Lower the Number of International Slots in MLS

and?

does that mean MLS should keep the same status quo i.e. international slots??

thats not what i would take from a stat like that.

 

MLS teams DO NOT SPEND MONEY ON DEFENSIVE PLAYERS. they only spend on attackers.

so american youth attackers are at an inherent disadvantage in MLS vs the rest of the american player pool. inexperienced american attacking players face an artifically steep uphill bttle for playing time in MLS....hence it is no coincidence that mls has had MUCH MUCH more recent success supplying USMNT with defenders and GK than attackers. people like you get confused and think it means the attackers arent good enough.....it's merely a matter of opportunity.

if the same amount of playing time in MLS were given to american attackers as defenders...mls would be supplying as many attackers to usmnt as defenders.

look at zardes ....he had a shite coach in schmid. scored 2 in 26 games. now that he is in a better situation THE EXACT SAME PLAYER is a goal machine. SITUATION MATTERS. MLS doesnt let american players pick their situation as much as other leagues do.

MLS has artificially supressed the value of americans on the world market systematically....to save money. if the americans in MLS were getting what they would get with euro passports, they would all be paid (as a whole) much higher than they are now (obviously bradely bedoya altidore are exceptions) . if you went on salary alone, there's no way in hell a youth USMNT could tie portuagal and france in europe....the talent disparity would be too great. MLS underpays, undervalues, and underdevelops americans.

you can say carleton is doing okay with nats so all is well....but the key question...one that has no answer....is how much better could he be doing if he were starting and playing 90 every game for a team like atlanta?

the key to development is starting as early as possible ....MLS retards devo by DELAYING when players who are good enough to play right now actaully get on the field. if dortmund hadnt given playing time to pulisic yet...people like you would say he isnt good enough. the clubs that dont play players are immune to criticism b/c there isnt any PROOF that a player who isnt playing should be.

other than for instance when something leaks out like carleton scoring a golazo in us open cup but basically never playing for ATL.....

all that said, I'm not here to play logic olympics with you. who cares about my argument?!?!? its not about that!!!!!

it's a simple matter of young american players in MLS who are ROTTING away instead of getting playing time despite being ood enough for MLS.

if you care at all about USMNT - i'm not sure you do - you wouldnt be so quick to defens MLS' stats quo....because it is NOT WORKING FOR USMNT.

its not about picking apart my argument --- its about offering suggestions to improve the FAILURE OF A SYSTEM that is SUM/MLS/USMNT....

instead, you prefer to keep your head IN THE SAND.

Why do you care so much about not rocking MLS' boat??? are you happy with how MLS and USMNT have been working together? if so, how?????? how can you be satisfied with this current state of affairs to the point of attacking me for suggesting change????

you worship at the altar of MLS' "fairness" to all foreigners like it matters.

other leagues protect their own citizens...why shouldnt MLS?

 

colorado is horrible. they just lost to a usl team with their starting lineup.

overall, mls teams splash the cash for forwards and attacking mids.....its not debateable....despite how dumb colorado crapids are.

i would love to see an mls team splash some cash like barco or villa level players in defense....wake me up when they do. until then, the jury is out on what kind of strategy that would be.

personally, i think the "anti-atlanta" approach....3 or 4 defender DPs who can really pass and also defend etc...with a mix of young domestic talent in the front 6 would be an exciting team that could do really well....would like to see it.

 

notice how MLS teams never trade decent young players.

they only trade them once their stock has slipped for whatever reason...usually not playing them is the cause....a vicious cycle.

are teams who need strikers not interested in bench americans on other teams? are they rejecting offers we dont know about?

or are they just not interested in letting a decent young player they know could fill a hole on another team help an oppenent fortify their roster?

could ebobisse - for example - or alphonso davies or carleton have also solved SKC's lack of goals?

teams like vancouver, portland, atl wont trade those players to other MLS teams b/c they want to maintain their competitive advantage at that position.

THIS is how single-entity hurts player development more than in other leagues!

you honestly think DC united for example wouldnt start alphonso davies - golden boot winner of the last fricking gold cup who robinson refuses to play - ???

davies shoudlve been an every game 90 minute player in MLS for a long time now.

vancouver and many MLS teams are spiteful....they'd rather see a young player rot on their bench than become a star for another team.....

first its a competitive advantage to not let a player help another team and also it would be embarassing and threatening for a team that lets a "star" "get away"....

lee nguyen wasnt good enough to play for friedel...but he was too good to be traded to another eastern conference team...if you cant see the hypocrisy in that....nothing will open your eyes.

basically....for young players in MLS......it's safer to let that player squander away and play a foreigner....definitely safer than trading away a player that actually is good.

how do you think schmid feels about zardes' success right now??

schmid looks HORRIBLE...and i bet he knows it too....

let's see how he handles his young players.....do you think lassiter will play for him? or develop under him? don't hold your breath. it's not going to happen.

 

think about the thinking of MLS GM's.

say an MLS GM needs a striker. of course they will pick the player who has scored in europe or s.america. there's a track record there....more job security.

they want to keep their jobs for next season etc.

there's safety in picking the "proven" player from abroad over the unproven domestic talent.

MLS GM's are pansies...they play it safe and overlook domestic talent.

it's the "smart move"...but that doesnt mean that the unproven players they pass over are not capable....just that they'd rather pick someone with a "resume"...better for their job security and career outlook.

look at christian ramirez. killing it in the NASL but ...hmmmm....no MLS GM wanted him bad enough to bring him to MLS....curious, no?

he must not be good enough for MLS.

but wait.....he has 17 goals in 36 MLS starts!!! (on a pretty bad team too)

hmmm turns out he was good enough after all!

Now, not ALL of the players who arent getting minutes in MLS are would-be stars...I never would say that.

but taking 1 foreign slot off every MLS roster would mean the next 23 americans sitting on MLS benches would get the chance that MLS isn't giving them and some of those players might surprise people....and, furthermore, the quality of MLS wouldnt suffer even slightly.

 

davies only started 9 games last year...i havent really been watching this year...but youre right. he's been playing a lot this season.

ramirez was also about mls not wanting to give money to nasl....mls will never give big money to any other league in the usa for a player...even if it was the next messi.

whats a big transfer for an mls striker that can score 17 in 30 some starts? will zlatan do that?? will barco? etc will kaku?

is 1 million really big for a striker that can score 1 out of 2 games in MLS?

nguyen: it's not really mls vs. europe. i dont want mls to be europe....but i do want MLs to protect american players and the american player pool as well as countries like portugal, germany, etc do.

my overall point is simple...sorry if my examples are fallible. ....MLS needs to stat doing a better job of playing and protecting american players and the american player pool.

personally i would get rid of mandatory salary tiers and prefer a flat cap. give all teams the same money and let them divy it up how they want. also i would allow players more free agency and freedom of movement. and lastly i would lower the amount of foreign slots in MLS...by 1 per team and see what happens....if it is a failure (it wont be) but if it is...then just raise it back up....its not like any of those rule changes would be permanent or irreversible.

 

well in defense of MLS GM's they are just operating within the confines of MLS' rules. it's conventioanl wisdom that its strategically wise to buy front 6 players from abroad.

but just because they do so...doesnt mean the domestic options arent good enough....though it does mean that it is much harder for domestic attacking talent to see the field.

perhaps pansies is the wrong word.

but when players like ebobisse - the number 4 pick in his draft - only has 2 career starts. ..it reeks of fear to me.

why even have a draft when the 4th player chosen isnt good enough to play?

or miles robinson the number 3 pick...whom tata has called excellnt - has 3 career starts.

my point is that MLS is letting players who are good enough for MLS rot on benches...in the interests of protecting teams' rights...all the while not letting teams be truly autonomous and do what they want. its a circus.

 

#1...it's n0ot about the players i mention...i see the problem as SYSTEMIC...so dismissing players i mention doesnt really respond to what im saying...it just deflects. i think MLS is littered with young americans who would have had much more playing time in earlier versions of MLS....who now get no chance to play...partially as a result to how lowly MLS values these players and strategically limits their rights....and does a piss-poor job of developing and cultivating them as a resource. MLS currently acts as if the young players it controls will all turn out the same no matter how it treats them....which is absurd!!

the "they arent playing cuz they arent good enough" argument vastly oversimplifies the situation and i personally wonder if you are just arguing this way to undermine what i'm saying for other reasons. do you work for MLS???

#2. The NFL isnt competing globally for prestige and recognition or players. its the only american fottball league in the world basically (canada doenst really count)....and therefore NFL wasting talent is not a good analogy. i agree nfl wastes a boatload of talent...but NFL can waste all the talent it wants and it wont impact the standing of the us in american football worldwide....whereas MLS wasting talent DOES. BIG TIME.

american talent should be much more valuable to MLS than to the NFL...which is ironic b/c there is basically no foreign talent in the NFL anyway.

#3 even if MLS makes sure all promising young americans get actual playing time in MLS...i realize that not all of them or even most of them will be better off i.e. USMNT...but some surely will! if 5 more americans are assets for the USMNT every cycle as a result of MLS' intervention on behalf of young american players in MLS....that could be the difference between a deep run in a WC or not even making the WC....

what is there to lose???

if wan kuzain can come in and score for SKC...then a bunch of other americans can too.....more americans playing in MLS will not equal a dip in quality of play.

#4 in light of the US missing the WC....it seems you basically propose absolutely no changes to MLS...correct? How can you think that way (if true)???

MLS obviously is FAILING the USMNT...its clear as day.