Bolton won their fourth away game of the season, more than they had managed in each of two full previous campaigns. However, the fact that they have a better away than home record is nothing special. In spite of their's being the only win on the road at the weekend, six of the top eight teams have won at least as many away as home games, whilst those erstwhile homers, Southampton, have had their only two victories away from the new stadium

The accompanying table shows the ratio of home to away wins over the years. Since the division was reduced to twenty teams, there has been a remarkably consistent level of away wins, between 95 and 101 per year. The 2001/2 season is currently on pace for 111

There has been no trend either, with last year's results biased towards the home team as much as ever. The closest year was 1993/4 when Tottenham, Norwich and West Ham all boasted superior records. Crystal Palace remain the only Premiership team ever to have been better overall on their travels

With no obvious explanation (two of the three clubs relegated last year had four wins apiece at home and away whilst both thier replacements Fulham and Blackburn have only a single away win each) I'm betting normality prevails in the remainder of the season. Somehow I cannot see Arsenal stuck on one home win for long or Newcastle ending up scoring more goals on their travels than at St James's Park

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