I wasn't talking about MLS at all. But for the purpose of developing the future of the USMNT, I pick Spain's tier system in a New York minute. Currently there is no bridge for our youth players to develop and get the minutes they need to reach their full potential. Having more South American imports from first divisions doesn't help American young talent, they are here to sell jerseys and season tickets. Besides, if they are in their 20s and were at a better level, they would in Europe, not here. The young South American players, African players, Asian players, Arab players (etc) that are going to Spain to play in 3rd and 2ndB are the future of the sport. US prospects need to be in an environment like the one Spain offers (so Spain or elsewhere in Europe) to flourish. For the purpose of finding an ideal environment for US players to flourish, I am as interested in MLS as I am in the India Superliga, or the Chinese League. Also, for the purpose of development and a future career in the sport, if I had to pick between Betis, Las Palmas, Sevilla, RCD Espanyol, Hercules, or any of the teams in Tercera (what you call a Sunday league), I would rather invest the time in this 10-month relegation/promotion season than at a couple of moths PDL summer camp, or a 3 month Div 1 College league; or USL D3; or USL Comparing the US current system to the tier system in Spain is like comparing apples to elephants . There is no point: -A hand Full of Division 1 college teams that play in a three month season, and a shorth PDL league -USL 3D- coming soon to a forgotten town near you -USL- Surplus MLS players welcome except for a few B MLS teams offering little chance for growth to young players. -MLS- where the best players aren't American This is a broken system at best. But I'm not the only one saying that: “If Christian Pulisic only had a U.S. passport, I’m firmly of the belief — and you’ll laugh at me — that based on history, he would be playing regular minutes in the USL and getting the occasional minutes in the MLS at 18.” —Rob Moore https://www.theringer.com/2018/2/28/17046268/soccer-christian-pulisic-rob-moore-agent-usmnt-america
Honestly as pathetic as it is... I could easily see tercera teams beat MLS teams. They are more technical and tactical.
Great talent will become soft when it's not tested against other great talents. Atlanta United is the best franchise in MLS by far, the question is how much is MLS and it's closed system truly holding them back?
Which is why raw talent needs to be developed in the right environment. Check this out! This is part two of a three-part series with Hugo Perez. In this episode we will discuss the importance of Positive Mental Attitude for American players hoping to succeed in European leagues, and how PMA is instrumental in developing higher-level players. https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/rethinkingfootball/episodes/2018-03-05T14_14_41-08_00
Currently, I would take German 4th Division Regionalliga over MLS, but if MLS instituted Pro/Rel with USL, it is hard to imagine USL not being on par or just below the B2 in a couple years. What people are not considering here is that with Pro/Rel a team in Little Rock who is located in a state that hasn't produced a single MLS level prospect in the history of its statehood will have a top shelf free academy that will produce a few world class players a decade.
For some, yes. Based the previous posts in this thread by some who liked it, Balerion is exactly right.
Very true but I still prefer satire and sarcasm without the smileys. I remember being told a long time ago that if you have to tell someone it is a joke, it isn't a very good joke....I find it hard to break from that habit. It, of course, can cause me trouble because many of my jokes and most of my satire is not very good.
All joking aside with a pro/rel environment:: A team like Wigan eliminates Guardiola's Manchester City in the FA Cup A Team like Mirandes (with a 6M budget) can eliminate 4 LaLiga Teams including RCD Espanyol resulting in Pochetino's firing Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa can go from from Tercera, to 2nB to eliminating FC Barcelona B to get to Liga123. Can this happen with MLS's close system? never. The MLS and the Indian Superliga work more like the UFC than a European league. And, it won't happen when teams like St. Louis FC hire a high School Coach for their first 2 season in USL (but who cares right?! after all the team sold out both seasons). This reminds me of a conversation I had with a USL GM that told me he rather spend $125K on a good Marketing guy to sell tix than on a player that would win the league for him. And, another MLS/USL team coach that told me he wants "16 year-olds the size of 28 year olds (because) people like seeing big strong guys on the pitch" when I asked him about what profile players he was seeking.
Do You understand the reason for a closed system right now? The old NASL league failed because smaller market teams went into huge amounts of debt in order to compete with the Cosmos. They spent way more money then the revenue they were bringing in. Up until recently, most MLS clubs were struggling financially. A closed system was needed in order to prevent NASL 2.0. Now that MLS is becoming more stable, they can take the training wheels off slowly
This is absolutely false. MLS made owners paid big buck franchise fees to get in the MLS system. They arent going to just let PRO/REL happen...... the only reason why there isn't a Pro/Rel at this point is that the lawsuits against MLS would be astronomical and MLS doesn't have large enough sponsorship and TV Deals to guarantee any form of payback plans to the owners. The slow death of soccer in this country WHICH IS HAPPENING lays squarely on the shoulders of Don Garber and Sunil Gulati. Here in MN the DA and US Soccer looks to be taking away the DA from Minnesota Thunder Academy (Mukwelle Akale, Jackson Yueill, Eric Contreras, Eric Miller, Cody Cropper etc.) leaving just Minnesota United as the only DA game in town. The issue? The coaching staff at Minnesota United has never developed a single pro prospect....$$$ is winning out on every level of the game here in the states and it's because there is a closed system without the checks and balances of a real system that promotes those who are good at developing talent. Look at how much money Borussia Dortmund has made over the last few years developing and selling talent.... that is not possible here. Saying Pro/Rel would not work here is like saying that democracy does not work and communism breads economic growth.
No. I'm saying that there is no system right now in the U.S. that would encourage a USL team to have a strategic plan that would allow the team to move up in category and compete in MLS.
Well, my top 5 dart throws are looking good so far. Of course it's way too early to "predict" anything for 2022. But semi educated guessing is always fun.
I wanted to bump this thread and see if anyone wanted to do a list. This thread kind of got off topic for a while but with a new European season starting and many of our kids going overseas, as well as a couple very talented 03s or later starting to emerge, I wanted to see if anyone wanted to take another shot at a list so we can all debate and discuss (and hopefully do our own lists, too). For the sake of conversation, let’s all assume that guys like Pulisic, McKennie, and Adams are professionals at this point and don’t fit the “prospect” tag for what we want. It will be way more fun to see where guys like Reyna and Soto land than guys who have somewhat established themselves as pros.
I don't know how much it really matters to rank the U-23 guys like Pulisic, McKennie, Palmer-Brown, Carter-Vickers. We've all seen them play a lot, and they aren't really prospects anymore anyway. Among U-20's: 1. Carleton 2. Weah 3. Pomykal 4. Durkin 5. Amon 6. Adams 7. Soto 8. Sargent 9. McKenzie 10. Garces 11. Richards 12. Gloster 13. Lindsey 14. Taitague 15. Ledezma 16. Scott 17. Sands 18. Servania 19. Lopez 20. Hundley HM: Muse, Dest, Perez, Goslin, Mendez I posted my opinion in the other thread for the players from '01 on.
I’d kind of prefer to see an “overall” list. Part of the fun is trying to decide between guys like Nyeman and Carleton or Konrad and Weah.