Wheelock: MLS is inching closer to the perfect playoffs

if you make the second round home and home, you make the playoffs a complete crapshoot, unless you plan on instituting a system where the low seed must win to advance.

And Dustin is right, it should be single game. However, the current system is interesting and workable. It would be a lot better and probably as peasing to the most people as possible by instituting a higher-seed rule in the first round.

 

Yeah, but even if they let a few in on Saturday it won't effect the standings of the series.

 

I personally favor home & away, with the higher seed advancing if aggregate score is even (a la MFL.)

 

I think this is the way to go.

I'd also like to see just six teams advance to the playoffs, with the two highest seeds earning a bye to the second round while seeds 3-6 play in sort of a 'wild card' game in the first round. It would make the playoffs more exciting, give true advantage to teams that did well in the regular season, and make the regular season more meaningful, too.

 

I don't mind the current home/away 1st round, but I still like a best of 3 series. I know it's difficult to schedule, and that is a legit concern.

Weelock needs to get off his point about the higher seed choosing to play at home in the 1st or 2nd game. He spends 1/2 the time on MLS Wrap complaining about that. Having the 2nd leg at home is the better option, you get the potential tie breaker at home. If you want MORE advantage to go to the higher seed, then play a "best of" series and give the higher seed more home games. Everyone know that moving to an agg. goal series would lessen the advantage for the higher seed. Can't have it both ways.

 

Agreed.

One other thing: Club that wins the Cup gets right of first refusal to host cup the following year.

 

The main drawback to single-elimination, in my opinion, is that the League Champion shouldn't be determined by a potentially fluky one-game performance (EDIT: Especially in the early rounds, by a lower seed. The Cup Final is less objectionable, since both teams had to survive to get there, and it's almost impossible to jettison, from the marketing perspective). That could potentially render the regular season even more meaningless than the current system. The higher seeds deserve the chance to overcome one bad game, and the lower seeds should have to work longer than 90 minutes to prove that they are worthy to advance past the higher seed.

 

I like the system that the instiute for professional rugby in England:

the #1 Team automatically qualifies for the championship game.

Team #2 plays #5, #3 plays #4, home field advantage to the higher seed, the winners play in the semi-finals, the winner of which advances to play #1 in the Championship match.

This way, the regular season champ is rewarded for an entire season of excellence.

 

That would be pretty interesting, but wouldn't it mean that MLS would have to realign (eliminate) the conferences yet again?

The playoffs from a viewer and attendance point of view has been a disappointment year after year. I'd still like to see it shortened to a few teams. Maybe doing as suggesting and a spot in the playoffs to the top team. 2 and 3 can then battle for the other.

Along with that I'd also like to see is a big fat purse going to the winners in the form of a 100% bonus to the champs, and a 50% to the 2nd place team. I've always wondered if the cost to cover this could come from eliminating a round of playoffs that haven't paid for themselves anyway.

I'd also look forward to the day where the championship isn't played at a neutral place.

 

I've found some good comments in my e-mail today.

First, even though the two-leg system is more common worldwide than the "first to five," it's hard to call this a traditional way of settling a league championship. Now, if this were a "League Cup," then maybe we could talk about it being a recognizable tournament.

Another suggested a novel solution to the need to spread around home games -- borrow the brackets tthat I believe are used in various rugby leagues and the America's Cup:

First round (single game):
- #2 at #1 in each conference. Winner gets a bye; loser plays in second round.
- #4 at #3 in each conference. Winner plays in second round; (cue Cantona) the loser goes home.

Second round (single game):
- 3-4 winners at 1-2 losers.

Conference finals (single game):
- Second-round winners at first-round winners.

This accomplishes the following:
- Reward for #1 is greater than reward for #2, which is greater than reward for #3 and so on.
- Six teams get home games. #1 and #3 host the first round. #2 hosts the conference final if it wins the first round, or it hosts the second-round game.

I'd be a little antsy about single games throughout because someone might lose through the penalty-kick lottery, but the top teams would have to lose twice in three games to be knocked out. If you lose twice on penalties, it's just not your year.

 

Now that's interesting.

 

TIMMY!

 

I hesitate to do this, because it may be construed as spamming, but I have the perfect playoff system, described here:

www.soccerfanaticsradio.com

The short version, is two groups of four, seeded, with the top seed in each group playing all three games at home, and the bottom seed in each playing all three on the road.

 

That takes too long and it doesn't address The Lamar Hunt Mandate(tm) that every club have a playoff home game.

Then again, neither does the first system, unless you made the 3-4 playoff two legs.

 

How long does it take to play the first round of the World Cup? One week, right?

The Lamar WHAT?! Anyway, the bottom two don't deserve home playoff games, especially in a 10-team league. The top 60% of the league get at least one home game. That mandate would be easily overcome, I would think, in this system. Of course, that's without having the slightest idea about Hunt's temperament or anything....

 

I agree with this statement.A team that finishes third and fourth in a five team conference does not deserve a home playoff game.

 

You know, this is crazy. So crazy it just might work. Cue the Mission Impossible theme.

There is no one right way to do the playoffs but some are more right than others. This one feels righteous.

I like this a lot. It is unique and legitimate. It rewards the regular season. I'm trying to think of a reason not to like this...and I can't do it.

 

First To 5 is the winner, by far

WHEELOCK couldn't be more wrong.

Perfection isn't one-offs for playoffs. The fans get screwed. Leave that to the NFL and USOC. Perfection is, was, and will be First-to-5. It's the only system that rewards both team and fan base, allows teams to find their own separation on the field under normal rules while incorporating ties in a sport that must.

Numerous other playoff configuations have been dusted off for examination. Here's yet another one totally unsuited for soccer. Here's what the 16-team Aussie-rulles FB League (AFL) does. They call it "Double Chance Playoffs":

Top 8 of 16 go, everyone plays in R1 like this:

Week 1: 4 at 1, 3 at 2, 8 at 5, 7 at 6.
Week 2: The winners of the top seeded 2 games rest in Week 2 and host Week 3 Preliminary-Finals, the losers of the higher-seed games host the winners of the lower seeded games in week 2. The losers of the lower seeded games are OUT.
Week 3: Winners of week 2 games at winners of Week 1 games, reseeded to avoid possible rematches.
Week 4: Grand final for the Flag and Premiership

Here's another, just flip a coin for home field after a blind draw of the qualifying 8 teams. One-offs each Saturday. OT is play 'til you drop Sudden death like NHL. Oh, and it takes a minimum of 2 goals to win. That way we can kill geographic rivalry and the peak-and-valley theater of drama you only get with a series, get people hurt, have nothing televised, and maybe watch live bad soccer in the cold until 1 am.

Here's the perfect plan: Division Champs, Full on Best-of-5, Play 'til you drop OT.

No wait: Group Double round robin pool play of the Top 8 teams. Lower seeds play more road games. Corner kicks are the first tie-breaker. Winner of each pool plays a one-off Super Duper Stupendous Final!!!! Yeah, that's it!


First to 5 people. Everyone understands it well enough to rip it. Everyone doth protest too much.

 

Re: First To 5 is the winner, by far

Just what we need. More Tuesday night soccer.