First, I must highlight a new soccer analytics aggregator of which I am a contributor. It's called Soccer Analysts, and contains material from some of my favorite blogs. I am honored to be a contributor, and I recommend you add it to your RSS feed.
And now, your weekly links:
- Run of Play has a great thought exercise on whether the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules will actually level the playing field or simply freeze the stratified nature of the Premier League.
- TwoFootedTackle.com wonders if we're all taking soccer a bit too seriously and ruining the game. I can't help but feel I might fall into the category of the recent fan who is ruining a very old game.
- MLS Talk lays out their expectations for the upcoming season. My Sounders are a consistent 3/4 finisher in the West, meaning they would have a shot at the first round bye in this year's playoffs.
- TwoFootedTackle talks about the appeal of MLS in *gasp* the UK. The future of the league may be bright if its talent can continue to grow.
- Tim at 7AM Kickoff warns against a "blow the team up" mentality with Arsenal, and instead suggests that it's Wenger's mess to clean up. Conversely, Paul Tomkins is envious of Arsenal's consistent qualification for Europe.
- Chris from Soccer By the Numbers gets an awesome guest post at the NY Times' Goal blog on how MLS statistically compares to European leagues.
- 7AM Kickoff lists the percentage of games played by each Arsenal player over the last several seasons, highlighting one of the key components of the trophyless era: injuries. I'd be interested to see how Arsenal's injury rate compares to other teams.
- The Swiss Ramble has a great post about why the growth in Premier League revenue may be slowing, and how this might impact clubs during the Financial Fair Play era.
- Soccer By The Numbers highlights the value (or deficit) of a red card. The short story: it equals home pitch advantage. Read the post to get even more insights.
I will conclude by saying "what a difference three weeks makes!" My Gunners were riding high off a win over Barcelona. Since then they have bowed out of three competitions and are limping into the final 10 games. It starts this weekend against West Bromwich Albion. Here's hoping Arsene Wenger can do the near impossible, and win the league with a starting XI cost (in terms of transfer fees) less than the league average.
The beginning of the MLS season didn't go any better for my Sounders, with a loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy coming on Tuesday night. It's off to New York this weekend to play Theirry Henry and the Red Bulls. Nothing like stacking the start of the season with the best competition the league has to offer!
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