Lack of good U.S. players is one of the reasons they have had to delay expansion. I've never seen so much flag waving in my life. So much for the MLS brain trust. Absolutely no strategic thinking about how the U.S. market fits in internationally. Four years they have been diddling with trying to attract new audiences with gimmickry instead of concentrating on getting existing fans in the park with a top product.
Development takes time.
And due to the time it takes to fill the pipe, a cost lag that makes the initial few years pretty cheap. Had MLS instituted a youth pro development system four years ago, however small, we might have young stars such as Michael Owen or Nicolas Anelka out there to pack them in. But better to have these young players four years from now than never. To wait another four years to even start, meaning an eight years out to see results, is suicide. It's time MLS got off the dime and did it right.