So what is the consensus now on Bob Bradley?

[gtowndawg]

We (including me) gave him a pretty hard time last week. Has he redeemed himself? Do we feel comfortable going into the World Cub with him?

I think he's earned it...for now. Sorry if it was discussed it one of the many threads from yesterday.

 

[JohnDawg]

I felt he should have known that no lead is safe with Brazil and kept the pressure on at the start of the 2nd half; instead we give up a goal in the 46th minute and it was downhill from there. I guess it's just like with any coach in any sport; they're geniuses when they win and need to be fired when they lose. I still wish we would have hired Klinsmann, but I'm with you, I think Bradley is ok for now.

 

[patdog]

We've had several terrible games under him, but we've had a lot of great games too. And the past 2 games may be the best 2 back-to-back games USA soccer has played in its history. I really like the lineup he finally seems to be settling down with.

 

[Sutterkane]

as long as the consistency is on the good side.

Yes, we could've played the second half differently yesterday but there's no telling that we would've done any better. Brazil is simply an amazing soccer power. It honestly should have been 4-2 as one of the saves was a goal. We did very well considering we were without Bradley.

 

[PosterFormerlyKnownAsRFAA]

coach this team through 2010.

Simple as that.

The turnaround we saw was amazing. In one week, the play improved, tactics were better, coaching was much improved...I don't think it was any coincidence that it came after the media, in larger numbers than every before, were dogging this team publically. I'm sure they felt more heat than they had in the past. That is a great thing.

We switch to a 4-4-2 with two aggressive, YOUNG attackers at the top. Those guys will only get better with another year in Europe...hopefully, they'll be able to use this momentum to get more playing time next year!

I can't complain at all about the play over the last 3 games. I think we are doing right by sending the B team to the Gold Cup and hoping to see a few guys get good quality minutes. That'll help build depth and give players like Adu confidence and experience.

I'm happy with where we are NOW. A week and a half ago, whole different story.

Johndawg, I don't think we changed anything at halftime. I think we still intended on pressuring. Brazil is better than us, pretty much, man-for-man. I think we woke up the sleeping giant with the 2-0 lead at halftime. It certainly didn't help that they scored so quickly to start the half...although, I thought we defended the play very well. Those things happen. I'm disappointed with the outcome in that we were so damn close!!! But, I'm not disappointed with the tactics, decisions, the heart, the effort we saw yesterday. It was all there. Brazil is simply that much better than us.

(I was happy to see the reaction of several of the players though. Donovan in particular! His comments after the game, I think, showed how much he developed during the tournament. He was asked if the result of the tournament would make people respect the US now. His response (not word for word) was he hopes so, but we don't want the respect, we are past that, we want to win! I think we finally saw a group of players grow up on the field. Maybe a few years later than many of us hoped, but that only means there is that much more potential out there now!)

 

[Fresno Bob]

I don't know why the defense was so bad against Brazil and Italy in the first 2 matches other than we're simply outtalented. I think these last few performances were a bit of a mirage as far as defensive and midfield capabilities b/c I just don't think we're quite that good. Getting better and more confident but still not quite that good. Still very poor ball skills when compared to the other top countries and it shows as well even in CONCACAF matches against some peers or even subpar opponents.

We just might be getting better offensively, though. Legitimately. Altidore and Davies still need to come on more but they look like they're really making strides. It would be nice if Eddie Johnson could come out of the netherworld he has descended into as well. If we could firm up the midfield a bit more defensively it might make sense to play Feilhaber a bit more of b/c of his ball skills. We actually looked a bit like a real team on offense the last 3 matches at times. Not great but still capable of doing some things and not looking awful against top internation teams. Hopefully Edu will still continue to progress in the midfield and Brian Ching up front.

I particularly look forward to getting Cherundolo back on defense. I see where he's going to play in the Gold Cup which will be great to get his feet wet and back into shape for the rest of qulalifying.

I think it comes down to consistency. We just don't have it...but we've NEVER had it. You'd like to think we have the potential to be better but there's no evidence to point towards it. I guess I'm a soft buy at this point on Bradley. Let's see how qualifying finishes and at least through the Cup to make a call. It wouldn't help much of anything to replace him at this point, I don't think, nor would I want to. Not ready for any kind of long term deal, either, though.

 

[PosterFormerlyKnownAsRFAA]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jermaine_Jones

 

[Fresno Bob]

First I've heard of this guy. Is he supposed to be an immediate starter type or still developing? You have to be pretty good to get minutes for the German nationals, I'd think. A really good defensive midfielder coupled w/ Bradley would certainly seem to allow for 2 very offensive minded midfielders on the field at the same time against a lot of opponents.</p>

 

[PosterFormerlyKnownAsRFAA]

I don't know anything about it. But there is a lot of talk about him on one of the soccer boards I post on...not this one though. They all seem to have high hopes and have praised his playing abilities.

We'll see.

 

[bigrob24]

I'll prob change my opinion, however, if we were to beat Mexico in Mexico City coming up in August</p>

 

[CEO2044]

I'd heard of Jones, did not know that he grew up in Greenwood some, though.

Not sure if we want to claim him yet, he seems kind of creepy on his website.

 

[hotdigitydog]

nt

 

[Liverdawg]

I think a win at Mexico City would be quite a statement. Bradley deserves credit for turning this tournament around, but the impact of negative media from the US should also be noted. I think the media made it easier for Bradley to get an inspired performance against Egypt. I really don't understand his substitutions though. I'm not sure what he has seen in Klestjian (sp?) and Bornstein to think that they can help us hold of the Brazilian attack, unless there was some issue with conditioning I think it was incredibly stupid to take out Feilhaber. To me, the best news of the confed cup were 1)Donavon playing with heart 2)Onyewu playing smart and plugging the middle 3) Spektor fortifying the line and offering great crosses on the counter 4)Feilhaber showing up as a midfielder with vision and imagination 5) Davies showing attributes of a pure striker. I think that Bradley deserves credit for finding a lineup that can produce against top competition, now we will see if he can stick with what works and not screw up our lineup with whoever gets hot in MLS over the next few months.