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MLS Power Ranking Averages - Week 4
Little movement on the table due to only 3 games. 14 sites published for Week 4, the ratings for 2 sites that published last Friday are being used for this week.
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:
- Who Scored (whoscored.com)
- Squawka (squawka.com)
- Jeff Sagarin (sagarin.com/sports/soccer.htm)
- Sports Club Stats (www.sportsclubstats.com/USA/MLS.html) - No ranking since Wk 1
- Football Database (footballdatabase.com/ranking/north-america/1)
- Sports Illustrated (www.soccer.si.com) - No ranking Wk 4
- ESPN (espnfc.us/major-league-soccer)
- The Mane Land (themaneland.com)
- Major League Soccer (www.mlssoccer.com/news/power-rankings)
- Reddit user/FlyingCarsArePlanes (User analytic ranking, posted on reddit.com/r/mls) - No ranking Wk 4
- NYCFC Blog (skybluesofny.com) - No ranking Wk 4
- MLS Fantasy Boss (mlsfantasyboss.com) - Wk 3 late, using it as wk 4
- SoccerAmerica (socceramerica.com)
- Soccer By Ives (sbisoccer.com/sbi-mls-power-rankings)
- Reddit r/MLS (reddit.com/r/mls)
- Bleacher Report (bleacherreport.com/mls)
- Soccer Information Network (soccerinformationnetwork.com/category/mls-power-rankings/) - No ranking since Wk 1
- Seattle Times (seattletimes.com/author/matt-pentz)
- The Score (thescore.com/mls/news) - No ranking Wk 4
- Altius Directory (altiusdirectory.com/Sports/mls-power-rankings.php) - No ranking since Wk 1
- MLSfix (mlsfix.com) - Wk 3 late, using it as wk 4
- Hot Footy (hotfooty.com/major-league-soccer) - No ranking Wk 4
- Power Rankings & More (powerrankingsandmore.com/tag/mls) - No ranking Wk 4
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.
Wk4 | Wk3 | Wk2 |
Team |
Wk4
Avg
|
Wk3
Avg
|
Wk2 Avg |
Worst |
Best |
Range |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Kansas City | 2.00 |
1.63 |
3.12 |
7 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
Dallas | 2.50 |
4.44 |
8.65 |
7 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Montreal | 3.75 |
3.13 |
1.29 |
11 |
1 |
10 |
4 |
3 |
6 |
Los Angeles | 4.50 |
3.94 |
7.53 |
7 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
Portland | 5.75 |
5.69 |
4.53 |
13 |
1 |
12 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
Toronto | 8.58 |
7.56 |
5.06 |
18 |
4 |
14 |
7 |
8 |
5 |
San Jose | 9.33 |
8.88 |
5.65 |
12 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
15 |
Philadelphia | 9.42 |
8.44 |
15.65 |
15 |
4 |
11 |
9 |
9 |
10 |
Salt Lake | 10.25 |
10.44 |
10.82 |
16 |
3 |
13 |
10 |
11 |
16 |
Orlando | 11.25 |
12.06 |
15.59 |
16 |
7 |
9 |
11 |
13 |
14 |
Vancouver | 11.67 |
13.31 |
15.71 |
16 |
6 |
10 |
12 |
10 |
7 |
Houston | 12.00 |
10.63 |
8.18 |
14 |
5 |
9 |
13 |
12 |
13 |
New York RB | 12.75 |
12.38 |
14.12 |
20 |
5 |
15 |
14 |
14 |
9 |
New York FC | 15.42 |
14.56 |
10.41 |
19 |
8 |
11 |
15 |
15 |
11 |
Columbus | 16.00 |
15.25 |
12.47 |
19 |
7 |
12 |
16 |
16 |
18 |
Colorado | 16.42 |
16.19 |
16.29 |
19 |
8 |
11 |
17 |
17 |
12 |
New England | 17.00 |
17.38 |
12.41 |
18 |
10 |
8 |
18 |
18 |
17 |
Seattle | 18.67 |
18.88 |
16.12 |
20 |
4 |
16 |
19 |
19 |
19 |
D. C. | 20.00 |
19.19 |
19.00 |
20 |
13 |
7 |
19 |
20 |
20 |
Chicago | 20.00 |
19.69 |
19.71 |
20 |
15 |
5 |
- Largest Rise: Dallas/Vancouver +2
- Largest Fall: Houston -2
- Largest Range: Seattle (16)
- Smallest Range: Chicago (5)
Site Evaluations
Each site's ranking is compared to the weekly averages above. The best and worst # of matches is indicated. Team bias column shows what team the site shows the highest average for/against (including Preseason ranking).
Site |
# Exact |
1 off |
2 off |
3+ off |
Furthest off |
most bias vs |
most bias for |
Who Scored |
3 |
4 |
2 |
11 |
COL |
NYRB +7.69 |
HOU -7.27 |
Squawka |
2 |
3 |
4 |
11 |
TFC |
NYRB +7.94 |
COL -6.13 |
Jeff Sagarin |
5 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
POR |
POR +5.42 |
COL -5.38 |
Sports Club Stats |
NA |
NYRB +5.94 |
NYFC -9.14 |
||||
Football Database |
0 |
3 |
3 |
14 |
SEA |
TFC +10.32 |
SEA -13.56 |
Sports Illustrated | NA |
RSL +3.61 | NYRB -5.06 | ||||
ESPN |
4 |
8 |
1 |
7 |
NYRB/RSL |
RSL +4.41 |
NYRB -6.86 |
The Mane Land | 4 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
NYRB/PHI |
PHI +3.55 | NYRB -6.86 |
Major League Soccer | 3 |
8 |
7 |
2 |
NYRB |
HOU +1.88 | VAN -4.44 |
Reddit u/FlyingCarsArePlanes | NA |
HOU +2.98 | CLB -5.44 | ||||
NYCFC Blog |
NA |
PHI +2.75 |
CLB -5.27 |
||||
MLS Fantasy Boss |
1 |
5 |
3 |
11 |
NYRB |
TFC +5.07 |
SEA -9.36 |
Soccer America | 1 |
7 |
4 |
8 |
RSL |
NYRB +3.69 | RSL -5.89 |
Soccer By Ives | 9 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
TFC |
MON +1.81 | SEA -4.56 |
Reddit r/MLS | 6 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
PHI |
HOU +1.68 | CLB -2.14 |
Bleacher Report |
6 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
NYRB/RSL/VAN |
NYFC +2.11 |
NYRB -4.31 |
Soccer Information Network |
NA |
PHI +6.75 |
CLB -9.44 |
||||
Seattle Times |
8 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
VAN |
NER +1.59 |
VAN -5.00 |
The Score | NA |
SKC +3.10 | NYRB -6.56 | ||||
Altius Directory |
NA |
POR +10.42 |
SEA -11.36 |
||||
MLSfix |
1 |
8 |
3 |
8 |
TFC |
TFC -2.82 |
NYFC -5.64 |
Hot Footy | NA |
PHI +3.42 |
NYFC -4.14 |
||||
Power Rankings & More | NA |
FCD +4.13 |
PHI -3.92 |
- Most Accurate Site: (best Exact, with 1 off as tiebreaker): Soccer By Ives with 9 exact matches to the average.
- Least Accurate Site: (most 3+ with 2 off, and 1 off as tiebreaker): Football Database with 14 off by 3+.
- Site with Worst Bias VS: Altius -INACTIVE (POR 10.42 worse), but for ACTIVE sites Football Database ranked TFC 10.32 from avg (improved by 0.6 from last week).
- Site with Worst Bias FOR: Football Database with SEA 13.56 places from avg (getting worse with Seattle's current form)
- Site with Least Bias VS: Seattle Times with NER only 1.59 places from avg.
- Site with Least Bias FOR: Reddit/r/MLS with CLB 2.14 places from avg.
Season Average Power Ranking
The 5 Year Weighted Average is calculated using a variation of the "FIFA method" with the current year counting for 100%, and previous years counting for a decreasing amount. The table is ordered based on the Weighted Points.
Team |
Week 4
|
Week 3
|
Week 2 |
2015
Avg |
5 Yr Avg |
Weighted Pts |
Sporting Kansas City | 3.40 |
3.87 |
3.13 |
6.35 |
4.59 |
16.35 |
LA Galaxy | 4.94 |
5.09 |
7.67 |
4.51 |
5.64 |
17.59 |
FC Dallas | 4.54 |
5.21 |
8.93 |
4.64 |
7.40 |
20.99 |
New York Red Bulls | 12.06 |
11.83 |
14.27 |
4.68 |
7.78 |
28.46 |
Portland Timbers | 4.58 |
4.19 |
4.33 |
9.45 |
9.48 |
28.70 |
Real Salt Lake | 11.39 |
11.77 |
11.20 |
12.43 |
7.24 |
28.88 |
Seattle Sounders | 16.36 |
15.58 |
16.47 |
6.07 |
7.95 |
29.93 |
Vancouver Whitecaps | 13.00 |
13.44 |
15.40 |
5.09 |
9.07 |
30.97 |
Toronto FC | 6.68 |
6.04 |
4.67 |
9.75 |
12.02 |
35.06 |
Montreal Impact | 3.59 |
3.54 |
1.13 |
15.06 |
11.07 |
36.38 |
San Jose Earthquakes | 8.78 |
8.59 |
5.80 |
9.75 |
10.02 |
37.05 |
Columbus Crew SC | 12.94 |
11.92 |
11.93 |
8.75 |
11.16 |
37.35 |
Houston Dynamo | 11.52 |
11.35 |
8.13 |
13.81 |
10.51 |
39.07 |
Orlando City * | 13.23 |
13.88 |
15.87 |
14.21 |
10.89 |
39.52 |
New England Revolution | 14.41 |
13.55 |
12.40 |
9.50 |
12.17 |
40.16 |
D.C. United | 18.88 |
18.45 |
19.47 |
5.91 |
11.39 |
40.30 |
New York City FC * | 13.14 |
12.37 |
10.53 |
15.47 |
11.12 |
40.56 |
Philadelphia Union | 13.25 |
14.53 |
15.80 |
18.07 |
13.76 |
47.42 |
Colorado Rapids | 17.13 |
17.36 |
16.67 |
17.38 |
13.76 |
49.58 |
Chicago Fire | 19.73 |
19.55 |
20.00 |
17.71 |
15.05 |
56.48 |
* Expansion teams points adjusted to compensate - (median of 9 for missing years)
Team High / Low
Best and worst placement for each team in weekly, avg rank total.
Team |
Best Avg |
Worst Avg |
Best Pos |
Worst Pos |
Chicago Fire |
19.25 |
20.00 |
19 |
20 |
Colorado Rapids |
16.19 |
19.60 |
16 |
20 |
Columbus Crew SC |
8.05 |
16.00 |
7 |
15 |
D.C. United |
17.15 |
20.00 |
17 |
19 |
FC Dallas |
2.50 |
8.65 |
1 |
8 |
Houston Dynamo |
8.18 |
15.25 |
7 |
16 |
LA Galaxy |
3.80 |
7.53 |
3 |
6 |
Montreal Impact |
1.29 |
6.20 |
1 |
5 |
New England Revolution |
10.85 |
17.38 |
9 |
17 |
New York City FC |
10.41 |
15.42 |
9 |
14 |
New York Red Bulls |
9.00 |
14.12 |
8 |
13 |
Orlando City |
11.25 |
15.59 |
10 |
16 |
Philadelphia Union |
8.44 |
19.50 |
7 |
18 |
Portland Timbers |
2.35 |
5.75 |
2 |
5 |
Real Salt Lake |
10.25 |
14.05 |
9 |
15 |
San Jose Earthquakes |
5.65 |
11.25 |
5 |
11 |
Seattle Sounders |
11.75 |
18.88 |
12 |
18 |
Sporting Kansas City |
1.63 |
6.85 |
1 |
6 |
Toronto FC |
5.06 |
8.58 |
4 |
6 |
Vancouver Whitecaps |
11.30 |
15.71 |
10 |
14 |
- Largest Range (position): 9 (Houston)
- Smallest Range (position): 1 (Chicago)
- 3 teams have been ranked first
- 2 teams have been ranked last