When it comes to football, winning trophies is all very well, but what really matters is who can go into work on a Monday morning with their head held high after a derby game.
It's all about bragging rights.
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London Bragging Rights League 1987-1988
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Pl |
Pts |
| 1. QPR |
12 |
27 |
| 2. Arsenal |
12 |
26 |
| 3. Wimbledon |
12 |
19 |
| 4. Spurs |
12 |
12 |
| 5. Charlton |
12 |
11 |
| 6. West Ham |
12 |
14 |
| 7. Chelsea |
12 |
10 |
Head to head
West Ham 0 QPR 3
QPR 2 Arsenal 0
Spurs 1 Chelsea 0
Wimbledon 4 Charlton 1
Charlton 0 QPR 1
QPR 3 Chelsea 1
Wimbledon 1 West Ham 1
Arsenal 3 Wimbledon 0
Arsenal 1 West Ham 0
Charlton 0 Arsenal 3
Wimbledon 1 QPR 2
West Ham 1 Charlton 1
Spurs 1 Arsenal 2
Spurs 0 Wimbledon 3
Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1
Spurs 1 QPR 1
Chelsea 1 Wimbledon 1
Chelsea 1 West Ham 1
Spurs 0 Charlton 1
Charlton 2 Chelsea 2
Chelsea 1 QPR 1
West Ham 1 Wimbledon 2
Arsenal 4 Charlton 0
Wimbledon 3 Arsenal 1
Arsenal 0 QPR 0
Chelsea 0 Spurs 0
QPR 0 West Ham 1
QPR 2 Charlton 0
Charlton 1 Wimbledon 1
QPR 1 Wimbledon 0
Arsenal 2 Spurs 1
Charlton 3 West Ham 1
Wimbledon 3 Spurs 0
Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1
QPR 2 Spurs 0
West Ham 0 Arsenal 1
Wimbledon 2 Chelsea 2
Charlton 1 Spurs 1
West Ham 4 Chelsea 1
Chelsea 1 Charlton 1
The battle for the capital's bragging rights was between three teams during the 1987-1988 season - QPR, Arsenal and Wimbledon.
Wimbledon had an amazing season, winning the FA Cup by beating Liverpool, who had already been crowned League Champions, 1-0 at Wembley. This after just ten years as a League club.
Arsenal too had a good season, knocking Millwall out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 home win and reaching the League Cup Final where they lost 3-2 to Luton Town.
But the best team in London was QPR. Just the one League defeat against London clubs - at the hands of West Ham who they had already beaten 3-1 at home in the FA Cup.
In the League Cup, QPR knocked out Millwall over two legs - beating them 2-1 at home and drawing 0-0 at The Den.
To round up the Cup action, West Ham beat Charlton 2-0 in the FA Cup before going out to QPR.
Unluckiest London team had to be Chelsea. Unbeaten against London clubs at home all season, they started 1988 in eighth place in the League. A poor run of results saw them plummet towards the foot of the table and they were left needing to win their final game to avoid the relegation play-offs.
That final game was at home to Charlton Athletic who had the same number of points as Chelsea, but a better goal difference. The game finished 1-1 and condemned Chelsea to the agony of the play-offs.
In the first play-off game they beat Blackburn 2-0 away and 4-1 at home to sail through to the Final which was also played over two legs. This is where they came unstuck, losing 2-0 away and only managing a 1-0 home win.
So Chelsea were relegated.
In contrast, Millwall were promoted from Division Two as Champions and would be playing for bragging rights come the 1988-1989 season.
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Three points for a win, one for a draw, sweet FA for a lose.
Should two or more teams have the same number of points, goal difference decides bragging rights unless Cup football provides the decider.
Although in the good old days, clubs only received two points for a win in the League, the importance of beating your rivals means that no matter the season, three points for a win applies in the London Bragging Rights League.
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