Does Bob Bradley know what he is doing? a C team to Copa America

I believe he does know what hes doing this is in my opinion the best team that he could bring and you can still put a very solid team out on the field who if plays good enough very likely can advance out of the group stage. Although we could certainly have a better team this is a team that I think will bring many pleasant surprises.

 

No, he doesn't know.That idiot only knows how to put his f^cking son on USMNT game for 90 min.
I hate him

 

As much as I hate to say it I don't think he's trying to win the copa america but he is trying to win the gold cup which is why the "better" team is doing the gold cup and not the copa america. And Bob being Bob will probably say something along the lines of, "I wanted to give this experience to the younger, less experienced players," which might not be the worst idea in the world. It's probably better for them instead of putting them in a friendly against another country who won't bring their best team either.

 

I thought it was more like a B- team.

 

Nope.. It's a C+ team..

 

Absurd to call this a C team. It's a B team, maybe a B+.

 

Of course he knows what he is doing. If he has some success with this squad he can be the hero by winning with a bunch of youngsters. If he crashes out of the Copa, then he can explain his results with the excuse that he is using a younger squad for development purposes. Win-Win situation.

 

not a C team at all. half the players could start regularly for US best 11.

Feilhaber, Clark, Demerit, Bornstein, Pearce, Mapp, Twellman, EJ

the squad isn't that bad and has the ability to advance out of the group. Of course we could just as easily lose 3 matches.

 

One of these days objectivity will sneak onto a BS board.

For example, how can one say that Bradley favors his son, and yet he doesn't include him in the Copa squad.

By the way, a handful of these players could also also be on the Olympic squad: Feilhaber, Davies, Wynne, Ngyuen

As far as I know, Bradley still controls the Olympic team as well...and I think they would need to start qualifying soon for 2008.

All I am saying is that we don't see the big picture.

 

I've got no problem with this team, absolutely no problem.

We're going to expose some talented MLSers and euro-youngster ballers to a great challenge and it has a spine with experience and leadership (Keller-Conrad-Olsen-Twellman).

No one here is going to take it easy believing they've got a free pass onto the national team. There will be maximum effort by everyone.

 

Any team with Eddie Gaven on it is a C team. He hasn't really done anything in the MLS in 4 years. Bradley better hope we win Copa America, because it looks like we will be heading home early from the Copa America. It's too bad, this tournament should mean alot to the team, and apparently it doesnt't. I hope we don't get embarrassed too bad by Argentina.

 

This really isn't a C team at all. I honestly think that over WCQ and Germany and now the friendlies and Gold Cup we're very comfortable with our faces, but these are still a lot of the best guys we have.

I'm very excited to see Demerit in particular be in a place where you know BB is going to have to start him every game, because he needs someone with that kind of experience out there against attacking sides like Argentina.

The Ricardo Clark and Justin Mapp fans have to be at least a little excited, with no Pablo and no Bradley out there.

 

I think the fact that the Copa America is literally right after the Gold Cup, means that many of the players for the Gold Cup may be too tired to go.

As it is, I think Bradley does know what he's doing. A long standing complaint is that the USMNT pool isn't deep. What better way to expand it and give more US players experience than a tournament such as this? It's away from home, it's against strong competition, and the US isn't expected to do well at all (as if it could feasibly win CONEMBOL *and* the CONCACAF titles in one year).

Furthermore we can see how a US team would look like without Landon Donovan and other first team players; a possibility should injuries arise. All I want to see is the US be competitive in the tournament. If they do that, I'm happy.

 

Actually I think this is a good squad to send. He is building some of the leaders of the next Olympic team...the loss of free exposure the US experienced by not making the Olympics the last time will not be forgotten. He has got to think about the other half of his job!

 

The thing I like is that many of these players will be in the running for 2010 and this is EXACTLY the kind of vicious, brutal, hornets nest type matches they need to understand exactly what the hell real international competition means. Outside of N. Korea I don't know how much more a demanding environment there could be for the youngsters. The Chavez-appointed "fans" will make this worse than any CONCACAF environment could be. (CONCACAF fans don't have guns pointed at their families heads to ensure capitulation to the state line.)

 

Both his captains were begging out of the competition, the Gold Cup team has brought up more questions than answers (honestly his son has actually been one of the better guys in this tournament), the competitions are back to back......i think he picked the right team for Copa. The worst thing that happens is that the B team gets blown out, the best thing is some guys stand out and put pressure on the rest of the regulars to step up their game.

I hope somebody shines in the back or the midfield to push out Donovan or Gooch or Bocanegra. I hope they go into a hostile territory and represent well.

Bob is taking a risk but if it works, he gets leverage over his vets.

 

Rocketeer, you're right on the money with the last line in this post. As fans most do not see the big picture. That's why we are on bigsoccer.com and Bob Bradley is the head coach of the national team.

As far as Michael Bradley and certain other players are concerned, it is obvious that we all have favourites and biases. Michael Bradley is going to be a heck of a player for the USA, get used to him.

I swear it seems like most of the fans would rather spew venom at the team than actually be a fan and enjoy it.

 

Why the hell did they accept the invitation?

 

Duh. To get some national team games against top-quality competition and let Bradley try out some players.

Did you really have to ask that question?

This is a busy summer with the Gold Cup, the Copa, and the U20s. Lots of players are getting a look from the new coach, but their respective clubs understandably have reservations about Bradley sending them players exhausted from multiple summer tournaments. And it's a drain on the players themselves. Bradley has to negotiate between national team games (which don't affect WC qualifying) and players' club commitments.

So Bob prioritizes. Where do we stand to gain the most? Answer: the Gold Cup. If we win we get to go to the Confederations Cup and get three games against other confederation champs in the run-in to the World Cup itself. That's valuable. Remember that it's not just the Cup itself that we're after here!

In that context, the Copa America can only be a distant second to the Gold Cup in importance. We'll play some good teams--teams that we're not expected to beat in the first place--and in a tournament where there's no added benefit to a US victory.

Frankly, this looks like a fine roster to me. He's taking several players from the Gold Cup squad who I thought should've gotten more time. Well, now they'll get more time.

He's taking a number of players he hasn't really seen play for the Nats (obviously, he's seen a lot of Gaven for the artists formerly known as Metro, so he probably knows what Gaven is capable of; whether or not Gaven lives up to his promise is another story), which will allow him to either consider or disregard them in the future.

He's taking some trusted veterans to help bring the younger guys along.

And if we don't make it out of the group stage, SFW??? It's not even our tournament anyway!!!!

 

You play to qualify for the World Cup, and the World Cup is where you prove yourself; it's the ultimate in int'l soccer. Everything else is secondary.

With the WC's seeding/group selection process, you know you'll play a European team. Beyond that, you have two of the following: an Asian team (or Australia), an African team, a South American team, or another European team. It makes a lot more sense to test yourself against a variety of styles in the Confederations Cup a year before the WC than against a bunch of South American teams when there's no WC qualifying at stake.

OF COURSE we want to do well!! But Bradley can't go all-in for this tournament; he's being pulled in several directions by mitigating factors, and this lineup reflects that. Cut the man some slack.

 

F*cking hell, I expected a weeker squad but not this bad.


Whats up with Marcus Hahnemann I thought he would be in this squad for sure.

Why no Spector and Simek? They only played a couple games in the gold cup? I also thought Beasley and Gooch would play to try and earn a contract somewhere. Tournament will be packed with scouts.

 

... Maybe because Michael Bradley will be playing in the U-20 World Cup during the Copa America.

 

aw shzit, I'm so ********in drunk right now. Been sippin on my juice working the chicks like 7-11 on a tuesday. fonrth, check it holmes, Gooch is gonna keep it tite like bufsdojn, word.


I'm all liek shit, thisn isnt even real and I;mon a clousd/