F Freddy Adu. F any player like him who doesn't train hard, isn't a true team player, and doesn't have the mental ability to push himself to be better than he currently is.
Maybe it's a topic for another thread, but....long-term decline? I suppose you could draw a line from the 2002 high-water mark down through the disappointment of 2006 and then to our collective uneasiness about 2010. The problem with constantly comparing the NT to 2002 is that it is a very selective endpoint -- we take an outlier and pretend it's not. It's like every time George Will says "the average temperature of the world as COOLED since 1995!!!" when in fact, 1995 was a ridiculously hot year. The larger and more telling trend is ignored. More than anything else, I see Bob Bradley as presiding over a major transition period. Our team is very young. After the 2006 World Cup, our established midfield simply disappeared. Reyna and O'Brien retired. Ben Olsen faded and away and he was never all that great to begin with. Only Pablo Mastroeni remained and his usefulness only lasted another few years. Today we can quibble about our best lineup, but I think there is a strong consensus on who our best 23 players are, broadly speaking. Among that group, we have scads of young, inconsistent midfielders. We have Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies emerging as forwards, despite still being very green. Our backline, with the exception of LB, is staffed by experienced vets with a few prospects sprinkled in (Spector, Wynne). GK is in the safe hands of Howard. The core of our team and our attack -- our central midfield and forwards -- is in the hands of inexperienced and inconsistent youth. And Brian Ching! Regardless of one's opinion of Bradley, I think it's safe to say that his strength is long-term planning. BS screamed for Altidore for months before he was capped, but in retrospect the timing of his introduction seems about right. BS impaled itself upon its keyboard with the sight of Josh Wolff, Eddie Johnson, and Taylor Twellman, but now that younger options are closer to maturation, those players are a distant memory (besides, I don't recall ever seeing them on the field anyway...). The 2010 cycle for the US has been a difficult balance of upside and experience. We lament Bocanegra, Ching, Beasley (even pre-form-dip) for their mediocrity on the international stage, already knowing their shortcomings, but do we have anyone better? Often -- not always, but often -- the answer is no. That is not the coach's fault. It seems increasingly difficult to have a nuanced view of Bob Bradley. Certainly, those calling for his head are many and growing in numbers and volume. I do not stand before you in an attempt to defend his every decision or to claim that he is the best coach for the US at this time. Both of these claims would be silly. But every coach must be judged in the context of his situation and it seems to me that by and large, the Fire Bob movement has reached a point where they are so rabid that many are unable to view additional data without first filtering it through their biases. (Please note that this isn't meant to be directed at you, simply the tone of the movement in general) Bob was criticized ENDLESSLY for nepotism by playing "little Mikey" early in his tenure. Michael Bradley has emerged as one of our best central midfielders. Bob was criticized ENDLESSLY for being "RoboBob" and playing the "empty bucket". He has shown a willingness to experiment with lineups and with personnel. Of course, when he does this, he gets criticized, too. The "empty bucket" is and was a silly mischaracterization anyway. Bob was criticized ENDLESSLY for playing the same old tired horses like Wolff, EJ, et al. Well as it turns out, over time he's integrated many young players into the team and given caps to...how many guys? 50+? There's pretty much no stone left unturned. Bob has been criticized ENDLESSLY for losing in Costa Rica (where we always lose) for drawing in El Salvador (where Mexico lost) and for losing to Italy and Brazil. OTOH, He has maintained our stellar record against Mexico at home, in WCQ, Gold Cup, and friendlies. He has won in Poland, Switzerland, and South Africa, and in SA against Egypt. All his successes and his failures have come with a squad of players from MLS or from mediocre European clubs. Our most successful field player plays in a mid-tier English club. Our best midfielder's club survived relegation by the skin of its teeth. Our third-string CB plays at a lower-half Coca-Cola club. Two of our most talented attacking options weren't in their best form due to disastrous loans. Is Bob the second coming? Hell no. But please, this hysterical "Bob is a disaster" is ridiculous. He's alright. Do I wish we had better? Sure, who doesn't want the best? But I recognize that (a)most of the best don't want to coach the US and (b)it's a poor time to change horses right now. Bob is not going to squeeze every ounce of juice out of this team like a Hiddink might. But he's not undercutting our players that much either. We are what we are. A #20-#25 type team. That's where our talent level is and that's where our coaching is. We can pull off some upsets, sure. Hey -- we're in the semis of the CC. But at that level, you're going to drop the ball sometimes, too. It comes with the territory of being a #20-25 team. But to say that Bob is presiding over a "long-term decline" is simply silly because he doesn't have any control over the quality of the players, which is the primary factor of any decline or ascent. Nor, I would argue, does this long-term decline actually exist. Bob has been criticized on these forums on many specific points and in many of these circumstances, he was later vindicated. Maybe, just maybe, things aren't quite as bad as they are being portrayed as they are this time either.
By 'the virtues of sample size' I think I can safely say that the 'world's oldest profession' has a long life ahead.
I was shocked at how badly Egypt played. How did that team put three by Brazil? We should have scored at least two more. That said, 3-0 was like a dream come true. I was equally shocked that Brazil trounced italy 3-0, but lets face it, Italy don't exactly look like World Champs right now. In terms of Bradley, I thought the lineup he chose was pretty good. Moving Demps up top worked out too. He needs to show game in and game out that he can make good choices and is willing to take some risks. We were really totally lucky. 3 points and a negative goal differential isn't usually going to get you very far. Starting Beasley AND Kljestan against Brazil was obviously not a good idea. We have a chance to sour Spain's record and to get to the finals. If Bob gives the team a chance to win, (just a shred!!!) meaning we don't see much more of Beasley, Kljestan and Casey, he deserves a break until the next debacle. This also gives him a few more games to throw Freddy and Torres a bone before the Gold cup. Call me crazy but the pressure is really going to be on Spain. Loosing to the USA while tied with Brazil for the consecutive wins record would really not go over very well over there. The chances are slim, but who thought we could even get this far?
You've never had a South African hooker.I hear they're a workout. OH,in honor of old skool BS,starting Wednesday,every time T-Ho lets in a goal,I'm gonna say,"Brad Guzan would've saved that."
cyberthoth : Bob Bradley :: Pete Hoekstra : Republican Party...? "We beat Egypt; similar to that stuff Michels, Beckenbauer and Herrera did."
the issue was, Mike Segroves was taking stick at home for his (full, legal) name coming up in web searches in a multitude of unsavory contexts (all BigSoccer related). so, just try not to type out the full 'Mike Segroves', or we go right back to the same problem. the more you type 'Mike Segroves', the worse it gets. for example, if you were to type this: 'Mike Segroves' 'Mike Segroves' 'Mike Segroves' 'Mike Segroves' 'Mike Segroves' 'Mike Segroves' 'Mike Segroves' Then you're part of the problem, not the solution. If you type out the statement that 'Mike Segroves' is 'MM10S' ... then you're just being an ass. please in the future, no one make the connection between 'Mike Segroves' and 'MM10S'. in conclusion, saying nothing = 'good'. typing out 'Mike Segroves' and 'MM10S' in the same post = bad.
Good point. And for good measure, we absolutely should NOT quote any posts containing 'Mike Segroves.' I have an idea. Perhaps tomorrow's "The Wørd" could be 'Mike Segroves,' and we could start a campaign to limit his exposure. Anything to help out MM10S.
Yes, and I'm pretty sure he's still around. I think he posted in one of the USMN&A threads a couple of months back. He's been quiet since Mexico has gone down the toilet. I expect him to show up in August.
By the way, has anyone noticed if sidefootsitter found himself a sockpuppet yet? There's a gaping hole in BigSoccer where that curmudgeonly old cuss used to be...
Funny, I was just up in Redding California at the Sundial Bridge a couple weeks back. Its sundial is only accurate on the summer solstice. Which happened to be...Sunday, June 21st. Maybe Bob works on the same principle?
That guy was really obnoxious and with the domination of the USA over Mexico he disappeared like a fart in the wind.
If he had come back, you simply wouldn't be asking this question -- you'd be reading a reference to some obscure 1960s French centerhalf over on the YA boards, which would be followed by an apoplectic Bruce S post. You'd know.
We also outclassed Italy for 45 minutes and if not for going a man down in that game, we probably go on to win. But hey, who wants perspective when we can all just pile on our irrational hate.
Yeah, I suppose it would be blatantly obvious (although it would most likely be Russian, not French).
Mike Seagroves Mike Lastort Karl Keller long enduring names that helped build BS to what it is today .. enough of a site to get under Bradley and Gulati's thin skin. can anybody repost that classic Brad Friedel worship piece from ages past?