Those are good points. And also arguments for having a new coach lined up even before this cycle is over. Another argument for this is that World Cup history shows that keeping a coach for two consecutive cycles is usually a bad idea. My hope is that over the next couple of years Sunil will quietly sound out two or three top foreign candidates and actually have one lined up by the time WC 2010 rolls along.
Coming from a pundit that isn't exactly enamored with the current situation, that being you ( and of course, me), I'd say you're sounding a tad bitter. You're missing the point Dave; he wasn't asking your opinion of Klinsmann, he was asking what negatives Dan Flynn could have found with him. The entire issue was control, it was who was the boss, and Klinsmann didn't want to put his ideas past Dan Flynn first, Gulati had given him carte blanche, Flynn said no way. Whatever is inferred after that point is speculation; but that's what happen.......believe it..........or not.
Typical Superfan. Instead of micromanaging shit why dont you and your cronnies at USSF get off your asses and fix this failed youth training and coaching defincincy plauging our young players development. Also lets get with the damn program and start treating the organized USA supporters with respect and giving them what they deserve. The interview was crap and typical Superfan Guilati playing to the audiance.
You just answered your own question. And people think Gulati actually has power to change things even if he wants to That's so freaking cute.
Very candid from the guy who is ultimately responsible for soccer development in the USA. I wonder if the coaches (Nowak and Bradley) will be as candid on how well Gulati has facilitated soccer development in this country so we can get some players with some skill and creativity at the senior level.
Can I ask a few honest questions? (Questions, not thinly veiled comments. I don't know, and I'm curious.) What other countries have player development/coaching models like the one Klinsmann requested? And to which coaches have they been given? Do such models work? (Relative to models where such responsibilities are dispersed?) I suppose that related to this should be a question as to what exactly was Klinsmann asking for? I've heard lots of stuff. Is there consensus about what it was?
Really? Do you have any backup for that? My understanding was that when the US kept Bruce for another cycle that was a pretty unusual thing. SGE stayed for 2 Cups, and he did pretty well on the second one, considering the injuries he had to deal with.
I don't know if this is correct, but, even if it is, that isn't because EJ has a more classic target forward style than Cooper. In terms of style, EJ and Cooper play basically the same -- both can do the target man stuff but both also prefer to face the goal a lot. If Bradley favors EJ it is probably because he has a higher potential because speed is a great discriminator at the international level and at this stage in the cycle, it makes sense to invest in those that have more potential (as well as the fact that Cooper's injury last year deprived him of the opportunity to build the kind of international experience that EJ has tons of)
See this is where I lose the plot a little bit. Being as involved as I am in the youth and MLS games, my feeling is that those are businesses that are best addressed by the people who are in those arenas naturally. I don't care who it is. I can't see anything good coming from a guy like Scolari or Klinsmann or Mourinho or whoever coming in and taking over the entirety of US soccer. It's 3 steps back to make 1 step forward. A national team manager at this point can come in and manage the national team(s). The other entities are separate businesses which need to be dealt with through their own mechanisms. No matter how much you guys want it, there is not going to be any overarching philosophy in American soccer. Our soccer is going to match our culture - a melting pot.
If Bradley thinks that EJ as more potential - really there's no need for an "if" as that is pretty obvious, Bradley has favored EJ even when Cooper is healthy - then Bradley and I strongly disagree. Anyway, if you think that Bradley is doing well in terms of player selection, then you and I are really on polar ends of this discussion, and probably won't be able to come to an agreement on the issue. But what I have posted on this thread I believe to be true, as it is what I have heard from people I believe would know.
Normally I'd agree, but I have also seen and heard (and read about at length in USSF's own audit) where the USSF is a fractured composition of different factions who put their own interests before the improvement of the game. So if an outsider wants to come in and shake some things up - whether it be with youth development, MLS relationships, or whatever - the natural tendency of people within USSF is to protect their own first. It's too bad, IMO. With a different attitude, people deeply involved in the game could learn a lot from other perspectives. It was that sort of change in attitude that led to Spain winning its first hardware (in dominating fashion) in years. I'd like to see US Soccer - at all levels - open itself up to other perspectives and ideas for improvement instead of assuming that a Jose Mourinho (your example) is going to take the game three steps backwards.
The thing is unless the man is going to tap up Jozy, or ridiculously young players like Stefan Jerome, Donovan Henry and Yaw Amankwa, then you get stuck with Kenny Cooper or Eddie Johnson. Neither player is all that interesting to me at the top level. As far as I'm concerned he can select either and I'm equally underwhelmed.
I think Cooper is marginally better because he has shown to have better forward instincts, is more aggressive, and is a far better finisher. In International Soccer, games are won and lost on the margin. But yeah, neither player is anything special in International Soccer.
I believe that the Bruce's performance in the second cycle, not just in the WC itself but in the prepratory phases and in his willingness to look at new players, was inferior. I also think it is relevant that very few countries go with the same coach for two consecutive world cups. Coincidence? Or some sort of hard earned lesson. Brazil for example has switched coaches for every WC since 1974. Italy since 1986.
These are really good questions and I was looking forward to some answers. The silence so far is deafening.
Well you kind of pegged where this discussion is going since I won't even agree with something you consider pretty obvious. First of all, I said "IF" Bradley favors EJ, not "IF" Bradley thinks EJ has more potential. Objectively, Cooper wasn't called in this winter as he was coming off an injury. Personally, I would have called him in for one of the friendlies this spring, but I also recognize that it is not unreasonable not to call somebody in to high level matches when they have zero experience on the strength of less than half a season of MLS play. Yeah, I think Bradley has done a masterful job with player personnel, with a prime example being Adu, Altidore and Parkhurst skipping the Guatemala game and playing in the Olympics instead. Bradley has given meaningful looks to a lot of players while not tanking anybody's club chances. Cooper is a nit, Buddle not even that. You of course can believe what you want, but me I don't credit illogical arguments (and the idea that the problem between Bradley and Cooper, if there is one is stylistic is utterly without logic or foundation in what we know about BB's coaching style) propounded by people with an obvious bias, even when those people are super knowledgeable about soccer and have a great resume.
Martin, you know overall I greatly respect your perspective, so on this one we'll have to agree to disagree and move on.
What does Bob Bradely's player selection have to do with any of this? No matter who was hired the manager would have that control. As for Superfan and Friends I just find them all to be self serving jackholes. The make decisions based on the ole' "Whats in it for me" criteria and not the "Whats best for the Game" one. It shouldnt surprise anyone, Soccer federations globally are highly corrupt institutions. I mean you have to look no further than Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer here in CONCACAF to see that. Any reputable organization would have fired them long ago, especially after Warner got caught STEALING in 2006.