When you talk to me, understand, I watch every game, preseason and in-season...I know what I've witnessed the last two years in terms of growth and development at Stabaek. Again, I've seen what Bob inherited. It wasn't good. So, I disagree with much of what you say, from a football perspective. Easier to be a coach on a message board than on an actual field. You know that.
One last thing and I'll get the hell off the message boards. Go Stabaek. Huge game today. If you'd have said at the beginning of this season, when they were touring Portland, Stabaek would be on 53 points with two games remaining, with a chance to medal, you'd have signed up for that. Great effort by the club...Inge and Bob as a PARTNERSHIP...to find players who fit the budget. Great job by the players, who bought in to Bob's philosophy, who have worked their asses off all year... Three points today, boys. You can do this. Cheers, JB
I would expect no less. And true, I'm not a trained football coach, so I usally try to discuss topics with people I know that are coaches or have been in the past before making up my mind on footballing issues. So I also know what I've witnessed over the last two seasons, and I'm not impressed. Football has few definite answers, so we probably have to agree to disagree I guess.
Which is why I lean on this quote frequently... “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt
And what would football be like without fans who cares enough to spend time and money on following and discussing the clubs...
Yup. But important to keep it in perspective. I'm a 25-year sportswriter in New York. I know all about being a critic. Let's get three points today.
2 American born coaches have qualified clubs for Europa League qualifying next season: John Caulfield at Cork City & Bob Bradley at Stabaek— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) November 1, 2015
And honestly, you do a good job. And your honesty is refreshing. Most YA threads follow a similar pattern. Initial bonhomie; some criticism seeps into the local fans' posts; YA posters react poorly to the criticism; local fans react poorly to the reaction to their criticism; YA posters react poorly to the reaction to their reaction (to the criticism); and so on, until the Yank leaves and there's finally room for measured stock-taking. Anyone who's spent time debating politics on the Internet is familiar with the reflexivity that creeps into these discussions. Having "lurked" since Day 1, I am sure that virtually every poster on this thread would concede - if it didn't mean surrendering ground in some zero sum struggle over legacy - that they had "overdone" it a bit in an attempt to "balance" the picture. What makes the Bob Bradley thread so unique in the context of YA is that the debate is fundamentally about apportioning credit rather than blame. Regardless of where "the truth" lies, congratulations both to the Stabaek fans on a well-deserved return to the pinnacle of Norwegian football and to those YA posters (and kin) who have been cheering on a man who is well on his way to becoming the most accomplished American soccer coach in history.
Probably... I think they have talked about using Forenbu Arena - the indoor stadium that we were kicked out of... I hope they find some other venue. And that we do not draw some obscure east european team in the qualifiers. They do not draw spectators, and they are usually pretty good.
I keep forgetting that most followers of this tread is primarly interested in finding out how well Bob is dooing, and probably not so much how some of us not to happy Stabæk supporters rate his does and don'ts. And I understand that it seems very strange not to simply praise him based on the results, because in the end that is all that matters. But for me there is a bit more to it, I'm stuck with this club for a long time after Bob has moved on...
I am a happy, proud little brother tonight. I know the blood, sweat and tears that he and his assistant Jan Peder put into this team for the last two seasons. I'm assuming only Ringo and I saw what this squad looked like when Bob arrived. I watched in horror when they played pre-season games in 2014. They were getting run off the field by second division teams. I was truly worried that Bob had made a huge mistake. Last year was about survival. This year, you could see in Portland that the team's football had improved, but they were missing athleticism. When they added Asante and Diomande and a reclamation project named El-Ghanassy, I was interested to see what would happen. There was a time this season where, in my opinion, Stabaek were the best team in Tippaligaen. They were screwed by the referee not once, not twice, but three times against Rosenborg, costing them a shot at the league and the Cup. When Dio was sold and Keita and Meling were injured, it became really nerve-wracking. You could see the squad was losing confidence. This week, Bob and Jan had a big task, to get the team believing again. What a gratifying result. Alltid Uansett. Evig Blaa. Jeff
Let's just hope the Le Havre supporters who find their way to BS are half as good as our friends from Norway have been in this thread. I really enjoyed reading your perspectives @@Ringo and @Sevens7ar Thanks!