Gabriele Marcotti has added some good commentary on the criticism Fabio Cappello was receiving about his position of Steven Gerrard in last week's friendly defeat to the Czech Republic,

I was a bit nonplussed last week. After the friendly against the Czech Republic, I found out that Fabio Capello was apparently "killing" Steven Gerrard's career by playing him "on the left wing". Click to continue reading...

We here at Soccer Statistics HQ are considering changing our site picture from that of Cristiano Ronaldo to one of a new player. We do not as yet know the identity of the player who will bless your screens when accessing the world of football stats, but here is where you can have some fun.

We invite you to write your recommendations in the comments section for the player you think should be represented on this site. Click to continue reading...

For our Canadian and MLS readers. From Prozone,

Toronto FC has become the first team in Major League Soccer (MLS) to sign up with the full ProZone3, multi-camera system. The eight cameras, strategically installed at the BMO Field, track each player's every movement during a match to provide the most extensive information ProZone provide. Click to continue reading...

Want to work for a Premier League team? Fulham FC have a Video Analyst Vacancy.

If you want to work for a Premier League team in a statistics position, get your CV and Cover Letter in to Fulham FC now. Click to continue reading...

Did you know that Rafa Benitez has spent £160m ($299m) on transfers during his tenure at Liverpool. Yes, you heard that right. Rafa Benitez has spent over £160m during his stint as manager and director of transfer operations at Liverpool. This of course refers to transfer fees alone; it does not refer to player salaries. Click to continue reading...

Yes, the new Premiership season is upon us. We will be posting more frequently soon, but for now I will give warm recommendations to one article and one website.

Lee Dixon analyses the Chelsea midfield, and I must say that I found his analysis to be... well analysis.

Second, it has come to our attention that Guy Melton is also trying to look at soccer objectively. Click to continue reading...

Who is the top left-back in the Premier League? Here are statistics from the four standout left-backs of 2007/08. They should come as no surprise to our readers. Clichy, Cole and Evra have cemented themselves as among the best players in their position in the world, while Warnock has grown in his ability and is finally starting to become recognized as a competent player. Click to continue reading...

Some EPL statistics from last season, 2007/08. Here as well. Click to continue reading...

Something funny to start our post. For this, we'll go to Nicolai V. Gogol and his story, Ivan Fyodorovich and His Aunt. The setting: how will a newcomer recognize Stepan Ivanovich? "You will recognize him at once for he is the only one to wear printed cotton trousers and a yellow cotton coat. And here is another sign by which you may recognize him: when he walks he always waves his arms about. Click to continue reading...

For some reason, I don't know why, readers were interested in our section on the best right-backs of the 2007/08 EPL season. Because of this interest, here is an updated list of the top right-backs of last season. Tottenham's Alan Hutton only played 12 games so he is not included, though he will certainly be in the 2008/09 list - he creates more opportunities for teammates than anybody on the below list - as will new Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa. Click to continue reading...

Martin Samuel reckons Man Utd can retain the Champions League this season. Fair enough. But then he said this,

"United could not take a chance on going another season without a 20-goal striker and Berbatov seems perfect for them. Even the best teams cannot stand still."

Number of EPL seasons in which Berbatov has scored 20 goals: 0
Is Berbatov a proven 20-goal striker? Click to continue reading...

Soccer Statistics would like people to stop calling Darren Bent's performance last season for Tottenham a flop. Bent, for all the slack he gets, grabbed a goal or assist every 115 minutes of action, or either a goal or an assist every .71 games. This strike-rate statistic would rank Bent last season as one of the most productive per 90 minute strikers in the EPL. Click to continue reading...

Freddie Ljungberg has been bought out of his contract at West Ham and released. The 31 year old was entering the second year of a four year contract paying him £4,100,000 per year.

In his first season, the aging and now crap Ljungberg put up numbers that earned him a place in the Soccer Statistics EPL Worst XI. Click to continue reading...

Does anybody know what happened to Squadgod.com? The site vanished this summer and is not up-and-running for the new season, which is unfortunate because it was a good source of EPL statistical data. Click to continue reading...

Kevin Keegan has defended 37 game, 0 goal striker Alan Smith,

"Alan Smith is a Newcastle player and that's it. He may not always be the best player on the pitch but no one will try harder."

Number of 2007/08 EPL forwards with a worse strike-rate than Alan Smith: 0
EPL goals Alan Smith has scored since the end of the 2005/06 season: 0
EPL goals Alan Smith has scored since the end of the 2004/05 season: 1
Alan Smith's effort (out of 100): 100

Keegan's Message: It is fine to be crap so long as you try hard. Click to continue reading...