Final issue of the ‘How Many Points Do You Need To…?‘ series.

This time, how to keep your job (bottom two, positions 19 and 20, get sacked)!

Division One – 34 points

34 points to keep your job in D1.

33 might be good enough.

32 isn’t.

Simples!

Season

Div

Pos

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

7	1	18		Atlético Madrid	38	8	10	20	35	56	-21	34
4	1	17		Atlético Madrid	38	8	10	20	42	69	-27	34
7	1	19		Borussia Mönchengladbach	38	8	9	21	31	55	-24	33
1	1	19		Tottenham Hotspur	38	8	9	21	54	80	-26	33
6	1	17		Ajax	38	8	9	21	30	57	-27	33
4	1	18		Zenit Saint Petersburg	38	8	9	21	31	59	-28	33
6	1	18		Villarreal CF	38	7	12	19	31	61	-30	33
1	1	20		AS Roma	38	8	8	22	48	70	-22	32
5	1	18		Borussia Dortmund	38	6	14	18	33	56	-23	32
2	1	19		Olympique Lyonnais	38	6	14	18	25	53	-28	32

Division Two – 37 points

Ted Powell got sacked by Saint-Etienne last season despite amassing a truly valiant 41 points.

Sunderland finished 18th in Season 2 with a measly 29 points.

You’ve got a chance with 36 points, but 37 looks like the minimum to aim for in D2.

Season

Div

Pos

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

2	2	16		Sporting CP	38	8	13	17	35	53	-18	37
3	2	17		Lokomotiv Moskva	38	9	10	19	40	59	-19	37
2	2	17		AS Saint-Etienne	38	8	13	17	38	58	-20	37
5	2	19		Olympique Lyonnais	38	9	9	20	44	56	-12	36
3	2	18		Boca Juniors	38	8	12	18	28	49	-21	36
6	2	18		SS Lazio	38	9	9	20	31	57	-26	36
3	2	19		FC Basel	38	9	9	20	42	73	-31	36
1	2	18		CSKA Moskva	38	7	14	17	34	50	-16	35
4	2	19		Newcastle United	38	8	11	19	38	56	-18	35
7	2	20		Sampdoria	38	8	11	19	37	59	-22	35

Division Three – 38 points

Leicester finished 19th in Season 5 with 41 points.

Sassuolo and Internacional did likewise with 40 and 39 points respectively, in the first two seasons.

Marseille finished 18th in Season 6 with just 35 points.

38 points seems to be the magic number to aim for in D3.

Season

Div

Pos

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

2	3	19		Sassuolo	38	10	10	18	49	64	-15	40
4	3	17		FC Basel	38	9	13	16	36	52	-16	40
1	3	19		SC Internacional	38	9	12	17	55	63	-8	39
4	3	18		Stoke City	38	9	12	17	41	54	-13	39
7	3	17		AZ Alkmaar	38	10	9	19	46	60	-14	39
7	3	18		Boca Juniors	38	11	5	22	41	71	-30	38
5	3	20		São Paulo FC	38	6	19	13	34	47	-13	37
4	3	19		Udinese Calcio	38	9	10	19	43	60	-17	37
1	3	20		West Ham United	38	10	6	22	47	63	-16	36
6	3	18		Olympique Marseille	38	5	20	13	41	57	-16	35
6	3	19		Beşiktaş JK	38	7	14	17	33	50	-17	35

Division Four – 42 points

Stuttgart’s 36 points last season is the lowest points total to finish outside of the bottom two in D4 history.

The next lowest is Santos in Season 5, who got 38.

Hertha and Olympiacos sacked their managers at the end of Season 1, after they achieved 41 points apiece.

West Brom, Dynamo Moskva and Montpellier all sacked their managers for getting 40 points, but finishing in the bottom two.

40 points might be enough, or it might not. 41 probably is enough, but 42 almost certainly keep you in a job.

Season

Div

Pos

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

1	4	19		Hertha BSC	38	12	5	21	51	64	-13	41
4	4	17		Lille OSC	38	10	11	17	23	38	-15	41
1	4	20		Olympiacos	38	10	11	17	47	73	-26	41
2	4	18		Celta Vigo	38	10	10	18	38	49	-11	40
2	4	19		West Bromwich Albion	38	8	16	14	45	57	-12	40
3	4	19		Dynamo Moskva	38	9	13	16	46	59	-13	40
4	4	18		River Plate	38	10	10	18	39	52	-13	40
6	4	17		FC Basel	38	10	10	18	38	63	-25	40
4	4	19		Montpellier HSC	38	11	7	20	31	56	-25	40

Division Five – 40 points

33 points was enough to keep the Partizan manager in his job in Season 2.

36 kept him in post in Season 3.

38 kept the Twente boss in a job in Season 4.

39 wasn’t enough to save the Koln manager in Season 6.

38 or 39 points will probably be enough, but 40 is the minimum number to aim for in D5.

Season

Div

Pos

Team

P

W

D

L

GF

GA

GD

Pts

6	5	19		1. FC Köln	38	10	9	19	40	51	-11	39
4	5	18		FC Twente	38	10	8	20	40	61	-21	38
1	5	19		Werder Bremen	38	10	7	21	33	57	-24	37
7	5	19		FC Twente	38	9	10	19	32	63	-31	37
3	5	18		FK Partizan	38	7	15	16	33	46	-13	36
3	5	19		West Bromwich Albion	38	9	9	20	42	64	-22	36
5	5	19		Rubin Kazan	38	9	8	21	45	64	-19	35
7	5	20		Independiente	38	7	12	19	24	38	-14	33
2	5	17		FK Partizan	38	7	12	19	31	57	-26	33