uh, noOriginally Posted by molenshtain
1. he misses half the games
2. he plays like a 300k MLS midfielder when here
3. they could take his 6m salary to sign another game changing DP like seba
uh, no
1. he misses half the games
2. he plays like a 300k MLS midfielder when here
3. they could take his 6m salary to sign another game changing DP like seba
1. MLS could schedule around international calander, but nah
2. his cap hit is like 400k, so really, meh - would be like 12000th player to be (debatably) considered overpaid in this league
3. Yep, only took 7 years to get finally get a Seba - should be easy!
when in fact you will find no one who covers the game on this side of the pond who would agree with any of that, because it's really not true. Bradley has a skill set that's unmatched for his position in MLS, he doesn't miss half the games, and Seba was a one of a kind transfer that had more to do with availability then it did with the amount of money we were willing to part with.
Bottom line is that if Bradley was used properly, in one strict position and not allowed to freelance as much, then he'd be top 7 in MLS at CAM and I would say #1 at DM if he would be willing to play it straight. I don't care what anyone says, Laba is good and I watched a lot of Caps matches last year but if Bradley committed to that role then Laba takes a back seat to him 100%. No one can cause as much unrelenting chaos around the ball in MLS as Bradley can when he wants to. Unfortunately he just can't or won't stick to one distinct role.
9 games out of 34
Bradley is a highly skilled player, no doubt about it, but he needs more tactical discipline and players around him who have the job to defend against the openings his play creates. This has been apparent from the beginning - it's what Nelsen meant when he said "we still haven't got the balance right", for example, and quite possibly is why Warner was acquired This should have been addressed through coaching in 2015. And I have to disagree, commentators are saying this - Doyle on the MLS podcast makes this point in discussing the acquisition of Will Johnson, who he thinks does not solve this precise problem.
doyle said that Johnson doesn't fix the problem we have in the balance of our midfield, which might or might not be true, we have to wait and see. That's not dependent of Bradley. It's not his fault no one has been signed to properly compliment his style of play.
He's not entirely off the mark. In theory, the six million dollars you spent on Bradley could go a lot further on another player (same with what we paid for Altidore). It's also likely we would not lose those players to international breaks the way we lose the Americans. That said, I agree we're already well past that point and it's not like Bradley or Altidore present a huge problem. We have other areas that are real issues, this is more of a hypothetical moneyball equation. If another MLS team called with a substantial offer I would be fairly tempted to listen.
I think Bradley is incredibly talented but the coach still needs to rein him in and give him a very defined role in the midfield. It wouldn't be a stretch to day the centre of the park (at times) looked more organized when he was gone.
Last edited by ag futbol; 12-24-2015 at 01:37 PM.
His style of play at times can't be complemented by anything. One minute he's picking the ball of the backline, the next minute he's pressuring a CB for the ball when we've lost possession. It's way too loosely defined.
But he's actually not pressuring CB's. he frequently pressurues DM's and the occasional FB when he's really felling himself. And what would compliment him is a stay at home DM with a modicum of athleticism, to go a lot of dudes of fast dudes making runs around and in front of him. we don't have physical pace, so we're playing with a bunch of dudes who are just pretty technically gifted for this league. it's an OK substitute but you still need that DM
On occasion, he has actually pressured the opposing team's CBs. For a guy who is playing central midfield he extends waaay too high up the field to pressure when we have a sustained loss of possession.
I like the guy, he's got fantastic skills, and is an asset to any MLS team - but he needs to be controlled. The amount of ground he tries to cover on occasion is too much and it hurts the team at times.
Thing is that in a few years when he loses a step and has to settle into a defined, simpler role, he will end up being fantastic.
if he was one the top 10-15 players, he would dominate where ever he is placed (ACM; holding Mid, box-to-box CM in 4-4-2).
He doesn't.
My point was why doesn't the the team sell him, bring in a 300k guy that does one of those jobs (either DM or ACM) and is here all the time generating points, and spend that money on someone that sells tickets and dominates.
on your first point: no, that's not how football works. tactics play a much bigger part than you are letting on.
And Bradley frequently did dominate as AM in the diamond, he just wasn't the focal point of our offense so he didn't stand out as much as he would on another team.
Bradley sells tickets. Seba is King but Bradley gets the second biggest cheers when the names are shouted out.
Its the the coaches responsibility to use Bradley in a role that maximizes his skills and hides his weaknesses, and Vanney has failed to do that.
i only mentioned Doyle because in your previous post you said "no-one on this side of the pond would agree with any of that" meaning media commentators when in fact one of the most respected, Doyle, said exactly that. You may be correct, he may be wrong, but when you post that informed opinion does not share these concerns about Bradley's play and the way he is coached, that's definitely not correct as it is often discussed. Perhaps you didn't realize that is why I was mentioning Doyle but if you retread your previous post you will see.
this is how I see it. And Vanney hasn't done that.
Gio sells tickets. Pirlo and Lampard sell tickets.
USMNT guys don't sell tickets.
Teams need to radically rethink DP slots in light of ability to sign guys for $750K-1M via other means (eg TAM). You see LA doing this right now
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.
Well not in this market perhaps...
LAG is about to sign Ashley "when I want to go on a beach I'll go to MLS" Cole to a TAM dropped contract, by all accounts.
Bradley is a very good footballer, excellent engine. I don't for a moment think we should move him out. I don't think he had a very good season this year. Missing 9 games due to internationals is one thing, but often his first game back was flat . There were also big games like the home opener or the Colombus game at the end - that I would call "captain's games"... where they should come out fired up & be driven by the captain. We came out flat and lost these key games. I'm not sure he is the right captain.
For me he has to managed by a good manager that is in control of the team and the tactics. He has to be given a defined role and allowed to play it well. Trying to play as a number 10... as a box to box mid-fielder ...as a water carrier... and changing it every few games didn't work. The way he played prior to injury and the World Cup was out of this world - he hasn't played as well since. I could be wrong about how he motivates the other players - but I have not seen the results. The key will be the chemistry - I coached rep for ten years and occasionally when you added talented players - they just didn't bond or fit in with the team. It was a bit telling to me that the team played more like a team in some of those 9 games that he was away. Hopefully the team gels this year - it the most stability we have ever had.
right now .. the western conference has turned into the farm system for MX. basically only the high end DPs are left.
Last edited by Onyx; 12-24-2015 at 11:54 PM.
"By all accounts?"
Be serious son. Cashley's not coming to MLS. His agent has been floating this for three seasons now without success.
The stories are coming from LAG beat reporters.
And there is a reason for LA stockpiling allocation too.
but that's besides the point I was making. I was saying that A) bradley doesn't play like a 300k player, he's significantly better than that. and B) was that we could spend Bradley's money on someone as good as Seba, which is just not true. I was saying that saying these things are entirely unfounded, partially because people who get paid to report and analyze the league would never say shit like that. Doyle saying Johnson doesn't balance our midfield is besides the point.
Last edited by molenshtain; 12-25-2015 at 10:42 AM.
They didn't get any allocation from Gonzalez's sale because his transfer fee was less than his salary (this was/is a rule now, apparently).
What an incredibly stupid rule. One of these days someone is going to come in and throw their whole rule book in the garbage.
They'll never be able to grow the league unless things get a little more straightforward.
Probably true. Maybe we can order him a few pizzas and speed up the process.
When does Vanney become TFC's longest serving manager? It can't be very long now?
I think it would be July 9th if they only play 2 games in the V Cup. That would be his 65th. Nobody has made it past 64 so far. Winter and Nelsen both got to 64.
Last edited by CoachGT; 03-07-2016 at 08:42 PM.
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