Love what I'm hearing about Bradley

I agree. At first I was disappointed, but I'm starting to feel pretty good about what we've got. Hopefully, I'm not wrong.

 

Not to be negative (I'm going to be negative now), but Bradley played nice, attractive soccer, until he got a result in the playoffs, then went completely negative and lost to Houston.

Hope he learned his lesson. No Marty S. ball.

 

Palencia was ejected in the 2nd game. Bradley didn't go negative. His team was playing a man down on the road, against a superior team.

 

You are wrong, man.We don't need that skunk we need a real coach, man.

 

of course, what do expect players to say:

"I know I'm fighting for a roster spot and this man controls my immediate future, but man he sucks! he works us too hard and acts like he knows everything!"


the players said what you expected them to say. there's nothing to be read into that story.

 

Arena's boys always were in good shape if not in a proper position.

There's no story here yet.

 

I say give him a real chance. There is no magic bullet, no coach who will make the USA Brazil. But Bradley may be a little more of a real adult than Arena. If he is as well prepared as Bruce and makes the offense a little smoother I will be happy. Remember that for all the whining, we had Italy holding on for dear life even though we were a man down. Life is not so bad.

 

I hear he's taking a hard line against players who think they are too good to show up to camp on time.

hmm...

 

It's Hardworkin' Bob, the hardest workin' hard worker in the hard work business, who went to Princeton and through hard work received a hardworkin' degree, undoubtedly in Hard Work Studies.

Listen, I'm glad the man is dutiful and puts in a lot of effort. But I don't want to hear that we have a hardworking coach. I want to hear that our coach is a brilliant tactician. I don't want to hear that he obviously works hard. I want to hear that he makes it look easy.

 

Bradley's always been a good coach. In fact, he was my choice behind Klinsman. People are just disappointed that they didn't get Jurgen more than they are disappointed they got Bradley.

 

I've read this article on Fox full of praises to Bob. Well, let me tell you that a huge amount of Metro fans were fast fed up with his coaching. Of course, Metro fans are notorious for short temper, but the team was a disaster even in the fall of 2003 when we hard-earned our first final appearance in Lamar Hunt Cup, and that game was one of the worst I have ever seen. So don't get too excited as we got four years ago.

 

It's always been the other way around for me.

I'm more disapointed that we ended up with Bradley than I am disapointed for not getting Klinsmann.

 

Way...............too.................early..................

I agree with those who don't want to here the term "hard working" team/coach used as much with the USMNT. We need to move past the "hard working" team and move on to a skilled, tactically astute team who plays hard.

 

Isn't a skilled, tactically astute team based more on the players than the coach?

Sure the tactics come from the coach and his ability to pass those onto the players is very important, but a lot has to do with the players being able to execute.

As for the skilled part, there isn't much that Bradley can do there. He can tell certain players what they need to work on skills-wise, but he's not going to make us more skilled with the periodic camps. The only real contol the coach has is selecting skilled players.

Basically, if you've got a bunch of lesser skilled players (compared to the competition) and who are general tactically raw, then the hard-working approach is the best you've got to get results.

 

agree. all due respect to the op, but the article doesn't say much we didn't already expect.

 

Palencia was ejected in minute '58, by then, Bradley's negative tactics were already apparent, and they were fortunate to not already have given up a goal.

My point, he played in a shell on the big stage, (sound familiar?), and it didn't work. Like I said, I hope he (and our team) have learned the lesson.

 

most people are way to fast in judging bradley as being an unworthy coach for the nat team, i admit i was as well. however, after rethinking i believe he can offer as much as any european coach would give us (tacticly, quick play/creative play) and he knows the system better than any person in america, he holds good practices as explained by the players, he has an assistant who knows how to play and coach in nowak, he is cheaper than any of the overpriced european coaches, he does not have an ego like european coaches, he's a good guy, and he wants to prove himself more than them

if bradley can lead the team to good showings in copa and gold why not give him the reigns?

hopefully im not too quick to judge him but if he can prove himself why do we have to be so demanding for a european coach who makes their name coaching the best players in the world. if they come to america, we all know we dont have the deepest pool and maybe they wont be as succesful. what if bradley was coach of the german national team, i think he could have as much success as klinsmann had considering the quality of players

 

I, too, thought Bradley was a poor choice for head coach. Now, I'm pleased with the situation and hope that they do give him a chance through the summer tourneys and perhaps more.

One of the things that changed my mind in the situation was the inclusion of Pietr Nowak on the coaching staff. I personally think that he and Bradley could make a formidable pair. I know that's not the structure right now, but I would be happy to let those two guys be at the helm for the next four years.

Let's face it, until we get fifty or so world class players in the US pool, a coach cannot make a team world class. All he can do is help a team get results.

While some believe that results are the only thing that matter, I believe that the beauty of the game is more important. I think that the clubs that score and then bunker down ten men behind the ball do an injustice to the game (yes, that's an extreme example, but it's just to indicate a point). It's that sort of short term, purely result oriented thinking that destroys many businesses and industries in the long-term.

Looking back on my playing days, I get the feeling that we were being taught to win not how to actually play the game. If soccer is ever going to succeed and thrive in the USA, it's going to take deeper thinking. That goes for the Nats level too. Of course, if Bradley doesn't create a winning team, he should be replaced. But, he deserves a chance.

There is certainly something to be said for having an American who understands the American players and game. Add Nowak, who is a hard-working, gifted former player (now a winning coach) who has experienced the international game in many respects and levels and I think we have a great start to take us into the next four years. I'm not certain that another coach would be the answer.

Finally, I think after Bradley and Nowak's reigns are up, the program could truly use the perspective of a proven, big-name coach.

 

So, he can work players hard in practice.

I'm sure Bear Bryant would be pleased, but it doesn't mean much to me.

We need a coach with a flexible mind who can change his assumptions.
This was Arena's undoing. Several months before the WC, in an interview on Spanish language television, he stated Eddie Pope was a key player for the USNT. In the friendly against England a year before the tournament, Pope showed he couldn't compete at the highest level anymore. Plus, there was ample evidence of his poor play in MLS. But, Arena held onto visions of past glory. Pope killed us in Germany.

Honestly, I don't think Bradley's the guy to lead us to the next level.

 

I think that's an overstatement. A team can win a WC with one or two great players surrounded by competent role players. Brazil 94 had Romario, Dunga, the rest were pretty anonymous. Zidane almost singlehandedly won the 98 WC for France.


I think we could truly use that perspective now. Why waste another WC cycle? This sport is becoming more similar to NFL in that the role of the coach is vital. Hiddink did wonders with average teams like Australia and S Korea. Meanwhile Bruce Arena torpedoed our 06 campaign.

 

does any team have 50 world class players? I doubt if even brazil has 50 world class players (of course, it depends on how loosely you define world class).

the current world champs ain't that deep.

 

this might be a bit of an overstatement too. a soccer coach likely will never have as much of an in-game role as an nfl coach (gridiron being more a coaches game filled with set pieces, and footie being more a free flowing players game), but your point is well taken. a good national team manager should find the right players to execute his game plan, as well as have the right game plan for whatever opponent, both of which are difficult. clearly some managers are better at this than others.

 

While the one-man squad notions are a tad overstated, clearly a top coach excels by fitting the available pieces into a puzzle.

I've said this in a different thread - Raymond Domenech took an aging French squad that barely scraped into the World Cup and found an absolutely perfect formation for it (4-4-1-1, with the exception of the Angola game where they played 4-4-2 without Zidane) while controversially dropping some pretty big names (Pires, Giuly, Mexes), who did not fit his concept.

As the result, the French squad, who looked very average at the Euro'04 under Jacques Santini, blasted its way into the WC final match after beating an arguably toughest series of opponents in Spain, Brazil and Portugal.

Can Bob Bradley do something of this nature? Frankly, I doubt it.