MLS’s standard is a reflection of the standard of players in the USA generally. It cannot be improved to a standard that matters by academies. It can only be improved seriously when ordinary adult men play the game well into adulthood. Exactly like in every other country with a decent league.

No the quality of the league is not highly correlated with money. Most players play in the country they are from. If you’re from a country that produces lots of good players because you have a football culture where pretty much everyone plays the game (for their whole lives) then you’ll have a good league. The league…

The schools/college system is one of the biggest reasons that the MLS will never be a serious league. It interferes with footballs natural meritocracy. If you can do the job then you can be a professional no matter what age you are. Why on earth would you go to college when you can be a football player? Life is long.…

It’s worth pointing out that being called up to the Belgium squad doesn’t make you necessarily a good player. Belgium have a very very good team but the squad is pretty thin beyond the first 12-14 players. This is Belgiums golden generation, a once in a lifetime thing where a relatively small country has a genuine…