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QUESTION 1:
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How can team A be above team B when team B is having a better season than team A?

MANCRANK is a ranking; it is not a form guide. There are other systems which concentrate only on recent results in all competitions and give a snapshot of a team’s current form; as a result these systems will be more volatile in nature than MANCRANK on a month to month basis. MANCRANK attempts to give a longer term guide to the strength of a team in order to eliminate a run of results that are merely good or poor form; it rewards consistent success.

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QUESTION 2:
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Why don’t you cover all divisions in Europe rather than only the top level of each country?

With over 700 teams a season and many thousands of calculations, it is not possible to include additional teams outside the top levels. As a rough guide though a team from any country’s second tier would not feature in the top 100 of MANCRANK in any case.

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QUESTION 3:
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I can’t see my team in the Top 50 and I am curious to know where MANCRANK places them. How can I find out?

E-mail me and I’ll send you your team’s current ranking.

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QUESTION 4:
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How often are the rankings updated?

MANCRANK is updated at least once a month from April 2005.

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QUESTION 5:
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Why should I believe MANCRANK rather than any of the other ranking systems I have seen on the internet?

It’s about personal preference. However, MANCRANK does have advantages over most other ranking systems. The major advantage is that most other systems give bonus points for reaching certain stages of competitions which make a nonsense of any calculations. For example; why award 10 points for reaching a final? Why not 5 or 20? MANCRANK is a purely mathematical system and contains no arbitrary figures. It is entirely results based.

In addition, as MANCRANK concentrates on points earned rather than domestic league postion, the ranking is more accurate than many others. For example there might be a gap of 12 points between teams in first and second places in their domestic leagues while only 2 points separate second from third place. MANCRANK reflects this difference.

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QUESTION 6:
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Are domestic cup competitions taken into account?

No. Different countries place different levels of importance on domestic cup competitions but even in England, where the FA Cup is relatively imortant, teams often field their reserves. Including cup results does not improve the accuracy of the rankings it distorts them.

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QUESTION 7:
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Does the margin of victory in any game affect points earned in MANCRANK?

No. Some rankings place too much importance on the margin of a victory. A team can play tactically for a 1-0 victory and should not be penalised for achieving their goal. Placing more importance on the margin of victory has little impact on the rankings in any case. Look at any league table and you will find a strong correlation between points earned and goal difference.

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QUESTION 8:
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Are any points awarded for a defeat?

No. Points are only awarded for a victory or a draw.

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QUESTION 9:
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I still don’t agree with your results!

It’s not surprising. I have never known a ranking system be universally recognised as accurate by all parties. Rankings are a suprisingly emotional area once you begin to debate the issue. FIFA’s own rankings are frequently criticised for placing team A above team B.

If you placed teams in a top 50 based purely on your own beliefs you would still find many people who disagreed with you. However, I can assure you that MANCRANK has no personal bias to any teams and that the computer generated results are based on sound mathematical principles.

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QUESTION 10:
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What football team do you support?