{"id":36966,"date":"2021-09-07T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=36966"},"modified":"2021-09-07T10:08:52","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T14:08:52","slug":"playoffs-realistic-goal-or-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2021\/09\/07\/playoffs-realistic-goal-or-fantasy\/","title":{"rendered":"Playoffs Year One: Realistic Goal or Fan Fantasy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITORIAL<\/strong> – OK, I have a really exciting proposition for you. Are you ready? You and I, we\u2019re going to build an English Premier League<\/a> team from scratch! We get to come up with the team name, team colors, uniforms, and a badge. We\u2019ll also invest in hiring a complete staff, a purpose-built stadium, and state-of-the-art training facilities. Exciting, right? I haven\u2019t told you the best part yet.<\/p>\n

Playoffs Year One: Realistic or Fantasy<\/h2>\n

We get to build the roster one player at a time! We\u2019ll have a modest budget, but still, how cool is that? And no pesky promotion worries for us; our team will go straight into the EPL, the top professional league in the country! Our target? European qualification in year one.<\/p>\n

With Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference<\/a> spots up for grabs, we only need to place somewhere in the top seven in a league of 20 teams. We basically just need to be better than about half the teams in the division. Easy.<\/p>\n

At this point, I imagine you\u2019re trying to determine if I\u2019ve lost my mind. The idea is ludicrous, compounded by a wholly unrealistic first-year target. Everything from scratch, on a conservative budget, and the season will only be considered a success if we secure a European spot? Come on now, we both know that the most overwhelmingly likely outcome here isn\u2019t Europe; it\u2019s relegation.<\/p>\n

Not just relegation. Rock bottom of the division with significant daylight between us in 20th and everyone else 19th\u00a0and above. Quite honestly, we\u2019d be in danger of suffering the same fate the following season, too, in the second-tier English Championship<\/a>. That\u2019s the reality, right? The same would be true in any of Europe\u2019s top leagues.<\/p>\n

Chances of Making the MLS Playoffs in their First Year<\/h3>\n

Why, then, do supporters Stateside routinely expect an MLS<\/a> team built from the studs up \u2013 new leadership team, new coaching staff, new players coming from all corners of the globe, many with no experience of playing in this league, new stadium and training facilities and all of the financial stress and burden that comes with putting all of that together \u2013 to make playoffs in its inaugural season?<\/p>\n

Is the first year in this top-flight professional league really a \u2018post-season-or-bust!\u2019 zero-sum equation?<\/p>\n

Including Austin FC<\/a>, 21 teams have joined MLS since Chicago Fire<\/a> and Miami Fusion<\/a> became the league\u2019s first expansion outfits back in 1998. Assuming the play-offs are realistically beyond Austin at this point, of those 21 teams, only a third will have made playoffs in their inaugural season. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Successes and Failures of MLS Expansion Teams in their First Year<\/h3>\n
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#MLSCupPlayoffs<\/a> are underway in the ATL! <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfaTune in on ESPN2 & @UniMas<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/xZpvpDpCr9<\/a><\/p>\n

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) October 26, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n