Our readers have already read a few stories about the Klinsmann/Garber mud-slinging affair. Don Garber finally took the bait, as Klinsmann had spent the better part of 6 months goading him into a war of words.

For instance, Klinsmann begrudgingly took a whole host of MLS players to the World Cup, only to watch them put in some of the ugliest performances the side has ever seen. Yes they got out of the Group Stage, but it wasn’t pretty. Oh, and out of all the MLS players he did take, he left behind Garber’s pride and joy, Landon Donovan.

This past week, more poking. The media has given Klinsmann a willing megaphone to shout at Garber and MLS, and he did. He even went down the pro/rel highway, which is the MLS equivalent of the nuclear option. Garber had no choice but to fire back.

While this may be a good hornet’s nest from the age-old PR standpoint, “There’s no such thing as bad press,” it really does nothing for development. It’s just a bunch of words meant to stir up passion in each man’s adversary.

Klinsmann has little influence over the course of MLS – unless Garber sees some fruit in all the mud being slung.

Reading between the lines, Klinsmann’s frustration is that MLS is more about profile and less about development. Griping about Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley is productive, if one thinks that the money spent on these players’ salaries would be better served elsewhere. TV ratings for MLS haven’t changed much even after these mega-signings for the league.

So let’s move to the pro/rel issue briefly. It’s not happening. Klinsmann knows that, at least not in the foreseeable future. But he also knows that you can never get to pro/rel without having an advocate, and without taking some preliminary steps. Klinsmann is the biggest pro/rel advocate the pyramid has seen in years.

The first step is not even splitting up the single entity, but rather ensuring every team has its own owner-operator. We don’t even have that in this league, with the Houston Dynamo still being owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group. Now that Chivas USA has been sold and mothballed for a couple of years, Garber’s next step would be to aggressively seek out a new owner for the Dynamo.

Additionally, the league must clean up its acquisition system. Garber needs to lead the way in challenging owners to be more aggressive and less collusive in the acquisition process. Whether that means free agency for players or not, the rules are meant to be set up so MLS teams don’t fight over players. That kind of jostling may cause issues for smaller market teams to lure players, but this is a natural progression for a league that needs to increase its marketability.

That may cut to the heart of the issue, not only for Klinsmann but also for MLS and Garber. Right now, the biggest teams in MLS aren’t enough of a draw. For MLS to make the gains they want, they may need to resign themselves to the development of have’s and have-not’s. That’s something MLS has avoided in the past. But look at overseas leagues, and which teams get the big ratings on the national scale. It’s the have’s.

In MLS right now, the have’s (Seattle, Los Angeles and presumably NYCFC) just aren’t good enough. Not good enough to attract prime ratings. Not good enough to win the CONCACAF Champions League.

Maybe MLS needs a team with Dempsey AND Bradley. That’s not likely under the current rules. It’s also near impossible, given the above-market salaries paid to these players.

Garber and Klinsmann both have different primary functions, but there is a cooperation that needs to happen down the road. Right now, Klinsmann sees a league that tends to remain comfortable in its shell of a salary cap, with limited player movement and a lot of parity. Perhaps this prodding by Klinsmann will provide a little impetus towards beginning the process of growing up. That’s something Garber talks of wanting, but we’re still waiting to see the progress.