I have criticised MLS.
Hard.
I have criticised USL even harder.
I have called MLS too commercial, too protected and too detached from some of the things that make football matter.
I have questioned USL franchise fees, protected territories, player pathways and the economics of asking owners to spend millions before they have built anything tangible.
Some of the language was brutal.
“Soulless.”
“Closed shop.”
“McDonald’s league.”
I am not deleting those articles.
I am linking them at the bottom of this one.
Because I wrote them.
And I still believe much of the substance.
But I have changed my mind about something more important.
I used to think that if the system was flawed, I had to build outside it.
I no longer believe that.
Criticism Is Not Refusal
There is a difference between opposing bad economics and opposing an organisation.
There is a difference between challenging MLS and believing nothing good can come from MLS.
There is a difference between questioning a $20 million USL entry price and believing USL has nothing useful to offer.
Football is not that simple.
Neither is business.
There are good people inside MLS and USL trying to build football in an extraordinarily difficult market.
I have sometimes criticised the institutions so heavily that this distinction has been lost.
That is worth correcting.
I am not interested in winning the argument anymore.
I am interested in building the Los Angeles Aztecs.
MLS Solved Something Important
I have written before that MLS lacks jeopardy, openness and some of the identity I grew up believing football clubs should have.
I stand by that criticism.
But MLS also created stability.
That matters.
Professional soccer leagues failed repeatedly in America.
MLS survived.
It built infrastructure.
It attracted serious capital.
It created valuable clubs.
It built stadiums.
It created national commercial structure.
It gave investors certainty.
Those things matter.
I can criticise what MLS lacks and still recognise what MLS built.
Both can be true.
USL Has Value Too
I have attacked USL’s economics repeatedly.
My biggest problem remains straightforward.
If an owner has to spend enormous money simply acquiring the right to participate, then still fund the players, staff, academy, stadium, marketing and operating losses, that model deserves scrutiny.
I still believe that.
But USL also provides competition, administration, standards, distribution and infrastructure.
It is moving towards a three-tier professional structure and promotion and relegation.
That matters too.
If I spend years asking organisations to change, I have to acknowledge when they move in a direction I argued for.
That does not erase the criticism.
It changes the conversation.
MLS NEXT Pro Deserves a Serious Look
I used to look at MLS NEXT Pro largely as reserve football.
That was too narrow.
It now includes independent clubs alongside MLS-affiliated teams.
That creates possibilities.
And possibilities deserve exploring.
Not because everything I criticised suddenly became brilliant.
Because I learned more.
Changing your conclusion when the evidence changes is not weakness.
Refusing to change it would be.
Then the Aztecs Became Real
This is the biggest difference.
It is easy to talk about changing football from the outside.
Building something changes your perspective.
A real club needs somewhere to play.
Players.
Staff.
Officials.
Insurance.
Competition.
Commercial partners.
Investment.
Broadcasting.
Development pathways.
Infrastructure.
Opponents.
And supporters who eventually expect you to stop talking and kick a football.
That changes the question.
The question is no longer:
Which league do I agree with ideologically?
It is:
Which platform gives the Los Angeles Aztecs the best chance of becoming a great football club?
That could be USL.
It could be MLS NEXT Pro.
It could eventually involve MLS.
It could be something else entirely.
I do not know yet.
And I am comfortable saying that.
The Mission Has Not Changed
I still believe supporters should matter.
I still believe football should be affordable.
I still hate pay-to-play systems that exclude talented kids because their parents cannot afford the pathway.
I still believe clubs need identity.
I still believe local players deserve opportunities.
I still believe promotion and relegation creates consequence.
I still believe heritage matters.
I still believe a football club should feel like something people belong to rather than something they simply consume.
None of that has changed.
What has changed is how I think we achieve it.
I once thought the answer was building an entirely new system.
Now I think the smarter answer may be simpler.
Build the club properly.
Protect what matters.
Then choose the best available platform.
My Five Tests for Any League Deal
Before the Los Angeles Aztecs commit to any competition, I believe the deal has to pass five tests.
Identity.
The Los Angeles Aztecs must remain the Los Angeles Aztecs.
Economics.
The numbers have to make sense. I will not call a bad deal good because a recognised league offers it.
Supporters and community.
The people supporting the club must have a meaningful relationship with it.
Players.
The club should create genuine opportunities for talented players, including those overlooked by conventional pathways.
Long-term value.
Money should help build something lasting: infrastructure, audience, academy, commercial value and the club itself.
Pass those tests and I will talk.
MLS.
USL.
MLS NEXT Pro.
Anyone.
Fail them and I will walk away.
That is not ideology.
That is doing my job.
I Am Not Trying to Fight the System From Inside
There will inevitably be people who say:
“So now you want to join them and change them from within?”
No.
That is not the objective.
If the Aztecs enter somebody else’s competition, that organisation becomes a business partner.
Good partnerships require respect.
I do not need to destroy MLS.
I do not need to defeat USL.
And neither organisation needs to agree with everything I have ever written.
We simply need to determine whether there is a structure where both sides win.
That is what negotiation is.
What About Everything I Said Before?
Read it.
Seriously.
I would rather people read the original arguments than a cleaned-up version of my history.
Here is part of the record.
The Problem With MLS
The post where I attacked the commercialisation and franchise structure of MLS.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scott-michaels_the-problem-with-mls-is-that-it-feels-like-activity-7266127322393501698-343_
Major League Soccer Solved One Problem in America
Where I gave MLS credit for stability but questioned what had been lost in return.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scott-michaels_major-league-soccer-solved-one-problem-in-activity-7428396876212649984-AWAv
USL Has Built American Football Backwards
My criticism of franchise fees, protected territories and owner risk.
https://scottmatchmakermichaels.substack.com/p/usl-has-built-american-football-backwards
USL Premier: A Closed Asset System Using Open-System Language
Where I argued that promotion and relegation alone does not automatically create an open pyramid.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scott-michaels_usl-premier-is-being-framed-as-a-breakthrough-activity-7421965111315128320-k2IC
The United Soccer League: Warnings Ignored, Investors Questioned, Fans at Risk
One of my strongest criticisms of USL.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/united-soccer-league-warnings-ignored-investors-fans-risk-michaels-6z6le
My Criticism of the College-Professional Pathway
Where I questioned pay-to-play and player development in America.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scott-michaels_the-idea-that-ncaa-college-soccer-are-going-activity-7290314949074059266-UOEC
Why I Thought America Needed the NSL
Where I argued for no franchise fees, no gatekeepers and no closed shop.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scott-michaels_footballisforthefans-nsl-soccerreform-activity-7309665161332609024-XLbA
I am not deleting the receipts.
They are part of how I got here.
Would I use every word again?
No.
Would I withdraw the central questions about ownership, access, economics, identity and supporters?
No.
Those questions still matter.
Now I Have to Build
For years I asked what was wrong with American soccer.
Eventually you have to stop asking.
You have to put something on the pitch.
The do not exist to prove Scott Michaels was right about MLS.
They do not exist to prove USL wrong.
They do not exist to win an argument from three years ago.
They exist because Los Angeles has a football history worth rebuilding.
Because the name means something.
Because the city is big enough for different kinds of football.
Because there are supporters, players and communities who deserve something distinctive.
If an established league can help us build that, I will sit at the table.
If the deal is right, I will shake hands.
I will not pretend I never criticised them.
I will not suddenly become their biggest cheerleader.
I will judge the deal.
That is the position.
The mission has not changed. The route might.
I am not anti-MLS. I am not anti-USL. I am anti-bad deal.
My job now is to build the Los Angeles Aztecs.