Match Week 3: Explaining point adjustments for the lower-level teams in USL and NASL

This is the first week any of the teams in the second division have been active, so a brief explanation of the weighted points is in order. LA Galaxy II won its inaugural game in USL, which was worth three points in the USL table. But in the Relegation US table, real-life points are weighted for a fair comparison to MLS teams, so LA Galaxy II only gets an adjusted one point in the promotion and relegation standings. Likewise adjustment this week for the Charleston Battery and OC Blues, who tied for one point each but are still stuck at zero here. Real-life points will continue to accumulate as normal before relegation adjustment in this weekly standings update.

Standings adjusted for all competitions and weighted by talent level at all three leagues.

MLS 1

First Division West

7   FC Dallas

7   Sporting Kansas City

6   Houston Dynamo

6   Seattle Sounders

5   Vancouver Whitecaps

5   Real Salt Lake

4   Colorado Rapids

4   Chivas USA

4   LA Galaxy

2   Chicago Fire

2   Portland Timbers  

2   San Jose Earthquakes

0   San Antonio Scorpions

First Division East

6   Columbus Crew

6   Toronto FC

4   Philadelphia Union

2   New York Red Bulls

1   New England Revolution

0   Montreal Impact

0   D.C. United

0   Orlando City

0   New York Cosmos

0   Carolina RailHawks

0   Rochester Rhinos

-    New York City FC (2015)

-    Miami (2016)

MLS 2

Second Division West

1   LA Galaxy II

0   Orange County Blues

0   Atlanta Silverbacks

0   FC Edmonton

0   Minnesota United

0   Dayton Dutch Lions

0   Arizona United

0   Indy Eleven

0   Sacramento Republic

0   Oklahoma City Energy

-    Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2015)

-    Tulsa Roughnecks (2015)

-    Oklahoma City (2015)

Second Division East

0   Charleston Battery

0   Tampa Bay Rowdies

0   Richmond Kickers

0   Charlotte Eagles

0   Harrisburg City Islanders

0   Fort Lauderdale Strikers

0   Pittsburgh Riverhounds

0   Wilmington Hammerheads

0   Ottawa Fury

-    Puerto Rico Islanders (2014 fall)

-    Virginia Cavalry (2015)

-    Jacksonville Armada (2015)

If the Playoffs Started Today...

MLS Cup

(1W) FC Dallas vs. (4E) New York Red Bulls

(2W) Sporting Kansas City vs. (3E) Philadelphia Union

(3W) Houston Dynamo vs. (2E) Toronto FC

(4W) Seattle Sounders vs. (1E) Columbus Crew

Relegation Playoff

(LW) San Antonio Scorpions vs. (LE) Rochester Rhinos

Promotion Bowl

(1W) LA Galaxy II vs. (4E) Charlotte Eagles

(2W) Orange County Blues vs. (3E) Richmond Kickers

(3W) Atlanta Silverbacks vs. (2E) Tampa Bay Rowdies

(4W) FC Edmonton vs. (1E) Charleston Battery

Zero Hour: Preseason Standings for the First and Second Divisions of American Soccer With Promotion and Relegation in Place

There is no reason soccer can't be as big in the United States as it is in Europe with a strong promotion and relegation system.

We've taken all the professional teams in the United States that pay their players -- which includes MLS, NASL, and USL -- and split them into a two-division format based on average attendance.

While a big argument against this system is that relegation could destroy a struggling franchise, one way to help fix that is to make all the teams a part of MLS -- same standings reports, same website coverage, same TV package, as much of the same as can be accomplished.

Below are the first standings of the season. We plan to update this each week as we follow what it would be like to have a promotion and relegation system in this country. You are invited to pretend along with us.

And we've got news for the other sports -- soccer is coming.

MLS 1

First Division West
0   Portland Timbers  
0   Sporting Kansas City
0   Real Salt Lake
0   Houston Dynamo
0   LA Galaxy
0   Seattle Sounders
0   Colorado Rapids
0   San Jose Earthquakes
0   Chicago Fire
0   Vancouver Whitecaps
0   FC Dallas
0   Chivas USA
0   San Antonio Scorpions

First Division East
0   New York Red Bulls
0   New England Revolution
0   Montreal Impact
0   Philadelphia Union
0   Columbus Crew
0   New York Cosmos
0   Toronto FC
0   Carolina RailHawks
0   Orlando City
0   D.C. United
0   Rochester Rhinos
-    New York City FC (2015)
-    Miami (2016)


MLS 2

Second Division West
0   Atlanta Silverbacks
0   FC Edmonton
0   Minnesota United
0   Orange County Blues
0   Dayton Dutch Lions
0   Phoenix FC
0   Indy Eleven
0   Sacramento Republic
0   Oklahoma City Energy
0   LA Galaxy II
-    Colorado Springs Switchbacks (2015)
-    Tulsa Roughnecks (2015)
-    Oklahoma City (2015)

Second Division East
0   Tampa Bay Rowdies
0   Richmond Kickers
0   Charleston Battery
0   Charlotte Eagles
0   Harrisburg City Islanders
0   Fort Lauderdale Strikers
0   Pittsburgh Riverhounds
0   Wilmington Hammerheads
0   Ottawa Fury
-    Puerto Rico Islanders (2014 fall)
-    Virginia Cavalry (2015)
-    Jacksonville Armada (2015)


Last Season's Playoffs

MLS Cup
(1W) Portland Timbers vs. (4E) Philadelphia Union
(2W) Sporting Kansas City vs. (3E) Montreal Impact
(3W) Real Salt Lake vs. (2E) New England Revolution
(4W) Houston Dynamo vs. (1E) New York Red Bulls

Relegation Playoff
(LW) San Antonio Scorpions vs. (LE) Rochester Rhinos

Promotion Bowl
(1W) Atlanta Silverbacks vs. (4E) Charlotte Eagles
(2W) FC Edmonton vs. (3E) Charleston Battery
(3W) Minnesota United vs. (2E) Richmond Kickers
(4W) Orange County Blues vs. (1E) Tampa Bay Rowdies

Relegate US site launches to provide promotion/relegation standings for 51 professional clubs in the United States

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOCCER CITY, USA (March 1, 2014) –– A new website, Relegate US, has launched for the 2014 season in United States soccer to provide fans with a hypothetical system for promotion and relegation for all clubs in MLS, NASL, and USL.

But more than relegation, it's primary mission is promotion of all professional soccer clubs in the United States by placing them together in one system and on equal footing.

Throughout the season, Relegate US will keep the standings for a two-division soccer system in the United States and show which teams would be in the running for promotion and relegation.

Relegate US has taken all 51 clubs –– which includes existing clubs and those that have been announced as confirmed future expansion clubs –– and divided them into two divisions with each division split into a western and eastern subdivision.

The first division, dubbed MLS 1, contains 26 clubs divided evenly into 13 teams in the west subdivision and 13 teams in the east.

The second division, dubbed MLS 2, contains 25 clubs with 13 in the western half and 12 in the eastern half.

The teams were placed in the first or second division based on average attendance for the 2013 season. The last team to make it into MLS 1 was the Carolina RailHawks with an average attendance of 4,708.

Just missing out on MLS 1 and instead going to MLS 2 was the Atlanta Silverbacks with an average attendance of 4,677.

In addition to the Carolina RailHawks, other non-MLS teams to be placed in the first division include the San Antonio Scorpions, New York Cosmos, Orlando City, and Rochester Rhinos.

Expansion teams New York City FC, starting in 2015, and Miami, tentatively scheduled to debut in 2016, were placed in the first division based on assumed attendance.

Future MLS expansion teams will also automatically be initially placed in the first division based on scope of the franchise. Future NASL and USL expansion teams will start in the second division initially.

The idea for this site is to show what divisions would be like if the United States had a promotion and relegation system, so NYC FC, Miami, and other expansion teams from all three leagues will be included in the standings prior to fielding teams even though they will not accumulate points and will be exempt from relegation for this example.

Only professional teams with a full roster of paid players are eligible for entrance into the Relegate US standings. Clubs in the fourth tier and below of U.S. soccer –– USL PDL, NPSL, and NSSL –– will not be included.

In this hypothetical model, teams in the west division of MLS 1 will play each other twice during the season and play each team from the east side once, for example. That makes for a total of 37 games per season, which is consistent with the international standard.

The top four teams from the west and top four teams from the east in MLS 1 will make the playoffs at the end of the season. MLS 2 will have the identical system.

Unlike the English Premier League and other European leagues, only one team will be relegated and only one team promoted per season in this model.

This keeps the excitement of relegation but minimizes the risk and harshness of relegation in a country where the sport is not established well enough to support full relegation.

The last-place team in the east and west of MLS 1 will battle it out in a playoff to determine who gets relegated to MLS 2 for the following year.

The MLS 1 and MLS 2 standings will reflect and adjusted point total for clubs in NASL and USL with an attempt to accurately reflect where they would be versus the MLS teams.

As a bonus, games in the CONCACAF Champions League and U.S. Open Cup will count in the standings to reward clubs playing and succeeding in extra games.

So visit the website at www.Relegation.US all season long as foremost experiment in American promotion and relegation begins.