When we think about successful teams of the Premier League era, two colours stand out. Red and blue.
The league has only been won by teams wearing either of these two colours – Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Leicester City, Arsenal and Blackburn Rovers.
It would figure that one of these colours is statistically the most successful, surely?
The guys behind last year’s Perception of Colour viral hit, Buytshirtsonline, have analysed every single result that has taken place in the Premier League since it began with a focus on the colours the teams played in. They have made a new study which they have kindly shared with us and makes very interesting reading.
The study looked into away kits as well as home kits, including times when clubs remained in their home colours away from home, and tracked the changing strips over the years.
Because the average number of points, goals scored, goals conceded, wins and losses were taken into account, a picture emerged that runs against what you might actually think.
For example, in the 2009/10 season Chelsea won the league with eighty-six points but Portsmouth came last with only nineteen. Manchester United and Arsenal finished second and third with eighty-five and seventy-five points respectively. So although the eventual winners wore mainly blue, the same colour was unlucky for Pompey, and you would statistically be better off in red.
What is really interesting about the findings is that neither red or blue was the most successful on average, thanks to the low scorers dragging the colour down. The crown actually goes to burgundy as the two colours merge together. Arsenal wore it during their commemorative year in 2005/06, and got an average of 2.36 points per game. By comparison, the average for red is just under 1.58 points per game.
Pink makes a surprise appearance in second place, thanks to an Everton team in 2010/11 with an astonishing away record, particularly in comparison with their home record in their familiar blue strip. Away from Goodison Park they grabbed 1.58 points per game, compared with an average of 1.42 points for the whole season.
There is plenty more information on the page, and you can even get to play around with the statistics on a year-by-year basis at the bottom.
Should we read anything into the findings?
Is there a psychological element to the colour a team plays in?
We would like to see a wider study over different leagues and other sports, but it is intriguing nonetheless. Leicester City have just proved to everyone that there are aspects beyond owner’s ability to spend that can positively affect performance on the pitch.
Just imagine if Aston Villa played in burgundy and pink!
