The Fun and Thrills of Major League Soccer

'Soccer' is growing fast in the States. We all saw that with their sterling performances in the World Cup, progressing through a group they were given no chance in and giving Belgium a hard time in the knockout rounds. The USMNT (United States Mens National Team) progressed further than England in the competition, and while that is not difficult, they won over a lot of American fans who had previously thought the game had no passion or excitement, now all we need to do is get them to stop calling it the S word. 

But how does the MLS work? The country is not like England, it is roughly 37.5 times bigger and the UK as a whole could fit in to the state of Oregon. The rules can be complicated for it is not a simple 20 teams play each other home and away, but it is fun. 

Conferences 

Due to the fact the country is absolutely massive, it does not make geographical sense to have every team in the top flight play each other. Imagine if the space between Chelsea and Newcastle was 37 times further, would players and fans really be expected to make that distance on several different occasions for various teams in those areas? No. 

Therefore in America, the MLS is split in to an Eastern and a Western conference. 

You may notice that there are 10 teams in the Eastern Conference and 9 teams in the Western Conference. Each team will play 34 games in the season. For the Western teams this is simple, play each other three times, once at home, once away and then the opposite to what they did the previous season so home to 5 and away to 4 or vice versa. For the ten Eastern teams, they simply play a couple of the sides only twice rather than three times, to ensure they are not playing more games. 

You may be thinking, these numbers don't add up. Well, each Eastern team also plays each Western team home or away depending on the same fixture in the previous season. After all of these games have been played, every one of the 19 teams will have played 34 games. 

The point system is very much the same as in England, 3 points for a win, one point for a draw and nothing for a defeat. 

The table is ordered by points won but if teams are level on points by the end this is the sorting order: 

Game Rosters 

On match day, the sides must submit an 18 team 'roster' therefore allowing them to have 7 substitutes as well as the 11 on the pitch. Similarly to English football, teams are allowed to make three substitutions per game. 

Yellow Cards

One interesting thing about the MLS is their 'good behaviour' clause. In the MLS and the BPL, 5 yellow cards means a one match ban. In the MLS every subsequent three yellows means another ban. However, if a player receives a yellow card and then plays three consecutive matches without picking up another booking, the yellow they received is expunged. However they can only use this clause once per player per season. 

The Playoffs 

Who are they between? 

Once the two Conferences have finished, the top 5 teams from each table qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs. Here is how they work: 

Round 1:  West 4th V West 5th 

                 East 4th V East 5th

Round 2: West 1st V West 4/5th - West 1

                West 2nd V West 3rd - West 2

                East 1st V East 4/5th  - East 1

                East 2nd V East 3rd - East 2

* These semi final rounds are decided over two legs with away goals rule applied and extra time/penalties if necessary 

Round 3: Winner of West 1 V Winner of West 2  - W1

                Winner of East 1 V Winner of East 2 -E1

*These games are 2 legs the same as round 2

MLS CUP FINAL : Winner of W1 v Winner of E1 - the host is decided by whichever team won the most points during the season. 

The current holders of the MLS Cup are Sporting Kansas City who beat Real Salt Lake 7-6 on penalties to take the title in 2013. 

The league has not been sorted for next season yet, however with no relegation, teams have to apply to join and the number of teams can be changed. Next season, Frank Lampard's new club New York City are joining as well as Orlando City SC.