Saer Sene (right) has been the 7th best player in MLS this season according to the Castrol
Index. (Photo: Tony Biscaia/RevsNet)
A quick glance at the MLS Castrol Index might reveal a bit of a surprise in the overall top ten:
New England Revolution striker Saër Sène. Sene, who is in a bit of a scoring drought with just
one goal since the end of May, currently ranks seventh – down from fourth last week – in the
"Official Performance Index of Major League Soccer".
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday and today. Should be back settled tomorrow. For now,
here is a Footiebusiness post from last year about the companies that invest in Major League
Soccer.
We often discuss Major League Soccer's various corporate sponsors and the important role they
play in funding league operations and cementing the league's legitimacy in the eyes of the busines
community.
If you are like me you like your stats whenever you can get them. If those stats involve the
Fire, then it's even better. Unfortunately, MLS and soccer in general is a bit behind other sports
in terms of statistics. There is no fancy Sabermetrics like MLB employs, for example. Until
recently, it was hard to find much stat-wise for MLS other than the most basic match stats.
Andrew Wenger finally got his first start this past weekend, now that he's graduated Duke
University and joined the Montreal Impact full time.
All he did was score a goal and score the 5th highest of all MLS players in the league's weekly
Castrol Index rankings. We think that makes him our Philadelphia Player of the Week.
Dave Laidig is back with the second part of his series looking at the use of statistics and
numbers in soccer. For Part I, click here. For Part II, click here. So far, this series has
focused on analyzing objective measures of
performance. Â In Part 1, we covered the Castrol Index and an adjusted
index that allows meaningful comparisons on overall contribution to
wins between positions.
Dave Laidig is back with the second part of his series looking at the use of statistics and
numbers in soccer. For Part I, click here.
In part 1, we reviewed Opta's Castrol Index ratings of MLS players and
an adjusted index minimizing statistical anomalies. Â In this part, we
use the objective performance data – i.
In Part I of a new series using numbers and detailed analysis to evaluate players in MLS,
Footiebusiness Contributor Dave Laidig has re-imagined and re-configured the data to provide an
exceptionally accurate mechanism for comparing talent. For those interested in player evaluation,
soccer statistics and more, the below is a great and necessary read.
After scoring his first goal since August, Jack McInerney liked it so much he did it again 41
minutes later.
The goals set in motion Philadelphia Union's most impressive home win in the team's three-year
history, a stunning 4-0 demolition of Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
Howler, "a big, glossy publication that will come out four times a year with distinctive,
original writing about American and international soccer, as well as some of the most striking art
and design," will soon launch and could use your help. Check out their Kickstarter campaign.
It may not have been perfect, but Lionard Pajoy sure answered his critics.
Pajoy scored two goals Sunday against the New York Red Bulls, just days after netting in a
friendly against Schalke 04. He ranked first in the league's MLS Castrol Index for the week. He put
more shots on goal in one game Sunday (4) than he had in his first eight MLS matches combined
(3).
Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath went 408 minutes without giving up a goal, until San
Jose cracked the streak Saturday with a beauty of a goal. Another goal came before the game's end,
but it was hard to blame MacMath.
Zac MacMath is ranked at No. 10 on the latest Castrol Weekly Top 20. In the Full Castrol Index,
MacMath comes in at No. 29, followed by Sheanon Williams at No. 70 and Brian Carroll at No. 78. The
previous highest ranked Union player was (I think) Danny Califf at No.
Big thanks to the Philadelphia Union players, coaches and fans who attended Tuesday
night's Team Dinner event for a wonderful time. Great people doing great things.
Philadelphia Union
Michael Farfan and Carlos Valdes were named to MLSsoccer.
Spain vs Portugal
Semi-Final 1
Donetsk, Ukraine | 20:45
The Spanish team started their journey a few hours ago from their base camp in Gdansk,
Poland today to Ukraine (a a 1.5 hour flight) ahead of that exciting semi-final clash
against their Iberian hermanos,Portugal tomorrow.
It rained at the PDE arena in Gdansk yesterday, which made it rather tricky for both the
Germans and the Greeks to conduct their obligatory open training
sessions. Luckily, for Thomas Mueller, the weather didn't get in the way of his
special risotto-making session with German national team chef, Holger
Stromberg.
France vs Sweden
Matchday 3 Group D
Olympic Stadium | 21:45
Philippe Mexes, along with Adil Rami and Ben
Arfa, enjoyed a leisurely stroll during France's training session in Kiev yesterday.
Technically, Laurent Blanc's squad are allowed to have a little bit of a laugh
about the Swedes including Ikea's infamous meatballs and terrible furniture- but there's just too
much to play for tonight!
Spain vs Republic of Ireland
Matchday 2 Group C
20:45 Gdansk
Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque is no stranger to the football scene, but
after fielding David Silva in a 'false number 9′ role (which has ignited great
debate!) against Italy on Sunday, he prompted a floodgate of criticism.
Cristiano Ronaldo consolidated his spot at the cap of the Castrol EDGE Index with his
quartern-concluding show, though Spain nowadays relationship for half of the cap ten following
their licking of France.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Online Football Fans: A Live Football Skills Challenge - originally posted
on Soccerlens.com
Last year Castrol EDGE presented Ronaldo Tested to the Limit, an award-winning documentary that
showed the Portugal and Real Madrid forward showcase his strengths in a series of captivating
challenges in the most scientific examination of a player ever undertaken.
By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (May 15, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In today's Q&A for what's
happening in the game, Tony wonders who is buying tickets to some summer friendlies, tries to
figure out Toronto's coaching shuffle, and highlights an American stalwart's season in charge of a
European club. Who is the biggest surprise in the Castrol Index top ten?
By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Apr 26, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In Thursday's edition, Tony asks
about examines player confidence in Toronto, wonders when David Ferreira will be back for FC
Dallas, and sees an unexpected entry in the MLS Castrol Index rankings. Who's going to the MLS Cup
Playoffs?
United looking to seal title by using their heads - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
If Manchester United are to snatch the title away from their local rivals on Sunday then they
are first going to have to overcome Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Castrol EDGE performance
data suggests that United might not find it such a difficult task if they use their heads.
Chelsea Must Dig Deep To Repel Barcelona - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Ahead of Barcelona v Chelsea in the Champions League tomorrow night, we looks at the importance
of Petr Cech and the Chelsea defence in keeping out Barcelona and Lionel Messi.
Â
Chelsea Must Dig Deep to Repel Barcelona
According to Castrol EDGE Performance analysis, Petr Cech could be the key if Chelsea are to
spring a surprise and resist Barcelona's attacking advances in next week's Champions League
semi-final second leg.
Liverpool v Everton: Battle Of The Merseyside Midfields - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Saturday's FA Cup semi-final between Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton will contain a
fascinating battle between two multi-talented midfields and the outcome is likely to rest on how
well those players perform.
Balotelli is City's best chance of overtaking United for the title - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Alan Hanson recently described Mario Balotelli as "a damaging distraction at the Etihad
Stadium", highlighting the growing perception that the Italian has become more hassle than he is
worth to Roberto Mancini.
Footiebusiness Contributor Dave Laidig weighs in with his latest manipulation of Castol data. Dave's statistical work is ground breaking stuff and represents the cutting edge of soccer analytics and stats based crunching. Read closely and drop Dave a line. Also, check Dave out at Par Stat, his innovative website looking at Points Above Replacement in soccer.
Chicago came out early and looked like they were going to try and take three points home from
Houston. I really enjoyed that; and for a couple of moments in the first half, they came close to
doing it, too. Once the second half began, it became more about trying to get back home with a
result. The Fire went into this one with a four point lead over Houston, and they return home with
a four point lead intact.
Reading United won its first US Open Cup match in five tries on Tuesday night, defeating New
York Greek American Atlas, 2–1.
A rebounding shot from Ryan Finley found Pedro Ribeiro to put Reading on the board in the 37th
minute. Finley would give Reading the 2–0 in the 55th minute when a foul from former Philadelphia
Union defender Christian Arrieta resulted in a free kick delivery from Steven Neumann.
Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero are both scoring now. They each have an assist in 2012. What
they don't have yet is that partnership, the very partnership that was the reason for the trade. A
partnership is about more than each scoring. Several of Montero's "other forwards" did that. A
partnership is what Nate Jaqua and Fredy had in 2009 when their interplay showed potency and
baffled defenses.
The rejuvenation of Chelsea and Torres under John Terry - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
When Roberto Di Matteo John Terry took over at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were reportedly in
disarray following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas. Castrol stats shows that the Italian
Englishman has rejuvenated the Blues since his appointment.
Before we jump into attendance figures for the weekend, a couple of quick items. First, we'll
start with a programming note. Footiebusiness Contributor Dave Laidig is preparing a
comprehensive and extremely interesting look at the Castrol Index and statistical evaluation of
players. Dave has tried to account for the minutes played bias in the Castrol Index and has
produced some extremely interesting numbers.
