Spurs lead the stats with Dnipro having +13 VA. A much greater level of over and underperformance in division 2. Spurs finish 7 places higher than expected and finish 2nd in the real table but just pip champs Villa in the stats.  Dnipro make the playoffs not bad for a relegation favourite but that has…

Chelsea champions and stop of the stats.  Espanyol and Real Madrid make great progress. A few notes. Value added is literally how many places above the expected position a club finishes. PVA or positional value added is the value added +1  divided by the finishing position, so a high position counts more. Chelsea are well…

Rubin and Inter lead the pack is defence the best form of attack in division 5. Both the leading clubs have a good keeper and defence combo and a fairly strong attack. Athletic club also have a strong keeper and stronger attack in the top and tail approach.   Twente and Spartak have 87 rated keepers…

Five teams in the fight for the title in Division 4. It seems that Division 4 will have at least 2 really disappointed teams that most years would have grabbed an automatic place but will now be in the playoffs at best . Celta Vigo have a strong attack and a good midfield. With a…

Will West Brom’s strike force carry them to the title? A huge reliance on a potent strike force has worked well in the past in D3 and West Brom have all the tools to pull off that trick.   They sit well above Zagreb the next best attacking side and Sassulo who pack the back line…

Genoa certain to return to Division 1? What about the rest Genoa are by rights a mid table D1 side and while nothing is guaranteed they lead every important stat except defence. There are then maybe 4 other teams in for a good shout at the remaining 2 automatic places.  Anderlecht have huge depth and…

Barcelona and Chelsea top the table. First of all the explanations. This is purely statistical and takes no account of squad building or managerial ability. How it works: I look at the likely picks for the first eleven and take an average of the ability in Gk, Def, Mid , Att and the Top 18th…

Cruziero top of the league and top of the stats. No one could doubt that a league winner with +5 VA should lead the stats, Sau Paulo the 2nd place team in real life only figure 8th in the stats despite a great season. Montpellier are 2nd in the stats they made the play offs…

The 3rd 2nd 1st are 1st 2nd 3rd in the stats. A great season by Fenerbache give them the highest VA in D4 at +11 and PVA at +4 and a promotion spot.  Celtic on the basis of finishing 3 positions above expected are second in the stats with leaders Wolfsburg in 3rd. Sampdoria in…

Dnipro +15 VA and +8 PVA fantastic achievement. Relegation prospects to 2nd spot , hard to beat really in terms of achievement and a great year by Dnipro.  Augsburg were much the most consistent team of the year and they needed to turn over their last 4 opponents to even win the title by 3…