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Playoff format changes next year


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#136
JBigjake54

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We would have hosted the MLS Cup Final this year if we had those rules(we beat Atlanta at home....) ... Now they change the rules...


RB would find some way to lose under any format.

We are good enough to beat the best teams, and bad enough to lose to the worst teams. 


#137
MiLo4891

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You summarized the problem perfectly, but the conclusion you just made only makes the problem worse. 34 game season. Then one bad/average game or a bad call, and you are out to inferior opponent. Like you said, with a play-off system, regular season games are less meaningful. If you have a 3 game play-off series (could end after two with a win and a draw or two wins), that would increase the chance of a better team to go through and leave less things to chance and luck. Plus you get more meaningful games to look forward to.
 
With a play-off system the only sport that has 1 game elimination is football. But football is a high scoring game, draws are almost impossible, and there are no opportunities to just defend with whole team and go to PKs. 3 game play-off series, is the way to go, and I feel after we get a few upsets with single game elimination the League will once again go to 2-3 game play-off format.

three game format is painfully long and just a terrible perversion of the two legged series...

And on another point 14 teams?! At most it should be the top 3 in both conferences...

Or better yet just do away with the playoffs
I just want Metro to win a title sometime in my lifetime.

#138
Arsenal14

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three game format is painfully long and just a terrible perversion of the two legged series...

And on another point 14 teams?! At most it should be the top 3 in both conferences...

Or better yet just do away with the playoffs


Do away with playoffs and what, play a 46-game double round-robin?

#139
Grelladinho

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three game format is painfully long and just a terrible perversion of the two legged series...

And on another point 14 teams?! At most it should be the top 3 in both conferences...

Or better yet just do away with the playoffs

The single table structure is boring. In Europe the same teams start to pull away each season and by the halfway point (or sometimes even before that) unless you are following an oil money club why continue watching? To see your team maybe finish in the top couple spots so they can get pummeled by the same oil money teams next season in the champions league? Or grab a Europa League spot to face a bunch of no-name clubs?

In theory the format makes each game more important but it sure doesn't feel that way. There is no huge showdown to look forward to at the end of the season and it's pretty lame.

#140
JBigjake54

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Do away with playoffs and what, play a 46-game double round-robin?


League planning to expand to 28.
54-game schedule?

We are good enough to beat the best teams, and bad enough to lose to the worst teams. 


#141
SatansHockey

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The single table structure is boring. In Europe the same teams start to pull away each season and by the halfway point (or sometimes even before that) unless you are following an oil money club why continue watching? To see your team maybe finish in the top couple spots so they can get pummeled by the same oil money teams next season in the champions league? Or grab a Europa League spot to face a bunch of no-name clubs?

In theory the format makes each game more important but it sure doesn't feel that way. There is no huge showdown to look forward to at the end of the season and it's pretty lame.


Couldn't agree more. Those teams who are always in the middle of the pack of the standings are stuck in purgatory playing absolutely pointless and mostly meaningless games.

#142
regulator

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Not to mention single table has meaningful games across the board (top teams fight for championship, mid tier teams fight for uefa and Europa league), and bottom teams fight to avoid relegation. Since we don't have pro/rel, only the top teams would have any sort of vested interest come mid to late summer. And even then it's arguable how much teams would care about CCL given how small the crowds and prize money is.

#143
Antonius Block

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There are pros and cons to both systems.  In the single table system it is generally the mid-table teams who play the most drama-less games with little on the line.  Take Everton or West Ham for example.  They are in 8th and 9th in the Premier League.  They are both halfway through the season and have no realistic chance of either qualifying for Europe or getting relegated.  

 

In MLS, it is the worst teams that play the most meaningless and drama-less games because they know at about the midway point of the season they won't make the playoffs.  

 

I think one thing the MLS system is better at is making it more likely that the best 2/3 of the league are playing meaningful matches towards the end of the season.  In Europe, it is the best third and the worst third of the league who are playing meaningful matches at the end of the season.  The middle third of the league, with many teams that are better than those playing in the more meaningful relegation related games, have relatively little on the line. 


"To believe is to suffer. It is like loving someone in the dark who never answers." - Antonius Block on Metro fandom


#144
JBigjake54

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In the single table system it is generally the mid-table teams who play the most drama-less games with little on the line.  Take Everton or West Ham for example. 


West Ham had the highest percentage of capacity in ticket sales in the PL last season! Same this season! Everton is 98%!
https://www.express....-sportgalleries
https://www.soccerst...?league=england
When Spurs new stadium opens, 13 of 20 PL clubs will average tickets sold at least 97% of capacity.
Empty seats are usually due to clubs not selling individual tickets to the general public, difficulties in internal re-sales, and restrictions on away fans.
The other 7 will average 90% to 94%.
Southampton battled relegation, but its lowest attendances were reported at the end of last season.
https://www.bbc.com/...otball/45158878

We are good enough to beat the best teams, and bad enough to lose to the worst teams. 


#145
SoapyDish

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I love this format, when we inevitably crash and burn out of the playoffs we won't have to scrounge up some sort of insane optimism like with Atlanta this year. Just one horrible game and gone.



#146
Mibabalou

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Guys were never ever doing away with playoffs, this is america and its our culture.

 

Trust me I massively dislike but unless fifa comes in and says no more you have to have a single table balanced schedule then its not happening. 



#147
Borats

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And on another point 14 teams?! At most it should be the top 3 in both conferences...

 

Agreed - way too many play-off teams and also imbalanced bracket. So, a 5th seed is guaranteed to have first two matches on the road, while a 6th seed might actually get second match at home. Basically right now it is better to finish 6th than 5th. If regular season excellence is important, how is this allowed? Should have kept 6 play-offs teams at the most, like in NFL.






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