Every season soccer fans tend to go through the same debates of who wound up with the easiest schedule thereby firmly placing the axe of underachievement right over the team's collective heads where not proving their schedule the easiest test will mean scathing reviews and criticism from their fans. This season the Charleston Battery has that axe hovering squarely above their necks just waiting for the first sign to fall. With a schedule that is made up mostly with the likes of Indiana, Cincinnati, and newly promoted Charlotte it's hard for the fans at Blackbaud not to expect a decent run at a top three seed for the postseason. They do have a tough row to hoe in the Open Cup, though, where they will face Wilmington, Carolina, and Charlotte in the effort to qualify. Of course some think that the changes that have occurred will balance things out for the Battery going into the season. Charleston president Nigel Cooper is just one such person who believes that the overall strength of anyone's schedule is really yet to be seen since there have been many changes involved in the off-season. Indiana have changed coaches, Cincinnati appear to have a new commitment towards getting quality players, Atlanta's got John Dugan running things, and the rest of the division matches up as a fair challenge for the Boys from the 'Baud. In some ways, though, this could be construed as merely building up their opponents and staying away from giving anyone any "bulletin board material." No matter what kind of talk comes out of the team's front office I'm sure the players and fans know that not achieving a level of success close to that of last year will be a disappointment.
On the other side of the country an expansion team has gotten saddled with what is being rated as the toughest schedule and it will be interesting to see how the inaugural season for the new Portland Timbers develops. After speaking to their GM, Jim Taylor, one would get the idea that the club is welcoming the challenge from what will be a very demanding schedule. With a coach like Bobby Howe at the reins the Timbers also seem to be in a decent position to stay poised no matter what results should befall them. To reward them for having what is believed to be one of the most viable communities for soccer in the country they get three shots at Milwaukee as well as trips to Toronto and Rochester. All of this to go along with their other conference matches against developing rivals Vancouver and Seattle as well as meetings with Minnesota. Facing this kind of line-up will prove a test of strength for both Coach Howe and Jim Taylor because they will inevitably have some sort of growing pains. The major thing for those in Portland to keep in mind is that this is their inaugural season and you've got to learn to walk before you run, let alone start filling the nets.
While looking at both ends of the spectrum as far as supposed schedule strength goes other things such as the frequency of home matches and the length of road trips have to be taken into consideration. For example, the Timbers spend most of July and August away from home. This is a prime time in which the Timbers could've reaped the benefits of being in an area where youth soccer is extremely successful by drawing nominally larger crowds than can be had when local schools are still in session. While the league contends that the management of each club has a strong role, and granted they do, in the scheduling process some of the inequities need to be dealt with. Nine back-to-backs for the Charlotte Eagles also proves that the scheduling process still leaves a bit to be desired. The difficulties that await the Timbers and Eagles as well as several other teams in the league will be, if nothing else, quite interesting to watch unfold. Charleston, while playing what appears to be an easy schedule on paper, will face some tests along the way but falling anywhere short of another playoff appearance will be quite a disappointment. The bottom line for both the Timbers and Eagles lies in being competitive on the field and at the gate. In the Battery's case nothing short of that playoff appearance and a decent showing in the Open Cup will be expected by the Blackbaud faithful.
Back to the issue of what kind of changes might need to take place it might be in the best interest to look at how other sports leagues create their schedule. With the current situation divisionally developing a new way of scheduling would prove a bit daunting but not impossible. One thing that definitely needs to be considered is the simple fact that there will be open dates. There's no need to cram games in on every possible open date and this has been avoided for the majority of the new schedule. It is a problem that could be encountered but has been well avoided in a large part of this year's schedule. A problem is run into there, though, because most teams don't have the luxury of being their stadium's only tenant. This problem could be circumvented in one of two ways: either to schedule almost a year in advance or to build your own stadium. In places like Minnesota and Charleston this isn't that big of a problem and it enables them to be more flexible with their schedule. The ongoing struggle to get Paetec Park built in Rochester is one instance of a team being able to build its own facility but this is hardly feasible for the majority of the clubs involved in the A-League.
Knocking out the building/having your own stadium idea the possibility of scheduling close to a year in advance could prove to be more viable. The glaring problem with this is the fact that teams have had to be reshuffled almost every single year. Now that things seem to be getting increasingly stable throughout the league, though, the eventual possibility of being able to schedule well in advance could become reality. The stabilization of the divisions and the league as a whole will provide the opportunity to begin at least the preparation of a schedule nearly a year in advance if the teams and league could handle possibly increasing, slightly, the amount of personnel in their organizations. Overall, this appears to be the best possible option even though it is likely at least two seasons away from being viable. Regardless, this is something that deserves some consideration in the nearly never-ending quest to establish that Holy Grail of sport: the perfect schedule.
The one recurring theme in talking to both Jim Taylor and Nigel Cooper is that this season will be one of great change and exciting development. The greatest development of all will be watching all of our favorite clubs growing and building towards the start of another exciting season of A-League soccer. With the draft in the not too distant future rosters will begin to be filled out and the debates will begin as to who should be where doing what with whom and for how long. As for now, though, the fans can continue to debate the issue of scheduling matters and how their team will fare against their opposition in the upcoming season. Eventually, some day in a galaxy far, far away we'll see a schedule that appears fair and equitable to all involved but I wouldn't bet on it any time soon. As always that's the view from here and I'll be back next week.
The Fame in L.A. Lies Mainly in Spain
I had to add this a little late to the column this week since we now get to celebrate as American soccer fans since we will have a representative at the World Club Championships in Spain this summer. Either L.A. or D.C. will earn a trip to Europe to play with some of the best clubs in the rest of the world later tonight in front of what is expected to be a less than capacity crowd at the L.A. Colisseum. D.C. might have some sort of edge in that they have more of their regular players for the match yet playing against the Galaxy at home is never an easy prospect. In some corners it has been regarded as slightly better to have the Galaxy win the trip to Spain to prove that there is more to MLS and American pro soccer than D.C. United. The reputation of American soccer has steadily improved in Europe with the somewhat surprising success of American clubs, including those in the A-League, over European club opposition in friendlies. This trip to Spain for either club will be a nice measuring stick for the development of U.S. soccer to learn just where we are and how much further we may need to go. One side-note of interest to A-League fans is that Greg Simmonds, who is rumored to be on his way to a full contract, is with D.C. United in their bid to get to Spain. Simmonds played last season with Hershey and is expected to be a vital part of the Wildcats attack if he is not signed by D.C.
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