European Cup, second qualifying round, second leg:

So, Celtic recovered a little honour, going out "merely" by the odd goal in nine. However, this is still a complete disaster for the club, who will not only lose €10 million, but may well lose Scotland's second Champions League spot for the 07/8 season. Dynamo Kyiv were another major casualties, losing by the odd goal against the Swiss runners-up. Similar analysis there. And Trabzonspor, the Turkish runners-up, fall to the Cypriot champions, a result with huge amounts of history.

By all accounts, the Malmo - Haifa matches were absolute classics, and the unseeded and unheralded Malmo qualify for the next phase. No trouble for Liverpool, Brondby, Hungarian champs Debrecen, CSKA Sofia, Anderlecht, Valerengen, Rapid Vienna, or Steaua Bucharest. Partizan Belgrade will have hoped to do better against the Moldovan champions, but a win is a win.

The revised draw for the Sorting Hat Round, teams already in the Glicko rankings are in capitals:

Yes, we came within a whisker of having the Moldovan champs meet the Slovenian champs for a place in the big money. We're guaranteed one minnow in the group phase, after the Swedish champs and Swiss runners-up were drawn together. There should be no trouble for Liverpool, MBuc or Rangers, but Everton - Villarreal is still shaping up to be a classic. We're also looking forward to Shakhtar -v- Inter Milan.

The Intertoto Cup, Fourth Round, Second Leg.

So, the finals are:

Yum.

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

There's trouble at the mill in Italy. Torino were due to come up from Serie B to Serie A this season, but haven't been able to convince the footballing authorities that they're finances are up to speed, so back down they go. Genoa were also due to make a return to the top flight, but they only got through by bribing Venizia to throw their late-season game. Genoa have been chucked down to the semi-pro Serie C1. We assume that Treviso and Ancona will retain their places amongst the senior ranks.

No tremendous surprises on the opening day of the Bundesliga, though the second day in France saw Auxerre defeat Monaco, which might just count as an upset.

In England's second division, Crystal Palace lost 2:1 to Luton, which cost them 34 Glicko points. (Luton gained 89, but they're newly-promoted, and will fall from here.) Plymouth won 2:1 at Reading, picking up 30 points. Crewe beat Burnley by the same score, that was worth 31, while Sheffield United's 4:1 win over Leicester gained 24. In the day's biggest match, Southampton and Wolves drew 0:0.

linkpage | Results |

European Cup, Sorting Hat Round, first leg.

No-one's particularly secure to progress, which is probably about right. Manchester B and Liverpool are perhaps safest, and it would be a surprise not to see Wisla Krakow there. But Artmedia, Thun, Brondby, and Anorthis Famagusta are still in with a good shout of the ten million euro games. Second legs two weeks hence.

The Intertoto Cup Finals, first leg.

And again, no-one is secure after three tight games.

Domestically, a full programme in Divisions II to IV. The major upsets in the second flight were:
* Luton - Southampton 3:2. Yep, promoted Luton defeat relegated Soton. It's a 26-point Glicko game for the south coast side, but because Luton are still trading in hand-waving uncertainty, they put on 89 points and rise to the top of the division.
* QPR - Ipswich 2:1. 32 points exchanged hands here.
* Cardiff - Leeds 2:1. 29 points in this game.
* Wolves - Crystal Palace 2:1. 24 points here in a match involving two serious promotion challengers.
Sheffield Utd and Leicester also won, high-flyers Preston, Derby and Norwich all drew. The game between Milwall and Coventry ended 0:0, and with the sides just 4 points apart, the Glicko exchange was also 0.

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

UEFA Cup, Second Qualifying Round, first leg.

We're not particular fans of this second qualifying round, there are too many teams involved, and very few obvious ties worth cursing Eurosport for not showing. Of the 31 ties, only Dnipro, Maccabi Petah Tikva, Red Star Belgrade, Rapid Bucharest, and Groclin can be reasonably certain of their place in the next phase. It does seem to be Cyprus's year this year, after Anorthis booked their place in the Final Qualifying Round, APOEL are doing their best to join in. This round, though, is the calm before the storm, and for every Vaduz - Bestiktas, there are too many matches between sides we can't get excited about.

A quick change of terminology - the next round will be the Final Qualifying Round, then the Group Phase, leading to the 32 sides that will actually compete for the cup in February's First Round Proper. The spirit of Henry Kelly lives on!

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

Charlton (+29) and West Ham (+31) notch up good 3:1 wins against Sunderland and Blackburn respectively. Four goals in the opening ten minutes made Bolton's trip to Villa worth the wait, but the match petered out into a 2:2 draw. Spurs (+20) picked up a useful win at Portsmouth, and Manchester Buccaneers (+15) beat Everton 2:0.

Reading reckon that the hardest match in Division II is Preston, away. The Royals won 3:0, and score +31 into the bargain. QPR (+27) beat Sheffield Utd 2:1, Watford and Stoke both gain 28 Glicko points from their victories over Cardiff and Milwall. Relegated sides Norwich and Palace drew 1:1. Wolves (+11) set a club record by going 21 league matches without defeat, their 1:0 win was against the newly-promoted Hull. Top five in Division II:

LUT	893	147.2
WLV	891	91.2
SOT	879	92.2
NOR	860	94
CPL	827	94.1

Division 3 is going almost exactly to plan - Brentford and Walsall are doing well, Yeovil and Franchise not so well. Division 4 saw a battle between two promoted sides, Barnet beat Carlisle 3:1. Leyton Orient remain perfect, while the Thames Valley derby ended Oxford - Wycombe 2:2. Matches at Chester and Macclesfield were postponed due to waterlogged pitches, no-one expects rain in the Manchester area during the test match. Er.

The opening day in Division 5 went mostly to last season's form, though Aldershot went down to defeat at Tamworth. The first relegation six-pointer ended Forest Green - Cambridge U 1:0; there were 4:0 wins for Hereford and Stevenage at the expense of Scarborough and Altrincham. We're not going to draw too much attention to the Division 6 (S) result Lewes - Farnborough 6:2, that would be cruel. Only two clean sheets in the eleven Division 6 (N) programme, but no-one scored more than three goals either.

In Scotland A, Celtic fell behind to Falkirk. Just as the board were thinking about appointing a cabbage to manage the team, Gordon Strachan inspired his boys to a 3:1 win (+7). Kilmarnock (+25) upset Motherwell 4:1, there were also wins for Inverness and Hibs, the latter over the heavily pointless Livingston.

Just four goals in Division B, Ross and St Johnstone gaining 1:0 wins. Division C leaders Gretna continue to cut through the league like a knife through something soft, winning 3:1 at Raith. Partick were held 1:1 at Peterhead. In Division D, the world looked like it was coming to an end when East Stirlingshire took the lead at Berwick. Thankfully for us all, the home side came back to win 3:2. Phew.

And finally, the result you've all been waiting for, from the North West Counties League Division II (an 11th Division league): Leek CSOB - Manchester United 2:5. In the next division up, Skelmersdale - Stone Dominoes (NINE)9:0. We've heard of static attacks, but this is ridiculous...

Next mid-week: a full programme in Divisions 5 and 6, and some World Cup qualifying matches in all regions except Africa and Australasia.

linkpage | Results |

Classified results:

Romania move within three points of both the Netherlands and Czechia, but have played two games more. Romania's next game is against the Czechs, and failure to win will just about kill the group.

A match postponed from last February, Georgia remain sixth with eight points, the Kazakhs have eight fewer.

They'll be laughing on the streets of Vaduz to-night, Liechtenstein have now taken a point off both the top two. It's Portugal 20, Slovakia 18, Russia 15, Latvia 14, with Russia and Portugal having a game in hand. Those sides meet on 7 Sep, with Slovakia - Russia on 12 Oct.

A non-match in the group where France, Israel, Ireland, and Switzerland are covered by a handkerchief.

Not much was at stake - Korea (S), Saudi, Japan and Iran had all qualified, with Bahrain already into the play-offs. They'll face Uzbekistan, who completed a dramatic win in Tashkent. Winner will go to Germany, loser will play against the 4th side from CONCACAF...

In Division V, it's two-out-of-two for Exeter, Accrington, and Morecambe. Newly promoted sides Altrincham and Southport are yet to pick up a point, along with Scarborough, Gravesend, and promotion faves Aldershot. Division VI (N) had the Battle of the M42 (Nuneaton - Redditch 2:1), while there was a goal-fest in VI (S) (Dorchester - Bognor Regis 3:5).

Pick of the week-end: Liverpool - Sunderland, Chelsea - Arsenal, Leeds - Wolves, Altrincham - Forest Green, Rangers - Celtic, and the first round proper of the German cup.

linkpage | Results |

A goal-fest in most of the leagues, but not in the top flight. Tottenham head the league table, at least for to-night, after their 2:0 victory over Middlesbrough. Manchester Buccaneers and Charlton are also two-from-two, after 1:0 victories over Aston Villa and Wigan respectively. Wigan themselves are having a pointless season, along with Sunderland (lost 1:0 to Liverpool) and Portsmouth (lost 2:1 to West Brom). Spurs' victory was worth 25 Glicko points, but Blackburn's 2:1 win over Fulham was worth +27. Newcastle and West Ham's shared the only 0:0 draw in England's top five flights, and you'll be able to see highlights on Bore Of The Day with Gary Linneker.

All good things must come to an end in Division II. So it is for Luton's high-flying status - they lost 2:1 to Stoke (+32). And so it is for Wolves' longest unbeaten streak, capped at 22 matches after a 2:0 reverse at Leeds (+31). Coventry opened their new Arena with a 3:0 pasting of QPR (+27), Watford beat Burnley 3:1 (+24), and Reading (+21) consolidated their promotion claims with a 5:0 tonking of Millwall. The Royals share the league lead with Sheffield Utd, who beat Preston 2:1. Millwall prop up the division with just a single point.

In Scotland, the big match saw Rangers (+29) beat Celtic 3:1, to go top of the Glicko table. Dundee Utd (+25) picked up a 5:4 win at Motherwell, and Hearts (+20) remain top of the official table after beating Aberdeen 2:0. The scores on the doors:

RAN 1003 96.9
CEL  987 97.0
HRT  858 89.5
HBS  787 91.4
-------------
LVG  634 92.3
DNF  631 91.6
FAL  612 143.8

Brentford and Oldham are making the pace in Division III, with wins over Tranmere and Chesterfield respectively. Last week's leaders Walsall drew 1:1 at Hartlepool. Notts Forest are flirting alarmingly close to the relegation zone, missing it by goal difference only.

The last 100% record in Division IV has gone, Leyton Orient were thrashed 4:1 by Rochdale. First side to ten points is Barnet, who beat Macclesfield 1:0. Wycombe beat bury 4:0 in the day's goal-fest. Macclesfield and Torquay have only a single point.

Division V saw Cambridge Utd emphasise their promotion credentials, beating Accrington Stanley 3:1. Two of last year's hopefuls, Halifax and Aldershot, drew 1:1. In the relegation zone, Altrincham beat Forest Green 2:1. The Essex deby ended Canvey Island - Gravesend and Northfleet 1:2. Exeter still have the perfect record, after beating Morecambe, while the relegation slots are filled by Aldershot and Scarborough - both sides picked up their first points of the season, Scarborough against Kidderminster.

Lower down the leagues, Hinkley picked up a 4:3 win at Hednesford, and Cambridge City a 5:0 win at Maidenhead. Wimbledon picked up where they left off, a 4:1 win against Folkestone leaves them top of Division VII (SE). What links Long Buckby, Jarrow, Yarrow, Alvechurch, and Wembley? None of them will be going to Wembley next May for the FA Cup final, all these sides - and about three dozen others - have fallen out of the cup at the Extra Preliminary Round stage.

In Scotland, Dundee beat Queen of the South while the other contenders drew. Gretna's bandwagon continues, a 1:0 win over Stirling consolidates their position. And the world may yet end soon, East Stirling held on to their lead to beat Arbroath 3:1. Smoked!

Continental news, and Cologne were the highest-profile casualties in the opening round of the DFB-Cup, falling 3:1 at Kickers Offenbach, of Bundesliga II. In France, Lens - Sochaux (SEVEN)7:0. And in Latvia, the end of an era looms, as perpetual champions Skonto Riga are 12 points behind leaders Metalurgs with just ten rounds to play.

linkpage | Results |

European Cup, Sorting Hat Round, second leg.

* - Artmedia wins 4:3 on penalties after 0:0 in extra time.
** - Bruges wins 4:3 on penalties after 0:0 in extra time.
*** - Panathaniakos wins 1:0 after extra time.

For the first time since the current format began, no fewer than two sides have made it through the three qualifying rounds to reach the group phase. We always expected Liverpool to make it through, but let's tip our hats to the plucky Artmedia Bratislava side, who earn a €10 million reward for thumping five goals past Celtic, and keeping the Glasgow side down to a mere four.

Slightly fewer shocks elsewhere - Monaco fallingto Real Betis is the biggest, Udinese putting out Sporting Lisbon probably counts as such, as does Rapid Vienna's overcoming of Lokomotiv Moscow. Brondby couldn't quite hold Ajax at bay, and we told you that Panathaniakos and Bruges were going to be involved in tight matches.

The Intertoto Cup Finals, first leg.

Hamburg defended well, Lens played their attacking football, and if you get a chance to see the highlights of Marseille - Dep, do so, it's a cracking game.

In domestic action, it was the first round of the English League Cup. The sides in Division II and the top half of Division III play a side from the bottom half of Division III or Division IV. The winners will then go into the next round, where the 12 Division I sides who don't play in Europe join the fray; this round is also seeded. Winners there join the eight Euro-sides (including Newcastle) in the unseeded Third Round Proper.

That's all ahead of us; this week was survival for the Division II sides. Ipswich are perhaps the greatest casualties, falling 2:0 to Yeovil. Crewe were humbled 5:1 at Lincoln, while QPR, Preston, Hull, Stoke, Brighton and Grimsby also fell by the wayside. For the Glicko rankings, these matches are played against "dummy" teams, based on the opposition's performances in recent years; wins are worth about 5 points, draws in 90 minutes will cost about 25 points, defeat will drop 40 or so.

Scotland had the second round of her League Cup, entry for the eight Division A sides not playing in Europe. All eight won, so Gretna's cup dream is over for another tournament. The upsets were Ayr's 2:1 win at Ross, and Stranraer beating Dundee by the same scoreline.

There were seven matches in English Division I. Chelsea (+8) are the only side on 9 points from three games, after beating West Brom. Spurs drew at Blackburn (+6), and Man City's (+16) win over Sunderland puts them third. Arsenal (+10) overcame Fulham, Bolton (+21) beat Newcastle, Middlesbrough (+21) beat Birmingham, and Portsmouth (+6) and Villa drew.

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

A lot of nonsense has been written about the UEFA Team Rankings. They're not so blindingly obvious that any twit journalist can understand them, but they are simple enough that readers of this blog will get them.

Each ranking has two elements: one based solely on the team results, and another based on the results of all teams from that country.

The team results are as simple as anything. Three points for a win, one point for a draw, with bonus points for making the group phase of the European League, and for each knock-out round, or each round from the last eight of the UEFA Cup. Points in qualifying rounds are reduced - 1 for a win, ½ for a draw, and the Intertoto Cup is completely ignored. Madness.

Now comes the national bit. Add up all the points scored by all the teams from your country, then divide this total by the number of competing teams. So for English sides, you divide through by 7, for Scottish sides by 4, and if you are Vaduz, then you divide the total of all the Liechtenstein club by 1. Whatever number you're left with, divide that by 3, otherwise the formula becomes far too heavily skewed in favour of national performance rather than the team's, and Rosenborg will begin to kick up a very polite but very whiffy Nordic stink.

Finally, add together the team points and the country points to get an annual total. Repeat this for all five years, and voila! Proof that Real Madrid (a consistently successful team from a consistently successful country) are the best around, and that Arsenal (one UEFA Cup final, two EL quarters) are better than lazy journos think. This year's full list is here.

So tell me, Georgina Turner, what's so difficult about that? Ah, you'd forgotten Arsenal's trip to the UEFA Cup final in 2000. So had we all...

You know, I managed to write that entire blurb while UEFA's buttock-clenchingly tedious "awards ceremony" took place, of which more anon...

linkpage | European |

That draw in full:

Looks like a fairly simple group to predict.

Interesting. Sparta Prague are a rising team, Ajax are falling by the wayside, and Arsenal should have no trouble getting through. Thun, the Swiss runners-up, are going to take the money and run.

Very interesting. Barca will walk the group, but the other three sides will be playing off against each other until the cows come home.

Ooh, nasty! Two former European champions (MB and Benfica) meet two up-and-coming sides. I can't see the Bucs falling out entirely, but a drop into the UEFA Cup is very possible.

If Group D hadn't been the group of death, this would run it close. I wouldn't care to call this one either.

Feels like it should go to form, with Madrid and Lyon going through, but Real were very flaky last year, Olympiakos are dangerous, and Rosenborg usually causes a stir.

Well, there you go, with battles for the top slot and for the UEFA Cup spot.

If Rangers can't make the UEFA Cup's Third Round Proper from this, then I worry for them. Unless they've come out on top of Porto and made the last 16 of this contest. A certain poetic justice will see Artmedia back in Glasgow.

linkpage | European |

UEFA Cup, Second Qualifying Round, first leg.

* - Esbjerg won 3:2 on penalties after 0:0 in extra time.
** - APOEL Nicosea wins 2:1 in extra time
@ - Team won on away goals

As I mentioned two weeks ago, the second qualifying round is a bit tedious, without any really big teams involved. Some moderately-large sides are out, though - Djurgarden would have hoped for a money-spinner against a top side, and Dundee Utd would have hoped for more than this. Perhaps the biggest upset is APOEL's defeat of Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Omonia came within an ace of knocking off Dinamo Bucharest. Legia Warsaw appear to be a side on the way down, and this result won't help at all.

UEFA Cup, Final Qualifying Round Draw

Capitals denote a side already in the Glicko system.

Bad luck to Everton, pulling another tricky tie. Best chance of an upset comes from Copenhagen.

The defending champs couldn't have asked for an easier draw than one of the fair-play sides. Leverkusen could well struggle against Sofia.

As an unseeded side, Hibs would always draw someone nasty. Dnipro are far better than Seville or Feyenoord.

Another unlucky draw for Valerengen. Rennes against Osasuna could be interesting.

Graz against Strasbourg we like a lot. Anorthosis will fancy their chances against Palermo, while Boro should knock off Xanthi easily.

Roma against ARIS is exciting.

Monaco have a particularly easy draw, they must be amongst the favourites to win the cup outright. Viking against Austria could be entertaining. RC Lens (Fr) v GROCLIN GRODZISK (Pl)
Tromsø IL (No) v Galatasaray (Tr)
BOLTON WANDERERS (En) v Lokomotiv Plovdiv (Bg)
SHAKHTAR DONETSK (Ua) v DVSC Debrecen (Hu)
ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG (Ru) v AEK ATHENS (Gr)

And they saved the tie of the round until last. The Bulgarians have done well to put all three sides in this round, and Plovdiv will provide a good test for Bolton; Lens will not relish the trip to Groclin, who put out Man City a couple of years back. It's one of only five matches between already-listed sides, while there will be at least twelve new sides gracing the list by the end of next month.

This week-end sees the UEFA Super Cup final (already under way), the new seasons in Italy and Spain, and an extra round of matches in English divisions II, III, and IV on Monday.

Rankings for the three unlisted sides in the European League are based on their UEFA coefficients: ARTmedia 689, THUn 703, UDInese 872. All have an initial RD of 200, and will feature in the next full tables to be published... next week!

linkpage | EuropeanResults |

Starting, just for a change, in Scotland, where Hibs took a 3:0 win at Rangers yesterday, worth 35 Glicko points. The Edinburgh side are unbeaten, and in the overnight tables, Rangers and Celtic fill positions 4 and 5. Aberdeen, Hearts, and Kilmarnock all picked up low-teens wins. Normal service in he lower leagues, as Gretna won, and East Stirling were thrashed 6:1 by Stenhousemuir. Ross heads Division B, two clear of Dundee.

In England, the big match was at the bottom, and ended Wigan - Sunderland 1:0. Thirty Glicko points exchanged there, and Sunderland are still pointless after four. Chelsea still lead the way, their 2:0 win at Spurs means played four, won four, scored eight, conceded nil. But Manchester City occupy second place in the league, the 2:1 win over Portsmouth netted 12 Glicko points. Villa, Fulham, and Birmingham all won matches against their peers, and pick up scores in the mid-20s; Bolton over West Ham (+14) was rather expected.

Luton's run continues in Division II, knocking off Leicester (worth -17 to Leicester). Sheffield Utd holds the lead, after Reading was held 0:0 at Watford. The big winners were Leeds and Hull, 1:0 winners at Norwich and Plymouth respectively, both worth +23. The rankings in this division are beginning to settle down, and it won't be long before the rule-of-thumb that a +20 win is an upset can be used.

A log-jam in Division III, with five teams on ten points. Barnet lost the game to Grimsby, and the Division IV lead to Notts County by a point. Five sides are still to taste defeat there - Wycombe and Cheltenham are +2=3-0, while postponements mean Chester and Rushden are both +1=3-0. Exeter are still winning everything in Division V, with Morecambe closest behind. The surprise is Aldershot - promotion contenders last year, but a defeat to Altrincham leaves them rock-bottom this year, with barely a point.

Stafford Rangers remain +4=0-0 in Division VI (N), and are holding off Northwich; Sutton is doing the same in the south, with Histon in second place. Amongst fallen cup-winners, Wimbledon is at the top of Division VII (SE), and Manchester Utd were inactive because most of the division's involved in FA Cup (Preliminary Round) action. Corinthinans are out, as are Steyning, Thame, Colne, and Aylesbury. Kingstonians are through, though, which must be a good thing.

linkpage | Results |

So, here's the plan for the NCAA season. There are fourteen regular season weeks, running from 1 Sept to 3 Dec, though most teams appear to complete their seasons the previous week-end. Plus the "bowl" games, played from mid-December into the first week of the new year. And, in the absence of any sensible ranking of the sides, I shall step into the breach with what must be treated as an experimental system.

I'm going to be working with the 116 sides listed in Division I-A at the end of last year, and I'm only concerned with matches between those sides. Anything played against a I-AA side, or a II-side, will not count. Nor am I interested in any pre-season "classic" friendly matches.

As a starting point, I've based rankings on Jeff Sagarin's work, as his nominal-ELO rankings are a special case of Glicko rankings (in ELO, each side has the same Deviance.) However, there are suggestions that these rankings exhibit bias towards the larger sides. As such, I'm using them as a starting point only, and will expect these to be reasonable approximations to the actual position at the end of last season. My model has a mean of 1000 and standard deviation of 200.

RDs will increase during inactive weeks, at a rate that will turn an RD of 100 into 200 after 20 months of inactivity. However, I will assume that all "bowl" games take place in the same week, and that this week is immediately after the regular season.

One novelty arises from an analysis of the fixture list, for it doesn't crop up in football. It is custom and practice for the larger teams to pay significant sums of money so that smaller teams will come to their stadium and be soundly beaten, on the field if not off it. All things considered, this is a singularly rubbish way to run a system, and I'll be experimenting with a formula to discourage such behaviour. This year's experiment will compare the home side's excess probability of winning to the points they'd gain by a win. (This year, I'm defining "excess probability" as probability of winning minus 84% - this represents a 2 standard deviation difference between the sides.) If the excess probability is smaller than the number of points gained for winning, I'll be treating the game as an exhibition match, designed only to game the BCS formula, and not a serious sporting spectacle.

A worked example - suppose South California were to host Kent State. (Just suppose, OK. I have no idea where Kent State is, other than it's not in K*nt.) Based on their season-opening rankings, the Glicko formula reckons there's a 94.15% probability of SCALF losing this match, so they have an Excess Probability of 10.15%. On the same ratings, SCALF would gain 8 points from a win. This is such a small reward that I would treat the match as an exhibition.

This rule will not apply to any games played on neutral territory, and I'll be noting any and all such "exhibition" games in the weekly recaps.

At the end of the "bowl" games, I'll be able to work out how likely each one is to finish top of the rankings. This won't produce one, obvious, champion, unless they're two RDs clear of the field. Instead, I'll produce a list of teams and their probability of being the best.

Here's the complete list. I won't be re-posting the complete list again until the very end of competition, but will post the top end and a few "conferences" each week.

VTECH	AC	1202	Virginia Tech
MIAFL	AC	1165	Miami-Florida
FLAST	AC	1131	Florida State
GEOTC	AC	1104	Georgia Tech
VIRGI	AC	1094	Virginia
NCARO	AC	1088	N Carolina
CLEMS	AC	1060	Clemson
NCSTA	AC	1041	NC State
MARYL	AC	1029	Maryland
WAKEF	AC	995 	Wake Forest
DUKE	AC	935 	Duke
BOSCL	BE	1110	Boston College
WVIRG	BE	1081	W Virginia
PITTS	BE	1068	Pittsburgh
CONNC	BE	1049	Connecticut
SYRAC	BE	1030	Syracuse
RUTGR	BE	942 	Rutgers
TEMPL	BE	899 	Temple
OKLAH	BT	1306	Oklahoma
TEXAS	BT	1273	Texas
TXSTC	BT	1160	Texas Tech
TEXAM	BT	1137	Texas A&M
COLRD	BT	1105	Colorado
OKLST	BT	1093	Oklahoma State
IWAST	BT	1050	Iowa State
NBRSK	BT	1014	Nebraska
KANSS	BT	1010	Kansas
KNSST	BT	995 	Kansas State
MISRI	BT	992 	Missouri
BAYLR	BT	967 	Baylor
IOWA	BX	1188	Iowa
MICH	BX	1128	Michigan
WISCO	BX	1116	Wisconsin
OHIST	BX	1110	Ohio State
PRDUE	BX	1064	Purdue
NWSTN	BX	1033	Morthwestern
MINNS	BX	1027	Minnesota
MICST	BX	980 	Michigan State
PENST	BX	961 	Penn State
INDAN	BX	893 	Indiana
ILLNS	BX	878 	Illinois
LSVLE	CU	1222	Louisville
SMISS	CU	1017	S Miss
MEMPH	CU	1013	Memphis
CINCI	CU	1009	Cincinnati
UAB 	CU	993 	UAB
TCU 	CU	963 	TCU
TULNE	CU	945 	Tulane
SFLOR	CU	926 	S Florida
HOUST	CU	914 	Houston
ARMY	CU	880 	Army
ECARL	CU	874 	E Carolina
BOWLG	MA	1026	Bowling Green
NILNS	MA	998 	N Illinois
TOLED	MA	975 	Toledo
MIOHO	MA	918 	Miami-Ohio
MARSL	MA	883 	Marshall
AKRON	MA	867 	Akron
KENTS	MA	780 	Kent State
OHIOU	MA	778 	Ohio U
EMICH	MA	743 	East Mich
CMICH	MA	731 	Central Mich
BUFFL	MA	693 	Buffalo
BALLS	MA	666 	Ball State
WMICH	MA	611 	West Mich
UCF 	MA	577 	UCF
UTAH	MW	1251	Utah
NEWMX	MW	1051	New Mexico
WYOMG	MW	1032	Wyoming
BYU 	MW	1020	BYU
AIRFC	MW	975 	Air Force
COLST	MW	960 	Colorado State
SDGST	MW	948 	San Diego State
UNLV	MW	885 	UNLV
SCALF	PX	1407	Southern California
ARZST	PX	1168	Arizona State
CALIF	PX	1167	California
ORGST	PX	1118	Oregon State
WASST	PX	1019	Washington State
UCLA	PX	1002	UCLA
OREGN	PX	995 	Oregon
STANF	PX	990 	Stanford
ARIZN	PX	963 	Arizona
WASNG	PX	846 	Washington
NTEXS	SB	980 	North Texas
TROY	SB	965 	Troy
NMXST	SB	959 	New Mexico State
LOMON	SB	935 	Louisiana Monroe
MDTEN	SB	920 	Middle Tennessee
UTHST	SB	897 	Utah State
ARKST	SB	891 	Arkansas State
LOLAF	SB	882 	Louisiana Lafayette
IDAHO	SB	868 	Idaho
AUBRN	SE	1356	Auburn
TENSE	SE	1207	Tennessee
GRGIA	SE	1203	Georgia
LSU 	SE	1134	LSU
FLORD	SE	1039	Florida
ARKNS	SE	1015	Arkansas
SCARO	SE	1009	S Carolina
ALABM	SE	968 	Alabama
MISIP	SE	962 	Mississippi
MSPST	SE	880 	Mississippi State
VNDRB	SE	830 	Venderbilt
KNTCY	SE	821 	Kentucky
BSEST	WA	1165	Boise State
FRSST	WA	1092	Fresno State
UTEP	WA	1053	UTEP
LSATC	WA	1038	Louisiana Tech
HAWII	WA	1013	Hawaii
TULSA	WA	924 	Tulsa
SMU 	WA	916 	SMU
RICE	WA	911 	Rice
NEVDA	WA	900 	Nevada
SNJST	WA	831 	San Jose State
NAVY	XX	1078	Navy
NOTDM	XX	1056	Notre Dame

A question for the readers - is there interest in applying this logic to the grown-up NFL games?

linkpage | NCAA |

Just before each month's international week come the Monthly Glicko Rankings. All the active sides, all the time.

In English Division I, Chelsea remain top, Man City and Charlton are up, Everton and Newcastle's European defeats count against them, and we over-rated Sunderland.

CHE	1290	94.5	46
ANL	1196	93.7	0
MUN	1194	95	38
LIV	1096	91.8	-2
MCY	1061	93	45
BOL	1048	91.5	-2
TOT	1012	91.5	31
MID	976	89.6	-21
CHA	975	94.8	78
EVE	974	92.1	-33
AVL	961	92.5	14
BIR	954	91.8	-22
FUL	953	91.2	-8
NWC	937	86.8	-61
BLK	936	90.1	-25
WBA	930	93.9	-7
WHM	873	91.5	23
WIG	850	96.4	4
POR	849	92.2	-47
SUN	849	92.6	-86 

In Division II, the rise of Luton overshadows all-comers, and appears to have led to a general decline in scores as the rest of the division adjusts to this shock. Everyone knows Milwall have got off to a rubbish start, but Norwich have had an even worse time. Watford, Sheffield Utd, and Leeds have also begun well.

SOT	902	86.8	3
LUT	875	120.2	165
WLV	866	86.3	12
CPL	860	89.2	-23
SFU	834	85.7	70
LEE	821	87.8	65
PNE	777	85.3	-44
NOR	769	88.3	-119
IPS	764	85.8	-53
DER	761	84.9	-45
REA	759	86.6	44
WAT	742	86.3	70
LEI	736	85.3	-22
COV	732	86.6	10
STK	718	86.8	27
CDF	715	86.8	-18
BNL	683	85.6	-54
QPR	682	87.5	-28
HUL	669	120.2	-15
MIL	666	86.5	-97
CRW	632	86.7	-16
BRI	624	87.3	-39
PLY	617	87	-38
SFW	555	126.6	-3 

Scotland has seen unexpected defeats for Celtic and Rangers, and the rise of Hearts. Kilmarnock have had a good start, Livingston a particularly poor one.

CEL	994	97	-4
RAN	964	96	-34
HRT	876	88.1	77
MTW	832	89	57
HBS	822	91	44
ABD	803	89.8	5
KLM	791	88.1	69
ICT	755	89.3	20
DDU	741	89	-1
DNF	635	90	-32
LVG	635	89	-52
FAL	614	128.7	34 

Just one match for most sides in Spain.

RMD	1205	111.8	15
BAR	1199	105.3	-35
SEV	1093	113.9	25
BET	1090	132.0	13
GET	1085	183.2	95
OSA	1071	183.3	86
VAL	1069	114.5	47
VIL	1064	110.8	-28
DEP	1062	99.7	24
ABL	1050	116.1	34
ZAR	1025	112.8	-2
AMD	1006	183.3	6
CVG	1005	172.7	85
SOC	995	120.1	-39
ESP	977	183.3	-95
ALA	974	175.1	64
MAL	934	118.1	-38
MGA	925	183.3	-75
CAD	920	183.3	-40
SAN	915	183.2	-65 

And the other early European results. Most sides will become active next month.

BRU	772	134.2	BRUGGE	be	14
BAY	1143	110.2	BAYERN MUNICH	de	22
BYL	981	126.8	BAYER LEVERKUSEN	de	-30
SNV	1146	127.2	SCHALKE 04	de	26
STT	974	118.4	STUTTGART	de	-24
WER	980	114.6	WERDER BREMEN	de	-1
AUX	1026	99.9	AUXERRE	fr	34
BDX	970	111.4	BORDEAUX	fr	11
LIL	994	119.3	LILLE	fr	-12
LYN	1149	106.3	LYON	fr	7
MAR	968	106.1	MARSEILLE	fr	74
MON	987	103.3	MONACO	fr	-87
PSG	994	115.5	PARIS ST GERMAIN	fr	28
SCX	892	118.5	SOCHAUX	fr	-20
OLY	1093	119.6	OLYMPIAKOS	gr	26
PAN	924	123.5	PANATHANAIKOS	gr	-28
INT	1118	106.8	INTER MILAN	it	7
JVE	1138	113.6	JUVENTUS	it	-1
LAZ	901	120.7	LAZIO	it	-39
AJX	910	118.1	AJAX	nl	6
FEY	867	129.1	FEYENOORD	nl	64
PSV	1066	119.0	PSV EINDHOVEN	nl	-52
ROS	864	149.5	ROSENBORG	no	101
VRG	757	163.5	VALARENGEN	no	-15
STE	845	134.7	STEAUA BUCHAREST	ro	-79
CSK	984	111.6	CSKA MOSCOW	ru	-3
ZSP	832	152.8	ZENIT ST PETERSBURG	ru	29
BES	998	145.9	BESTIKTAS	tr	50
FEN	950	142.5	FENERBACHE	tr	-4
GEN	878	146.5	GENCENBIRGILI	tr	-45
SHA	945	122.3	SHAKTAR DONETSK	ua	-26 

Full European results will follow next month.

linkpage | Tables |

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