Seoul After 10 Games: the Checklist (Part I)
(I love Choi Yong-soo's passion- from youtube.com.) |
First, here is the league table after 10 games. I have included the percentages for wins, draws, and losses along with goals for (plus average) and points (plus average). The data is from soccerway.com and I have tried to put it into a table that looks beautiful and is easily read.
2016 K-League Classic Table After 10 Games
Rank
|
Team
|
P
|
W (%)
|
D (%)
|
L (%)
|
GF (avg.)
|
Pts. (avg.)
|
1
|
FC Seoul
|
10
|
7 (70%)
|
1 (10%)
|
2 (20%)
|
21 (2.1)
|
22 (2.2)
|
2
|
Jeonbuk
|
9
|
5 (56%)
|
4 (44%)
|
0 (0%)
|
16 (1.8)
|
19 (2.1)
|
3
|
Seongnam
|
10
|
5 (50%)
|
3 (30%)
|
2 (20%)
|
18 (1.8)
|
18 (1.8)
|
4
|
Jeju Utd.
|
10
|
5 (50%)
|
2 (20%)
|
3 (30%)
|
21 (2.1)
|
17 (1.7)
|
5
|
Sangju Sangmu
|
10
|
4 (40%)
|
2 (20%)
|
4 (40%)
|
18 (1.8)
|
14 (1.4)
|
6
|
Pohang
|
10
|
3 (30%)
|
4 (40%)
|
3 (30%)
|
11 (1.1)
|
13 (1.3)
|
7
|
Suwon Bluewings
|
10
|
2 (20%)
|
6 (60%)
|
2 (20%)
|
14 (1.4)
|
12 (1.2)
|
8
|
Ulsan
|
10
|
3 (30%)
|
3 (30%)
|
4 (40%)
|
7 (0.7)
|
12 (1.2)
|
9
|
Gwangju
|
9
|
3 (33.3%)
|
2 (22.2%)
|
4 (44.4%)
|
10 (1.1)
|
11 (1.2)
|
10
|
Suwon FC
|
10
|
1 (10%)
|
5 (50%)
|
4 (40%)
|
9 (0.9)
|
8 (0.8)
|
11
|
Jeonnam
|
10
|
1 (10%)
|
4 (40%)
|
5 (50%)
|
9 (0.9)
|
7 (0.7)
|
12
|
Incheon Utd.
|
10
|
0 (0%)
|
4 (40%)
|
6 (60%)
|
8 (0.8)
|
4 (0.4)
|
Now, I will move onto the checklist, but I will periodically reference the 2016 K-League Classic table after ten games. On my checklist, there were seven items and the first involved coming out of the gate quickly.
1. Have a good start.
I stressed the importance for a team to start well and that they had to be no further than five or six points behind the league leader after ten games if they wanted to win the league. The exception to the rule would have been Ulsan, who started poorly in 2013 and were somehow in first place near the end of the season, but they lost their last two games. Pohang on the other hand, started phenomenally in 2013, collecting 28 out of 30 points and went on to win the league. Here are how teams started from 2011 to 2015 in their first ten games and how they finished. Again, all of the data that I used to make the tables below was from soccerway.com.
I stressed the importance for a team to start well and that they had to be no further than five or six points behind the league leader after ten games if they wanted to win the league. The exception to the rule would have been Ulsan, who started poorly in 2013 and were somehow in first place near the end of the season, but they lost their last two games. Pohang on the other hand, started phenomenally in 2013, collecting 28 out of 30 points and went on to win the league. Here are how teams started from 2011 to 2015 in their first ten games and how they finished. Again, all of the data that I used to make the tables below was from soccerway.com.
Best League Starts After 10 Games- 2011 to 2015
Year
|
Team
|
Points
|
Final
|
2011
|
Pohang
|
21/30
|
2nd
|
2012
|
Suwon Samsung
|
23/30
|
4th
|
2013
|
Pohang
|
28/30
|
1st
|
2014
|
Pohang
|
22/30
|
4th
|
2015
|
Jeonbuk
|
25/30
|
1st
|
This year, Seoul have collected 22 out of 30 points, which is great for a team that traditionally starts so terribly. However, I would feel better if they had over 24 points since being in first after ten games is no guarantee of winning the title. This brings me to my next table.
How the Second Place Team Did After 10 Games- 2011 to 2015
Year
|
Team
|
Points
|
Final
|
2011
|
Jeonbuk
|
19/30
|
1st
|
2012
|
Ulsan
|
21/30
|
5th
|
2013
|
Suwon
|
20/30
|
5th
|
2014
|
Jeonbuk
|
20/30
|
1st
|
2015
|
Suwon
|
17/30
|
2nd
|
League Winners and Their Position After 10 Games- 2011 to 2015
Year
|
Team
|
Pts.
|
Rnk.
|
Diff.
|
2011
|
Jeonbuk
|
19/30
|
2nd
|
2 points
|
2012
|
FC Seoul
|
19/30
|
4th
|
4 points
|
2013
|
Pohang
|
28/30
|
1st
|
N/A
|
2014
|
Jeonbuk
|
19/30
|
2nd
|
2 points
|
2015
|
Jeonbuk
|
19/30
|
1st
|
N/A
|
Even though Seoul are currently in first place this year, the fact that they only have a three point lead over Jeonbuk is a bit worrying considering how inconsistent the men in neon green have been. Jeonbuk, have been behind before and gone on to win the league twice, so this shows that they have the knowledge to overcome any minor deficits.
However, I think it is great that the front office and Choi Yong-soo have recognized the importance of starting well and did their best to address that issue in the off season. This is from The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160418001027):
Seoul head coach Choi Yong-soo lamented that Sin (Shin Jin-ho) will no longer be with the club at least for two years. Choi insisted on signing the midfielder during this past off season even though he knew Sin had to depart during the season. "Our players often had slow starts to seasons and I wanted to Sin to fix this problem," Choi said. "But Sin performed better than my expectation. He will be remembered by our players and fans.
Grade: A+
2. Win 60% of your games or average at least two points a game all season.
(From diodeo.com) |
Here is a table of how each K-League Champion performed from 2011 through to 2015.
K-League Champions: 2011 to 2015
Year
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
L
|
D
|
GF
|
GA
|
Pts.
|
Avg. Pts
|
2011
|
Jeonbuk
|
30
|
18 (60%)
|
9 (30%)
|
3 (10%)
|
67 (2.23)
|
32 (1.07)
|
63 (70%)
|
2.1
|
2012
|
FC Seoul
|
44
|
29 (66%)
|
9 (20%)
|
6 (14%)
|
76 (1.72)
|
42 (0.95)
|
96 (73%)
|
2.18
|
2013
|
Pohang
|
38
|
21 (55%)
|
11 (29%)
|
6 (16%)
|
63 (1.66)
|
38 (1.0)
|
74 (65%)
|
1.95
|
2014
|
Jeonbuk
|
38
|
24 (63%)
|
9 (24%)
|
5 (13%)
|
60 (1.58)
|
22 (0.58)
|
81 (71%)
|
2.13
|
2015
|
Jeonbuk
|
38
|
22 (58%)
|
7 (18%)
|
9 (24%)
|
57 (1.5)
|
39 (1.03)
|
73 (64%)
|
1.92
|
Seoul, in 2016, have matched both of these marks. They have won 70% of their games while the second place team, Jeonbuk, has won only 56% of the time. If that trend continues throughout the season, Seoul should lift the trophy at the end of the season.
However, while Seoul average over 2.2 points per game, Jeonbuk are right behind at 1.9 points per game, so that negates the fact that Seoul have won more games since Jeonbuk have yet to lose a game. It is not inconceivable that Jeonbuk could overtake Seoul at some point in the year with the level of talent that they have. Nonetheless, Seoul are doing quite well and if they continue to win 7 out 10 games, they should be crowned the K-League champions.
Grade: A+
Grade: A+
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