I think Supporters Shield winner should be determinded by home and away game between East Conference no. 1 in their table and West Conference no. 1 in their table rather than most points. What's the point of two separate tables if they don't do that? Also, call them(most points in each conference) the Conference champions. Then, give both teams bye for the first round in the Playoffs for the MLS Cup.
point of the shield is consistent performance over the year. Even if one conference is easier than the other (hi West) it's still more fair than 1 or 2 game gamble.
if that's the point, if you don't want any gamble.... well you know... go with balanced one table. Again, what's the purpose of 2 tables? I like 2 tables, but need to do it properly and make the most out of it..
I may be wrong, but I thought the whole concept of the supporters shield was to award the shield to the single-table winner of the league. I think that we should keep it that way. Give it to the team with the most points. They deserve it. It's not just about playing against each other in a one versus one contest. It's about beating the teams you should beat. Week in and week out.
Nope, no it shouldn't If anything, this thread should be about MLS playing a balanced. Especially after they add another team. Divisions are not a necessity.
I find it funny just how prevalent Conferences and Divisions are in American sports. The 4-team Hawaii baseball league even has east and west divisions even though they're all on the same damn island.
Boooo for trying to make a points race into another playoff scenario Hurray for trying to make a points race with two divisions in which teams from different divisions end up playing a different schedule. Now don't even get me started on the whole playing teams an odd number of times or other random nonesense which is going on this year.. but if you're going to give out an award for the best performance over the course of the season then the seasons damn well ought to be 'equal' in nature. Someone tell me how it's fair that Colorado gets to play RSL 4 times but the East only gets the benefit of two meetings? The best way to fix it in my opinion (and that is if you believe it can be fixed) is to reduce all the results to two games... so Colorado would have it's two home games averaged into one result (same with away)... this might end up causing really strange point totals (0.5 points for a tie and a loss), but I see that to be better than the way it is now. Of course, Supporter's Shield doesn't really need to get more complicated anyways.. your average 'walked up to one game one time' fan isn't going to even know it exists... but if it were to be 'fixed' so it 'meant something' - that is how I would do it.
Fine, change the Supporters Shield criteria, but then let's create another trophy for the team that gets the most points!!! Dang, what's the whole point of anything anymore? Is the sky still blue? If you want playoffs, we already have the freakin playoffs, it's called the MLS Cup. Why do we need to create another? You got your piece of cake, so don't grab another one.
hey husker i agree, actually the shield doesnt need change at all i think atually it needs more PUBS like a whole advertising campaign, dub it "the Race for the sheild" or something, also make the MLS post on thier website the shield standings and fine a good sponsor for it too. also i thjink the current trophy sux to be honest i think it needs a real shield like those german trphies or that wimbeldton trophy.... ya know also make a special patch for the SS winner for the next season like the scudetto or intergrate it with the current one that is displayed now. .... just a thought