MLS' homegrown products are ready for the next step

	Houston's Brian Ching might not rival Brian McBride as an aerial threat, but his scoring skills could be a match for Italy's Serie A. AP

At Gillette Stadium on Saturday night, the New England Revolution fans rocked the joint so hard that I thought I was at an Aerosmith show.

This was the MLS playoffs, and the Foxboro faithful rooted with puritanical aplomb, withstanding rain and wind to cheer their boys on to a series victory over Chicago -- on penalties, no less.

It was awesome, and it showed what a glorious, knowledgeable, passionate, fiery experience a soccer match in the U.S. can be when something is at stake. (Note to MLS suits: Do something to make the regular season count more, please.)

The electricity in Foxboro on Saturday -- and at the D.C. United-Red Bulls match at RFK on Sunday -- was on par with the atmosphere at the Chelsea-Barcelona match I attended at Stamford Bridge a few weeks ago.

Before that Champions League tilt, I downed some fish and chips at the Anglesea Arms with my ex-pat friend Keogh and his Brit buddies. They all wanted to learn more about MLS. "So, mate, what's the level like?" they asked. "You know, 'cause over here a lot of guys think the MLS is crap."

I swigged from my pint and offered my usual response to this question: "MLS teams, as a whole, have a ways to go before they could compete with the best. But the players are already there. Look at Ryan Nelsen, Bobby Convey and Simon Elliot. In fact, I'd argue that 25 percent of MLS players could step onto the field in the Premier League right now and be just fine. They'd do better than most of the guys on Sheffield United, that's for sure."

These guys were all pinstripe banker types. For them, soccer is both a love and an interesting market model, and they're as familiar with finances of their beloved Blues as they are with the flat back four. They actually admitted that American players do have a reputation for value for money.

And they're right. MLS is producing players loaded with potential -- good pros, well-trained, well-nourished, eager to learn and succeed -- and that's not just me talking. I've heard this from several former European players who are now involved in MLS. In relative terms, American players are penny stocks on the transfer market -- strong buys, if you will.

I don't know if anyone saw this the other day, but a couple of U.K.-based investment funds are set to take the stock-market metaphor into the realm of reality. They plan to sell shares in player contracts and then reap the benefits of any transfers. The idea's latent nod toward slave-trading makes me a little queasy but it's a nice hook to hang this article on.

Basically, the question is this: If MLS held an IPO tomorrow, which players would I want to get in on?

Obviously, New England's quixotic attacker Clint Dempsey and his teammate Shalrie Joseph would be good buys. The former is presumably headed to the Premier League, the latter to Scottish giant Celtic. But at the same time, their price is already elevated. So here are five other MLS players you could probably make a killing on.