Sports – FiveThirtyEight — Soccer RSS



Beneath The Premier League Stands The Great Football Pyramid Of England

UPDATE (Aug. 8, 10:14 a.m.): With the opening weekend of the Premier League upon us, we’re recycling this piece from September 2014 about England’s great football pyramid. There’s a whole lot more than just Chelsea and Arsenal. On Saturday, Swansea City will host Southampton in an English Premier League fixture in South Wales. Southampton was […]

Continue reading



Beneath The Premier League Stands The Great Football Pyramid Of England

UPDATE (Aug. 8, 10:14 a.m.): With the opening weekend of the Premier League upon us, we’re recycling this piece from September 2014 about England’s great football pyramid. There’s a whole lot more than just Chelsea and Arsenal. On Saturday, Swansea City will host Southampton in an English Premier League fixture in South Wales. Southampton was […]

Continue reading





Messi Doesn’t Cross That Much, Nor Should He

In an article published Wednesday — “Was Lionel Messi Tired?” — we proposed that Messi’s sometimes-criticized “work rate” — the fact that he appears to cover less distance on the field per minute than just about any non-goalkeeper — might actually be an important part of what makes him as good as he is. It’s a counterintuitive […]

Continue reading