MLS Cup Playoffs 2011: The Field, Seeds And Schedule Are Set

The new playoff format that MLS introduced this year was met with derision and ridicule. Only three people voted in favor of it, with those three being Don Garber and his parents. As much issue as some take with the expanded field of 10 teams though, it pales in comparison to the issues with the schedule. There are obstacles to overcome and TV partners to deal with, but MLS dropped the ball and in a big way. From an inability to get the schedule out, to when the matches are, it wouldn’t be unfair to ask whether or not the league hired monkeys to make up the schedule for these playoffs.

In true MLS form, the first problem with the playoff schedule popped up before the schedule came out. It was that they couldn’t release the schedule in a timely manner, which makes absolutely no sense. After Saturday, there was only one match left on the regular season schedule and it did affect the playoffs. If Houston won (which they did), they would move up to the second seed in the Eastern Conference, while a draw and loss would leave them in different spots in the wild card round. That was it though.

Wednesday, October 26, 8 pm ET - TV: FOX Soccer

Thursday, October 27, 10:30 pm ET - TV: Direct Kick

The 2011 MLS regular season is in the bag. Every match has been played and now it is time for the postseason. 10 of the 18 teams have qualified with the top three teams in each conference getting a berth in the conference semifinals, while the four playoff teams have to play a wild card round match to get there. The teams will be seeded as follows: