Will the MLS become one of the biggest leagues in the world in our lifetime?

[chasespace]

As for people complaining that the average American player isn't as good as the average European player, this is slowly changing. With the first true crop of players coming out of MLS academies hitting the fields it's shown that when you actually develop players properly they tend to be better.

 

[Rocko604]

The optimal scenario would've been to weed out the crap markets (which would've happened rather quickly with no cap) and then move them to actual good markets.

Of course, if that was the case the league would've never gone to Canada...although that would've been a good thing as well. MLS is pretty much the worst thing for Canadian soccer.

How so? Not like it we were flourishing without it. It's because of MLS that our national men's team actually has a following in this country. That leads to more revenue which will lead to more resources over time. Not to mention it allows our younger players to develop in a profession academy setting, something that did not exist pre-MLS.

 

[cgf]

MLS academies are all less than 10 years old, of course we're not at a certain level of youth development yet. It's growing pains. MLS is also beginning to realize that investing money at the youth level is what's really going to make the league grow to the heights they claim to want. Signing big name players is great and all (and IMO still needed), but MLS isn't going to really developing into a true top league until the clubs/league REALLY throw money into the academies. I 100% agree that the youth level coaching needs to be better, a HELL of a lot better, but I believe that MLS has lined up partnerships with the likes of the France FA to help development of youth coaches. So you can't say they're not trying.

I think, in terms of development, the real problem is the NCAA. The college soccer season is far too short, the rules aren't to FIFA standard and the NCAA's stance on amateurism really limits what an MLS club can do with their prospects w/o signing them. Not to mention by the time some leave college, they're already 22-24 years old. Players in Europe are already 6-7 year pros at that age. That's where we're really behind IMO. Though, I think with the MLS/USL partnership growing and MLS clubs investing in reserve sides (and we get better coaching), we're going to start seeing more and more top academy kids signing HGP contracts at 16-17 (or go to Europe) and bypassing college. Again, this is going to take time though. The HGP rule has only been in effect since, I think, 2009. In 7 years, the HGP rule has already seen two players get sold to the EPL (Yedlin, Miazga) and has developed numerous other international quality players for various CONCACAF sides. Not to mention there's been quite a few kids from MLS academies/affiliates who've been plucked by European/Mexican sides. You'd have to think that the more MLS throws $$$ at the academies, the more we're going to see really talented players come up trough the system.

As for those who find the league to be of poor play and a joke, that's just your opinion. Is it even close to being the best league in North America? God no. Liga MX usually blows our doors off every CCL (the gap is closing however, just not as quick as MLS likes/thinks). But that doesn't make it bad, it's just a lazy, blanket statement. It's not 2005 anymore. Trust me, I've been following MLS since 2002 and I can confidently say that MLS in 2016 is a billion times of better quality than it was 15 years ago. It deserved all the 'lol MLS is a joke' comments in the early-to-mid 2000's... now? Not so much.

I'm not suggesting there hasn't been growth in the quality of the MLS or american youth development. But it's still so far behind the bigger powers (Spain, Germany, France, etc.); who also happen to be spending more on their youth infrastructure than the US, while growing in that area even faster. That's why that gap won't be closed gradually over time, it'll take the kind of drastic changes that were implemented in Germany after the 1998 WC & funded properly after the 2000 EC...only even bigger; as there's more ground to make up & a much bigger land mass to cover.

That's why I see it as a catch 22. The US can keep growing & rivaling Mexico, but I don't see how it can ever make the break into the top tier without some extremely wealthy benefactor just setting up world class regional academies all by himself. Especially not with how poorly organized & coached youth soccer is in this country, and the obsession with winning instead of development throughout the youth system in the US.

We are in full agreemant about the NCAA's negative impact.

Not having great domestic talent hasn't held the EPL back any.

While a fair rib, participating in the CL/EL & having the kind of money that only chinese clubs can throw around doesn't hurt...not to mention the EPL still has a lot more domestic talent than the MLS, even if it doesn't compare to what's coming out of the biggest soccer powers.

As for people complaining that the average American player isn't as good as the average European player, this is slowly changing. With the first true crop of players coming out of MLS academies hitting the fields it's shown that when you actually develop players properly they tend to be better.

*shrug* the american players who have the talent to someday push for a spot on a major NT are still coming from european academies. Pulisic & Zelalem will play for the US NT, and could help lead your strongest generation yet, but they are the products of german & english academies, not MLS ones. Perhaps Miazga changes this, but I haven't seen enough of him to judge his talent yet.

 

[chasespace]

*shrug* the american players who have the talent to someday push for a spot on a major NT are still coming from european academies. Pulisic & Zelalem will play for the US NT, and could help lead your strongest generation yet, but they are the products of german & english academies, not MLS ones. Perhaps Miazga changes this, but I haven't seen enough of him to judge his talent yet.

No argument about those players but the ones in the class behind them, the current u17's and lower, are being developed predominantly in MLS academies and they have shown to be incredibly talented.

As you touched on as well, the size of the US is it's greatest problem. The population is so spread out that it's incredibly difficult to spot and develop young talent outside of areas that already have top tier academies. Nearly every youth league in the country offers soccer but probably only 5% have the resources and means to spot real talent and know how to help it grow.

 

[Alex Jones]

MLS should follow the J league model. J league is the most improved league in the world over the last couple decades.

 

[varsaku]

This shows there is a lot of potential for the league to grow. The new expansion teams that are joining are coming in with a lot of fans.

 

[Cucumber]

MLS should follow the J league model. J league is the most improved league in the world over the last couple decades.

Curious how do you know this?

 

[SenorDingDong]

Lots of folks under estimating MLS here.

The league has grown significantly even in just the past 5 years.

In 10 years it will be even better. There is more stability in the league financially, David Beckham is building his Miami FC expansion team. It's not plagued with the corruption and scandals of Europe.

I don't know if it will ever become the #1 league, but I would bet in the next 10-15 years or so it will become a top 5 league.

 

[cgf]

Lots of folks under estimating MLS here.

The league has grown significantly even in just the past 5 years.

In 10 years it will be even better. There is more stability in the league financially, David Beckham is building his Miami FC expansion team. It's not plagued with the corruption and scandals of Europe.

I don't know if it will ever become the #1 league, but I would bet in the next 10-15 years or so it will become a top 5 league.

How much are you willing to bet on that?

 

[Elvis P]

How much are you willing to bet on that?

Agreed. I've been hearing that football is going to become huge in the US and the US is going completely metric (you can't buy a gallon of gas or milk) since the 70s. The most popular sports in the US are the NFL, MLB, NCAA football, NASCAR, the NBA, and the NHL. Even the NHL is so relatively unpopular that the Alabama spring football intra-squad game where Alabama players play each other got higher ratings than the first round of the NHL playoffs. I'm a football fan who lived in London in the 70s and I watch the EPL, not the MLS. The MLS is just not going to become a huge deal in the US.

 

[varsaku]

How much are you willing to bet on that?

I bet no one years ago would have predicted that football would pass baseball to become American's passtime, yet here we are. With time people's interests change.

 

[cgf]

I bet no one years ago would have predicted that football would pass baseball to become American's passtime, yet here we are. With time people's interests change.

People's interests can change all they want, but the MLS won't be a top 5 league in the next 10-15 years. The investment they'd need to make in youth development is too massive, and even after those investments have been made, it will take a long time to kick in before the domestic talent is strong enough to support a top league. And then they'll have to somehow convince foreign talents to play in the MLS during their primes, which few top players or players from top nations will want to do.

 

[varsaku]

Crew notebook: Local TV ratings show growth

The Crew has averaged a 0.9 rating for its first 10 broadcasts on the Sinclair Broadcast Group family of local stations (Chs. 6, 28 and 53, the local ABC, Fox and CW affiliates). That is about the same rating that the NHL Blue Jackets averaged on cable-and-satellite-only Fox Sports Ohio last season (0.96, up from 0.87 in 2014-15), according to figures provided by that network. Sinclair group general manager Tony D’Angelo said Crew viewership is growing. The Crew’s past two broadcasts have averaged a 1.45 rating. The past five have averaged 1.1.

 

[cgf]

Crew notebook: Local TV ratings show growth

Exactly.

 

[TheSituation]

No, not with the salary cap as low as it is. People say that Americans are getting better, yet they are still going overseas as they get more money. Just look at Matt Miazga and Bobby Wood. All American born talents, all chose to play overseas.

 

[theaub]

How so? Not like it we were flourishing without it. It's because of MLS that our national men's team actually has a following in this country. That leads to more revenue which will lead to more resources over time. Not to mention it allows our younger players to develop in a profession academy setting, something that did not exist pre-MLS.

Impossible to create a real Canadian league when the three biggest markets are in MLS and there's no realistic way a Canadian league team in those cities would ever draw the same level of player. MLS does nothing for Canadian soccer, right down to the import rule (which is a 'legal issue' but magically doesn't exist in lower divisions like PDL) that basically restrict any mid-tier Canadian players to playing for only the Canadian teams.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

People's interests can change all they want, but the MLS won't be a top 5 league in the next 10-15 years. The investment they'd need to make in youth development is too massive, and even after those investments have been made, it will take a long time to kick in before the domestic talent is strong enough to support a top league. And then they'll have to somehow convince foreign talents to play in the MLS during their primes, which few top players or players from top nations will want to do.

Yeah, this.

 

[varsaku]

Impossible to create a real Canadian league when the three biggest markets are in MLS and there's no realistic way a Canadian league team in those cities would ever draw the same level of player. MLS does nothing for Canadian soccer, right down to the import rule (which is a 'legal issue' but magically doesn't exist in lower divisions like PDL) that basically restrict any mid-tier Canadian players to playing for only the Canadian teams.

Almost our entire CMT u20 rosters is MTL, VAN and TFC academy products.

 

[Brock Anton]

No, not with the salary cap as low as it is. People say that Americans are getting better, yet they are still going overseas as they get more money. Just look at Matt Miazga and Bobby Wood. All American born talents, all chose to play overseas.

Uh, Miazga came up through the RBNY academy, earned a spot in the first team then got a move to Chelsea. That's how it's supposed to work (and I expect the more developed MLS academies become, the more likely we're going to see other prospects do similar).

 

[TheSituation]

Uh, Miazga came up through the RBNY academy, earned a spot in the first team then got a move to Chelsea. That's how it's supposed to work (and I expect the more developed MLS academies become, the more likely we're going to see other prospects do similar).

Uhhh, that's my point. Someone made a point of American being better trained. My point is that's not enough as they end up going to play in Europe. That does little to help the MLS.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

As the league grows in stature they'll be in a better place to keep players like Miazga. Nobody would make the argument that the MLS can offer what Chelsea can today.

 

[Brock Anton]

Uhhh, that's my point. Someone made a point of American being better trained. My point is that's not enough as they end up going to play in Europe. That does little to help the MLS.

It's not like Miazga left to go to someplace in Norway, it was to Chelsea. No sane player would reject that to stay in MLS (ditto for Yedlin-Spurs). Plus, not to mention, Miazga was in the RBNY setup since 2009, I like to think his American coaches had a hand in not only getting him an HGP deal in '13, but also helping him get his move.

At this point, I'd also argue MLS selling a homegrown player to Chelsea does a lot more for the league than said player playing his entire career in MLS. It's a sign of definite growth.

 

[DoyleG]

Almost our entire CMT u20 rosters is MTL, VAN and TFC academy products.

Yet we've gotten nowhere on the international game.

 

[varsaku]

Yet we've gotten nowhere on the international game.

Obviously the first batch won't be as good. Most of these academies have been around for only a few years, with time they will get better and produce better players.

 

[mmk786]

Yedlin made a sound career choice, There were some here who wanted him to stay in the MLS even though he had too much talent. Glad he had a good season.