newcastle United (top four) | 65 | +9 | Up 1 place | 5th | 65 | 0 | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 55 | 46 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 61 | +19 | Up 1 place | 6th | 64 | −3 | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 62 | 43 |
| 6 | Everton | 53 | +11 | Up 1 place | 7th | 56 | −3 | 36 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 49 | 38 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 51 | +10 | Up 1 place | 8th | 52 | −1 | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 36 |
| 8 | Fulham | 51 | 0 | Up 1 place | 9th | 52 | −1 | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 46 |
| 9 | Norwich City | 47 | −5 | ▲ 3 Up 3 places | 12th | 47 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 50 | 55 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | −3 | No change | 10th | 47 | −1 | 36 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 45 | 48 |
| 11 | Swansea City | 44 | −4 | No change | 11th | 47 | −3 | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 47 |
| 12 | Stoke City | 44 | −14 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 14th | 45 | −1 | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 49 |
| 13 | Wigan Athletic | 43 | −16 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 15th | 43 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 42 | 58 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 41 | −2 | Down 1 place | 13th | 45 | −4 | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 41 | 43 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 38 | −12 | Up 1 place | 16th | 38 | 0 | 36 | 7 | 17 | 12 | 36 | 48 |
| 16 | Queens Park Rangers | 37 | −21 | Up 1 place | 17th | 37 | 0 | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 39 | 60 |
| 17 | Bolton Wanderers (relegated) | 36 | −28 | Up 1 place | 18th | 36 | 0 | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 44 | 72 |
| 18 | Blackburn Rovers (relegated) | 31 | −23 | Up 1 place | 19th | 31 | 0 | 36 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 48 | 71 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (relegated) | 25 | −38 | Up 1 place | 20th | 25 | 0 | 36 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 39 | 77 |
The real movers: Spurs climb to second and into the Champions League; Norwich climb three places; Sunderland, who took most off City, are the only club to fall.
| Pos | Club | Pts | GD | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester CityRemoved | 89 | +64 | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 93 | 29 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 89 | +56 | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 89 | 33 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 70 | +25 | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 74 | 49 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 69 | +25 | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 66 | 41 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 65 | +5 | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 56 | 51 |
| 6 | Chelsea | 64 | +19 | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 65 | 46 |
| 7 | Everton | 56 | +10 | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 50 | 40 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 52 | +7 | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 47 | 40 |
| 9 | Fulham | 52 | −3 | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 48 | 51 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 47 | −7 | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 52 |
| 11 | Swansea City | 47 | −7 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 44 | 51 |
| 12 | Norwich City | 47 | −14 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 52 | 66 |
| 13 | Sunderland | 45 | −1 | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 45 | 46 |
| 14 | Stoke City | 45 | −17 | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 36 | 53 |
| 15 | Wigan Athletic | 43 | −20 | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 42 | 62 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | −16 | 38 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 37 | 53 |
| 17 | Queens Park Rangers | 37 | −23 | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 43 | 66 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 36 | −31 | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 46 | 77 |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers | 31 | −30 | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 48 | 78 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 25 | −42 | 38 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 40 | 82 |
20 clubs, 38 games each. Rebuilt from the published data; it matches the published final table in two independent sources.
What changed
Champions League
For real, fourth wasn't enough in 2012. Second is.
Title race
No final day, no goal difference. Spurs are the nearest challengers.
Title race Changes
For real
City 89
Champions on goal difference
Without City
United 89
Champions by 20 points
City's title was won in the last minute of the last day. Take them out and the race they ran never starts.
United lost both derbies, 6–1 at home and 1–0 away, so none of their points come off. Their record without City is W28 D5 L3, 88 scored and 26 conceded: 89 points, exactly the total that lost the real title on goal difference. Tottenham are next, on 69.
The April collapse still happens. United still lose at Wigan and still draw 4–4 with Everton, and it no longer matters, because nobody is close enough to punish it.
The 6–1 at Old Trafford becomes a game that was never played.
Runners-up Changes
For real
Spurs 4th
69 points, the Europa League
Without City
Spurs 2nd
69 points, the Champions League group stage
On the evening of 19 May 2012 Tottenham lost a Champions League place without kicking a ball. Drogba equalised in the 88th minute in Munich, Čech saved Robben's penalty in extra time, and Chelsea won the final on penalties.
England had four Champions League places, and the rules in force that year gave the holders a place at the expense of the lowest-placed club that would otherwise have qualified. Chelsea had finished sixth. Harry Redknapp's side had finished fourth on 69, a point behind Arsenal, and went into the Europa League instead, the first fourth-placed Premier League club to miss out since fourth place was introduced in 2001/02. The club's statement read: “We will take our place in the UEFA Europa League next season following Chelsea's win against Bayern Munich.”
Without City, Spurs lose nothing. They lost both games to City, 5–1 at home and 3–2 away, so all 69 points stand. Arsenal lose the three from Arteta's winner in April and drop to 67. Chelsea fall to 61 and fifth. Spurs finish second, and the holders' place comes out of fourth, not second.
The stakes
€8.6m
The 2012/13 Champions League group-stage participation fee, before €1m a win. The Europa League paid €1.3m to take part.
Source: UEFA, 10 Aug 2012; UEFA, 23 Jul 2013
Newcastle finish fourth, but that year fourth wasn't a Champions League place: Chelsea took it as holders. Same Europa League either way.
Same three down, same point for QPR: 37 to Bolton's 36, final-day defeat at the Etihad or not.
Careers in the rebuilt table Changes
A title removed, a title gained and a Champions League place restored.
Sergio Agüero Title removed
Sergio Agüero joined City in July 2011 and scored 23 league goals in his first Premier League season, the last of them the 94th-minute goal the story above tells. Without City, his season has no place in the table and the title is United's. His real title stands.
Man City 2011/12 · 34 league apps · real champions, removed
David de Gea Champions without City
United signed David de Gea from Atlético Madrid in June 2011, and he started 29 league games that season. Without City, United are champions, so his first season in England ends with a title.
Man Utd 2011/12 · 29 league apps, all starts · rebuilt champions
Kyle Walker Champions League without City
Spurs finished 4th and lost their Champions League place to Chelsea's win in Munich. In the rebuilt table they are 2nd, straight into the group stage, with Kyle Walker starting all 37 of his league games. He was the PFA Young Player of the Year that season.
Spurs 2011/12 · 37 league apps · 4th → 2nd, Champions League group stage
Also in United's title-winning squad in the rebuilt table: Danny Welbeck, 30 league games (his turn is on 2016/17), and Paul Pogba, three substitute appearances (on 2017/18).
What if?
Door 1
Spurs sacked Harry Redknapp after contract talks reportedly failed and hired the manager who had left Chelsea in March. Would second place have changed either decision?
Redknapp's last season at Tottenham ended in a negotiation, not a result. He was cleared at Southwark Crown Court on 8 February 2012, and on 13 June he was sacked after reportedly failing to agree a new contract. On 3 July Spurs appointed André Villas-Boas.
Villas-Boas had left Chelsea on 4 March with Chelsea fifth. Roberto Di Matteo took over that day and won the final that cost Spurs their place. So Tottenham's answer to that night was the man who had left Chelsea before it.
Second place cuts both ways. It is a harder record to sack, and a stronger hand to bring to talks that were about a contract, not a position. In 2012/13 Villas-Boas's first Spurs side finished fifth on 72 points, a club Premier League record, and still missed the top four.
Over to you. If the sticking point was a contract, does second place make Tottenham offer one, or make Redknapp ask for more?
Door 2
Sir Alex Ferguson lost a title on goal difference, signed Robin van Persie, won one more and retired. Does a runaway title end the story a year early?
Ferguson had stood at this door before. He planned to retire in 2002, and on Christmas night 2001 he changed his mind; it was made public that February. A decade later he was still there.
The case for going in 2012 is simple: champions again, nothing left to settle. Losing on goal difference looks like a reason to stay. On 17 August 2012 United signed Van Persie from Arsenal for an initial £22.5 million, and on 22 April 2013 his hat-trick against Aston Villa clinched a 20th English top-flight title with four games to spare.
Then he went, and he went as a champion by a distance. United finished 11 points clear of City. Ferguson announced his retirement on 8 May 2013, after 26½ years, and his 1,500th and last game finished 5–5 at West Bromwich Albion.
Over to you. Ferguson talked himself out of one planned exit in 2002. Would a 20-point title in 2012 have been the one he took?
2011/12 is one of the seasons covered by the charges the Premier League referred to an independent commission on 6 February 2023. On 25 September 2026 BBC Sport, The Athletic and Sky Sports reported that the commission had found City in breach of Premier League rules. The Premier League has not published the decision, City say the process is ongoing, reports say City are expected to appeal, and no sanction has been announced (as of 27 September 2026).
Manchester United and Tottenham were among the four clubs The Times reported in November 2024 had lodged legal notices reserving the right to claim compensation if City were found in breach. The same report said the clubs had been advised the six-year limitation period could potentially date back to November 2018, when Der Spiegel first published allegations against City. More on the case: the nine-season summary
Reference · Every club
Where every club finishes without City.
Beaten 6–1 at home and 1–0 away by City, so no points come off. 89 points, 20 clear of Spurs.
Games against City
Beaten 5–1 at home and 3–2 away by City, so no points come off. 69 points: second, not fourth, and the Champions League instead of the Europa League.
Games against City
Arteta's late winner against City in April goes. 67 points, still third, now two behind Spurs instead of one ahead.
Games against City
Beaten 3–1 away and 2–0 at home by City, so no points come off. The 2–0 in May drew 52,389, the biggest Premier League crowd at St James' Park. 65 points: fourth, not fifth.
Games against City
The 2–1 in December, City's first league defeat of the season, goes. 61 points: fifth, not sixth, and they still win the FA Cup and the Champions League.
Games against City
Gibson's winner in January, 18 days after joining from United, goes. 53 points: sixth, not seventh.
Games against City
Liverpool lose the 1 point they took off City. 51 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 51 points with Fulham; ahead on goal difference (+10 v 0).
Games against City
Fulham lose the 1 point they took off City. 51 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 51 points with Liverpool; behind on goal difference (0 v +10).
Games against City
Beaten 5–1 away and 6–1 at home by City, so no points come off. West Brom and Swansea lose City points and Norwich pass both: 47 points, ninth instead of 12th.
Games against City
The Boxing Day 0–0 goes. 46 points.
Games against City
The 1–0 win in March goes, and so does the 4–0 defeat in August, Swansea's first Premier League match. 44 points.
Level on 44 points with Stoke; ahead on goal difference (−4 v −14).
Games against City
Stoke lose the 1 point they took off City. 44 points: 12th, not 14th.
Level on 44 points with Swansea; behind on goal difference (−14 v −4).
Games against City
Beaten 3–0 away and 1–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 43 points: 13th, not 15th.
Games against City
Ji's last-kick winner on New Year's Day and the 3–3 at the Etihad both go: four points, more than any other club took off City. 41 points, 14th instead of 13th, the only club to fall.
Games against City
Beaten 4–1 away and 1–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 38 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Beaten 3–2 at home in November and 3–2 at the Etihad on the final day, so no points come off. 37 points, one clear of Bolton.
Games against City
Beaten 3–2 at home and 2–0 away by City, so no points come off. 36 points, 17th of 19.
Games against City
Beaten 4–0 at home and 3–0 away by City, so no points come off. 31 points, 18th of 19.
Games against City
Beaten 3–1 away and 2–0 at home by City; the 2–0 in April relegated them for real. 25 points, 19th of 19.
Games against City
Reference · The 38 games
City won 28, drew 5 and lost 5. Those 10 results earned nine clubs 20 points between them, and those are the only points removed from anyone's total.
10
of City's 38 league games cost them points