Money Leagues. Super Leagues. The Premier League. Interconnected in one way or another. Another reason to try and connect all the dots. All before another weekend of action unfolds. That and it is bad news for those who love to dive into data. Issue 67. Go.

A very dark day if you even have a passing interest in football stats. Even worse, if you ever used FBRef to build any kind of data set as a hobbyist, a piece for a portfolio or even if it is your full-time job.

FBRef used to be the home of FREE football stats, anything you ever needed to check was just a couple of clicks away. Now, the website is a skeleton of its former self. You can still get surface-level data on Europe’s five biggest leagues. After that, the cupboard is rather bare.

There are two ‘bad guys’ in this operation. FIFA and OPTA (Stats Perform). The fact that the former has just given the latter the licence to be the first ever World Cup data distributor is a lot more than a mere coincidence.

In fact, it is a whole lot more than that. Now that FIFA are getting into bed with betting in a much more official way, they do not want their competitors (in this case, bettors) to get an edge on them.

That edge is usually built on arming yourself with as many stats as possible. The greater the edge, the increased probability of winning your bet. Great news for punters, not great news for sportsbooks.

Which also leads us to a third ‘bad actor’ in the piece. The major sportsbooks themselves. They currently pay eye-watering sums of money to get their hands on the same data in order to price the bets in the firstplace.

If they are going to be under attack from an army of knowledgeable bettors this summer, that is going to hurt their bottom line. How do they stop that? They lean on FIFA to get the data cord cut. FIFA lean on OPTA to do their dirty work.

OPTA claim contractual violations on the part of FBRef. Everyone else knows this is nothing more than a smokescreen before turning off the taps. Data-driven football communites around the globe left aghast at what they read on Tuesday.

Because it is not just the access to the stats that everyone loses, it is the ability to fact-check any absurd claim somebody makes. The level of quality conversation has not got wider, it has instead shrunk to those who have deep enough pockets to own the data.

Many people (me included) used FBRef as their access to data in order to craft work, the perfect playground to form ideas, bounce them against others. Sharpen processes, present good work.

All that now has gone and the football world seems so much worse for it. Yes, there are plenty of other resources available but the collection of those will be much more patchwork for the time being.

A stat from here, a stat from there. Issues on data quality may have to be accepted in the new wild west of data democracy. Not ideal if you are someone who has dynamic datasets that need updating every gameweek.

Ultimately, it may not be a problem if you are not statistically inclined but even if you are not, statistics are everywhere these days and even indirectly, you are likely to feel the knockout effect in one way or another.

What it means for stats fans themselves? It probably means a pivot to contextual data rather than raw numbers. Qualitive over quantative and those who adopt that approach the quickest, may surge up to the top of the analytical table.

Due to the release schedule of the newsletter, I rarely get the chance to look at the Champions League in any real detail - or at least not at the level I would like to without this becoming a daily release but after the end of Matchday 7, I feel I have to.

Not necessarily because of the results that have lodged in the history books over Tuesday and Wednesday night but because of how the league phase looks as we go into the final Matchday of the league phase.

16 teams fighting over six automatic entries to the Round of 16. Only four teams are eliminated from the whole process. The kind of drama that UEFA promised when they announced the change in Champions League format and in fairness, they have delivered.

Not forgetting Arsenal who currently top the standings with a perfect record of seven wins from seven, it means that five of the top eight teams are Premier League representatives.

That five does not include Manchester City who are lurking outside the top eight in 11th. But regardless of whether Pep Guardiola’s men do also sneak into the automatic Round of 16 route, the dominance of English clubs is there for all to see.

Those who support clubs that may finish fifth in this season’s edition of the Premier League will see this as a good thing. The more success the current crop has, the all but certainity another extra invite gets handed out to England in Europe next season.

Those who support clubs from further afield, will bemoan further English dominance as the financial chasm between the Premier League and their counterparts seemingly gets wider still.

Part of the reason that the Premier League teams are packing out the top eight at large is perhaps hiding in plain sight. They cannot face each other at this stage of the competition, in essence they get an easier run of fixtures than their rivals.

If you are Barcelona, PSG, Real Madrid etc, you are going up against an English club at this stage. Maybe even two. If you are Arsenal, Tottenham or Chelsea, you are avoiding your local rivals.

How much of a competitive edge does this give. It may be hard to quantify but it looks easy to spot once you know where to look. The Premier League may have the strongest teams in Europe but are they the richest?

Strongest clubs perhaps but certainly not the richest according to the Deloitte Money League. You have to go down to fifth to find the first Premier League entrant on the list, Liverpool generating £275m less than Real Madrid in first.

The Santigao Bernabeu outfit generating only a small surplus when it comes to matchday and broadcasting revenues compared to their Premier League counterparts, absolutely blowing them out of the water when it comes to commercial revenue.

The club shop tills at Barcelona and Bayern Munich also ringing non-stop, even PSG making £1m more than Liverpool when it comes to commercial revenue across the 2024/25 season.

Does this mean that when the European giants mentioned above claim to need a begging bowl, their claims are rather unfounded. Yes. Does this also mean that they are in an “I’m alright Jack” mindset when it comes to their own domestic rivals? Definitely.

A look at the main talking points as we head into the upcoming Premier League weekend schedule.

After their victory over Tottenham last Saturday, West Ham now need to make sure their performance in N17 was nothing more than a flash in the pan. Boosted by Nottingham Forest picking up a single point hours later, the gap to safety is now reduced to five points.

Five could become two for 24 hours or so if they can get the better of a Sunderland side who returned to winning ways last weekend. Regis Le Bris’ men ended their five-game streak without success at home to Crystal Palace, they are now just three points off the automatic Champions League places.

On paper the fixture computer has been far from kind to Burnley these past weeks. Luckily for Burnley, football matches are not played on paper. Draws against both Manchester United and Liverpool in recent weeks, Tottenham make the journey to Turf Moor on Saturday.

They do so wishing that they could play in Europe every week. A comfortable win over Borussia Dortmund in midweek, the kind of performance that manager Thomas Frank is crying out for in the Premier League. They lost to Bournemouth recently who had not won in 11, they face the Clarets who have not won in 13. Yep.

Fulham’s run of five unbeaten came to an end at Elland Road last week, one wonders if this season will be the end of the road for Marco Silva. The former Everton and Watford boss has been at Craven Cottage for four and half years, that’s almost a life sentence when compared to stints elsewhere.

His Fulham side play host to Brighton on Saturday and with the Seagulls having not lost any of their last four, manager Fabian Hurzeler will be keen to see that run extended by the River Thames. Admittedly, three of those four results have ended in draws, perhaps this team is becoming solid rather than spectacular.

Bruised and battered by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday, mauled by Manchester United last Saturday. This current Manchester City crop have not won any of their last four league outings, any title bid seems to be hanging on life support right now. They face the basement outfit in Wolves on Saturday, what can possibly go wrong?

A lot if you look at the form guides of both two teams, Wolves playing with nothing too lose right now considering the position they are in. Rob Edwards’ men unbeaten in their last four league outings. Another free hit for the Molineux outfit. Don’t be surprised if there is a surprise at 5pm on Saturday.

The Vitality Stadium welcomes the TV cameras on Saturday evening for the visit of Liverpool and with four points from their last two games, Bournemouth will aim to continue their burgeoning unbeaten run. More importantly, they will be keen to move up the table after such a slow crawl down it.

They welcome a Liverpool side whose temperature has warmed up after an impressive performance at the Stade Velodrome in midweek. Fourth in the Premier League, fourth in the Champions League. What is all the fuss about? There might be more fuss if they fail to earn all three points in Dorset.

Glasner going. Guehi gone. Now Mateta wants off. Not the best seven days or so to be a Crystal Palace supporter. Even worse if you want to go back a fortnight and add their cup defeat to Macclesfield into the equation. The Eagles have seemingly had their wings clipped, they welcome Chelsea to Selhurst Park on Sunday.

The Blues left it late to get the better of Pafos on Wednesday, the bedding in period for Liam Rosenior now complete. Last weekend saw a first league win in six for the Blues, victory over Brentford has to be the benchmark going forward. The narrative already suggesting the current Chelsea boss will not last the season. Modern football eh.

Yoan Wissa’s true homecoming in midweek as he helped Newcastle to a Champions League win over PSV. Now the DR Congo forward will be tasked in trying to return his side to winning ways in the league. A highly frustrating draw at Wolves last Sunday, thankfully the Magpies’ frustrations are usually left on the road.

They face an Aston Villa side who might not be all that fresh after their win in the Europa League on Thursday. Victory over Fenerbahce guarantees Unai Emery’s men a place in the last 16 of the competition. There is no guarantee of a win at St James Park. Should be a good game this.

Brentford will be keen to return to winning ways after being second best at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Keith Andrews’ men now looking to start another positive streak of results in order to not be swallowed up by the gaggle of European hopefuls currently sitting below.

A gaggle that does not include Nottingham Forest, although they make the trip to London having also been in Thursday night European action. A bizarre even for Sean Dyche’s men. 55 seconds of madness seeing them lose to Braga, it also saw Eliott Anderson sent off for a rather bizarre red card. Not a memorable night.

The gold standard in the Premier League, the gold standard in Europe. Arsenal the best of both fronts right now, they will look to be on the front foot against Manchester United on Sunday. The Gunners have been held in each of their last two league outings, in fairness it really has not mattered. Keep an eye out for an open top busses being booked in May.

As for United, they will look to ride their wave off their derby day victory last weekend. Is that just raising your levels when your noisy neighbours come to town or is this the new normal under the watchful eye of Michael Carrick. If Man City win the day before, this fixture takes on extra significance. If they don’t, it may smell of dead rubber before kickoff.

What could have been labelled as the ‘Jack Harrison Derby’ will now need a new name as the midfielder is now on loan at Fiorentina. Everton and Leeds round out the week with the next slab of Monday Night Football on Sky. Saving the best ‘til last may not ring true for this encounter.

Still, Everton were certainly the best in their recent clash with Aston Villa and thanks to their 1-0 win last Sunday, they start this weekend lying 10th in the table. They welcome Daniel Farke’s men who will include Dominic Calvert-Lewin, what price him scoring against his former employers?

Why have one left back when you can have two? Spurs have just signed Souza, they are now in talks to sign Andy Robertson. Definitely needed after the injury to Ben Davies, would also give the opportunity to rest Pedro Porro and play Djed Spence on the right.

Hearts play Celtic on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership. The hosts have now Lawrence Shankland to call upon, the visitors tired after playing Bologna in the Europa League on Thursday. I fancy a draw here. A result that could be a huge boost for Rangers.

Southampton and Coventry have been fined for their part in recent brawl at St Mary’s. Frank Lampard criticised as a goading factor in all of it. Are we ready for some Sky Blues shithousing in the Premier League next season?

Probably the best for both parties at the end of the season. No real value in another contract for Casemiro at Manchester United. Probably just enough legs to get a bumper payday somewhere else.

The FPL is on the horizon this weekend. Deadline is 11:15am Saturday (UK time)

Right, that’s the end of issue 67 as word continues to spread around the football world.

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Issue 68 drops Tuesday and I’ll be back with another round of insight, analysis and trends that matter. Any feedback or comments on this issue, contact me below:

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