Great article, Mano. "They need to bring the PROMOTION / RELEGATION system!!!" That is what I have been saying, since I first started watching the MLS. Why don't they have a relegation/promotion
system? The GM of the LA Galaxy, Alexi Lalas, says that it would be too "complicated". That guy is a HUGE jackass, so the MLS management shouldn't listen to him. I want to see the Puerto Rico
Islanders in the MLS. I want to see the Richmond Kickers there, too. If Toronto finish last, they should be gone to the USL or "MLS 2". If the season ends, with the LA Galaxy in last spot in the
overall table, relegate them. Beckham can go to CHIVAS USA. Let's say LA finish last. They'll still have a healthy Beckahm(hopefully), when the new season starts and they won't be relegated. If we
had a relegate/promote system, then LA would have to rebuild in the 2nd D, LIKE IT SHOULD BE! It's that simple.

You forgot 2 mention that Chivas USA has been playing very well and even though we dont have beckham or donovan we have Galindo and he's been playing very well

Yeah, that too. Galindo is INCREDIBLE! But, I never really cared for the Galaxy, who got their name from the NEW YORK COSMOS. Only Chivas and the Red Bulls, have ever been my favorites. New York is
doing good too. We got Angel and Altidore, who I know will be going to Europe sooner, than later.

yup its all about chivas usa and chicago fire...

the us is based on capitalism ... that alone tells you that promotion and relegation will never happen. if it does happen, it will kill football in this country. do you think AEG will invest millions
to see their club/s play in the USL? face it, without AEG, there would've been no mls. another factor is geography. the US covers so much land, traveling to away matches would cost too much for
smaller clubs which will eventually go bankrupt just like the old NASL.

oh .. and give the MLS credit ... they have put up safeguards to keep the league afloat financially.

Gonzilla, that's not what manogil meant. He is saying a second division can be create with the support of the teams that are already playing. And about the size of the country, I live in Brasil and
our teams are more poor than the teams in United States and the country is HUGE too. The small teams get to go everywhere to play each other. That's no excuse.

USL or MLS 2nd Division or whatever system ... Promotion-Relegation WILL NOT work in the U.S. - sports will NEVER go that way in the US. There is a far more important thing than love for the club for
these people, its ROI - RETURN ON INVESTMENT.

Wow! It's nice too see people participating here! Gonzilla, what I meant was that if you have 2 strong divisions it will only make the league stronger. I'm also suggesting a smaller 2nd. division
with only 8 teams so it's not so hard to get sponsors and it'll be easier financially. And also in other leagues we had good teams in the 2nd division in their countries: Milan, Juventus,
Middlesbrough, Southhampton, Real Sociedad, Gremio, Palmeiras... They all played second division... One other thing is what REAL REAL said. Brazil is a huge country and the second division attracts a
lot of public because people want to see their team fight to go to the top... SO I STILL THINK IT WOULD MAKE THE MLS MUCH BETTER!

some teams have come and gone or change cities cauze of money issues and not to mention the fan issues. usa is all about baseball and football and basketball and hockey. so its gonna take a lot to
get fans to watch soccer games. san jose will once again emerge to the mls scene next year. the US open cup is the only time when all teams from the country get to participate which they need to just
seperate the tournaments in the year like in mexico for more soccer.

I clap to that. You definitely know where MLS should be going. I totally agree.

real reala & manogil: i clearly understand what you are trying to say - but what i'm saying is that on the business side, it will never happen. the difference between the us & brazil in terms
of traveling comes back to the investing parties. unlike brazil, the american teams do not have the same fan base and support which in turn makes money for the brazilian clubs. so while some players
in the MLS are still getting paid only $16K a year, do you think an american club can finance a reserve team going from coast to coast to play games that will have no television coverage and
therefore no advertising revenue? i'm just being realistic ...

what the mls should work on is to change the schedule so that it doesn't clash with major tournaments. they also need to revert to a single table league and get rid of the playoffs. that way, every
match will most likely be a meaningful match. at the moment, teams can coast and barely make the playoffs, get on a good playoff run, and win the cup. if that happens, what was the whole point of the
regular season?

That is agood point too Gonzilla... With only 13 teams there shouldn't be playoffs. It's really unattractive having a regular season when almost everybody can make it to the finals anyway. I also see
your point about the traveling issue and the fan base. But there must be a solution. A kind of a gift for the Champions (participating on the Copa Libertadores) and a kind of "punishment"for the last
ones ... just to spice up the league, increase the competition ... and as a result the USA can start on the path of really improving their game and do a better job in the bigger competitions like
Copa America and World Cup

emmandemm and anti...........i guess i have to keep making the point about New York and Chicago. If you want to be the team you got to beat the team and right now the team is the HOUSTON DYNAMO!!!!
Champs last year....clinched a playoff spot already and are heavy favorites to win this year.......we might have a dynasty in the making in Houston.......Dale Dale Dale Dynamo!!!!!!

Unfortunately Gonzilla is entirely correct- a promotion/relegation system is too cost prohibitive for a struggling MLS to use... at this point in time. It's just too big a risk for investors to pump
money into teams that might not be playing in the MLS for long. Now maybe 10 or 15 years in the future the MLS and their teams might be on stronger financial footing to give P&R a go, and I long
for that day beause it indeed would kick American soccer up a notch or two. But this doesn't mean that the MLS shouldn't abandon the playoffs and conferences and go with a unified table pronto, to
differentiate MLS from other US sports as well as give us soccer fans something to really chew on. And if they use playoffs for the other Super Liga spots it's the best of both worlds, so really
there's no excuse MLS. Let's do this thang!