Quote:
Originally Posted by shermanator
While it's disappointing that Vancouver is not fielding more Canadians, Russell Teibert has pretty much locked down a spot in the starting 11, and is quickly becoming a very talented midfielder. I would say that he, and Jonathon Osorio at TFC, are the best young Canadian players in MLS right now.
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Teibert has been phenominal. I know we have debated it before, I truly believe that it is unrealistic for Vancouver and Montreal to field a lot of Canadians because the clubs are relatively new to the MLS. In a few years we will start to see the results of the academies, but certainly not yet.
Interestingly, Toronto has always fielded a number of Canadians and their on-field record has been nothing short of abysmal over the years. A once-enthusiastic fan base has waned over the years and they are running out of patience. Obviously the club is in no danger of folding due to the deep pockets of MLSE, but they are starting to lose the public's attention. "But we play lots of Canadians" isn't going to help ticket sales, TV viewers, or the overall health of the franchise. Meanwhile, both the Impact's (Bernier) and the Whitecaps' (Teibert) top Canadians have each played more minutes than any of the Canadians on Toronto. Obviously this is a massive oversimplification, but it does beg the questions: in the current environment, is favouring players based on nationality over ability detrimental to on-field success? And will on-field success result in higher profile for pro soccer in Canada and eventually a more successful culture of development with the help of the academies? I answer yes and yes, and I think that the Canadian MLS clubs need to focus on winning now, investing in player development, and then start signing the next generation of Canadian players.
Handing out a patronage appointment to a Canadian isn't helping the national program - if that player can't cut it based on his own abilities, the we've already failed. I'd love to see more Canadians playing professionally in Canada, and the resulting benefits to the national team, but it all starts with development. A third-year MLS club simply hasn't had enough time to develop anyone.
All of that aside, I do think that the MLS needs to fix the inequality of domestic/foreign regulations between the Canadian and American clubs. A Canadian on an American team counts as a foreigner, whereas an American on a Canadian team counts as a domestic. If Canadians were to be treated as domestics on the American-based teams, there would be more opportunities for them to play professionally on this continent.