On this aspect, the current record holder should be RSL of 2011, going 0W-4L-2T in their final 6 games back then: http://aragon.ws/soccerdb/league/table.php?stageId=1006&matches=0&rounds=2&roundCount=6 Seattle may well extend it to 7 games, another new record in waiting...
The 2013 Quakes join the 2012 Crew as the only two teams to get to 1.5 pts/game over the course of the season but not make the playoffs.
So, I've been hearing that New England control their own destiny! They can now ensure qualification with a win! Yay! ...oh crap.
Says much about the increasingly competitive playoff field, such "High PPG Casualties" are likely going to become the norm from 2012 onwards... Before 2012, the best team to miss PO was KC in 2005, with a PPG of 1.41, W-L of +2, and GD of +8!
Notes COL clinches, as expected. POR secures top seed in the Western Conference. RSL and POR have been eliminated from the SS race. So it's down to NYR and SKC. If NYR loses or draws, then SKC wins the shield. If NYR wins, then the shield belongs to Rotmasters. Meanwhile, CHI advances to the playoffs with any result other than a loss. Which means: FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY, WHATEVER YOU DO, CHICAGO, DON'T LOSE!
Chicago, Houston and New England each makes the playoffs with a win because any one of them will exceed Montreal's 49 points, so all three teams control their own destiny. I'm not up to speed on the tiebreakers at 49 points. The MLS website is inaccurate. Again.
At 48 New England beats Houston for the final playoff spot (48 goals to 39). A 4 way tie at 49 leaves Houston as the odd team out (Chicago and Montreal through with 14 wins, then New England through on goals scored). A 2 way tie at 49 between Chicago and Montreal leaves Chicago as the odd team out unless they score 5 goals tomorrow in a loss.
In the event of a tie on 49 points, Montreal and Chicago are ahead of the others on wins, and Montreal will be ahead of Chicago on goals unless Chicago scores 5+ goals. If Chicago scores exactly 5 goals, Montreal would be ahead on goal difference. New England is ahead of Houston in a 49 or 48 point tie on goals unless Houston scores 9+ goals. If Houston scores exactly 9 goals, New England is ahead on goal difference. So, barring huge goalscoring outbursts, the standings in the event of ties are: 1. Montreal 2. Chicago 3. New England 4. Houston
Chicago is in with a draw - they would be on 50 points and could only be caught by New England and Houston.
By the way, with the 2-1 win over FCD in their final (home) game of 2013, S.J. has set several new records in the process: Missed the playoffs with the FEWEST HOME LOSSES all-time - bettered Colorado's 2 losses in 2009: http://aragon.ws/soccerdb/league/table.php?stageId=639&matches=1&rounds=0&roundCount=5 Missed the playoffs with the (joint-) FEWEST HOME LOSSES in a season (alongside Portland which won the West) - a first in league history: http://aragon.ws/soccerdb/league/table.php?stageId=1547&matches=1&rounds=0&roundCount=5 Missed the playoffs with the (joint-) BEST HOME RECORDS in a season (alongside Portland as well) - this is another first in league history too. Bravo!!
Indeed... S.J. have in fact defended the honors of Defending SS Winners right down to the last minute of last game and exit in the most dignified manner. They were unbeaten in their final 7 games (matching SS-chasing NYRB), possibly yet another record for a team eliminated from playoffs: http://aragon.ws/soccerdb/league/table.php?stageId=1547&matches=0&rounds=2&roundCount=7 This is, of course, in stark contracts to Seattle's 6-game win-less streak, which could be extended to 7 tomorrow (only WS Runners-up Chivas did worse), despite making the playoffs: http://aragon.ws/soccerdb/league/table.php?stageId=1547&matches=0&rounds=2&roundCount=6
Pretty weird to think that we (San Jose) had a better home record this season than last season, considering we won the Shield last year and missed the playoffs this year. We also conceded ones less goal this year than last year. I guess it just shows how good last year's SJ team was on the road, how underwhelming this year's team was on the road, and how much the 2012 Earthquakes relied on outscoring their opponent rather than grinding out wins. That said, it did turn out to be a much less awful season than it was shaping up to be. At one point we were competing for the worst ppg of a Shield-holder. Through 15 games of the season we were on 1.00 ppg. Under Watson we finished the season with 36 points in 19 games for 1.89 ppg...which is actually pretty close to our 1.94 from last season.
Yes, but not losing games all that often means you have a very good team. What's the MLS record for single regular season "Wins - losses" total? Where does Portland's "+9" rank all time?
I don't know about all time, but San Jose was +13 last year - 19 wins and 6 losses. Kansas City was +11 - 18 wins and 7 losses. In 2011, LA was +14 - 19 wins and 5 losses.
The factors required for Montréal to fall to 6th seem so implausible, yet I have the dreaded feeling that it's certain to happen. Though imagine Houston, Chicago and the Revs all lose? It would be the worst backing into third place ever
No matter how they "announced" it I'll give MLS full credit: wins and goals for has definitely made understanding the table and end-of-season scenarios easier than the old head-to-head (that got ridiculously complicated when it involved more than one team).
True dat. And as the league expands, the number of teams close to the playoff line should only continue to increase (on average)