MLS needs playoff elimination

A few weeks after the MLS Cup Final and outside of maybe Utah, the new Champs - Real Salt Lake, are but a distant memory. The sadder part of the 2009 MLS Playoff residue however is that the two teams who really should have been battling for the title, Columbus and Houston, are a mere footnote in the league's yearbook. It is the biggest downfall of the current MLS Playoff system that the best teams in this league often become discarded soon after the regular season ends.

It is time that MLS stops trying to pander to the "new fan" in North America and starts catering to the established fan who is used to the system used in most parts of the football world. Yes, there are a few leagues around the globe that use some form of playoffs but the top leagues, which most MLS supporters watch in the off-season, reward the best team in the regular season as their champion. There are arguments that North American sport needs playoffs but that is a lazy insult to the intelligence of American and Canadian fans.

It is possible in a few easy changes to create a system in MLS that not only rewards the best club as its champion but also keeps a form of "playoff" style knockout to please the TV advertisers and Soccer Mom panderers. The league has failed when it has tried to "North Americanize" the game but succeeded when it has embraced football's world culture. With that in mind, here is a possible tweak to MLS to push it that much closer to full footy legitimacy.


THE REGULAR SEASON
The first and foremost act is to eliminate the outdated and irrelevant East and West Conference structure. No one is fussed by these false geographical rivalries and in the last two MLS Cup Finals, both clubs were from the same conference. The time to switch to a single table is now. With 18-20 clubs in MLS by 2012, the league can operate a home and home schedule much the same as you will find in England, Spain, Italy or other major leagues. Running along the same time frame as it does now but with the elimination of playoffs, would allow the league to keep more dates open for FIFA conflicts all the while crowning the MLS Champion at the end of the year to the team with the most points.

THE MLS CUP
The no-playoff idea always brings up fear mongering that claims North Americans won't go see their team if they are out of the race. Attendance would probably take a very minor hit but could be helped through a restructuring of the MLS Cup. Changed to play out like the FA Cup or any number of national cups, the revamped MLS Cup would start in late August with all 16 teams entering a one game knockout tourney. With the dates free from the elimination of the old playoffs, the first two rounds could be played out at the same time for all clubs until 4 clubs are left. In order to keep interest in cities that may be out of the championship race the Semi-Final could be played a week before the end of the regular season while the Final would take place a week after the completion of the regular season, much like the FA Cup is in England.


While it may take a while for some casual MLS fans to warm to the new style, a few years in would see the club with the most points be widely accepted as the true Champion of the league. The MLS Champ and the MLS Cup Winner would both still receive Champions League berths and in addition the US Open Cup and the Canadian Championship would add more than enough playoff style competition for the casual fan.

MLS has made some great strides in the past 5 years and now the time has come to continue its' maturation process as well as respecting the maturing football culture in North America who fill MLS stadiums and want their league to be as good as any in the world.