Every team — especially those that miss the playoffs — can probably look at the schedule and identify a handful of games where they left points on the board. Sometimes injuries are to blame. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. Other times it was simply poor play or bad decisions by the front office. Whatever the reason, teams invariably feel they left points on the board that could have dramatically altered their seasons.
What Went Wrong: Examining The MLS Teams That Missed The Playoffs
For most of the league’s history, making the playoffs was considered the low water mark for a successful season. Now, with half the teams not moving on to the postseason, making the playoffs is seen as more of an accomplishment.
As much as we may want to shift our focus entirely to the half that are still playing, there will be plenty of time to discuss those teams and what they need to do to win the MLS Cup. With the start of the playoffs still a few days away, now seems as good a time as any to take a final look at the teams that failed to advance.
In the next few days, we’ll do a quick examination of the eight teams that ended up on the outside looking in. We’ll try to identify what went wrong, what went right, what was learned, where those teams go from here and which 11 players should be protected in the upcoming expansion draft.
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