Good discussion brewing on regression to the mean (~randomness) in sports at USS Mariner.
Sites like USS Mariner have shaped a lot of the way I think about sport; this is a good example
of an occasion where the media is looking for a reason when in the real world it's just
sport gremlining away with its usual ups and downs.
Meta: I'll be away until Monday, which is really quite handy given the transfer window's just
closed and it's an international break. I will miss the three-year anniversary of this blog
tomorrow, but that's no great shakes. Here's a book review to hold you over. Don't break
anything.
Why England Lose and Other Curious Phenomena Explained
Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski
HarperSport
The title's obviously intriguing, it got a rare five-star review in FourFourTwo, and the
blurbs have compared it to Moneyball.
Part of what needs to be addressed this offseason is how much roster churn is necessary, and how
much would actually hurt the Sounders chances in 2010. There is an expectation amongst many fans
that a team should get better just by playing together, and if that is the case, then the Sounders
should have very little churn.
I couldn't focus specifically to any of the points so they become part of a processed post. So,
here they are, in no particular order as such.
1. Silvestre is fast becoming a player I appreciate. Not for his football ability per se but
because of how he has handled unfair criticism and led inexperienced sides quietly without making
too much of a fuss.
The news of Frank Rijkaard's appointment as the new manager of Galatasaray has certainly made head
waves across Turkiye. In the wake of Galatasaray's mediocre season the news of Rijkaard's signing
is a coup in Turkiye and has almost eclipsed the celebrations by Istanbul rivals Besiktas of their
well deserved league-cup double this season.
The latest in ridiculous transfer stories is the one about United's bid for Liverpool's Fernando
Torres. Much as we rate the Spaniard, it's not a deal that makes sense. There's been talk about
Liverpool's reported financial situation that will force Liverpool's hand. But let all that talk
not fool you.
A nice piece in The Telegraph with Stephen Ireland talking about the effect Roberto Mancini has
made in the short space of time he has been at the club:
"You just have to respect the decision and adjust to the new manager's ideas and get used to his
ways. If you want to be part of things here, and be part of where we are going, then you just have
to get on with things.
