Nowak left as assistant coach at the end of May 2009. He was replaced by Mike Sorber. Imho, this was a big step down for the usmnt. Although the team peaked in the confed cup soon after Nowak left, the team has not been too successful thereafter. Could the reason be partly due to Nowak's exit? Will Nowak be missed in South Africa? Certainly Bradley needs lots of support. He manages the player pool very well, but his in-game tactics and changes leave something to be desired. And seriously, Mike Sorber? What does Sorber bring to the table?
I would dispute this premise. The US lost a tight game at Azteca then won three straight qualifiers, including two on the road, to qualify for the world cup with a game to spare. Seems fine to me.
Aside from the first two games of the Confederations Cup, The most concerning losses since Nowak's departure were against Mexico (5-0) and Honduras (3-1), both with what I would consider a mix of our second and third string teams. Would Nowak have helped in those games? I doubt he has so much sway with Bradley he would have talked him into different lineups or formations. Everything I have seen and heard is that Bradley is going to do what he is going to do regardless. If you believe that, and I do, then this is really another thread about Bob Bradley.
it is well known that Nowak was the brain of the duo. The US been getting by and getting some results bothers me is HOW is done, very painful and labored play. Also...... Our Fed is being left behind in its preparation,by our neighbor to the south. Almost as if afraid the faults of this team will be exposed a few months before the WC. Mexico has 10 games in its preparation( 6 of them in my country), vs US, so far 2 games i know of.
Had Nowak gotten to the 2nd rd of the olympics, then i think we could have a reasonable measuring stick of what we loss or didn't lose. In terms of luck, Bob bradley is luckier than Nowak. Bob always escapes to fight another day.
This looks like an acceptable forum to point out that Bradley sucks and any help he can get is good. I'd say no one coach is responsible solely for success or failure, but it cannot be disputed that Nowak at least played the game at a higher level than almost all of the Nats -- something Sorber can't say, and certainly Bob can't say. You'd be silly to dismiss this as something that could help the Nats a great deal.
There is 1 FIFA date between now and the end of the European season. Most of our players play in Europe. How would you suggest this be done differently?
How is Mexico doing it?? They have some important guys in Europe..... Haven't we also heard here that Bob was building up credit with managers by not calling up 100% on FIFA dates so that he would get guys for non FIFA date key games? What happened to that quid pro quo???
My post was not meant to be anti-Bradley. My intent was simply to say one way or another, Nowak was probably not going to make a huge difference.
The Mexican Fed gets together and makes their league let their guys go for games. Chances are their European based players won't be let go...unless they are unimportant to their clubs. Check their rosters for these games if you don't believe me.
No - besides, he'll be busy handing off his dry cleaning to Hackworth in Philly and yelling at Seitz to quit diving for no reason.
I didn't think it was an anti-Bradley comment at all. You were saying that Nowak might of helped in those games and I was merely saying for you to pick other games. The ref caused those games to have an edge to the opponent so he wouldn't of made a difference.
Well known by whom? Nowak couldn't even figure out the card rules for the Olympic tournament. Genius he ain't.
I apologize. Either I am not stating my perspective well, or you are missing it. To put it bluntly, no, the US does not miss Nowak. US fans really have only two matches since his departure to complain about, and I doubt much would have been different had he been an assistant.
Good question in the OP. I have no idea. But I am not a fan of the argument below. By that measuring stick, Wynalda should be Bob's assistant.
Sorber is well liked in US soccer circles - if you've ever been around many coaches from all the circles, you'll find that most worship at the alter of the Roman god Janus.
If I implied that Nowak's playing career is the one and only basis on which to judge his prospects as a coach, I apologize. If you inferred it just to make a cute post, I accept yours. But let's run with this for a second. It seems pretty non-controversial that a high level playing career would give a coach some insights that another coach with much less personal success as a player would lack. So, yes, Wynalda probably has some insights that Bradley does not. Can he communicate them? Are they relevant to the situation? Etc. Well, given two otherwise similarly experienced and capable coaches, the significant high level playing career of one over the other should mean that the former player not only has insights but generally knows what to do with them. Nowak falls in this category. [Note that a nonplayer coach can still be better without those insights by being better at all the other parts of being a coach. I am not thinking of Bob here, of course]. So, no, Wynalda's playing career alone is not sufficient. But experience as a a player is an arrow in a coach's quiver that Nowak has and Bob does not.
I asked this question a while back as well. My feeling is that we did not give up early goals when he was there and our midfield passed much, much better. Nowak is old school and european, two things we really need to increase the level of sophistication not just in the game, but in our mentality. He has his soft spots as well of course.
Speaking of USMNT coaches, this article says Jesse Marsch has retired and "will likely" become a USA assistant: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_14273924