How To Improve Your Soccer Bets Using The Superiority Method

How To Improve Your Soccer Bets is a series of articles that describe some well known and well used statistical techniques that will help the soccer punter make more informed bets. Each of the techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages and using them in isolation will improve your chances of winning. However, together they will prove invaluable in your battle with the bookies. In each article we will describe in detail how a particular method works giving you enough information for you to go ahead and create your own forecasts. We will also give you information as to where you can already find websites that use this technique in comprising their weekly forecasts.

The statistical methods described in this set of articles will help you to arrive at a better decision about the match, or matches, that you are betting on.

In this article we will be describing the well known Superiority method. The Superiority method is based on goal difference (superiority) for both teams in a fixture over the past set number of games.

Here are the basic rules?

Get goal difference for each team. This could be either;

a) All home games only for the home team and all away games only for the away team over the last N games.

Or

b) All games for each team over the last N games.

Next we need to count each occurrence of a particular goal difference. We need to do this for both the home side and the away side. We create a table which holds the counts and in our case we have chosen to have thirteen rows in our table that represent the following goal differences:

INDEX GOAL DIFF
1..........>-5
2..........-5
3..........-4
4..........-3
5..........-2
6..........-1
7..........0
8..........1
9..........2
10........3
11........4
12........5
13........>5

So for our N matches we will add one to the content of each index whenever that goal difference is encountered. This may be a little confusing so let?s look at an example.

Arsenal v West Ham

ARSENAL 2 -1 0 0 3 -2 1 1 1 5 1 0 0 -2
WEST HAM 0 0 -2 -3 -1 3 1 -1 -1 2 1 3 0 1

The above shows the goal differences for the last fourteen matches for Arsenal and West Ham, now let?s add these to our goal difference table:

INDEX GOAL DIFF ARSENAL WEST HAM
1..........>-5.......0..........0
2..........-5.........0..........0
3..........-4.........0..........0
4..........-3.........0..........1
5..........-2.........2..........1
6..........-1.........1..........3
7..........0..........4..........3
8..........1..........4..........3
9..........2..........1..........1
10........3..........1..........2
11........4..........0..........0
12........5..........1..........0
13........>5........0..........0

Now each home team array count is added to the opposite array count for the away side. So, the home teams? array index 13 is added to the away teams? array index 1, the home teams array index 12 is added to the away teams array index 2, etc. In our example this gives us;

INDEX GOAL DIFF COMBINED
1..........>-5.........0
2..........-5...........0
3..........-4...........0
4..........-3...........2
5..........-2...........3
6..........-1...........4
7..........0............7
8..........1............7
9..........2............2
10........3............2
11........4............0
12........5............1
13........>5..........0

The forecast can now be determined. If we assume that a draw is represented by array index 7 then array indexes 1 to 6 represent an away win, and array indexes 8 to 13 represent a home win. So, the home win counts are totalled and so are the away win counts. In our example this gives us;

AWAY WIN9
DRAW7
HOME WIN12

The total number of counts = 28
Therefore,
Away win possibility = 32%
Draw possibility = 25%
Home win possibility = 43%.

Now it?s your turn?

Of course you may choose to use different values to those shown above and by experimenting you may come up with better values to use.

If you have the necessary skills you could go away and build your own spreadsheet of data or even write a piece of software to take in results and fixtures and apply the Superiority method to your data. Or, if you?re lazy like me, you could grab some free software that already does this for you. If this last option is for you then visit 1X2Monster where you can download a FREE copy of the Footyforecast 2.0 software which utilises all of the statistical methods described in this series of articles. You will also be able to download FREE weekly database updates for your software, how cool is that?

Here is a list of all the articles in this series?

How To Improve Your Soccer Bets Using The Rateform Method
How To Improve Your Soccer Bets Using The Footyforecast Method
How To Improve Your Soccer Bets Using The Win Draw Loss Method
How To Improve Your Soccer Bets Using The Simple Sequence Method
How To Improve Your Soccer Bets Using The Score Prediction Method
How To Improve Your Soccer Bets Using The Superiority Method

Malcolm Nossiter is the owner of 1x2monster.com and footyforecast.com. He has been providing hundreds of 1X2 tips every week since 1999. Please visit 1x2monster.com for a fountain of information on soccer betting.

Soccer Trainers - Teaching Defensive Skills

Teaching the defensive skills to the players is not an easy thing to do for soccer trainers because players like the offensive ideas and practice. Learning the defensive skills and techniques may not be as fun and engaging for the players.

But, it is the duty of the coach to let the players be aware of the importance of the defensive techniques in a soccer game. The offensive techniques are good to attack, but until and unless you have good defensive skills, it is very unlikely that you will get the desired success in the game.

You may be good at shooting and scoring goals, but if you lack the defensive skills, you simply give the opponent team an easy opportunity to settle the accounts with you. Therefore, be smart.

Moving Quickly Within A Short Distance

This is perhaps the most important defensive technique. The coach must train their players to move quickly within a short distance ? to their left and right. In order to do this, the players need to push off rapidly on the alternate foot.

The players must be ready at all times and as soon as they get an opportunity, they need to be quick enough to steal the ball, take the position and turn the tide in their favor.

Keep Yourself Between The Ball And The Goal

When the ball is in the possession of an opponent player, you need to have an eye on the ball and the player with the possession of the ball. As an expert defender, it is very important for you to keep yourself between the ball and the goal as a strong wall. Remember, there are two tasks assigned to a defender ? first, to save the goal and second, to steal the ball or both simultaneously.

Tackling Techniques

Tackling techniques are also an impotent component to acquire the desired defensive skills. In this regard, the players must keep in mind the following.

? If you are making an attempt to tackle the ball somewhere near the midfield, you must make sure that you are having a backup from a fellow player.

? Most importantly, players must go for the ball and not for the player. Keep your eyes on the ball. Look for an opportunity to steal the same, and as soon as you get it, you must be quick enough to turn the opportunity into the possession of the ball.

Soccer trainers have to teach the players lot many things and defensive techniques are just one of them.

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority on the subject of soccer trainers. His web site, Youth Soccer Drills, provides a wealth of informative soccer articles, resources and tips for soccer coaches, parents and players.