It’s Rating’s Time!

By: Lee | May 12th, 2009

What would a soccer blog be without the customary player ratings? It would be dry like Honeycomb cereal without milk (bad experience this morning). Anyways, I digress…

Most blogs use a standard 0-10 ratings system (in the case of Newcastle United, only digits 0-5 are used…too easy?). However, this blog will be different in that no numbers will be used at all! And I’m not doing any movie star or thumbs up rating crap. Or letter grades (just finished college, not a big fan).

You might be saying to yourself: “Lee that’s impossible, how can you not use numbers, letters or the number of something for player ratings? You must be an absolute genius to have pulled that off!” Well guess what guys, I have.

We’re using FORM ARROWS! (a la Winning Eleven)

Brilliant!

In case you’re a soccer fan who hasn’t yet been touched by the awesomeness that is Winning Eleven (Pro Ev for European readers), I will explain how these arrows will be used.

RED UP ARROW: This player is on fire. If he is a forward, he is an unstoppable force; if he is a defender, he is an immovable object that. To get a red up arrow, a player must in the last few games be playing like an all-star.

GOLD DIAGONAL-UP ARROW: This player had a very good game and is rounding into top form. With a few more quality performances, they will be in red-hot up arrow form.

GREEN ARROW: Not the lame comic book hero (Terrible, I know). This is given to a player who’s play hasn’t really impressed or embarrassed; a player cooling of from a hot streak or one that is starting to play better after an early stumble.

BLUE DIAGONAL-DOWN ARROW: This player had a poor performance and their mistakes cost their team. If they keep struggling, they will be demoted to the abyss that is the indigo-down arrow. Or they will be benched before that can happen.

INDIGO DOWN ARROW: Pity this player for he is really struggling, either with his lousy form or an unknown injury. Bench him! (example: Chad Barrett, Toronto FC)

Unlike most other rating systems (and like the video game), these ratings are somewhat cumulative. If a player had an awful game and then an amazing game, they will not go straight from a blue arrow to a red one.

So there you have it, that is the Whitecaps Blog rating system. (That would really cool if nobody else has ever done this)

Be Champions!