Week 11: GK Ratings

On average, MLS goalkeepers make 1.4 saves for every goal they let in, so far this season.  Taking this ratio, we can see which gk's are above or below the average and then give them a percent rank for their performance.  I argue that this provides more nuance than just looking at GAA, which does not account for the quality of defenders.

There are 4 or 5 players defending the goal, not just the 1 who gets the credit or blame on the box score.

For example, Bill Hamid has made 42 saves for a very poor DC United team this season - this is all the more impressive when we consider he has made 25 saves.  To calculate his performance rating: 42 saves - 25 goals allowed * 1.4 = 6.44 pts.  This ranks him first in the league, hence his 100 percent performance ranking.

To add a value for money dimension, I calculate the percent rank of each players compensation - at $35k, Clint Irwin is the lowest paid active player in the league, he earns a 0% ranking while Donovan Ricketts' salary of $300k places him at the top of the salary heap.

On the assumption that the highest paid players should be the best performing, the gap between performance and compensation rating gives an indication of value for money.  Here, Joe Bendik and Bill Hamid are the best value for money hip Troy Perkins ranks as worst value for money, in goal for Montreal.

Week 11: Costs of Goals and Assists in MLS

Designated players like Tim Cahill, Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan, Thierry Henry are the most expensive goal-scorers in the league - costing their respective teams at least one-quarter of a million for each goal they have scored, so far this season.

Furthermore, of those elite 4, only Henry has more than 3 goals, while on the other end of the scale, Adam Jahn's (4 goals) and Jack McInerney (7 goals) set their teams back less than $10k for each goal they have scored this season.

For further analysis, I include value for providing assists - 2 assists is worth 1 goal - an arbitrary amount but one that is designed to give credit for the play maker as well as the finisher.  Here you can see that, with 1 assist, the defender Doneil Henry is paid a cool half-mill.  To be fair, defenders are not paid for assists, but midfielders are.

Tim Cahill looks a little more affordable (at $320k for goals and assists) for New York but there are some very affordable options out there.  Houston, for example, pays Will Bruin less than $8k for his 4 goals and 3 assists, while Graham Zusi earns slightly more than $10k for his 3 goals and 4 assists.

If you are interested in the math - I take the player's total salary and divide by percentage of games played for the season (or the 90 minute equivalent) and then divide that by the number of goals scored to date.  For the goals and assists calculation, it is the same, but I divide assists by 2.

For example, if a player earns $100 for the season, and has played 17 games out of a 34 game season = 100 * (17/34) = $50.  This means the player has been paid $50 to date for his playing time.  If he has scored 1 goal = $50/1 goal.  If he has scored 5 goals = $50/5 goals, this means he earns $10 per goal.

If the same player has scored 1 goal and 2 assists, he earns:

$100 * (17 games played/34 total games in season) / 1 goal + (2 assists/2) = $50 / 1 + 1 = $25 per goal and assists.

Week 11: MLS Prognosticators Update

With the last game of the weekend just finishing up, Jason Davis, who was the most accurate prognosticator in week 1, takes the lead this week too, tying for first with Earl Reed.

As we settle into the third month of the season, is it fair to say that the conference standings are starting to settle down a little with teams converging to where we should expect them to stay?  Time will tell, but it would be good news for the top of this table.

The bottom 3 comprise Steve Davis, Kyle McCarthy and Daniel Feuerstein.

Breakdown of MLS Player Salaries

The MLS Players' Union just announced the compensation for 2013 and this afforded a chance to break down the numbers.  Of course, we look at who has the largest (New York) and smallest (Chivas) team compensation.

We also break down the salary by position.  Dallas spends the most on goalkeeper, followed by Portland, while Vancouver and Toronto take 1-2 on defender compensation.

New York ranks 16th on GK spending but places 1st on midfield (at $4.5 million) and 2nd on forward (at $4.8 million).

	Position
Team	GK	GK Rank	D	D Rank	M	M Rank	F	F Rank	F+	F+ Rank	Other	Other Rank	Grand Total	Total Rank
CHI	$234,625	15	$1,056,170	6	$1,551,171	6	$1,491,392	7					$4,333,357	7
CHV	$304,000	10	$718,816	17	$877,875	14	$706,455	16					$2,607,146	19
CLB	$175,512	19	$1,049,313	7	$708,125	19	$753,385	13	$799,000	1	$131,667	5	$3,617,001	14
COL	$318,392	9	$698,750	18	$1,077,133	13	$739,250	14	$173,275	8	$364,526	1	$3,371,325	18
DAL	$461,250	1	$1,179,837	4	$714,373	18	$1,077,901	8	$730,000	2	$81,500	8	$4,244,860	8
DC	$182,750	18	$1,004,498	10	$1,588,416	4	$694,400	17	$361,000	5	$75,000	9	$3,906,065	9
HOU	$332,667	7	$737,250	15	$1,576,979	5	$1,001,745	10					$3,648,640	12
KC	$363,918	5	$685,125	19	$1,265,776	9	$1,031,333	9	$173,813	7	$263,917	3	$3,783,882	11
LA	$254,625	14	$1,104,258	5	$848,255	15	$7,478,125	1					$9,685,263	2
MTL	$318,458	8	$1,019,100	8	$1,082,175	11	$2,220,508	5	$521,833	3	$126,625	6	$5,288,700	4
NE	$287,296	13	$788,562	13	$1,169,403	10	$771,793	12	$375,100	4	$83,932	7	$3,476,086	16
NY	$232,875	16	$1,224,449	3	$4,509,291	1	$4,847,845	2			$46,500	10	$10,860,960	1
PHI	$201,500	17	$1,009,000	9	$2,016,883	2	$605,192	18					$3,832,575	10
POR	$412,876	2	$761,042	14	$1,081,833	12	$725,918	15	$266,000	6	$316,833	2	$3,564,501	15
RSL	$387,708	4	$830,319	12	$1,502,417	7	$925,958	11					$3,646,402	13
SEA	$391,500	3	$843,750	11	$1,330,558	8	$3,393,004	3					$5,958,813	3
SJ	$345,308	6	$732,964	16	$1,601,954	3	$543,792	19	$147,890	9			$3,371,908	17
TOR	$293,000	11	$1,256,900	2	$819,521	16	$2,341,423	4					$4,710,844	6
VAN	$291,042	12	$1,470,163	1	$756,705	17	$1,972,506	6	$81,500	10	$237,363	4	$4,809,278	5
Grand Total	$5,859,551		$18,216,765		$26,173,842		$33,428,425		$3,629,411		$1,727,863		$89,035,857
Source: www.thesoccerist.com

Week 8: Fans in Toronto save Big on MLS games

Sports fans in Toronto can save more than $100 by going to see their local MLS team play, instead of watching the Blue Jays take the field.  In San Jose, they save $77 to see the Earthquakes rather than watching the Giants (albeit its a bit of a drive).

In Kansas City, fans save $35 reading a book at a Royals game, rather than shell out $88 for a Sporting KC clash so its not always cheaper to watch the local footy.

Furthermore, the table below shows that, based on attendance to date, teams like Chivas are shelling out $28 for each fan attending their games in team salary.  Meanwhile, fans are paying an average of $32 - not much of a profit.  Take a look at KC where they make $80 per fan in profit and Seattle makes about $50 per fan in attendance.

Week 8: MLS Goalkeepers - Shuttleworth leads the way

Shuttleworth and Reis split the season between the posts for New England, and take the 1-2 spots on our goalkeeper rankings.  

Bill Hamid slides down 3 spots to 4th and Ricketts plummets to last.

To explain, for every save a goalie makes, the law of averages says that he shall let in a certain number of goals (10:3).  The higher the percentile, the more points for the player, or the higher above average is the player.

Next we take the percentile rank of compensation and subtract it from the percentile rank for points.  This is a measure of the wedge or differential between how high a player is valued and how well he performs.   


For more on the ranking methodology, click here.

Week 8: Goals and Assists Prices in the MLS

Thierry Henry surges into the lead with his two goals costing New York over $600k a pop.  Robbie Keane earns a meager $500 for his goal and an assist this season.

Not only Designated Players and offensive players make the list - Omar Gonzalez had an assist which cost LA $120k.

At the other end of the scale, Josh Williams and George John each earned about $5k for their 2 goals while Mike Magee sits in third from bottom with 5 goals, costing LAG a mere $6k.

Click here for an explanation of the formula I use to calculate the price of goals and assists and to see previous weeks.