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Can MLS remedy its uneven scheduling?

By on July 10, 2015

Major League Soccer has long been known for it’s irregularities and American quirks. It’s playoff system, it’s salary cap, and allocation system all set it apart from Europe’s established counterparts. Some are arguably necessary for a business standpoint; as a growing league, the salary cap and allocation system are examples. Others because MLS wants to be fresh and “American” to capture their audience — the playoff system the prime example, the summer schedule as well (which is also necessary due to weather issues).

But this weekend, one quirk comes to mind.  Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard both join the league following English Premier League campaigns and thus, their first MLS meeting naturally becomes a massive game. It will take place in August, at the Stubhub Center in LA. However, there is no return game. The LA Galaxy only play New York City FC once this season.

The San Jose Earthquakes, too, only play NYCFC once in the regular season. That, at least, is uniform across the league: teams from opposite conferences only play each other once in the regular season. Given MLS has a post-season, this solution to shortening the schedule is actually welcomed, even provided the disparity it creates — the Quakes have to play LA, the reigning MLS champions, thrice, but other teams in their conference, like the Houston Dynamo and Colorado Rapids, only twice.

The issue of scheduling is only a nitpick almost universally disliked across MLS, but with only thirty games in a season, three points can be everything in making the playoffs.

MLS has its reasons. Business purposes: for instance, the California Clasico is a highly marketable match as opposed to, say, the Philadelphia Union versus the Quakes But with more and more expansion teams joining, the scheduling format — as opposed to Europe’s common round-Robin format — is constantly evolving. In 2013 year, the each of the nineteen teams played twenty-eight games. With four new teams on the horizon, it will be different each of the next few years as well.

But the awkward scheduling can also create other issues. The Earthquakes played three road games in the space of eight days back in April, going a month (the one home game being rescheduled) without playing at their new Avaya Stadium. The disadvantage it put them at is well worth two or three points in the table. Holding a late lead against the Colorado Rapids in the final of those three games, the Quakes heavy legs gave way in the dying moments and allowed an equalizer. “I think it’s a different mentality anytime you’re home versus on the road,” Quakes captain Chris Wondolowski summarized after the road trip.

The uneven schedule also makes the table utterly useless until the very final weekend. Coming into this weekend of football, some teams have played twenty-one games and others only fifteen. The Quakes sat six points behind the Galaxy, but should they take advantage of their four games in hand, it could be the opposite when the table is even. It puts the players’ in bizarre situations.

“We have three or four games in hand [over LA] but if we lose all four we’re below them,” Quakes and USMNT defender Clarence Goodson explained of the Quakes’ mindset. “It’s only what you do with it. The way the scheduling is, it’s so uneven [that] it’s not until the last five, six, or seven games it starts to even up and you can really see where things are.”

It’s just one of the things about supporting a growing league and in particular, MLS.  Like many of MLS’ rules, they may be the worst, except for all the others (at leasy given the definite circumstances), as the saying goes.  For better or worse, it will be different next year.

Photo credit: miguelangelnunez on Flickr

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.