The US really screwed the pooch with Adu. The kid has all the talent in the world but they had him stay in the MLS instead of letting him cut his chops in training with a European team. They should have put him in a great youth academy and let him compete day in and day out with equally talented individuals.
I remember a great article on ESPN soccernet a while back about the US youth setup changing it's way to the "Everton Way". What the article was getting at is that youth teams in the US are focused way too much on the results in competitions, as opposed to letting the players develop. Tactics outweighed player development, and it had hindered the chances for many talented players to grow. They also wanted to remove the American way of substitutions (i.e. sub out and back in whenever you can).
I'm excited for the next bunch of American talent to come in the next 10-15 years. We have a kid right now who is in the Arsenal youth ranks, and hopefully he will develop playing with great youth players everyday.
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