With less than a month left in the season, this is promising to be one of the more exciting run-ups the MLS has ever had. The new playoff format which allows wild card teams (teams that finish outside of the top two of their conference)to qualify based on their overall record rather than conference standings has made the table a complete jumble. As it stands now, this is the table and the playoff qualifiers:
As it stand now, five teams for the west and three from the east would see post-season action. If this was the final table, the playoff picture would look like this:
| EAST |
| Columbus vs Seattle |
| Chicago vs. New England |
| WEST |
| Houston vs. Chivas |
| Los Angeles vs. Colorado |
The battle for the Home Depot Center looks especially tasty in the West and Chicago’s trip to Seattle looks like one of the games of the year.
As Robert below points out, as the table now stands, Seattle would play Columbus. With Sigi Schmidt facing his old team, that would be a series to savor.
Of course, this table will almost certainly not be the final table. Chivas and New England have a pair of games in hand and the potential to make big strides up the table if they can convert them into wins. This weekend’s games will have huge playoff implications which will radically affect the table. This weekend’s lineup includes:
Chicago at Los Angeles
Chivas at DC United
Seattle at Columbus
New England at Colorado
Kansas City at Houston
For Chivas in particular, the run-in is particularly tricky. Although they have five games to go where as all the other playoff battlers have only three or four, they have to play those five games in 22 days. They travel to DC and Chicago and play Kansas City (without Bornstein or Kljestan who will be with the US team), San Jose and Houston at home. Chivas really blew a chance this past weekend to gain three vital points by drawing the lowly Red Bulls at home.
I’ll update this table every week through the end of the season.
Nice to have some MLS coverage at USL talk. About time we talked about the REAL league in this country, not the one Mr. Krishnaiyer prefers but should not even exist.
Thanks for the MLS coverage, it deserves more. I wont be so harsh on Kartik, but the MLS is very exciting and if they can get salaries up ( more talent ) and make things a little MORE exciting ( get rid of ties ), then they will have huge fan attendance not too far off.
Points Per Game is the only real way to project playoffs….Seattle is really in the eighth spot. As Sounders fan, i wish we were one point down with two games in hand…and the tie breaker, rather than the reverse.
There is no garauntee that both ChaCha Kjelstan and Johnny B. will BOTH be called up. Kjelstan just missed a PK that could’ve sealed the win and Bornstein is stuck playing center back for Preki (aka Mr. New KC wizards coach for 2010).
Great feature Eric, I look forward to see how the full table plays out each week leading to the playoffs. One quick correction, however. When determining the seedings for the playoffs, and thus the match-ups, MLS is still shoe-horning the teams into two 4 team brackets — Eastern and Western conferences. The four wildcard teams will be seeded according to conference first. If more than four teams qualify from one conference, the team finishing lower than fourth in its conference will shift over to the other conference bracket. A team switching conference brackets will be seeded below all other teams in its new conference playoff bracket.
If the season ended today, Seattle would be pushed to the Eastern Conference as the #4 seed — while New England would retain the #3 seed — and play The Crew. In the Western Conference, Houston would face Chivas USA, with LA against Colorado.
A home-and-home first round series between Seattle and Columbus — the Sigi Schmid series! — would definitely be one to watch.
Robert-
You are right. I have corrected the post. It is super confusing and counter-intuitive. In this table, Seattle would have a lower seed than New England even though they have a better record. Where is the logic in that??
I will stick with my point that New England’s 10-8-7 ( w-l-t ) is better than Seattle’s 9-7-11. So the rediculous seeding is not relevant.
For example, if a team played 30 games and won one of them they would have 3 points at 1-29-0. Another team has yet to start the season and has 30 games in hand is worse off ?
The Rapids are sputtering to the finish line, I hope they make it. It feels like a long time since we got to see a play-off game in Colorado.
Very exciting.
I want:
-Dynamo to run the table.
-Columbus to fall (so Dynamo can get the SS)
-Seattle to get in the playoffs and be west #4 (so meet Dynamo in 1st round)
-TFC to make the playoffs
I want Dynamo, Galaxy, Seattle, Chicago, TFC and DC/NE in the playoffs. I dont care about the rest of the teams.