Over the offseason, Atlanta United spent more than $30 million in transfer fees to bring in striker Emmanuel Latte Lath (MLS-record $22 million) and club legend Miguel Almiron (about $10 million).
Through Matchday 10, they're off to their worst start in club history. A season predicted by many (including myself) to be their long-awaited bounce-back campaign has been anything but.
Meanwhile, up in Vancouver, something truly special appears to be brewing. A Whitecaps club not known for splashy spending – and whose biggest offseason move was the departure of DP midfielder Stuart Armstrong – have been pretty comfortably the league's best team this season (even with star midfielder Ryan "Scottish Messi" Gauld out with injury for most of it). Over in the Eastern Conference, the famously low-spending Philadelphia Union have been running back mostly the same side from Jim Curtin's final season and once again look like an upper-tier side in the league in Year One under Bradley Carnell.
The common threads I see between clubs like Vancouver and Philadelphia are pretty simple: They're well-run. They have clear styles and identities that they believe in and know how to recruit for. In the Union's case, they've become a juggernaut of youth development with arguably the best academy in the country. They have infrastructures that provide a solid foundation before you even get to who the big-money, star players are.
I don't bring this up to suggest that spending doesn't matter; I more just think it's interesting how different clubs carve out different paths to success. For clubs like Vancouver and Philly (and I would put Seattle in this category), the foundation, culture, and commitment to youth development are roots of why they're successful. I would argue that even the spendier clubs such as Inter Miami and LAFC share many of those same attributes, while clubs like Atlanta and Toronto FC don't.
Splashing cash matters. It just isn't everything.
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Catching up on Sounder at Heart
Here's what you missed on the site this week.
Sounders
Next match: Saturday, May 3 vs. St. Louis CITY SC | 7:30 pm PT | MLS Season Pass
- Postgame Pontifications: What I think I know through Week 10
- Lobbing Scorchers Kickoff: Can Jesús Ferreira & Albert Rusnák play together?
- Rapids vs. Sounders: Highlights, stats and quotes
Reign
Next match: Friday, May 2 vs. KC Current | 7:30 pm PT | iON
- Reign split points with Bay FC
- The Cooler Guild: Battle in the Bay brings home a point
- Three stats: Seattle Reign vs. Bay FC
- Reign vs. Bay: Highlights, stats, quotes
Defiance
Next match: Friday, May 2 at Ventura County | 7 pm PT | YouTube
Looking back at the news
Everything else you need to know
Longtime member and former ECS co-president Tom Biro was in an accident last night and is hospitalized. He cannot have visitors at this time. If you would like to do something to help and are able, please donate. Tom needs our support, let's rally behind him. bloodworksnw.org/donate/eligi...
— Emerald City Supporters (@weareecs.bsky.social) 2025-04-29T00:09:52.577Z
- NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Gotham takes flight, shorthanded Spirit survive Pride (Pro Soccer Wire)
- After nearly being promoted, Wolves Women discover club never applied for promotion (Pro Soccer Wire)
- What We Learned from Matchday 10 in MLS (MLSSoccer)
- Diego Luna levels up, Sebastian Berhalter is legit & more from Matchday 10 (MLSSoccer)
- A lower-division league is good for women’s soccer. But is NWSL’s proposal the solution? (The Athletic)
- NWSL, USL Super League or NSL? Minnesota Aurora FC are set on going pro (Sports Illustrated)
- NWSL Power Rankings: Gonzalez key to NJ/NY Gotham FC's rise (ESPN)
- MLS investigating discrimination in Vancouver win over Minnesota (ESPN)
- D.C. United owns Paul Pogba’s discovery rights (The Athletic)
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