No, 4 rounds is just enough, I think. MLS teams are now using the lower rounds to fill out their USL clubs and further develop their draft picks.
So in yesterday's season opener the Rapids started 5 players they drafted and another one that was drafted by Montreal 3 years ago (Miller). 3 other starters and 1 sub were drafted (by other teams) 6 or more years ago.
several points: 1.of course a low budget team like colorado will be more likely to use mls draft players. many teams started ZERO players they drafted on opening weekend. 2. ATL United started ZERO players they drafted. a pretty damning indictment of the mls superdraft as a mechanism for player acquisition if an expansion team cant even get a starter out of it. 3. points 1 and 2 aside....the title of the thread is "abolish the draft" not "drafted players are worthless". the draft as a MECHANISM is pointless. the players who get drafted are still worthy...and would still be on MLS rosters if they didnt have to go through a superdraft to get into MLS. All of the players colorado used in their opener could still be on their roster even of they werent drafted by colorado/another MLS team. it isnt that being drafted bestows drafted players with special worthiness. I'm saying eliminate the MECHANISM of the draft...not the players that would enter MLS using the current mechanism.
I know I'm going to regret this but ... So you are saying a low budget like Colorado using the draft is acceptable but a high spending club like AUFC using the draft but are good enough so they don't have to rush a draftee into their starting line-up matchday one is "a pretty damning indictment". I'm not sure I follow that logic.
D.C. United started draft picks Steve Birnbaum, Taylor Kemp, Nick DeLeon and Julian Buescher last Saturday night. Just sayin'.
The draft is necessary as long as kids play for youth teams that do not have professional clubs. NASL and USL teams are starting to establish youth clubs which would allow for more players to have "homegrown" rights. But there will always be someone playing for Real Colorado or Dallas Texans or Bethesda SC who chooses to go to college or sign with the league. They will need to be drafted.
Except that this goes against anything MLS was founded upon. It also grants more rights to incoming players than is granted to veterans.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! No MLS team has the resources to scout all of the non-MLS affiliated youth academies in the US and Canada.
I meant college players. Anyway, scouts don't have to scout every academy. They get tip-offs or are called by a parent or coach.
And again, the NCAA is going to take a pretty dim view of a situation like that. Remember the draft (in any sport) is somewhat of a partnership between the pro leagues and the NCAA. Now the NCAA are a bunch of hypocritical crooks but they are the ones in charge.
This would have to be collectively bargained with the PU. I understand the thought here, but the discussion is a non-starter.
How does the NCAA react to players like Jack Harrison and Jordan Morris dropping out of college to go professional? It seems to be happening more often.
It doesn't matter what the NCAA thinks and the draft has nothing to do with the NCAA either as far as it concerns MLS. What does matter is a way for MLS teams to intake new players who have not gone through an academy as cheaply as possible. The players will want a mechanism that makes it as difficult as possible for new blood to enter the league to take the higher paid player's jobs. The owners want a system that prevents bidding wars and the players want a system that limits competition. Nothing we write here is going to change that and the draft won't go away unilaterally. If the league thought this prudent, the players would ask for something significant in return, such as the same freedom of movement enjoyed by unaffiliated players. It just won't happen.
They walk down the street and see how the local youths are doing. Theyd have a whole different system if they had to travel to Warsaw regularly to find players.
Man City have Spaniards, a Norwegian, a Kosovan, and Dutch players in their academy/U-23 squad. So no Poles.
Man City has a giant pile of cash as well.. Something that MLS teams don't have.. What nationalities does a league 1 club's academy have? I'm going to guess that most, if not all, live within a short drive of the training grounds.
Different scenario, they're already "owned" when they enter college. The NCAA at least indirectly endorses the draft method as it keeps agents and other such representatives off campus and out of the player's lives (somewhat) until they declare.
To add to @Yoshou comment, most english teams dont have the money of premier teams, much less man city. Theyre just as like to stick to local or reccomendations. Thats true the world over. My comment about Poland was to indicate distance. If a MLS team wants to scout a NCAA kid they have to so the kind of traveling that English teams complain about all the time in European competitions.