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Two issues, in my mind, that MLS has is quality of play across positions and then depth. The salary cap and crazy rules that MLS employs to bring players in does the following:
MLS now has access to some high quality players.
-All teams can have 3 really high quality players now, and then a couple more really good ones.
-This means half of the starting line up is really good, but then the salary cap restricts the teams ability to fill out the rest of the team.
-Each team needs to make significant trade offs on where it will be strong and weak
The salary cap affects depth. The team is already making trade-offs on the starting line up, so imagine the trade offs being made for bench players. These guys are normally really young or may have significant deficiencies in their game. If a starter gets hurt or needs a rest, the team suffers the most. It must be a really difficult balance to set a team in the MLS.
Last, the salary cap restricts the ability of the top clubs to become elite within the league, which also hinders their ability to succeed against international power teams, like in Mexico. The salary cap allows these teams to be only so good.
Until the salary cap expands a bit more, or the minimum salary goes up, MLS will just have glaring weaknesses in their teams.
5 years ago they had 1 or 2 famous players in the league. Now they're receiving 2 or 3 new stars every season. Obviously the average player is still bad when compared to those other leagues, but I think it's soon going to change.
Guys who are 35+ don't count, and it certainly doesn't make the league a top 5 in the world because of it.
Guys who are 35+ don't count, and it certainly doesn't make the league a top 5 in the world because of it.
I don't know, some of the old guys are still high quality to me:
-Drogba is 37 but still plays high quality, 1 year removed from Chelsea and while limited in minutes he still changed games
-Pirlo looks a lot slower than he used to, but just led Juve to the Champions league last year
-City didn't want Lampard to go just a few months ago
The fact that 35+ year olds can come here and still tear a league apart show how bad the league actually is. If these guys are here at 25 years old yeah, then we can talk about MLS being a top 5 league but not at 35.
The fact that 35+ year olds can come here and still tear a league apart show how bad the league actually is. If these guys are here at 25 years old yeah, then we can talk about MLS being a top 5 league but not at 35.
Bringing good old players is the first step to start bringing good young players.
Of the older guys that have come here, here are a few of my observations from the few games I watched:
Guys that are doing well in the MLS:
Keane
Drogba
Villa
Guys that are just okay in the MLS:
Gerrard is okay
Lampard is okay
Kaka is okay
Pirlo is okay
Maloney was okay
Jermaine Jones is about the same as expected
Thinking about it, there have been many failed designated players in the MLS, it is pretty amazing.
The salary cap cannot go up much higher until the league is more mature, ratings go higher and TV deals get bigger. This takes time. For TV to pay a lot of money they want the popularity to increase. It makes sense to me.
In the grand scheme of it all MLS is still a baby. Too many fans want to compare MLS with the top leagues in the world that have decades upon decades on the MLS. These leagues' academies are also very well established. It took decades and decades for these leagues to get where they're at now (England, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc.). IMO, MLS has done a great job in the short time it has been around. Also, almost every team has their own stadium, too.
1. La Liga
2.Bundesliga
3.Serie A
4. EPL
5.Ligue 1 (tie)
5. Serie Brazil
6. Liga MX
7 Eredivisie
8 Primera Division Argentina
9.Primeira Liga Portugal
10 Premier League Russia
11. MLS
1. La Liga
2.Bundesliga
3.Serie A
4. EPL
5.Ligue 1 (tie)
5. Serie Brazil
6. Liga MX
7 Eredivisie
8 Primera Division Argentina
9.Primeira Liga Portugal
10 Premier League Russia
11. MLS
England 4th, Mexico 6th, USA 11th
Mexico is 14th-17th and USA is 18th-21st.
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