Bob Bradley to Fulham?

Discussion in 'Yanks Abroad' started by soonertony, Jul 4, 2010.

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  1. pavlovscat567

    pavlovscat567 New Member

    Sep 15, 2009
    Western N. America
    Club:
    Seattle
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yikes. I'd rather see Bradely start as an assistant. He's never been a part of European football, and I'd be a huge learning curve. What does he know, for instance, about Wigan's players, coaches, and pitch?

    Also, given Fulham's awesome year in 2009-2010, there's nowhere to go but down, and that would fall on BB's shoulders.
     
  2. minya

    minya Member

    Mar 27, 2008
    san diego, ca
    Wherever he goes it makes me happy. Sorry Fulham.
     
  3. Rainer24

    Rainer24 Member

    Jan 6, 2008
    Nashville, TN
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'll believe it when I see, but I could definitely see him as on the radar of European clubs now. For whatever reason, Europe seems to rate him a lot higher than most of BS. If only those crazy Italians and Brits knew anything about the game, right?
     
  4. Conartist

    Conartist Member

    Mar 15, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    I don't care if he ends up coaching a Conference side. A YA coach is a step in a good direction, and if the offers are there, I say Bob should take them.
     
  5. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Not really. Ask Man City fans what they think of his performance for them. There were demonstrations when he was fired. For one, he beat ManUnited twice in a season.............and guided them to their highest-ever premier league point total (at the time).

    And let's not underestimate his time with England. Under Sven's guidance, the team managed to reach the quarter final in three consecutive tournaments (WC 2002, Euro 2004, WC 2006). No other European country achieved this during this period.

    This is incredible to think about, but Sven lost only three competitive matches (i.e. not friendlies) while in charge of England.

    If we're talking about a job opening at a high level of club football, Sven is a better hire than Bob. I'd love for Bob to get a job in Europe. I'm not sure the premier league is the place to do it.
     
    1 person likes this.
  6. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    I would worry that Bob would have an authority problem if he tried to coach a Premiership team. That would really put the test to whether there's any lingering respect issues for American soccer, in a way that a player wouldn't.
     
  7. supercooper

    supercooper Red Card

    Jun 23, 2008
    how many foreign born coaches have there been in the NBA?

    then add an entire level of difficulty on top of that- since English football is so much more 'traditional' and hiring an American (when American football was considered a laughingstock in England 10 years ago...and with precious little respect until a couple years ago....and still not a ton of respect ).....and it is then a huge leap for an owner to hire a US coach who 'only' made it to the 16.

    This is beyond the legitimate question of 'what the hell does Bob Bradley know about the day-in, day-out of coaching in England'? He has ZERO connection to the country's national football league.
     
  8. Blustar

    Blustar Member

    May 30, 2006
    Club:
    Miami FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lol, no way in hell this is going to happen, if you're a Fulham fan, pray the USSF retains Bob, and if you're a USSF fan pray Fulham takes on Bradley.

    Seriously, if a Prem team picks up Bradley it would be beyond shocking and he would be doomed to failure.

    Fulham is a favorite team, because of Demps, and I wouldn't want Bob anywhere near Fulham.

    If the "empty bucket" doesn't work then what will he do?
     
  9. FC Funkotron

    FC Funkotron Member

    Jun 27, 2007
    Austin, El Paso, New York
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    You must not watch a whole lot of Fulham, they essentially play the 'empty bucket'

    And don't you worry your little heart out, once Dempsey leaves you can completely forget about the team
     
  10. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    Yeah, I could see a guy like Brian McBride breaking that barier at some point, with the help of the respect he earned playing. With Bradley who was never even a professional player, never mind having any experience at Prem level, it's harder.
     
  11. Scorpion26

    Scorpion26 Member

    May 1, 2007
    NY
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Swansea City has an opening maybe he could be given a shot there. Well let see if a European team will actually give him a shot. I do think his coaching style he could do well in the Dutch league.
     
  12. beamish

    beamish Member+

    Jul 6, 2009
    You can get 50 to 1 odds on Bradley becoming manager of Fulham.
     
    1 person likes this.
  13. whitecloud

    whitecloud Member+

    Jan 25, 2009
    Gulf Shores, AL
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, there are two big positives for Fulham:

    1)It would give them leverage to keep Dempsey.

    2)Their boardroom may already be planning on making a bid for Michael Bradley this summer, and having his father as coach would make them the most attractive destination.

    I'd rather have Mark Hughes. But, Bradley isn't a bad choice. I don't really like Eriksson for this club. Eriksson will be looking to move to a much bigger club right from the start and he hasn't really done a good job with budget constrained clubs before.
     
  14. smokarz

    smokarz Member+

    Aug 9, 2006
    Hartford, CT
    this is nothing but hot air.

    we heard the same thing with Arena back in 2002.
     
  15. chalaron

    chalaron Member+

    Aug 15, 2006
    Baton Rouge, Louisia
    If there's one thing I'm 100% positive about, it's that Bradley will learn this stuff very quickly. He watches an insane amount of tape and really does a lot of homework.
     
  16. Asprilla9

    Asprilla9 Member

    Dec 15, 2000
    Beaverton, OR
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, IIRC Sven won a freaking Scudetto with Lazio. and i think he won a couple of other trophies there too.

    hard to compare a guy who won Serie A to a guy who was pants for Chivas USA... but Sven's the bum :rolleyes:
     
  17. Rainer24

    Rainer24 Member

    Jan 6, 2008
    Nashville, TN
    Club:
    VfB Stuttgart
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    There have been plenty of successful managers who modest-to-non-existent playing careers. If fact, a guy viewed by many to be the greatest manager in the world chose his profession after acknowledging that he was never going to amount to anything as a player.


    Anyway, Bradley has been a coach for a long time and has always been respected by his players. I don't know that that necessarily changes by moving to Europe. There might be an adjustment period at the start, but if he could survive that, I don't think it would be much of an issue in the long run.
     
  18. pavlovscat567

    pavlovscat567 New Member

    Sep 15, 2009
    Western N. America
    Club:
    Seattle
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes, the more I think about, the worse the idea sounds. It's just too much pressure for BB, and too much to learn all at once. Start him off at a mid-level Scottish team and see how he does. Or, even better, get him a job as an assistant coach at Liverpool. He could work well with Roy.

    Then, after a few years as an assistant and a bit of street cred, he could make the jump to head coach. After all, being a soccer coach isn't that difficult (everyone can go to hell if they disagree with me). Street cred and good players are the key. Example: Inter. A retarded muskrat could coach Inter to another scudetto.
     
  19. Conartist

    Conartist Member

    Mar 15, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Exactly what Liverpool want. Another American in a position of power. :rolleyes:
     
  20. pavlovscat567

    pavlovscat567 New Member

    Sep 15, 2009
    Western N. America
    Club:
    Seattle
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ooooh, good point. I can see the demonstrations already.

    This is the curse of being an American: we're always ruining it for each other.
     
  21. voros

    voros Member

    Jun 7, 2002
    Parts Unknown
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    But I don't get this. Do Tom Hicks and I sit down at dinner every night and discuss what his business plans are? Do I take my frustrations with Russell Brand out on other English people?

    If Liverpool fans are mad at Tom Hicks because he's an American, they're being bigoted and xenophobic. If they're mad at him for running their team poorly, well then that's a problem with Tom Hicks and his being American is irrelevant.
     
  22. papermache16

    papermache16 Member+

    Jan 30, 2009
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, you saw the burning flag.... disgraces me as a Liverpool fan.
     
  23. eric515

    eric515 Member

    May 8, 2002
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    Aston Villa FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Sven was very good at City - only got run out because of a horrid finish to the one season he was there. He's a very good club manager, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he goes there.

    The only way I could see Bradley getting this is if both SGE and Hughes (and maybe Curbishley) turn it down.
     
  24. DirtyJerzey

    DirtyJerzey Member

    May 30, 2005
    Harrison, NJ
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think the fact that Bradley's even in the shortlist speaks volumes of the growth of American soccer.

    That being said, I'd be surprised if Hughes or Curbishley don't take the job. I wouldn't be shocked at all if Bradley becomes an assistant at a high level club. I don't think anyone would argue that Bradley would be an excellent assistant with the amount of preparation he goes through.
     
  25. Stan Collins

    Stan Collins Member+

    Feb 26, 1999
    Silver Spring, MD
    All true, but I'm not really arguing that Bradley would be a 'bad manager' in a direct sense; in fact, I feel sure there are guys who pass through the Prem on a regular basis who are worse (some who even get second chances).

    What I am arguing is that it might be too easy for Premiership players who have pretty big egos to subvert his authority and largely get away with it.

    See, I think there are several reasons why it could. First is the media culture--if a player were to go to the press and say, 'this American, who by the way never played, has no idea what he's doing', the media would eat it up. Second is relatability--it's always easier to give the coach respect when you can relate to his job accomplishments (either as a player or as a coach). Third is the salary/ego/way players are treated in that environment. Fourth is the fans and their expectations. All in all, it just strikes me as a completely different 'experience' trying to coach a Premiership squad.

    The football part strikes me as little different, and there are doubtless US/MLS coaches who could more than handle it. The man/environment management, however, that's a whole different ball of wax, and I think a US coach that doesn't happen to have some credentials that English fans and players can relate to (playing career, previous 'high-level' management experience) starts out, to mix metaphors, at an 0-2 count.

    It sometimes happens when college coaches try to step up to the pros, but you'd think it would be a bigger risk when you're adding a foreign cultural context as well.
     
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