The Michael Bradley thread

[Hala Hrvatska]

Fully agreed. We got overrun in the midfield again and he was part of it. Nowhere to be found on the first goal....he should have been there but wasn't. And then on our second and third goals...no idea where he was either, even if Oso got burned on the third.

Had the nice ball leading to the penalty. Though having a 16 year old at the back helped.

But drives me nuts how every time we get it, we MUST pass it back to him as he is lined up even behind our defenders. Is ridiculous and allows the opposition even more time to get men behind the ball. He cant carry the ball, so no idea what is the point.

He most certaintly should not be the captain.

And again, BB keeps him on a ful 90. He was gassed. As were Oso and Kaye...this three man midfield that cannot or will not defend is why we we will continue to leak goals...even with a better keeper and defenders.

[Mr. Inbetween]

I will repeat what I said in the post game thread. His leadership style doesn't fit what this team needs now. There are people who want to move this team beyond the "we gotta just be all personally responsible" approach he takes to something more systematic & cohesion focused. The game is not what it was in 2017. He won't do it, but he should relinquish the captaincy.

Do not necessarily disagree. Open to that consideration. Actually thought TFC/Michael would relinquish it to Oso as part of his re-signing. Still, an argument would be is Oso even the right Captain? For that matter, the same for a Fede or more realistically for Lolo, Matt and Sean. Are any of these, particularly the latter three former Captains, capable/commanding enough for this group. I am not sure who is. Perhaps some of the reasoning that added favour to each of their acquisitions is for an eventual option as a collective leadership; shared Captaincy? Each on their own are interesting, yet may not be the right fit or carry the voice needed. Or maybe they are all just being drowned out, overshadowed, by Michael's presence? IDK.

[Hala Hrvatska]

Do not necessarily disagree. Open to that consideration. Actually thought TFC/Michael would relinquish it to Oso as part of his re-signing. Still, an argument would be is Oso even the right Captain? For that matter, the same for a Fede or more realistically for Lolo, Matt and Sean. Are any of these, particularly the latter three former Captains, capable/commanding enough for this group. I am not sure who is. Perhaps some of the reasoning that added favour to each of their acquisitions is for an eventual option as a collective leadership; shared Captaincy? Each on their own are interesting, yet may not be the right fit or carry the voice needed. Or maybe they are all just being drowned out, overshadowed, by Michael's presence? IDK.

Fede for sure. He commands respect.

Even if MB was still any good, with his father as coach, the captaincy should be relinquished for team harmony and to not have players walking on eggshells around him. Anyone other than Insigne and Fede still would be too scared to air out team issues to BB...and in particular around MB. Even in Tim Bit soccer, you don't want to have any signs of nepotism/favouritism real or perceived as the parent coaching their kid....and yet we have this bizarre set up with MB still captain under his father.

There was an article I read (sorry no idea to link it) about the issues some of the American NTs players had with MB while BB was coach as well. No idea if he was captain then, but just having father coach the team with son is going to have perceived issues, let alone now, a 35 year old who won't go down quietly into the night and be a sub or back up.

[Amir.]

he was the best tfc player yesterday...gave great balls including one in the first to akinola who should have done much better and the one in the second that turned into a penalty...he completely turned the game around in the second so if you pull him out at half you are taking out the best of the three as the other two were pretty bad and that comeback doesnt happen...he was giving wonderful balls in the second...unfortunately not only osorio was invisible offensively but he doesnt defend and gives the game winner to dc

[DinamoTFC]

Two wonderful balls yes but also an abysmal first half. Bradley is still intelligent and knows how to play that is not the problem. The problem is he doesn't have the legs anymore, no speed nor quickness or agility which is highly required in the position he plays. We need dynamism. Maybe Bradley would be okay with two very quick CMs but we don't have that. We have 3 slow midfielders. Bradley is best as a second half sub. Hope is that Servania make his way into a starting central position for these reasons.

I also agree with thinking there would be a new captain or shared captaincy.

[Oldtimer]

Bradley played a great game against San Jose.
It still doesn't change my feelings that in general he's slowing down and should be moving towards becoming a second half substitute.

[jloome]

Bradley played a great game against San Jose.
It still doesn't change my feelings that in general he's slowing down and should be moving towards becoming a second half substitute.

He was good. He's gotten to that point where in each game there are a few moments when there's nothing he can do about it. It's not that he's slow, because in two consecutive games he's outrun other players to get back. It's that he has zero "quickness", initial acceleration. So really fast players can separate from his coverage really quickly.

Still, on the whole he's been better this year than most of last, as far as I'm concerned. When the other pieces around him are working better that'll be the case, I suppose.

I thought we overused him as a primary distributor yesterday, the dropping back thing. But I saw why they were doing it, which is that San Jose aren't very compact defensively and they wanted them to overcommit, giving Bernie and Kerr chances to run at isolated defenders. It didn't really work, but if we were going to score it was probably going to be one of those two guys.

[rydermike]

My biggest concern with Bradley and the speed is what will it be like come September/October. He's definitely capable of still playing well, but as we saw with Vázquez, eventually things start to go. Bradley already has the lack of speed (although still has the endurance), but will the endurance still be there playing every game all season. That's my biggest reason for wanting more depth and rest for him.

[Hala Hrvatska]

Well done. Enough is enough, to the bench and the odd start.

https://www.tsn.ca/soccer/video/~2538050

[Canary10]

^ That’s a fair critique. Refects what a lot of people have said here. Guy still has the biggest engine on the team, but the short quick stuff causes problems. We needed to address the six. Not sure I’m convinced MAK is the solution though.

[Areathrasher]

Well done. Enough is enough, to the bench and the odd start.

https://www.tsn.ca/soccer/video/~2538050

Yup. They are bang on about the short burst runs. Zelarayn absolutely burned him multiple times in the home open. It's a glaring issue.

[JoesphNdo]

I'm mostly honestly shocked that was tsn, I didn't know they were allowed to say that kind of thing about Tfc and especially one of their key faces of the marketing of the team!

Completely agree with it all. Bradley's actually been better on the ball this season than in the past but that kind of thing is killing us, teams are walking through the middle of us far too easily. My main issue isn't that he shouldn't be there it's managements refusal to sign someone who can challenge for his place or to ever consider not having him on the field. At his age and his current output, that's unacceptable. It's even worse when, for obvious reasons, that action potentially sends a message to the locker room

I think we've had worse mid fielders those season, but it's the refusal to ever not have him on the field and the optics of that that I worry about

[ag futbol]

Well done. Enough is enough, to the bench and the odd start.

https://www.tsn.ca/soccer/video/~2538050

It’s probably the best pregame segment they’ve ever done. It’s pointed (and original) analysis. Helps the viewer better understand the game too.

I wish they would do more of this stuff.

[Richard]

Kevin Kilbane is class and JDG has improved as a pundit. Good combo.

[ensco]

Such a treat to see the media act like the media.

I love Kilbane generally, and that was good... but holy smokes, he then went on to say Ayo was technically stronger than Jozy. I guess nobody is perfect!

[OgtheDim]

Yeah, pretty much what many of us have been saying.

There was discussion at the beginning of last season that MB would not play every game - then somebody (Osorio?) got injured and MB has not missed a minute since.

Its time. I don't think BB will do it...but its time.

[Hala Hrvatska]

Yeah, pretty much what many of us have been saying.

There was discussion at the beginning of last season that MB would not play every game - then somebody (Osorio?) got injured and MB has not missed a minute since.

Its time. I don't think BB will do it...but its time.

Agreed its definitely way past due... but BB will not do it.

I'd applaud MB if he said himself, not good enough, and I have to sit...but he will not go down quietly into the night and he'll keep playing 90.

We have seen now every scenario last year and this year (from mathematically eliminated, getting blown out in games, from getting beat for goals, etc) and BB will still refuse to give MB a breather.

Am wondering if Kilbane and De Guzman still are employed by tsn this morning after that masterpiece? No doubt BB and MB were furious about that....and no doubt they'll be frozen out by the Bradleys for any future interviews etc...but they said what needed to be said.

MB as a sub and spot starter am okay with. 90 minutes no matter what, no other club in mls would do it...but ours.

[jloome]

Kevin Kilbane is class and JDG has improved as a pundit. Good combo.

It's notable in that presentation that the best game we've had this season, Miami, Michael was 7th on the team in touches, not first or second.

[barticusz]

No diagreement from me but the part that I really struggled with is when JDG put out three names as possible replacement players who were passed by because MB was in the role. Priso, Okello and Fraser.

Herein lies the real quesion for me. Why are we not able to develop talent like other clubs? Is that due to them not getting regular minutes (the MB effect), or is that due to our young guys simply not being good enough? Add in any other possible questions you'd like.

Priso - Only 20 still but he's not a regular starter for a really horrible Colorado team. He's barely getting playing time there.
Okello - O-where-o? Where is he, seriously.
Fraser - He's already 25, and has started to finally play regular minutes in Deinze, hard to tell how he's doing but overall the team is performed worse than the first year he was playing.

My point being, here are the three guys mentioned and none of them appear to be rock solid replacements for Bradley. I guess we could have taken a bit longer to hold onto Priso so he could play 5-15 minutes a game like he is doing in Colorado. For all the talent that the GTA has, let alone the rest of this Country... how do we not have a kid who's actually pushing for this opportunity. It boggles my mind.

[ag futbol]

I thought Priso was showing real signs of progress under Vanny. Played clean games, was able to split the lines well and broke up the odd play. Needed to be a bit tougher on the tackle but overall looked good. Since injury I feel like he’s lacked a bit of confidence and never got back to his original form. But I can appreciate being dumped (essentially) by your club and starting new is a bit of a setback also and it could take him a bit to reach his potential.

I don’t think Fraser or Okello ever had what it took but passing on the transfer fee for Okello and then not playing him regularly was dirt stupid

Kevin Kilbane is class and JDG has improved as a pundit. Good combo.

Kilbane is as good as it gets in Canada at the moment. JDG is finally getting over his yips a bit and it’s helping in his overall presentation.

[DinamoTFC]

Well done. Enough is enough, to the bench and the odd start.

https://www.tsn.ca/soccer/video/~2538050

Thanks for finding this. Very insightful. The thing I find most bothersome is that no coach is simply rotating him. Just rotate him every second or third game and half our frustrations would be solved. The last coach that actually rotated him was Javier Perez and Delgado-Osorio double pivot made for some really nice performances.

[Amir.]

That was pretty weak unfortunately...Kilbane thinks of the end of his playing days where he couldnt keep up and thinks its the same for everyone else...most of those sequences shown its not even Bradleys player and he has the right positioning and movement...and then de Guzman shows how off he is by saying Chara and Nagbe dont start every game, Chara has played every minute and turning 37 in a few days and Nagbe just got subbed out in the last couple games when the team was up by 3+ goals...Bedoya is another one who has started every league game...and then saying Fraser Okello Priso could have done it...be friggin for real...Fraser is barely holding down a starting spot in Belgian D2, Okello we saw wasnt at the level and then went on trial with multiple teams and wasnt able to get an MLS contract and Priso has been straight up bad for Colorado...and he puts the cherry on top by thinking Kaye would be better while hes been awful and giving away dangerous balls as we saw yesterday...even his defending and pressing is lacking as we saw similar actions in the dc and charlotte games where he decides to go press when its too late which leaves a space in the middle, opponent easily gets out of it as hes late and it turns into a goal

The issue with this kind of talk is not putting it into context meaning not realizing that this is mls so players have important weaknesses which make that they arent playing at a higher level in europe in a lot of cases for example and then that you are singling out a player without analyzing the rest of the players and seeing if they are actually better or worse...Kaye for example unfortunately has been pretty bad and looks like a bad acquisition up to now...wheres the analysis on Kaye though? He never gave away balls cheaply right? Never gave away a ball in his third yesterday that should have turned into a goal....You dont want to look at that Mr Guzman? Bradley has been one of the best (if not the best) players of the team this year so it really makes no sense to bench him + other mids havent been better and are not better alternatives...oh and passing % of Kaye and Servania yesterday? 76 which is not great for central midfielders

In the end the team definitely needs help in the midfield and forward but nothing shows that Bradley should currently be a sub with the performances and players available

[barticusz]

Well said Amir. I agree completely.

[Hala Hrvatska]

That was pretty weak unfortunately...Kilbane thinks of the end of his playing days where he couldnt keep up and thinks its the same for everyone else...most of those sequences shown its not even Bradleys player and he has the right positioning and movement...and then de Guzman shows how off he is by saying Chara and Nagbe dont start every game, Chara has played every minute and turning 37 in a few days and Nagbe just got subbed out in the last couple games when the team was up by 3+ goals...Bedoya is another one who has started every league game...and then saying Fraser Okello Priso could have done it...be friggin for real...Fraser is barely holding down a starting spot in Belgian D2, Okello we saw wasnt at the level and then went on trial with multiple teams and wasnt able to get an MLS contract and Priso has been straight up bad for Colorado...and he puts the cherry on top by thinking Kaye would be better while hes been awful and giving away dangerous balls as we saw yesterday...even his defending and pressing is lacking as we saw similar actions in the dc and charlotte games where he decides to go press when its too late which leaves a space in the middle, opponent easily gets out of it as hes late and it turns into a goal

The issue with this kind of talk is not putting it into context meaning not realizing that this is mls so players have important weaknesses which make that they arent playing at a higher level in europe in a lot of cases for example and then that you are singling out a player without analyzing the rest of the players and seeing if they are actually better or worse...Kaye for example unfortunately has been pretty bad and looks like a bad acquisition up to now...wheres the analysis on Kaye though? He never gave away balls cheaply right? Never gave away a ball in his third yesterday that should have turned into a goal....You dont want to look at that Mr Guzman? Bradley has been one of the best (if not the best) players of the team this year so it really makes no sense to bench him + other mids havent been better and are not better alternatives...oh and passing % of Kaye and Servania yesterday? 76 which is not great for central midfielders

In the end the team definitely needs help in the midfield and forward but nothing shows that Bradley should currently be a sub with the performances and players available

No other midfielder is getting paid $1.6M USD like Mike is...of course there are way better and way cheaper options everywhere at a fraction of a cost than what MB is getting paid. I can get you 5 from dinamo zagreb alone that would be better (are better) and would happily pay for way less.

[Hala Hrvatska]

Thanks for finding this. Very insightful. The thing I find most bothersome is that no coach is simply rotating him. Just rotate him every second or third game and half our frustrations would be solved. The last coach that actually rotated him was Javier Perez and Delgado-Osorio double pivot made for some really nice performances.

Yeah, and we know what happened to Perez then....

This is insanity having BB coach his son.

Like De Guzman said, this is no doubt causing problems in the lockerroom. And also impacting players thinking of coming here....

[reggie]

im not going crap on MB.a tfc legend and hopefully the next prez of the club,my pet peeve is with the gm in not having a backup on the roster for his son for the last 40 games or so.it shows a stubbornness and a blindness on the roster.that is why bob is not the guy for this job,its too personal

[barticusz]

im not going crap on MB.a tfc legend and hopefully the next prez of the club,my pet peeve is with the gm in not having a backup on the roster for his son for the last 40 games or so.it shows a stubbornness and a blindness on the roster.that is why bob is not the guy for this job,its too personal

Is this a stubbornness on behalf of management or the fact that our youth, so far have been simply incapable of stepping up to a professional level? Coella has looked positive, but maybe that's because he hasn't developed here and doesn't have a preconceived notion that he's the next superstar just because he started playing with the Academy at a young age.

[JoesphNdo]

Is this a stubbornness on behalf of management or the fact that our youth, so far have been simply incapable of stepping up to a professional level? Coella has looked positive, but maybe that's because he hasn't developed here and doesn't have a preconceived notion that he's the next superstar just because he started playing with the Academy at a young age.

The same management that won't drop him is also the one who refuses to sign competition for him, though. Which to me is the bigger issue than the fact he's playing ahead of anyone we have because what we have isn't great

[reggie]

[QUOTE=barticusz;1983240]Is this a stubbornness on behalf of management or the fact that our youth, so far have been simply incapable of stepping up to a professional level? Coella has looked positive, but maybe that's because he hasn't developed here and doesn't have a preconceived notion that he's the next superstar just because he started playing with the Academy at a young age.[/QUOTE

its on bob.you can find a 100 players anywhere for half the money.a young guy they can groom and learn from MB,even if they did have a acad player has a MB backup,BB wouldnt play him,its his son or nothing at the moment

[barticusz]

No other midfielder is getting paid $1.6M USD like Mike is...of course there are way better and way cheaper options everywhere at a fraction of a cost than what MB is getting paid. I can get you 5 from dinamo zagreb alone that would be better (are better) and would happily pay for way less.

Sure you can . A. If they're better, why would they settle on coming to MLS when they have a shot at playing European continental level football? B. If they look at the money that can be made here why settle on a lower salary?

Anyways, the reality is, we need more depth and have needed it for some time. We have years of failed youth development that has only continued to hindered us even more. Look at Akinola as the next debacle. Touted as the next big thing and man is the kid ever struggling with confidence. I really hope he can turn it around but you can see with every touch and every stumble that he's going to have to work through it. I thought he had moments of good hold up play and some decent runs... he just needs that confidence, desparately.