If you've read my previous article on Expected Wins 4 (Is European Football Really Higher Quality than Major League Soccer) you'll know that there are teams out there who can, and do win, 'without' exceeding 50% possession. In my next evolution of analysis, using the Family of Possession with Purpose Indicators on Major League Soccer, here's some... Continue Reading →
MLS – Week 29 – Gregg Berhalter – Manager of the Year? I think so…
Most should know, by now, that the top teams in MLS are queueing up for the final playoff push while others sit in dispair and wonder what's gone wrong... I'll dig into that, in detail, in a few weeks - for now let's take a look at those teams on the cusp (a whole bunch I... Continue Reading →
Major League Soccer – Week 28 – A Union divided? Not now…
Twenty eight games in - the screws are tightening and the pucker factor hit the Vancouver Whitecaps big time; see here: Valeri's vicious volley from Villafana vanquishes Vancouver. For me though, the real story is how the tables have turned in Philadelphia - I'll get to that in just a wee bit - for now here's... Continue Reading →
Possession with Purpose – Who’s hot and who’s not in the last ten weeks?
A different view on Possession with Purpose in Major League Soccer this week.... this time around I'll be offering up my Indices using just that last ten weeks of the MLS Regular season to look for any trends in who's better or worse compared to the season as a whole. For those not familiar with... Continue Reading →
Week 17 in MLS (2013 versus 2014) PWP; And what about DC United this year?
Over a year has passed since my first broad strokes about Possession with Purpose were applied to Major League Soccer; since then we've had one full year to look at it and how things have played out. So how do things stack up today versus Week 17 last year, and, is something going on with... Continue Reading →
What did Philadelphia do different in beating New England this past weekend?
What, if anything, did Philadelphia Union do that was different from their historical averages so far this year? If you're reading this article first - you may want to check out this article on Composite Possession with Purpose (CPWP) Predictability Index, results for Week 16 in Major League Soccer, first to see why I am offering it.... Continue Reading →
PWP Predictability Index vs MLS Results Week 16
While I didn't venture any predictions for this past weekend in Major League Soccer I thought it would be fun to see how the overall Composite Possession with Purpose (CPWP) Index fared compared to the results in Week 16. As a reminder here is the CPWP Predictability Index from Week 15: Vancouver at home to... Continue Reading →
MLS Soccer – Week 14 – The best and worst in Possession with Purpose
Been a really busy past two weeks for me and it's good to nestle back into a routine offering for your consideration. That being said I should appropriately note that I met some really superb people this past week at the World Conference on Science and Soccer. It's a small world when you meet someone... Continue Reading →