Klinsmann to transition to younger players. Vets to get a break.

He's 27.

 

He said in an interview that one of his reasons for going back to TFC was that when he left the US he wanted to learn how to be comfortable being "the guy" and be the leader of a team/central focus. He said he felt like he gained that at Roma and was ready to be the leader of an MLS team so that's a major part of why he returned...

Clearly he didn't take away as much as he though he did.

He's a good holding midfielder, but other than that he's really hit his peak. He could be good as a regular going forward, no doubt, if staying within his role. But if our interests are in progressing past group stage/round of 16 in Russia then we need better talent than Bradley. We need our central midfielders to be great defenders, but also be confident on the ball, creative, and be able to finish. Bradley at no point has ever been the latter 2 of those and in this WC he wasn't even confident on the ball. I've seen so many times in friendlies and WCQ where he looked completely lost when he was in the 18. He's definitely had some good strikes while inside and even ripped one for a crucial goal I believe in the last WC. But he's so night and day. Too night and day to center your team on.

 

Stats is useless sometimes.

Stats would tell you he had the most passes, and has the highest percentages of completed passes. Of course, he's the attacking midfielder for god sake. He supposed to have the most touches on the team. What that stats will not tell you is what percentages of those passes are backwardss and sideways.

I'll give him credit, he's the hardest working player not only on this team, but in the entire tournament. He's no lazy slouch, that's for sure.

If anyone bother to watch the games will clearly see that his ball handling was just terrible. He couldn't even trap/receive the ball properly. He couldn't even shield the ball, it was taken away from him cheaply numerous times. His passes into the final third often gone to waste.

Anyone would have to agree, Bradley had a very forgettable WC

 

I don't buy that crap.

He knew the door was closing in on him at Roma, and he's tired of traveling all over Europe. Netherland, Germany, England, Italy. He has a wife now, they probably want to settle down, have kids, start a family.

Then came along MLS/TFC. They offered him a chance to return home with a big fat paycheck. It was an offer TOO GOOD to refuse. And I completely understand and respect his decision. A lot of guys would do the same thing.

But I am glad we have him in MLS. It's great for the league and soccer in America overall.

 

The "whys" have been gone into in detail, but the long and the short of it was that the lack of Jozy and Klinsmann's tactics have let him down. Still, his sharpness on the ball was much better in the last two matches than it was in his first two.

 

Yep, it's for real. In the last four games, Bradley was almost not better than anyone on the field. He was in the bottom half of performances of the US team alone.

 

I don't want to agree with you and still have hope for Bradley but he did look like a deer in headlights. His touch and vision seemed to go out the window when put under the brightest lights.

 

Yeah, it was brutal at times. Juergen needs to scrap the idea of Bradley playing as a "10", pronto. He is what he is, a deep lying distributor that gets up the field if the situation warrants. He can't be the guy pulling the strings though. Him and Trapp could make a helluva pairing with 4 attacking players in front of them. I hope to see it soon

 

I think it has a lot to do if he is in good terms with the player, you don't get a long with him or his program....you are out.

 

There are diverging personalities and there are subversive ones. I doubt Klinsmann has an issue with oddball or strange characters. Subversive characters should be rooted out and removed at once. How do we know that Klinsmann didn't have a spy on the team who revealed to him that there were subversives. I would remove a subversive forthwith.

 

I think Bradley should be dropped....from the 10 position and put either as an 8 or 6 depending if by a miracle we find a couple of 10s layout around somewhere.

 

Can Zelalem, Flores, Nagbe be a #10? The #10 doesn't have to be the CAM, right? Messi is a #10 and is a winger. What other potential #10 is looking good?

 

Messi is in his own category

I think Rubio Rubin can be an ACM, he is not big but he is not a weakling either, he has that special label written all over him, he is one to watch. Zelalem maybe, he doesn't seem to have that quickness to be a true 10 he is more of a hybrid 8/10 if he gets a little more muscle. The few times that I have seen Nagbe he looked great in the wing but seems to get muscled around in the middle, he is a quick cat but seems to be having an issue with consistency. Johannsson can also be a 10, he possess excellent vision, touch and shot but he doesn't like to defend. Flores is a shifty little guy, hence little, he is not only little but a light weight, he needs to get stronger. We have kids with potential, we just need one or two to take it.

Another player to keep in mind is Agudelo. I think he is ready to go to the next level, physically is built to be a 10.

 

I posted this in another thread, but it is relevant here as well. This list is all the guys that I think have a good chance to be around in 2018.

Ages indicate how old they will be in 2018. My guesses are in green. There are a lot of guys from this group that could go in 2018.

Howard 39 (if he wants to go... imagine Howard as the backup)
Guzan 33 - It's his turn... big shoes to fill.
Cameron 32 - Versatile, skilled on the ball and strong
Besler 31 - Most consistent defender we had at the cup (I think he goes to the EPL if he wants)
Zusi 31 - He had some good assists... but I hope we can improve this position.
Bedoya 31 - Good defensive cover, but we need more going forward, and better possession.
MB 30 - Hopefully he doesn't have to run as much in 2018.
F Johnson 30 - Lets hope he still has his wheels.
Gonzalez 29 - Solid 2 games.
Chandler 28 - He doesn't play well in the heat... good thing this cup is in Russia.
Altidore 28 - Still hope for him in the EPL.
Mix 27 - DNP (I think this was mostly circumstantial)
Johannsson 27 - Skilled, needs more strength on the ball... this could get better with age.
Brooks 25 - Scored and looked good in the 45 he played, I hope he gets more consistent with age.
Yedlin 24 - Looked good on the wing, needs to work on his crossing. (Teams will be calling)
Green 23 - JKs project... 1 touch and a goal.


Probably to old:
Rimando 39 - I could see Howard going for veteran leadership, but we don't need two old keepers.
Beasley 36 - (can Beas play LB at 36?) another cycle another LB problem.
Jones 36 - He will be missed.
Beckerman 36 - So will he.
Davis 36 - I like him, but we can do better.
Dempsey 35 - Will Dempsey still have "it" at age 35?
Wondoloski 35 - Solid veteran... 2014 was his chance.

That's 14 guys which is a lot of guys. In the past 4 cups the US has carried over 6 - 12 from the previous cycle. I am sure some will fall out of favor or get injured, but that is a solid group.

 

Players that we have 25 and under are technical enough to play the proactive style of play JK wants. He's just gotta pick the right ones..

 

I think that's largely BS, even though yes that was his explanation. But if it were the truth, his father wouldn't have come out about the whole Arsenal ordeal and how much Mikey wanted Wenger to bid for him. Other aspect is after coming to TFC, Mikey said he didn't get that much transfer interest, not what he wanted or expected at least.

He did however have 6 month loan options on the table, could have taken one of those if playing time at Roma was in doubt, then figured out what to do this summer. But after his WC showing, no one can sit here and say TFC was a good move, not unless they start bringing up his bank account and things which don't matter once on the pitch.

But TFC in general is terrible. I've watched his matches. He's playing with guys who really shouldn't even be starting in MLS. TFC just in no way looks like a good fit for his qualities and style of play. Mikey more than maybe anyone in our pool needs guys to link with and play quick touches. TFC can barely hold possession at the MLS level.

Should go back to Europe. Easier said than done unless he has a buyout clause. If it was MLS, would have been much, much better off going to Portland/SKC or waiting until NYCFC is up and running and played under Kries who runs a system that fits him.

 

I think Bradley needs to be played in the dmid position and we need to find someone with more offensive vision/clinic passing in the final 3rd to be our next #10. Maybe we could insulate Mix with a Bradley-Williams pairing or something.

IMO Bradley has better vision and passing skills coming from deeper down our side of the pitch.

OR maybe Bradley wasn't able to have good passing vision because Clint was the only outlet for the tournament since Jozy went down. We certainly didn't play as well as we did in the TUR and NGA warmup games. IDK I guess we have to wait for the Czech game and see what happens....if Bradley is even called up for that.

 

He definitely had a forgettable tournament and underperformed by his high standards. I think his issues were compounded by the fact that his supporting cast lacked a sufficient number of players that were good at possession and/or fast. Under pressure, several players didn't look comfortable or able to possess the ball, and when you lack team speed it emboldens your opponent to press more often and aggressively. I think this put more pressure on our top-tier players like Bradley, Jones and Dempsey. Losing our only target forward to injury certainly didn't help either.

Players like Donovan, Feilhaber, Agudelo / Boyd / E. Johnson, and a healthy Stuart Holden or Charlie Davies might have helped in this regard. Coincidentally, as I didn't start this post with roster selection in mind, the first three are the only omissions where I feel Klinsmann could have done better.

 

Theoretically, a coach who had the respect of his players wouldn't have to deal with "subversive" elements in his squad.

 

No. A player who respects his coach will buy in or shut the heck up. Either way, we know LD was left off the roster because he was not only past his prime but also a subversive element in the locker room.

 

Just to be clear, you're making that up. It's alright for you to believe that, but it's made up.

 

Bradley's work rate is impeccable. Like most players though he has weaknesses. His touch lets him down sometimes. And when in the CAM role he doesn't have the vision that he does when he's playing his natural position.

He's not a CAM. That was obvious this WC.

 

Oh yeah? Well you're making up the notion that he's maybe making it up. How are you going to make it up to him?

 

Actually, he already has a kid. His son Luca was born in Italy.