If the mods feel this doesn't deserve its own thread please delete. I feel it does. http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...a-resigns-as-us-mens-national-team-head-coach
I don't think many of us are surprised. I guess I always assumed he was just a quick fix to get us through this cycle, anyway. I do appreciate this, though: "... in the end, we came up short. No excuses. We didn’t get the job done, and I accept responsibility." It surprising how little of that we've heard.
I hope not. In the last seasons with the Galaxy you could see that he was starting not to care anymore. I was hoping that going back to the Nats would lead to a renewal of his energy, but I guess not. Mourinho said that being a head coach of a club team took more energy than being head coach of a national team and so you should do that while you're young and wait to move to the international level.
Guys & Gals, the blame for the debacle shouldn't rest with Bruce. The guy at the top needs to take responsibility and punishment when a company fails to produce its core product. Sunil has to step down too. If you agree, sign this change.org petition.
Thank you Bruce. You ********ed up catastrophically Friday night but the players still shoulda coulda covered your ass and almost everybody would be praising you. Watching to see if you'd rejuvenate the team for World Cup. Believing a serious run was possible. A lot of our belief - and disappointment - is due to your decades long labors, and belief, and gift. You're an incredible coach. Thank you. I still believe in the American player and the American coach, too. Whole-heartedly.
I agree that Bruce overall has a great record everywhere he has been. I don't hold him responsible for our debacle. I think the fault lies with Klinsmann for putting us in a hole. Bruce didn't have much time to change the lineup and he went with "dependables". And, I agree with Grant Wahl (and many other pundits) that Sunil made the error of signing JK to a second term. Sunil and JK are the reasons USMNT didn't qualify. Bruce had two disastrous losses and couldn't turn the ship around.
If not for South Korea saving his ass in 02, Bruce has only win with the most expensive roster in MLS. And barely then. 06 and this campaign make it seem like Europe was right for not giving him a chance. Bradley looks peachy in comparison. He won a group among other things.
For a lot of the greatest teams and coaches ever, it's still a game of margins and some luck. Bruce used to be good at getting players up for the occasion. That was a problem for this class. He improved it, but not enough apparently to overcome some cruel fate. And no, we don't really enjoy wide margins of superiority in talent, but we're working on it. I have faith that we're opening the taps. In that regard, it sucks that our brand took such a hit.
I'll be in the minority, but I have no issue with Sunil staying in charge. Should he be solely allowed to choose the next national team coach (for either gender)? Nope. But Sunil's job is more than the USMNT and the rest of the organization seems to be doing just fine. Yes, failure to qualify is a huge problem but you have to look at the whole job that Sunil has done and is doing. Just because most people on this board hold the USMNT doesn't mean that is the be all and end all of his job. When the USWNT was going through a rough period I don't recall people calling for Sunil's head, mainly because the general population of this board and twitter hold the USWNT in lower regard than the USMNT (and I'm aware that they still qualified for major tournaments, but the equivalent of the USWNT not qualifying from CONCACAF is like the USMNT not making the Hex). So I'm not going to say kick him out just because of this. There are too many other important aspects of the USSF that are going just fine (or better than fine) to risk having screwed up just because of this. Spread out the power for major decisions to multiple people? Fine. But him resigning just because of the one part of the USSF people here seem to care about not doing well? No. Again, I know I'm in the minority on this and there are going to be a large number of you that think I'm an idiot and I know why you think that and can see why you think that.
What's next for Arena? LAFC has Bob Bradley... I doubt the LA Galaxy are interested in making a change when Sigi Schmid is getting them a whopping 0.5 points per game... maybe his old pal Beckham in Miami?
Hey, Bruce Arena could play the corpse of Marcelo Sarvas over Ian Harkes or Chris Durkin when DC's playoff odds are down to single digits JUST AS WELL as Ben Olsen!
Have you read Grant Wahl article? He has a good proposal on how Sunil could still make good progress for USA on the international front as part of the FIFA Exec Committee, but that the head of USSoccer should really be broken into 2 paid positions. One to guide the soccer strategy and one to guide the business. "Another giant structural change that should happen is the creation of a U.S. Soccer general manager who is soccer savvy and would have the power to control budgets and dictate strategy in the key area of player development. You can’t have a non-soccer business person holding those pursestrings. In a federation that has too often been driven by small-time operators with their personal fiefdoms, ..." Sunil Gulati will soon address the media. @GrantWahl on why USSF's president should step down–and what should follow https://t.co/31mTDlJ4ZO— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) October 13, 2017