Requiring MLS teams to have a your academy team was a big step in the right direction. But MLS still doesn't get it. It's right there in the name of the league - Major League Soccer-. Sounds just like Major League Baseball. And they structured the league and how teams acquire players on the MLB/NBA/NFL model using college and a draft. the fact that MLS still has a draft is pretty troubling. The fact that MLS teams are only aloud to sign two players a year from their youth academies is also troubling. MLS's stubborn fixation with emulating other american league structures using college and the draft is hurting our youth development. There are so many rules MLS puts on teams when it comes to scouting and developing talent. Do you think the football association in England tells Liverpool that they cannot sign a youth player from liverpool? or that Chelsea cannot sign a youth player from london? what incentive do MLS youth academias have to develop youth talent when once they are of a certain age MLS will require that most of them be available to the draft anyway? take a look at all the successful leagues in the world. there is no draft. if MLS stopped with all the bureaucratic nonsense and regulations and allowed teams to scout and develop their own talent, move that talent up as they saw fit to the club team and then either sell that talent to Europe for millions of dollars or keep it then we would really start to have pipelines of talent for the national team.
True, there is a lot of nonsense to wade through with MLS. The youth academy one is the most ridiculous because I think there are conditions where another team can actually snag your academy players. At least I remember reading something like that a long time ago. I think roster size, salary cap, and no reserve league hurts as well. With the limited roster size and small salary cap, teams are hesitant to take chances on younger players who may not have an immediate impact on the team. However, I think the league just expanded the roster size to include spots for developing players but I'm not sure on the conditions. Also, the elimination of the reserves league was just stupid. It hurt the league all around because bench players just aren't getting enough games in. But the league may reverse the decision in the coming season. I really think increasing the salary cap to accommodate a larger roster and the return of the reserve league would have an immediate impact for MLS and the development of players.
You bring up some good points but it's a process The last CBA that was just signed took major steps in MLS signing and keeping young players that previously would have gone to Scandinavian leagues simply because of the money. If MLS didn't have these along with several other restrictions on their teams the league would have most likely gone under awhile ago. Like I said, it's a process and when MLS clubs all start making money, more and more will pour into youth developement. They know how it's done, they just don't have the capabilities yet without draining their finances even further.
This Player development is incredibly expensive due to the immense risks involved. As clubs gain a surer financial footing I expect an expansion of the youth academies. The MLS woks at a snail pace but they are advancing.
It's not the fact that a lot of MLS teams don't have the money to put into the youth academies. It's the restrictions MLS puts on them when they do. The restrictions actually make it harder for the teams to develop talent. Follow me on this one. In my first post I said that MLS only allows teams to sign 2 players a year from their youth academy. I did a little research and MLS has raised the restriction to 4. Why does this restriction exist in the first place? Lets say you are DC United and you have just signed Andy Najar from your youth academy to your the main squad and that you have 3 other youth players in the academy that you are high on.Well what incentive do you have to put money into more scouting and training when you already have 3 players in your youth system you consider to be cant miss prospects? And what about the other kids in the academy? why hire better coaches? why upgrade facilities? Why put the money into it when the rules won't allow you to sign more than 4 players a year. And how is that fair to the players when they can't even sign a developmental contract? i could go on and on how this restriction hurts development. We could start with how MLS got rid of the reserve teams and how the restrictions even make it hard to loan a young player to a lower division soccer league so he can get experience. And all this is for what? So MLS can have a player draft every year?