u/Seconex

Got this in my email inbox today and couldn't help but chuckle. Marcelo absolutely dominating the xC stats for the FIFA World Cup, otherwise known as the Expected Cliché Tracker.

Here's parts of the email:

Spain may have lifted the tournament trophy, but Marcelo Bielsa has taken the crown as football’s most authentic manager.

AI analysis of 396 press conferences from 48 managers found that Bielsa recorded an average 6xC per appearance, the best score of the tournament, making him the manager with the lowest cliché count overall.

Uruguay’s manager beat Spain’s World Cup winner, Luis de la Fuenta, who averaged 45xC, a whopping 7 times Bielsa’s xC rate, and well above the tournament’s average of 36.

Top 5 best managers xC

1	Marcelo Bielsa	Uruguay	6
2	Dick Advocaat	Curaçao	15
3	Fabio Cannavaro	Uzbekistan	20
4	Murat Yakin	Switzerland	22
5	Graham Arnold	Iraq	22

Most cliched managers

Rank	Manager	Country	Average xC
1	Tony Popović	Australia	60
2	Gustavo Alfaro	Paraguay	59
3	Pedro Leitão Brito (Bubista)	Cape Verde	55
4	Thomas Tuchel	England	51
5	Vincenzo Montella	Turkey	50

Most used cliches among managers

Rank	Phrase	Number of managers who used the cliché	Number of times the cliché used in manager press conferences
1	‘We respect every opponent’	9	15
2	‘We focus on what we can control’	9	11
3	‘We know our qualities’	6	9
4	‘We have to adapt to the conditions’	5	7
5	‘The country is behind us’	5	7

The final four

While the final four managers demonstrated a variety of communication styles, with some prioritising tactics over character and mentality, overall, as the pressure mounted throughout the tournament, the average xC also increased. Average xC scores rose from 28 at the end of the group stage to 36 at the final.

Despite De la Fuente netting out as one of the competition’s more cliché-heavy coaches, he followed a recognisable pattern, returning repeatedly to ‘the process’ and the importance of the collective. ‘It’s a process’ was his most used cliché of the tournament with ‘work, work, work’ coming in a close second.

England may have had their best World Cup finish in sixty years, but Tuchel ended the tournament as one of the most clichéd managers with an average xC of 51 as his pre and post-match press conferences focused on heart and mentality.

In contrast, Argentina’s Scaloni and France’s Deschamps prioritised tactical talk, landing respective scores of 31 and 28xC.

Edit: Full results here (https://expectedclichetracker.com/)

Live overseas, going to my first Roos game in 10 years on Saturday. Extremely excited!

What's available at the shop at gate 7 that I might not have already seen at an AFL store? Are prices generally a bit better, or largely the same. Was hoping to pick up a few items to take home!

I'm finding a lot of games are the same, just in different skins. Go to this place, kill this guy, destroy this wave of enemies, beat the boss. It's just not hitting at the moment. Sometimes it works, but there's just a lot of repetition.

I'm looking for something a bit different. I'm a casual at best gamer, so pick up and play is a big feature.

• ⁠Previously Enjoyed Games: RDR2, No Man's Sky, Tape to Tape, FIFA/FL 2026, Inside, Limbo, FM, Fallout 4/NV. Currently playing The Invincible, Road 96 and Assetto Corsa.

• ⁠Preferred Genres: Open world, sports, RPG, story based, depth.

• ⁠Budget: Under $20 per title.

• ⁠Other Notes: Having the ability to pickup and play for 20-30 mins is key. I rarely can sit for hours to sink into a story or a game.

I read a lot of the threads recommending games like SLS and Balatro, and Dave the Diver.... But what are some of your anticipated sleeper pics or hidden gems for this summer sale next week?

Bonus points if they're offline compatible as I'm two weeks away from a 15 hour flight (with outlet on board, so no power issues).

Just absolutely horrible.