KingsX

Pure luck. He only scores off set pieces

Today FiveThirtyEight.com topped off their new football statistics by unveiling world club rankings. The famous Leicester City debut at number 68: south of Ajax, but north of Anderlecht. The top ten: Claudio’s Nantes at 98. Young Boys 114, Old Boys 258. Derby 242 and Forest a lowly 317. Heroic Chapacoense 198. Sorry Spacemunky, your Toronto FC down at 171 -- but still ahead of Huddersfield 173 and Wolves 258. etc etc … This list is built on a thin scaffold of statistics and data points, trying to square up apples with oranges. But their track record is of refining their models into some of the best team rankings in American sports, and it will be interesting to see what they do with the world’s most popular sport. In the meantime … a quality time waster which can be visited in between refreshing crap transfer threads here. It will be updated after each match to ensure addictive potential. No comment on their methodology or results. If interested start on https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/global-club-soccer-rankings/ and nose around.

Fox again offering more pretty-good football than one person can consume: Napoli v Nice, Olympiacos v Rijeka, Celtic v Astana. Unfortunately Sevilla are the one game not being shown. Eight “Champions League” near-qualifiers, and at most two who would be favored against us on neutral ground. Celtic-Astana so far like watching a lower-half of the table MLS match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xsDe_4xwZE One of the most astonishingly brainless own goals ever, dooms Young Boys v CSKA. And in stoppage time

Time to bump this ... in honor of Kramaric's pathetic peno

Is there no Champions League 17-18 thread yet?

Anybody pulled the trigger yet? The PL Pass website page shows only the first three weeks of matches, and lists only three to five matches per week. I thought all non-televised PL matches were included. All "big six" games will likely be on NBCSN or CNBC, but I might have to rethink, if the whole LCFC schedule is not covered. Would be nice to know if the quality of the streams is at least as good as in the past -- and how well the on-demand feature works.

FiveThirtyEight is doing European football. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/ This is the site of Nate Silver, who famously called all 50 states in our 2012 presidential election, since purchased by ESPN and with emphasis on sports as well as politics. (My favorite site for team ratings and predictions in US baseball, hoops and college football.) This is a heads-up, not a review -- I have not looked into their methodology and these guys have little or no history with the sport. Check it out if it interests you. As to Saturday:

And now Pogba. Scary. I'm sure their price to win the league has dropped today.

Worth the 90 minutes to see Kane miss two sitters.

You look at those lineups and you have to feel, we've seen the last of the giant killing for today.

Already melting after Cahill's red, before Burnley even tallied. Some kind of existential dread over there.

No good way to do it IMO. Headed down the slope to this ...

Mom lives in Spring Branch and sis in New Braunfels; I'm down there about a week a year, but without a car.

Thanks. Fox guy said the straight red, unlike two yellows, would count into the season.

Harsh red. Does Pedro now miss three (including Spurs and Everton)? This match must be a manager's nightmare. Much more fiercely contested than other sides' "last friendly" with real chance of suspensions as well as injuries.

Total revenue from the PL-winning season was reported as 172M euros (now £155 million). The CL season plus new TV money will push to over 200M euros, maybe about even with Roma. That is the high-water mark for now. Refer (over and over as necessary) to what Babylon and The Doctor have said very well above. Some day soon you will be making your own way and competing in the adult world, and start to figure out many things.

ESPN will broadcast live games from the English Football League in the United States this season. BAMTech, of which ESPN is a minority owner, reached a deal this week to acquire the U.S. rights to the games in the second, third and fourth divisions of English football -- the Championship, League One and League Two -- as well as the Carabao Cup, the newly rebranded league cup. ESPN then reached a separate agreement with BAMTech to air the games, which will primarily be shown on digital platforms through WatchESPN, ESPN3 and the ESPN App. http://www.espnfc.us/english-league-championship/story/3171545/espn-to-broadcast-english-football-league-games-in-us-this-season Sunderland v sheep will be the first match to stream.

My education continues. Duly repped.

If I knew what a munter was I would probably rep this post

Of all the Silly Season threads, this for me is the one worth reading every post. Some of our cr@p, you just assume (or hope) the club is taking zero notice. This thread should be printed out and passed around the offices.

Spurs Lite = Fulham have finally nailed it this time. Sucks beyond belief

Beauty! That, the Everton game and the Ohio State Buckeyes championship game are the only three "do not erase" recordings on our DVR.

More entertaining than classic, this Open. Good on Jordan. Not sure how he put the wheels back on, much less immediately found another gear.

Johnny Miller: "I don't know what to make of this. He goes from the worst drive I've ever seen a pro hit, to two holes of perfect golf."