Hey sorry I don't belong in these parts but I'm looking for 1-3 experts on both Austria's and Switzerland's current football team AND that are active on BigSoccer. (So a total of 2-4 people, to be clear. Unless there is overlap...) They need to be knowledgeable of the team, fair, and just. I'm doing a little bit of a project at the moment... Thanks!
Eh? There's just the right amount of Swiss (and to a far lesser extent, Austrian 'experts') for you on here. If it's info about Switzerland & Austria you want: best not to listen/read the BBC or any other english media. Switzerland (and Austria) don't exist in their world. It's only England, France, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Italy (from a Euro perspective) in their eyes. Far better to get your information here. 'One Day' the Swiss football team will really make the english media sit up and take note (in a Roger Federer kinda way) One Day.....which is what we're all waiting for
Then I am in the right place! Okay well I've messaged a couple of people but I'll go ahead and post here. I'm trying to put together some world rankings. The idea is to rate every team's player's 1-100 with an expert for every team to give a fair and just review of the their respective team. Obviously you guys would just cover Switzerland and Austria. Here's how I would compile the ratings. If the World Cup was in one month and every team had a month to prepare it's squad to play, who would be chosen, what would their ratings be, and how many minutes would they play on average? (This is who you would expect to see, not who you'd want to see.) For example, this is what USA's squad would look like, in my opinion: 81 - Howard (GK) 90 mins 73 - Cherundolo (RB) 70 mins 71.5 - Bocanegra (CB) 85 mins 69.5 - Goodson (CB) 70 mins 72.5 - Johnson (LB) 80 mins 74.5 - Bradley (CDM) 90 mins 76.5 - Jones (CDM) 80 mins 70 - Torres (CM) 60 mins 82 - Dempsey (LW) 90 mins 80.5 - Donovan (RW) 90 mins 74 - Altidore (ST) 75 mins 71.5 - Chandler (RB) 15 mins 70.5 - Lichaj (RB) 5 mins 69 - Parkhurst (CB/RB) 5 mins 68 - Onyewu (CB) 13 mins 69 - Cameron (CB) 7 mins 69.5 - Castillo (LB) 10 mins 69.5 - Edu (CM) 15 mins 70.5 - Beckerman (CM) 10 mins 68 - Boyd (ST) 3 mins 70 - Gomez (ST) 25 mins 68 - Wondolowski (ST) 2 mins I gave Howard a 81 rating and expect him to play 90 minutes, every minute, while Goodson is expected to play only 70 minutes as the CB spot is still pretty open for the US. This is what I have for Switz's and Austria's current squads, based off FIFA 12's ratings: 78 - D. Benaglio (GK) 90 mins 81 - S. Lichtsteiner (RB) 90 mins 72 - P. Senderos (RCB) 90 mins 76 - J. Djourou (LCB) 90 mins 76 - R. Ziegler (LB) 90 mins 80 - G. Inler (RDM) 90 mins 76 - B. Džemaili (LDM) 90 mins 78 - X. Shaqiri (RAM) 90 mins 71 - G. Xhaka (CAM) 90 mins 69 - F. Frei (LAM) 90 mins 79 - E. Derdiyok (ST) 90 mins 65 - Almer (GK) 90 mins 67 - Klein (RB) 90 mins 74 - Prodl (RCB) 90 mins 76 - Pogatetz (LCB) 90 mins 76 - Fuchs (LB) 90 mins 76 - Harnik (RM) 90 mins 71 - Baumgartlinger (RCM) 90 mins 76 - Alaba (LCM) 90 mins 75 - Ivanschitz (LM) 90 mins 76 - Arnautovic (CF) 90 mins 74 - Janko (ST) 90 mins So what needs to change? Are players ratings too high/low? Would you expect a sub to come in and, on average, how long would he play? You have to factor in long term injuries but current fitness issues you could likely ignore. For example, Stuart Holden will likely make the actual World Cup squad but for now I have to keep him off as he is recovering from a massive knee injury. This is a big work in progress but here is the current overall rankings. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AttujdNBdATWdHI3WVRSM2xDaWcycnZwbnFKTFRoS0E&output=html I know this should be taken with a grain of salt AND that there's no "correct" answer but I thought it'd still be interesting to compile. If you have any questions let me know!
Oh just to be clear, this isn't really a World Cup roster prediction. Nor is this a logical roster prediction. Yes there are 23 players listed for USA but there is only one goalie and ten defenders. Also the limited time doesn't indicate a substitution. It simply means that on average, I would expect Altidore to play 75 minutes. Maybe he sits out one game completely and plays another three full games. Hope that covers it!
In general, stats count for very little. The outcome of a football match is largely/ultimately determined by the referee and his/her assistants. 'Big' clubs/countries tend to get the favourable decisions (as seen on TV on a regular basis) Given a 'good' ref any club/country would do well. We all remember Behrami being unfairly sent-off vs Chile in WC2012 and Ziegler harshly sent-off vs Wales in the Euro Q's. Switzerland arguably lost both games 'thanks' to the ref. Sir Alex F is well-known for 'intimidating' refs.....which explains rather a lot - but best not to get too controversial. ;-)
I seem to have lost the 'edit' facility on here. Anyway, I meant WC2010 and not 2012. Perhaps I should stick to Twitter? @depechedmodem All welcome
To a large extent 'yes' The ref is *by far* the most important 'player' on the pitch (way more important than the manager - who tends to make substitutions after 68 - 78 minutes or so in a predictable kind of way) i.e. The side is losing and a striker is brought on. The side is winning and a defender/defensive midfielder is brought on. The ref has the last word though (sometimes after having a chat with his/her assistants) It really is as simple as that. Managers are vastly overrated whilst referees are vastly underrated. The players are to *some* extent just 'players' and have to abide with what the ref decides - esp if they're 'sent off' Good luck with your stats etc, but make a mention of how important the ref & co are in determining the outcome of match.
I'd say that I've one of the most *realistic* Have you been watching Euro 2012 lately? Do you want a list of 'incorrect' ref decisions? If not from me....just ask a Greek/Danish/Irish fan. .......And I've only been paying scant attention as there's no country involved that I'm particularly interested in. I enjoy/like the German National Anthem ('our' northern buddies').....and that's about it. However, some people think that the manager is more significant/important than the ref! Strange.
They all received just exits to me. Greece lost 4-2 to Germany, after advancing from their group when they really shouldn't have; Denmark got third place when they should have gotten last; Ireland played really bad (-8 GD in three games). But I understand your point.
Cheers. OK. The English media first got excited about Russia, then Portugal....and then Germany (whilst always being 'excited' about England of course) As ever, they got it wrong and the 'no-hopers' (according to them) Italy made it through to the Final. Being a fan of Switzerland (in England) I *never ever* get to hear anything about the Schweizer Nati......unless England get to play them of course - or maybe 'something' about Senderos. Stay tuned to the assorted threads regarding Swiss news on here from those 'in the know' (i.e RTA/Magicam/PB/our great illustrious leader/moderator SwissGCZ) ;-) Hopp Schwiiz!