Uh oh, this s*** again. Nobody could ever locate a quote. Alot of posters assumed there would be a GK rotation, but nobody ever found a quote from Bruce that he made some kind of promise to Kasey. If you can find one, it would be a great service to the BS community, because we went nuts at the time, and intermittently afterward.
Because their population is so large compared to the nations that do a better job (per capita) of producing players, in particular, Argentina and Holland and maybe even Ireland.
Whenever the "Fire Bruce" thread pops up - as it seems to do on an annual basis - I look to see if those clamoring for his head have any viable alternatives in mind... After wading through 10 pages of this thread, here's what I've seen: 1 suggestion for a coach who has less than a year of coaching on the international level after getting fired by the New England Revolution... 1 suggestion for an ex-national teamer with no professional coaching experience and one season at Cal-Poly Pomona, if memory serves... One pie-in-the-sky suggestioon for Sir Alex after Germany (like he's in our price range)... Y'all realize that the most likely candidates to replace Bruce would be either the Bruce clone (Bradley) or Thomas Rongen... Not a lot of style change under Bradley and I can just hear the screaming to the rafters if Rongen got the job. It's not like foreign coaches are exactly beating the door down to get this gig... If anyone else has some viable candidates to throw out there, I'm all ears...
So you're blaming the coaches who have the kids for a couple of hours a week, and not the kids who don't play any the other 164 hours of the week? Interesting.
this thread reminds me in 2001 and early 2002 prior to the WC, when finally we got a good result at the WC the thread turned to praising him.
Bruce has been hired to be the coach of the USMNT, not to deliver us from slavery in Egypt. I cannot imagine that Canada has a more appealing job than the US, but somehow they hired Yallop, who may well be the best coach in the federation. But you're acting like there is some unappealing desert here, that there's no way we can hire an elite coach so that there are no options. Our entire region is hiring coaches that have some connection to US Soccer (Sampson, Clavijo, Yallop). Are we incapable of finding such a guy? Besides, "Well, we're stuck with this guy," never really works as an inspiring argument. Frank Rijkaard was discussed after the World Cup. Bradley and Sarachan are good coaches who should not be ruled out simply because of their relationship to Bruce, although it does raise questions. I still think Yallop is ideal, if Canada loses in the semi group of death. I've always thought Klinsmann would make an excellent coach, but given his inexperience, it's probably not the right time.But there is someone good out there who would leap at the opportunity to live in the United States and coach an up-and-coming team that went to the quarterfinals of the WC.
I seem to have stepped through a tear in the time-space continum and am now in an alternate reality of some type. Either that or this is just one of the most impressive collection of idiotic posts ever to grace this board. I wonder which is the more likely of the two possibilities? This is prep time. Time to look at players, to get players aquainted with tactics (and yes, we are going to play a negative style if we have to, especially in away matches in the late quals--it's about results first), for new players to get their feet wet and get accustomed to other players on the squad. Arena acknowledges that he's behind in his plan due to the funky MLS schedule, but to make so much of this match, can so many of you have taken the same drugs?
{Woodstock} "Please do not take the brown acid.Several people are saying they've had bad trips from it.Somebody is passing around bad acid.Please stay away from it.If you're having a bad trip,please come to the first aid tent." {/Woodstock}
...and I had forgotten that you had mentioned Yallop...my bad. The only question I would have with bringing Yallop at that time is we'd have either quailified for the hex ourselves (why make a change at that point) or we'd been flushed out of the WC so Bruce is gone anyway and we'd have a bit of time - though Frank might still end up the best option. Rijkaard would be another person to consider. Perhaps one of the expansion teams in MLS could hire Klinsmann to get him some experience. Thomas Dooley is another name that one could toss into the mix, perhaps.
Shows how limited we are. When was the last time we ever came back and won? This is the big point for me. Donovan is too comfortable. BA-if you are going to be experimental and all, why not look at your forwards? yes--I have never been one to say BA is a god. Bruce Arena has the ultimate job security, with nothing to worry about. I don't think he should be fired,but he should be made to worry. Send emails to USSF! They were TOO complacent.
Having not watched the game, I only have two questions: -Why keep bringing WC 02 results? Men's soccer is damn competitive, and teams DO adapt faster than in any other sport, at least when it comes to tactics: And BTW, this is still CONCACAF, and we were at home to boot, unless this team felt intimidated by a crowd of 8k... .....there are no excuses left ala "we played Holland in their turf, that's why we used the same old tired tactics" It's been two yrs of the same and yet, some among us are still unwilling to criticize..... -Is Mooch still BA's asssistant? God, I hope not.....but then again.... If i may, (and I am in no way suggesting BA be fired), let's look at our Women's NT....On top of the world most of the 90's, but the repetitiveness, and tactical stagnation and (dare i say it?) lack of sophistication took care of this gap in very few years...Now Mexico, Canada, are at our level, and we are not better than Germany, perhaps even Sweden....ANd this is Women's soccer, a sport that perhaps has 1/10 of the attention Men's soccer has worldwide....Not changing and/or adapting can bring consequences...Perhaps not enough for our USMNT not to be in Germany, but for us not to improve as much as I think we could.....
No way Bruce should be fired, although I got to believe his superiors have got something to say about the recent performances. The Haiti game should be a warning to Arena that he better get his players ready and take every game serious.
Re: Chill That's funny. Because as I recall, Bruce gives a rat's a$$ about what the opinions of wanna-be coaches on internet soccer boards. A more appropriate response would be, "Suck it up. Arena's the coach, you're not, and last WC qualifying proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that who he chooses to invite to camp, who he starts in friendlies, or who he gets on the field in qualifiers will NOT be influenced by all the bitching and moaning that can be heard on BigSoccer.com. So shut yer damn cakeholes and learn to deal with it." Not that I pretend to agree with or understand Arena's choices. I just happen to believe there's a method in his often seemingly inexplicable choices. In the end, he had success the last time around, and it's hard to argue with that. We went 2 rounds further than ever before in the World Cup. Period.
Not for this team. All of the people calling for Bruce's firing or resignation need to get a grip. You are criticizing him for not playing younger players AND for not fielding the "A" team. He cannot do both. One of the reasons the USMNT performed well in the World Cup finals was the coaching staff had taken a first-hand look at MANY players during the friendlies and even qualifying matches. No coach prior to Arena had increased the pool to that degree. Players like Pablo M., Beasley, and Donovan, all of whom contributed to the team's success, would never have been looked at by previous coaches for one reason or another. Instead it was Waldo and the boys .... (yawn) Anyone who wants a foreign coach to coach this team needs to catch up. Foreign coaches make the US team play under a leash becasue they think we cannot play. We can play, and we don't need some foreign coach to put us back 8 years. You might want to read what Klinsmann has to say about US coaching by the way. Final thought - while I would like the US to win every match, I would prefer they win the important matches. These same people who are calling for Bruce's head, and apparently would be quite happy if the same old US lineup drubbed Haiti 4-0 (why this is so important I cannot fathom) would be inconsolable if the US lost in the games that matter. I am CERTAIN these same posters would be wondering on this board "why didn't Arena find out who could play during the friendlies? Why did he play the A team against Haiti? If he had played Wolyniec then, he would have seen that he didn't belong." If you must grade Arena, wait until the end of the cycle. It is a marathon, not a sprint.
So did people like things better under Steve Sampson? You've got to be kidding me with this "fire Bruce" business. He has been the best thing to happen to the team. The WC 2002 run was awesome. Hopefully he will be able to repeat and improve. If after 2006 things are not better, then fire him. But not now.
Well, if you would have read all of the earlier posts, you would have seen one. Although, granted, there are a fricking lot of them. If you don't remember, Casey was in camp for the Holland game, but didn't see action because Mathis and Donovan and McBride were there as well. Due to the fact that he plays in Europe, Casey is only released for friendlies on internationally set friendly dates, like the Holland game. The problem with that is that on those days, Reyna and O'Brien and Lewis and Friedel and the rest are all available as well. Its sort of a catch-22, he's only available for selection when our top dogs are, but never when its only our B team. % bucks says he gets invited to Poland.
Martino has been hurt and is just now getting back to fitness level. The same is true of Buddle...that's why they're not in camp.
This is what nobody understands -- the perfect time to try new talent: just enough pressure to matter in a match that doesn't matter, except to Haiti tuning up for Jamaica. We need more talent and imagination in midfield; basically, we need to hold the ball, and complete passes -- stuff we used to do reasonably well, and hoped to do better. Instead, based on results over the past year, we have regressed. Do we have the talent to improve; are we willing to improve; will the USSF allow us to improve?
Please don't call for bruce's head. If the federation fires him, who will they bring in? Some other USSF flunkie like Meyernich, or the under 17 coach, or some other FOB (Friend of Bruce). Or worse still, some MLS re-tread. It'l be a cold day in h---l when the federation brings in a foreigner like LeTessier or Huddink, because the federation thinks that only American coaches can coach Americans. Well, I think the Koreans, Japanese, el. al. would beg to disagree. When other countries want to start a baseball or basketball program, where do they go for coaches? The U.S., of course, because we invented the games and out leagues are the best. So why does the federation think American coaches can coach the senior national team, when most American coachjes lack the international experience and pedigree? The answer: arrogance.
I'm not wanting to boot ole' Bruce yet, but I've seen some disturbing things even from WC '02. 1)He has too much loyalty to players who shouldn't be playing. In WC '02 he continued to play and stick by Agoos when it was obvious he was a liability. Berhalter is another example of loyalty. 2)Stagnant play since WC '02. The 4-4-2 has go to go. It doesn't work for our team anymore. Our counterattack game has been figured out (most recent example is vs. Holland). We play too defensive ball. We need more offense and a system to let our creative players work. I think a 3-5-2 would be ideal. Let McBride and Donovan stay up top and put Mathis in the CAM postion. 3)We don't play anybody of importance or skill very often. Holland was a nice change, but other than that we don't take on skillful countries in soccer. I know some of this has to do with those countries not wanting to play us, but still, we should be playing more than this. We should also think about trying to play in more intl tourneys. 4)People continue to say that BA is just trying out different players to see if the work or not, but he seems to continually try out the wrong players. He keeps bring Kirvoski to camp when he shouldn't. I dont' know what Woly was doing there yesterday. He should be taking those players that he believes excell in MLS but don't translate well to the senior side and work with them to get them there instead of taking so-so player from MLS that play so-so ball with the senior side. 5)Again, we just need to introduce more offense to our game. The team isn't good enough nor really has the personell to score just 1 goal and sit on it the game. We're going to be one of those teams that will sometimes need to simply outshoot the other team and come away with more goals than the other guys. Put 3 or 4 in and give up 2. We also need to work more with coming out of the mid then relying on constant counterattack because, again, like I've said before, people have figured that out.
Belief is a very powerful thing. Those teams that have it, in each other, in their coach, and in their ability to win are the ones ultimately that are successful. And it bothers me that Bruce Arena time and time again shows to me a lack of belief in the players our future and institutions that are our national teams future. I find it disturbing how many times Arena has said that MLS is not good enough, and that our players must go to Europe. Recently many MLS teams did do just that for preseason training, andwhile these games werent terribly meaningful, they did aquit themselves well. The notion that MLS is not a good environment for our young players to me strikes of a certain contempt for the results in our league. I think Arena thinks his player judgement is a far superior tool in evaluating the players in the league than the actual results in it. That is an arrogance that I dont believe is well supported. I dont think a US national team coach can be successful without embracing MLS, but the farther Bruce is away from DCU, the farther away from the league he seems to become. It bothers me that Arena continues to take certain players. Our recent lineup against Haiti was hardly what you would call experimental. Tony Sanneh is 33 years old, has a bad back, and hasnt played club football in over a year, yet he started in that friendly. Arena's decision to start him strikes me as a return to a comfort zone for Bruce rather than any serious belief Tony could help our team. Chris Armas is a decent enough player, but within Arena's system he is very one dimensional, and has been as much a hindrance as a help. Yet at 30 he continues to get a lion share of the playing time. Bobby Convey is young, but no newcomer to the team. He continues to get chances in the middle of the field, and continues to show that he lacks a complete game for a central midfielder. These players all show me that Arena seems to have belief only in certain players, and not in the wider playing pool. Cursory glances are given to other players, but these players are never really given serious shots to prove themselves. So he continually reaches for the same guys in answer to his questions. What is equally disturbing is that Arena does not seem believe in our teams ability to play attacking soccer. He continues to call into camp players that are high work rate, low skill guys. Armas is one, but more disturbing is John Wolyniec. Woly I'm sure is a nice guy, and a decent MLS player, but in terms of technical skill he simply isnt up to par. The same could be said for Frankie Hedjuk and Chris Armas. Thats not to say that these guys are horrible players, but to me they indicate a pattern of trying to destroy the play of the other team, then any effort to play ourselves. That negative thinking I dont think inspires confidence in our players, it does not inspire our youth to take up the game, and it does not inspire the fans of the team. Perhaps Bruce is right, but I dont nescessarily agree, and I think this is an important enough issue that it is better to try and fail to play aggressive attacking, technicly proficient soccer. To me the recent results are just a symptom of the troubiling issues. I have a feelin that ultimately the US will qualify for Germany in '06, but I worry that we will never truly see of what we are truly capable. I wont say fire Bruce just yet, but I am very disturbed about how the USMNT is currently being managed.