Except for that last year, yeah. And it's ridiculous to say "they were so bad they got rid of them," because it shows a stunning lack of understanding of what actually happened. The Mutiny had no owner. The league (the other investors, collectively) owned them (and Dallas, and, for a time, San Jose), but after six years of that, as part of the changes after 2001 that brought forth SUM and the World Cup rights scenario and the rest), it was decided "no more league-owned teams." Hunt stepped up and took over Dallas. The lease with the Tampa Sports Authority was onerous, and the Mutiny had little chance (at least in MLS 1.0) of being viable. The Glazers were not convinced it was a good investment (and, at the time, it was hard to fault them for that) and Steinbrenner could not be convinced to do it, either (despite his love for all things Tampa). No owner, no team. And Ken Horowitz, despite having the most successful and entertaining team on the field, didn't have the stomach for the cash calls anymore. He didn't see a way forward (unlike the others, whose vision - or hubris or stubbornness - was more robust) and called it quits. Goodbye, Fusion. It is simply not true that the franchises were so bad the league got rid of them. The combination of circumstances made the restructuring necessary. Those who were around in January 2002 (a full five months before SOCCER WAS INVENTED HERE) remember it as a painful time, with many saying the league would fold any day, or surely by 2003. Not everybody agreed, but we were in the minority, it seemed. But the Mutiny and Fusion weren't the worst franchises in league history.
Poor Toronto FC. I actually make it a point to watch each of their games (condensed) hoping they will win, because hell, their fans deserve it. But they continue to prove themselves more of an embarrassment to the city than Toronto's illustrious crack-smoking mayor Rob Ford. (Well, maybe not as much as that...)
MetroBulls, and not so much the current Bulls (who have a made some clear strides to improve the sport and fan following), but the Metros who were just epically tragic. There are 7 Elevens with better management, less turnover and more consistency than the Metros franchise. The potential that should have been inherent in fielding The MLS club in New York was completely pissed away for quite awhile. You can't top that sort of fail. Runner Up: Miami Fusion (Do your homework Becks. Tampa Bay is the better play.)
Brand new article on this topic: "Which MLS Team Is The Most Dysfunctional?" http://blog.sbnation.com/2013/7/17/4533086/which-mls-team-is-the-most-dysfunctional
Brand new thread on this topic too "CD Chivas...": https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/cd-chivas.1990841/
FC Dallas - The Kansas City Chiefs of MLS. A strict "Let's go for the playoffs!" mentality. Rarely horrible, but never champions. First team to have a DP run off the field (Denilson). Present DPs include legends Fabian Castillo and Erick Hassli. It's not that Dallas is bad. It's that it's all been so halfass.
...except that neither is actually a DP. Their DP is a player that you didn't actually deign to name, even though he was league MVP in 2010.
Toronto FC is clearly the worst since existence. Chivas USA is the worst in comparison to other MLS teams. New England Revolution is the worst in MLS Cup Finals. New York Red Bulls is the worst in success in relation to their star players + existence.
What Toronto needs to do is give all player decisions over to Garber. He vetoes half of their acquisitions as it is. Toronto is under the illusion they control their team. All the do is sell tickets.
Trivia: Since 2007, TFC have finished above Chivas just once during Regular Season (2010). TFC have never made the playoffs, while Chivas made it 4 seasons-straight in 2006-09. Chivas also topped the Western Conference in 2007, just 2 points off the Supporters' Shield.
So far as I know, the only one that has happened. It probably also knocked some sense into them, and started the motions for Payne's arrival. As for attendance, it certainly isn't what it used to be, but far, far out draws Chivas USA. The biggest stand at the stadium (and often times most full aside from the south end) is the west stand, it's double decked and has the press box, Broadcast booth, etc. and subsequently not on camera very often. http://instagram.com/p/cAEwb_LTES/ Toronto, like most major NA cities, is also currently a nightmare to get around, more so around downtown due to it being construction season. Games are empty compared to the 15th onward at kickoff.
Last time I checked Toronto wasn't drawing 7k people. Toronto is a successful franchise it just sucks on the pitch. Chivas sucks both on and off the pitch aside from a 2/3 years.
I'd nominate Miami and Tampa Bay, surely. There is a reason they are gone. Of the teams still remaining, Toronto for sure. On the field, they've been unprecedented in their ineptitude even though they've been great in attendance though I loved putting down the grass. Chivas next. Then NYRB. Then Dallas/NE. EDIT: A couple more years of Chivas sucking, or some on the field improvements in TFC (actually making the playoffs) and we'd have a new leader among the teams left. Still, Miami has to be #1, Tampa #2.
The confusing nature of MLS roster rules notwithstanding, both Castillo and Hassli came into the league under DP contracts ("young DP" in Castillo's case). FWIW, Wikipedia still has them listed as current DP players although I couldn't find other confirmation as to whether they are still regarded as such officially
Worst ever just by going by on the field results = Toronto hands down. No one has been as consistently bad. Adding in other things like attendance, FO ineptitude, etc. and Chivas becomes a contender. Those should be the only two really in the discussion. Other teams have had their bad years (or bad run of years) on and off the pitch, but at least have some positives to balance the equation out a little more over time.