We have a good shot at the playoffs. A win and a draw forces Dallas to win and get a result in KC, a win and two draws forces Dallas to win in KC and Portland to get a point in KC. That said, we have no realistic chance of getting a home game unless we win all 3 games. I estimate this conservatively at 5% ( = 50% * 50% * 20%). However if we DO win all 3, we are highly likely to finish top 4 because LAG travel to RSL and they can't both win. Sadly, even winning all 3 it's extremely unlikely we'll finish 2nd, for the same reason (they can't both lose).
The 7th playoff spot shouldn’t even exist, the previous format was just fine. MLS's hapless playoff contenders: the seven teams around the two playoff lines have one win in their last 21 games. https://t.co/Xn3O95S0Ca pic.twitter.com/zCFKY3kjvG— Paul Kennedy (@pkedit) September 23, 2019 Putting 14 out of 24 teams in the playoffs was a good and necessary idea. Yep. https://t.co/rwElEW44mb— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) September 23, 2019
Sam Stetskal, huh? Puff piece on the "unlikely" friendship between two of the biggest a-holes in sports. Bruce Arena's return took MLS by storm, but it caught one Gillette Stadium star by surprise.“I saw him in the hallway and I’m like, ‘What the hell are you doing here?"On the unlikely friendship between Bruce and Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman: https://t.co/MQ43iM2rtB— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) September 24, 2019
Oops, I should have said Dallas will be at Colorado. (They will host KC). There's a good chance we'll have eliminated them by Sunday.
Sure San Jose is loss-loss-loss... because they've been on the road against three teams with 19 more combined wins than losses. Let's kick LAFC out of the playoffs too, they haven't won in 5 games. NEXT!
Sam Stejskal is a good writer, knows lots about what’s going on in MLS, and he’s becoming even better at The Athletic. He’s allowed to have an occasional puff piece...
The previous format sucked, no advantage to finishing 1st vs. 2nd. And the third and fourth place teams don't deserve a home game against number 1 or 2, they had 34 games to prove they deserved it. MLS finally learned from the NFL.
"Struggling, depleted Quakes still confident of playoffs: "We worked too hard to fail"" (MLSsoccer.com - Wednesday, 9/25/19) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
I'm OK with the format as long as they don't add more spots as new teams join the league. The only change I'd like to see is that the 1st place team should always play against the lowest ranked team at home. Right now there is a weird situation where 6th place could potentially be a better spot than 5th place. Teams 5-7 serve three purposes: 1. let fans of mediocre teams feel like they accomplished something* 2. additional revenue for owners 3. the occasional upset to make things slightly more exciting Under no circumstances will we ever see teams 5-7 win the MLS cup. They aren't good enough to beat teams 1-4 on the road. Even if they are good enough the refs will make sure they don't win. *mediocre could be due to injuries, bad relationships, new coach/playing style that takes time to learn, unusually bad luck, or general lack of talent.
You mean until one of those teams is from New York / LA and they have some incredibly exiting superific, media attention grabbing cinderella run. With a dubious VAR decision thrown in for good measure!
GEEZ SKC completely bungles a clean 3 on 2 break. Loons look like they're playing their third game in one day.
Good lord Hurtado! You've got to put that on frame for 2-0. This is getting interesting because MUFC still has to host LAFC and travel to Seattle...
Well, that's soccer. Despite all their work SKC lose in stoppage time. Quakes shot at 2nd almost completely gone even if we win 3 straight.