Open Letter To Coach Bradley

[galaxyfan03]

Found this GREAT article today, that points out IMO all our concerns as USMNT fans. Please read, objectively:

http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=3910

Thoughts/Opinions/Analysis??

[Marko72]

Bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain Big Soccer poster.

[blackjack]

It's well-written and it's accurate. However, Bradley is so arrogant that he thinks his system is bigger and better even than the players who have outgrown it. There's no way he's got the humility or the grace to step down now, no matter how necessary and/or beneficial it might be for him to do so.

[StarvingGator]

The points he makes, and there are some good ones, are drowned out by the overly obnoxious tone of the article. It's unfortunate the Fire Bob crowd is still arguing on the basis that they, fans, know better than every American in the entire soccer structure. It's condescending without even an attempt at subtly, and leaves neutral readers (of which there are few) feeling offended, even though the piece has nothing to do with them.

Great points like this:
Another thing: the truth is that the US player pool is deeper than ever and becoming more stocked by the year. While we are not as talented as Argentina or England, we may never be. If we wait until the day that we can compete on talent with the World's best, well, we all may be dead by then. We'll have to go with what we've got, unless we are going to nationalize a bunch of Brasilians.

Are negated by amatuerish and annoying statements like this:
We will certainly have to have learned something by then. But what have we learned from these three games? That not scoring goals means you can't win a soccer match? That playing two or three defensive mids at a time means that you'll likely defend for ninety minutes before eventually tiring and conceding? If that's it Bob, then maybe you needed the learning experience more than the players.

A great thread for BigSoccer. A crappy article.

[Marko72]

The points he makes, and there are some good ones, are drowned out by the overly obnoxious tone of the article. It's unfortunate the Fire Bob crowd is still arguing on the basis that they, fans, know better than every American in the entire soccer structure. It's condescending without even an attempt at subtly, and leaves neutral readers (of which there are few) feeling offended, even though the piece has nothing to do with them.

Great points like this:


Are negated by amatuerish and annoying statements like this:


A great thread for BigSoccer. A crappy article.

Ditto.

[joehooligan0303]

Great article.
I said this in another thread....

Teams in every sport in the world that don't have the most talent have found ways to win. The reason they find ways to win is that the coaches are smart enough to know how to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It isn't always the most talent, but the most well planned that succeed.

Bob Bradley has shown that he isn't that coach by his refusal to try new pieces out. You can try to shove the same misshaped piece (cough, Eddie Johnson) into the hole all day, but at the end of the day it still isn't going to fit. Bradley completely missed this three game stretch to learn from. He may have put a few new pieces here and there, but refused to focus on the most important part, the attack. Try different formations, try different forwards, try putting 2 forwards up top for goodness sake. Try something.

Please step back and allow someone who understands puzzles give it a try.

[silverlion]

I just read it and I must say he did the right thing in speaking up, it might be that YA doesn't have the access the other networks have so they can say whatever they want, but I'm just glad the fans aren't alone.

Sunil might not fire Bradley over this but it will give him something to think about when we win our WCQ semifinal group with a string of poor performances and 1-0 wins.

[TheQuakesRockMySocks]

This is the BEST ARTICLE I HAVE EVER READ ON UNITED STATES SOCCER. If you have any concerns about where the national team is headed, I would encourage you to read it, and then to voice your concern to Sunil Gulati.

Here is the link.

http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=3910

Then here is Mr. Gulati's contact info:

This is copied from Juan Peron's thread:

Sunil Gulati US Soccer
725 5TH Ave
New York, NY 10022-2519
Phone: (212) 755-9744


Sunil Gulati
Lecturer

Contact Information

Phone:
212-854-4067

Fax:
240-359-2590

E-mail Address:
skg21@columbia.edu (skg21@columbia.edu)
Address:
Economics Department, Columbia University
1125 International Affairs Building, MC 3308
420 West 118th Street
New York NY 10027
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/economics...ent/skg21.html (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/economics/faculty/current/skg21.html)

USSF Contact Sheet
http://ussoccer.com/uploads/Document.../doc_6_122.pdf (http://ussoccer.com/uploads/Documents/cms/ussf/doc_6_122.pdf)

USSF Feedback page
http://ussoccer.com/contact/index.jsp.html (http://ussoccer.com/contact/index.jsp.html)

Check out 'TheQuakesRockMySocks' thread
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=699402 (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=699402)

Our spineless soccer press won't say anything so the fans might as well try to reach heads at the USSF. I'm not asking to be Brazil by next Thursday, just some progress. The U17 World Cup, Toulon Tournament, and Olympic qualifying have all shown we are regressing. The US needs a new approach.

P.S. Ask Sunil about the Technical Director he promised us.

There you go boys. Do work!

[SamsArmySam]

Am I the only one who thinks this article and the letter writing campaign are a waste of time?

Even if he believed he was in over his head, Bradley's not going to walk away from a four year contract. Would you?

And Sunil isn't going to fire him. The guy Sunil picked just led the U.S. to a tie against #1 ranked Argentina, and most observers believe the team looked good doing it. Why would he fire him now?

For the record, I'm not in the camp that believes Bradley needs to go -- or that we could realistically find a better alternative this cycle if he did go. But even if I were, I don't think I'd waste my time tilting at this windmill.

[TheQuakesRockMySocks]

Am I the only one who thinks this article and the letter writing campaign are a waste of time?

Even if he believed he was in over his head, Bradley's not going to walk away from a four year contract. Would you?

And Sunil isn't going to fire him. The guy Sunil picked just led the U.S. to a tie against #1 ranked Argentina, and most observers believe the team looked good doing it. Why would he fire him now?

For the record, I'm not in the camp that believes Bradley needs to go -- or that we could realistically find a better alternative this cycle if he did go. But even if I were, I don't think I'd waste my time tilting at this windmill.

Ok, than don't waste our time in writing that you are happy with getting worse. Be quiet and enjoy barely qualifying for World Cup. Enjoy losing in the first round, and being happy with it as a nation.

Enjoy moving backwards.

Remember, if not for superman in goal (tim howard) we would have lost that game 4-0. That's the TRUTH.

Bob Bradley should be thanking God, Tim Howard, and luck to have any support after these three games.

[galaxyfan03]

As much as I agree with many points of the article, like blackjack says, there's NO WAY that Bradley would step down on his own...unless, we LOSE against the likes of Barbados or Cuba or the players "revolt" against him, and even then, he would probably fight it.

Our only hope is that, somehow, Bradley will change his tactics & formations to a more attacking one!! Yeah, I know...there's a better chance of total world peace by the end of the year, LOL!!

I'm actually interested in seeing what kind of formation BB will go with on Sunday at the HDC...that will tell us all we need to know!!

[sidefootsitter]

It's an OK article.

But I hate the presumption that - paraphrasing - "our forwards can't hold the ball and our defenders can't run".

Maybe there's a different way to play, so the forwards don't have to hold the ball all the time and the defenders won't have to run for their lives all the time.

[oldguyfc]

That takes you of the list of candidates.:)

[voros]

The points he makes, and there are some good ones, are drowned out by the overly obnoxious tone of the article. It's unfortunate the Fire Bob crowd is still arguing on the basis that they, fans, know better than every American in the entire soccer structure.
It's unfortunate that the Keep Bob crowd is still arguing on the basis that only Americans know better than every foreign coach in the entire soccer universe how to run the US National Team.

[KingAL30]

The points he makes, and there are some good ones, are drowned out by the overly obnoxious tone of the article. It's unfortunate the Fire Bob crowd is still arguing on the basis that they, fans, know better than every American in the entire soccer structure. It's condescending without even an attempt at subtly, and leaves neutral readers (of which there are few) feeling offended, even though the piece has nothing to do with them.

Great points like this:


Are negated by amatuerish and annoying statements like this:


A great thread for BigSoccer. A crappy article.

Bob? Is that You??!!:D

[TheQuakesRockMySocks]

It's unfortunate that the Keep Bob crowd is still arguing on the basis that only Americans know better than every foreign coach in the entire soccer universe how to run the US National Team.

True! What a backwards understanding of "The World's Game"!

Here's my last email (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=705226) to Sunil Gulati.

[sidefootsitter]

That takes you of the list of candidates.:)
I am too pre-occupied with other stuff (including this) to write a couple that I had promised.

[StarvingGator]

Bob? Is that You??!!:D

As a devout Gator fan, I know a thing or two about fans getting a coach fired (see: Zook, Ron). This is entirely the wrong way to go about it. Letters? Message boards? Weak sauce, guys.

We had websites (fireronzook.com which sadly no longer exists) that got frequent mentions on ESPN. Banners flying behind planes circling the stadium. Donors withholding millions of dollars. T-shirts, coffee mugs, underwear, all sporting "Fire Ron Zook".

All the letters and BS ramblings in the world aren't going to change a single thing. Start doing something and quit talking if you want it so bad.

[sidefootsitter]

I hate to ruin your presumptions but this is much bigger than FireRonZook in the soccer universe.

[StarvingGator]

What is? BigSoccer? Yes, but this is a cluttered mess. FRZ was a cause. A call to arms.

Not to mention the solidarity of Gator Nation, compared to the fractured state of the US soccer fan base (red-haired Argentina fans, anyone?)

Fans can absolutely make a difference, but you're crazy if you think Sunil cares about BS. Jeremy Foley (UF AD) sweat bullets over FRZ and what it inspired. They even gave it a nickname, "Noise in the system."

You can't expect change from letters and message boards. You need to publicly embarass these people. Banners, flags, chants, get yourselves on any media possible through any means neccessary.

It's a dirty game, but if you believe it's the right direction...


P.S., where the heck are the Bob photoshops? Seriously, I'm not among the Fire Bob crowd currently, but I've been waiting for the 'chops to come. They make fantastic protest signs.