Harrison and Matty discuss their two most recent articles, respectively about Harrison's Shots Created per 90 statistic and Matty's obsessive need to put RSL down because its players are more gooder at soccer than he is. It's a short one, perfect for your commute![mixcloud http://www.mixcloud.com/hkcrow/asa-podcast-xliv-the-one-where-we-talk-about-what-we-write/ width=660 height=180 /]
I've briefly mentioned the stat Total Shots Created before. Basically it's how frequently a player contributes to the moment leading to an attempt on goal. It's one that I like a lot in terms of crediting individual players for their single contributions to the team's efforts. Obviously there are other elements to a match that are also important and lead to definitive events that have predictive value (i.e. other things that players can do to help a team win). However, shots are one of the more valuable numbers out there and available. There is also the little fact that everyone loves goals. Goals are awesome and invoke celebrations. Shot deflections, all out blocked shots, or midfield recoveries hardly elicit the same reaction from friends but arguably hold near as much individual performance weight/value to the team. With all the emphasis on shots and individual production there is another number worth mentioning: %Tsh (Percentage of Team Shots). It's a pretty percentage of how many of the total team shots a player was involved in creating, not just shooting himself.
This time around, the list is compiled of the top 50 players in shot creation based upon the shots they've taken, assists that they've been attributed, or other shots they've created by their passing ability. Players below have been sorted by their %Tsh.
| Player | Club | POS | GP | GS | MINS | G | A | SHTS | KP | SH-C | ShC-90 | Total Team Shots | %Tsh |
| Federico Higuain | CLB | F | 5 | 5 | 448 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 17 | 37 | 7.43 | 71 | 52.11% |
| Pedro Morales | VAN | M | 6 | 4 | 407 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 30 | 6.63 | 67 | 44.78% |
| Fabian Espindola | DC | F | 5 | 5 | 441 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 4.90 | 55 | 43.64% |
| Mauro Diaz | DAL | M | 6 | 6 | 515 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 27 | 4.72 | 62 | 43.55% |
| Robbie Keane | LA | F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 29 | 7.25 | 68 | 42.65% |
| Mauro Rosales | CHV | M | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 27 | 4.50 | 64 | 42.19% |
| Lloyd Sam | NY | M | 6 | 6 | 531 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 16 | 30 | 5.08 | 74 | 40.54% |
| Landon Donovan | LA | M-F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 26 | 6.50 | 68 | 38.24% |
| Giles Barnes | HOU | M | 5 | 5 | 437 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 5 | 27 | 5.56 | 71 | 38.03% |
| Diego Valeri | POR | M | 6 | 6 | 518 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 5.56 | 85 | 37.65% |
| Erick Torres | CHV | F | 6 | 6 | 524 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 4.12 | 64 | 37.50% |
| Thierry Henry | NY | F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 8 | 27 | 6.75 | 74 | 36.49% |
| Shea Salinas | SJ | M | 0 | 360 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 23 | 5.75 | 69 | 33.33% | |
| Alvaro Saborio | RSL | F | 6 | 6 | 540 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 22 | 3.67 | 66 | 33.33% |
| Felipe Martins | MTL | M | 6 | 6 | 536 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 32 | 5.37 | 97 | 32.99% |
| Justin Mapp | MTL | M | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 32 | 5.33 | 97 | 32.99% |
| Gilberto | TOR | F | 4 | 4 | 333 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 5.41 | 62 | 32.26% |
| Michael Bradley | TOR | M | 343 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 5.25 | 62 | 32.26% | ||
| Deshorn Brown | COL | F | 5 | 4 | 366 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 20 | 4.92 | 62 | 32.26% |
| Teal Bunbury | NE | F | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 24 | 4.00 | 75 | 32.00% |
| Clint Dempsey | SEA | M | 4 | 3 | 303 | 6 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 26 | 7.72 | 84 | 30.95% |
| Obafemi Martins | SEA | F | 6 | 6 | 531 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 26 | 4.41 | 84 | 30.95% |
| Quincy Amarikwa | CHI | F | 6 | 5 | 475 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 26 | 4.93 | 84 | 30.95% |
| Eddie Johnson | DC | F | 5 | 5 | 441 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 3.47 | 55 | 30.91% |
| Graham Zusi | KC | F-M | 4 | 4 | 360 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 24 | 6.00 | 78 | 30.77% |
| Diego Fagundez | NE | M-F | 6 | 6 | 539 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 23 | 3.84 | 75 | 30.67% |
| Darren Mattocks | VAN | F | 6 | 6 | 490 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 3.67 | 67 | 29.85% |
| Chris Wondolowski | SJ | F-M | 4 | 4 | 360 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 20 | 5.00 | 69 | 28.99% |
| Joao Plata | RSL | F | 3 | 3 | 207 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 8.26 | 66 | 28.79% |
| Leo Fernandes | PHI | F | 5 | 3 | 326 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 21 | 5.80 | 74 | 28.38% |
| Dom Dwyer | KC | F | 5 | 4 | 340 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 22 | 5.82 | 78 | 28.21% |
| Brad Davis | HOU | M | 311 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 20 | 5.79 | 71 | 28.17% | ||
| Marco Di Vaio | MTL | F | 3 | 3 | 270 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 27 | 9.00 | 97 | 27.84% |
| Fabian Castillo | DAL | F | 6 | 6 | 539 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 17 | 2.84 | 62 | 27.42% |
| Will Johnson | POR | M | 6 | 6 | 539 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 3.84 | 85 | 27.06% |
| Maurice Edu | PHI | M | 6 | 6 | 540 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 20 | 3.33 | 74 | 27.03% |
| Hector Jimenez | CLB | M | 5 | 5 | 433 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 3.74 | 71 | 25.35% |
| Lamar Neagle | SEA | F | 6 | 5 | 416 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 21 | 4.54 | 84 | 25.00% |
| Mike Magee | CHI | F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 21 | 5.25 | 84 | 25.00% |
| Will Bruin | HOU | F | 5 | 5 | 449 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 3.41 | 71 | 23.94% |
| Bernardo Anor | CLB | M | 5 | 5 | 416 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 3.68 | 71 | 23.94% |
| Kenny Miller | VAN | F | 6 | 5 | 447 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 16 | 3.22 | 67 | 23.88% |
| Cristian Maidana | PHI | M | 5 | 4 | 293 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 5.22 | 74 | 22.97% |
| Vincent Nogueira | PHI | M | 6 | 6 | 540 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 2.83 | 74 | 22.97% |
| Michel | DAL | M-D | 6 | 3 | 312 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 4.04 | 62 | 22.58% |
| Vicente Sanchez | COL | F | 3 | 2 | 193 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 6.53 | 62 | 22.58% |
| Darlington Nagbe | POR | F-M | 6 | 6 | 490 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 3.49 | 85 | 22.35% |
| Juninho | LA | M | 4 | 4 | 358 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 3.77 | 68 | 22.06% |
| Benny Feilhaber | KC | M | 5 | 5 | 449 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 3.41 | 78 | 21.79% |
| Kyle Beckerman | RSL | M | 6 | 6 | 540 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 2.33 | 66 | 21.21% |
This list below is sorted by total ShC-90, shot creation per 90 minutes. The one stipulation I would make is to be careful when looking at some of the numbers below. Guys like Justin Meram end up at the top of the list after playing just 58 minutes and scoring a goal in that short time. This leads to incorrect perceptions of certain players, as well as providing horrible and trite narratives like "Justin Meram is the most underrated player ever." That might be true, but probably not. Just look out for small sample sizes.
| Player | Club | POS | GP | GS | MINS | G | A | SHTS | KP | SH-C | ShC-90 | Total Team Shots | %Tsh |
| Justin Meram | CLB | M | 5 | 0 | 58 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 12.41 | 71 | 11.27% |
| Yannick Djalo | SJ | M | 2 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 11.25 | 69 | 10.14% |
| Marco Di Vaio | MTL | F | 3 | 3 | 270 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 4 | 27 | 9.00 | 97 | 27.84% |
| Joao Plata | RSL | F | 3 | 3 | 207 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 8.26 | 66 | 28.79% |
| Clint Dempsey | SEA | M | 4 | 3 | 303 | 6 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 26 | 7.72 | 84 | 30.95% |
| Federico Higuain | CLB | F | 5 | 5 | 448 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 17 | 37 | 7.43 | 71 | 52.11% |
| Robbie Keane | LA | F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 11 | 29 | 7.25 | 68 | 42.65% |
| Kekuta Manneh | VAN | F | 6 | 1 | 167 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 7.01 | 67 | 19.40% |
| Thierry Henry | NY | F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 8 | 27 | 6.75 | 74 | 36.49% |
| Pedro Morales | VAN | M | 6 | 4 | 407 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 30 | 6.63 | 67 | 44.78% |
| Vicente Sanchez | COL | F | 3 | 2 | 193 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 6.53 | 62 | 22.58% |
| Landon Donovan | LA | M-F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 26 | 6.50 | 68 | 38.24% |
| Graham Zusi | KC | F-M | 4 | 4 | 360 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 24 | 6.00 | 78 | 30.77% |
| Dillon Serna | COL | M | 2 | 1 | 106 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 5.94 | 62 | 11.29% |
| Dom Dwyer | KC | F | 5 | 4 | 340 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 22 | 5.82 | 78 | 28.21% |
| Leo Fernandes | PHI | F | 5 | 3 | 326 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 21 | 5.80 | 74 | 28.38% |
| Brad Davis | HOU | M | 311 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 20 | 5.79 | 71 | 28.17% | ||
| Shea Salinas | SJ | M | 0 | 360 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 23 | 5.75 | 69 | 33.33% | |
| Giles Barnes | HOU | M | 5 | 5 | 437 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 5 | 27 | 5.56 | 71 | 38.03% |
| Diego Valeri | POR | M | 6 | 6 | 518 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 5.56 | 85 | 37.65% |
| Gilberto | TOR | F | 4 | 4 | 333 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 5.41 | 62 | 32.26% |
| Felipe Martins | MTL | M | 6 | 6 | 536 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 32 | 5.37 | 97 | 32.99% |
| Justin Mapp | MTL | M | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 18 | 32 | 5.33 | 97 | 32.99% |
| Mike Magee | CHI | F | 4 | 4 | 360 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 21 | 5.25 | 84 | 25.00% |
| Michael Bradley | TOR | M | 343 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 5.25 | 62 | 32.26% | ||
| Cristian Maidana | PHI | M | 5 | 4 | 293 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 5.22 | 74 | 22.97% |
| Lloyd Sam | NY | M | 6 | 6 | 531 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 16 | 30 | 5.08 | 74 | 40.54% |
| Chris Wondolowski | SJ | F-M | 4 | 4 | 360 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 20 | 5.00 | 69 | 28.99% |
| Quincy Amarikwa | CHI | F | 6 | 5 | 475 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 26 | 4.93 | 84 | 30.95% |
| Deshorn Brown | COL | F | 5 | 4 | 366 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 20 | 4.92 | 62 | 32.26% |
| Fabian Espindola | DC | F | 5 | 5 | 441 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 4.90 | 55 | 43.64% |
| Jermain Defoe | TOR | F | 3 | 3 | 242 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 4.83 | 62 | 20.97% |
| Mauro Diaz | DAL | M | 6 | 6 | 515 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 27 | 4.72 | 62 | 43.55% |
| Lamar Neagle | SEA | F | 6 | 5 | 416 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 21 | 4.54 | 84 | 25.00% |
| Kelyn Rowe | NE | M | 2 | 2 | 179 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4.53 | 75 | 12.00% |
| Mauro Rosales | CHV | M | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 27 | 4.50 | 64 | 42.19% |
| Obafemi Martins | SEA | F | 6 | 6 | 531 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 26 | 4.41 | 84 | 30.95% |
| Steven Lenhart | SJ | F | 3 | 3 | 258 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 4.19 | 69 | 17.39% |
| Erick Torres | CHV | F | 6 | 6 | 524 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 4.12 | 64 | 37.50% |
| Saer Sene | NE | M | 6 | 4 | 286 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 4.09 | 75 | 17.33% |
| Michel | DAL | M-D | 6 | 3 | 312 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 4.04 | 62 | 22.58% |
| Teal Bunbury | NE | F | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 24 | 4.00 | 75 | 32.00% |
| Juan Luis Anangono | CHI | F | 6 | 1 | 113 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3.98 | 84 | 5.95% |
| Sal Zizzo | KC | F | 5 | 4 | 367 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 3.92 | 78 | 20.51% |
| Dwayne De Rosario | TOR | M | 5 | 3 | 254 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 3.90 | 62 | 17.74% |
| Bradley Wright-Phillips | NY | F | 5 | 2 | 278 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 3.88 | 74 | 16.22% |
| Diego Fagundez | NE | M-F | 6 | 6 | 539 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 23 | 3.84 | 75 | 30.67% |
| Will Johnson | POR | M | 6 | 6 | 539 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 3.84 | 85 | 27.06% |
| David Texeira | DAL | F | 5 | 2 | 211 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 3.84 | 62 | 14.52% |
| Marco Pappa | SEA | M | 4 | 2 | 165 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 3.82 | 84 | 8.33% |
Overall, we're still just getting used to this statistic, but it seems like it could help dig a little deeper into valuing those players that don't always directly put the goal in the back of the net, but still play a key role in their teams' abilities to do so.
I know, I know, week seven is already starting. It's not my fault the schedule-makers started putting games on Wednesdays - I can barely finish catching up on the previous week's games before the next weekend begins. Here come my thoughts on the three games I caught from last weekend: DC United 1 - 0 New York Red Bulls
Stat that told the story for New York: 135 passes; 36 crosses; 19 shots in attacking third
This game wasn't too much different than any others for New York this year - they played passably but were lackluster, especially in the final third. As the image above shows, Red Bulls certainly saw enough of the ball in the attacking third to get a goal. But far too many of the possessions in attack were basically in slow motion. The Red Bulls sent in 36 crosses, yet none of them led to a goal. To build to these crosses, New York slowly passed the ball around for two minutes then fiiinnnaallllyyy got the ball to the flank to be sent in. This slow play let DC's back line get set and ready for any attack. If New York wants to regain last year's Supporters' Shield form, they'll need to find some urgency in attack and build some moves before allowing the opposition to get settled.
Stat that told the story for DC: 1675 career MLS games played by starting eleven
This game wasn't terribly interesting from a DC standpoint (they nicked an early goal from a set piece, then defended resolutely to eke out a 1-0 win), so I'm going to use this space to wax philosophical about this team and the state of the league. United re-made their roster this offseason with veteran MLS players, so much so that the starting lineup this week averaged 152 career games. And that includes two guys who drastically bring that number down: Cristian Fernandez (new to the league this year) and Andrew Dykstra (the team's usual backup 'keeper). Now, experience doesn't mean talent, and a criticism can be made that DC lacks difference makers. But if you took this same roster and put them in the 2010 MLS season, I have trouble imagining that they would miss the playoffs. Here in 2014, they'll likely be in a season-long scrap for one of the final playoff spots. I don't mean this shpiel to diminish DC or their roster; I just want to make a point that MLS has clearly improved over the last several years to a point where even a very solid roster will have trouble making the postseason.
Toronto FC 0 - 1 Colorado Rapids
Stat that told the story for Toronto: 134 recorded actions for Kyle Bekker; 85 recorded actions for Jeremy Hall
Not all 1-0 soccer games are boring, but this one definitely was. Sorry. The biggest thing that I gleaned from this one about TFC had to do with their central midfield. Kyle Bekker, a high-potential but so far low-performance Canadian, put in a fantastic performance for the Reds. This is only one game and I'm prone to hyperbole, but he kind of looked like a young Michael Bradley in the way he commanded the game. Contrast that with the performance of his midfield partner, the veteran Jeremy Hall. Hall isn't the same type of player as Bekker, better suited to playing sound positionally than creating chances, but he was clearly less influential than Bekker. This isn't meant to be a criticism for either player or Toronto as a club - the fact is, these are the team's third and fourth central midfielders, which means they're pretty well off as far as MLS teams go.
Stat that told the story for Colorado: 4 central midfielders in the starting lineup
For the second game in a row, Pablo Mastroeni started a midfield of Jose Mari, Nathan Sturgis, Dillon Powers and Nick LaBrocca. All four of those guys are central midfielders by trade, putting them in a diamond shape that doesn't provide much width. The fullbacks (especially Thomas Piermayr) and forwards (especially Gabriel Torres) did a decent job of providing that width, but the cramped midfield still struggled at times. Moving the ball through the midfield was a task for the Rapids, and switching the field from one side all the way to the other flank was quite a task for the squad. It comes as no surprise that the game's only goal came from one of the few successful switches of field that the Rapids pulled off; they'll need to continue doing that in the future whether they stick with the diamond midfield or not.
LA Galaxy 1 - 0 Vancouver Whitecaps
Stat that told the story for LA: Robbie Keane & Landon Donovan's heat maps
Last week I wrote about LA's diamond midfield and how successful it was against Chivas. I left out a big part of why this was successful: the interchanging of the forwards with that diamond midfield. In Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, the Galaxy have a couple of special players who don't fit the mold of any particular type of striker. Both of these guys' heat maps were all over the place against Vancouver, and it was their checking to the midfield and midfielders' willingness to run forward into the space that made them hard to defend. LA only scored once, but they looked dangerous on many other occasions thanks to this interplay.
Stat that told the story for Vancouver: Russell Teibert: 5 recoveries, 3 interceptions, 2 clearances
Vancouver has been starting two defensive midfielders for most of this season, generally featuring Matias Laba and Nigel Reo-Coker. Reo-Coker's poor play to start the season led to his benching in Los Angeles, and they were forced to throw regular winger Russell Teibert into that role this weekend. He looked better there than the usual guys, mostly because he has so much ability as a chance creator. Teibert gets pigeon-holed as a pure attacker, but he actually showed a real good ability to break up midfield play and keep possession in the holding role. Teibert played there some for the 'Caps in preseason as well, so I'm not sure where he fits in their long-term plans. I for one would vote that he sees more time in a holding or box-to-box role: he was a major reason Vancouver wasn't stampeded a la Chivas in Week 5 and brings a spark going forward that can also be helpful in that position.
Agree with my thoughts? Think I'm an idiot? Let me know. @MLSAtheist
It's a busy week for Philadelphia. If you get into Fantasy Football, it's my recommendation you have at least two players from the Union in your squad this week. Who they are is up to you - I have added Amobi Okugo and Raymon Gaddis. In considering my PWP Pick List this week, here are my prognostications based on not having any additional injury or suspension information than I was aware of Friday.
New York Red Bulls vs. Philadelphia Union: Bottom line here is that the overall tenor of the attack and defending of the Union has been better this year than New York. A more potent attack wasn't in the cards for the Red Bulls against DC United, and I'm just not seeing it happening here either.
Wenger added value early on, as did Edu later, against Real Salt Lake. That value should continue, provided Kimura still lines up as the right fullback for the Red Bulls. Yeah, it's hard to go against a team with the firepower of New York, but I'm just not linked in to seeing Mike Petke win a battle of chess against Hackworth - for whatever that means... Union take 3 points - I hate saying that again, but it is what it is. If Eckerlsey lines up with Sakagya, Olave and Miller, then New York wins.
Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution: This is a tough one - both teams are performing well early. The hitch for the Revolution has been scoring goals while the giddy-up for Chicago has been a renewed attack with Amarikwa leading the way. If Amarikwa gets a goal against the stingy defense of New England, the Fire remain on fire. Otherwise I can see this game finishing in a nil-nil draw.
Philadelphia Union vs Houston Dynamo: I'm not sure why I feel this way, but my thinking is the Union defense won't be able to contain a renewed dynamic Dynamo, with a return of David Horst and a focused Will Bruin (one of the more normal #9's in MLS) after having just played 3 days ago against a Red Bulls teams that was itching for it's first win. I don't see this as a high scoring game but Houston gets my head nod this week.
Colorado Rapids entertain San Jose Earthquakes: A solid three points last week saw the Rapids take advantage of an injury depleted Toronto side. San Jose continues to have one of the poorer performing defenses across MLS this year and I see the Rapids rapidly taking advantage of that. Might we see Brown get the nod to start against what I consider to be a slower defensive center-back pairing of Bernardez and Goodson? Rapids win.
Vancouver returning home to face LA in a quick back-to-back out West: Hard to see Vancouver take three points here against a team that completely dominated the PWP six-step process against them just this past week; the Whitecaps will be lucky to escape with a draw but I think they can in the friendly confines of BC Place. If not, LA is slamming its foot down early this year and, like Seattle, if they can muster points early on this season, then most of the other teams will be chasing the Galaxy.
Columbus Crew vs DC United: Can DC win three on the trot - not likely if Columbus are healthy and firing on all cylinders. Berhalter was probably okay with 1 point traveling out to San Jose this past week, but three points are three points. To set the tone for a continued presence atop the Eastern Conference, this is a game the Crew should win; 3 points to Columbus.
FC Dallas entertains a still hurting Toronto: If Toronto is going to win this game, they need to contain a very aggressive Dallas attack - an approach like they had against Seattle would do well for the Reds. Is everyone healthy? If so, I think the passive aggressive Reds can take three points in Dallas - if not then Dallas probably puts at least one past Toronto and wins at least 1-nil. Expect Toronto to have no more than 40% of the possession this game... key is Defoe and Bradley teaming up to penetrate the weak center of Dallas.
Sporting Kansas City vs Montreal: I may get burned on this one, but I think this is a no-brainer; Sporting take 3 points against a Montreal team that will probably have poor possession, poor penetration and poor results in shots on goal against one of the best defenses in MLS.
Real Salt Lake vs Portland Timbers: Wow - talk about a tough hill to climb so early in the season for Portland. What should have been 3 points melted away in the final 20 minutes to one point against a Chivas side that actually had 52% of the possession against Portland. Talk about a difference between one year and the next - if memory serves, the last time Portland entertained Chivas at home, they won putting three goals past the Goats. And in their last game of the season the Timbers put five past Chivas while having ~54% of the possession. I just don't see the Timbers taking three points here against the greatest nemesis of 2013 - Real wins. As a supporter of the Timbers, it really pains me to say that, but if Portland is going to turn this season into a positive before mid-April, then their defense REALLY needs to get better...
Chivas USA vs Seattle Sounders: It would be surprising, very surprising, to see the Goats take 3 points - or even 1 point - against Seattle. With Dempsey beginning to find his role (in attack and defense) I just don't see Chivas scoring unless they really abuse a slower Marshall in the center - otherwise there are simply too many attacking angles that the Sounders can offer - if there is a blowout this weekend it's likely to come here as Seattle take 3 points.
That's all for now - I was five for nine last week - not bad. It's always a dodge to offer up prognostications, but there you have it.
Next up my Cumulative PWP Indices through Week 6.
All the best,
Chris
You might not think that six weeks is enough to begin to categorize what teams are performing well and what teams aren't - I may even agree with you to an extent, but here's the thing: we're six weeks in, and patterns are beginning to take shape. Instead of just showing the combined Index for all 19 teams I'm going to split them up into the Eastern and Western Conferences to show a different view. And here's my link to the Introduction to PWP.
Here's all the Eastern Conference teams up after 6 weeks (note some teams have yet to play six games):
Observations:
The intent here is to offer up a graphic that shows which teams are performing better in attack than their opponents so far. No intent here to write off anyone, yet... too early for that with 28 games and a maximum of 84 points still being available.
Let's just say that Berhalter and Vermes have their teams in top gear - while Hackworth, Olsen, Petke, Heaps and Nelson are still fine tuning... as for Klopas, Yallop and Kinnear performance needs to get better and I'm sure they already know that.
As a reminder - this Index is the difference between how well a team executes the six primary steps of Possession with Purpose versus how well their opponents execute those same steps against them. A negative number thus means that, on average, the opponent is performing those six steps better (collectively) than that team.
I'm not a betting man yet on this Index, but if you think the odds are good that Columbus wins the Eastern Conference, then a flutter of $20/20 BPS might be a worthy chance. Spreading your bet across the field with Sporting Kansas City and one or two other teams might be worthy as well... for now I'm not seeing Montreal make it; but that's just me.
On to the Western Conference:
Observations:
Like the Eastern Conference, it's too early to go too deep, and the high flying teams play each other three times this year just like those guys back east; when LA and FC Dallas square off it should be interesting... all the while Colorado and Seattle continue to get better, with Vancouver and the ever present/haunting Real Salt Lake looking to make a strong mid-year run.
As for Portland - times are hard early on this year and a 15-game unbeaten streak would be a much needed does of medicine to put them into the thick of things. How San Jose and Chivas cope remains to be seen - and given the styles I've seen from them this year, it appears crosses are their primary way to penetrate.
If you're a betting guy, I'm even less sure about the West than the east at this point - for now spreading the bets where the odds are good seems a likely choice with LA probably being the front-runner... is this the year where big money shows value in the West, like New York garnered last year in the East?
As for the top performing PWP attacking teams in general; here's how they compare against each other across all of MLS:
Observations:
While there is no sure thing if you're looking for teams who are more likely to put goals past their opponents in multiples it's likely the top 5-10 teams are those that can - whether they prevent the same number of goals is a different story.
Note Real Salt Lake is in the top 7 here but sits in 6th place overall in the Western Conference PWP - for me that indicates Real are operating pretty much like they did last year; score goals and work harder than your opponent to score more goals while relying on your defense to keep you in the game... without that stoppage time goal by Edu this past weekend it's likely RSL would have been higher up the Western Conference PWP Index.
Note also that Sporting remain in the top ten for Attack - they've always been viewed as a great defending side - the higher up the attacking scale they reach the more likely they will be balanced for another run at the Championship.
On the other end - New England and Toronto are bottom dwellers here but they are getting points; why so low? In working their own style Toronto have started the season averaging just over 40% of the possession with just 64% accuracy in their overall passing - what we are seeing is timely penetration against opponents who are out of shape, position wise (for the most part) - recall also Defoe has been injured too.
As for New England - their accuracy and possession numbers are solid - where things drop off are their ability to create shots taken (2nd lowest in MLS so far this year) and their ability to convert those shots taken into shots on goal and goals scored. Their goals scored percentage based on shots on goal is just 12.22%. That is the lowest goal scoring conversion rate in MLS - and a whopping 56% points lower than FC Dallas - who have converted (on average) 68.33% of their shots on goal to goals scored...
Other notable pieces of information - both Columbus and LA are averaging better than 80% accuracy in 'all' passing totals; the teams doing the best in penetrating based upon total passes are New England (29.49%) with Houston, Columbus, Philadelphia and Chicago all hovering around 22%. The team creating the most shots given their final third penetration is San Jose at 26%, Toronto at 25% and Chicago at 25% - can you say counter and direct attack (be it on the ground or in the air)?
The teams most successful in putting shots on goal compared to shots taken are Colorado (42%) Real Salt Lake (42%) Vancouver (41%) and FC Dallas at (40%)...
Moving on to the Composite PWP Defending Index...
Observations:
Not much separates the good from the not so good and perhaps the ugly; and it's too early to label anyone as really ugly.
For now the team most successful in holding their opponents to low passing accuracy percentages are Sporting KC (opponents just 70.25% accurate per game) with Real holding opponents to 71.97% accuracy, DC United 71.98% accuracy and Philadelphia holding opponents to 71.55% accuracy.
As for allowing penetration based upon overall passes; opponents of San Jose penetrate over 24% of the time while Vancouver also permits opponents to penetrate about 24% of the time.
In opponents completing final third passes the team most successful in limiting completed passes in their defending third is LA at 12% while Toronto's defense offers up a stingy 13.57%.
The teams allowing the most shots taken versus passes completed in their defending third are Chivas at 41.65% and New York at 40.55% - you wonder why I keep harping on New York that's why... they just don't defend that well in their own final third...
Teams yielding the most goals scored per shots on goal, per game, are Chivas at 45% (begging the question: why couldn't Portland score more than one goal?), Philadelphia at 43% while LA Galaxy allows a stingy 17% of their opponents shots on goal converted into goals scored.
In closing...
Just week 6, but patterns continue to develop - as the season unfolds I'll do my best to offer up these tidbits for your consideration.
For the future, I have a post coming up that speaks to formations and defensive activities - still need about 4 more weeks for that one to have enough data to offer some observations on it.
All the best, Chris
You can follow me on twitter at @chrisgluckpwp
Those living up near the northeast coast of America should be pretty chuffed with that result this weekend against Houston - an early season defensive-minded team came in to visit, and the Revolution re-educated Kinnear and his Dynamo on what a defensive-minded team really looks like.
I'll get to that in a minute, but before doing so, my link to what PWP is all about and then my recap on my PWP-Pick-List for last week and how the end results shook out. In the future, look for the Pick-List in its own post.
Here's what I said in my "PWP-Pick-List" and then just beneath the outcome:
All told - in my maiden pix for week six - I was five out of nine... with three of my four losses coming via 2nd half equalizers by the teams I picked to lose - bollocks...
By the way - in case you missed it before here is a link to my PWP introduction...
Now for this weeks PWP - here's the Composite Index for Week 6 (only):
Observations...
No question here that New England were the top performing team this week. A 2-nil shutout (at home) should be a warning to the rest of the Eastern Conference that Jay Heaps has his team beginning to perform at its best.
What's really good to see about this team is how well the fullbacks integrated into the attack without forgetting that the first job is defense. In a league where I think defense is considered a second-class citizen, the Revolution don't play that way... for me a welcomed site. More to follow...
A late surprise for me was seeing how well Philadelphia performed this past weekend against a very strong Real Salt Lake - granted it was the 90+ minute mark before Edu equalized, but there's never a wrong time to score - there's only a wrong time to give up a goal.
The LA Galaxy got the expected result against Vancouver - the overall outputs from LA this game were just stunning... they offered up 617 passes; more than 500 of them completed with over 100 of those within the final third - I didn't watch the game but it is likely the Vancouver defense was pulled and pushed and poked to exhaustion.
That being said, the achilles heel for Vancouver last year was their defense - although they lost 1-nil they did a pretty good job all things considered - so the result didn't go in their favor but they should take some positives away from that game in how well they maintained the LA attack around that lone goal by Keene.
On the flip side - Houston started the season quite strong and it is likely Kinnear will get them firing on all cylinders again.
What was missing - at least in my view - was David Horst; that red card was double punishment for the Dynamo last week and his return should bring back a more solid back four.
With that said - and seeing how things continue to develop - I have begun my swap out my Dynamo defenders on my Fantasy team - I'll begin to rotate in a couple of New England players and maybe someone from DC United? More to follow on that thought in my Cumulative PWP Index article later this week.
Moving on to my PWP Attacking team of the week...
Observations:
A surprise for some I'm sure - the winner this week is a team that drew 2-2 - while Seattle and Clint Dempsey traveled to FC Dallas and took three points... why?
For me it's down to the tenor of the overall attack - here's the differences (by the basic numbers) between those two teams this week - Philadelphia had the edge in possession (~55% to ~50%); their overall passing accuracy was ~76% compared to ~74%; while Seattle penetrated more often (23% to 20%) and put more shots on goal (46% vs 15%), the Union converted their two shots on goal into two goals scored (100% to 50% for Seattle)...
In a few words that means Seattle had more quantity in creating chances within the final third while the Union had more quality with their fewer chances... this has been the norm for many teams this past year-and-a-half within my PWP analysis - quality will beat quantity - not just in the statistics of the game, but in the regular run of play in the game.... it's always good to see statistics support what the eye sees.
Bottom line here though isn't the intent to minimze the success of Seattle - they took three points and Dempsey had another stellar game - but when looking at the comprehensive view of the game - more of the overall PWP parts of the game were executed better by Philadelphia than Seattle.
Other thoughts - Real Salt Lake performed in the top ten again as did FC Dallas and LA Galaxy - Portland edged its way into the 7th position this week and with that draw to Chivas it's a double-edged sword for Porter - the Timbers continue to improve in the overall attack - but they also continue to lack focus for a full 90+ minutes in defense.
How long before we see the Timbers begin to shake the trees to see what falls out for a defensive addition in the summer transfer window - perhaps another double-edged sword was the inclusion of Michael Harrington into the USMNT training scheme - has that reward created an issue for Harrington?
Both he and Kah were directly accountable for that poor man-marking in the box against Chivas; a mistake for Harrington that compounds his schoolboy mistake on closing down Neagle last week, which gave Neagle the room to turn and put in that devastating cross that saw Dempsey bring Seattle within one goal a week ago.
The PWP Attacking Player of the Week was...
Observations:
It's six weeks in and the top Attacking PWP Player of the week is another midfielder - go figure. Two years ago I opined that the most influential players in attack should come from the midfield, given their increased touches on the ball and their overall vision of the game from the center of the pitch.
Duly noted - Maurice Edu got a late equalizer and the Union fought back for a hard won draw against (IMO) the best team in MLS.
Evidence of Maurice's two way influence is above - enough said - this midfield acquisition continues to help the Union etch their place as a top team in the Eastern Conference, and grabbing a late point helps them sustain that Playoff vision.
On to the Defending Team of the Week... my favorite part of this game.
Observations:
I'll offer the Index a bit later; for now here's how New England's opponent (Houston) performed in the six steps of my PWP Index process...
Note the final three steps in the overall attack mounted by Houston - only 13% of their overall penetration generated a shot taken, and none of those shots were on goal. Consequently, none of those shots got past Shuttleworth--pretty stingy if you ask me. Their passing accuracy was below average, but with an average amount of possession.
If you had to paint a picture of a team that defends across the entire pitch, it's results like these that you want to see from your opponent's attack (i.e how well your team defense performs in controlling the opponent's attack).
Here's the overall Defending PWP Index for all 19 teams...
Observations:
Consistency begins to show for many teams this year - a welcome surprise for Olsen is that his team is beginning to shut down their opponents. D.C. United comes in 4th place this week against a very strong New York Red Bulls attacking side (at least they were last year).
Colorado traveled to Toronto and did well--aye the Reds had some injuries, but every team this year will experience players who get injured or miss a game through disciplinary reasons. Toronto got edged out by an improving Colorado.
On the tail end was FC Dallas, an unusual spot for them this year. The own goal, as well as the brace by Dempsey, speaks volumes - yet as we saw on the Attacking side of PWP, Seattle were also pretty strong across the entire pitch -- the center of FC Dallas defense remains and issue and Keel did not add value in pairing up with Hedges.
Now for my PWP Defending Player of the Week...
Observations:
I like fullbacks who add to the attack, but I love fullbacks who defend first - there's a reason these guys are in defense; it's to stop the opponent first.
Overall, Alston did a superb job in playing his role; he not only scored, but he was also five for five in throw-ins within the final third - you'd be surprised - but at least four teams this week couldn't complete over 70% of their throw-ins within their attacking third... never take a throw-in for granted.
Another storyline here is that Alston continues to work through very difficult health issues from the past - showing concentration and doing his job to support his team translates to strong character. In a country where I think good fullbacks are not the norm, it is good to see Kevin have a great game!
In closing...
Next up will be my PWP Pick-List for Week 7 followed by my PWP Cumulative Indices and associated thoughts. For now know that the top team in each conference is not the top team in my overall PWP Cumulative Index - lest we forget not everyone has played six games yet.
All the best, Chris
You can follow all my PWP analysis through twitter: @chrisgluckpwp
If you take a look back at 2013's expected goal differentials, probably the biggest outlier was MLS Cup runner up Real Salt Lake. Expected to score 0.08 fewer goals per game than its opponents, RSL actually scored 0.47 more goals than its opponents. That translates to a discrepancy of about 19 unexplained goals for the whole season. This year, RSL finds itself second in the Western Conference with a goal differential of a massive 0.80. However, like last year, the expected goal differential is lagging irritatingly behind at --0.77. There are two extreme explanations for RSL's discrepancy in observed versus expected performance, and while the truth probably lies in the middle, I think it's valuable to start the discussion at the extremes and move in from there.
It could be that RSL plays a style and has the personnel to fool my expected goal differential statistic. Or, it could be that RSL is one lucky son of a bitch. Or XI lucky sons of bitches. Whatever.
Here are some ways that a team could fool expected goal differential:
We know are pretty sure that RSL does indeed have the best goalkeeper in the league, and Will and I estimated Nick Rimando's value at anywhere between about six and eight goals above average* during the 2013 season. That makes up a sizable chunk of the discrepancy, but still leaves at least half unaccounted for.
The finishing ability conversation is still a controversial one, but that's where we're likely to see the rest of the difference. RSL scored 56 goals (off their own bodies rather than those of their opponents), but were only expected to score about 44. That 12-goal difference can be conveniently explained by their five top scorers--Alvaro Saborio, Javier Morales, Ned Grabavoy, Olmes Garcia, and Robbie Findley--who scored 36 goals between them while taking shots valued at 25.8 goals. (see: Individual Expected Goals, and yes it's biased to look at just the top five goal scorers, but read on.)
Here's the catch, though. Using the sample of 28 players that recorded at least 50 shots last season and at least 5 shots this season, the correlation coefficient for the goals above expectation statistic is --0.43. It's negative. Basically, players that were good last year have been bad this year, and players that were bad last year have been good this year. That comes with some caveats--and if the correlation stays negative then that is a topic fit for another whole series of posts--but for our purposes here it suggests that finishing isn't stable, and thus finishing isn't really a reliable skill. The fact that RSL players have finished well for the last 14 months means very little for how they will finish in the future.
Since I said there was a third way to fool expected goal differential--defense. I should point out that once we account for Rimando, RSL's defense allowed about as many goals as expected. Thus the primary culprits of RSL's ability to outperform expected goal differential have been Nick Rimando and its top five scorers. So now we can move on to the explanation on the other extreme, luck.
RSL has been largely lucky, using the following definition of lucky: Scoring goals they can't hope to score again. A common argument I might expect is that no team could be this "lucky" for this long. If you're a baseball fan, I urge you to read my piece on Matt Cain, but if not, here's the point. 19 teams have played soccer in MLS the past two seasons. The probability that at least one of them gets lucky for 1.2 seasons worth of games is actually quite high. RSL very well may be that team--on offense, anyway.
Unless RSL's top scorers are all the outliers--which is not impossible, but unlikely--then RSL is likely in for a rude awakening, and a dogfight for a playoff spot.
*Will's GSAR statistic is actually Goals Saved Above Replacement, so I had to calibrate.
Hey everyone, here is our latest terrible exhilarating podcast for your listening pleasure. The delay this week in posting was largely due to us switching to 'Mixcloud' for the conceivable hosting future as we move way from our current site and into a domain of our own. Admittedly, we ate up a good 15 minutes in the start of the podcast talking about the Seattle-Portland match, but you saw that coming...right? The rest of the podcast is also solid, and perhaps more importantly, less Cascadia-specific, so don't give up on it just because of that segment!
[mixcloud http://www.mixcloud.com/hkcrow/asa-podcast-xliii-the-one-where-matty-gives-the-call/ width=660 height=180 /]
An editorial comment before starting: In case you missed it, there is no flash and dash to my headlines for Possession with Purpose. My intent here is not to create a misconception about what the Indices and corresponding statistics show. Statistics, when effective, are not based upon emotion; they have value because they lack emotion. The trick has always been, from a management standpoint, to balance the value of metrics with the value of knowledge in how the game of soccer is played.
With that said there are a few changes (as expected after just five weeks) to these Indices - I'll dig into those, but first as always, here's a link to my original article on American Soccer Analysis in case you aren't familiar with my methodology.
Observations:
It's still early so teams may move around quite a bit. Consider how last year took shape: it wasn't until the 15-17 week time-frame where teams settled in, and even then we saw FC Dallas take a marked nose-dive in PWP.
Put another way; by Week 17, last year, eight of the ten teams to make the MLS Playoffs were in the top ten and pretty much stayed there the rest of the way. By 2013 season's end this Index had correctly identified nine of the top ten teams with only Houston as the outlier at 12th.
The grist between Week 4 and Week 5...
What to Look for Next Weekend...
As the year progresses I will begin to offer up a few snippets for your consideration on the upcoming games while leveraging the PWP Indices.
I'm not sure if you want to call these prognostications or not - that's up to you - but in looking at the Indices and understanding all the analysis behind how they are created here's my thoughts for this weekend.
I call it my (PWP-Pick-List): I have no idea how this will play out so we can all watch together...
I wouldn't bet the house on any of these offerings - I'd suggest they are no more or less valuable than what others following MLS soccer might consider.
For the record though - after Week 15 completes I will begin to keep official track of my prognostications leveraging the PWP Indices.
Moving on to my PWP Attacking Index...
Observations:
Here's where it gets interesting. Note that Philadelphia, New York and Chicago Fire are fairly high up in the rankings while Toronto and Sporting KC are a bit lower.
This is where you can get an idea on what teams tend to focus a wee bit more in attack and what teams might not.
So for example, when looking at New England, they have had just one home game so far this year. They've been shutout by Vancouver and in three of their four road matches they didn't score a goal.
The only team they have beaten this year is San Jose, a current bottom dweller for most of the first five weeks. It's that overall Index rating that helps me shape my pick that Houston will beat New England given their current performances.
As for New York, they have four draws so far this year after getting hammered at home by Vancouver. Their attack has gotten better with Peguy Luyindula and his efforts working with Steele and Sam were pretty good in Montreal. All that happened without Henry, Cahill or McCarty starting (albeit McCarty did come on as a sub later on). Don't forget Luyindula missed that PK as well...
Chicago... This team does not resemble the attack pattern of old Chicago that Yallop left behind and abandoned in San Jose. There is more grist on the ground this year and if the defense gets better they should be pretty good.
My PWP Defending Index...
Observations:
The LA Galaxy have moved into the top spot in place of Columbus while Houston took a huge nose dive with the red card to Horst.
Four goals against (one being an own goal) to FC Dallas will significantly influence this Index that early in the season... note Houston went from having the second most effective defense to the 12th most effective defense.
Creeping up further this week was Sporting KC. Last year they were tops for the 34 game regular season and this week they climbed from 5th up to 2nd with that game against Real Salt Lake. It's quite an achievement for Sporting to get a clean sheet against that wicked-good Diamond 4-4-2.
So how about New England? Two years ago their defense was solid and their attack was shaky; have they digressed? Hard to say, their back-end looks good (ooh err missus) but their front end leaves a wee bit to be desired...
Vancouver continues to stay in the top 10 for Defending PWP. Last year they were horrid in defense and every week they stay in the top ten is every reason to consider betting they will make the playoffs.
Last but not least Toronto are sitting in 7th place in Defending PWP. Defense will win you championships. The rebuild, though looking more geared to improve the attack, has had a strong influence on the defensive side of the pitch.
As noted earlier it appears they have a number of injuries --- to long to list --- so here's a link in case you are interested.
In closing...
Clint Dempsey had a great 20+ minutes for Seattle this past weekend and it looks as if Schmid may have found the right area for him to operate in. That's bad news for the Western Conference as a whole and in particular for Vancouver and Portland as they also vie against the Sounders for the Cascadia Cup.
How Dempsey settles in will be interesting especially if Kenny Cooper returns to his goal scoring days while in New York. The system might be a wee bit different but Cooper does well when there are others around him who can score and create good space by their mere presence on the pitch; Dempsey does that like Henry does that for New York.
All else considered the only teams I really haven't talked about that much about are Montreal and Chivas.
I have no idea how Chivas will do this year. Their match this weekend in Portland is an early statement match for both teams. If Chivas takes it on the chin it is likely they retain the doormat award in the West again this year.
As for Montreal, I'm not a fan of Klopas (not because I don't like him, I don't know him) but I think the poor defense in Chicago will translate to Montreal. It's hard to say though now that they have McInerney as well as Di Viao...
Five games in, Montreal are 5th worst in Defending PWP and 6th worst in Attacking PWP. Bottom line here is they aren't good on either side of the ball, yet.
If I had an early season prognostication it would be Montreal will be the doormats of the Eastern Conference unless Jack McInerney brings some magic with him.
All the best, Chris You can follow me on twitter here @ChrisGluckPWP.
Another great week of MLS games went down this past weekend. Even though I didn't have the pleasure of watching all 90 minutes of Cascadia bliss from Portland (I do my best to mix up which teams I watch for this post, and this wasn't a Seattle or Portland week), there were still plenty of solid rivalry matches to go around. Without further ado, here's how it happened for six teams last weekend:
Stat that told the story for Houston: Ricardo Salazar's heat map
If you don't recognize Ricardo Salazar's name from the Houston roster, you aren't alone. He was the referee for this one, and while I refuse to rip on officials because they have a really difficult job, it's impossible to deny the influence he had on this game (image above shows all the fouls called - three of which turned directly into goals). I actually don't think Salazar did a terrible job given the circumstances: this game was a true rivalry match where both teams came out and played super physically from the opening whistle. But Houston and Dallas were neck-and-neck until the red card was doled out to David Horst, and the Dynamo almost immediately capitulated once they went down a man. Sure, the red card was a debatable decision, but Houston has to show better composure after going down a man.
Stat that told the story for Dallas: 11 set pieces taken by Mauro Diaz and Michel
It would be easy to pick a stat from the last half hour of this one, when Houston had basically given up and the Dallas midfield had full control of the park. But what's arguably more impressive from this one was how Dallas was still in this game for the first hour, despite being on the road to a tough opponent in the Dynamo. Truthfully, FCD hadn't been playing particularly well; Houston was successful in limiting space for Diaz and they had control of the midfield. But even playing mediocre, Dallas had created a number of really good chances and a goal, all from set pieces. Both Diaz and Michel are wizards over a dead ball, and any set piece in the attacking half is a chance waiting to happen for the Hoops.
Stat that told the story for Kansas City: 16 key passes
For me, this stat/image is more about where the key passes took place than how many of them there were. KC and RSL have a bit of a history now, and the teams definitely know what to expect when they faceoff. I thought Sporting did a really good job of a couple things: (1) pressing RSL into turnovers and (2) attacking the Salt Lake diamond midfield. I'll talk more about #1 below, so here's my take on KC's attack. They created most of their shots or chances by either playing wide around the narrow midfield or by bypassing it entirely and going over the top. While it didn't result in any goals for Sporting, that was more of a function of RSL's great goalkeeping and KC's mediocre finishing. Overall, I liked the gameplan of Peter Vermes this weekend.
Stat that told the story for Salt Lake: 257/282 (91.1%) of completed passes were in the first two thirds of the field
Real Salt Lake is a possession team, and everyone knows it. They try to pass all over the field, and when they're at their best they control the ball into and around the penalty area before getting chances. In this one, Kansas City really let them have it with their high-pressing defense. RSL couldn't find much space anywhere in the middle third of the field, let alone the attacking third, leading Salt Lake to play mostly in their own half. This was particularly the case early in the game: in the games first 40 minutes, 76/113 (67%) of RSL's completed passes were in the defensive half of the field. It was a bit surprising that a veteran team like RSL didn't seem prepared for this one, but given the makeshift lineup Jeff Cassar fielded, a scoreless draw has to be seen as a point gained rather than two lost in Utah.
Stat that told the story for LA: 131 completed passes in the center of the field by midfielders
Bruce Arena did something that was pretty unexpected this Sunday, deploying a diamond midfield of four nominally central midfielders: Juninho, Stefan Ishizaki, Marcelo Sarvas and Baggio Husidic. The move was a clear message that despite their best attempts, the Galaxy had been unable thus far to find any decent wide play in the midfield opposite Landon Donovan. Instead of trying yet another option out there, LA played their four best overall midfielders in a diamond, and instructed them to figure it out as they went. As the scoreline suggests, this was hugely successful as the Galaxy just overran Chivas in the midfield time and again. The starting midfield completed 131 passes in the center of the field compared to the Goats' midfield's 79, and that's to say nothing of the 2 goals on 8 shots that the midfielders also added. As I'll note in the next paragraph, Chivas' midfield is hardly a force to be reckoned with, but early signs on the diamond midfield are strictly positive.
Stat that told the story for Chivas: 1 weird starting lineup
OK, this isn't a stat, but it's hard to find anything in particular to focus on when most of the game was Chivas getting run over. There were some decent attacking combinations when the Goats were able to possess the ball and get forward, but those times were few and far between. From looking at the team that Wilmer Cabrera put on the field, it's hard to imagine a much better result. I know the general narrative surrounding Chivas is that the club is much improved since Cabrera's come onboard, but this is still a weirdly constructed roster. Trying to fit this team of very few fullbacks and a ton of attack-minded midfielders into a 4-4-2 is quite a task, which is why this week's lineup looked so weird. The strange fits included featuring midfielder Eric Avila and centerback Andrew Jean-Baptiste at fullback, and Agustin Pelletieri* and mostly attack-minded Carlos Alvarez in central midfield.
*I think Pelletieri is supposed to be more of a holding midfielder, but all I've seen of him is an early red card vs. Vancouver and getting run over by LA. Too early to pass judgment, but he wasn't impressive this weekend.
Agree with my assessments? Think I’m an idiot? I always appreciate feedback. @MLSAtheist
