Sometimes the least glamourous of announcements end up having the best long-term effects. Major League Soccer has made some really poor choices during its short history, especially on the competition side. Just ask those early year strikers taking running penalty kicks in their ridiculous kits! Yesterday however, league commissioner Don Garber announced a change that could very well stabilize the league for years to come while taking a further step towards international legitimacy.
The Don told the gathered press yesterday that starting in 2010, MLS would be adopting some significant changes to the schedule. You could probably hear the combined yawn of the media attending - MLS schedule announcements don't stir the sports editors of North America to stop the presses. Despite the lack of sex appeal, the announcement that MLS will finally be switching to a balanced schedule and will also be taking a break during next year's World Cup group stage is very welcome news to any MLS supporter. The balanced schedule will see every club play each other twice, home and home, and will hopefully serve up an easier roster of matches to follow on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, the World Cup break will not make the MLS schedule become a very weak stepsister to the opening round of the behemoth that is the Coupe De Monde.
Hopefully, from a Toronto perspective, the ownership will embrace the new balanced schedule and not try to tinker with it too much to coddle the supporters in early April and to allow big money friendlies to have prime dates. Yesterday’s moves will likely be a blip on most North American football fans’ radars but it is a great step forward. If more changes are introduced to further the league’s move towards the rest of the world’s leagues then it will only be stronger for it. Of course, when you give real football supporters a little crumb, we just want more. Surely Mr. Garber’s email inbox is already full of questions about a single table. With a balanced schedule, it’s the next stop on the road to true legitimacy in the supporters’ eyes. Kudos to MLS for this move - now don't go and try to introduce a "Three Pointer" goal from outside the box!
The Don told the gathered press yesterday that starting in 2010, MLS would be adopting some significant changes to the schedule. You could probably hear the combined yawn of the media attending - MLS schedule announcements don't stir the sports editors of North America to stop the presses. Despite the lack of sex appeal, the announcement that MLS will finally be switching to a balanced schedule and will also be taking a break during next year's World Cup group stage is very welcome news to any MLS supporter. The balanced schedule will see every club play each other twice, home and home, and will hopefully serve up an easier roster of matches to follow on a weekly basis. Meanwhile, the World Cup break will not make the MLS schedule become a very weak stepsister to the opening round of the behemoth that is the Coupe De Monde.
Hopefully, from a Toronto perspective, the ownership will embrace the new balanced schedule and not try to tinker with it too much to coddle the supporters in early April and to allow big money friendlies to have prime dates. Yesterday’s moves will likely be a blip on most North American football fans’ radars but it is a great step forward. If more changes are introduced to further the league’s move towards the rest of the world’s leagues then it will only be stronger for it. Of course, when you give real football supporters a little crumb, we just want more. Surely Mr. Garber’s email inbox is already full of questions about a single table. With a balanced schedule, it’s the next stop on the road to true legitimacy in the supporters’ eyes. Kudos to MLS for this move - now don't go and try to introduce a "Three Pointer" goal from outside the box!
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