This is not intended to start another debate over Clint's physical and mental fitness or Zambrano and Arena's fairness. I think most everybody wants to see Mathis get back to his form of 2001. Will Bradley help? Will he have the same appproach/attitude as Arena? Will it benefit Clint to have those two coaches working in tandem, as they always implicitly do? I have a lot of respect for Bob - but on the disciplinary side it seemed to me that he let Razov be Razov and he always allowed his eastern European stars to be divas. Come to think of it, he treated them like Arena treated his Bolivian divas: back them up or look the other way when they're misbehaving or not performing. Is this a good match for Clint?
I think it will help Clint. OZ has an amazing eye for talent, but he does a terrible job of managing it once he has it. Just look at 99 Galaxy for the difference in the team once Sigi took the reins. Bradley also does a great job of putting his players in a position to win, and I trust he'll have Clint back on his game in little time.
I have a lot of respect for Bob - but on the disciplinary side it seemed to me that he let Razov be Razov and he always allowed his eastern European stars to be divas. Come to think of it, he treated them like Arena treated his Bolivian divas: back them up or look the other way when they're misbehaving or not performing. Is this a good match for Clint? [/B][/QUOTE] I think Razov stepping on Heaps was out of character and it isn't consistent with his regular play. Its not an excuse but it's hard to me to think of other examples. I think Stoich got away with murder, with Bradley and more important, the referees. I think Nowak and whoever else you claim to be a "diva" play all out on offense and defense. Fire players don't usually have an attitude of being too good to not give it their all. I think Bradley maximized a players potential to it's fullest and got his players to play specific roles and not complain about it. I think Mathis will regain his form and self-control. I just hate seeing this at the Fire's demise.
Re: Re: Mo' Mathis: Will Bradley help? Bizarre "hair-pulling from behind" incident with Mauricio Wright. The guy's got self-control issues.
what game was this and what year? Sounds vaguely familiar once you brought it up but i cant place it.
Just checking. Was this a joke, jmeiss? 'Cause I think my comment, standing alone, was an acceptable expression of my own opinion. But it was in response to Nutmeg's comment that Bradley puts "players in a postion to win" and Wunderkid saying Bradley "maximized a players potential to it's fullest and got his players to play specific roles and not complain about it." These folks had Mathis in mind.
Re: Re: Mo' Mathis: Will Bradley help? Let's see - 1) Aforementioned hair-pulling incident 2) Razov slapped a guy a year or two ago 3) Now Heaps No, sadly, the Heaps play is consistent with Ante's character. Noah is certainly correct -- Dema, Stoichkov, and Nowak led any non-Argentinian league in diving & pouting, and Bradley didn't seem to mind a bit. Or maybe he did, but he figured that it was too dangerous to try to change their behavior. So in conclusion, Bradley tolerated a lot of poor sportmanship with the Fire, so I don't see why he would get especially vigilant with Clint.
Ah, all those Incidents by Razov are years apart. I wouldnt call Razov a saint but Dema and Nowak dive as well as stoichkov...BUt Nowak does get fouled a lot while Dema just tips over slowly...hes ridiculous. One thing you really can say is that Bradley always had a contender and his players never quit on him. I think Clint will do fine.
I think Bradley is good for Clint. What I'm more interested in with Bradley and the metros though is Bradley shaping up the defense. I think he'll bring some desperately needed order with Jolley and Petke, and Ziadie and Akwari will get some development tips and we'll see for real if these guys are nats material or not.
Okay, I'm guessing this will be an interesting topic in six or seven months. (P.S. You know you flopped when even BenReilly snubs your Mathis thread.)
I think Bradley will be great for Clint. Bradley is excellent at dealing with is players. He's had few run ins with players that have made it public. He manages his players well and gets them to play a little more disciplined team game. Certainly, the Fire had a system of play that the players all bought into. Most importantly, guys want to play for him. As for Razov, defenders get very physical with him to throw him off of his game. Usually, because it works. It works with a lot of forwards. Ante is very aware of when he takes his red cards. Usually, he gets one before his absences for national team callups and the last game of the year. I wouldn't blame diving on the coach as is implied with some of the posts here. Ruiz dives all the time as do many of the south americans and europeans. It is an unfortunate part of the game, especially when the diver isn't on your own team.. And Wright deserved far worse than a hair pull.
With regards to Stoitchkov, weren't many people concerned that he would be a complete loose cannon upon his arrival. That Bradley has kept him pretty much in line is a lot better than some of his past coaches - didn't S. just up and walk away from his J-League team while under contract?
The coach should be secondary. Throughout a players career they will no doubt play for good coaches and bad coaches if they play long enough. The most important thing is for Clint to be self motivated and "self-critical". If he wants to reach his potential then it is totally up to Clint to do so. I have been impressed with recent interviews that seem to indicate that he is starting to be critical of his own attitude and performance over the past year. This is a positive step. If a new coach encourages this trend, then this will obvious help Clint to improve.
Technically,I think this is a Bradley thread. Now,if you headlined with "Clint Mathis-CoachKiller",we might waste some good bandwidth...
This is definitely a Mathis thread. Now that Bradley has a truly good player to coach, he might accomplish something for once. Serious response. It's tough to be totally motivated to play for the Metrostars when the league nixes a deal to play for Bayern Munich, especially after only playing half time in the WC despite being the best player on the team. I think Bradley will get the most out of Mathis in what is probably his last year in MLS. Oz completely F-ed things up as we all saw on ESPN's weekly Metrostars show. Bradley is a winner. Mathis needs to prove himself again. All things point to success. It should be fun to watch.
I see your point. Others might not so I'll restate it: It's tough for a prima donna that read too much into his press clippings to be totally motivated to play for the MetroStars, especially when the league nixes a deal to play with the Bayern Munich reserve side. [snip] Mathis needs to prove himself again.
Agreed, agreed, and agree very strongly. I can't wait for next season. Just getting rid of Dial-ho was a great first step.
Mathis would have got playing time at BM. He was better than the press clippings. The first true World Class USA field player. As for last year's performance with the Metrostars, there were a variety of factors, including Mathis' not appreciating being forced to stay with the club when an elite team was willing to pay 7 figures for his services. He was totally screwed. I'm not sure how anyone could disagree with that. OZ misplayed him horribly as well. It's kind of funny. Donovan has a sub-par season (a major reason for SJ not winning the MLS Cup) and nobody makes a big stink about it. 2003 will be a great year for Mathis so long as he doesn't get injured.
Nobody makes a big deal about it because he's just a posteryboy and he did it without self destructing. Sir Mathis was self destructing. How is this for the Mad Bulgarian. Stoitchkov sent a Barcelona teammate to the hospital after beating the $@!& out of him during halftime of a Barcelona game before Bradley. After Bradley Stoitchkov didn't send any teammates to the hospital. That has to count for something.
I disagree with that. It was we, the Metro season ticket holders, who got screwed by Mathis who saw fit to get himself into only 80% playing shape while collecting $4,000 and change a week from MLS and close to that amount from endorsements. I don't see how anyone could disagree with that. I don't think it matters who the coach of the Metro is. Mathis knows the USMNT friendlies and the next MLS season are his last chances for a decent Euro contract.
everyone is missing the boat with this mathis/bradley issue...so let me dock it for you... any player who is on, or has the potential to be on, the USMNT and plays for bradley will play above their abilities. why? you ask? well, arena's and bradley's coaching system is similar, and i can only assume they talk to each other regularly about players....if a player from bradley's team goes to arena's, he's already used to the system and the environment....makes it much easier for arena to bring a team together in a short period of time (which is usually the case)......much different then someone coming from a zambrano team. Its not a coincidence that most players on the USMNT come from either a bradley team or a former arena team. pope, agoos, olsen, llamosa, williams, razov, wolff, armas, bocanegra, sanneh, beasley, etc... if sarachan takes an mls coaching position, i'll those players shape up as well.... that is all. the boat will be departing.
Bradley/Arena Thread The Bradley/Arena connection is definitely worth thinking about. I happen to know the viewpoints of several current and ex-Fire guys (never mind how, but I do) on Bradley and Arena. Always the same -- either the player likes 'em both, or doesn't either one of them. They seem to be a tandem offering.