(Editorial) – Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League have benefited fruitfully from their short but ever-developing relationship. MLS continues to see improvements in player development with help from USL affiliations. The USL continues to expand. Underrated Carribean and domestic talent is flocking to the league.
MLS 3.0: USL-to-MLS Short Term Loans and Integrity of USL Competition
There are questions from the USL purists about the interactions between the two leagues and how they impact the integrity of competition in the league. How can these two leagues continue to develop their mutually beneficial relationship without turning the USL into a purely minor league (read: MLS Reserve League 2.0)?
New Roster Rules Benefit Everyone For The Most Part
Several roster rules were added or changed for the 2016 season. The USL expanded their roster to include up to five Academy Players. USL-to-MLS short term loans were added. MLS also elaborated on Extreme Hardship and USL protected players.
The Academy Player rule can only be good for all parties. USL academies are still in their infancy for the most part, but the clubs now have a way to give their first products a chance to play professionally. The rules also allow high school graduates a chance to train for the summer before going off to start college.
On the MLS side, their academy products are also eligible to be Academy Players for their USL affiliate. USL teams that cannot fill these five spots can get additional loaned players from their MLS affiliate.
The Short Term Loan Rule
On initial look, the short term loan rule seems a bit bizarre. With the limitations however, it is beneficial and hard to abuse. MLS teams can sign players from their USL affiliate for up to four days. They can sign a total of four short term loan deals (16 days total) in a season. These players can play in CONCACAF Champions League, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and exhibition matches.
These players cannot play in league matches. These loans allow MLS teams a chance to get some extra depth when their upcoming schedule is congestion. Furthermore, this rule helps MLS sides add depth for two tournaments: Champions League group stage, and Open Cup. This is badly needed in some cases.
Possible Conflicts of Interest?
The only possible conflict of interest is if MLS teams are signing players for Open Cup when their USL affiliate is also still in the tournament. The MLS team could be hording players that would otherwise be cap-tied with the USL side. These players also might not even come off the bench for the MLS side, when they could be helping the USL side make a splash in the tournament.
We did not see any case of that this past week during the fourth round of the Open Cup.
Still, with only four of these allowed all season, it forces MLS teams to use them wisely and it limits the potential abuse of the benefit. These also give the USL players a pseudo audition opportunity, playing alongside MLS players.
Potential Loopholes Affecting The Integrity Of USL Competition
The MLS II teams benefit the MLS teams who can invest that money tremendously. They can appoint their own staff to run the entire team. They can control how much their academy players and season-loaned players play.
They can also sign players to USL contracts who they may have interest in. They can see how these players size up against their academy kids to see if they want to sign them to the first team. Daniel Steres‘s story validates the value of this process.
USL: Development or Competition?
The bad part about this is that the MLS II teams and their coaching staffs may prioritize development over competition. USL teams have five substitutions for league matches. They could be subbing in academy products and loaned players that are not as good as some other bench players. In that, they could be focused on giving their MLS team’s players priority over actually winning the game.
Of the 12 teams that made of the USL playoffs last year, only three were MLS II clubs. Five of eight MLS II teams missed the playoffs. That said, seven of those eight clubs were in their first year of existence last season. In another year or two, the organizations should improve (like most expansion teams do). Hopefully they find a balance between development and winning as well.
Conditioning Stint Rules
The rules for MLS teams loaning players for conditioning stints is also ambiguous. We’ve seen a number of MLS teams loan down players as they are coming back from injury. Similar to the USL-to-MLS short term loans, it would be nice to see some specifications on this. Perhaps a time limit could be put on these loans, say 2-3 games at most or a limit based on the number of days the player trains with the USL team.
There could also be a limit on the number of players an MLS team can loan down to their USL affiliate at any given time, or provide a reasonable limit on the number of non-season long loaned players. We’ve seen some cases of MLS teams loaning as many as 11 players down for their MLS II team’s game. If this became a regular practice, it would turn the USL into a reserve league of players who do not make the 18 for the first team each weekend.
We’ve yet to see any MLS team truly be abusive with the above, but it would be nice to get some transparency to see that the rules limit if not close the loopholes. MLS has a bad history with lack of transparency. The USL roster freeze does protect the integrity of the USL playoffs, if nothing else.
That said, until Didier Drogba is spending a month with FC Montreal, the integrity of competition in the USL is intact for the most part.
MLS ‘Discovery Claim’ With USL Priority Players
The USL Priority Player Rule is possibly the most interesting rule added for 2016. Essentially, it allows MLS teams to place priority (think Discovery Claim) on three players of on their USL affiliate’s roster.
MLS teams with a USL affiliate can claim the MLS right to the most talented players on their USL team’s roster. MLS teams with an MLS II team can effectively use their roster spots to try out players they were interested in but were not able to claim the rights to otherwise. This allows MLS clubs to protect potential assets that are developed along side their Academy and loaned players.
Photo By Bill Twomey Photography
