I'm genuinely curious as to why Bradley isn't giving Adu/Torres any PT? I'm not dumb enough to think that Bradley doesn't recognize their offensive ability, nor do i think that Bradley is a bonehead (I for one, can't say I have a degree from Princeton, let alone years of professional coaching experience.... and he clearly taught his son how to play soccer well). So what is his logic? I think Bradley recognizes their offensive talent, but finds their height too big a liability on the defensive end*. If Donovan weren't on the field, I think Adu and Torres would be in, but LD is guaranteed a spot. I think Bradley subscribes to the idea that you can't field more than one short midfielder because it is too much of a defensive liability when it comes to set pieces. I think this why Dempsey stays on despite his poor possession... because he wins balls in the air on both sides of the field. That's my best guess. *I'm not arguing short players shouldn't play. I love the play of Messi, Ortega, etc as much as the next soccer fan. I'm just doing my best to pick Bradley's brain*
He's not bringing on Adu because "he needs to get more club caps" or some BS. Didn't seem to matter when he put Beasley in, but whatever... Your guess is as good as mine as to why Torres isn't playing, but I think he's hanging on to some bad memory of Costa Rica or something. I honestly can't explain that one. It's dumb whatever it is.
No, I'm not. Which is why there isn't a single comment in my post saying it was a good/bad decision. However, as an active reader of BigSoccer and the blogs covering the Nats, just about the entire nats fanbase was calling for Adu and or Torres to play. I'm not sure if you watched the previous Nats matches, but the midfield wasn't playing so well, and their was a large call for Bob to insert a more offensive player who could help the team maintain possession of the ball. Bradley, however, went with the same line up today. I'll repeat my question for you, what is Bradley's logic in not playing Adu or Torres?
Plus, what spells doom for Adu against Spain was Bradley's play in Egypt's third of the field. He was slick offensively, and Adu's only hope is to come on as an attacking midfielder and have MB drop back into a holding role. I bet dear ol dad is thinking twice about dropping his kid into defense after he scored a big int'l goal.
FYP. And we'll never know the answer to that question. All we know is what BB threw out on the field today worked. Give credit where credit is due. We'll see Torres and Adu in the Gold Cup.
Probably inexperience mostly. Adu in particular has the tendency to lose the ball and/or get run over by bigger stronger players, so he's kind of a liability in big games from that standpoint. Still, I'd like to see them both get a chance to show what they can do against great competition (Adu has done that on youth teams, but not the senior level yet). If I'd had my way before this game they probably both would have started, which probably would have been a mistake, and just goes to show why Bob is the coach and people on Big Soccer are not. Full credit to Bob for making the choices he did (in this game at least)...
Bradley puts out a line with a philosophy that wins and there are people on here still b!tching, give me a break
Thank you. Good point. Why even ask questions on a forum? Good Lord, can we get some kind of Hooked On Phonics for Big Soccer. I am not complaining that they didn't play. I am simply asking, what is Bradley's logic in keeping Adu and Torres on the bench despite the midfield's previous inability to maintain possession. Obviously, he had good reason looking at the team's success today. But just about every Nats fan in the US thought Adu or Torres should play today, and I'm sure the thought occurred to Bradley too, but he chose not to. He's a smart man, and I'd like to hear from other smart Big Soccer members, what his logic might be. It is possible that the Nats could have won with Adu or Torres in the line up today also. Today's line up was not some magical, destiny squad. IMO, it was the speed of Davies that made all the difference today...his style of play fits perfectly with LD and the combo of their fast, darting runs makes the team play at a quicker pace.
Asking intelligent, thought-out questions is one thing. Asking questions in an attempt to degrade today's accomplishment is downright foolish.
Jeez...when did you get promoted to be the thought police? To answer the OP? Theory (no facts) -- Torres -- mouthed off after the Costa Rica game and has been benched Adu -- either something is dreadfully wrong or he's just horribly out of shape Or...like the other post said. BB wants big, tall players out there and Adu/Torres are neither big or tall.
Torres mouthed off? Link me. Neither provides much defensive bite, which is something the U.S. depends on heavily. They will have a chance in the Gold Cup to strut their stuff.
You can call Bradley a hypocrite for playing Beasley even though he hasn't been playing club ball, but you can't ignore the fact that Beasley has played in two World Cups compared to Adu and Torre's combined total of zero. Experience does count. Beasley got just as many minutes as they did today.
Then He should have an excellent memory of Adu never having a Bad game in a US shirt. the Guy just wants to win with his guys and thast it and we will see tons of double standards in the process.
Attempt 3: I am not degrading today's accomplishment. I am frigg'n overjoyed that the US pulled off a historic comeback today...that the team played with heart, grit, and showed that they can string passes together and be dangerous in front of the goal against a very good opponent. I for one would like Bradley to succeed and stay on board. I am just CURIOUS as to what he sees as Adu and Torres's weaknesses...I am not complaining, I fully concede that Bob Bradley is smarter than me and knows a hell of a lot more about soccer tactics. I would like to know why, genuinely, Adu and Torres don't play. It's not a freag'n complaint. It's a question.
he didnt degrade today's accomplishment tho? and bringing a Torres or Adu today could have lead to better ball retention after went up 3-0, instead of Casey and lead some counterattacks... it was a fair question... stop being a jerk
I said: THEORY. NO FACTS. So why are they here then? One thing I noticed in the last WC was that teams that expected to progress beyond the group stages played their entire squad in the group stages. So that the best 11 weren't exhausted and in card trouble when they were needed. We have 5 players out of 23 that haven't played a single second. (Wynne, Heath Pearce, Adu, Torres unless I've missed someone/something) Seems like the job of the coach is to identify a squad of players he can actually use in games. We seem to have 11 who start, a few subs, and a bunch of other players who are around for the ambiance. Certainly, for the poster who said Freddy wasn't playing because he was inexperienced, he isn't going to get experienced by sitting around in SA.
While in general I agree with the things you say about the US Nats...and that today the U.S. pulled off something amazing and should be celebrating. Pondering the issue of playing time is still a huge issue to many people on BS. The smug nature in which you make your point or non-points is frankly getting annoying and is plaguing every threat that I like to read. Please quit patrolling the boards and make a worthwhile comment or hold it to yourself as it would make this forum much more enjoyable to read for me and probably many others. That is all.
Here are some facts: Torres has the best club situation out of all the yank Mids. Torres is our best 2-way mid. However, playing Torres alongside Bradley would mean that there is no real defensive cover at mid. So basically, Bradley does not want to play Torres over his son, or go to a 5-man mid. Which is dumb, even though I liked the US lineup today. Although I would have put Torres in during stoppage to waste time and secure the result. If BB got burned with a late goal it would have been all his fault. And it's little things like that which make me believe BB should not be our coach.