It looks to me that all play-off games are very quality ones to watch, but i was tinking if we have the relegation system in our league, i bet all game will be like those play-off matches because no team wants to be in the relegation zone, so each an every game will be very important, this is what the MLS has to think about.
I guess they like it this way... to make it similar to the big US sports. Even if it doesn't work so well with soccer. I'd like to see the MLS have the standard football league format.
You should try your suggestions in the EPL first because I've seen too many dreadful and lethargic games played by relegation-candidate teams.
The playoff matches have been excellent thus far. For close to six months this is a cupcake league. But for the playoffs, its alot of fun watching the teams in the league play with something on the line.
Relegation to where? The A-League? It's on its way to possible non-existance in a few years. How about we get the league full and then have this discussion, because until then it's pointless. Besides, in essence 20% of the league (33% next year) gets "relegated" each season anyway (missing the playoffs). We just "re-elect" them the next season, just like England used to do.
Which standard? The German/Italian model? The English model? The Mexican model? The Brazilian model? Help us out.
Exactly. What is up with people's fixation with this mysterious European model. It's like the Xanadu of Bigsoccer. There is variation all over the world. Why can't we just accept our format? Plus relegation is impossible. We don't have the soccer infrastructure to do such a thing. In other words, stadiums, ownership, an endless list. Now, having said that, my personal ideal would be playoffs with a single table (I think it's stupid to have conferences with so few teams).
If we want to keep our system now, so why don't we increase the knock-out team to 4 teams instead of two so, there'll be alittle more competition.
Why doesn't the EPL relegate 12 teams instead of just 3 then? Those mid-table teams can be pretty boring when they don't have a chance of getting into Europe and aren't at risk for relegation...
Because most people find in renders the regular season boring. Personally you might disagree, but this is how many perceive it.
If you think mid-table team games are boring because they seem meaningless; I'd hate to ask what you think about the MLS regular season....
There are more MLS playoff slots to play for (and the seeding therein) than there are spaces in "Europe" for EPL teams. Plus any team has a decent shot at it, unlike Europe where it's a miracle for lesser teams to even score against Arse or ManU.
Oh I misunderstood you. Sorry bout that. You don't often hear of people claiming MLS is more exciting than the EPL.
I never said that. There's the level of play, and then there's the motivation. There's more on the line in MLS sometimes, but the skill of the players in the EPL tends to make up for it.
There is more on line in the MLS? Really? In EPL they play to win the league, play to qualify for the Champions League, for UEFA and the try to escape releagation at the bottom. In MLS, you just have to avoid being one of the the 2 teams out of 10 that suck the most. Its cool that you are able to find more on the line in the MLS model, personally, I dont see it though.
Again with "most people." I'm wondering where these invisible people are because big crowds came to a bunch of games down the stretch and the playoffs brought pretty similar numbers so far to the regular season. Where are the legions of people staying away from MLS because of the playoff system? If they exist, they are snobs about much more than how the league determines its champion.
I should have used "most people find it much less interesting than it could be". And by most people, I would myself, people I know, people here, Bruce Arena, Steven Cangelosi, Eric Wynalda, Sean Wheelock, Jon Harkes, Steve Cohen, Nick Geber, Sigi Schmidt, Rongen, Frank Yallop and several San Jose players, Ride Mahoney, Shep Messing, Jeff Bradley, Max Bretos and countless other beat writers and columnists have suggested ways or opinions on making the regular season more meaningful and interesting. A couple of you guys like it the way it is. Enjoy it, its good for the league that you do. But eventually, I am sure they are going to wind up creating format that appeals the the rest of us. Too many people want to change it. I have listened to yours and Stans side of the story. Neither of you seem open to discussing this an intellectually honest fashion. Thats unfortunate, cause i am sure both of us could have learned something.
You know, if you paid attention to what I was really saying, you'd find I actually agreed with you, whenever you've kept your points in perspective. Instead, most of the time, I've put up with ad hominem attacks suggesting I was either "crazy" or intellectually dishonest. (Where in the hell do you get off with that?)
I never said anything about crazy. And when I used intellectually dishonest I just meant that you didn't seem like you wanted to address others points, just make your own. Perhaps thats too harsh of a statement though. Either way your points are valid and accurate and they made me realize that there is some meaning in the regular season afterall. More than I origionally gave credit for anyway. I also think that there is much more to the discussion. Much more than just the surface, how many teams should be in the playoffs. Those you didnt seem all that interested in addressing. Sorry if I offended. I didnt mean it in a disparaging way.
For the Record If I don't talk a lot about the fact that most columnists, and indeed most serious fans, think the MLS playoffs are rather bloated, it's not because I dismiss the point, but because I agree with it. I think MLS has too many teams in the playoffs--just like the NBA and NHL. (Especially when they were smaller leagues--the NHL used to invite 16 of 21.) What that tends to lead to is a relatively uninteresting first round where people know that a win by the lower seed is unlikely, and wouldn't even result in much chance of a title if successful. There's a feeling, I think, among fans of the Revs, that they're not a real contender, and thus that making the playoffs is a bit of a hollow reward. I think that's what you have here. Lower seed wins seldom happen, and even in cases like the Revs where it does, they don't get anything from it unless they back it up with a couple more still-unlikely wins. Not to dismiss the Revs, but advancing from the next round will in some ways be even harder than this one. They have to play all 90 min (maybe 120) on the road this time. Another 1-1 road draw ain't gonna cut it (this time, that'll just force OT, where DCU has more minutes at home to beat them). What this does not do in an established league is delegitimize either the league or the regular season, even though you occasionally get comments from teams like the Lakers to the effect that they can cruise a little in the regular season and make it up in the playoffs. I don't think teams never do this, but I do think most teams know that this is more often just a rationalization for subpar performance, and that most teams that try this method will find it biting them in the butt. The Crew and the Revs either played as hard as they could in the regular season, or should have. It's not OK to coast, come in fourth place, and figure you'll just make it up in the playoffs. In the history of MLS, that has never worked. Now, what I seem to be hearing is is that soccer, and its fan group, is somehow fundamentally "different" than other sports. I find this unhelpful--even if it's true, it's probably true only because soccer is both a niche sport and pretty new. It's an unlikely assumption that soccer will continue to exist alongside other leagues in this country without some form of 'communication' (i.e. learning from each others' experiences) taking place. And that given the respective position of soccer, that communication, for the foreseeable future, is likely to be mostly one-way. -- And while I would like to see a reduced number of playoff teams, I am aware that: A) league expansion will take away the worst of the problem: cellar-dwellers in the playoffs and B) the league has reasons for doing the playoffs they way they do that I am probably not aware of (I suspect--without proof, mind you--that the current structure must be better for the league revenue-wise.)