From the moment that it was announced MLS teams would begin fielding reserve squads in the USL, there have been grumblings about the unfairness of it all. At first, there seemed to be a belief that those teams would have built-in advantages, that they could stock their rosters with MLS-caliber players and simply outclass their opponents.
Over time, though, that evolved into a different concern somewhat on the other side of the spectrum. Now, the rumblings are that MLS-backed teams aren’t competitive enough, that they are filling their rosters with academy products and young prospects who are outclassed by their grown-ass man opponents.