THE 2013/2014 CONTENDERS RATING SCALE: How Effective is it Halfway?

THE BRIEF

The 2013/14 football season across the major leagues in Europe (English Premiership, Spanish La liga, French Ligue 1, Italian Serie A and of course, German Bundesliga) have individually witnessed the beautiful game played halfway to the end of each of these campaigns.

With the ascending excitement hovering over these leagues by the spellbound soccer fanatics of the clubs in these leagues, added to the FIFA World Cup being around the corner, football just got more beautiful. 

Just before I forget to mention, this is the Part 2 of the Contenders Rating Scale (CRS) measure of efficiency. In the CRS Part 1, published on Saturday, January 5, 2013 the effectiveness of the CRS was measured halfway through the season so as to gauge its practicability of efficiently predicting the Top 5 of the leagues in view. 

But guess what? it was pragmatic! 

Please follow the individual links for your preferred European Football League stated below:

2012/2013 English Premier League

2012/2013 Spanish La Liga

2012/2013 Italian Serie A

2012/2013 French Ligue 1

2012/2013 German Bundesliga

 

This work would in a similar fashion build on the aforementioned Contenders Rating Scale mid-season evaluation with the 2013/14 season the focal attention.  

Remember, much earlier in September 2013, the Contenders Rating Scale of the  current campaign (2013/2014) across the board of major European Football Leagues critically foresaw the teams that could have a Top 5 finish at the end of the 2013/14 campaign but would its prediction make sense, thus being utterly correct at the end of the 2013/14 season, just like it was in the preceding season.

  

                       

THE SPANISH LA LIGA     

 Just how effective is the Contenders Rating Scale (CRS) in the Spanish Primera division at predicting the Top 5 placements at close of the current 2013/2014 campaign in Spain. 

Earlier, barely 4 matches to the start of the 2013/14 season precisely, it was predicted that the top 5 teams at the end of the campaign would be Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid (Recall that the CRS works with achieving a minimum of 3 of the 5 projected teams)

Well in the event of the Winter break currently ongoing, with 17 matches played and 21 left to go, this article aims at examining the level of effectiveness of the CRS at achieving this projection at the end of the season. Thus far, the La Liga has the following teams in its top five: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Atletico Bilbao and Real Sociedad (in order of league placement after 17 matches) which entails that Valencia and Sevilla are out of the pecking order.

But really, is there still hope for Valencia and Sevilla making the top 5 cut? I think so!

Sevilla and Valencia, placed in the 6^th and 11^th position respectively are 2/1 and 8/7 places ( 7/3 points and 13/9 points) behind Atletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.

21 matches left to play is not too much a number for either/both Valencia or Sevilla to breakthrough to the highly competitive first 5 placement. Fingers crossed, season climax is surely awaited.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

THE GERMAN BUNDESLIGA

At the start of the 2013/14 German football league season, the following was the projection for the eventual top 5 contenders, in no particular order: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04 and Wolfsburg. http://taiwokehinde-mymind.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-201314-football-season-across.html

But so far with half (17) the season total number of matches played, the top 5 teams are Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfburg. This entails that Schalke 04, placed with 28^th points in 7^th position could still find itself in the top 5. The effectiveness of  the CRS in the German Bundesliga is indeed very significant in the German Bundsliga.  

Remember, anything happens in football.

 

THE ITALIAN SERIE A

With Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli and Udinese being the projected  top 5 teams at the end of the current campaign, by the findings of the Contenders Rating Scale, the Serie A is indeed going to be a tough call, as usual.

Having played 17 matches so far and the winter break in procession, the Italian Serie A has Juventus, AS Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina and Internazionale (Inter Milan) respectively positioned in the particular order descending from the summit. Obviously missing and unable to make the cut for now, with 21 matches unsettled, Udinese and AC Milan which are both respectively placed in 11^th and 13^th position. In addition, both teams are 11 and 12 points behind 5^th placed team, Inter Milan which has 31 points to its credit. 

with the January transfer window being a time for teams to reinforce and make necessary acquisition(s) to bolster their respective squad, the table could still be turned around for either or both of AC Milan and Udinese in having the coveted Top 5 Season End placement.

 

 

THE FRENCH LIGUE 1

Also in the aforementioned Contenders Rating Scale, like the other leagues discussed therein is the French ligue 1. It was projected that at the end of the current campaign, the top 5 teams in no particular order would be Marseille, Lyon, Paris Saint- Germaine, Lille and Montpellier (Remember it is a minimum of 3 of these teams).

But so far with 19 matches played and same number left to the climax of the season, the top 5 teams are Paris Saint-Germaine, AS Monaco, Lille, Bordeaux and St. Etienne (in order of league placement after 19 matches played). 

As observed, only 2 teams (Paris Saint-Germaine and Lille) made the cut while Marseille, Lyon and 2011/12 Ligue 1 Champions, Montpellier are currently placed in 6^th, 10^th and 17^th position. Most likely, Montpellier are the most unlikely team to make the cut as their placement being in the 17^th place an d just above the redline/drop zone has them grappling with Ligue 1 survival. 

Ligue 1 Titbits:

AS Monaco are newly promoted and currently placed in second position. I call them the silent Ligue 1 title contenders.

Marseille, Lyon and Montpellier, 3 of the 5 foreseen contenders which are off the pecking order, respectively have 29, 25 and 19 points and mathematically being 1, 5 and 13 points behind 5^th placed St Etienne who have 30 points. 

No doubt, of all leagues earlier analysed, the French Ligue is the stiffest but there is still one left to discuss...

 

THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE 

The 2013/14 Englsh Pemier League has so far sprung up huge surprises, with all contenders having a difficult time ‘out-pointing' their recurrent rivals. 

Interestingly on the flip, the Contenders in this respect is not just limited to the Top 5 League placement/Title but very interestingly, the premier league survival placement/drop zone/redline. Oh sorry I didn’t mention earlier in the aforementioned leagues, the survival contenders is also a course of concern, worry and at the end, relief (for those who survive such a trying period though). 

The Contenders Rating Scale of the 201/14 season forecasted that at least 3 of Manchester United,  Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspurs would have a top 5 finish when the season reaches it crescendo. 

But so far, with half the matches played to round off the league, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea  are placed in first, second and third position respectively and remarkably the only three teams to make the cut of having a Top  5 finish. Don’t forget the season has just gone halfway, so 19 more matches are left to round it off.

Nonetheless, the current campaign is to my mind, the toughest of all, as the first to the 8^th placed team, Newcastle United are only separated by 9 points. Yea, you read that, 9 points!!!

The other 2 projected Contenders, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs (6th and 7th place) are 2 points behind 5^th placed, Liverpool.

With each of these leagues closely analysed in gauging the effectiveness of the 2013/2014 Contenders Rating Scale, please do check back in July 2014, after all leagues must have been concluded for MyMindAlways analysis of the CRS efficacy.  

Thank you!!!