Climbing the Mountain: Bob Bradley at Stabæk

Good for Bradley, but I honestly think coaching Vancouver would have been a tougher challenge (and a better job). In MLS, he could have challenged for a the Supporter's Shield/MLS cup in 2-3 years. With Stabaek, the best he can hope for is a top 4 finish, and maybe 1-2 rounds of European play.

Plus Vancouver has a number of great players: Camilo, Mattocks, Kenny Miller, Reo-Coker, DeMerit (if healthy).

 

im guessing norway is just the first stop in bob's much bigger plans...

 

Yeah, but plans don't always go as they proceed. He needs to finish top 4 to have a shot at a better league. Even if he does, which league is going to offer him a job? Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland are reasonable goals. England and Germany are long shots. But I do think he could get a job in the Championship or second bundesliga.

 

Who is "most everyone else"? Only Bob thinks this right now. Good for him if it gets him to where he wants to go, but Vancouver is a better club than Stabaek.

One more thing. Vancouver usually draws 20,000 per game. Stabaek's stadium only holds 7,000, and they averaged 4,000 fans per game last time they in were in the Tippaleagen (in 2012):
http://espnfc.com/stats/attendance/_/league/nor.1/year/2012/norwegian-tippeligaen?cc=5901

 

The only way I bless this move is if Stabaek offered him the same/more money than Vancouver did. But I'm betting Stabaek is paying him about half of what Vancouver offered (if not less).

 

bob probably believes that in order to be considered for bigger european club jobs he needs to have experience managing in europe and is willing to work his way up the ladder in chasing his dreams. vancouver might be a rung or two higher than stabaek, but thats irrelevant if bob perceives the caps as being higher on a wholly separate ladder.

 

He always said he wanted to coach in Europe, and this is probably his only offer so he took it. I hope he does well. MLS will always take him back if need be. He's proven himself in MLS enough that if he ever needs a job or wants to come back later, he'll still be in demand even if he doesn't light Europe on fire.

 

Exactly...Vancouver might be the better job in the short term, but long-term this is the right move for Bob. Get to Europe, go to Norway, do well, then make your way to Belgium and ring yourself up the ladder as time progresses. If he went to the MLS, the chances of him making his way to Europe decrease significantly.

 

Good luck to Bob! I'm sure he will do great out there. Working in Europe as oppose to Vancouver or MLS is a no brainer, for a coach who wants to coach in Europe and hopefully get to a top tier league. The plan is to do well, then be seen by a bigger league. Believe me, succeeding in MLS means nothing in Europe. He needs to be there to interact with people in the area so that maybe another opportunity opens up. The longer he is there, the better relationships he builds so if second tier leagues wants to give him a chance then he would be moving up the latter. If this man can succeed in Chivas USA he can succeed anywhere, it is just a matter of time.

 

Awesome news! Hope Bob does us proud.

 

May be he just wants to live/work in Europe at this point of his life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Norway, especially after insanity of his previous job.

 

Hmm, speaking of rumors about Michael moving on from Roma...


...jk! Great to see an American coach in Europe.

 

True story. Just the experience of living and working in Europe would be tempting, regardless of all other factors. Best luck to Bob on every level.

 

It's not for you or me to 'bless' a coaching move. I mean, it's not even like it's an NT player that could help us out someday. But for what it's worth, I do agree that of your list, Mattocks is probably the only one that might have an equivalent on a just-promoted Tippeligaen side at any particular point.

 

I'm not sure Bob really "proved" himself in today's MLS. He won one MLS Cup back in 1998 when MLS was a completely different league than it is today. No disrespect, but it was a lot easier to win the league back them (weren't there only 10 or so teams anyway)?

Second, he hasn't coached in MLS since 2006. Again, that is a long long time ago, and the league is completely different now.

I think winning in MLS is a launching pad to a career in Europe, if that's what Bob wants. Gary Smith won MLS cup then got a job in England (albeit at lower level). Paul Mariner got a job in England after being an assistant coach forever. Juan Carlos Osorio has gotten good jobs in Mexico and Colombia. And Bruce, Sigi and Dom could all get jobs in England/Germany/Scotland if they really wanted them.

 

I think Tiebert has a lot of potential.

 

Just to add to that, Gary Smith went from MLS to (in my opinion) an even lower level than MLS -- League One in England.

Paul Mariner got the job mostly based on his playing career -- he scored 56 goals for the very team he ended up coaching and at one time was a starting striker for the England national team. I can't imagine that his assistant coaching experience was more of a factor than that.

 

And it looks like he'll be in a very attractive spot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bærum

Bærum has the highest income per capita in Norway[3] and the highest proportion of university-educated individuals.[4] Bærum, particularly its eastern neighbourhoods bordering West End Oslo, is one of Norway's priciest and most fashionable residential areas, leading Bærum residents to be frequently stereotyped as snobs in Norwegian popular culture. The municipality has been voted the best Norwegian place to live in considering governance and public services to citizens.[5]

 

I'm certainly a Staebek fan now, great to hear!

 

And Stevenage is one of the smallest clubs in League One.

It's no coincidence that the club that hired Mariner was Plymouth Argyle, which is where he started his playing career.

 

over/under on # usa players he will bring to norway?
any ideal prospects??