The Michael Bradley thread

[rydermike]

we all are dreaming.

To be fair- MB hasnt been the same player since his ankle injury in the finals- instead of handicapping the team/city he loves so much- he should realize and do the honorable thing.

I don't put that on the player, I put that on the coach. A player should always feel like they're pushing to show they belong on the field. It's up to the coach to make the decision. I don't think Bradley will sulk if moved to a sub role, but it's the coach's responsibility to put him there. When Perez subbed him out, Mike was right on the bench positive and supporting his team. I feel like he'd do the same thing now if he got subbed out, since he's a team-oriented player, but it's on BB to do that. He's had no issues subbing out and replacing others, but he needs to be able to do that to his own son.

(As an aside, I played with a few different coach's sons as a kid. And I clearly remember that the most talented coach's son I played with happened to be the only one that the dad did not name captain and would actually get subbed out if the game called for it. Bob refusing to sub out his aging son at any point [even during a blowout] is an amateur coach move, not a pro coach move. I'm not against MB playing, I feel he can still play important roles in situations, but a quality pro coach needs to recognize when and where each player should and should not be playing, and a 35 year old playing every minute is not that).

[Section 223]

I don't put that on the player, I put that on the coach. A player should always feel like they're pushing to show they belong on the field. It's up to the coach to make the decision. I don't think Bradley will sulk if moved to a sub role, but it's the coach's responsibility to put him there. When Perez subbed him out, Mike was right on the bench positive and supporting his team. I feel like he'd do the same thing now if he got subbed out, since he's a team-oriented player, but it's on BB to do that. He's had no issues subbing out and replacing others, but he needs to be able to do that to his own son.

(As an aside, I played with a few different coach's sons as a kid. And I clearly remember that the most talented coach's son I played with happened to be the only one that the dad did not name captain and would actually get subbed out if the game called for it. Bob refusing to sub out his aging son at any point [even during a blowout] is an amateur coach move, not a pro coach move. I'm not against MB playing, I feel he can still play important roles in situations, but a quality pro coach needs to recognize when and where each player should and should not be playing, and a 35 year old playing every minute is not that).

I think FootballAZ is suggesting that Michael retires, get him off the books , he really is not contributing much , that would be honourable

[Auzzy]

I don't think MB knows how to do that.

I keep going back to what the Apple commentators said during the DC game. Apparently they'd talked to MB before the game, who said he "couldn't stand" the 'load management' concept and he intended on being able to start every game as long as possible and as long as his body is "in the shape that it needs to be." Also he apparently doesn't do massages

Obviously, this is just announcers paraphrasing him so not exactly hard evidence, but it paints a pretty damning picture of Michael being unable to even consider a middle ground between playing all the time and retiring. Dismissing the load management concept as someone in their mid-to-late thirties is frankly delusional, especially coming from someone with a reputation for being quite the opposite.

If anyone wants to listen for themselves, it's starts at 56:00 on the game clock

Wow wow wow. Thanks for that, I missed it.

I don’t think it’s right to go after MB for all this.

I have no problem with MB emphatically believing he should play 90, and all that. All elite athletes are like that.

If MB needs to sit, it's Bob that has the problem, and it's Bob that somebody should have the problem with, if Bob doesn’t see it.

I think MB plays a large roll in the club. It was reported that he helped find & convince some of the DPs. That was probably extremely helpful when they were first trying to turn the club around, but now... It was also suggested that previous coaches found it difficult to not play him if available. I wonder how easy it would be for even BB to significantly reduce his playing time?!?!

[jloome]

https://www.tfcrepublic.ca/tfc-mls-michael-bob-bradley/

Everything's hunky dory, John Molinaro insists.

I appreciate his approach, to balance the viewpoint. But this is facile, naive reporting "Hey, colleagues of the boss's son: what do you make of this dynamic? Oh, it's great? Perfect. Now we know."

Jesus H.

He writes a column slagging TSN for balance, and then proceeds to do exactly the same thing.

Here's a suggestion: talk to FORMER players and see what they say. Do it off the record first, to get them comfortable being frank, then see if there's anything they'll let you put on the record. Even if you get nothing quoted out of them, see if they'll do it on background or unattributed, so that you still have sourced material to ask the club about when you....

Ah fuck it. Too old and did this for too long to get annoyed about it anymore. But I'll tell you that in my brief period teaching at Mount Royal nearly twenty years ago, I had students with no experience who would've done better with this.

Suffice to say, you're not going to get an accurate or valuable story on this one by just being direct and asking one side questions. If you're covering a scandal with a paper trail and multiple witnesses, that works. If you're covering a story where NOBODY is going to actually want to talk to you, it won't. Ever.

That doesn't mean that if he'd DONE all that legwork, it wouldn't turn out much the same. But it would have the value of proper vetting, and sources with far less to lose in being honest, and even potentially reasons for wanting to talk.

Fair points on the loss of possession etc. I don't think most us have denied his upside. That's all somewhat irrelevant to the points they were making on TSN. If you buy a car, and its engine bursts into flame on the drive home, arguing "but it gets good mileage!" isn't really winning any debate points.

[Richard]

Yeah you're never going to get the truth if your asking on the record.

Molinaro isn't looking to rock the boat for some reason and I'm being polite here, he isn't doing his job. Might as well be TFC PR at this point with that article.

He along with maybe Buffery are about the only people that could get you leaks from the dressing room.

They need to start doing what they are paid to do, get your feelings out the way, stop trying to be morally superior and get the story and answers the fans want, hold management accountable for this rocky start.

[JoesphNdo]

There's never been genuine, independent coverage of Toronto fc for as long as I've lived here, so no surprises in that article. It's what made kilbanes comments so fascinating, that was truly unprecedented.

[Red CB Toronto]

Buffrey has retired, so has sailed into the sunset.

Yeah you're never going to get the truth if your asking on the record.

Molinaro isn't looking to rock the boat for some reason and I'm being polite here, he isn't doing his job. Might as well be TFC PR at this point with that article.

He along with maybe Buffery are about the only people that could get you leaks from the dressing room.

They need to start doing what they are paid to do, get your feelings out the way, stop trying to be morally superior and get the story and answers the fans want, hold management accountable for this rocky start.

[los sonadores]

Buffrey has retired, so has sailed into the sunset.

I noticed that. He covered ten Olympics! And not much soccer… but I still hope he will have a replacement otherwise we’re down to Davidson. What an embarrassment that the Globe and the Star take his CP stories just like small town papers with no resources like The Soo Today.

[NK Toronto]

I noticed that. He covered ten Olympics! And not much soccer… but I still hope he will have a replacement otherwise we’re down to Davidson. What an embarrassment that the Globe and the Star take his CP stories just like small town papers with no resources like The Soo Today.

I think the print media is pretty much on life support these days, and also wonder if digital subscriptions are enough for entities like the Gobe and Mail and the Star to be economically viable.

[Hala Hrvatska]

https://www.tfcrepublic.ca/tfc-mls-michael-bob-bradley/

Everything's hunky dory, John Molinaro insists.

I appreciate his approach, to balance the viewpoint. But this is facile, naive reporting "Hey, colleagues of the boss's son: what do you make of this dynamic? Oh, it's great? Perfect. Now we know."

Jesus H.

He writes a column slagging TSN for balance, and then proceeds to do exactly the same thing.

Here's a suggestion: talk to FORMER players and see what they say. Do it off the record first, to get them comfortable being frank, then see if there's anything they'll let you put on the record. Even if you get nothing quoted out of them, see if they'll do it on background or unattributed, so that you still have sourced material to ask the club about when you....

Ah fuck it. Too old and did this for too long to get annoyed about it anymore. But I'll tell you that in my brief period teaching at Mount Royal nearly twenty years ago, I had students with no experience who would've done better with this.

Suffice to say, you're not going to get an accurate or valuable story on this one by just being direct and asking one side questions. If you're covering a scandal with a paper trail and multiple witnesses, that works. If you're covering a story where NOBODY is going to actually want to talk to you, it won't. Ever.

That doesn't mean that if he'd DONE all that legwork, it wouldn't turn out much the same. But it would have the value of proper vetting, and sources with far less to lose in being honest, and even potentially reasons for wanting to talk.

Fair points on the loss of possession etc. I don't think most us have denied his upside. That's all somewhat irrelevant to the points they were making on TSN. If you buy a car, and its engine bursts into flame on the drive home, arguing "but it gets good mileage!" isn't really winning any debate points.

Well said Jloome.


From quoting Akinola whose literal profession career hangs in the balance.....what else will he say?

Then on the "minutes" issue...doesn't distinguish who those minues are going to...i.e the CM the engine if you will should be the workhorse and by extension getting tired and need a rest....but includes Sean Johnson the actual keeper who SHOULD be playing 90 game in and game out...and the two centre backs SHOULD be playing all the minutes now given our horrendous defensive record the past two years...

Even sneaks in Perez didn't rest him...Perez was the one who actually did bench him....and no doubt, led to Mike storming into Manning's office and that was the end of the Perez role in the offseason....and also the end of Priso subsequently.

I'd respect Molinaro a little more if he did agree with all the highlights and said it was spot on...there actually were many more to choose from...lilke the two flick on header goals in Atalanta when MB got easily beat both times by his man for the flick on....or the Miami goal when Higuan left him for dead...etc...etc...or the first Charlotte goal....etc....

Then the "touches"....like you mentioned, the game we looked best was when he had the 7th most touches on the field, the Miami game..all his needless touches slowing everything down at the back...leading to nothing are worthless to me and stats that are meaningless...sideways/backwards "safe" passes are nothign to me..especially when we are not winning...we've won 1 game in 9 months...who cares about his "passing"..he gets next to no assists...we aren't keeping possesion in games we are winning and killing off the game, etc....

You mentioned the other night at least 3 times that picked Mike's pocket as well..this happens all the time also.

A garbage article to me.

The ony thing missing was him saying we should extend MB more. He didnt have the audacity to do that at least.

[OgtheDim]

Nobody (me included) pays for news journalism anymore - so we can't expect journos to do much.



I pay for Molinaro cause its good to have some consistent non betting journalist do stuff

& I paid for the Athletic

But nobody is paying somebody to dig up stuff on any local sport anymore so....we are left to sift the tea leaves from our various professional viewpoints. (those professions give me more insight into things then the betting journos do)

Kilbane's bit might be the last time we see stuff like that for a very long time.

[OgtheDim]

Priso is gone because he wasn't working out here at 20 years old & was worth something in a trade - his subsequent career at Colorado shows there were reasons. If he was good enough when he was here to replace MB, he'd be starting at Colorado.

The tale I take of that is guys sometimes get good at young ages but can't keep the consistency & can't find the way to get back there.

[NK Toronto]

Of course there are also late bloomers. Look at Alistair Johnston. 20 seems a bit young to give up on a guy especially if there seems to be natural ability there.

[Richard]

Nobody (me included) pays for news journalism anymore - so we can't expect journos to do much.



I pay for Molinaro cause its good to have some consistent non betting journalist do stuff

& I paid for the Athletic

But nobody is paying somebody to dig up stuff on any local sport anymore so....we are left to sift the tea leaves from our various professional viewpoints. (those professions give me more insight into things then the betting journos do)

Kilbane's bit might be the last time we see stuff like that for a very long time.

Journalism doesn't exist here because there is no market for local soccer news, lets face it, nobody gives a shit about TFC in the grand scheme of things here. Still the hockey capital of the world.

Where there is money, there is journalism, as long as the money isn't bankrolling the team.

The TSN stuff should be the norm, not the exception.

[Richard]

Priso was excelling well as a player before the injury, if not for that his trajectory would have him close to European move. I saw Neslon improve game by game, and Priso was ahead of Nelson when they were playing.

That trade is going to bite TFC in the ass. I'm not convinces MAK is the long term solution.

[Graeme]

Come on! "Even sneaks in Perez didn't rest him...Perez was the one who actually did bench him....and no doubt, led to Mike storming into Manning's office and that was the end of the Perez role in the offseason....and also the end of Priso subsequently."

Even in this thread, your personal opinions expressed as though they happened are still bullsh*t. You are killing this board. I can't stand it. My fault for coming into this thread, I guess.

[NK Toronto]

Priso was excelling well as a player before the injury, if not for that his trajectory would have him close to European move. I saw Neslon improve game by game, and Priso was ahead of Nelson when they were playing.

That trade is going to bite TFC in the ass. I'm not convinces MAK is the long term solution.

I'm not convinced MAK is the long term, short term, or immediate solution. Our midfield remains the Achilles heal of the team.

[Hala Hrvatska]

Come on! "Even sneaks in Perez didn't rest him...Perez was the one who actually did bench him....and no doubt, led to Mike storming into Manning's office and that was the end of the Perez role in the offseason....and also the end of Priso subsequently."

Even in this thread, your personal opinions expressed as though they happened are still bullsh*t. You are killing this board. I can't stand it. My fault for coming into this thread, I guess.

Sorry dude, if you don't like my posts/opinions, just ignore them or put me on ignore. Many DO like my posts...and I litereally was the one that put the Kilbane video in here and surely while you might not have liked that video, I didn't make it, but it was totally appropriate for the thread. And Jloome putting in an article related to it, surely we can comment on it, including me?

And to say I am killing the board is a bit overkill don't you think? I am just another random TFC fan/contributor to this great forum. You might not like my opinion, me not yours, but no need to try and cancel me or anyone you don't agree with. Cheers.

[Hala Hrvatska]

Priso was excelling well as a player before the injury, if not for that his trajectory would have him close to European move. I saw Neslon improve game by game, and Priso was ahead of Nelson when they were playing.

That trade is going to bite TFC in the ass. I'm not convinces MAK is the long term solution.

Yeah, I wish MAK was better but isn't lookiing good. He might at this rate lose his Team Canada spot also.

[Hala Hrvatska]

I'm not convinced MAK is the long term, short term, or immediate solution. Our midfield remains the Achilles heal of the team.

Fully agreed.

If we get another DP, as much as we need a striker, we need a midfielder more.

[Section 223]

Sorry dude, if you don't like my posts/opinions, just ignore them or put me on ignore. Many DO like my posts...and I litereally was the one that put the Kilbane video in here and surely while you might not have liked that video, I didn't make it, but it was totally appropriate for the thread. And Jloome putting in an article related to it, surely we can comment on it, including me?

And to say I am killing the board is a bit overkill don't you think? I am just another random TFC fan/contributor to this great forum. You might not like my opinion, me not yours, but no need to try and cancel me or anyone you don't agree with. Cheers.

Gotta ignore these guys Hala , keep up the great posts , you mentioned Michael useless stats that others think are so wonderful and the countless times he gets easily beat for goals. But best of all you were one of the first to see Michaels decline. I went back and checked this thread you have been calling for Michael Bradley out since last October, others have jumped on this after Kilbanes piece , not you much respect for your soccer knowledge, keep it up man

[Hala Hrvatska]

Gotta ignore these guys Hala , keep up the great posts , you mentioned Michael useless stats that others think are so wonderful and the countless times he gets easily beat for goals. But best of all you were one of the first to see Michaels decline. I went back and checked this thread you have been calling for Michael Bradley out since last October, others have jumped on this after Kilbanes piece , not you much respect for your soccer knowledge, keep it up man

thanks brother. Love your posts also.

[los sonadores]

About Priso not playing and then being traded I wasn’t in favour of. Bob clearly didn’t trust him. It must be noted that as sporting director he’s now signed two young mids (and a third, Gutierrez, who can play there also)… we have 5 (or 6) very capable players for 3 spots. It would surprise me if Micheal played every game once we get into the summer.

[MDH]

The dudes here going after Molinaro, who's more than a decade into covering this team despite an actively hostile approach from the team to any real reporting, are missing the boat a little. It's okay if not every journalist agrees with every take you have. Doesn't make them an idiot, doesn't make you wrong. You're biting the hand that feeds you. If we had actual journalism around the team, there would be multiple points of view and a more well rounded representation. But you know, Toronto's a backwater with no real international heritage so why would it have footy journalism...

[jloome]

Sorry dude, if you don't like my posts/opinions, just ignore them or put me on ignore. Many DO like my posts...and I litereally was the one that put the Kilbane video in here and surely while you might not have liked that video, I didn't make it, but it was totally appropriate for the thread. And Jloome putting in an article related to it, surely we can comment on it, including me?

And to say I am killing the board is a bit overkill don't you think? I am just another random TFC fan/contributor to this great forum. You might not like my opinion, me not yours, but no need to try and cancel me or anyone you don't agree with. Cheers.

The reason people get pissed off is you add in malicious stuff like "and no doubt, led to Mike storming into Manning's office and that was the end of the Perez role in the offseason...."

That's just a shitty thing to say about someone you've never had a conversation with.

You don't like him playing, that's one thing. I'm clearly not going to disagree with you. But don't character assassinate someone. That's just an actively shitty thing to do.

You have nothing -- NOTHING -- to suggest Michael Bradley is some svengali who storms into offices and demands managers be fired.

That's just an awful thing to ascribe to someone.

[Section 223]

The dudes here going after Molinaro, who's more than a decade into covering this team despite an actively hostile approach from the team to any real reporting, are missing the boat a little. It's okay if not every journalist agrees with every take you have. Doesn't make them an idiot, doesn't make you wrong. You're biting the hand that feeds you. If we had actual journalism around the team, there would be multiple points of view and a more well rounded representation. But you know, Toronto's a backwater with no real international heritage so why would it have footy journalism...

Although Molinaro is not literally on MLSE payroll his bread and butter is TFC, it is so predictable that John is not going to bad mouth Michael or Bob, I would be willing to bet a large amount that we will never see anything written by any of those few journalists in the TFC pressers. Molinaro had a chance to step up and possibly attract more subscribers, but same old garbage from our TFC lackeys. Such a refreshing piece done by TSN . It’s what I see and judging by the board what many see in Michaels dismal play

[FiveThreeTwo]

[bit of a long reflection post as a long time observer] - It will be interesting to assess BB/BM's decisions after the next couple transfer windows, assuming they don't go anywhere because of status quo, and whether they keep maintaining this course. For me, the concerning thing isn't just that MB4 plays all the time- it's how the club chose to let his position on the field, and the contingency/succession plans for that position evolve to become a complete elephant/unspoken issue around the club where media are off limits to the topic, and optically there's nothing through player movement actions from BB/BM that indicate they have that succession plan in place for the #6 spot. (Based on his play, I don't think Alonso is gonna be ball winner or b2b. Seems more playmaker who wants to sit deep then hungry dueler)

Not only is there nobody in the roster that has the growth potential or passable MLS grade ball winning/passing lane sweeping and athletiscm qualities that can platoon with MB4... there's not even someone like a collen warner/cheap mls journeyman who can act as insurance or depth if he goes down or is just a absolute liability out there. You get the sense that it isn't even in their scouting requirements go and find someone as a youth project that can be that heir despite MB4 being 35 now. The midfield pieces picked up in Alonso + Servania look to challenge Kay + Oso - not MB4's position.

While he's out there on the field, MB4 clearly elects to monitor or budget his pace/stamina while picking and chosing when to get into athletic/defensive duties- so he doesn't get subbed off and can jog around the field for the entire 90, which is about par the course for guys towards the end of their time as starting 11. imo, in a DM/halfback #6 role, the player should be going flat out to their potential for the full 90, and if they can't reach the end of the game then have squad depth that can help support that. It's simply too important of a role on the field in MLS to have players budget their stamina and jog around the park, while consistantly having to weigh the cost/benefit of burning stamina vs. the impact of the defensive/offensive play evolving. And gets worse when one misses the mark on deciding whether to burn that stamina, leading to an opponent walking into our zone and getting a goal because there's space left wide open infront of the CB's.

I'll be interested if they continue to be this headstrong and dismissive towards the issue, and how long they think they can keep clearing the runway for MB4 to hold his position without having to fight for it. Do they honestly think when it comes to team dynamics that it's a good thing to have optically? Your captain, top top pro & steward to the club who should be leading by example for all players and youth by fighting for his own spot each and every week- never has to worry about looking behind his shoulder for a hungry player to take his place because when one does come around, management ensure they are a non factor. There's absolutely nothing positive with this look, as a professional club with professional ambitious athletes. It also erodes his leadership capital the longer this goes on.

*I'll edit this, since after giving it another read feels like it might be filled with a bit of hyperbole. We definitely have depth in midfield with mak/oso/servania/mb4/alonso, but i'm just not seeing those other guys trump mike over his spot in the current situation

[los sonadores]

I keep forgetting to avoid this thread, the semi-official ‘type your mean-spirited bile here’ thread. Good though that some of you more thoughtful people engage with it - someone has to do it.

Using Ensco’s analogy of wanting this board to be a cafe for intelligent discussion rather than a night club, I’d say this is more like the knock em out drunken bar culture thread.

[Hala Hrvatska]

The reason people get pissed off is you add in malicious stuff like "and no doubt, led to Mike storming into Manning's office and that was the end of the Perez role in the offseason...."

That's just a shitty thing to say about someone you've never had a conversation with.

You don't like him playing, that's one thing. I'm clearly not going to disagree with you. But don't character assassinate someone. That's just an actively shitty thing to do.

You have nothing -- NOTHING -- to suggest Michael Bradley is some svengali who storms into offices and demands managers be fired.

That's just an awful thing to ascribe to someone.

Jloome, respectfully so that we both don't get burned I won't respond too much....we've been there both and done that...it doesn't end well for both us...) So we let bygones be bygones and moved on.


Cheers.

[Hala Hrvatska]

Although Molinaro is not literally on MLSE payroll his bread and butter is TFC, it is so predictable that John is not going to bad mouth Michael or Bob, I would be willing to bet a large amount that we will never see anything written by any of those few journalists in the TFC pressers. Molinaro had a chance to step up and possibly attract more subscribers, but same old garbage from our TFC lackeys. Such a refreshing piece done by TSN . It’s what I see and judging by the board what many see in Michaels dismal play

I am still shocked TSN did the piece...I really wonder how the green light was given and by whom to do it. Was great but I doubt we ever see something like that again.