Article Here Pretty cool. The rankings are pretty much for fan banter exclusively. Its a nice move for MLS.
One of the best things about MLS 2.0 is an attempt at better stat keeping. As a fan, it is exciting and one wonders what hidden patterns the data may reveal. I know the castrol index is probably more gimmick than useful tool, but it is one more sign of how soccer is becoming more accepted and mainstream in our country. Will stats ever play as big a part in analysis of the game as they do in baseball or in NFL football? It's hard to say for sure (there are some who claim the game is beyond statistical analysis) but one can only hope!!
what is the over under on posts before someone starts screaming about how stats are useless in soccer?
I always thought it would be cool if we had a rating system for performance like Kicker does in Germany. I don't know what the Castrol Index is, but if it's similar to that then I welcome it!
They are. So, I first say, let's see the full Opta on everyone. The Kicker, Sky Sports/Sun/Telegraph, L'Equipe, Voetbal Int. are all third part, aka independent, sport publications. Sky usually posts their grades right after the match. The French wait a little. The Germans publish it on Mondays. I suspect all sites combine personal judgment with the available stats.
Pardon my ignorance, but how is this a result of "MLS 2.0"? I thought that term was used on BS regarding expansion teams and how front offices(many with a lot more money than original teams) greatly adapted based on the success and failures of the original teams and league requirements(stadiums). I never read it as a league thing more than a front office success term. MLS hasn't always provided the best access(some are just for the teams), but there have been several measures used in the past for stat keeping.
Opta = in depth in game stats (quantitative) Castrol = compensatory method of evaluating performance over time and ranking players in a 1-n index (quantitative) Kicker = gameday ratings system (qualitative) Correct? A comparative, quantitative, longitudinal ranking system is a very welcome addition in my opinion, especially useful for monitoring the improvement of young players.
I use the term MLS 2.0 to refer in general to the "new era" of MLS and the momentum that seems to have been ushered ever since the advent of the "big name" DP era (Becks, Henry etc.) and expansion (like Toronto, Seattle etc.). I freely admit it is somewhat arbitrary to use the term in this way but there does seem to be a palpable difference in the air between today and 96 or even between today and 2001. I never said that stats werent used in the past--only that there seems to be an attempt at better stat keeping now than in the past. It reminds me of the NFL, the NFL always kept stats but they didint keep them in the same way they do now. For example for many years the sack wasnt even an official stat. With MLS the betterment starts with trying to provide better access to the fans.
The Kicker is entirely subjective but Bundesliga's own site publishes a fairly comprehensive statistical summary after each match. I strongly suspect that the Kicker journalists, who grade not only the players but the referees as well, rely on stats to support their opinions.
Yes, although OPTA actually has a comparative player rating over time, it's just that if they've published them for MLS I haven't seen them. (I've seen them for PL players.)
10 - I'm glad MLS is finding a way to make up for the 10 or so characters that Opta wastes on every twitter post by adding an additional word. Unnecessary.
My biggest fear or whatever you'd like to call it is overusing the index. I love how stats and rankings are used in other American sports but I'd hate to hear about a players castrol index during a match or what have you. But all in all this has been a great year for MLS. With "Soccer Night in America", the sponsors and what I consider a rise in level of play this has been a great year.
I think the Castrol Index uses Opta stats (e.g. number of completed passes) to generate it's aggregate metric of performance. So because the league is using Opta, Castrol is able to provide it's player index. http://www.optasports.com/success-stories/what-they-say.html?videofn=paul-goodmaker
unfortunate to see that the #2 and #3 players in the Castrol Index (Zakuani & Ferreira) are out of the league for the season.
Has been on the ball a ton for us and passed very well. One of the guys a lot of fans love to beat on for no reason.