Soccer / Chris Ryan / 10 September 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now

I've read too many ignorant blogs recently about what's wrong with Major League Soccer and what the league needs to do to broaden its appeal. It's time to shout down the stupidity and endorse what could/should be done, writes Brian Heard.

But in the main, try not to laugh too hard - some of these recommendations are so hilarious, it's hard to believe they weren't made in jest.

Here we go:

1. Shorten the length and width of the playing field to make the game more physical.
2. Length the height and breadth or the goal.
3. Shorten the length of the game.
4. Widen the penalty box, to increase the number of penalty kicks.
5. Bring back the penalty-kick shootout and eliminate draws.
6. Reduce calendar length of schedule, forcing teams to play twice a week.
7. Promote the game more at the collegiate level.
8. Sign more foreign stars.
9. Get rid of offsides, period.
10. Allow owners to determine spending on salaries.

I probably shouldn't even waste time and cyberspace on some of these, but I will.

1-4. Obviously, the first four are ludicrous. Doing any of them would completely change the nature of the beautiful game and would deprive MLS of any credibility here in America or anywhere else in the world. It would hamstring the national team, and the trickle-down effect to minor-league, college and youth levels would be disastrous. FIFA would drop its association with MLS as would CONCACAF and U.S. Soccer would never allow it to happen. The league would go under, let alone gain interest.

5. Bringing back the penalty-kick shootout? No. Yes, when MLS began play in 1996, it did have this rule and it lasted for four seasons (through the '99 campaign). FIFA would have to change its penalty-kick policy during the regular season, and that's not going to happen.

Now, if you want to bring back golden-goal OT, as the league had from 2000-03, you might be able to persuade me. But again FIFA would have to change its no overtime policy.

6. The person who recommended the shortened calendar length clearly doesn't understand that unlike the other big American professional team sports (football, baseball, basketball, hockey), MLS teams play in other competitions throughout the year, including the SuperLiga and the U.S. Open Cup. And most years national team obligations prevent full schedules to be played during some weeks of the season. Scheduling two MLS games a week is not an option for much of the season.

7. Again an ignorant or uninformed blogger. First off, it's not the MLS's job to promote soccer in college. The blogger stated if more kids stayed interested in soccer through college than the country would produce more soccer talent. Almost every single college with an athletics program in the U.S. has a men's soccer team. Scholarships are available at hundreds and hundreds of them. How much more promotion could we have?

The issue in the U.S. is getting the best athletes to play soccer once they choose one or two sports to focus on - a decision usually made in their adolescent or early teenage years, although many are making those choices at younger ages. In the U.S. there are so many other athletic options for kids to take.

8. MLS has gone back and forth on the issue of foreign stars. The bottom line is the league doesn't have the financial wherewithal or status to keep many of its American stars; see Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, etc ... . But it also doesn't have the financial wherewithal or status to sign very many foreign stars.

9. Whether you call it soccer, football, futbol, futebol or calcio, as a fan of the beautiful game you've had this discussion, argument, screaming match with someone or someones - maybe multiple times.

But you can't get rid of offsides - you can't take away 150 years of tradition. That said, I'm not averse to talking about tinkering with maybe the most controversial rule in all of sports.

Yes, there's been talk of coming technology, which FIFA has resisted, that will aid assistant referees (ARs) in making the proper call. But until that happens or even after that happens, I'd like to see how the game would change if there were no offsides between midfield and the penalty area.

OK, we'd lose some defensive strategy - mainly offside traps above the box (but you'd still be able to run 'em in the box). If the defense pushes way up across midfield, there could be no cherry-pickers. And by the way, the offsides rule was not created to prevent cherry-picking; it was created to prevent players from standing directly in front of the keeper and creating a rugby-like scrum.

You'd still have to play through balls, you'd still have to move the ball around the pitch, not simply punting it downfield and you'd take the most difficult (and most often missed) call in sports out of the equation, in large part.

10. Allowing owners to set their own standards of spending would probably cause too great a chasm between the haves and have-nots and probably, ultimately would be a death-knell for some teams. And that obviously wouldn't be good for the league. Would it allow some teams to sign more foreign stars and keep their American ones? Probably, but at what cost to the stability of the entire league; see the NASL.

Just had to get that stuff out; it's not healthy to keep it bottled up inside - shorten the field, whatever!

On to this week's schedule - a full slate after last week's truncated version, due to the national team's World Cup qualifier with El Salvador.

Game of the Week

Sunday, Sept. 13

Houston Dynamo (11-7-7) at Columbus Crew (10-4-9)

Not a tough choice. A couple of weeks ago, it really seemed these two had distinguished themselves as the class of the league and easy conference champions. And this fixture looked to be a preview of MLS Cup. But as it has all season, just when you think you've hit on what's what and who's who in MLS, things start to change.

Yes, Houston and Columbus are still your conference leaders, but as we officially hit the stretch drive, not by much. The Crew (39 points) leads Chicago (38) by a single point and the Dynamo (40) have just a two-point edge on the Galaxy (38), who have a game in hand on Houston. The winner, if there is one (the two drew, 1-1, to open up the season in March), will rest a little more easy at the top.

Both teams are remarkably healthy, but Dynamo's talented midfielder Brad Davis is out on a red-card suspension.

The others

Saturday, Sept. 12

Colorado Rapids (10-7-6) at Toronto FC (8-9-7)

Clubs just met last week in Colorado, one of only three games on the schedule. Conor Casey, who was expected to be with the national team but in a last-minute decision was pulled back because of the removal of his wisdom teeth, knocked in a header (classic Casey) in the 52nd minute to give the Rapids a 1-0 win and pushing them to third in the West at 36 points with a game in hand with L.A. and two with Houston. It was Casey's league-leading 12th.

Toronto isn't out of the playoff hunt yet, but it needs to get results now. It could be in some trouble this week though, despite being tough at home (6-3-3) because of the red-card suspensions of defenders Amadou Sanyang and Adrian Serioux and the injury to midfielder Carl Robinson, who is questionable. But scrappy, experienced midfielder Pablo Mastroeni is out for Colorado, serving the first of a two-game suspension for reckless endangerment - he planted an elbow in the face of Houston's Andrew Hainault on Aug. 30.

Kansas City Wizards (6-11-6) at New York Red Bulls (4-16-4)

Not sure what's gotten into two of the league's worst. Those lovable, lousy Red Bulls have won two straight, including 1-0 over the Crew two weeks ago. And the wacky Wizards, bless their hearts, ended a seven-game winless streak and a four-game goal-less streak in stirring, stunning fashion, 4-2, against the red-hot Revolution on the road 10 days ago. Well, what do you know?

It's probably too late for N.Y. to catch K.C. for sixth place in the East, but another win could make it interesting. Plus, K.C. lost again (and were shut out) Wednesday evening at D.C., 1-0.

Seattle Sounders FC (8-6-10) at D.C. United (8-5-12)

This will be like looking in the mirror. Flip a coin; possibly the two most-hardest-to-predict teams in MLS. And I know we say it for many teams, but both could really use a result to bolster postseason aspirations. United is one of two clubs in MLS that has not lost at home though (6-0-5) - Columbus is the other (7-0-4). Just call it draw, because that's what will probably happen.

Chicago Fire (10-6-8) at Real Salt Lake (9-9-6)

The Fire's right where they want to be this week - on the road. Clearly the league's best road team, Chicago is 6-2-4 away from Toyota Park. But Real's right where it wants to be too - at home, where they're 7-1-4.

Real needs a win to stay in the playoff race and Chicago has an excellent chance to get back to the top of the table in the East. Salt Lake will be short, and possibly real short, in midfield - Kyle Beckerman and Ned Grabavoy are out with caution accumulations and Robbie Russell is doubtful with a neck sprain. They should get Nelson Gonzalez (hamstring) and Clint Mathis (back) back though.

FC Dallas (6-11-6) at Los Angeles Galaxy (9-4-11)

While Dallas is just playing out the string, Galaxy have everything to play for. Question is, just who will be playing for them. Midfielders Chris Birchall (hamstring) and Demo Kovalenko (Achilles) and forwards Edson Buddle (foot) and Alecko Eskandarian (nose) are questionable with injuries. Then there's David Beckham and Landon Donovan who are sure to be tired from national team duties in midweek.

But a win could send L.A. to the top of the table in West for the first time all season.

Sunday, Sept. 13

New England Revolution (9-6-6) at Chivas USA (10-9-3)

Just when the Revs had revved up the volume up on what seemed like a lost season, someone turned it back down in an inexplicable, 4-2, loss at home to lowly K.C. With a game in hand on Columbus and two on Chicago, it's still possible for New England to catch the leaders, but losing to the Wizards, that hurts.

Want to know what happened to Chivas, the class of the league one-third of the way through the season? Just look at their training room and the names of the injured players filling it up - Jim Curtin, Ante Razov, Claudio Suarez, Sasha Victorine, Cesar Zamora, Zach Thornton, just to name a few.

But the fast start, they were 7-1-1 at one point, has allowed them to hang around the playoff picture. Results will get them in, but do they have the personnel left to it?