Quote:
Originally Posted by memyselfI
Yes, I fully understand that there are top leagues around the world that are head and shoulders above the MLS. I also understand that soccer has been a tough sell in this country. I also realize this makes for an even tougher sell for the future of the sport if it is the only sport in the US that serves as a feeder to other more prestigious and better leagues. Especially in Europe.
The growth of soccer will hit a wall if the best league in the country cannot keep and attract top talent and is instead welcoming being seen as a farm or minor league here in the US as it already is in much of the world.
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You should find a new sport. All of these teams buying mls talent? They all sell their best players to better clubs. Some of them are quite new to the top league. Stoke is basically midtable mediocrity defined.
But transfers are a fact of life in the game. If you don't sell players, they'll leave for a free and with the club getting nothing. In a lot of leagues around the world the players and club have a tacit understanding that the player will sign a new contract and the club will let them go if any offer comes along. It protects the club and the player. Ajax has acted like that for years now.
People here just expect the same heavily unionized, bargained leagues that we have for our other sports. That's fine, but it doesn't work that way for soccer. Until mls can start making TV money, it'll be like this. Even then, there are tons of leagues in the world growing along with mls. In Brazil, Asia, and so on. There's no ten year plan to being a top league. Just embrace the club culture and have fun