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In the middle of a playoff race in both conferences, Major League Soccer updates its Tie-Breaking procedures/rules. The full press release can be read here but the important points to take into account are as follows
When two or more teams are tied in the standings on points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), the following tiebreakers will be used in the sequence below, until one team ranks ahead of the other(s):
- Goals For (GF)
- Goal Differential (GD)
- Fewest Disciplinary Points (Posted here)
- Road Goals
- Road Goal Differential
- Home Goals
- Home Goal Differential
- Coin Toss (2 teams) or Drawing of Lots (3 or more)
For the Montreal Impact, more of goal celebrations are needed to stay in the playoff race. With Di Vaio back from Italy and Nesta settling in, The back-end and the front-end of the team is covered for the Impact with the veterans but
Where do the Montreal Impact stand right after the jump
It is interesting to see that MLS is using ''Goals For'' as the first criteria and '' Goal Differential''. Knowing that most leagues (in the world) use ''Goal Differential'' as the first criteria, MLS is in a way forcing the hand of the teams to open it up and score goals.
Here is a look at where the Montreal Impact ranks in the Eastern Conference in each of the criteria. Standings are provided by the MLS and have been last updated on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 9:05pm.
Goals For (GF) Ranking
| Actual Rank | ''Goals For'' Rank | Club | GF |
| 3 | 1 | New York Red Bulls | 38 |
| 1 | 2 | Houston Dynamo | 35 |
| 4 | 3 | D.C. United | 35 |
| 6 | 4 | Montreal Impact | 35 |
| 2 | 5 | Sporting Kansas City | 28 |
| 8 | 6 | New England Revolution | 26 |
| 5 | 7 | Chicago Fire | 25 |
| 10 | 8 | Toronto FC | 25 |
| 9 | 9 | Philadelphia Union | 22 |
| 7 | 10 | Columbus Crew | 20 |
The Montreal Impact are currently ranked 4th in the East, not bad for a team that did not have a real striker between Bernardo Corradi's injury and Marco Di Vaio's first game. Already offensively challenged on paper, resilience is key to the Montreal Impact relative success.
Goal Differential (GD) Ranking:
Swiss Cheese Effect
| Actual Rank | GD Rank | Club | GD |
| 1 | 1 | Houston Dynamo | 10 |
| 4 | 2 | D.C. United | 8 |
| 2 | 3 | Sporting Kansas City | 7 |
| 3 | 4 | New York Red Bulls | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Chicago Fire | 1 |
| 7 | 6 | Columbus Crew | -1 |
| 8 | 7 | New England Revolution | -2 |
| 9 | 8 | Philadelphia Union | -2 |
| 6 | 9 | Montreal Impact | -8 |
| 10 | 10 | Toronto FC | -15 |
Fewest Disciplinary Points: Toughest team in the East?
(For Disciplinary Points System, click here)
Being undisciplined is a sign of being tough but also running after the ball and not being able to get it cleanly. The team is an image of its head coach, Jesse Marsch: tough as nails.
| Club | Disciplinary Points |
|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | 322 |
| Columbus Crew | 317 |
| D.C. United | 292 |
| Houston Dynamo | 305 |
| Montreal Impact | 422 |
| New England Revolution | 275 |
| New York Red Bulls | 368 |
| Philadelphia Union | 382 |
| Sporting Kansas City | 370 |
| Toronto FC | 339 |
Road Goals Ranking : Road Trip Blues
| Actual Rank | RG Ranking | Club | RG |
| 2 | 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 16 |
| 3 | 2 | New York Red Bulls | 16 |
| 1 | 3 | Houston Dynamo | 14 |
| 10 | 4 | Toronto FC | 14 |
| 4 | 5 | D.C. United | 11 |
| 5 | 6 | Chicago Fire | 10 |
| 8 | 7 | New England Revolution | 10 |
| 6 | 8 | Montreal Impact | 10 |
| 7 | 9 | Columbus Crew | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | Philadelphia Union | 6 |
Road Goal Differential: Bottom Of The Class
| Actual Rank | RGD Rank | Club | RGD |
| 2 | 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 2 |
| 7 | 2 | Columbus Crew | -2 |
| 1 | 3 | Houston Dynamo | -4 |
| 5 | 4 | Chicago Fire | -4 |
| 4 | 5 | D.C. United | -7 |
| 3 | 6 | New York Red Bulls | -8 |
| 8 | 7 | New England Revolution | -8 |
| 9 | 8 | Philadelphia Union | -8 |
| 10 | 9 | Toronto FC | -8 |
| 6 | 10 | Montreal Impact | -16 |
Home Goals: Top of the class
Stade Saputo, The Fortress
| Actual Rank | HG Rank | Club | HG |
| 6 | 1 | Montreal Impact | 25 |
| 4 | 2 | D.C. United | 24 |
| 3 | 3 | New York Red Bulls | 22 |
| 1 | 4 | Houston Dynamo | 21 |
| 8 | 5 | New England Revolution | 16 |
| 9 | 6 | Philadelphia Union | 16 |
| 5 | 7 | Chicago Fire | 15 |
| 2 | 8 | Sporting Kansas City | 12 |
| 7 | 9 | Columbus Crew | 12 |
| 10 | 10 | Toronto FC | 11 |
Home Goal Differential:
Montreal still gets scored on a bit at home.
| Actual Rank | HGD Rank | Club | HGD |
| 4 | 1 | D.C. United | 15 |
| 1 | 2 | Houston Dynamo | 14 |
| 3 | 3 | New York Red Bulls | 12 |
| 6 | 4 | Montreal Impact | 8 |
| 8 | 5 | New England Revolution | 6 |
| 9 | 6 | Philadelphia Union | 6 |
| 2 | 7 | Sporting Kansas City | 5 |
| 5 | 8 | Chicago Fire | 5 |
| 7 | 9 | Columbus Crew | 1 |
| 10 | 10 | Toronto FC | -7 |
Coin Toss (2 teams) or Drawing of Lots (3 or more) :
Are we talking Loonie or US quarters?
This is the current image of the Montreal Impact as per the different Tie Breakers, as per MLS regulations. These tie-breakers might not mean anything if Montreal is unable to tie for a spot (5th realistically). The only number that counts for now is