https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/12/13/2019-mls-playoff-structure Going to single elimination brackets and a tighter time frame.
Odds of making the playoffs actually increased from .545 (6 out of 11) to .583 (7 out of 12). So technically we can make the playoffs and not play a single home game. Yeah I know take this shit to the 2019 optimism thread.
I like the change. And odds will go down over time as league expands. This is more like USA sports. Now if only these teams can stop being stupid FC's and Uniteds.
Don’t hold your breathe. They tried that already. All new teams follow that convention. I’m surprised they haven’t rebranded here. With that said I don’t expect to see the Chicago Fire in the playoffs in the next decade, and it won’t be because they’re now called “Chicago United FC.”
But Nelson says the Fire are a destination of choice for world class players, surely with the world class training facilities, coaching and the academy pipeline it is merely a matter of 7 or 8 years to achieve another playoff berth
I like the one and out system. The first game of a home and away is like the first half of a 180 minute game. Anything that shortens the playoff schedule is good.
Much better , more meaning in regular season and adds more hunt down the stretch. League still lacking schedule balance , hopefully someday regular season East-west games disappear and regular season is all in conference .
If that happens how is Andy going to make up for the LA teams and Seattle not bringing their stars to Bridgeview?
Seattle has stars? They've never had a *household name player. Any road support they get is wanna be hipsters or over paid Seattle techies who can fly to road games. I'll give you LA and it's consistent big names , but it would be interesting to see an East vs west attendance breakdown at Bridgeview . It seems to me the lowest games are for the SLCs , Colorado's , Dallas and Houston . I could be absolutely wrong, it's just my mental perception. But I wonder if any LA boost is shit from the above mentioned.
LA attendance isn’t all about the stars, don’t forget the Herbalifers with their free or heavily discounted tickets that get to sit in decent seats.
just the opposite, IMO. Regular season becomes less meaningful as they try to trick fans of shitty teams into tuning in in September. End result will be increased frequency of SS winners losing to .500 teams who sandbagged the 1st half of the season, signed a player or two in the midseason window, and got hot for a month. Just like the shitty NBA regular season, a mostly unwatchable morass of 1230 games, many including whole teams not even pretending to care, all endured to eliminate less than half the league from the playoffs. Single elimination just ensures luck will have a larger influence on outcomes. I recognize this is just the way it is in the big business of sport, but it's always made me sad that US fans have been taught to value the results of small sample size variance more than consistent excellence, and I can't celebrate MLS following suit.
The new format is much more like the NFL then the NBA. You are never going to have an American professional league that is decided totally on league play with no playoffs/championship game. I do feel like the SS has taken on greater importance as the years progress, but there will be playoffs and MLS Cup. I don't think a 2 leg series does anything to help your concerns. The first games just flat out suck with both teams focused on nothing more than meaningless possession in an effort to prevent any goals. So, most series come down to one game, and then the better team can be at a big disadvantage with the away goals rule. I'm open to suggestions, but it seems like the NFL has it about as right as you can make it, and certainly the American public has bought into that format.
Well...this is definitely much better because the international break always killed the finish of the season. I have previously thought the league needed to have the final on Thanksgiving day or the day after (Friday) and make it a tradition. Whatever it now is has to be better...
Now NFL will drown the MLS final. I wonder what happens if the host team has a conflict with the NFL over the stadium.
You "wonder"? There is no wondering, NFL game goes on as scheduled. MLS Cup gets reschedule to the following Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. EST., where it will be soundly beaten by all of "This Is Us," "NCIS:somewheresville," and WWE Smackdown or whatever "sports entertainment" programming from WWE is on Tuesday nights. Simple!
Q: They play basketball in the United Kingdom? A: Yes, just not very well. They do play "Net ball" which is like basketball, but with 7 players on a side, no dribbling and no backboard. Stupid, stupid game.