I've always been interested in Holland and the Dutch, my grandfather was Dutch (and despite the fact I never knew him and never met him) I've always felt an affinity with that country.
I'm also interested in football, so it seemed natural to follow the Eredivisie, I soon became interested in what goes on beneath the top tier.
I work in Cambridge, for the University. And part of my job is concerned with the validity, reliability and integrity of the examination we send out to candidates in the UK and around the world. So I wanted to use this statistical background for a busman's holiday, and so I hit upon the idea of ranking the teams in the Dutch League.
I started with just the top two divisions, but soon wandered down the the next level, which was then the brilliantly named Hoofdklasse, then the Eerst Klasse.
Then, for the 2010/2011 season, along came the Topklasse - allowing lots of teams to be promoted to fill the gaps lower down the amateur structure, and so I allowed myself the indulgence of ranking and rating the Tweedeklasse too.
So, all in all, I have 614 teams in my database. And as this is a labour of love I don't intend to venture much further, so the Derde Klasse will have to wait.
Although if anyone wanted to pay me to do this full time, then I think I could manage to rank more teams.
I'll blog more on the statistical models behind the rankings I produce later, as I know that might come under heavy scrutiny. I reserve the right to keep my exact algorithms secret, but I will broadly tell you how I come up with my listings at a later date.
I know that the amazingly indepth website voetbalnederland.nl also had their own system of ranking Dutch football teams, what they call "CIX" - and I do notice some similarities between my numbers and theirs.
And so, whilst not wanting to denigrate their work in any way, I do stand by the validity of my work.
Just as a quick aside, the Dutch team I follow is De Graafschap Doetinchem, and being a foreigner looking in I also have a soft spot for the Zondag Hoofdklasse side fc Chabab Amsterdam too.
Oh, just to remind you that I tweet too, @dutchrankings.
But there is only so much you can say in 140 characters, so I hope this blog will allow me expand on some of the stories (the ups and the downs) behind the rankings.
Thanks for reading, see you soon.
KEVIN
