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Back in 1979, the New York Cosmos set an NASL record for most points in a season, one that would obliterate any Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga or Serie A points record. Led by Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia and Carlos Alberto, the Cosmos racked up an unthinkable 216 points in a 30-game season.
More of that, please.
The NASL, the first professional soccer league to become somewhat mainstream in the U.S., did a lot of things right and even more things wrong in its nearly two decades of existence. From 1968-84 the North American Soccer League provided U.S. audiences with some half-decent football featuring some of the world’s best players.
The now defunct league was quirky, sure, but mostly fun. Importantly, it brought a few new ideas to the sport, most of which have long since been abandoned. It’s time we brought a few of them back, like the goofy NASL points system for determining league placement.
Much like Major League Soccer when it first began, the NASL wanted to capture an American audience with new twists to the beautiful game. Clocks counted down to zero as they do in basketball and American football. Shootouts were instituted to ensure games didn’t end in ties. The offside rule was completely changed.
While not all of these alterations caught on — and most for good reason — I think it would be fun to bring back at least some of them. I’ve long expressed my love for the hockey-style shootouts that began in NASL and continued in the early days of MLS. While it’s unlikely any top-tier league would ever bring back those shootouts, one easy change leagues could make is reverting to the NASL points system.
When the NASL launched in 1968, it used the same point system as its predecessor, the National Professional Soccer League. Teams would be awarded six points for a win, three points for a tie and — win, lose or draw — each team received up to three points per goal scored. While the league went through a variety of iterations — particularly after doing away with draws in 1974 — this points system mostly remained intact throughout the league’s 17-season history. (The league still had playoffs, but point totals determined the regular-season champion and playoff seeding.)
The result: Teams could get up to nine points per game, resulting in huge point totals at the end of seasons that featured fewer games than most European leagues. It went against everything we’re used to nowadays in soccer, but that was kind of the point.
When the Cosmos set NASL records for points in a season (216 in 1979, 213 in 1980), the league was giving a full six points for shootout wins, a number that changed a few times, including using one, four and six points. The NASL probably should’ve figured out one system and stuck with it, but you have to give the league credit for continuing to iterate and improve the points system.
Imagine how much fun leagues would be today with this scoring system. Teams would be much more attack-minded knowing they could score points even with a defeat if they could just get a few goals. While some might suggest it would lead to teams running up the score, the fact the extra points stop at three means there won’t be too much incentive to beat a team 8-2.
The record for most points in a Premier League season currently belongs with Manchester City, which racked up 100 points in 2017-18. Sure, 100 is nice, but you know what’s better — 285, the number City would’ve accumulated with six points for a win, three for a draw and up to three per goal scored each match.
When I was growing up playing youth soccer, I remember a lot of my tournaments used a similar points system, with one new addition that I think would make the NASL points system even better. In addition to six points for a win, three for a draw and up to three points for every goal scored, teams were given an additional point for a clean sheet, giving clubs an opportunity for a pleasant 10 points per match in the group stage. It was a great way to determine how good a team was in other groups; you knew anyone getting 10 points per game was one to watch out for in the knockout rounds.
So, what do you say, MLS? NWSL? USL Championship? Canadian Premier League?
One of these leagues has to have the courage to change how points are awarded in league competitions, right? Let’s make league play a little more interesting. After all, you’re just going to ruin the entire regular season by having playoffs at the end anyway.
