Kinda off the current topic, but how is his German coming along? Is he fluent now or close? I was real shocked to watch his interviews while in Holland and just see him speaking perfect Dutch. Really impressed me. There was a poster on here or maybe SBI who mentioned he also spoke French. He must be the most lingual person we have on the NT right now, if not ever.
He already speaks it reasonably well, just has to search for the right word now and then ofcourse. Here's an interview from about 3 months ago which he does almost entirely in German: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTZO8-f5lXg"]YouTube - Bradley Homestory[/ame]
I've never seen Bradley "pull magic out of a hat" ever. What's special about him is his workrate--consistent is going to have to become his middle name to have any hope of being a "top player."
This is not based in fact but there's a quick mention at the end of this interview with a bundesliga journalist of Michael Bradley on an Italian footy news site http://translate.google.com/transla...ciomercato&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=iv If google translate didn't screw that up, it says Bradley would "make Milan's problems go away"
Can anyone translate that? "Nel Milan vedrei bene Michael Bradley che visto i problemi del Borussia M'Gladbach potrebbe andare via per poco."
I've actually been thinking about this for a while, and if I was Galliani there would be one player I'd definitely bring in this January - Bradley. Our midfield is old and thin. We brought in Kevin-Prince Boateng, and he could help out in the midfield if he wasn't being used up front. That leaves our CM's to Pirlo, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Flamini, and 2 very young and inexperienced players. Bradley is the kind of high-energy, high-stamina player that Milan's midfield needs. Plus, he's said in the past that Milan was his favorite club (the first professional game he ever saw live was a Milan game), and you know he'd bleed for the shirt. And Ambrosini and Gattuso could teach him a lot about the art of tackling, while Pirlo could help him with his passing. It'd be a win-win! Wasn't the Italian press pretty high on him during the CC and WC? I know they were big on Donovan and Dempsey, but I think I remember Bradley also getting a lot of praise. Where's Scotty when you need him?
My Italian is über-rusty, but I think it says something along the lines of "In light of the problems at Borussia M'Gladbach, Michael Bradley could go to Milan for little (money)."
While all of this is relative speculation based on an unknown article in Italian online press, Mikey at Milan would be interesting. At 23 his career is coming to two different roads. Maintain being the best player on mid-level sides or fighting for playing time on a super squad. Honestly 2011 is a rough year for him to change squads. He may not be able to secure one of those spots if he's participating in the GC, as preseason activity would begin for new players. The best option for Mike is to move in January of 2012. If Milan can offer him the kind of opportunity Holden received at Bolton to break into the squad within a reasonable time then I'm all for it. But if gets overlooked on the basis of his "name" status until the aging Milan midfield play themselves completely out of the squad, we may have a tough situation. Mikey needs to go where he can play, but he also needs to challenge himself. He has all the makings to become one of the most accomplished YA's. The kind of good predicament thats becoming a trend for many US Nats.
Mike at Milan and getting playing time would be 'outstanding prospect'. Hopefully it's after powering Gladbach above the relegation zone.
What? No, he doesn't. Bradley is more like Gattuso, Ambrosini or Flamini - going box to box, making runs into the opposing box, and making tackles. If anything, Mikey would be almost the perfect replacement for Gattuso, with the way he's being used this season. Gattuso is usually the midfielder running around the outside of and making late runs into the opponent's box. The problem is that Gattuso doesn't have the necessary passing and shooting skills to be as effective as he could in this role. Hell, even discounting his time at Heerenveen Michael almost has as many goals as Gattuso does. If Bradley improved his tackling he could be much more effective than Gattuso. Plus, they have the same hair style. It just makes sense, damnit!
If Bradley went there, he would be something in between what Pirlo and Gattuso do, or better yet, used to do. I doubt Bradley will ever be the passer that Pirlo was, but he would probably score more goals. He would definitely score more goals than Gattuso, without providing the same defensive shield that Gattuso could give you back in the day. Bradley would be his own thing and not a like-for-like replacement for either, and that would be fine, especially given the shift in systems that has taken place at Milan. Bradley is much more CM for Allegri's style than either Pirlo or Gattuso.
Well, the last two games, 'Gladbach had two destroyers with him and Mikey floated more. That's like .... well, you don't play two destroyers with Bradley deep unless you're facing Colombia and you want to bore people to tears.
Typical of some European thinking--a team will be relegated so they'll have to have a fire sale. That's often true as a team's relegation can truly hurt the finances and put the team in serious debt. Something we've seen a lot of (Portsmouth, for example)--*except* BMG has a pretty healthy financial situation. The team has always been careful not to overspend and to not go into debt. Thus they do not *have* to sell--yet--unless they get an offer they cannot refuse.
Seriously makes no sense. Gladbach is NOT in trouble financially, only on the field. That makes them LESS likely to sell key players in the relegation fight. They would only sell Mike if they can get enough money to get a serious upgrade.
Let it go, man. You're back in the Premier League now. Surely you can forgive him for laying the foundations of your relegation two years in advance.
Well, I thought his Slovenia game and goal this summer was pretty much magic. But what I mean is, look at the game he had against Bayer Leverkusen and then turn around the next week and have a game like he did against Eintracht Frankfurt. Do you explain that by saying he's a crap player and the Gods smiled on him the day of the Bayer game? Or do you explain it by saying he's good but inconsistent? This is really what the 400 MB threads are about. My opinion is that he's good with potential to be great. Look, every player makes the most of whatever talent they have. But to become a complete player, they have to add more to their game. That explains Jeff Cunningham, or why Adu can't find a job right now. MB's talent is work rate and competence on both sides of the ball, and he has enough to be a solid pro in a 1st division team. But to have fewer "5" rated games and more "2" games, he needs to be a better organizer, be more tactically aware, and be able to dictate the pace of the game. A higher pass completion rate wouldn't hurt either.
He would also average about 0.75 pts per game better in the ratings if he played for a top half team; 1 pt/game better if he played for a top 3 team.
They do not have to sell, but if they think relegation is somewhat likely and know that Bradley has some sort of relegation clause in his contract, then they might try to get some money for him while the gettin' is good. I wouldn't take the speculation that seriously, but it is kind of cool to see that journalists in Italy view him as a player that a club like Milan would do well to look at.