The MLS playoff picture is getting a bit more clear as most teams are down to just three games in the season. The playoff format guarantees the top three teams in each conference a playoff birth. The remaining two spots go to the two best teams remaining. Should each team be from the East, the fourth seed in the East will stay, and the fifth seed will move to the West as the fourth seed there. So here's what we know. Columbus has clinched the Supporters' Shield as MLS' best team of the season. New England is in the playoffs in the East and Houston is in the West. And the rest is a bit more extensive as no team has been eliminated. If the playoffs started today, Columbus would face New York, and New England would take on Chicago in the East. Out West, Houston would face a surging Colorado, and Chivas USA would face Real Salt Lake. But its not nearly that simple. Lets take a look at what's left for these teams. EAST Chicago truly controls its own destiny as they sit seven points ahead of fourth place. If the Fire take a single point in their next three, they're in. However, that's not as easy as it seems as they host the Columbus Crew, travel to Toronto who is always tough on the road, and then host New York. New York currently sit fourth in the East table and hold a two point lead over fifth place Kansas City and a one point lead over the West's fifth place FC Dallas. A rather tense position is made worse by a very difficult schedule. The Red Bulls will travel to Real Salt Lake for the opener of the new Rio Tinto Stadium, then host Columbus, before going to Chicago to end the season. Ouch. Kansas City are two back of New York in the East and one back of Colorado and FC Dallas for the fourth spot in the West. They host New England and San Jose before going to New England. Obviously, the matches with New England won't be easy, particularly if Nicol sticks with the highly successful 3-5-2. San Jose has been on fire since adding Darren Huckerby to the squad and won't be easy, even at home. DC United have a very challenging and very congested schedule at the end of the year. They mix three Champions' League matches with three MLS matches over the next three weeks. They go to Costa Rica for a match with Saprissa, then to Houston on three days rest. Four days later they will travel to New England. Five days of rest will be followed by a match at Cruz Azul. Five days later, United will host Columbus, before ending the awful streak by hosting CD Marathon. Its not looking good for United. Toronto FC sit last in the East, but manage to be just three points out of drawing level with the fourth place team in the West. To close out the season, they go to Dallas, host Chicago and travel to San Jose. The math says its possible, the sale of Maurice Edu says otherwise. WEST Chivas USA are on the brink of qualifying and need just two points out of the last three matches. Despite the fairly low need, it won't be easy as the American Goats go to San Jose before hosting Houston and DC. Real Salt Lake are four back of Chivas for third and a point ahead of the two Western teams tied for fourth. They open their new stadium (and if you haven't seen the photos or videos, it looks amazing) with New York and then host FC Dallas before going to Colorado to end the year. Colorado is tied for fourth with FC Dallas, but have claimed the tie breaker by winning the first two meetings of the two clubs. The Rapids will go to the Home Depot Center for matches with Chivas and Los Angeles before hosting Real Salt Lake. FC Dallas sit fifth, but are currently on the outside looking in due to the tiebreaker. Dallas will host Toronto FC before visiting Salt Lake and the Galaxy. San Jose have a game in hand, but are four out of fourth in the west. The Quakes host Chivas, then travel to Houston and Kansas City. They close the season with Toronto FC. Despite being a really bad team, the LA Galaxy are only five out of fourth in the West. They will host Colorado, travel to Houston, and then host FC Dallas. Even with the best assembly of offensive talent in the MLS, I don't think they have it. Check my next post for my predictions
DAY BY DAY SCHEDULE Away team listed first, my predicted winner in bold, ties have no bold 10-9 New York v. Real Salt Lake 10-11 New England v. Kansas City Toronto FC v. FC Dallas Chivas USA v. San Jose 10-12 Columbus v. Chicago DC United v. Houston Colorado v. Los Angeles 10-15 San Jose v. Houston 10-16 New England v. DC United 10-18 Chicago v. Toronto Columbus v. New York San Jose v. Kansas City Los Angeles v. Houston FC Dallas v. Real Salt Lake 10-19 Colorado v. Chivas USA 10-23 New York v. Chicago 10-25 Kansas City v. New England Real Salt Lake v. Colorado Toronto FC v. San Jose Houston v. Chivas USA 10-26 FC Dallas v. Los Angeles DC United v. Columbus FINAL STANDINGS (my projection) East Columbus - 57 New England - 50 Chicago - 47 New York - 36 DC United - 36 Kansas City - 35 Toronto FC - 31 West Houston - 52 Chivas USA - 46 FC Dallas - 43 Real Salt Lake - 38 Colorado - 37 San Jose - 34 Los Angeles - 32 Based on my predictions, the very unlikely scenario of five West teams making the playoffs is going to happen. Playoff matches in the East would feature Columbus - Colorado and New England - Chicago. In the West, we'll see Houston - Real Salt Lake and Chivas USA - FC Dallas.
Wait, playoffs?!?!?! Is this like some sorta NBA crap, you play 7 games and who ever wins 4 games advances? If that's so wow that is super gay! That shouldn't be allowed in Football!
Conference Semifinal series are conducted in a home-and-home, aggregate-goal format. The lower seeded team in the Conference Semifinal hosts the first game. The winners of those four series advance to single-game Conference Championships that will determine the MLS Cup Finalists. The team that scores the most goals in the home-and-home series advances to the single elimination Conference Championship. If the teams are tied after 180 minutes in the Conference Semifinal series, a 30-minute extra time period (divided into two 15-minute periods) will be played followed by kicks from the penalty mark, if necessary. The team with the higher seed between the two Conference finalists will host the Conference Championship game. In the case of ties after 90 minutes of regulation in the Eastern and Western Conference Championship games and MLS Cup, 30 minutes of extra time (divided into two 15-minute periods) would be played followed by kicks from the penalty mark, if necessary, to determine the winners.
That's what sucks about American soccer, they try and make it an American sport, while everywhere else it's a global sport and has the same rules everywhere.
All I can do is laugh If you want football to be a major sport in America then you need to do what Europe is doing and the rest of the world.
If you're trying to push American soccer, why do we have to do what Europe does? Promotion and Relegation, single tables, and no playoffs are not American sporting concepts. MLS is not trying to radically alter the game like the NASL did.
And this is why the MLS sucks and it's not even a top 10 league in your own contention (counting South America also)? The MLS is a joke. Edit: I gave it a try and tried to watch it, but MY GOD it was just awful football my eyes started to burn. It's football not soccer.
If this is your opinion, why are you taking the time to seek out the MLS forum to post? Go to the England forum and talk about the magical artistic football played by Middlesbrough.
Another season of the Piss Poor MLS. It's like comparing European and American Beer. No contest what so ever.
I don't support Middlesbrough mate. I support Manchester United and I'm 100% sure that Manchester United would murder your MLS All-Star team in a heart beat. And Middlesbrough would beat a lot of your clubs, they could probably beat all your clubs as a matter of fact.
Mixx he was quoting me. Head up though And i Support Arsenal and although the MLS isn't the best (Obviously) i like to keep track simply because i follow most leagues in some way or another and I like to track beckhams progress as an England Fan. So please don't tell me what forums I can and Can't visit
I enjoy football, sometimes i'll be bored and catch an MLS game and it's not terribly bad, I agree it has a lot of room to grow but i just love the game as a whole and enjoy watching it.
Thanks Claud. The Euro natives/Euro-snobs need to keep in mind that MLS is 13 years old and has roster restrictions in place that make it very difficult to build strong, deep squads and maintain a consistent roster from season to season. We're not trying to compete with teams like Manchester United because we know that its not going to happen. What the league is doing is raising the profile of soccer in the United States and giving young American athletes who want a career in soccer a decent place to start. What the league needs to do now is make more money available in the salary cap system so that young Americans aren't moving to the second division of Norway because they can make a better living there.
You're from England. That puts you in the native category. The Euro-snob is the American who bashes MLS because its not a European league.
I was born and raised in Madrid, Spain btw. Anyhow, the MLS is young compared to most leagues worldwide like you said. The only way to move foward IMO is to invest in youth around the globe. You don't need Becks when he is 33, you don't need Pele when he is 34 and retired. What you need is to improve scouting and youth academies, that way you can sell the players you've invested in for far more $$ to bigger clubs.
