Also, is it so hard to show some respect? Guys like Bradley and Altidore gave us some important goals. Didn't you celebrate when Altidore scored that goal on Spain in the '09 Confeds? Didn't you cheer when Bradley scored that goal in the Azteca last year? I don't get ungrateful people. Yes, they may not be needed at this point and may lack the humility to have properly apologized a year ago, and perhaps should have quit from the team in penance. But it's not their fault if they keep getting called. Heck, if they got called but said they didn't want to play, bet you'd criticize them for that too. Is it so hard to show some respect?
bsky22, your points are covered by Chad's points below and there's nothing productive about taking them further. - He is not a leader. - He was captain -- and jogging! -- during the greatest modern failure of the team.
You're not arguing against anyone. I'm saying, plainly, and have been saying, plainly, that he doesn't belong anymore. I don't believe that a single person is arguing that he is the answer to anything. This entire "discussion" is a stupid circle jerk at this point, and nothing more, and if anything it's simply a shouting match between a few of us saying "he's not the answer to any question we have anymore" and the rest screaming the equivalent of "WORST PLAYER EVUHHHHHHH!!!!" That's a stupid "discussion" to have. The mods really ought to move this thread, because this isn't the stuff of N&A anymore. We wouldn't put a pointless Freddy Adu shouting match in N&A and this now belongs in roughly the same bin.
Love Bradley. I won't ever forget the tying goal vs. Slovenia. But it's time to go. His attitude about everything isnt healthy imo. And hes washed up. Thanks for everything, I know you aren't the one to call yourself up. But over.
Fair enough (as I fully agree) although i don't think that's apparent from what you wrote (wrt to gratitude).
But Marko72, he's still captain, playing 90 and is the centerpoint of the USSF's marketing strategy. There's grist for the N&A mill here as it's frankly unbelievable that the above-mentioned is ongoing even one year after the end of the Hex. I can't see how you can disagree that as long as he's any of the following (captain, playing 90 and is the centerpoint of the USSF's marketing strategy) that it's worthy of N&A discussion.
I see both sides. one side (where i lean) - I dealt with MB defenders for years, only to be proven right by this last Hex. He's still a prominent member of this team. I get to complain as long as I want because, again, I was proven right. other side - Ok, we were wrong, MB wasn't a good leader, but he had many years of service, let's just drop the discussion. Yeah, nobody thinks he should be on the team now, but why complain about it? Well, to DHC's point, as long as he plays a prominent part, people (me) can complain. And we should. The guy stinks, and has stunk for years. Nobody would give two rips if this guy had given up the armband and fought his way back to the team to be a MEMBER of it. He hasn't earned it, he hasn't earned anything the last year or two. Yet he's still given 90 mins/armband/etc. I see no reason why this isn't the MAIN discussion about the team at this point, as it's completely embarrassing. Just because you were wrong about his play, his leadership, etc. doesn't mean you just get to dismiss it. "oh well, i was wrong, this is crazy that he's still playing, let's just move on. How's the coaching search?". Doesn't work that way.
Those comments are about Bradley. Mine are about the team. They are related, but dont specifically explain the impact, not clear my interpretation is 100% accurate. While many are directing their dissatisfaction with Bradley, in this situation Im not directing any at him but those behind including him in the team. It seemed pretty obvious to me that it would create a dynamic issue and that was confirmed last night. It shouldnt have been contemplated until we had a new coach who had a view on the team and what role he would want to use him. If it was just Sarachan, then I think he should be fired and anybody stand on the side line during games until we get a coach. The "marketing" leads me to believe it goes deeper and raises even more concerns about the federation. We have generally wasted a year and what he had accomplished, this poor decision is unwinding it. Again, my issue isnt MB, but the people in our federation who keep making poor decisions that take the team backwards.
Based on what? If we rooted for the US through the same old faces of the past decade, why upon hearing of a Berhalter or of a Vermes would we now root for Azerbaijan or Philippines or Zambia? If you are not a neophyte, and are a backer of the USMNT, you have gritted through far worse than those you mention as lying ahead.
Quintero for Colombia came on at 55' (for Cuadrado) and was taken off at 83' (for Diego Chara's brother, Yimmi). In his 28 minutes of play he assisted on the winner, assisted on the insurance goal, and had a shot off the post when he ran up to Bradley and said "hey I want you to look at this, off the left pole". I was wondering if anybody had a gif of that and when it happened. I think the Colombian mgr. got worried at that point about a 6-2 score and had mercy which is why he subbed out a guy he had subbed in. Quintero was a big deal when he played against us in the Olympic playoff, iirc, but Polster and Trapp had no problems with him at all.
144 page summary. Bradley isn't responsible for getting called up with the armband. That said, whoever is should be canned. Bradley is responsible for his ineffective performance. Past time to relieve the lion of backpassing from further USMNT duty.
That is delusional. Trapp and Polster struggled mightily in that series. We all know Acosta did too, so you dont need to make another post about him.
Thanks for the invite. I went back and looked at those two games again earlier this year when this same discussion came up. Fox covered the away game and ESPN the home game here. In the away game Holden remarked on all the space Colombia were getting behind the left back whose name I don't recall. On the return leg Acosta went into left back and the color guy on the call (I think it was Moreno because it sounded just like him) says after half "well there you see it again, we told you on the pre-game and we told you on the goal, and now we are telling you again that Palacios is finding acres of space behind the left back....." Those were not his exact words but a reasonable facsimile thereof. I am bringing it up now because it is obvious that US has a rep for getting slaughtered in the wide spaces. If you want to say it is a coaching problem because it comes up time and again with different players, that would be fine but I'd say that Yedlin doesn't get similarly challenged. Why didn't Holden and Moreno go after Trapp and Polster? They never did. It was the left back.
A little context offered here about how and by whom Bradley was raised. Sir Bob Bradley, who was quoted in this piece from the NYT in 2003 about Fredy Adu when he was signed by MLS at the ripe age of 14: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/19/sports/soccer-adu-14-signs-an-mls-deal-for-six-years.html "MetroStars Coach Bob Bradley also cited James, who went from high school to the N.B.A. at 18. He said that James was a talented player who ''believes that basketball is his future and he wants to learn by being around the best players,'' and that Adu had every right to take that approach. ''There's no basis to argue otherwise,'' Bradley said. ''It's dumb.'' end quote It's dumb. This to me sums up in a nutshell the disdain Bradley the senior has for those he deems outside of his level from a soccer standpoint. "You're all morons and really should just stick to something else and let the soccer experts manage soccer. And by the way, never expect me to justify anything to you people." This is who raised Michael, and it doesn't surprise me one bit that the younger Bradley carries that same level of disdain for most people when they question him. When he was at a high level of play, we tolerated it. Now that he is an orange traffic cone, he can take his disdain and shove it up his you know what.
There is a certain mentality that is closed to the possibility of learning from others (or a subset thereof). It is a dangerous thing to have that mentality ensconced in a position of leadership. This goes well beyond the Bradleys and soccer. I do think it has been part of the problem during Michael's captaincy. People who are too sure their way is the right way usually make poor leaders. Not to mention that the rest of us don't enjoy spending much of our time in the company of such people.
I don’t care if he plays tonight or not. If he does, I suspect he will fare better in the cooler weather than the Tampa humidity. His legs just don’t have the juice they once had.