FIFA match stats show Bradley covered 12.2 km, Johnson top speed 32.98 km/h in US v. Portugal.

This is what people who trashed Bradley's performance are ignoring.

Do I think he should have scored? Yes. Am I frustrated as hell that he turned that ball over? Yes.

But we aren't going to bench him and we shouldn't, because his work rate is so vital for us. Our possession numbers would plummet without him, because he is always moving and making himself an outlet for other players. And even if he has been more turnover prone than usual, he is still one of our tidiest players on the ball.

 

Apparently coming into today, Bradley had covered more ground than anyone in the tournament except for Marcelo Diaz of Chile.

And Fabian Johnson has the third fastest speed recorded in the tournament so far.

See: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/statistics/players/distance.html

 

I don't read too much into "top speed" statistics. Oguchi Onyewu had the highest top speed for us in the 2009 Confederations Cup. All that a high top speed means is that the player actually reached a full sprint in a straight line at some point.

 

That was 1,000 meters more than the #2 player (Zusi). 8% more. That is pretty freakin' incredible.

 

In the random and meaningless department, Jones covered exactly 10,000m. How odd. Or even, in this case.

 

Fabian should be playing Champions league football, no question.

 

Rounding error.

 

When I first read it, I thought it said 10,000 km... which would have solidified him into legendary status forever.

 

That's Bradley's target.

 

So how do I get access to these for other games? Sorry for not being able to figure it out myself

 

except coupled with watching him blow past people... it just kinda confirms what anyone watching can see. He runs fast.

 

That's all he's contracted for.

 

Not true, LD was our fastest player and recorded the 4th fastest top speed at the tournament. Next on our squad was Bradley, then Davis, then Gooch.

 

He also had similar stats in the first match.

And he has played more of the match at med and hi level activity.

Bradley is playing CAM and running his tail off - that is why he is not doing well.

When Altidore went down it changed everything.

Jones has covered less distance in both Natchez. He is playing def mid.

 

Maybe Bradley should be a little more judicious with his energy expenditure in such brutal conditions.

So he still has enough in the tank to have the mental and physical capacity to make a play at the end of the game that most bar- league players could execute as an afterthought.

He's too caught up in "suffering." Needs to do a bit more "thinking."

 

Great, so there is a stat for the obvious fact that he ran himself into the ground and his fatigue (added to his injury/form) cost us.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

 

I think it is the unfortunate reality of not having enough players who show for the ball and are comfortable doing so. Everybody looks to play it to Bradley, no matter where on the field, so he is always running to receive the pass, to be the outlet, whether it is in the offensive or defensive thrid. The problem intensifies due the heat and humidty both taking their toll on him, especially if he is running an extra mile or kilometer every match compared to almost every other player in the World Cup.

 

People can question Bradley's decision making, his technical or tactical acumen, etc. etc....................but nobody can ever, under any circumstances, question this man's heart.

Yes, people complain about his "woulda, coulda, shoulda" goal against Portugal. Watch that play again and see what Bradley had to do in order to get into position for that opportunity.

Then at the end when he's about to drop dead (Jermaine Jones looked like he dropped dead in the previous sequence), he turns the ball over. It's frustrating, but that's the reality of this sport. If Ronaldo's cross isn't absolute perfection, we're not having this discussion at all.

 

Onyewu always was fast in a straight line. The fact that so many people perceived him as slow shows how much acceleration and even agility factor in to our perceptions of player speed in soccer.

 

The coach needs to read this. Maybe he did. But being german he declined any help. Mix could have played 3 or 4 mins.