MLS Considering Split Season, Playoff Changes

i hope they do this after expansion, it would be awful to have so many games with only 10 teams

 

I for one think the scheduling change would be a disaster on several fronts.
1) Taking off June & July would mean no July 4 games. The 7/4 matches make up 8% of total MLS attendence each year. Far and away, the biggest matchday of the season.
2) If the first half had to be complete by June 1, Games in Chicago, Columbus, New England and NJ would need to be played during early March. No one would show up!
3) Increasing the # games per year to 40 would push a much larger percentage of those games to weeknights. This would seriously hurt attendence.

This is a terrible idea.

 

I agree with that format. It's a long wait till March, almost April

 

I'm for a single table and a simplified play off format, but split seasons, especially those that award separate trophies, would be stupid. Seasons are always a quest. To split them up would be to disrupt the journey. To reward a trophy for each "season" would be to render them both meaningless.

 

And do we really want to emulate the "organization" of Mexico, Colombia and Argentina?

I shudder.

 

Frankly, I like the idea of a split season. I have advocated it a number of times on these boards, mainly to escape the heat of July and August.

I think the Spring Championship should conclude on July 4th, and the Autumn campaigne begin on Labor Day weekend. I don't care if we go against football in the fall; we already do. Another 3 or 4 weeks won't matter.

The proposed schedule is based on competitions that now conflict with the MLS schedule, so It's seems that the "season" would still be more-or-less continuous through the summer, with a lighter schedule of non-MLS matches during the break.

1. We need bigger rosters to manage even the current schedule.

2. We still need to beat the August heat. many days this summer were just too hot for good health and good soccer.

 

Consider the source and look closely at the language.

 

Yes it has, on the MLS board.

 

Excellent point.

 

Oh c'mon people!!! Jamie Trecker has a long track record of competent writing!!!!!

 

What do you mean by "consider the source"?

 

Agreed, for all the reasons you cited. And throw in Chowderhead's comment as well, too.

 

He means that Jamie Trecker has little credibility.

 

I agree.

But Trecker quoted MLS communications director Trey Fitz-Gerald as stating, "The playoff change is more definite, I think," he said. "For the season, that may be a little more long-term. Right now we are looking at the calendar."

And again, Fitz-Gerald is quoted re switching to single table, "However, that's something, again, we're still talking about," Fitz-Gerald said. "There may be some payoff in having those in terms of travel and perhaps in rewarding two teams."

Although a lot of what Jamie Trecker writes needs to be taken with a pound of salt, I seriously doubt he's making up quotes from named sources.

 

So Trey is talking about things. So what? I'm they talk about lots of crazy ideas. Whether any of them come to fruition ... well, that's another thing entirely.

 

I'm not sure if I like the idea of awarding separate trophies for each season, but why not just have a mid summer break? It wouldn't be set in stone each year, but depending on what was occuring, i.e. World Cup, Confederations Cup etc., maybe we have June off one year, and then July off the next, depending on what other competitoins were occuring. We should not get rid of 4th of July games though.

Also, as was stated already, this should only really happen after expansion. 40 game season contested b/t 10 teams? ugh.

 

So what? So it's news, that's what.

Not earth-shattering news by any means, but the type of stuff you'll see mentioned in MLS Confidential or in a Jeff Bradley column.

Just because it's Jamie Trecker and not Bradley or Ridge Mahoney writing the story doesn't make it any less newsworthy.

 

"And do we really want to emulate the "organization" of Mexico, Colombia and Argentina?

I shudder."

mexico is the most financially wealthy league in the americas, plus it is the third best league in the americas. (behind argentina and brazil)

 

My point was that these things might b considered but they aren't set in stone or imminent. They talked about contraction for a whole year and admitted that they had discussed it along with tons of other scenarios like they do every winter.

It's kind of significant that Trey talked about this stuff. Now all we have to do is compare his quotes with those from Mr. Rumor to see what the real scoop is.

 

I personally don't like the idea of having two seperate seasons, I think it cheapens the league. I believe that having one final at the end of the season builds excitment and drama. I like the format that MLS currently uses of 28 games plus Open Cup matches.

 

July and August is when I pay attention to MLS the most. No Basketball, No NFL, No College Football, just boring old baseball. I want the MLS playing games when there is the least competition.

 

Exactly.

Notice Trecker didn't give detail one about the playoff change, even though it was the more likely change. What does "simplify the playoffs" mean? We don't know, because Trecker didn't bother to tell us (other than Trecker implying that it might mean no playoffs at all, which if you look carefully can't be true given Fitzgerald's comments about single table). Instead, we got whole lot of talk about the proposed changes that are clearly in the early, exploratory stages.

No, he's just writing a whole lot more than is there. MLS probably talks about a whole lot of things that don't end up even close to happening. And a 40-game split-season strikes me as something that if MLS ever did it, they'd spend a whole lot of time thinking and talking about first. It's too radical a change not to.