In partnership with
👋 Welcome..
..to The Tap-Inn. Where you can tap in to the world of soccer with me, your first-gen Irish Tap-Inn bartender, Joe.
No messing about this week, we’ve got some serious drinking reading to do.
Let’s tap in.
🥃 Top Shelf
PlWDLGFGAPts - Soccer League Tables Explained
No, I didn’t fall asleep on my keyboard again.
The above cocktail of characters actually represents the mysterious row of letters you see at the top of every league table. A table is a list of teams who all play each other in the same competition, ordered with the best performing teams at the top and the worst at the bottom.
Ready? Let’s tap in to how this really works.
the top 8 of the 20-team premier league table
Played (Pl) - this number just tells you how many games a team has been through. Sometimes you’ll see it written as GP (Games Played), MP (Matches Played) or even just P (Played).
Won (W) - this is how many times has a team been victorious in a game and earned themselves 3 points towards their league table position. Remember, that’s 3 points for a win.
Drawn (D) - if a team plays a game that ends in a tie, it will be noted in this column. Yes, soccer has ties. And they earn you 1 solitary point. Get used to it, buster.
Lost (L) - see a 2 underneath this column and that means your team has lost 2 games. See a 17 underneath this column and you should probably find yourself another team. A loss scores you a big fat 0 points.
Goals For (GF) - the combined number of goals a team has scored in every game so far. Sometimes just written as F.
Goals Against (GA) - the combined number of goals a team has had scored against them in every game so far. Sometimes just written as A.
Goal Difference (GD) - if you guessed “GF minus GA” you’d be correct. This is the tiebreaker if teams are level on points. See Chelsea and Everton in the table above, for example.
Points (Pts) - the number that matters the most. Win more games, earn more points, place higher on the table.
Example:
Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League with 16 points from 7 games. 5 wins gave them 15 of those points (5 × 3 = 15), their one draw gave them 1 point (1 × 1 = 1) and their loss gave them zero points (1 × 0 = 0). As you will see from your calculator, 15 + 1 + 0 = 16.
What could be more simple than that?
*pours heavy glass of whiskey*
The Future of the Content Economy
beehiiv started with newsletters. Now, they’re reimagining the entire content economy.
On November 13, beehiiv’s biggest updates ever are dropping at the Winter Release Event.
For the people shaping the next generation of content, community, and media, this is an event you won’t want to miss.
📺 This week in soccer
After a lengthy international break, the premier league is back and brings with it the biggest English rivalry of them all:
Liverpool vs Manchester United.
Okay, maybe the rivalry doesn’t carry the same weight it once did. The last time both teams finished in the top two was 16 years ago, in 2008–09.
The infamous 2023 Anfield hammering (pictured above) is a powerful symbol of the gulf in class that has existed between the two clubs in the last 10 years.
About a month ago, I would have said that what Liverpool are going to do to United this weekend shouldn’t legally be televised. However, Liverpool have 3 defeats in their 3 last games since, giving Ruben Amorim’s side the slightest of glimmers of hope to get a positive result on Sunday. They’re still leaky as a tap in defense, though.
Joe predicts:
Liverpool 3-0 Manchester United
📝 Trivia on Tap
This week Cape Verde became the 2nd smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup. They boast a population similar to that of Atlanta, Georgia. 🏙️
Who are the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup?
🏆 World Cup Tracker: 237 Days to Go
A Haji Wright double sealed a 2-1 international friendly win for team USA against Australia on Tuesday night in Colorado.
It was a convincing comeback win and all would be well on planet Joe if it wasn’t for the one teeeensy tiiiiiiinnny little hiccup that was our Lord, God and Saviour Christian Pulisic going off injured after 30 minutes.
I’m not panicking, you are.
🧠 Quickfire
Sound like a pro 🎩
A Hat Trick is when a player scores three goals in one game. Bonus style points if the goals come with the right foot, left foot and a header. That’s a perfect hat trick.
Iconic Kits 👕
Germany 1988. Hang it in the Louvre.
📝 Trivia Answer:
Iceland, with a population of just 380,000 at the 2018 World Cup.
It was their second successive major international tournament they qualified for after famously dusting England in EURO 2016 topping it off with their iconic viking clap celebration.
👋 Until Next Time…
Thanks for stopping by The Tap-Inn.
If you enjoyed this, forward it to that friend who knows nothing about soccer and help spread the good word.
I’ll be behind the bar every week, Monday and Friday, serving up soccer. Sláinte.
— Joe