Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] News on conference alignment for this year will be released later today.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Are you hearing twitter rumblings? I hope this is correct....
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/houston-dynamo-switch-eastern-conference
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Good. I think we have enough trauma with a 3 month road trip to start the season without having to worry about switching conferences too. TIME FOR THE SCHEDULE TO BE RELEASED..............
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] It got posted on Twitter before the league actually got something up.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Damn, I was really, really, really hoping that they would just say no to conferences for this year. So pointless in a balanced scheduled and just gums up the playoff situation.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Why would we have moved conferences? There were 10 in the West and 8 in the East. Were you thinking they'd move Houston and Dallas over to the East and us to the West?
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Because it'd be just as pointless to go to single table for one year and back to conferences when it's obvious we're going to have an unbalanced schedule next year. That was the theory by a lot of people myself included.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] It's a really easy fix for this "problem" we have of teams switching conferences after the playoffs start, and I don't see why it would have been a problem to do it like that for one year and then switch back to conferences next year. Ah, gotcha. Makes sense.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Because as I said, it's pointless when you're just going to change back the next season.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] The conferences are a good thing in my mind ..... ultimately it will allow MLS to expand way beyond 20 teams without stupidly re-inventing relegation and promotion. Having 30 or even 40 teams actually chasing one coveted prize, earning spots in a truly post-season that is hard to get into, and having other prizes like the USOC, Intercontinental-play, and conference championships to chase should give everybody in every region of this vast country a shot at some kind of silverware without the constraint of 20 teams and 38 games that has been chosen by the old world ... 400m+ people, a massive land mass, there is no reason to operate this league the same way they decided too in Edwardian England. Having a single table for one or two years is just silly.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] And as I said, no it's not: it alleviates the problem we have this year. It's not pointless when it fixes something.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] MLS changes something - whether it's the playoffs or the number of games in a season or the number of teams in the league or whatever - every single year. Why is it any more silly to get rid of conference for one year to fix a problem?
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Don't you think it does more harm to eliminate the conferences just to have them put back in place 12 months later? I think it makes MLS seems kinda bush league to have the structure just changing year on year out ..
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Well, and the conference structure. We've had an extra 1 or 2 teams every year for the past 5 or 6 years now, and every year the conference structure changes just a little bit, and the schedule changes just a little bit to fit in one or two more teams. The structure of the league isn't anything close to constant, so I guess I just don't understand why it's a big deal to use what works for a year when we are going to see changes next year (again) anyway.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] The structure has stayed the same since the Florida teams folded. They've had 2 conferences since then, they've made changes to the layout of the conferences moving teams (KC and Houston) and adding teams, but the structure of two conferences has stayed since the 2002 season. There's no reason to change it for 1 season when we're going to go back to it when Montreal joins next year.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Moving teams and adding teams has caused the schedule to change every year - which affects conference. One year you play every team in your conference four times and everyone outside your conference twice, the next you play everyone in your conference three times and everyone outside your conference twice. It changes the scope of what a conference is - even though the actual structure stays the same. When you are playing everyone in your conference four times a year, a conference is pretty meaningful, in a balanced schedule, a conference and completely and totally 100% worthless.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Sorry for drawing this out, I feel like I'm arguing for the sake of arguing now. Yes, the conference structure has remained the same since 2002, but not only have conferences been rendered meaningless, but everything else changes so much I don't think anyone would really notice if it changed for a year or two. That's all I meant to convey. Decision has been made now, so let's welcome Houston with open arms and guns a blazin'.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] And as I said, it's 100% worthless to change the conference structure for just one more year of a balanced schedule. If we were going to have a balanced schedule for the next few years I'd be fine with it, but since we're going back to an unbalanced schedule next year there's no reason to change the conference set up for only 1 year.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] And I respectfully disagree. And I would have done it last year too, so two years instead of one year.
Re: MLS 2011 Non-Sporting Discussion [R] Pure insanity .... why spend the money on Henry to pair him with this bum? If he was 21 maybe but 29 and with a history of behavioral issues I just can't see it. In his entire career I am not sure he has made it into the Championship and the bulk of his goals came at the ass end of the Football League. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/red-bulls-sign-english-forward-rodgers