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MLS Week 1 Power Ranking Averages - Seattle starts where they left off

And so it begins again; 12 sites have published rankings to start off the season, I expect a few more to be added in the coming weeks.

By Kreg Asay
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports


MLS Power Ranking Averages - Week 1

Welcome to another year of Power Ranking Averages!  Most people either like them, hate them or are indifferent; but just about everyone can agree that it's great fodder for debate, which is the point of it after all.  I started this project back in 2012 after getting frustrated by the wide range of ranks among the various sites, as such I figured the best way to get a more accurate Power Ranking would be to just average all of the sites I could find.

Most sites tend to come and go, usually lasting about half of the season; I may start with 15+ and end with 7-8, but as long as sites continue to publish their rankings I shall endeavor to average them.

Here's a reminder of the Power Ranking "Guidelines":

"If two teams played tomorrow, given their current injury concerns, form, and other considerations, who is likely to win on a neutral field? This list is designed to tell you who we feel is most likely to win that match-up. All things being equal, who is the best team going forward, based on what we know now?"
-Richard Farley, NBC Sports ProSoccerTalk.  3/11/14

Sites Used:

  • Major League Soccer (www.mlssoccer.com/news/power-rankings)
  • Soccer by Ives (www.sbisoccer.com/sbi-mls-power-rankings)
  • Soccer America (www.socceramerica.com)
  • ESPN (espnfc.us/major-league-soccer)
  • Seattle Times Blog (seattletimes.com/sports/matt-pentzs-mls-power-rankings)
  • MLS GB (mlsbg.com/tag/power-rankings)
  • Black & Red United (www.blackandredunited.com)
  • Sports Illustrated (www.soccer.si.com)
  • Examiner (examiner.com/topic/power-rankings)
  • The Mane Land (themaneland.com)
  • Who Scored 'team rating' (whoscored.com/Regions/233/Tournaments/85/USA-Major-League-Soccer)
  • Playing for 90 (playingfor90.com)

You may notice several 'team specific' sites used; yes they will at times be a bit more biased for/against certain teams, as such the averages use the Olympic Method of dropping the highest and lowest scores, and averaging the rest to compensate for possible bias.  Each week I'll also be listing the sites closest and furthest from average to show which are more biased than others.

As with previous years, if you know of a site that I have not listed, please let me know in the comments below and I'll add it!


Weekly Power Ranking Averages
Using the "Olympic" method of dropping the highest / lowest scores, and averaging the rest.

Wk 1
 Preseason Team
 		W1 Avg Preseason 2014 Avg Worst
 		Best
 		Range
1
 3
 Seattle 1.20
 1.80
 4.04
 2
 1
 1
2
 1
 Los Angeles 1.80
 1.60
 6.77
 4
 1
 3
3
 10
 Toronto 3.10 6.40 7.47 6
 3
 3
4
 6
 D.C. 5.10
 6.00
 12.15
 8
 2
 6
4
 5
 Dallas 5.10
 5.00 7.09 8
 3
 5
6
 8
 Kansas City 7.60 6.20 4.45 15
 6
 9
7
 13
 Houston 7.90 10.80 9.48 14
 4
 10
8
 6
 Salt Lake 9.30
 6.60
 2.94
 13
 6
 7
9
 11
 New York RB 10.10
 10.40
 11.07
 14
 7
 7
10
 13
 Orlando 11.20
 10.20
 N/A 18
 5
 13
11
 1
 New England 11.40
 1.20
 11.50
 20
 4
 16
12
 12
 Portland 11.50
 9.20
 11.34
 14
 7
 7
12
 4
 Columbus 11.50
 3.80
 8.97
 15
 5
 10
13
 15
 New York FC 12.70
 12.00
 N/A 16
 9
 7
14
 9
 Vancouver 14.00
 7.00
 7.40
 18
 10
 8
15
 16
 Philadelphia 15.20 12.60 11.33 19
 10
 9
16
 20
 Colorado 15.70 15.00 9.66 20
 12
 8
17
 17
 Montreal 17.50
 13.60 17.67 19
 13
 6
18
 19
 San Jose 18.20
 15.00 14.44 20
 16
 4
19
 18
 Chicago 19.50
 13.00
 15.61
 20
 17
 3


Site Evaluations
Each site's ranking is compared to the weekly averages above.  The best and worst # of matches is indicated.

Site
 		# Exact
 		1 off
 		2 off
 3 off 4 off 5+ off
Major League Soccer 5
 5
 3
 1
 4
 2
Soccer by Ives 7
 6
 3
 1
 0
 3
Soccer America 7
 3
 4
 5
 0
 1
ESPN 8
 3
 5
 2
 0
 2
Seattle Times 5
 3
 4
 0
 4
 4
MLS GB 3
 8
 4
 4
 1
 0
Black & Red United 7
 5
 2
 2
 0
 4
Sports Illustrated 7
 5
 2
 2
 1
 3
Examiner 4
 4
 3
 6
 0
 3
The Mane Land 3
 10
 3
 2
 0
 2
Who Scored 5
 5
 3
 2
 0
 5
Playing for 90 7
 7
 3
 2
 0
 1



Season Wk 1 Power Ranking

Wk 1
 Preseason Team
 		W1 Avg Preseason 2014 Avg 2013 Avg
 		2012 Avg
1
 3
 Seattle 1.20
 1.80
 4.04
 9.36
 4.39
2
 2
 Los Angeles 1.80
 1.60
 6.77
 5.14
 2.46
3
 10
 Toronto 3.10 6.4 7.47 16.85
 10.96
4
 6
 D.C. 5.10
 6.00
 12.15
 17.29
 9.33
4
 5
 Dallas 5.10
 5.00 7.09 8.78
 17.17
6
 8
 Kansas City 7.60
 6.20
 4.45
 4.45
 3.09
7
 13
 Houston 7.90 10.80 9.48 7.74
 6.29
8
 6
 Salt Lake 9.30
 6.60
 2.94
 4.52
 8.40
9
 11
 New York RB 10.10
 10.40
 11.07
 6.38
 7.23
10
 13
 Orlando 11.20
 10.20
 N/A N/A N/A
11
 1
 New England 11.40
 1.20
 11.50
 12.35
 14.84
12
 12
 Portland 11.50
 9.20
 11.34
 5.73
 13.89
12
 4
 Columbus 11.50
 3.80
 8.97
 12.89
 9.46
14
 15
 New York FC 12.70
 12.00
 N/A N/A N/A
15
 9
 Vancouver 14.00
 7.00
 7.40
 10.41
 7.87
16
 16
 Philadelphia 15.20 12.60 11.33 10.53
 15.70
17
 20
 Colorado 15.70 15.00 9.66 9.79
 10.06
18
 17
 Montreal 17.50
 13.60 17.67 5.32
 15.74
19
 19
 San Jose 18.20
 15.00 14.44 12.34
 4.86
20
 18
 Chicago 19.50
 13.00
 15.61
 14.27
 13.07


Team High / Low
Best and worst placement for each team in weekly and season position, avg rank total for weekly and season.

Team
 		Weekly
Worst 		Weekly
Best 		Highest
Wk. Avg.
 		Lowest
Wk. Avg.
 		Season
Best
 		Season
Worst
 		Highest
Seas. Avg
 Lowest
Seas. Avg
Chicago Fire
 20
 17
 19.50 19.50 20
 20
 19.50 19.50
Colorado Rapids
 20
 12
 15.70 15.70 17
 17
 15.70 15.70
Columbus Crew
 15
 5
 11.50 11.50 12
 12
 11.50 11.50
D.C. United
 8
 2
 5.10 5.10 4
 4
 5.10 5.10
FC Dallas
 8
 3
 5.10 5.10 4
 4
 5.10 5.10
Houston Dynamo
 14
 4
 7.90 7.90 7
 7 7.90 7.90
LA Galaxy
 4
 1
 1.80 1.80 2
 2
 1.80 1.80
Montreal Impact
 19
 13
 17.50 17.50 18
 18
 17.50 17.50
New England Revolution
 20
 4
 11.40 11.40 11
 11
 11.40 11.40
New York City FC
 16
 9
 12.70 12.70 14 14
 12.70 12.70
New York Red Bulls
 14
 7
 10.10 10.10 9
 9
 10.10 10.10
Orlando SC
 18
 5
 11.20 11.20 10
 10
 11.20 11.20
Philadelphia Union
 19
 10
 15.20 15.20 16
 16
 15.20 15.20
Portland Timbers
 14
 7
 11.50 11.50 12
 12
 11.50 11.50
Real Salt Lake
 13
 6
 9.30 9.30 8
 8
 9.30 9.30
San Jose Earthquakes
 20
 16
 18.20 18.20 19
 19
 18.20 18.20
Seattle Sounders
 2
 1
 1.20 1.20 1
 1
 1.20 1.20
Sporting Kansas City
 15
 6
 7.60 7.60 6
 6
 7.60 7.60
Toronto FC
 6
 3
 3.10 3.10 3
 3
 3.10 3.10
Vancouver Whitecaps
 18
 10
 14.00 14.00 15
 15
 14.00 14.00

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