remind me again why we should be looking to anything England does on the development side as an example to follow?

And sorry, there's still these niggling issues like "the current popularity of domestic soccer in the US" that stand in the way of developments like pro/rel.

"Why can't we use USL Pro?"

Let's see, for starters, we still have players in MLS living in rent-controlled affordable housing. Yet if you've been following closely, you may have noticed that the LA Galaxy launched a subsidiary USL Pro team this year (and, not coincidentally, are also about to send the most promising forward prospect in quite some time through to the USMNT in Gyassi Zardes), and next year both Seattle and Portland will be operating subsidiary USL Pro teams as well. MLS is growing the minor leagues, not Klinsmann's negative comments about US soccer.

And beyond all that, have you BEEN to a USL Pro game? Do you have any idea what the state of that league is like? Sheeeeit, one of the Timbers coaching staff still can't walk right because he suffered a severe leg break in a USL game and was unable to receive proper / acceptable treatment immediately following. If it wasn't for the Timbers organization stepping up to take care of him and put him on as a coach, he'd be back in New Zealand with a crippled leg and a washed out soccer dream that never paid squat, years of his life wasted. You think guys are lining up to chase crap like that, instead of steady pay in solid leagues like Scandinavian leagues, Belgian, Dutch, etc.?

And last WC 7 of 11 regular starters were MLS players. Every successive World Cup the number of guys who had starts or were currently in MLS grows. As MLS grows, US Soccer gets stronger. If you really think there's no connect there, you're just not paying attention. Gyassi Zardes and Darlington Nagbe stand to have just as much impact on this team as Julian Green (loaned away from Bayern) or John Brooks (can't get regular minutes wherever he is right now). And they'll get that shot because they get quality PT in MLS.