Bradley Is No "King Midas"

Discussion in 'New York Red Bulls' started by Vistula, Nov 9, 2003.

  1. Vistula

    Vistula New Member

    Jul 2, 2001
    Garfield
    http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1068359888242680.xml

    Only point I'd argue is that the 5-2 loss in Foxboro "gave the Revolution momentum" for the series. I do not think momentum caused that ball to deflect off Fabbro's toe for their first goal or caused Pope's shot to ping off Noonan and then off the underside of the cross bar. I thought we came to play, and played hard and didn't get a freaking break all night.

    I also think the fact that we qualified for the playoffs with a month left in the season (but had little to no shot at the division) makes our late-season record one-hundredth as important as last season's meltdown. But hey, that's just me.
     
  2. ChrisE

    ChrisE Member

    Jul 1, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    American Samoa
    This is the part that bugs me. The club made it to the Open Cup finals, and made it to the playoffs. Admittedly, it's not looking like they'll win either, but this year is obviously an improvement over last year. More importantly, the roster looks significantly better than it did a year ago, regardless of whether Clint leaves or not.

    The "yet another disappointing season" is a refrain that we're going to hear around the league these coming weeks. Already, obviously, it's come from Dallas and Columbus. Now you've got Colorado agitating for their coach to be fired and D.C. depressed as well. If San Jose loses as expected, I'd imagine we'll hear it from them, and if LA does, we can be sure to. New England, Kansas City, it's hard to say. So, in the end, we've got how many teams with satisfying seasons? Maybe 3, out of 10. It's a reflection of that whacked out expectations that this league engenders that almost the only team that can be satisfied with its season is the one that wins the cup.
     
  3. Richie

    Richie Red Card

    May 6, 1999
    Brooklyn, NY, United
    I think if Bradley had the players to win a championship he would win a championship.

    Some coaches in the MLS could not win a championship if they had Brazils National team.

    Start of the season we had holes with this team. We went in with no player depth and no wing mids.

    Now we have non starter depth at every position except at keeper. That has to change just in case our starter misses some games.

    We thought we had starting strikers as it turned out we don't.

    Bradley did fix the depth over all. Problem is our players we thought would give us depth have to start now. You can not win with your substitutes starting all the time. We have holes at wing mid, and at striker.

    How is he suppoed to win a championship in his first year with the team with the players we have now? I don't think so. He has to have time to build a team that plays a good game. That is hard to do in one season.

    Next season is what we should look forward to. If we keep the good prospects, get rid of the dead wood and if we do not get more dead wood in their place.

    Want to get new players? Need a player or two with real speed and build a counter attack around them. We don't have the players or a counter attack right now.

    Any one else we get has to have quickness. Which leaves out any big polish slow moving players we might be thinking of getting for next season.

    Need a wing mid who can beat people off the dribble.

    Hell, if we get 3 players who can beat people 1 v 1 we are in business.

    Then Bradley would have the players he needs to win a championship, and he will win a championship.
     
  4. MetroFever

    MetroFever Member+

    Jun 3, 2001
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    Croatia
    Moreover, the changes Bradley made changes to his starting lineup in the first playoff game -- inserting Polish veteran Andrzej Juskowiak and leaving starters Richie Williams, Eddie Gaven and John Wolyniec on the bench -- backfired. Juskowiak proved ineffective, and while Gaven came on at halftime and gave the team some spark, Wolyniec, whom Bradley has said repeatedly he likes as a late-game substitute, never got on the field in the Metros' 2-0 loss.

    Good analysis by Colin Stephenson. The changes had no rhyme or reason. To his credit, however, Bradley admitted he made a mistake.
     
  5. voros

    voros Member

    Jun 7, 2002
    Parts Unknown
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    More to the point, he improved the team significantly while getting more than 5,000 minutes for players 20 years old or younger. Adding young talent the quality of Clark, Magee and Gaven is what this club has needed and Bradley delivered it.

    All of those kids are going to get better, and considering some of the quality they've already shown, that's great news. Remember most of the Supporter's Shield squad was built by Bradley through adding young players through the draft or trades and developing them into pros. No manager in this league has a better record with young players.

    It takes time, but I think it's a good start.
     
  6. Elder Statesman

    Mar 29, 2002
    Central Park South,
    He's been a good coach so far for the metros. He's gets respect from the players and they play like a team. However, I think he's made some mistakes this season and I disagree with certain people who make Bradley out to be someone who can walk on water.
     
  7. ChrisE

    ChrisE Member

    Jul 1, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    American Samoa
    I think this is a tremendous statement of Bradley's value as a coach. No, he's not going to step in this year and win the Metros a championship; there are other good coaches in the league, and, in the end, you can't win without the players.

    But with Bradley as your coach, you know that you're going to field a solid team every year. You know that he's going to improve the team's talent. You know he's going to get just as much as he can out of that talent. And you know that, going in to the season, you have a shot at winning it all, if everything goes right. This is a lot more than the Columbus Crew fans have right now.
     
  8. ChrisE

    ChrisE Member

    Jul 1, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    American Samoa
    You know, as a fan of the USMNT, this is why I love Bradley as a coach. He's obviously very, very dedicated (and very good at) developing young American talent. However, the fact that you've got a team full of young americans who will someday mature isn't a great comfort when your team is getting walloped by a New England team whose midfield is dominated by a Uruguayan and a Grenadan, and who are getting tremendous production out of a washed-up Argentinian. I think that I probably overvalue Bradley because I see how well he develops young players, when in terms of tactics and actually winning games, he's probably no better than Steve Nicol or Sigi Schmid.
     

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