2014/15 · Rebuilt without Manchester City
Tottenham lost both their games to Manchester City in 2014/15, so they keep all 64 points. Take City out and Spurs finish fourth, not fifth: Mauricio Pochettino's first season, Harry Kane's breakout, ends in a Champions League place.
The story
In his second season back at Chelsea, José Mourinho won his third Premier League title. The side he had to beat were the champions, Manuel Pellegrini's City, and the two met twice and drew twice. The first, on 21 September, was rescued in the 85th minute by Frank Lampard, Chelsea's record goalscorer, on loan at City and scoring against his old club.
City scored 83 league goals, ten more than anyone, and finished with a better goal difference than the champions, +45 to +41. They still ended eight points behind. A 3–0 win over Crystal Palace on 20 December took them level on points at the top, and beating Sunderland on New Year's Day made them joint leaders again. That was as close as they got. They lost 1–0 at Turf Moor in March and were beaten 4–2 at Old Trafford in April, which dropped them to fourth. Fernandinho's 89th-minute scissor-kick against Aston Villa on 25 April took them back to second, and they finished there, on 79.
Chelsea settled it on 3 May. Eden Hazard's penalty was saved, he headed in the rebound, and a 1–0 win over Crystal Palace won the title with three games to spare, Chelsea's first since 2010. They finished on 87, their highest Premier League total since 2005/06. Fifth, six points behind Manchester United, came Pochettino's Tottenham.
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 | ChelseaChampions | 85 | +41 | No change | 1st | 87 | −2 | 36 | 26 | 7 | 3 | 71 | 30 |
| 2 | Arsenal (top four) | 71 | +33 | Up 1 place | 3rd | 75 | −4 | 36 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 67 | 34 |
| 3 | Manchester United (top four) | 67 | +24 | Up 1 place | 4th | 70 | −3 | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 58 | 34 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur (top four) | 64 | +9 | Up 1 place | 5th | 64 | 0 | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 57 | 48 |
| 5 | Southampton | 60 | +26 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 7th | 60 | 0 | 36 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 54 | 28 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 59 | +5 | No change | 6th | 62 | −3 | 36 | 17 | 8 | 11 | 49 | 44 |
| 7 | Swansea City | 56 | 0 | Up 1 place | 8th | 56 | 0 | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 43 |
| 8 | Stoke City | 51 | +5 | Up 1 place | 9th | 54 | −3 | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 46 | 41 |
| 9 | Everton | 46 | −1 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 11th | 47 | −1 | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 47 | 48 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 45 | −2 | No change | 10th | 48 | −3 | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 47 |
| 11 | West Ham United | 44 | −2 | Up 1 place | 12th | 47 | −3 | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 42 | 44 |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 44 | −8 | Up 1 place | 13th | 44 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 37 | 45 |
| 13 | Leicester City | 41 | −6 | Up 1 place | 14th | 41 | 0 | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 46 | 52 |
| 14 | Newcastle United | 39 | −16 | Up 1 place | 15th | 39 | 0 | 36 | 10 | 9 | 17 | 40 | 56 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 38 | −18 | Up 1 place | 16th | 38 | 0 | 36 | 7 | 17 | 12 | 28 | 46 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | −23 | Up 1 place | 17th | 38 | 0 | 36 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 29 | 52 |
| 17 | Hull City (relegated) | 34 | −16 | Up 1 place | 18th | 35 | −1 | 36 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 30 | 46 |
| 18 | Queens Park Rangers (relegated) | 29 | −25 | ▲ 2 Up 2 places | 20th | 30 | −1 | 36 | 8 | 5 | 23 | 40 | 65 |
| 19 | Burnley (relegated) | 29 | −26 | No change | 19th | 33 | −4 | 36 | 6 | 11 | 19 | 25 | 51 |
Southampton, Everton and QPR climb two places each, the biggest moves in the table. Liverpool, Palace and Burnley are passed, and stay where they finished.
| Pos | Club | Pts | GD | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 87 | +41 | 38 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 73 | 32 |
| 2 | Manchester CityRemoved | 79 | +45 | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 83 | 38 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 75 | +35 | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 71 | 36 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 70 | +25 | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 62 | 37 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 64 | +5 | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 58 | 53 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 62 | +4 | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 52 | 48 |
| 7 | Southampton | 60 | +21 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 54 | 33 |
| 8 | Swansea City | 56 | −3 | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 46 | 49 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 54 | +3 | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 48 | 45 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 48 | −4 | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 47 | 51 |
| 11 | Everton | 47 | −2 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 48 | 50 |
| 12 | West Ham United | 47 | −3 | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 44 | 47 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 44 | −13 | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 38 | 51 |
| 14 | Leicester City | 41 | −9 | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 46 | 55 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 39 | −23 | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 40 | 63 |
| 16 | Sunderland | 38 | −22 | 38 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 53 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 38 | −26 | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 31 | 57 |
| 18 | Hull City | 35 | −18 | 38 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 33 | 51 |
| 19 | Burnley | 33 | −25 | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 28 | 53 |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 30 | −31 | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 42 | 73 |
20 clubs, 38 games each. Rebuilt from the published data; it matches the published final table in two independent sources.
What changed
One club's fate changes. Everything else is the order.
Top four
Spurs keep all 64 points and climb the one place City leave. That one place is the difference between the Europa League and the Champions League.
The bottom
The 1–0 at Turf Moor and the 2–2 at the Etihad cost four points, joint most in the league. Level with QPR on 29, Burnley are last by a single goal.
Chelsea drop two points to their two draws with City, but their nearest challengers disappear altogether: an eight-point title becomes a 14-point one.
Second place, and further from the top than third was. Arsenal lose four points for the 2–2 at home and their 2–0 win at the Etihad, and finish 14 behind Chelsea instead of 12.
Top four Changes
For real
Spurs 5th
64 points, the Europa League
Without City
Spurs 4th
64 points, a Champions League place
It was Mauricio Pochettino's first season at Tottenham, after he left Southampton in May 2014. On 1 March his side lost the League Cup final 2–0 to Chelsea at Wembley. They were already out of the Europa League, beaten by Fiorentina in the round of 32. On 3 May they lost 1–0 at home to City and were left seven points off fourth with three games to play.
Spurs lost both games to City. The first was a 4–1 defeat at the Etihad on 18 October. Sergio Agüero scored all four and missed one of his three penalties. At the other end Joe Hart saved from Roberto Soldado, and Federico Fazio was sent off.
Above them, Manchester United lose three points for the 4–2 derby win in April, their first over City since December 2012, and finish third on 67. Below them, Liverpool lose three for their 2–1 win at Anfield in March and drop to 59, behind Southampton on 60. Spurs are fourth by four points. Fourth that year led to the Champions League play-off round, the route United, fourth for real, took in August 2015.
The stakes
€33.6m
What Liverpool earned from the 2014/15 Champions League, out in the group stage. Spurs' Europa League run that season earned €6.1m.
Source: UEFA, 2014/15 distribution
Beaten twice by City. Top four anyway.
The three who went down go down again, in a new order. QPR, relegated by City's 6–0 in May, climb off the bottom to 18th, and Burnley take their place.
Careers in the rebuilt table Changes
One breakout season that ends in a different place.
Harry Kane Top four without City
Harry Kane played 10 league games for Spurs in 2013/14 and 34 in 2014/15, the season he became a regular. He scored 21 league goals, including a hat-trick in the 4–3 win over Leicester, and was the PFA Young Player of the Year.
Spurs 2014/15 · 34 league apps, 21 goals · 5th → 4th, a Champions League place
What if?
Door 1
Fourth in Pochettino's first season, a year before Spurs got there for real. Does a Champions League summer build a different side?
Spurs spent the summer after fifth place rebuilding. Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer, Kieran Trippier and Son Heung-min arrived; Paulinho and Roberto Soldado were sold. The next season, with Europa League football, they finished third on 70, above City.
A Champions League place changes the pitch to every player on that list. It is a bigger stage for a young side, and a harder August, with the play-off round to win first. It changes nothing about the players who were already there.
Over to you. If the team that finished third was built in a fifth-place summer, what would a fourth-place summer have added?
Door 2
Without City, Arsenal finish second on 71: the place, and the points, they reached a year later. Does second move a ceiling?
Arsenal ran this experiment for real. In 2015/16 they finished second on 71, with Petr Čech, signed from Chelsea, in goal. On 16 March 2016 they went out of the Champions League in the round of 16 again, beaten 5–1 on aggregate by Barcelona.
The year before had ended the same way in Europe: out to Monaco on away goals, a fifth consecutive exit in the last 16. At home it ended better. Alexis Sánchez, signed from Barcelona for £35m, scored 16 league goals, an eight-game winning run carried them to third, and a 4–0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley gave Wenger his sixth FA Cup.
Second means runners-up, not the best of the rest, and a club adding Čech to an FA Cup-winning side would have gone into 2015/16 as the champions' nearest challengers on paper.
Over to you. What would second in 2014/15 have moved: the ceiling, or just the line in the record?
2014/15 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).
Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal 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. More on the case: the nine-season summary
Reference · Every club
Where every club finishes without City.
The two 1–1 draws with City go, Lampard's equaliser among them. 87 becomes 85.
Games against City
Arsenal lose the 4 points they took off City. 71 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Man Utd lose the 3 points they took off City. 67 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Beaten 4–1 away and 1–0 at home by City, so no points come off. 64 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Beaten 3–0 at home and 2–0 away by City, so no points come off. 60 points: 5th, not 7th.
Games against City
The 2–1 win at Anfield in March goes. 62 becomes 59, and Southampton pass them.
Games against City
Beaten 2–1 away and 4–2 at home by City, so no points come off. 56 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
The 1–0 at the Etihad in August goes, Diouf's run from his own half and all. 54 becomes 51: 8th, not 9th.
Games against City
Everton lose the 1 point they took off City. 46 points: 9th, not 11th.
Games against City
The 2–1 win in April, Puncheon's free-kick and all, goes. 48 becomes 45, and Everton pass them.
Games against City
The 2–1 in October goes, the day Sakho scored in a sixth consecutive league game. 47 becomes 44, above West Brom on goal difference.
Level on 44 points with West Brom; ahead on goal difference (−2 v −8).
Games against City
Beaten 3–1 at home and 3–0 away by City, so no points come off. 44 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 44 points with West Ham; behind on goal difference (−8 v −2).
Games against City
Beaten 1–0 at home and 2–0 away by City, so no points come off. 41 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Beaten 2–0 at home and 5–0 away by City, so no points come off. 39 points. The one place gained is City's.
Games against City
Beaten 4–1 at home and 3–2 away by City, so no points come off. 38 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 38 points with Villa; ahead on goal difference (−18 v −23).
Games against City
Beaten 2–0 at home and 3–2 away by City, so no points come off. 38 points. The one place gained is City's.
Level on 38 points with Sunderland; behind on goal difference (−23 v −18).
Games against City
The 1–1 at the Etihad in February, Milner's stoppage-time free-kick, goes. 35 becomes 34: 17th of 19, four points from safety.
Games against City
QPR lose the 1 point they took off City. 29 points, 18th of 19.
Level on 29 points with Burnley; ahead on goal difference (−25 v −26).
Games against City
Burnley lose the 4 points they took off City. 29 points, 19th of 19.
Level on 29 points with QPR; behind on goal difference (−26 v −25).
Games against City
Reference · The 38 games
City won 24, drew 7 and lost 7. Those 14 results were worth 28 points to 11 clubs, and they are the only points that come off.
8
of 19 clubs took no points off City
14
of City's 38 league games cost them points