If people have the time to watch a game featuring many current and potential national team players that went down Saturday I would urge them to watch how long Bradley held the ball and how he came to be involved in so many defensive duels and compare that to some of his other recent performances.
Out-numbered in midfield, one-game sample, in the arctic (will probably never play in a a game that cold for the NT) where he also played poorly last year (honestly had a hunch he'd play poorly but wanted to wait and see). The especially crazy thing is this game occurred in MLS. He got hyped based on his play in MLS to those who observed him long-term and it was backed up statistically. This wasn't inter-league or international play vs. someone better than MLS team. And he has played well vs. Toronto before if that was supposedly the issue. Really sick of players being superficially grouped together and then individuals discredited as a result to fit an agenda. You'd think we'd be passed this with both NT coaches doing the same thing this cycle, in opposite directions, and the U.S. getting dq'ed in part as a result. If that result was disappointing to people, how about starting to look at players as individuals and not picking a camp instead?
Yes, he played much more intense down the stretch of this season than he did for the national team. He was able to switch on. At this point in his career it seems like his biggest motivators were propelling TFC to their first title and sticking it to critics. But for the naysayers to get loud he needed to fail first. If anything he and Jozy proved they deserved the flack more with their comparative club performances. They ended up being heels to the USNT. That should be their legacy.
Seems clear that if you're a fan of international soccer and the WC, then you see those 2 senior members of the USMNT as slackers and want them in the past (along with several others). If you're an MLS fan first, then those guys are idols and everyone else is a hater. Which is great. But I do not want MLS level play out of the USMNT. I want to get out of the Hex every time and start winning games in the WC. That will take a minimum of MLS 'stars' on the roster IMO. I'm a hater of losing.
so any quick mocks before the expansion draft? I think Bob goes: Seth Sinovic (cost efficient, starting mls left back), Luis Gil, Dillon Powers, Clint Irwin, and Harry Shipp. I could conceive him rolling the dice on Brek Shea too somewhere in there, thats a nasty hit on the pocket books, but i could see it. The others are pretty cost effective.
That's rarely how the Expansion Draft works. Mostly LAFC will be selecting players that are desired by other teams, and making lots of trades.
I have always been a fan of Nagbe...even through his NT playing. I thought he would have been much better if he had not had to play with MB. I do believe that, just as MB became complacent with the NT, so did Nagbe with Porter and the Timbers. If he is going to salvage his career, he needs to get away from Porter. On the other hand, even when Nagbe was not playing as well as expected, Porter kept him as a starter. So, their deficits kind of fed on one another. I want all the best for Nagbe and his career. Now I will have to make Atlanta my must watch team.
Who are you even talking to? You posted those underneath my comments, which included saying Jozy and Bradley should be considered villains. I said that should be their legacy. But I also shared my irritation at those who give a free pass to players like Bobby because of their background. He played worse those last two camps than they even did. If your response to that is you're a fan of a league over national team, you're doing a massive projection. But that's what people on one extreme do. They think anybody in the other direction from them at all is an extremist. It's a false dichotomy. One can just be an extremist and the other a centrist or realist. And this is the reality - there's hardly any way of making the transfer to Europe without being a national team regular first. That's what the rules between leagues dictate, as well as basic logic, and history. I'm curious what your attitude was about Dempsey before he moved overseas, or Holden, or Cameron, or Yedlin, Howard, etc. They weren't worthy one day and then the next they were because they made a transfer? And how do you think that was made possible? Quality European leagues don't rate MLS play as a whole just like you don't, so they needed to be internationals first. Even players like Donovan, Pope, Besler, and Mastroeni can prove more than useful if they decide on the own volition to stay. It's not the path I'd prefer they choose, but we're not their daddies. Klinsmann did things his way and things fell apart. Bruce did things his way and they weren't fixed with more than enough time to turn things around. If you're not about using all the resources possible and learning from history, then you're not about winning above all else. You must not hate losing that much because you're going to do more of it.
TFC and the NT played different systems. Even nominally similar systems, as in the case of the respective diamonds played at T&T and in MLS Cup, differed strongly in type of personnel and manner of tactics. For example, in MLS Cup, TFC used 4 true central midfielders. In its midfield, the NT used 2 legit center mids, Nagbe and Bradley, a wide mid, and a wing-forward. In the latter system, basically a 4312, Bradley was limited to firefighting, which he did well enough, as the goals did not originate through his zone.
Relax. It's my view, you can go your way. And it was directed at the board, because MLS fans are easy to spot. The reality is we keep losing with MLS guys. Period. May as well go youth that hasn't been slowed by that league combined with all the youth showing up across Europe now. You like MLS. Like I said, that's ok but not for me. We should be expecting a higher level of Concacaf results than we've been getting with the Arena plan. Stop bringing up Klinsmann, his first cycle doing it his way was better than anything Arena pulled off this last cycle and the US has to do better than either of those poor coaches for a starter to improvement.
This ignores how Klinsmann this cycle left Arena with little margin for error which led to him not making sweeping changes to personnel. Not trying to get in the middle of this, but blaming the entire cycle on Arena (who no doubt made mistakes) is wrong. Not sure calling up youth players that are getting minutes now (not last year) is a fair argument either. We can only judge his decisions based on the information available at the time... agreed that we need to do better than Arena or Klinsmann going forward. I think he should have called in McKennie and JoGo to the last WCQ's even if he wasn't going to play them right away, just to push the starters who were too comfortable.
I don't care one bit about MLS. I have no natural rooting interest in the league and am aware it's second class, although some exaggerate ignoring the objective and logical cues about league comparison. I'm purely a USNT fan who wants to see no stone unturned. It's natural that a good % of them obscuring something of value underneath would be in one's domestic league, no matter which country you're in, let alone one across across an ocean from where most of the action is happening with restrictive rules incoming and outgoing. Also, I know history, and am not so removed from reality to view players who used to be in MLS as purely European players now. When they were in MLS they were still worth people's time and it needed to be viewed that way for the national team coach for them to make a move. My perspective is apparently too nuanced for you if you think that equates to me liking MLS. As far as wanting to bury your head in the sand about Jurgen's role in the downfall this cycle, that's either a byproduct of bias or seriously lacking in big picture thinking. So he puts out a squad that was playing at a sub-hex level for a year and a half, the lowest level we've seen in the program in the modern era by far, outside of a week and a half span in the middle of Copa America, digs a 3 point/-5 goal differential hole from what we were accustomed...and that has no influence over qualification?!?! The fossil that was Bruce Arena did a crappy job of cleaning up his mess relative to 90+% of fresh coaches, but it was a mess that Jurgen created. His integration was putrid. That takes over a year to fully overturn. And your conclusion from that was, he was right, let's make the same exact mistakes again. That's a serious disconnect from reality.
I didn't like re-upping Klinsmann in hindsight. One term is typically 'enough' for a head coach on a national team. But you're right, I am not a Klinsmann fan either. The US needs better tactician coaches IMO.
Look, I said it wasn't directed at you. As for the burying my head, I haven't. I am not praising Herr Klinsmann, just suggesting he's so old history anymore we can let it die. I liked his first term and didn't enjoy any of his second. You seem angry.
So Nagbe at Atlanta. Seems like a good fit. Would allow him to be what he is an 8. Wonder how Portland and Savarese use that money
Arena had 8 games to figure it out. He had plenty of margin for error as he bled points, yet only needed a draw in the final match to get a top-4 finish.
Foreign players. As a USMNT fan, Nagbe was the only reason to be interested in Portland. Maybe Jeremy Ebobisse gets more playing time in 2018?
After a cup of coffee in Germany, Manneh appears to be re-signing with MLS. NYRB could use a wing-forward.
I root for all of the new teams that come into the league with the ambition to win and the promise to spend $$$$$...and play in cool stadiums. Hope LAFC and ATL go into NE and dominate Kraft's mess of a team
Staff-wise, the Revs certainly aren't on a mess. They've a nice pool of talent with Fagundez, Nguyen, Agudelo, Rowe, Nemeth, Farrell, etc...
Kljestan to LAFC is rumored. It smells like Marsch figured out he could keep Adams happy and in the MLS by indulging Adams' delusion that he is a CAM of the future. Adams could have done better but you can only lead a horse to water, you cant make him drink.