Future of #MLS and #NASL Power Rankings

The #MLS and #NASL Power Rankings blog is being broken up into 2 separate blogs: MLSPowerTable.blogspot.com and NASLPowerTable.blogspot.com, and a EPLPowerTable.blogspot.com is coming soon.

#MLS Week 19, #NASL Fall Season Week 2

J. Packham's MLS and NASL Power Rankings: Est. 2014 - An objective, performance-based system derived from an ELO formula, modified for soccer. For more information, see: About J. Packham's MLS and NASL PowerRankings

Last Update: Saturday, July 19, 10:00AM EST (Including all completed MLS and NASL matches)


 1  - (1640) Seattle Sounders FC - West
 2  - (1612) Los Angeles Galaxy - West (+52)
 3  - (1587) D.C. United - East

 4  - (1578) Sporting Kansas City - East (+11)
 5  - (1530) Toronto FC - East (-6)

 7  - (1522) Philadelphia Union - East (+38)
 8  - (1521) New York Red Bulls - East (-38)
 6  - (1509) Colorado Rapids - West (-17)
 9  - (1508) FC Dallas - West 
12 - (1506) Portland Timbers - West (+17)
10 - (1500) Chicago Fire - East 
11 - (1497) Vancouver Whitecaps FC - West (+6)

13 - (1478) San Jose Earthquakes - West 
14 - (1471) Real Salt Lake - West 
15 - (1455) Chivas USA - West 

16 - (1443) Columbus Crew - East (-11)
17 - (1431) New England Revolution - East (-52)
18 - (1416) Montréal Impact -East
19 - (1296) Houston Dynamo - East

Week 19 Games
Home - Away
Philadelphia 3 - NY Red Bulls 1 (+/-38
Columbus 1 - Sporting KC 2 (+/-11)
Toronto 1 - Vancouver 1 (+/-6)
LA Galaxy 5 - New England 1 (+/-52)
Portland 2 - Colorado 1 (+/-17)
Sporting KC - LA Galaxy (+/-
NY Red Bulls - San Jose (+/-
Columbus - Montréal (+/-
Chicago - Philadelphia (+/-
Houston - Toronto (+/-
FC Dallas - New England (+/-
Real Salt Lake - Vancouver (+/-
D.C. United - Chivas USA (+/-


 
 1  - (1620) Minnesota United FC (+8)
 2  - (1599) New York Cosmos 
 3  - (1588) San Antonio Scorpions 
 4  - (1527) Ottawa Fury FC 
 5  - (1526) FC Edmonton
 6  - (1462) Fort Lauderdale Strikers
 7  - (1458) Tampa Bay Rowdies
 8  - (1436) Indy Eleven
 9  - (1392) Carolina RailHawks (-8)
10 - (1392) Atlanta Silverbacks

Fall Season Week 2 Games
Home - Away
Minnesota 1 - Carolina 0 (+/-8)
Atlanta - FC Edmonton (+/-
Indy Eleven - Tampa Bay (+/-
San Antonio - Ft. Lauderdale (+/-
Ottawa - NY Cosmos (+/-

A Fictional Canadian Soccer Pyramid

Currently the CSA is working to improve the standard of soccer in Canada. They are trying to navigate around a partially infiltrated American pyramid which puts American player development above Canadian. 

If you could start over with professional soccer in Canada, and Canadians cared as much about soccer as they do about hockey, and if the top markets weren’t already gobbled up by the American soccer pyramid, so Canada could have their largest markets back to start their own league, this might be what that soccer pyramid could look like. Pretend there are no teams and no leagues, only cities and potential. Also, pretend there are big investors eager to spend their money this way. ;)

This idea is not considerable due to the current control over top markets by foreign leagues, but perhaps a few ideas could be used. 

Canada being so large, geography is a major factor in the developing a first division national league that does not lean on the American pyramid, so here’s a wild idea:

• Canada’s first division: Canadian League (C-League): 20 Teams: represented are the best from the 3 conferences: 6 representatives from each conference plus 2 extra spots available to be earned by performance

• Canada’s second division: 3 Conferences: West Conference (BC, Yukon, NWT, Alberta, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba), Ontario Conference, and Quebec-East Conference (Quebec, Newfoundland  and Labrador, New Brunswick, PEI, Nova Scotia)

•  Promotion of 2 teams from each conference into the C-League each season

•  Relegation from C-League to make room for 2 promotions from each conference

• 14 of 20 teams remain in C-League while 6 teams are relegated each season and 6 promoted

Below is a hypothetical 20 Team C-League (Canadian League) using population statistics (6 West Spots, 6 Ontario Spots, 6 Quebec East Spots, +2 spots extra for stronger conferences awarded to the 1^st and 2^nd place finishers' home conference from the previous season, i.e. if Toronto Club 1 finishes 1^st and Montréal Club 1 Finishes 2^nd, then Toronto Club 1 earns a 7^th spot for Ontario Conference in the C-League for the next season, and Montréal Club 1 earns a 7^th spot for Quebec-East Conference. Therefore, the West Conference would have 6 teams, the Ontario Conference would have 7 teams, and the Quebec-East Conference would have 7 teams in the C-League the following season)

Larger cities would likely work their way to the C-League. The three largest cities in Canada with the strongest soccer fan base would have 2 teams each to increase parity and derbies (Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal), which is similar to London, Manchester, and Liverpool, or New York and LA for that matter. All cities represented are the top 100 populations in Canada.

C-League

1. Toronto Club 1 (Ontario Spot 1)
2. Toronto Club 2 (Ontario Spot 2)
3. Ottawa Club (Ontario Spot 3)
4. Mississauga Club (Ontario Spot 4)
5. Brampton Club (Ontario Spot 5)
6. Hamilton Club (Ontario Spot 6)
7. Montréal Club 1 (Quebec-East Spot 1)
8. Montréal Club 2 (Quebec-East Spot 2)
9. Quebec City Club (Quebec-East Spot 3)
10. Laval Club (Quebec-East Spot 4)
11. Gatineau Club (Quebec-East Spot 5)
12. Longueil Club (Quebec-East Spot 6)
13. Calgary Club (West Spot 1)
14. Edmonton Club (West Spot 2)
15. Winnipeg Club (West Spot 3)
16. Vancouver Club 1 (West Spot 4)
17. Vancouver Club 2 (West Spot 5)
18. Surrey Club (West Spot 6)
19. *extra spot 1 (1st place team in C-League from previous season earned this extra spot for their conference)
20. *extra spot 2 (2nd place team in C-League from previous season earned this extra spot for their conference)

West Conference (Division 2)

1.     Burnaby Club

2.     Saskatoon Club                                  Promotion line

3.     Regina Club

4.     Richmond Club

5.     Abbotsford Club

6.     Coquitlam Club

7.     Kelowna Club

8.     Saanich Club

9.     Langley Club                                      Relegation line

10. Delta Club     

West Conference B (Division 3)
11. Strathcona Country Club
12. Red Deer Club                                   Promotion line
13. Kamloops Club
14. North Vancouver Club
15. Nanaimo Club
16. Lethbridge Club
17. Victoria Club
18. Chilliwack Club
19. Maple Ridge Club                             Relegation line
20. Prince George

West Conference C (Division 4)

21. New Westminster Club

22. Wood Buffalo Club                             Promotion line

23. St. Albert Club

24. Medicine Hat Club

25. Port Coquitlam Club

26. Grand Prairie Club

Ontario Conference (Division 2)

1.     London Club

2.     Markham Club                                  Promotion line

3.     Vaughan Club

4.     Kitchener Club

5.     Windsor Club

6.     Richmond Hill

7.     Oakville Club

8.     Burlington Club

9.     Sudbury Club                                   Relegation line

10. Oshawa Club

Ontario Conference B (Division 3)

11. Bairrie Club

12. St. Catharines Club                           Promotion line

13. Cambridge Club

14. Kingston Club

15. Whitby Club

16. Guelph Club

17. Ajax Club

18. Thunder Bay Club

19. Chatham-Kent Club                          Relegation line

20. Waterloo Club

Ontario Conference C (Division 4)

21. Brantford Club

22. Pickering Club                                   Promotion line

23. Clarington Club

24. Milton Club

25. Niagara Falls Club

26. New Market Club

27. Peterborough Club

28. Sault Ste. Marie Club

29. Kawartha Lakes Club                       Relegation line

30. Sarnia Club

Ontario Conference D (Division 5)

31. Norfolk Country Club

32. Caledon Club                                     Promotion line

33. Halton Hills

34. North Bay Club

35. Aurora Club

36. Welland Club

37. Belleville Club

Quebec-East League (Division 2)

1.     Halifax Club

2.     Sherbrooke Club                               Promotion line

3.     Saguenay Club

4.     Lévis Club

5.     Trois-Rivières Club

6.     Terrebonne Club

7.     St. John’s Club

8.     Cape Breton Club

9.     Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Club         Relegation line

10. Repentigny Club

Quebec-East League B (Division 3)

11. Brossard Club

12. Drummondville Club                         Promotion line

13. Saint John Club

14. Moncton Club

15. Saint-Jérôme Club

16. Granby Club

17. Fredericton Club

18. Blainville Club

19. Saint-Hyacinthe Club

20. Shawinigan Club

Hypothetical Season

2 teams must be promoted from each of the 3 conferences each year, but how many teams are relegated depends on standings.

West

Vancouver Club 2 finished 1^st in the C-League; therefore, their conference receives a 7^th spot in the C-League next season. The West Conference had 6 spots in the C-League this season, and they got a 7^th spot for next season, so 2 teams get promoted from the West Conference to the C-League and 1 team gets demoted. 

Ontario

Toronto Club 1 finished 2^nd in the C-League; therefore, their conference receives a 7^th spot in the C-League next season. The Ontario Conference had 7 spots in the C-League this season, and they got seven spots for next season, so 2 teams get promoted from the Ontario Conference and 2 teams get demoted.

Quebec-East

The 1^st and 2^nd place finishers of the C-League were not from Quebec-East; therefore, their conference will only receive 6 spots in the C-League next season. The Quebec-East Conference had 7 spots in the C-League this season, and they only get 6 spots next season, so 2 teams get promoted form the Quebec-East Conference and 3 teams get demoted.

Pros of this system:

• Gives Canada their own Division 1 League and Canadian players playing time

• Professional clubs in almost everyone’s back yard

• 1 strong brand instead of dozens of leagues making it easier for Canadians to follow domestic soccer

• Is broken up into 3 main sections to decrease traveling expenses for 2^nd division (West Conference, Ontario Conference, Quebec East Conference)

•  Teams in the 1^st division (C-League) have a lot to play for… (CONCACAF Champions League birth if first, extra conference representative is 1^st or 2^nd, fighting to avoid relegation because 2/6^th or 1/7^th or 3/7^th of your conference representatives in the C-League will be relegated each season depending on who earns the extra spots and the unknown factor means every game is important, fight hard against cross-conference opponents so they won’t earn the extra spot, fight hard against inter-conference opponents so you’re not the team that gets relegated from your conference group

• Teams in 2^nd division (West Conference, Ontario Conference, Quebec East) have the chance to make the 1^st division (C-League) with 2 spots open every season, develop rivalries playing teams from same area, 2^nd and 3^rd division with 10 teams in each conference division to increase parity, and promotion/relegation ‘battles’, so they have more to play for if they are not near the top two (promotion spots)

• Fans of teams in the 2^nd division would cheer for teams representing their conference in the 1^st division because it could enable an extra spot for their conference if a team from their conference does well in the C-League; therefore, division 2 team fans would be invested in the 1^st division

• 14 Teams will remain in the C-League each season increasing rivalries and the majority of the clubs from each conference will stay in the C-League

• Increase interest for fans because all larger populations in Canada do or could have a team in the C-League, so it would improve TV viewing, interest, and attendance (Hopefully)

• A Salary Cap would be in place for the entire league with many teams failing to be able to get to the cap, but it would level the top 10-16 richest clubs so there is parity near the top of the pyramid

Concerns:

• Having teams representing the same conference playing each other toward the end of the season could increase potential for collusion. For example, if Laval played Montréal Club 2 the last game of their season, then it would be in Laval’s best interest for Montréal Club 2 to beat Laval so Montréal Club 2 would pass Toronto Club 1 in the standings and give Quebec-East an extra spot in the C-League for the following season keeping Laval from being relegated. This would be rare because teams would be afraid of dropping in the standings more than anything, but teams from the same conference shouldn’t play each other for the last 5 games of their seasons to limit the temptation to collude. Nonetheless, each team’s fate is in their own hands and shouldn’t leave it up to the results of other games.

#MLS Week 18, #NASL Fall Season Week 1

J. Packham's MLS and NASL Power Rankings: Est. 2014 - An objective, performance-based system derived from an ELO formula, modified for soccer. For more information, see: About J. Packham's MLS and NASL PowerRankings

Last Update: Monday, July 14, 5:00AM EST (Including all completed MLS and NASL matches)


 1  - (1640) Seattle Sounders FC - West (+24)
 2  - (1587) D.C. United - East (+13)

 3  - (1567) Sporting Kansas City - East (+11)
 4  - (1560) Los Angeles Galaxy - West (+14)
 5  - (1559) New York Red Bulls - East (+46)
 6  - (1536) Toronto FC - East (+15)

 7  - (1526) Colorado Rapids - West (-6)
 8  - (1508) FC Dallas - West 
 9  - (1500) Chicago Fire - East (+17)
10 - (1491) Vancouver Whitecaps FC - West (-41)
11 - (1489) Portland Timbers - West (-24)

12 - (1484) Philadelphia Union - East (+6)
13 - (1483) New England Revolution - East (-17)

14 - (1478) San Jose Earthquakes - West (-13)
15 - (1471) Real Salt Lake - West (-14)
16 - (1455) Chivas USA - West (+41)

17 - (1454) Columbus Crew - East (-46)
18 - (1416) Montréal Impact -East (-11)
19 - (1296) Houston Dynamo - East (-15)

Week 18 Games
Home - Away
San Jose 1 - DC United 2 (+/-13)
NY Red Bulls 4 - Columbus 1 (+/-46)
Toronto 4 - Houston 2 (+/-15)
Philadelphia 3 - Colorado 3 (+/-6)
New England 0 - Chicago 1 (+/-17)
Montréal 1 - Sporting KC 2 (+/-11)
Vancouver 1 - Chivas USA 3 (+/-41)
LA Galaxy 1 - Real Salt Lake 0 (+/-14)
Seattle 2 - Portland 0 (+/-24)



 
 1  - (1612) Minnesota United FC (+39)
 2  - (1599) New York Cosmos (-39)
 3  - (1588) San Antonio Scorpions (+39)
 4  - (1527) Ottawa Fury FC (+4) 
 5  - (1526) FC Edmonton (-4)
 6  - (1462) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (-39)
 7  - (1458) Tampa Bay Rowdies (+14)
 8  - (1436) Indy Eleven (+16)
 9  - (1400) Carolina RailHawks (-16)
10 - (1392) Atlanta Silverbacks (-14)

Fall Season Week 1 Games
Home - Away
NY Cosmos 1 - San Antonio 3 (+/-39)
Tampa Bay 3 - Atlanta 2 (+/-14)
Carolina 1 - Indy Eleven 2 (+/-16)
Fort Lauderdale 0 - Minnesota 3 (+/-39)
FC Edmonton 0 - Ottawa 0 (+/-4)

#MLS Week 17

J. Packham's MLS and NASL Power Rankings: Est. 2014 - An objective, performance-based system derived from an ELO formula, modified for soccer. For more information, see: About J. Packham's MLS and NASL PowerRankings

Last Update: Sunday, July 6, 6:30PM EST (Including all completed MLS and NASL matches)

 1  - (1616) Seattle Sounders FC - West (-21)
 2  - (1574) D.C. United - East (+15)
 3  - (1556) Sporting Kansas City - East (-7)
 4  - (1546) Los Angeles Galaxy - West (-6)
 5  - (1532) Vancouver Whitecaps FC - West (+21)
     - (1532) Colorado Rapids - West (-6)
 7  - (1521) Toronto FC - East [(-7)+(-15)]
 8  - (1513) Portland Timbers - West (+6)
     - (1513) New York Red Bulls - East (-13)
10 - (1508) FC Dallas - West (+16)
11 - (1500) New England Revolution - East (-18)
     - (1500) Columbus Crew - East (+6)
13 - (1491) San Jose Earthquakes - West (-21)
14 - (1485) Real Salt Lake - West (+18)
15 - (1483) Chicago Fire - East [(+7)+(+7)]
16 - (1478) Philadelphia Union - East (-16)

17 - (1427) Montréal Impact -East 
18 - (1414) Chivas USA - West (+21)
19 - (1311) Houston Dynamo - East (+13)

Week 17 Games

Home - Away

Chicago 1 - Toronto 1 (+/-7)
San Jose 0 - Chivas USA 1 (+/-21)
Houston 2 - NY Red Bulls 2 (+/-13)
FC Dallas 2 - Philadelphia 1 (+/-16)
Colorado 1 - Columbus 1 (+/-6)
Real Salt Lake 2 - New England 1 (+/-18)
LA Galaxy 2 - Portland 2 (+/-6)
Toronto 1 - D.C. United 2 (+/-15)
Vancouver 1 - Seattle 0 (+/-21)
Chivas USA 1 - Montréal 0 (+/-18)
Sporting KC 1 - Chicago 1 (+/-7)