No, this is not about Bob playing Michael... I think by this point we all realize that Michael Bradley is a deserved starter for this national team, and each player around him knows it as well. The real issue we have now is the fact that our players may be a bit timid to criticize the coach. Now, I'm not expecting them to do this publicly as that shows a lack of tact, however, behind closed doors, I don't think this is going on either. It's a tall order to upset the apple cart of a player who, going forward, will be an important piece to the puzzle of our national team. I mean, not too many people would respond well to their father being openly criticized by the players he shares the field with... just simple human psychology. And I think that is where the problem lies with this system right now. We have a horribly inept coach, who has shown a poor grasp on tactics, lineup choices, loyalty to out of form players, substitutions, and in-game management. But we also have a very promising, and talented midfielder who shares the same name... and so far the only person who has shown any frustration with how things are going is Clint Dempsey... I don't know if anyone has ever worked a job where the father's son is an executive VP, but is a total idiot and bringing the company down, but this is the exact same thing in reverse! In that situation, you can't really tell your boss how much of an idiot his kid is, and for the USMNT, it's hard to tell anyone the boss is an idiot because his kid is right there! There is already a huge following to fire Bradley in the US soccer public, and you have to believe that sentiment has grown in the ranks of the players for the USMNT... but is that sentiment being voiced? My guess is, that it is not.
So far Michael have show to have the Cojones needed to be on our national team But so far his father have show everybody with clarity that he do not have any business on the confrontation of this magnitude, we need somebody with more experience
Nice try with the "we all realize..." <insert personal opinion here> followed by "and each player around him knows..." <insert personal opinion again>. Based on what? His performance against Italy? Brazil? Any specific plays that would lead one to think he should be an automatic starter? I saw him kick the ball straight out of bounds several times while under zero pressure against Brazil. Another one almost went flying out of bounds but Bornstein made an amazing, leaping play to keep it in. I'd be more than happy to see Clark and Edu (when healthy again) get at least half the starts at D mid.
based on the fact that our current dmid selection sucks, or is injured. Clark is a decent player, but he's like a cocker spaniel... he gets excited and pisses himself. He makes reckless challenges in MLS consistently and when the pace of play speeds up, his effectiveness lessens. You think because someone sprays a few passes out of bounds they deserve to be benched? Bradley was the only midfielder who worked his ass off in the game against Italy. And the entire team was putrid against Brazil, and combine that with the fact he was playing next to Klesjean, and you see how difficult a time he had. Until Jones comes along, his spot is not really in question as we have no one better at the current time until Edu regains health and form which probably will not happen until October or November. To imply I am anointing Bradley the second coming is to take things far out of context. But if you'd like to do that, that is your prerogative. The point of the thread was about growing dissent and it's suppression among the team, not about Bradley's starting place, which any coach would be hard pressed to take away at this point... Based on what has been shown at Dmid by Mastro, Klesjean and Clark, that is a fact.
Dad's doing the selection. He brings one "spare" D-mid to a major tournament? Guess that makes sense, given he knows he's going to start Mikey and play him for 90 no matter what. Trying to say there are only 3 quality defensive midfielders in the entire US pool? BTW, the Clark/Feilhaber combo was fantastic (game changing) during the 2nd half against Honduras, as it was versus Mexico.
Who else does dad have to select from besides those I mentioned that wouldn't be completely experimental and more than likely detrimental? And as has been evidenced by their sterling performances in this tournament, Feilhaber and Clark are world beaters... Feilhaber will never be a dmid. He is a finesse player that needs to be an attacking mid/ playmaker in the midfield. Biting tackles and immense field coverage are not part of his game. And I'm not judging Feilhaber too harshly in this tournament because I don't think he is back to form yet... whereas Clark has zero excuse. He is out of his depth against top level international competition, just like Klesjean will always be. He makes stupid tackles constantly and his passing is streaky at best. I also do not feel he makes quality decisions with the ball, and off the ball. There are a lot of guys who play in the premier league that will never sniff an England roster and have successful careers. Clark is just one of those guys who, i personally feel (opinion being stated), can't take the next step up from club to international. He is not unique and alone in this... there are hundreds around the world that can't... i.e. eddie gaven
Well most established and knowledgeable sources have unanimously agreed Bradley was our best player against both Italy and Brazil. In most national broadcasts of recent games in the EU, all sources have touted Bradley as the best player of each game. If you think you know better than someone who played the game professionally in Europe for a decade and then earned a job commentating for German, Italian, English, or Spanish national television, its only fair to assume you lack common sense.
Well, if Bradley has lost the team, it would seem likely the one player to still work hardest for him would be Mikey, wouldn't it? Also, the vaunted "European press" isn't entirely in agreement, Scotty has a thread in which he translates an Italian article giving MOTM credits in the Brazil game to Benny and rates Mikey equal to Beasley (giving both a 6). Not saying Mikey isn't a good, solid player, only that he seems to bring out extremes in BS posters for and against.
great thread, im planning to remove mastroeni, spector, demerrit, beasley, ching, fairy heyduk from the pool of eligible players immediately.. its now time for the stars of the U23 team to step up and take over, stezela, stuart holden, robbie rogers, wynn, adu, altidore zizzo (is he alive?) etc should be starting by 2010 just in time for south africa, i have to defend michael bradley he's my son... he really is our best player right now, Michael Bradley is pretty consistent and has the ability to cause turnovers more often the any other US player. if it weren't for him we would never get the ball back from the brazils or the italys of the world.. fielhaber had one nice pass the whole tournament , which was the pass to altidore in the italy game that won the pk...wow one pass...he also gave up the turnover at midfield to giuseppe rossi which resulted in the first goal... clint dempsey has no heart , he has too many caps and doesn't care anymore , same thing with beasley...give the start to somebody who actually cares about our countrys soccer...players actually get punched in public in some countries for efforts like dempsey and beasley showed...americans just dont care enough to do it probably but they deserve a soccer punch to the kidney for all of the USA... landon played well as usual , wish we had a few more landons but he's not the answer...he's like john harkes on steroids which is laughable... im thankful for landon though, its kind of all we got...lol actually the problem is bob bradleys chosen players are not the best that america has to offer...our starting eleven should be almost entirely U23.. it should be essentially the U23 team plus landon donovan and onyewu... Please GOD, please dont make me listen to one more game commentated by john harkes and jp dellacamera, i always fast forward through pregame and halftime analysis because its not accurate...they also dont criticize players nearly enough...i also hate both of the sissy voices AND i detest the fact that john harkes uses flamboyant european lingo like the word "pace" instead of speed or quickness or saying he is fast....all you hear all damn game is this ******** john harkes saying "he's got pace",, " he really took the ball with pace, J.P." if i hear the word pace one more damn time im going to throw my TV, F-U john harkes , FU jp dellacamera... if we fire bob bradley we should hire a foreigner who will objectively evaluate our talent ....bob bradley has his favorites ...his pets...his little boy toys...his good old boy network just like flamboyant field hockey prince bruce arena lol peace !!
Jr needs to be dropped at least occasionally after he f's up....he looked like a three legged cart horse on Costa Ricas 3rd goal and displayed the touch of same just prior to the free kick on Brazils first goal. Thats two cock ups and two cock ups too many to be an "automatic" starter. The guy is pedestrian.
Officially the least informed most opinionated post ever. Demps is the best all-around player we have, if you can't realize that then you can't be objective. He just hasn't played well for the USMNT lately; he needs to not be put in a position to try and take on the world. Howard isn't on the U23's and is YEARS ahead of Guzan.
bob bradley has an asian fetish, if he had his way, brian ching would start over altidore is swear to god... look im a fan of tim howard and i didn't say to replace him especially not with guzan lol i know what you mean... but now that we are discussing howard, this was his worst tournament of his life, goal #1 by g. rossi was the fualt of : 1. demerrit (didnt step up; caught on camera flinching and holding nuts as the shot whizzes past him. 2. tim howard, tim you should have had a hand on that one...at least a little finger tip to deflect the ball away from goal... goal #2 by de rossi was the fault of 1. tim howard... you gotta have that , i dont care if gooch was in your way, goal #1 by melo in the brazil game was the fault of 1. spector, you were sissified by the machismo authority that melo laid down , it was embarrasing as an american.... 2.. timmy howard -- you should have come out to get that one...it was at the 6 yard box...thats his ... it was very unhowardlike goal #2 by robinho was beasleys fault ...i hate you demarcus beasley...i hope you cost bob bradley his job...worst decision ever...they should make a demarcus beasley tshirt that says judas on the front forget about rossi t shirts , demarcus is a traitor before i go, here is one more brian ching bash because he is injured right now and thats the only reason he didn't replace altidore: brian ching is a total poser that kisses himself in the mirror like AROD ever afternoon , bob bradely is the fotog and he obviously has an asian fetish!!!
yes.. thank you for posting this. I think there are several reasons why Father and Son are a horrible combination to represent a national team. And you've touched on a few reasons. I said this a few weeks ago, someone's gotta go. And it ain't Mikey.
Who else is there to put on the roster? I'd certainly blame Bradley for not playing Torres more, but he's at least on the roste, and otherwise, I'm not sure what other options we have. Edu? Injured. Mastroeni? His NT career is over, or at least should be, based on what we saw vs. Costa Rica and Honduras. We've also seen Brian Carroll and Kyle Beckeman get caps under Bradley, and Jack Jewsbury and Geoff Cameron in camp, but are they really serious options at this point?! I do want Bob Bradley fired at this point, but I'm MUCH more annoyed about things like Beasley continuing to play, and weird formations, than about Bob's roster choices in central midfield.
It is going to be tough to get him fired. I hope we have a new coach for next year because i hate to be disappointed again. If i'm a Bradley's "player", Mikey, Bocanegra, hedjuk, ching, etc. then I want Bob coaching because I know I will be in the World Cup next year as long as I don't get injured. Very sad, because a year left and you already know who will be going. It shouldn't be like that, no spots should be guaranteed, but that is not the case so for that I hope they fire the IDIOT!!!!!
Dempsey is the best player on the USMNT but I hate to break it to you, he clearly thinks he's better than the US. I don't see why a team that barely escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth would make him like that but ever since he moved from New England he hasn't been the same Deuce he was. He doesn't have heart when it comes to the US, only for FFC does he show up.