If you thought by now that Major League Soccer would have eliminated the confusion over American international allocation, you’d be wrong. The truth is, they’ve thrown us for yet another loop.

Word is that Jozy Altidore is on his way out of Sunderland, and out of all the potential destinations, MLS is the destination offering Altidore the highest salary of all.

First off, I must admit that it must be gratifying for the MLS Players Association to watch the league cry poor, and then see them overpaying for an underperforming Altidore. Any competent player’s union would use this to their advantage (competent being the important word in this situation).

But we’re back to the league flittering back and forth on decisions and rules. And by my estimation, it’s one of the primary issues that turns off soccer fans from the league.

If you are unfamiliar with the process, American internationals playing outside MLS are treated differently than international players. International players are claimed through the Discovery claim process, where teams submit names of players to the league that they intend to sign.

With Americans, the league has long decided that one of the best ways to ensure parity was to give the lowest finishing teams the best chances to get these players. The Allocation order was developed, and teams in reverse order from the previous year’s finish would get the opportunity to a) choose a returning US player, b) trade their spot, or c) pass.

That’s the way it worked until a couple of years ago. With Clint Dempsey, the rules changed. Portland had the first Allocation spot that year, but in a backroom deal MLS worked out a method for prosperous Seattle to acquire Clint Dempsey. The explanation at the time had to do with the salary of the player – “a designated player of a certain threshold.” It was flimsy, but it stood because MLS has the authority to change the rules as it goes.

The ruling was again used when Michael Bradley came back, heading to cash-flush Toronto FC (again with a salary over the threshold). The appearance in both the Dempsey and Bradley cases was that Seattle and Toronto were the only teams interested in those players. A number of fans in markets not-so-lucrative continued to raise their voices with discontent. Certain markets seemed to be favored by MLS, with Los Angeles, Seattle, and Toronto heading that list.

Then in 2014, things got thrown askew again. Jermaine Jones came to the States on one of these big-time DP salaries, but this time two teams wanted him. Chicago and New England entered a blind draw behind closed doors, with the Revolution getting the nod in seedy fashion. Again, fans screamed about the lack of transparency.

That brings us to Altidore. Altidore’s presumed salary will be north of $5 million per year, which would likely be above that threshold. But ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle is reporting that MLS will return to using the allocation order. According to Carlisle’s source, “[For Altidore], it’s not about dollars. MLS is right to want a clear, consistent process. The blind draw was a bad look for the league.”

This again looks troubling for MLS. First of all, the report states that two teams are interested in Altidore: Toronto and Portland. With the blind draw instituted with Jones, Toronto and Portland would have a 50/50 chance. Currently, Toronto is higher in the Allocation order.

This gives the appearance that MLS is choosing the method that suits their desires. Clearly the Jermain Defoe experiment failed north of the border. So Toronto is currently looking for a European quality forward to replace the English international. The Allocation order would put Toronto in perfect position to take Altidore.

The kicker would be Portland looking to deal up in the order. They could.

But in a single entity league, where every team is owned within, it gives a strong appearance of murkiness. In other league models, you would have teams actively competing on the open market to outbid each other for Altidore’s services. And even if a reverse order was used to level the playing field, you would suspect Toronto and Portland to do everything they could to ascend the order.

Yet in this league, you are more likely to think that one team (or the other) will relent, and accept defeat without much of a fight. That does nothing to promote competitiveness. Instead it leaves fans upset, thinking their team is not acting of their own accord.

Let’s be frank though – the idea of the league ensuring parity is long gone. When you advocate a SuperDraft to help establish parity, but then allow the League Champion to sign Liverpool’s club legend Steven Gerrard, there’s something wrong.

What it says is that parity is a myth. The Allocation order is admirable but greatly flawed. They should have used it in the other cases, if only for consistency. Instead MLS gets a bad rap, changing rules and policies on their own whim, and consistently leaving fans – especially fans in smaller markets – with a bad taste in their mouths.