Lot's of great posts in this thread: Platini, TNJ, Irish Just to add a different perspective . . . there's no guarantee that a talented American player will see the pitch in the MLS. Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't Findley & Buddle spent significant time on the bench over the past couple of years when they weren't injured? Zsetela (sp) has hardly gotten his boots dirty. Didn't Roger do a lot of sitting a couple of years ago? Rolfe (opinions vary as to his quality) has had spotty playing time. Holden needed DeRo to leave before he became a starter. I'm sure there are other examples. (I know I'm getting into the wacky zone, but I'd like to see Lenhart playing regularly somewhere) . There are no guarantees - except that if you're an American defender, you're probably going to get a chance to play. No matter how young/green you are. (see Gonzalez, De La Garza, & a host of others). My post isn't directly responsive to the Original Post. I'm on a bit of a tangent, I know. I'd love to see "U.S. American" players be able to stay home & get a competitive salary. But, the gap is too large right now. If their goal is to develop their game, then U.S. players need to be pretty careful about the type of club they go to. In the short term, Jozy is in a pretty risky situation. And, imo, even in the long term. In the EPL, dry spells for forwards aren't much tolerated. And, just about everyone hit's a dry spell at some point. Would rather have seen Jozy get loaned to a 2nd tier league (France, Holland, Portugal) and I'd rather have seen a similar sitch for EJ. Heck, I'd rather EJ have stayed w/ Cardiff this season. If he got in 25 games w/ Cardiff and was playing good football, it would be hard to keep him off the roster. (Going to Ingerland sure helped McB, though. His finishing and even his ball-holding improved greatly over there)
...again, who is gonna pay them and why? People have to stop looking at MLS as some kind of charity for the US men's team, which quite a few still do, but this attitude has lessoned over the last few years which is a great sign of growth mentally. MLS is a business, and they can't afford to be a welfare state for some of our players who aren't in great situations, but who sure as hell ain't going anywhere because they want to get paid, and really aren't in great demand. Welcome to the real world of soccer US fans. In the long run it benefits us, in the short run it hurts us. It's called growing pains.