MLS nearing playoffs... it's crunch time.

This weekend saw a number of teams book their place in the MLS Post-Season competition known as the playoffs.

For those of you who don't know, the post season competiton is where the eventual winner of the Major League is crowned. It doesnt matter if you finished 1st or 5th in your conference, you still have as good a shot as anyone of winning the big prize. 

So with 4 games left of the regular season, this is the time of year when things really hot up. The teams are feeling the pressure and some are starting to choke...

David Beckham's LA Galaxy booked their place in the post season after a faltering start saw them bottom of the entire League in May. They've rallied round and after a 4-2 victory over Toronto FC, they now sit 2nd in the Western Conference and have sealed their spot in the playoffs where they hope to defend their MLS Cup.

On the other side of the land of the free, Thierry Henry and his New York Red Bulls are in the thick of it where only 8 points separate 2nd and 6th place (top 5 qualify for playoffs) in the Eastern Conference. The MLS is quite difficult to predict thanks to the draft system so as a result, each team now has to be on their A game in order to qualify. Evident in that last years MLS Cup runners up, the Houston Dynamo, are one of those sides who are in danger of missing the cut, they sit in 5th place a single point above Columbus Crew. 

There is an incentive of being the best team all season though. The team with the most points across both conferences wins the 'Supporters Shield' - this looks to be heading from LA to San Jose where the SJ Earthquakes fronted by prolific striker Chris Wandolowski look to seal the deal in the next few weeks. They have a 5 point lead over Sporting Kansas City with the LA Galaxy their only remaining troublesome tie.

The MLS Cup final this year will be held at the home stadium of the team who had a better regular season. 

So who is going to go on and win the thing? 

It's hard to tell just now as like I said before the MLS is difficut to predict, especially for the betting men among us..! 

The surprise package so far this year is the Chicago Fire who have used the draft system to their advantage after last years poor effort, they might go all the way but I can't see anything other than an LA Galaxy vs San Jose MLS Cup final on December 1st.

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