Then other problems exist. Geography. The country is massive and the ability to “find” top young players and recruit them into the national academy is difficult.

Geography plays a role also in preventing us from developing a distinguishing style of football. Some parts of the country are so brutally hot it resembles much of Central America, others are so cold during the winter it is impossible to play the sport (and thus why it is totally impractical for MLS to play on the same calendar as the PL) so this stifles us, unlike England which is monolithic from a geography point of view and they all play the game the same way on the same pitches at the same times of year.

Then their is a matter of the US federation. The USSF is for the most part run by older elite white guys adverse to opening up the game to latins and inner cities. That’s why some of the best potential American players who are also eligible to play for Mexico choose Mexico, not to mention Mexico is always better than the US so you’ve got a better shot to go deep in the World cup but less of a shot to play. But maybe not, because a bias tends to exist against latino players in the US system.

The federation is content to pocket cash as is SUM, the marketing arm of MLS by hosting friendlies in the US against attractive opponents like Brazil and Argentina. The US plays both of those nations here every couple years as a blatant cash grab and nothing else. SUM despite their ownership by MLS is more tied into Mexican Football and than the US and thus Mexico plays a bunch of friendlies in the US which further promote their product and tempt eligible American born players to play for them or their clubs all of whom are better from an atmosphere standpoint than MLS clubs.

Donovan is our best player and it is not even close. Not even close to being close. Their isn’t a single other American who could even threaten to make a 23 man squad for England, Mexico, Holland or South Korea. I’m not even mentioning real top tier countries like Italy, France, Brazil or Argentina.

This wasn’t always the case. In 2000 the US could have placed many players on both England and Mexico’s team. So in fact we have regressed and nobody seems to notice or care. We have allowed our league very quietly to become a place which Americans are no longer given a chance to develop. It depends on your priorities, and mine is the national team. If you want to see good club football, MLS certainly is improving but I am not willing like many Englishmen who rightfully complain about the PL’s malign impact on the England National Team to compromise our competitiveness internationally to have a decent league. I’m predicting right now that the US will either miss the 2010 or 2014 World Cup if this trend continues. CONCACAF despite its reputation is improving greatly. Right now I am real excited about the potential for Honduras and Haiti to emerge as competitors for the next qualifying cycle and Costa Rica and Panama should be strong also. So the US is in trouble and most of our fans either don’t care and simply watch Euro leagues and act as if their own country doesn’t exist or are too busy waiving the flag saying how good we are. (much like a political debate between right and left) It’s a highly polarized soccer community in the US and what I strive to do is bring some balance and realism to the debate if anyone really cares.

Why do you think the USA is not producing world class players? I happen to agree with you for the most part and it baffles me that we have the resources to be able to compete with anyone on a youth level but then our youth never seem to become world class professionals. It is hard for me to believe that Landon Donovan is the best we have to offer!?
I am also pulling for Fulham to avoid the drop based on their willingness to sign Americans but if they do stay up I would bet it has more to do with the play of Bullard then anyone else on that team.

Going to Europe for a player should be the pinnacle (perhaps when a player has done all he can domestically, but arguable), obvious benefits of going overseas is to improve your trade and to test yourself at a higher level. The point is not exactly “impact” but surely playing or having the chance to play in the PL or championship week in week out is beneficial to a player. Take for example Tim Cahill, he went over plied his trade at Milwall and now he is a star for Everton. Lots of issues involved… many of a case where our young Australians move overseas 15-18 and join youth/reserve setups, with the new a-league we obviously want to keep the talent for our league to be strong but then again do we want to hamper the opportunities out there for our young players….

http://englishsoccertalk.blogspot.com/2008/04/steve-brucegive-man-some-love.html

I wrote that back on the 15th.

I mentioned it in one of Michael’s post about manager of the season. Steve Bruce deserves some platitudes for turning Wigan around in the second half. They’re playing better football and are not as painful to watch. I hope they invest wisely and challenge for a Top 10 spot next season.

Bullard getting healthy has changed Fulham’s fortune.

Another question for everyone. Am I alone in being pleased that Wigan is staying up? It certainly seems that way. I see them as Cinderella and show my Americanism that I root for such a clear underdog to stay up every year.

I agree with what you’re saying about MLS and foreign players but I think you’re being a bit harsh on US players. I don’t think you need to have the “best” player on several different squads to build a strong national team. And in any case, what about Michael Bradley at Heerenveen? Would he not qualify as the best player on that squad? I know a lot of people see the Dutch league as a “lesser” league but largely I think that’s because other leagues have more money to splash around and not so much to do with the on-field product.

I have to say that I have not been overly impressed with Dempsey in the matches I’ve seen. Eddie Johnson has not had an impact yet either but he was a mid-season transfer and I’m willing to wait and see on him.

For me, Jimmy Bullard has easily been the best player on that squad this year. It’s too bad for Fulham that he was hurt for such a large block of the season. I had written Fulham off but they may just pull off an escape yet. Reading are sinking fast and they do not look likely to pick up much in the way of points before the end of the season.

Even minnows like Jamaica, Austria, Qatar, and New Zealand don’t have that problem. MLS was supposed to be our league but now has been over run with foreigners, so don’t be shocked if the US fails to qualify for the next World Cup.

As far as McBride, perhaps you are correct although I have a different opinion. but McBride has retired from international soccer so even if he is Fulham’s best player he doesn’t really count anymore.

As I said if Fulham stays up it will because of Bullard, Davies, Kamara, Staltari and their non American contingent, not because of anyone we have sent over there, particularly our captain Bocanegra.