If Klinsman is anything he's a salesman to the horde of Bob Bradley haters who also hate Michael. I'm seriously starting to wonder if this may explain why Bradley (a Serie A starter) can't seem to beat out Edu and Beckerman in Klinsman's starting roster. At this point you really can't argue Bradley isn't the better player.
I think that anyone who has even a shred of soccer intelligence realizes that the two best midfield options for this "system" are Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley. And Klinsmann, being the panderer that he is, probably is benching Michael just to appease the mob. In the few minutes he's gotten under Klinsmann he's clearly been better than Edu. Change for the sake of change, without any rhyme or reason, is almost always worse than doing nothing at all.
The Beckerman thing I guess I can understand if you're a silly, frivolous coach married to that role, but there's simply no arguing Bradley couldn't do a better job than Edu in the 8 spot.
Edu has done very little positive in his starts. Let's hope that the Slovenia match does not see him at the line-up.
Beckerman's positioning, tackling, and coverage for others was outstanding in the first half. With Bradley and his tendencies to overrun and be out of position, this game would have been out of hand early.
Bradley has scored 9 goals for the USA. That's the highest figure ever for a us midfielder. Many of these have been huge. The two against Mexico in Columbus. The second goal against Egypt in the Confederations Cup. The game tying goal and MOTM performance against Slovenia in the World Cup. He was a solid performer, many might say very good, in our last qualifying cycle and through the World Cup. He got the job done. There are people who did not like Bob, who also chose to not like Mike. He's not a perfect player, certainly he has some faults. From my perspective, he and Jermaine Jones are the two best midfielders in our pool. And certainly, there are those who will disagree . . .
He got called up! I'm sure we'll see him again. I don't know about better than Edu, but Beckerman, yes.
Well benching Michael Bradley was a savvy move by Klinsmann to get the fans on his side. I would have done the same for the popularity boost if I had been hired as US manager. Klinsmann needs both results and a qualitative improvement from the central midfield to avoid criticism. And frankly, he's not getting it.
Bradley wouldn't be playing the Beckerman position, so its an apples and oranges comparison. Bradley offers infinitely more to the attack than Edu ever will, and has the motor to track back and help defensively more than Edu ever has. Jones slots in for Beckerman in that pure DCM role just in front of the two center backs. That's two immediate and significant upgrades to the lineup without Klinsmann even having to adjust his tactics (which are horribly wrong to begin with).
The thing with Jones is that he gets caught out of position often by pushing way too high up. Beckerman is positionally sound when it comes to defending. I'd rather have Jones in for Edu than in for Beckerman.
I have a feeling that the criticism of Jones and Bradley getting caught out of position too easily is more of a product of Bob Bradley's pulley system in the midfield. While the pulley system helped generate offense, it often times left the back 4 exposed (which is why we scored a shit ton of goals under BB but also gave up a ton of goals.) I firmly believe that with the redefined roles in the center of the park, Jones would stay at home more. I'm not the biggest JJ fan in the world, but I do think he's an upgrade over Beckerman. And I think a blind squirrel knows that Bradley is an upgrade over Edu. Hell, the blind squirrel is an upgrade over Edu.
Reverse-nepotism. Appeasing the mob. A savvy move by JK to get the fans on his side. I must say that is awfully high-class grassy knoll caliber material. I doubt any of that matters to JK. He simply evaluates players as to their ability to do what he wants them to. That's it. Not saying he isn't wrong in some of his evaluations. In fact, I think he has been more wrong there than his predecessor. I'm glad to see this thread. I suspect it will devolve into the usual pro and anti nepotism sillyness. But to me there is a serious issue that was argued a lot during the BB era. Which was whether he overrated Michael by not taking into account Michael's undisciplined chasing. Yes that lack of discipline sometimes allowed Michael to play the role of goal-scoring hero. And he isn't the only player who like to play hero. Frank Lampard is very similar in that regard. But hero is a very problematic position in soccer, especially when combined with the responsibilities of a central mid. JK apparently doesn't have room for hero in his formation. I will say that JK is probably underrating Michael, perhaps as much as BB overrated him. I agree with some who are saying Michael and Jermaine Jones are a better choice than Beckerman and Edu. I prefer Holden, Torres, and Mix in the #8 spot. But they are either injured or judged to be too young. I find it ironic that JK is being as inflexible albeit in a different way as BB was in how he treats his midfielders. I and many others always wanted BB to experiment and try a non-Michael combination in central midfield. Now I'd like to see JK experiment and give Michael (and Jermaine) a chance. Those two are less disciplined than Edu and Beckerman. That's true. But I think JK by now has had a chance to educate these guys on what he is looking for in a central midfielder. Give Michael and JJ a chance. If they chase too much I would understand not playing them again. But what's the harm of trying them when Beckerman and Edu have not exactly shined.
I might think this was some kind of grand conspiracy if he weren't making ridiculous personnel decisions all over the pitch.
It could be that he is cunningly making all sorts of stupid personnel choices to diguise the fact that Michael is his one and only target. That would be incredibly clever and devious. So clever and devious that it just might be true.
DVR is great. 90 minutes of boredom and tedium in 25 or so. The bolded line however... hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...
Edu isn't getting it done in the offensive half. OK, JK, you've spanked Mikey. Now let him out of the dog house.
If his whole history wasn't built around giving every run of the mill feel good speech, hitting every local popular saying/rallying around the favorite history of every club he has played for then it would be more amusing...but pandering is in his bio...if you have followed him. I'm not a grassy knoll guy, but he is a politician. Fact.
I will note that Michael had a longer run of mediocre play this year than either Edu or Beckerman to date. People forget all the poor games Michael played in the Gold Cup and against Mexico in JK's first game (a seven game stretch for those who need reminding). I'd be more impressed by those calling for Michael to be given a chance now if they were making similar points during Michael's run of poor form about others being given a chance.
Bradley would not look better than Edu in the current set up... People that understand the set up know that... New coach, different vision!!
Everything about JK's history and personality suggests he doesn't give a scheiss about popular opinion. His is a highly narcissistic perhaps even messianic personality. He loves himself so much he has no need for our approval and never will. He is even willing to open himself to ridicule in pursuing what he thinks are higher truths. You think he would have installed those Feng Shui Buddha statues at Bayern Munich if he wanted to be highly regarded by the people around him? No he did it because he saw the light and couldn't care less what others thought. If he cared about what the fanbase thinks and wants, would he keep calling in Orozco Fiscal? I rest my case. By the way I love the long-run shifts he (along with Reyna and others) is implementing throughout the program especially at the youth level. But as national team coach I'm much more skeptical about where he is taking the team so far. This thread has more irony in it and at more levels than any I've seen around here. And one of the biggest ironies is the inflexibility and certitude both BB and JK had about how they wanted to line up their midfield.
No argument here. He wasn't playing well. I like Becks quite honestly. Not great but he clogs the lanes well. Edu on his best day isn't as good as Mike. Here is a guy who has yet to show he can play at a high level...at all...yet here he is. Laughable. 3 years ago he was Makele light to many here and I laughed. Mo Edu is an inferior soccer player at this level. End of discussion. Play Williams in the middle where he belongs, play Jones, play Johnson, Becks, Torres...it's not about getting Lil Mike on the field. It's the fact that this guy has done s**t in his career on the international level, or at club level, when he is not playing SPL/USL type sides. His best effort? Rangers at Man U where they played all 11 men 40 yards from their goal all match. Maybe that's why JK relates to him? We play worse than we did with Bora M as coach. We are absolutely toothless. My only real expectation for this match was to create a quality chance each half from the run of play. That's it. That's all I wanted. Sigh.
He cares enough to pander to every teams most basic and popular history everywhere he went as a player. Hit every easy note every time. Again, I don't buy into the grassy knoll stuff, but he has a history. He is just convincing me now of what I was afraid of. He can't evaluate his pool properly.