DISQUS

What irony. After repeatedly ripping American sports as stupid and the rules as a way to manipulate results you turn around and write a piece saying the rules of football should change? Didn't you say a few months ago the beauty of the game was that it was so simple. Perhaps I should stop reading this site if you've allowed the pressure from the American sports lobby to get to you.

Michael what you continue to miss in your very americanized view of the game is that football is a passionate sport whose supporters every move in life is dictated by. Here in the US no equivelent exists. It is disengenous for Americans to preach about these sorts of things that we don't understand. Our lives revolve around being sports fans. Wheras in England football dominates people's daily lives. It is a huge difference.

Good post. I think Fisher is responding to the expecations of FSU fans which is for them to win big this year. Their defense looks good but they still cannot run the ball and have two QBs who need time to develop.

Screw the Galaxy. They'll get theirs in Chicago this week.

A good piece in the NY Times basically agreeing with you that these are all wasted opportunities. Every game the US plays without Jozy we're losing time and ground on our opponents.

Agree with you about 90% of the time, but not here.

Twellman has gotten his chance. Time for Jozy.

Let me correct the record on Puerto Rico. The accomplishment was not that they advanced on a water log pitch at home, it is that they got a draw in Costa Rica. Kartik doesn't seem to point that out here, but I assume that's what he means. MLS sides have nine losses in nine matches in Costa Rica, while the first USL trip resulted ina draw.

Nobody sane would argue USL is better than MLS. But what can be argued and should be argued is that the MLS snob fans that act as if USL doesn't exist, which is most MLS fans I interact with are doing themselves and the game a diservice in this country. They are more fans of a league than the game. MLS teams traditionally have second rate scouting operations and I know of several players that ended up in USL because of this and also because of the salary cap in MLS. Thus USL has a lot more quality than a typical irrelevent second division.

From MLS official website. Makes your point:



Former U.S. manager Bruce Arena once made it part of his player selection doctrine: those prospering and getting minutes in MLS would be favored ahead of European bench riders.

Now, with ever more Americans earning their paychecks abroad -- even if they aren't necessarily getting into the starting lineup, or even getting on the field for their league sides -- current manager Bob Bradley seems to have moved off that platform. He seems more concerned with retaining lineup consistency -- essentially using the same players, whether they are starting for their European clubs or not -- and less concerned with finding players in peak form and fitness due to league play.

Hard to argue the results, with the USA just halfway through second-round qualifying and sitting pretty with three wins in as many matches.

But neither is the evidence difficult to assess. For whatever reason, players from Major League Soccer just haven't had the same influence in terms of occupying starting spots. Four years ago, in the first three matches of second-round qualifying, Arena deployed five starters from MLS clubs in each of fixture.

This time around, Bradley used four starters from MLS sides in the opening match against Guatemala, then put three on the field in subsequent matches against Cuba and Trinidad & Tobago.