We need to talk about Vermes with poll

Exactly correct Kooth. True. ownership didn't spend big money to bring in a couple stars he wanted. But he has certain flaws which make him bad at building a roster. Ownership not bringing in those players does not explain why his choices for U-22s were, at best, 1.5 for 3. They don't explain why he consistently overpays older players, meaning he doesn't have money or roster spots to bring in competetant younger players.
It doesn't explain why we tie up $400,000 in our budget on a player nobody else in MLS was interested in, or the same amount again to re-sign an aging goalkeeper who would not have had any other options. He holds on to players for too long, and in holding on to them turns them into expensive players, which leaves us unable to compete for better mid-range players, leaving us thin.
Most of all, we see again and again, across MLS, clubs with the exact same budgetary restrictions building better rosters.

 

Just as an example: Red Bull, who just eliminated a very good Columbus team on a bit of a roll coming into this series has 4 players earning above the Max or $750.
SKC has 8.
Now, they are hardly the club on which to base a build, but they do have a very clear point to the roster they assemble. Young and hungry, to play a "balls to the wall" pressing game, though this year, that's only most of the time.
It is, however, the sort of system that can be very effective on a budget, as it requires youth and a willingness to work, more than skill. They add their four guys on bigger salaries to add the necessary skill, goal threat, and allow the system to make up for overall talent defensively. They make the playoffs most years, are not really an MLS Cup threat.
They have an outlier wage for an attacker, Forsberg is their version of Pulido, though on much more money, $6m. Still, budget wise, these players both cost $750k.

The difference: There is an absolute point to everyone on the RBNY roster. The SKC roster is just a bunch of (often good) soccer players.