.jpg)
Rumors By Club
C.D. Chivas USA
Chicago Fire
Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew
D.C. United
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
Kansas City Wizards
Los Angeles Galaxy
New England Revolution
Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers FC
Real Salt Lake
Red Bull New York
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Schedules
CITY GUIDES
PAPERS
PARTNERS
CONCACAF
PUBS
Matchcenter Scores
MLSNet.comIf you read this story on Tribal Football, you will find a story you most likely read here for the first time over a week ago. (With no link to our site or credit given.)
Here's our original September 8 story...
And here's our September 13 follow-up with Audio....
And here's an excerpt of the September 16, Tribal Football story...We won't link to them as they felt no need to link to us. Feel free to comment on that over here...
MLS consider shifting season schedule16.09.08 | tribalfootball.comSpeaking on the BBC's World Football Phone In, MLS analyst Sean Wheelock indicated that the league is seriously considering shifting its schedule to an Apertura/Clausura format much like the leagues in Argentina and Mexico for 2009.
The feeling is that Major League Soccer is attracting more and more international footballers who are part of their national team setup.
Shifting to a new calendar will allow for the league to take the summer and the coldest months of the winter off. Speculation is that the Apertura season would begin in August and end in November while the Clausura would being in February and end in late May.
In partnership with:
Sounds all fine; would prefer something with a single champion that respects FIFA dates. However, the February start would be mighty cold for a team like TFC (-20 C). They would have to start something 4-5 games on the road every Clausura. Would that be an advantage/disadvantage? Not sure. Late November would probably be doable but only slightly better.
They should call it Apertura and Clausura, not Opening and closing.
Stupid MLS bigwigs, they'll screww this up, too.
I would prefer a Germany styled schedule opposed to Apertura and Clausura with only 1 season with a long break inbetween. It is just so much more prestigious and cooler to be the Champions of the season not champions of half the season.
A/C could work very well for MLS.
Apertura - mid-February to early-June
Clausura - mid-July to early-November
Break in mid-summer for Super Liga, and other international comps.
Playoffs - mid-November...send the top-8 to non-current MLS locations (Miami/Orlando/Tampa or San Diego/Las Vegas/Phoenix) for an eight-day playoff tournament.
Quarterfinals - Sat/Sun, Semifinals - Tue/Wed, Finals - Sun.
This would allow the playoffs to finish quickly, opening more dates to get away from FIFA fixtures. I believe that this would also create an exciting atmosphere for this tournament.
Obviously, TFC, Chicago, New England, RBNY, RSL, Colorado, Philly would start the first 4 weeks or so on the road because of cold. On the reverse, Houston, Dallas, LA, Chivas, and San Jose would be on the road for the start of Clausura because of heat.
Also, starting the season earlier would help the teams that are involved in the CCL. Currently, if an MLS team makes it to the Quarterfinals of the CCL, they will be played before the MLS season begins; leaving them at a huge disadvantage. Starting the season in mid-February gives the MLS teams at least a few meaningful games in before going into a very important CCL game.
But PLEASE one Supporters' Shield Champion...per YEAR! And Playoffs based on overall standings!
Also, Top-4 from Apertura to SuperLiga. This should be the only reward for Apertura.
In non-World Cup and Gold Cup years, the All-Star Game can be played during A/C break as well. In the opposite years, they could play it the mid-week before Clausura starts, when the international competition ends.