league-structure Stories - Sounder At Heart
MLS Announces Roster Rules and Realignment
Let's get the simplest portion out of the way first. The two expansion Cascadia brothers of Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers are in the West as MLS is not insane. The only club moving are the Houston Dynamo who extend the Eastern Conference a tiny bit West. One should fully expect this to...
Seahawks, NFL and Danger of Overexpansion with Tiny Divisions
Most of you probably know that the Seattle Seahawks have a chance to be the worst team in NFL history to make the NFL playoffs. With just 7 wins they could win their division of 4 teams and advance. As MLS is still adjusting their new MLS Cup Playoff format, it is important to realize that at some...
MLS Playoffs vs Other Playoffs
Is it too easy to get into the MLS playoffs? At the moment, over half the league makes the post season, so by definition, some pretty average teams will be competing for the MLS Cup. This has led some to suggest that the MLS playoffs should be trimmed to four teams. But how do the MLS playoffs...
The Eras of MLS
I often talk of MLS 1.0, MLS 2.0 and MLS 3.0. There have been some questions, and I have overheard some call the current era MLS 2.0. But let's review the league, it has some clear breaking points and really must be defined as three different eras. MLS 1.0 - 1996-2001 - Americanization of the...
LaPorta+Saputo=Garber's 20?
Now, most of my readers might know that I am a fan of the Montreal Impact joining MLS, if not, you are now. The third Canadian club just makes sense. Montreal is a large market, with a built in fanbase and it creates two more drivable derbies. Garber even seems to indicate that they are as close...
A few notes - Sounder and otherwise
Ljungberg is out. So is Evans. My 4-1-4-1 likely won't work now. 4-2-3-1 might be a good plan with Alonso and Vagenas in the 2 CDM role. Zakuani-Montero-Le Toux for the attacking mids. Bora is unqualified to coach? Actually that Asst.Coach should be unemployed for life. Bora is amongst the...
Platini wants to break UEFA so he can fix it
Photo from Wikipedia Michel Platini, the UEFA President, wants some dramatic changes in the rules governing club competitions in Europe (which includes Israel, Faroe Islands and some Central Asian nations). Oddly, he can not effect league...
Mapping MLS for deficiency in international signings
First, there is a wicked cool website out there that has a map of MLS, USL-1 and USL-2 on it. It does a great job of showing where the teams are, and where they aren't. Secondly, there is this handy map from MLSnet.com concerning where the players are from, it does not include three of Sounders...
Dreams of a Single Table are Really a Nightmare
So many euro footie fans express desires for the mythical single table (Setting the Table shows the league as if it were). They like how the standings would look, they would be simple and remind everyone of the EPL, etc. These dreams of a single table are generally expressed by the same people...
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