Split RevMFLS in two?

[NFLPatriot]

This is for fantasy soccer players on MFLS.com.

Please only vote if you had a team in RevMFLS before.

We traditionally have gotten a waiver from MFLS to increase our division size from the maximum of 25 to 50.

It has been suggested that in 2005 we try splitting RevMFLS into two division, setting up promotion and relegation possibilities.

Post your pros and cons here.

[JMMUSA8]

Is it goin to be two divisions of 25 or two divisions of 50?

[Jeremy Goodwin]

I'm against splitting the division for the following reasons:

1. Historical consistency, we've always had a single RevMFLS division, and if other teams fans are gaining bonus slots for splitting their divisions, we should stop that, instead of doing the wrong thing just to keep up with the Crew fans.

2. Complexity of management, with two divisions, you have more work to combine results for competitions outside of MFLS, and you need people who were ranked in the top 25 or whatever to manage the new 1st division (I wasn't, so I can't).

3. Philosophical tenets of New Englanders, I think that New Englanders historically have a tradition of everyone being in the same boat together. Even though we have different classes of people (Kerry style aristocrats, Kennedy style upwardly mobile criminals, the working poor of southie, middle class suburbanites) we pull together and compete against each other while still cooperating with each other. I think that multiple divisions goes against that tradition.

On the other hand, as I've said before, I'm all for giving the people what they want, because it's an easier sale than giving them what they don't want.

We did have problems with the league filling up last year very quickly, so some people were undoubtedly shut out that would have liked to participate.

I would prefer to get the division enlarged to some absurd number of teams, and then have competitions which reflect the different classes within the division, ie, a competition where teams compete against one another in 10 team bracket increments each week, and as the standings change, your opponents change, or something like that.

[NFLPatriot]

Is it goin to be two divisions of 25 or two divisions of 50?

The choice is between the traditional single division of 50, or splitting into 2 divisions of 25 teams each.

The MFLS.com site has a limit of 25 teams to a division, so we have to request a waiver each year to get our division (RevMFLS) extended to 50, which can take a few days to be implemented. I think they won't do it until we are full (reach 25), so it's not like we can request it ahead of time.

There used to be other divisions that got enlarged, but last year RevMFLS was the only one bigger than 25.

One pro of splitting would be the chance to set up relegation/promotion between the 2 divisions.

One con of splitting would be that we would need 2 division managers to set up the divisions instead of one, and each time a manager's team gets promoted/relegated, a new manager would need to be found.

Another con would be contacting the teams from last year to let them know what division to join. Only 16 of the top 25 teams from last year have e-mail address on their team page.

Like Jeremy said, it's about what the people want, so vote and let us know!

[JMMUSA8]

Can I change my vote? I'll stick to the 50 team table.

[Jeremy Goodwin]

In any case I'm not per se against multiple divisions, but I am against a "promotion" style division consisting of only the top teams from last year. I think that everyone should have an equal shot at the best.

Even though the setup of MFLS is an individual rather than a competitive game, there would still be the perception that the "true" winner of RevMFLS was the top team that came out of the "promotion" division.

That's what I really don't like about it.

In any case, I've basically decided to write my own fantasy soccer league software for next season, because I'm not satisfied with certain limitations that MFLS has (limited divisions, one division per team, no inherent support for alternate rulesets within divisions, restrictions on which players can be played in which positions and combinations, etc).

[Sean Donahue]

In any case, I've basically decided to write my own fantasy soccer league software for next season, because I'm not satisfied with certain limitations that MFLS has (limited divisions, one division per team, no inherent support for alternate rulesets within divisions, restrictions on which players can be played in which positions and combinations, etc).Wow. I can't wait to see it. If I can be of any help let me know.

[Jeremy Goodwin]

Wow. I can't wait to see it. If I can be of any help let me know.Well, if you have any ideas, it's easier to implement features in the design phase than in the bugtest phase.

[MouseyTongue]

Are you thinking of full size rosters with a pre-season draft? In other words, a player could only be on one team in a division and managers would have to make trades. That could be a bunch of fun.

Of course there would have to be 12 team divisions to facilitate this. And not having a limit on the number of players from a single team would be nice. The problem would be the coach points if you couldn't have the same coach on multiple teams.

[Sean Donahue]

The problem would be the coach points if you couldn't have the same coach on multiple teams.
Coaches could be part of the draft too. Not realistic, but it would work. I like the rest of your ideas as well.

[Jeremy Goodwin]

Are you thinking of full size rosters with a pre-season draft? In other words, a player could only be on one team in a division and managers would have to make trades. That could be a bunch of fun.

Of course there would have to be 12 team divisions to facilitate this. And not having a limit on the number of players from a single team would be nice. The problem would be the coach points if you couldn't have the same coach on multiple teams.Well, this is a basic design diversion from MFLS, not just changes in features.

Fantasy leagues come in two types:

Draft based leagues where divisions are limited by number of teams in the real life league, and teams only compete within their division;
Salary based leagues where individual teams are grouped into divisions, but in reality, every team is competing against every other team, so long as they are having the same amount of points available to them.

Salary based leagues may or may not have a market based transfer system (MFLS does).

I don't have a problem with saying this or that, but the two do not coexist very well, at least not in such a way that I've been able to reconcile yet.

Maybe there is a way though.

[Jeremy Goodwin]

Ok, I just thought of a way to reconcile the two:

You assign every individual team to a draft group randomly or arbitrarily (doesn't really matter, so long as the groups are uniformly sized, although there are ways to deal with a small group drafting last, by having the system remove players from the draft based on the overall draft order to that point in place of the missing teams).

The draft(s) take place, then the salaries are assigned based on how high each player was chosen in the draft on average, and teams would be required to meet the salary cap by a roster cutdown date.

So the starting prices of team members would be set by market conditions (draft orders) and teams would have to comply with a salary cap, but would get unlimited free transfers prior to the cutdown date.

Let me know what you think.

[MouseyTongue]

Sounds simple enough to the participant, but I'm glad I'm not the designer ;)
The one thing a draft system allows that I like is that you can draft multiple players from a single team. In theory, 12 players could draft the 12 MLS teams. I would suggest that coaches are left out of the draft and allow multiple teams to have the same coach. As you know, this is one of my pet peeves about RevMFLS, where I believe that every team should have Nicol as coach since it ties those points to Revs wins, draws and losses. That could be possible in this league.

[NFLPatriot]

Just checked MFLS.com, and they posted a statement saying they will be open for business on Sunday, March 6th.

http://www.mfls.com

[Che Guevara]

how can i get into RevMLS

each year i end up in a random division

do i need a password

[NFLPatriot]

how can i get into RevMLS

each year i end up in a random division

do i need a password

Welcome! You will need a password. Check back on this board March 6th. Once our manager, Jeremy Goodwin, creates this year's division on the site, he will post the password here.

[NFLPatriot]

Can I change my vote? I'll stick to the 50 team table.

With the poll closed, and JMMUSA8 changing his vote, that makes 14-9 in favor of keeping a single division of 50 teams.

My thanks to everyone who took the time to vote!

Once the season begins in April, I will post information about this year's RevMFLS Tournament.

[KaptPowers]

I'd like to join RevsMFLS, would ya mind?

[Jeremy Goodwin]

I'd like to join RevsMFLS, would ya mind?We still have 21 slots, password here:

http://revmfls.subbuteoclub.com/

[koda]

I do have a team in the division. Could you do something like:

Upper division and lower division (RevMFLS Upper, RevMFLS Lower). The top 25 people are in the upper division but if you are in the top and have a bad week (or 2) you could find yourself moved to the lower division (developmental division?). If you are in the lower and have a good week you could find yourself moving up to the big leagues.

Also post an announcement that all teams must have an e-mail address for contact purposes. If someone does not want to give out their address have them get a juno, hotmail or gmail account.