That's not even Michael Bradley's biggest issue. He will be 35 in Qatar. He's not Timmy Howard, Jermaine Jones, Landon Donovan, or Clint Dempsey. Him starting means he's keeping a younger, more-talented player (like Tyler Adams) on the bench. His "leadership" is dubious at best, and toxic at worst. He presided over the worst failure of US Soccer ever, but that's not even the worst part. The true indictment of his leadership is his inability to deal with the fractured USMNT locker room. This fracture came under his leadership. He played in every camp, and started almost every game. And his locker room fell apart.
I agree with all the deficiencies in Lima which you state. Hwvr, the game is about goals and Lima has shown he can manufacture them. The idea is to develop that now when he is at a malleable age, not wait 2 yrs while we try to decide if his defense is adequate for quali's. I.o.w., it's Jan camp. Chandler's defense is so bad that Frankfurt play 3 cb system to get Chandler's offense on the pitch. Lima might be similar. But suppose we play 3cb's to cover Brooks' deficiencies as well so we can get his passing on the pitch. One stone, two birds. We don't know any of this stuff til we try.
Outstanding seems a bit strong but I didnt watch close enough to dispute. I'm not sure why you find it shocking or claim it has been years. Bradley played very well in the 2017 MLS playoffs and that was a much higher level than we saw on Sunday. It is amazing how much better he plays when he is motivated. That isnt the kind of player that I want in our national team.
People make mistakes. Some people acknowledge them and ask forgiveness. Michael has done neither, but I can still allow that he might be a good player for us while at the same time be pissed that he jogged to the corner flag.
This is January camp. Tyler Adams is not available. As has been said before, it's entirely plausible that Bradley is providing a benchmark with which to assess the other options come March. Yes, he will be 35 in 2022. I doubt he is still with the team then. For now, IF he has something to offer, take it. I couldn't care less about his leadership failures. He wasn't captain in Berhalter's first game. If the locker room fell apart, I'd guess that it had a hell of a lot more to do with Klinsmann having no clue than with Bradley being a bad leader.
Adams is not available. But Canouse is. Bradley's leadership matters. It's just not in the way that you think. His continued use on the team takes minutes from other younger players who we will use, but If he were a good leader, then his appearances are as a useful veteran presence amongst a bunch of young, inexperienced players. The fact that he is not a good leader, and that under his leadership the squad camaraderie was destroyed, means that he must be useful from a purely soccer perspective. And he's not.
From The Ringer Article: Michael Bradley had long known that the team’s fragile identity could derail qualification. Moving around the room, the captain and central midfielder tried to rally his teammates, beseeching them to raise their collective games. But he was also one of the most polarizing figures in the fractured dressing room: His massive seven-figure MLS salary and sometimes overbearing leadership style grated on teammates. Although Bradley knew that all of their legacies were on the line, he was an imperfect messenger. https://www.theringer.com/2018/6/5/...ory-jurgen-klinsmann-sunil-gulati-bruce-arena We did not see the on-field overbearing MB90 v Panama. The one that was running back to take the ball of the feet of the CBs and demanding every ball flows through him. I thought he was excellent as far as moving to support his teammates but letting them feel comfortable about playing the ball even if it did not go through him.
Ok, I don't feel like arguing with you about Bradley's leadership, but from the same article that you posted is this: "According to several close observers, the environment around the team during the past few years could be “toxic” at times, a lingering aftereffect of the inconsistent and culture-degrading management style of Arena’s predecessor, Jürgen Klinsmann..." and, even more damning of Saint Klinsmann the Proactive, is this: "Taken together, their accounts reveal that the seeds of the World Cup failure had been planted years earlier, in 2011, when U.S. Soccer president and Columbia University economist Sunil Gulati landed Klinsmann, a former World Cup–winning player with an elite international reputation, to become the new coach of the U.S. team. Yet Klinsmann’s methods — laudable in theory — decimated the team’s culture." Perhaps the on-field overbearing MB90 that takes the ball off the feet of the CBs was a coaches decision, given how he played against Panama. I doubt he would have continued to play for every coach if they didn't want him to play like that. It is encouraging that Berhalter has not put all his eggs in the Michael Bradley basket like the last coaches have.
He's 35 in 2022, I can't see just glossing over this. He was pretty quick back in his day and looked fine against a timid Panama (note that he looked ok against them in the hex too, a lot of good that did in the long run) but to get to the WC and do even respectable, teams he would be up against will be much faster and more talented and not give him 5+ yards of free space with the ball to make clean passes. If he's in camps to help get others ready for the next WC I guess that's fine but if he's just taking minutes from the future that has to be ready in 2022 then he's got to go. Against Panama, no big because Adams and McKennie weren't available and I sure don't need to see more Trapp.
So in a conversation about Bradley's leadership and the locker room falling apart under Arena your response is What-About-Klinsmann. Klinsmann or Arena has zero to do the fact that MB90 was a polarizing figure among some players who found him overbearing.
I didn't bring up Bradley's leadership. If you wish to make that an issue and post articles that comment on it, perhaps you should read the rest of the article you quote from. All I've said in this and the post match thread is that Bradley had a surprisingly good game, and that there might be use for him yet. You and others can continue to discuss his leadership deficiencies. I'd like to stick to how the team plays.
I have to agree; even if one accepts the premise that JK or Arena were to blame for the fractured locker room, Bradley was still the captain and instead of finding a way to make it work, it sure seemed like by all accounts he was at least contributing to the schism. Which is a really bad look if 1) you’re the captain, and 2) people already have divided opinions about you and 3) the team is already struggling. To me that’s almost worse; we’ve all dealt with dumb managers or corporate decisions, probably. A leader finds a way to get through it and doesn’t fan the flames. Dempsey basically telling him to check his crap and reminding him of what happened to his own father should have been a big alarm bell to a guy lauded for his brain.
Lima and Lletget stood out the most, imo. Best Jan Camp games since 2002, I think. Big winners, in order:1) Nick Lima2) Aaron Long3) Jonathan Lewis4) Sebastian Lletget5) Paul Arriola6) Michael Bradley7) Corey Baird8) Walker ZimmermanAnd all #USMNT fans because we finally have a coach.— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) February 2, 2019 Hard to argue with that list... I'd replace Baird with Ramirez though.
Lewis made quite an impact. It's a mystery why he wasn't used more by NYC last season. He's a hugely popular guy with the fans too. His mother's English and he's lived and played in the UK but returned to the US due to homesickness. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up back over there.
It's not a mystery if you read Claudio Reyna's quotes on american soccer players and how they "have to earn it" and how they all "expect to be given everything" and then when you also look at the ABYSMAL record of career fortunes for americans at NYCFC - they have foreign management and don't care about US soccer at all - which is crazy considering it is a NYC club....whose president used to have the nickname "captain america"...Man city is only the usa to suck and leech off the american market. NYCFC probably realizes they are facing a public relations nightmare if this same pattern continues - especially in light of Lewis' clear success in these recent games! there is no player who is good for USMNT who is not good enough to be a starter or really key cog in MLS - never has been in in the history of MLS. in fact - there are many standout mls players who are not good enough for USMNT - the reverse NEVER HAPPENS! the idea that lewis is good enough for USMNT but not for NYCFC is laughable at best. in my opinion the only explanation is bias ...foreign managers = foreign players. Every time i criticize NYCFC for being biased against Americans everyone tells me it is just based on quality - that there is no bias - but LEWIS flies in the face of that hypothesis - and he isn't the only one...shouldnt we now re-asssess EVERY OTHER AMERICAN THAT FLAMED OUT AT NYCFC?????????????????????????????????? it is clear to me that the foreign influence @ NYCFC (including Reyna) has been too great for worthy american players to overcome thus far in the history of NYCFC - hopefully as the recent signings of young americans by NYCFC seem to indicate - the club is aware of their oversights/discrimination - and will now stop discriminating against domestic players. on the bright side - how many other USL/MLS bench players might actually be good enough to help the USMNT? Lewis cannot be the only one. his case is clear evidence that lack of freedom of player movement retards career success and keeps good players off the field in many cases. the MLS draft needs to end. MLS will have many more high dollar transfers than they did in this record-breaking window if they cut out the machiavellian contract approach they have adopted (likely at the behest of their legal reps)
Sweat must have have earned it then as he was starting ahead of Mattarita. RJ Allen was another who started ahead of foreign competition because of his reliability. The likes of Shelton, Diskerud, Mullins, Taylor, Grabavoy, Wengert, White and Okoli were simply not good enough. McNamara was loved for his hair and his effort level but he started his career late and just doesn't have the instincts of more experienced players. 25 or 26 is too old to be considered "promising". In 2019 I'm looking for Sands and Lewis to get more minutes.
NYCFC goes out of their way to not play americans - but there's a limit to how far they can take that cuz each team only gets like 8 intl slots per season.....so when sweat or allen gets on the field - i'm not going to interpret it as 100% merit-based. you are the one who called it a mystery i.e. lewis. I explained it for you - but keep on believing what you want.....
Yes I did. But what do you mean "keep believing"? I know what I saw. Those players I mentioned simply weren't good enough.
ggg seems to have a good eye for talent...3 of the surprise callups (Lewis, Lima, Djorde) all showed something
mcnamara had a great 2016 5 goals 10 assists - he was dynamic and really good. but viera didnt play him at all in the playoffs and he trended down in 2017 with less playing time - there was no reason for him to be so poorly mismanaged other than the fact that NYCFC spent big $$$ on foreigners who played his position. i disagree about your assessment of him. and find it conveneniently letting nycfc off the hook. they had a good player on their hands and stunted hs development, imo...by not playing him. i question all of the personnel decisions by that club i.e. americans. diskerud gets pissed on for how his time in NYCFC went but he is playing well now in korea - a region that routinely beats the mexican Concacaf rep in the club world cup. i think he was just the odd man out and didnt fit with the viera system and the DPs he was forced to fit with - and gets a "not good enough" label when that is far from true....
That's your opinion about McNamara. He did lose playing time because of the pressure to play Pirlo but I think he'll be starting games on the bench by July.
and diss someone like shleton too but he played a key role on a team that went farther than NYCFC did in 2018 - after barely playing for NY..... it's like any american on NYC is playing for a euro club (where they treat americans as outsiders) - not a domestic one, imo. and don't even mention POKU - who is one of the most dynamic players i have ever seen in MLS and i've been watching since the 90s but the genuises that are viera and kreis didnt like his defense so they shipped him out and benched him(he could have potentially been a naturalized player for the usa too) the list goes on and on....
You are a stupid person who keeps beating the same dead horse despite not knowing what you are talking about. It is clear you did not actually watch any NYCFC matches because your takes on several players are a million miles away from reality Poku? Really? The dude couldn't even run for more than 40 minutes, then flamed out in NASL. Yes, he was athletic and exciting, but the dude could not start because he could not play long minutes, not to say anything about his poor passing, positioning, defense, group cohesion etc. McNamara had a nice season, but everytime he stepped on the field the last two seasons, he was clearly garbage. The people watching the games were shocked that he kept making the lineup as much as he did. Shelton? Dude, cmon. Yes he found a role with KC, the role of tripping over the ball and not scoring. Another who got the roll eyes from the fans whenever he took the field. Lewis was a bit surprising and hard to explain, but it happens. I get it. You dont like the club, they've had a couple of American players have to go through the agony of earning and keeping their spots instead of being handed them and locked into them. Let's not forget the academy is just starting to produce its first professional players. James Sands is widely expected to get decent time this year, and they've signed one, soon to be two new players from their academy this season. 3 to 5 years from now, these players will be in their early 20's hopefully producing for the club, with new groups of players coming behind them. But please, if your going to keep arguing this same point, dont show your complete lack of understanding of the game by hyping up shit players who were shit.
The Three Ls: Lima, Lletget, and Lewis for me. However, Zimmerman was big too: had we had a goon in qualifiers, Puli wouldn't have been so abused and I bet we'd have gone to Russia. The job of the goon is necessary and sacrificed. I love Walker in the role: you saw he was seething, yet he didn't enjoy it. And he was good enough at it to only get a yellow. JJ used to do it. And people knew it, so they stopped as soon as they saw him get mad. We need someone to do it. I'd vote for WZ to be in every roster for a serious game from now on, for when we want our best players to stop having the crap kicked out of them. He is needed. PS: Look at the physical attributes of some of our best players --Pulisic, Weah, Sargent. They look ripe for the violent hack that takes them out of the game. Please, keep that in mind when writing down rosters.