I'm not particularly worried about swapping the fringey foreign players for fringe MLS players. I agree that Klinsmann at times showed an odd loyalty to certain individuals (nobody detests Chandler more than I do) but all managers end up doing this to some extent.
My despair is that I think Hex qualification is relatively straightforward. So I assume Arena will get it done, then if we get a decent draw in Russia and he gets us out of the group stage, then what? We stick with him? Or we continue down the MLS manager path? Like was said earlier, I worry that we'll consider the "step up" to European ambition as a tried and failed experiment and simply move on.
The rest of Concacaf has gotten much better in the past few years, imo, but I think we exist in a perpetual danger of being good enough to fool ourselves into thinking we are better than we actually are. While I know Klinsmann took a lot of heat for his prioritization of players moving to and playing in Europe, I think it was entirely appropriate because it pushed and challenged the players to be better. Now, it didn't work out for Jozy and it isn't looking great for Miazga right now, either, but I think giving it a go and trying to find a way to compete in a more technical and more competitive environment is a worthwhile goal and one that I really want our NT coach to push on the players. I can see a lot of that mindset going away under our own insecurity in trying to justify the worth and prestige of our own national league vis a vis these other leagues in Europe. I see it as short sighted and foolish.
Some good points here. A few of my own thoughts:
1) On players: I'm not too worried about it. Klinsmann isn't the first US manager to applaud players going to better leagues abroad and he won't be the last.
The players generally want it, too, because that's where the real money is. The mega-contracts that Americans in MLS have received (Dempsey, Altidore, Bradley) all went to players with extensive experience in Europe in the first place. For American players who are MLS lifers, so far nobody has done better financially than guys like Besler, Zusi, and Beckerman who are locally popular one-club players (not KB, but he's been at RSL for nearly a decade) who were able to cash in on some World Cup cachet. All are making in the $750k range. You can make a lot more in England. I bet Yedlin is making a lot more in the Championship.
I expect there to be a steady flow of players from MLS to European leagues for that reason. MLS clubs have been willing to sell young talent like Miazga and Yedlin for reasonable fees. LA sold Gonzalez to Pachuca and Dallas has sold two academy products to Mexican clubs. Not American, but DC sold academy product Andy Najar. KC was willing to part with Palmer-Brown in a loan-with-an-option-to-buy deal to Porto. Others leave on frees.
More significantly, a TON of good young American players are bypassing MLS entirely. The current U-20 generation of players born in 1997 and 1998 has left for foreign clubs in droves. Pulisic (Dortmund), Zelalem (Arsenal), Perez (Fiorentina), Akale (Villarreal), McKennie (Schalke), Wright (Schalke), Gaines (Wolfsburg), Lennon (Liverpool), Olosunde (Manchester United), de la Torre (Fulham), Sabbi (Las Palmas), Koreniuk (Vitesse), and others, too.
It's early days, but MLS has done a little better so far with 99s and 00s, but that's largely because players can't move before their 18th birthday unless they have the right passport. Signing a four-year pro deal at 15/16 means that you can be sold at age 18/19 or walk on a free at age 19/20. I expect the 99s and 00s who progress well will make the leap, too.
From what I understand, there has been a significant uptick in foreign scouts keeping tabs on the Development Academy in the last few years. More will bypass MLS. One of our most highly-regarded 99s, Nick Taitague, will sign for Schalke when he turns 18 next year.
2) The post-2018 manager question is a real mystery right now. I'd hope that the USSF keeps an open mind and explores and weighs all foreign and domestic options fairly. If the Klinsmann Era created any reflexively-anti-foreign-manager sentiment in the USSF, hopefully 18 months of Arena will buy enough time for that to fade away.