Hmm, I'd go to both Bradleys for advice having to do with higher level soccer before I'd ask Jimmy Conrad's opinion. I'd go to Conrad for advice on setting up a youtube channel, though.
Right. You'd go to Mikey for the good stuff before wasting your time on "Dopes" like Jimmy Conrad. Because if anybody has exuded those hard tangibles on what it means to be a serious student and promising leader of the game it is Mikey. From when he accepted full and unconditional responsibility for his role in the US' failure to qualify, to when he set out his detailed analysis of the mistakes committed on the field [on days such as, say, vs. TnT ], his sharp mind crafting ever deeper understanding from the lessons learned from such, the guy has been nothing but impressive.
Hard intangibles? I'd stick with tangible stuff like track records in the Bundesliga, Serie A, and higher level NT experience than someone with Conrad's resume if on the search for "the good stuff." A gossipy post on Twitter doesn't do much for me, especially from a guy like Conrad who has a history of coming across as someone with an axe to grind. Just yesterday on another forum I caught a link to an interview he did with Kljestan were it was painfully obvious Conrad was fishing for negative commentary on Bob Bradley and was disappointed when Sacha didn't bite. Very cringy to watch. Bradley may have some significant failures in recent history, but that doesn't mean I'll take any and all criticism of him as some huge or relevant insight.
[1] That was hard tangibles...perhaps you expected my post to refer to "intangibles", that favorite code word of those who opt for the ghost of an argument when a genuine argument escapes them, but it didn't. I was directly referencing Mikey's very tangible qualities as a student of the game and as a leader of a team. They are as sharply tangible as a kidney stone. [2] Please do note two things: First, although Conrad was merely a MLS player, I do believe his world cup experience in 2006 was, just like Mikey's, a world cup experience. Have we ever been at a higher national level than the world cup? Second: If you are saying that a player with the greater career is the greater student of the game, and has more promise as a leader of a team, then you speak against the history and present of the sport. From the start, the best thinkers and managers have been largely drawn from the ranks of decent to inferior professional players [if they played the professional game at all]. To say that Mikey was the better player, so is the better [etc...] is to have a true antecedent lead to a false conclusion. But, hey, if you want to go for your "good stuff" from a Beckham or Best, instead of a Ferguson or Mourinho, be my guest. [3] On the other hand, gossipy rant on all those "dopes" who don't understand that a Bradley never does wrong does seem to do wonders for you. [4] Maybe it is not a huge insight, but oh is it relevant Our current Michael Bradley is a shell of who he once was as a midfielder. Criticisms of his still having a place on the USMNT, when he had done nothing to warrant it, are relevant. The response of the Bradleys to this criticism, as if they were a political action committee in the service of a favored son who "is not to be criticized", is pathetic.
This appears to be the comments. "Dopes that were on BigSoccer" https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...ey-on-the-quest-for-playing-good-footbal.html
Looks like Bob lost his cool a bit when someone asked him about the "empty bucket" (a term that was coined by a BigSoccer poster who then spent the next several years frequently expressing exasperation at the misuse of that term on this forum).
Lol. I don't think ANY media organization or forum fanbase, in any sport, in any part of the world, knows more than the professional coaches at the highest echelons of the game. Whatever game that is, wherever in the world. Baseball America writers aren't going to know more than Tony LaRussa. The NHL Tonight guys aren't going to know more than Peter DeBoer. And Le Equipe is not going to have a staff that knows more than Thomas Tuchel. So be it. Criticism is part of the job, and the debate among fans and writers is what fuels sports.
I guess congratulations are in order: https://www.starsandstripesfc.com/m...cacaf-best-xi-eleven-toronto-fc-tfc-usa-usmnt
Depends on how long they've been out of the game. Eventually the game passes you by when you're not intimately involved with it (and media guys are not, most of their time is involved in the writing or speaking associated with their profession). And just like how most coaches weren't the best players, most media members aren't former high-level coaches.
Conrad and the Bradleys have never gotten along... They're a bunch of losers who are like obsessed with soccer (lol how lame!), playing, coaching, watching, discussing... whereas Jimmy Conrad is the too cool for school class clown that yells each sentence at a slightly different volume than the previous one to keep ADHD teenagers engaged for the full three and a half minutes of his analysis-free soccer "content". I know right? Why even ask Jimmy Conrad's advice on setting up a Youtube channel? There are a million better options.
Now there's Big Soccer at its finest. Getting all serious Bolshevik on those clowinsh rube Mensheviks
I've been commenting a lot on MB given his role in Camp Cupcake. If I come across as a guy who thinks MB sucks across the board and is useless, that's bad because I don't think that's the case. I think he's a guy who has lost a step due to immense mileage in his career that step is really important as he was never the quickest/fastest guy never recovered from his injury when he returned to MLS has always been a tweener positionally and is not a 6 by any means, even in the "anchor" role as he's too much of a defensive liability was above average at almost everything but not great at anything (other than desire/intensity and ground covered) ceiling is CONCACAF and fading due to age We have better options at every position and find it curious that others believe so strongly in his technical skills which has never been a strength in mind mind (but not a weakness)
I think you are overstating his defensive liability. I do think his years of top tier range of movement are far behind him. For him to be effective he needs to be given less miles to run. I agree it's questionable building a team around that weakness. However, he does provide with quite decent technical platform and has one outstanding technical aspect (at least for our pool). He can recognize and hit a 40 to 60 yard switch better and faster than other 6/8 players. I think only Trapp is a player that can really do that. Beckerman can recognize those switches but his leg strength is lesser so he needs more time to tee up. Other players in the pool? Parks. But he wasn't called up even though he was probably available.
We can agree to disagree but looking at the totality of his game, even when he was at his peak, he was never viewed at a true defending 6 but rather someone who needed help. It's less the range of his movement but the slowness of his feet in one-on-one challenges. Furthermore, I disagree that TA and WM can't make those passes - they are technically skilled and have good vision. Furthermore, I'd argue that John Brooks can make that pass as well as MB too. To be fair, I was impressed by MB's back-spinning pass to the left attacking zone in the first half of the Panama - what a beaut.
Even if he's lost a step it's not an excuse to stop taking responsibility. Time and again in 2018 we saw him walking or jogging back after a turnover, instead of chasing the ball or player down. It was good to see him scramble 30 yards to pick up a loose ball in the first-half on Saturday and make a strong tackle while covering for his left-back in the second.
This is what happens when you put pressure on the situation and make sure this is the USMNT and not Michael Bradley FC. Michael Bradley's role will hopefully be a part of the team and fight for a spot on this team, not the golden auto-starter. Without the criticism, he would still be captain and auto-starter for 90 minutes. We are already seeing him hustle in one game more than did in the last 2 years. He is lucky this is not Mexico. Now for Berhalter, you have a player in fabian Johnson who can play multiple positions, boatload of experience, and the top player for LB. He is 6 months younger than Bradley and is fighting for minutes on the #2 team in Bundesliga. Will he be called in as well? he 100% should be.
Man. MB bosses that concacaf champions league game against a... Panamanian league powerhouse? Oh, that’s right. He got slaughtered and looked like a rec league team.
I'm not usually a blame MIkey guy but he was real bad last night. They were stripping him at the midway line and running away. It did not look like he is ready.