I'm tired of the love fest over him. He has not performed well for the national team and tonight pretty much sums that up. Playing for Herenveen doesn't count for a flippin' thing. Things completely changed when Feilhaber and Edu entered the game. They are so much smarter with the ball and they have better touch than Bradley. Not to mention that they can actually play at the speed of an international match... whereas Bradley is constantly a step behind and on the wrong foot most of the time. Edu has a spot locked down in central midfield Clark is a servicable player and he can hold his own against the top players Feilhaber is a smooth operater in central midfield. The only weakness I see with him is strength. Bradley's only shot is to experiment at a more attacking midfield role where he is free to poach goals. Face the facts Bradley fanboys... he is 4th on the pecking order soon to be passed by the likes of Klestjian and Szetela.
I think that it was more the fact the Clark and Bradely did not compliment each other whatsoever. Szetela and Klestjian? Pleassse.
not only do Clark and Bradley not compliment each other... Papa Bradley does not allow his son to play to his strengths...
Bradley's younger than all of those guys. He didn't play well tonight, but I think we're going to see him around for quite some time. For the friendlies in Europe I hope we get to see Edu and Feilhaber start the match. The kid is doing really well in Holland this year, and has EARNED the right to start today's game. But we have other options and if he doesn't step up in these games than he will be replaced. But hey he's 20. Some patience is required. Adu did almost nothing when he came on, but I don't see threads chastising the Adu fanboys.
Szetela? He hasn't played one game this year. Maybe he'll get some time now that he's been loaned to Brescia in Serie B. Klestjian I want to see more from.
Bradley is a great player but he just doesn't fit into this kind of games where he has to be careful with his body and not rush his passes. He seems to be great against the more physical European teams but when it comes to teams like Mexico is better to have Feilhaber and Clark out there else he's gonna continue to get carded or give up pk/fks.
You are only fooling yourself if you think Bradley is 4th on the pecking order. Don't make hasty generalizations. This was one mediocre match--there's a lot of soccer for the kid to play. Things changed because feilhaber entered the game, not Edu. So your criticism would be more accurate if you were to attack the Bradley/Clark midfield pairing.
I think there's something to this, but I'm not a tactician so I don't really know what it is. For the games I've seen from Herenveen, he seems to be used in a completely different role there. For the USMNT he seems to be playing far from goal being a Gattuso type bulldog in the midfield. For Herenveen he's played much more forward and is used to a greater degree in the attack. The goal he scored against Ajax this season was astonishing. He'd never even be in that position for the USMNT. It's up to Bob to maximize his talent. I didn't think Clark was anything special in this game either.
I think your analysis is off mate. I think Bradleys ok performance was more to do with who he was paired with. I didnt think he had a bad performance by any means, no worse then several others at least. Anyhow Clarke did not impress me very much at all. He went missing for large parts of the game which is something a central midfielder can not do. Bradley was at least hustling around and trying to win the ball off of Mexico. He showed good energy levels and wasnt afraid to put in a challenge as well. Not a stellar performance from the boys today but nothing to get too heated about.
Feilhaber really settled things down, but down the stretch he made some really stupid turnovers in dangerous positions. I remember him trying a cute flick to the outside that was intercepted by Mexico and they streaked down the field. At that point in the game, what was that? I hope he can find a club to play for next season (even if its Derby in the champsionship) because the kid does have talent. He just needs to find a place where he can maximize it.
Next time Bradley scores a hat-trick I'll be sure to say he sucks, just for you Ben. Whether he played well tonight or not, he is a great player. By the way, he's being played out of position. That probably has more to do with it than his skill level.
Yes, and we also must give credit to Mexico. They started two veteran stallwarts in the center of midfield (Pardo and Torrado). These guys have been thru the US-Mexico wars and played like it. They dominated our pairing of Clark and Bradley. This was the first time Bradley had ever played against Mexico, and probably the biggest game he's ever played in for the USMNT. He didn't play in the Gold Cup Final. In the yanks abroad forum you guys should check out the Michael Bradley transfer thread. He's been linked with big clubs all over Europe. Talent scouts over there love what they see. We just might have to patient with him and let him go thru these rough patches. Altidore will have bad games. Adu will have bad games. etc. etc. That's why you play these friendlies. To let the young guys know what they're up against. I'd like to see a pairing of Bradley and Edu personally. Clark actually showed me less than Bradley tonight, its just people are focused more on Bradley.
You can't blame it on the pairing when it was Bradley who was the weaker link of the two. I don't care what their ages are. Clark was much more solid in his positioning and his tackles... looked like he actually belonged on the field with his off the ball work. Plus Clark's passing and decisions were far superior. Bradley runs around trying to look busy but really he isn't that effective. And please stop trying to force that 50 yd. arrowed ball up the gut... it may work against china, but not mexico. And you're fooling yourself if you think that this is the first game where Bradley played less than average.
I'm all for trying him in his club position. I'm just saying that the on-field evidence has shown he is not our first choice in center midfield.
Bradley played out of position. He has had all of his success at Herenveen as an attcking Mid. That plus the fact that we have many D-Mid and few goalscores should have prompted daddy to push him up. Not only do you have a better chance of scoring youd have a big strong prescence on top who will help defending against Mex the line up shoulda been -----------------Altidore(or Dempsey)------------------ Convey -----------Bradley-----------------------Landon -----------Clark------Edu(or Feilhaber)-------------------- Pearce (Bornstein)------Boca (or gooch)----Parkhurst------Anyone but Moor
u hit it on the head... im not saying Bradley needs to be dictating the attack... and setting the tempo (I think that should be Benny's role, but he needs games)... but not allowing Bradley to get past the half field line and tell him to just break up the attacks limits him... and u pair him with a Clark who does the exact same thing was stupid... and then tell Clark to play further up was even more stupid... I dont understand Papa Bradley...
And I'm not sure Landon on the right is his best position either. For a while now I haven't seen what I'd call a natural right winger on this team. Actually everybody's out of position. It's a clusterf((k. Dempsey's not a natural forward. Landon's not a winger (if you ask me anyway), Bradley's not a holding midfielder for Herenveen. What the hell. I really would have done this: ------------Altidore----- -------------------Donovan Holden----Bradley--Edu---Dempsey Seriously. Convey's just not match fit. Lewis isn't going to be a part of the this cycle. I'd throw on Holden or Davis or somebody who's a natural left-winger. Dempsey as a midfielder would have had more defensive bite than Donovan and can still do his thing. He's not a forward at the international level. I just don't think so. But we could put Landon up top and slightly withdrawn from Jozy. I think that would be more effective. Those two could really compliment each other well. Maybe I'm alone.
He doesn't play but Benny settles the team. I was against him being capped this time around but I have to put my hand up and say he's essential. Rico Clark for me is a great sub that can stop the bleeding if needed. Edu has shown how smart of a footballer he is. He reads the game better than anyone in the team. Convey ----------> Bench.
Yea... I just cant believe hes the same player who almost singlehandedly put Reaading in the Premiership. Major loss of form, Kinda like Waldo in his last WC. But dont know who to put there. Beasleys hurt. Lewis is old and hurt. Never want to see Ralston called up again. Maybe push Bornstein or Pearce up. Is Holden Left Footed?