Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Projected MLS '19 Table Finish

Using current points per game as our guide, here is a look at how MLS would finish as of right now.

PtsTeamTeam 2Team 3
80Los Angeles FC
79
78
77
76
75
74
73
72
71
70
69
68
67
66
65
64
63Houston Dynamo
62
61
60Philadelphia UnionLA Galaxy
59Atlanta UnitedSeattle Sounders FC
58
57
56
55
54New York Red BullsDC United
53
52New York City FC
51
50
49
48Montreal ImpactFC DallasMinnesota United
47
46
45
44Toronto FCSan Jose Earthquakes
43Real Salt Lake
42
41Orlando City
40
39
38Chicago FireVancouver Whitecaps
37Portland Timbers
36Sporting Kansas CityColumbus Crew
35
34New England Revolution
33
32
31
30
29
28
27Colorado Rapids
26
25FC Cincinnati

LAFC is clearly a class above right now. Not just based on this year's results, but all-time MLS regular season points. They are on a pace to be 9 points clear of the most points in MLS history. NINE.

It is incredibly impressive, but for me it is more a function of rapid expansion. Think of it as basically two leagues.

1. The competitive league - everyone above 40 pts basically.

2. The noncompetitive league - below 40 pts.

When the league was smaller, you might have 2 or so teams that the members of the "competitive league" could walk over. What that mean is they earn something like 2 points a game on avg from them.

In today's world, you have at least eight teams that the good teams can draw points from. What this means is that a really good team like LAFC is in effect "super-sizing" their point total. It's also why the regular season point totals have been topped 2 years straight. This year will clearly be the 3rd in a row that record is broken.




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