I'd personnaly go for 3-0-1 as the standings would essentially stay the same and the league would gain credibility (well at least in my city). 4-0-1 + 1 does NOT bring in extra fans. The fans that enjoy this are one-time fans.
I guess the USL should standardize JUST so you can have a chance at comparing how good the teams are vs other leagues. Does anyone know how the NCAA scores, or do they use points at all? I was noticing last night that one of our local girls colleges here in Memphis scored 174 goals v 14 against them last year but I did not see anything about points being given. They probably could have cared less anyway.
All I can say is why complicate things? Have it the standard 3-1-0. Gimmicks like bonus points turn fans away.
Yea...just the other day I spoke to 20,000 people that said they would attend a soccer game, if it wasn't for that damned bonus point system.
Well you certainly weren't at a riverhounds game at the time. Smart remark, to bad you miss the point.
Sorry. Over reaction. Well at least you didn't mention shoot out wins and losses like ranul. Thats just insane.
Shootout? What the.... Ref. pull the red on Ranul! NOW! 3 for win, 1 for tie. (the way it should be) Now if you keep the overtime maybe 3 for regulation win, 2 for OT win, 1 for tie.....maybe?
Standard+ I prefer the 3-1-0 format but would keep the 1 pt for scoring 3 or more goals in a game. I like the idea of trying to encourage teams to press the attack for the bonus point. Hate it when a team gets a 2-0 lead and starts playing pass it to the keeper. If they're going for the bonus point we can hope for the attack/counter attack flow in the game.
That was my point a long time ago, give added incentive to score more, get the 'on the bubble' fans more interested. It sucks that we have to do this but obviously there are not enough 'fanatics' going to the games, so we have to dig deeper. I voted to get rid of the bonus point and use the same scoring as everyone else, strictly from a 'I want that' point of view, but I will go to a soccer game whether the score is 10 - 10 or 0 - 0. I also would like more people to show up. I know that in Memphis, if we don't keep enough fans coming to the game they will disband the teams. I will live with the bonus point if that is what it takes to keep the teams there.
A win should be a win and a loss a loss no matter if it's in regulation or OT. I don't mind having the OT left in the game but lets not complicate the scoring system by reducing an OT win to 2 points.
Re: Standard+ Since when has a team sat on a 2 goal lead against Calgary? Face it, there has been NO proof that the bogus point creates attacking soccer whatsoever.
No shootouts, No bogus points, 3-1-0. I'd prefer to see the OT go as well, especially with as many back to backs or 3 games in 5 days that we get with the current A-League schedules. But if it must stay, then as Krammerhead said earlier, don't complicate the points system by doing 2 pts for an OT win. At least make it consistent with MLS so we're all on the same points system...
Actually what proof do you need? I know for a fact that at least during the latter weeks of the season, there was lots of talk by players on at least two teams (the only two that I talk to the players) saying they needed to play more offensively to get the BP. Now possibly they only played a little harder until they got the BP or they had to play harder the whole game and missed the BP but I do in fact know that it has changed some of the game strategies and they played more offensively. This is NOT saying, again, that I agree with the BP but it does mean that I have personally seen teams play differently trying to get that point. Did it make the game better? Possibly? Does it happen all the time? No. If a soccer newbie goes to a game in which each team was trying more to score, will that person come back? Who knows. If the same newbie goes to a game that gets 2 - 0 quickly and the leading team puts 10 men behind the ball the rest of the game, is he going to come back? Who knows - it is possible that he/she will more likely come back to see a game like that rather than a game with everyone behind the ball. It cannot be proven that the BP gets more people to the game but there is evidence that at least it could.
Talking about getting the BP and actually having the talent to do it are two different things. A team with the talent to score will score, and those without the talent won't, regardless of whether there is a silly BP rule in place. Don't tell me that Seattle scored all the goals they have this season because there was a BP rule in effect. Nope they would have scored the same, because they like to score. There was no incentive for Seattle to put in 4 goals against Vancouver last Sunday, they don't need any bonus points, still they went ahead and did it. So I stand behind my point that there is no proof that the BP creates attacking soccer. Think about it, the only way to prove that it does is to do away with the BP for a couple of years and compare.
Unfortunately I don't believe that even doing away with the BP and comparing will tell the story, there are too many variables involved. It is just one of these things that someone or someones have to make the decision and stick to it. The BP had nothing to do with the CBU lopsided season last year, it was just pure talent and the will and ability to do your best while you are on the field. Also the hopes of people for leading the goals/assists race. Like I said I can see where having a BP might encourage more scoring, but then again it also said it could put an unfair twist on the game, putting less emphasis on just purely winning and counting wins v losses. One valid argument against the BP, say you have one strong division and one weak division, the strong division has a team that wins 20 games, as does the weak division, the strong winner averages a 2 - 1 win while the weak division averages a 3 - 2 win, in the end it is going to make the team that wins the weak division look better than the one that wins the strong division. So that might cost some 'fan support' because of that (no way to prove either way, though).
It is time to remind fans again that the Bogus Point opens the door for cheating. Let's say that Team A is playing their last match of the year and they can qualify for the playoffs with 5 points but not with 4. In the final minute they are leading 2-1. With less than a minute to go, they have little chance of getting that Bogus Point they so desperately need. So they give the ball away on purpose and let the opposing attacker dribble in and score, leveling the match at 2-2. Now they have extra time to score that 3rd goal and get the Bogus Point. Please get rid of the Bogus Point. It is an embarrassment.
Back when the USL started the Bogus Point, a fan calculated goals per match for the season with the Bogus Point and for the prior season without the Bogus Point. Goals per match was virtually identical for the two seasons, supporting the hypothesis that the Bogus Point does not cause an increase in scoring. As K'head pointed out, attacking players are driven to score goals and will do so whenever they get a chance. By far most coaches and managers want to play attacking soccer to entertain the fans who bought tickets. Toronto recently knocked in 6 goals against Calgary. Only the third goal was worth an extra point. What is so special about the third goal that it should be worth an extra point in the table?
I do like the current USL point system. It incorporates the NASL's idea of bonus points for goals, without making it the major feature of the point system. It makes the end of season scenarios interesting. For example, when I calucated the Mid Michigan Bucks' (PDL) chances of a playoff berth in the last week of the season, I had different scenarios depending on if they got 0, 1, 2, 4, or 5 points, then figuring on what the team chasing them would have to get. (The USL tie-breakers came into play here, also.) It's interesting looking at the standings from past seasons in the USL media guide, and remembering the point systems of yesteryears. (Pre-crash, someone had a poll of all the old USISL-USL point systems.) RonS, note that even the 3-1-0 system allows cheating in late-season scenarios. If both teams get a playoff spot with one point, what is the incentive for either team to play? No system is flawless; I just happen to like the 4-1-0+1 best.