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MLS Week 2 Power Ranking Averages - LA edges Dallas for 1st

Two new sites added for Wk 2, and started listing the most and least accurate sites.

By Kreg Asay
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports


MLS Power Ranking Averages - Week 2

Two sites added for Week 2!  The Redditors on r/MLS have started their own 'power ranking average' with 20 members (one fan from each team) submitting rankings and an average taken for a final list.  Weeks 1-2 have been included so totals for Wk1 have been slightly adjusted.  The second is The Sports Network, which started their rankings this week after skipping Wk1.

As always, if you come across any that I have not included please send me a link and I'll add it to the list.

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) *No ranking for Wk 2
  • Reddit MLS subreddit (reddit/r/mls)
  • The Sports Network (sportsnetwork.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.


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

Wk 2 Wk 1
 Team
 		W2 Avg W1 Avg 2014 Avg Worst
 		Best
 		Range
1
 2
 Los Angeles 1.55
 1.64
 6.77
 3
 1
 2
2
 4
 Dallas 1.73
 4.64
 7.09
 6
 1
 5
3
 1
 Seattle 3.73
 1.09
 4.04
 8
 2
 6
4
 4
 D.C. 4.55
 4.64
 12.15
 11
 1
 10
5
 12
 Columbus 5.46
 10.45
 8.97
 11
 2
 9
6
 13
 New York FC 6.00
 11.50
 N/A
 11
 3
 8
7
 10
 Orlando 6.27
 10.18
 N/A 18
 3
 15
8
 3
 Toronto 6.73
 2.82 7.47 12
 5
 7
9
 8
 Salt Lake 9.27
 8.46
 2.94
 14
 8
 6
10
 9
 New York RB 10.18
 9.18
 11.07
 16
 4
 12
11
 18
 San Jose 10.36
 16.55
 14.44
 16
 5
 11
11
 14
 Vancouver 10.36
 12.73
 7.40
 15
 5
 10
13
 12
 Portland 10.73
 10.45
 11.34
 16
 8
 8
14
 7
 Houston 12.64
 7.18
 9.48
 17
 10
 7
15
 15
 Philadelphia 13.27
 13.82
 11.33
 17
 12
 5
16
 6
 Kansas City 13.73
 6.91 4.45 18
 11
 7
17
 11
 New England 14.73
 10.36
 11.50
 20
 7
 13
18
 16
 Colorado 15.27
 14.27 9.66 20
 9
 11
19
 17
 Montreal 16.64
 15.91
 17.67 19
 14
 5
20
 19
 Chicago 18.00
 17.73
 15.61
 20
 18
 2

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
 		Team(s) furthest off
Major League Soccer 4
 8
 3
 3
 0
 2
 NYCFC -5, VAN +5
Soccer by Ives 4
 6
 4
 4
 0
 2
 NER +10
Soccer America 6
 4
 5
 1
 1
 3
 CLB -6
ESPN 3
 8
 1
 6
 1
 1
 SJE +5
Seattle Times 4
 5
 2
 5
 2
 2
 NER +9
MLS GB 3
 6
 5
 3
 1
 2
 CLB -5, SJE +5
Black & Red United 4
 6
 3
 1
 2
 4
 NER +5, RSL -5, SJE -5, SKC +5
Sports Illustrated 2
 4
 7
 2
 3
 2
 VAN +6
Examiner 2
 6
 5
 1
 3
 2
 SJE +6
The Mane Land 7
 5
 4
 2
 2
 0
 COL +4, FCD -4
Who Scored 2
 4
 6
 2
 2
 4
 ORL -11
Playing for 90 NR
 NR NR NR NR NR NR
Reddit /r/MLS
 3
 8
 2
 5
 2
 0
 NYRB -4, POR +4
The Sports Network
 1
 7
 3
 4
 2
 3
 DCU -7
  • Most Accurate Site: (best Exact, with +1 as tiebreaker) The Mane Land
  • Least Accurate Site: (most 5+) Black & Red United and Who Scored each with 4
  • Furthest Off: Who Scored placed Orlando 11 places lower than average.




Season Average Power Ranking

Wk 2 Wk 1
 Team
 		W2 Avg W1 Avg 2015 Avg 2014 Avg 2013 Avg
 		2012 Avg
1
 2
 Los Angeles 1.59
 1.80
 1.70
 6.77
 5.14
 2.46
2
 1
 Seattle 2.41
 1.20
 1.81
 4.04
 9.36
 4.39
3
 4
 Dallas 3.18
 5.10
 4.14
 7.09
 8.78
 17.17
4
 4
 D.C. 4.59
 5.10
 4.85
 12.15
 17.29
 9.33
5
 3
 Toronto 4.77
 3.10 3.94
 7.47 16.85
 10.96
6
 12
 Columbus 7.95
 11.50
 9.73
 8.97
 12.89
 9.46
7
 10
 Orlando 8.23
 11.20
 9.72
 N/A N/A N/A
8
 14
 New York FC 8.77
 12.70
 10.74
 N/A N/A N/A
9
 8
 Salt Lake 8.86
 9.30
 9.08
 2.94
 4.52
 8.40
10
 9
 New York RB 9.68
 10.10
 9.89
 11.07
 6.38
 7.23
11
 7
 Houston 9.91
 7.90
 8.91
 9.48
 7.74
 6.29
12
 6
 Kansas City 10.32
 7.60
 8.96
 4.45
 4.45
 3.09
13
 12
 Portland 10.59
 11.50
 11.05
 11.34
 5.73
 13.89
14
 15
 Vancouver 11.55
 14.00
 12.78
 7.40
 10.41
 7.87
15
 11
 New England 12.55
 11.40
 11.98
 11.50
 12.35
 14.84
16
 19
 San Jose 13.45
 18.20
 15.83
 14.44
 12.34
 4.86
17
 16
 Philadelphia 13.55
 15.20 14.38
 11.33 10.53
 15.70
18
 17
 Colorado 14.77
 15.70 15.24
 9.66 9.79
 10.06
19
 18
 Montreal 16.27
 17.50
 16.89
 17.67 5.32
 15.74
20
 20
 Chicago 17.86
 19.50
 18.68
 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
 19
 17.73 18.00 20
 20
 17.86 19.50
Colorado Rapids
 18
 16
 15.27 14.27 17
 18
 14.77 15.70
Columbus Crew
 12
 5
 10.45 5.46 6
 12
 7.95 11.50
D.C. United
 4
 4
 4.64 4.55 4
 4
 4.59 5.10
FC Dallas
 4
 2
 4.64 1.73 3
 4
 3.18 5.10
Houston Dynamo
 14
 7
 12.64 7.18 7
 11 9.91 7.90
LA Galaxy
 2
 1
 1.64 1.55 1
 2
 1.59 1.80
Montreal Impact
 19
 17
 16.64 15.91 18
 19
 16.27 17.50
New England Revolution
 17
 11
 14.73 10.36 11
 15
 11.40 12.55
New York City FC
 13
 6
 11.55 6.00 8 14
 8.77 12.70
New York Red Bulls
 10
 9
 10.18 9.18 9
 10
 9.68 10.10
Orlando SC
 10
 7
 10.18 6.27 7
 10
 8.23 11.20
Philadelphia Union
 15
 15
 13.82 13.27 16
 17
 13.55 15.20
Portland Timbers
 13
 12
 10.73 10.45 12
 13
 10.59 11.50
Real Salt Lake
 9
 8
 9.27
 8.46 8
 9
 8.86 9.30
San Jose Earthquakes
 18
 11
 16.55 10.36 16
 19
 13.45 18.20
Seattle Sounders
 3
 1
 3.73 1.09 1
 2
 1.20 2.41
Sporting Kansas City
 16
 6
 13.73 6.91 6
 12
 7.60 10.32
Toronto FC
 8
 3
 6.73 2.82 3
 5
 3.10 4.77
Vancouver Whitecaps
 14
 11
 12.73 10.36 14
 15
 11.55 14.00

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