By Michael Lewis – NEW YORK, NY (Jul 21, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Ties! Ties! Ties!
You would think it was Father's Day, but that was last month. Or that Major League Soccer was having its ultimate parity dream - every game on the schedule ending even. Once again, we’re seeing an MLS season where not winning is becoming the story. Last week, MLS teams recorded four more draws, three of the dreaded scoreless variety.
Instead of focusing on the fact that ties are happening, let’s look at when they actually benefit a team. What’s a good tie? And for that matter, when do ties legitimately ruin a team’s season?
Yes, there is a difference, sometimes a gaping hole. All draws were not created equal.
First of all, we have to educate ourselves on what a tie is worth. This one is simple. A tie is not worth half a win. It is only a third of a victory.
Like money through inflation, ties just are not worth the same any more. Once upon a time, good, old-fashioned wins were worth two points, so the tied teams were able to share the points. About 20 years ago, in an effort to motivate teams to play for wins instead of settling for draws, FIFA decided to change the reward system and make a victory worth three points and keep a drawn game at one point a team. Hence, the devaluation of the tie.
So, when teams leave the field with a level score, each one gets a point and the third point evaporates into thin air. So when a coach in his coach-speak says he is happy with a draw, someone should ask him if he is only one-third content.
In the world of soccer, there are good ties and bad ties, depending on the situation and contest.
- A good tie is a lower-ranked team battling a club high in the table to an equal result - home or away - when everybody in the house thought the favorites would prevail.
- A good tie is when a team is outplayed and somehow escapes with a point, thanks to the heroics of its goalkeeper or an own goal by the opposition.
- A good tie is when a team participates in a tournament and ties its opponent to claim a spot in the next round or to clinch first place.
- Yet another good tie is when a team equalizes late in regulation or in stoppage time to salvage one point and deny its opponents three points. After all, one third of a result is better than none.
Of course, for every good thing in life, there is a downside. You could flip around just about everything that was stated in the above list and create the opposite case.
- A bad tie is, for example, a first place team drawing with a lesser side, especially when playing at home.
- A bad tie is when a team outperforms the opposition and but can't find the back of the net and is forced to settle for one point.
- And another bad tie is when a team gives up that 11th-hour goal and comes away with a tie. That game certainly will feel more like a loss than a draw.
- A favored team playing at home drawing with the visitors would also call it a bad tie.
When a team starts accumulating too many ties, that can quickly become a problem. That’s especially true at home.
Just ask the former coaches of the Chicago Fire (Carlos de los Cobos with a 1-4-6 record) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Teitur Thordarson with a 1-5-6 mark), who were fired at the end of May because of their team's inability to win even though they weren’t always losing.
The New York Red Bulls are the latest team to underachieve without losing. Entering Wednesday night's action against the Colorado Rapids, the Red Bulls were 6-4-11, including a 1-2-8 road mark (11 points out of a possible 33). Last night’s disaster in Colorado might reveal bigger problems, but this wasn’t a team that’s as strong as their reputation suggests. The simple reason? Too many ties.
Ties also can make teams’ win-lost records deceptive.
A couple of examples:
- In the days of shootouts (not the penalty kick type, but the one starting fro the 35-yard line), the 1999 San Jose Earthquakes compiled a 19-13 record. Certainly good enough to make the playoffs, right? Wrong! Because shootout wins, which were worth one point, were included with the regulation, three-points triumphs, the Quakes looked a lot better off. But in reality, their actual record was 9-13-10 and 37 points. They finished in fifth place in the Western Conference (By the way, MLSSoccer.com awarded the Earthquakes 57 points for that season, which is wrong. That should be changed to 37 points immediately. Talk about rewriting history).
- From July 2004 to April 2005 the Columbus Crew reeled off a 19-game unbeaten streak. That looked quite imposing, except when you consider the Crew drew more games (10) than they won. Columbus had a 9-0-10 record, earning 37 points out of a possible 57. Still a good mark, but deceptive.
The lesson learned? When you read how a team extended an unbeaten streak after a draw, check out the club's record. 6-0-2 (20 points out of a possible 28) certainly would be quite impressive, while 3-0-5 (14 points out of 28) could be more of a cause for concern, especially depending on where that team is situated in the standings.
Of course, teams could make it easier on us by actually winning or losing, but this season, that might be asking for too much.
Michael Lewis, the editor of BigAppleSoccer.com and TropiGol.com, can be reached at SoccerWriter516@aol.com.
