The US has only set up a workable academy system in the past 6 or 7 years, and it’s only now beginning to pay off. Give it time. The bigger difference is that those countries all have the Champions League, which is as starry as it gets. That’s what attracts the best players. MLS won’t attract the best players without…

You contradicted yourself like four times in two paragraphs. A record.

The reality is it takes a team a long time to gel, and constant overhaul and upheaval don’t actually help. Firing the manager after one year didn’t help.

Pro/rel consolidates power in a handful of hegemonic teams, because it never allows a team to rebuild. The Warriors, Cavs, Raptors, and Thunder would all be bottom-half teams, and the finals would be Lakers-Celtics every year. I’m sure fans would love having no chance to ever win a title.

What the hell are you talking about?

You just said UNC should be in the NBA. Am I being trolled?

lol whatever

Cool comparison of MLS to one of the most loathsome dictatorships on earth.

I mean, they do both. Saying a salary cap induces parity isn’t really debatable. Whether it’s worth doing that at the cost of free-market labor is a debate.

I do it for the love of the game. He does it because he gets paid. You could say he’s a plastic hater, and I’m authentic. That’s the true soccer fan way.

Literally no one thinks MLS is better than the big European leagues.

The Premier League is one of the most watched leagues in the world, and they have had limited to no success in their continental cup either. Their league was won this year by a team that nearly got relegated last year, and the new TV deal is actively pushing the teams to the middle.

Solid point here.

The owners are actually on the record as wanting to increase the salary cap. Part of the reason the players didn’t argue for it during the last CBA negotiation was that they knew the owners wanted it, and instead focused their efforts on getting free agency. That surprised the owners, hence the near-lockout.

I just don’t understand how this fundamentally differs from any other sport?

Didn’t he just describe every sporting event in the world?

world class managers like ... Klinsmann

I actually think the salary cap is what will help them vault into the best leagues in the world, it just needs to be increased dramatically.

As always, Haisley takes an interesting quote filled with nuance - one which raises really intriguing questions about MLS and it’s place in the world - and reduces it into an MLS hit piece.

Why is this a bad thing?