Update: How Much for a Point?

Burning Through These in Munich

Now that Bundesliga is at winter break—suck it Arsene—it’s time to see which clubs are truly maximizing their assets in a Soccernomics-esque fashion. Given that it’s UF, the review will be slightly less informative–but only twice as faulty.

In a previous post at the quarter mark, clubs like St Pauli, Mainz 05, and SC Freiburg looked to be overperforming based on its level of investment in player wages. Bigger clubs such as Schalke 04, Bayern Munich, and VfB Stuttgart were disappointing fans who were expecting European cup challengers to struggle less against domestic competition.

With more points accumulated now that 17 matches have been played, the averages look slightly better for some but Bayern Munich still remains a big outlier.

Here are the Top 4 overachieving clubs based on the number of points earned compared with its overall player wages.  Wage numbers remained the same obtained from transfermarkt.de.

1. SC Freiburg—28 points, 1.4 mil euros/point
2. Hannover 96—31 points, 1.5 mil euros/point
3. Mainz 05—33 points, 1.6 mil euros/point
4. 1.FC Nuremberg—22 points, 1.8 mil euros/point

Nuremberg replaced St Pauli at mid-season. Although St Pauli also averaged 1.8 mil euros per point, its point total remained largely unchanged whereas Nuremberg progressed from somewhere around the relegation zone to move up to mid-table.  Ships passing in the night, so to speak.

And the clubs that spend like sheiks with little in return:

1. Bayern Munich—29 points, 10.2 mil euros/point
2. VfB Stuttgart—12 points, 8.3 mil euros/point
3. VfL Wolfsburg—19 points, 8.2 mil euros/point
4. Werder Bremen—19 points, 6.8 mil euros/point

The downward spiral that has been Werder Bremen replaced Schalke 04. Much like the clubs’ Champions League performances, the Royal Blues began to play like the expensive assemblage of players it should while Werder went turtle and hid in its shell.

Bayern Munich has recovered somewhat from its dreadful start; however, due simply to the fact that its total player wages are over €100 million more than any other club, it tops the biggest spenders per point. Apparently in Bavaria, points aren’t truly earned unless they’re dipped in gold and adorned with lapis lazuli.

Removing Bayern Munich’s numbers as it is a massive outlier, the average outlay is €4.8 million/point. A club like Bayer Leverkusen—on high wages but in the top half of the table–appears to be the closest to seeing an expected return in performance based on wages.

Hamburg SV and Borussia Moechengladbach look like they should be higher up the table—especially M’gladbach. Curiously, FC Koeln beat the average slightly—at 3.7 million—so it seems the Billygoats are performing as expected in the relegation zone.

Anywho, just something to distract you from all the euros you might be racking up on your credit cards during this holiday season. Here’s hoping you get a bit more bang for your buck than some of these guys.