Much has transpired in the world of soccer statistics over the past four years since I first published: Possession with Purpose - An Introduction and some Explanations. Three years ago I published my Possession with Purpose - Revised Introduction. In 2014 the concept was presented at the World Conference on Science and Soccer 2014. Last year the concept... Continue Reading →
Gluck – Predicting Team Standings in Professional Soccer
CAN IT BE DONE? Over the last four years I've conducted research on various professional soccer leagues and competitions. To include Major League Soccer, the English, German, and Spanish Premier Leagues, as well as the UEFA Champions League and the Men's World Cup of 2014. Here's my latest analyses on how the Possession with Purpose... Continue Reading →
Major League Soccer – Can it truly reach the heights of top European Leagues by 2025?
What prompted this piece was the recent article published on Soccer By Ives about Don Garber's vision for MLS by 2025 : http://www.sbisoccer.com/2015/09/insists-worlds-leagues.html It's a good article and worth the read. Editorial - In a follow up to this article (below) Stephen Brandt and I, on Yellowcardedpod, interview Brian Dunseth and Thomas Rongen on some... Continue Reading →
Possession with Purpose Total Soccer Index What is it?
In 2014 I created an Index to measure team performance; my goal was to create one number (exclusive of points scored) that could help me tell a story about team performance that isn't just about goals scored and goals against (Goal Differential). While I can't share the internal data points and algorithms anymore I can... Continue Reading →
Possession with Purpose – Prozone – and more…
No detailed statistics today - just a narrative to pass on a few tidbits as I prepare my End of Season analysis for Europe. The news: The European Season is ending. There's the winners, the losers, and those that stay afloat to live another year. I'll peel back the results on the English Premier League,... Continue Reading →
Control or Lack Thereof – MLS 2015
I originally posted this article on Stumptownfooty - an SB Nation blog site where I cover the Portland Timbers... For over two years I've been researching team and league statistics to help paint a picture and perhaps? better explain what is happening on the pitch relative to points earned in a league table. For the... Continue Reading →
Passing – More from Less – Barcley’s Premier League
In updating my Expected Wins series I thought I'd go back and take a look at what teams are performing the best (under the average) when it comes to some of the categories of Possession with Purpose. For starters, this week, let's look at Passing Volume; the league average is 433.75 Total Passes per game; when not reaching the... Continue Reading →
Barcley’s Premier League – How Goes It?
In my latest installment of Possession with Purpose in Europe I have a number of diagrams to offer to include the latest on the PWP Predictability Index. You'll note that in every case the PWP Correlation to the League Tables for all four competitions has stayed the same or gotten better. Also of interest is... Continue Reading →
Barcley’s Premier League Week 26 in Review
The CPWP Predictability Index has been on a pretty good run since starting it up about 3 weeks ago; so if things go well I'd expect about five/six out of eight games being spot on after this weekends games. For now here's what I offered last week followed by the outcome: Aston Villa v Stoke... Continue Reading →
Barcley’s Premier League Week 25 in Review and Week 26 Outlook
There appear to be seven teams in the real run-up to who makes Europe next year with the top four going for the major prize and the fifth team relegated, if you will, to the Europa League. I'm sure that isn't ideal for the likes of Arsenal, Southampton, Man City, Man United, Tottenham, or... Continue Reading →