I disagree that it is a separate discussion. If you have unrealistic expectations, they will never be met. With the current crop of talent and the obvious drop off in performance shown by the best players that have moved from Europe to the MLS, you need to be realistic.

The growth of MLS, its stability, growth in revenue, continued growth in investment in youth development and slow but steady increase in quality will be the single most important contribution to the USMNTs future growth or lack there of. No matter what you think of MLS (or for that matter how uniformed you are about…