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Should Bradley stay or go as USMNT coach?

Bob Bradley (ISIphotos.com)

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Another World Cup cycle has come and gone for the U.S. men's national team and it is time to consider the possibility that a new coach will be leading the team once the next World Cup cycle begins.

Bob Bradley helped guide the team through a period of transition after the retirements of Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride and Eddie Pope. During his four years in charge the team enjoyed what is arguably the most succcesful four-year period in the team's history. The team won the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, finished second at the 2009 Confederations Cup, won the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group and finished first in its World Cup qualifying group for the first time since 1930.

That track record isn't enough for some U.S. fans who will look at the 2010 World Cup as a disappointment and will blame Bradley for the team not going further. His questionable lineup decisions against Ghana, specifically starting Ricardo Clark and Robbie Findley ahead of Maurice Edu and Herculez Gomez or Edson Buddle, has some calling for his departure despite the aforementioned track record of success.

So here's the question. Should Bob Bradley stay on as U.S. national team head coach?

What's my take? I think two World Cup cycles is a lot to ask of any coach. I do think Bradley has done a very good job, but I also see him moving on to new challenges. Namely, coaching professionally in Europe. I also believe U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati is ready to land a high-profile coach to take over. And yes, my money would be on a foreign coach.

What do you think? Think Bradley should stay on, or is it time for a new head coach? Cast your vote:

How did you vote? Want Bradley to stay? Hoping for a foreign coach to take over? Who would you like to see coach the United States at the 2014 World Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. BB did the job….but nothing spectacular and he made some mistakes on the roster and starting lineup. Leaving Cheng behind was both a mistake and bogus….without Cheng and the US doesn’t qualify.

    Starting Clark instead of Edu was major blunder. Altidore wasn’t up to the full task and should have been sub’d a lot earlier than he was. But mostly, Bradley did not have the boys ready to play at the starting whistle….no excuses for this and that buck unfortunately starts and ends with the coach. After that, we can debate what the heck happened to the invisible Landon Donovan….if it wasn’t for Dempsey busting a gut, Donovan lackluster performance would have really left a mark! I’m tired of watching Landon Donovan….MF’s need to work a lot harder than that.

    Houston Dynamo Coach Kinnear would be a good selection…assuming Klinsman still won’t take the position.

    The Revs Nichols is a good coach…but Kinnear knows how to win a little bit more.

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  2. I WAS IN CONNECTICUT WITH FIELD SEATS TO WATCH THE CZECH REPUBLIC GAME.

    I WAS AS MAD AS YOU WHEN I SAW THE COACH STILL EXPERIMENTING WITH PLAYERS!!!

    BUT HE DID GET US TO THE FINAL OF THE CONFED CUP AND I BELIEVE HE IS SMART ENOUGH TO LEARN FROM THESE MISTAKES.

    HIS BIGGEST BLUNDER WAS STARTING CLARK IN THE GHANA GAME, BUT I DON’T THINK HE SHOULD BE FIRED.

    LET’S REMEMBER, WE WERE ALL SAYING BEFORE THE WORLD CUP THAT IF WE DIDN’T AT LEAST GET OUT OF GROUP PLAY THAT THE TOURNEY WOULD BE A FAILURE.

    WELL, WE DID GET OUT.

    I WANTED MORE TOO, BUT PLAYER SELECTION KILLED US!!

    STAY WITH THE USA ALL THE WAY!!!!!!

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  3. For USA soccer sake…How are we going to keep a coach that was not able to have a homogeneous team 6 months before the world cup…? 90 days before the world cup Bob Bradley was still “Experimenting with Kjlestan, Ching and EJ….

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  4. I think the biggest issue here is that we’re throwing Bradley under the bus based on his last field decision. Yeah, He should have played Edu or Gomez, and his mistake was to try something new, when what was already there was working. But don’t forget the great strides US soccer has taken since Bradley took the wheel. Bradley now has the experience of a World Cup under his belt, and you can’t discount that. The man led the USMNT to second in the Confederations Cup and the top of our group, which included England. Bradley did an incredible job coaching the team, and I think another round at the World Cup with him at the helm would be exactly what the US needs. Don’t discount the experience he gained from this go around.

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  5. KEEP COACH BRADLEY!

    OUR TWO BIGGEST PROBLEMS ARE FIXABLE!

    1.LETTING IN EARLY GOALS:(GOOCH’S INJURY AND ABSENCE PLAYED A BIG PART)

    2.FORWARDS DIDN’T SCORE: (DAVIES INJURY AND ABSENCE PLAYED A BIG PART)

    THE COACH CAN ONLY WORK WITH THE PLAYERS HE HAS…AND HE LOOKED AT AND GAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO MORE PLAYERS THAN ANY OTHER U.S. COACH, BUT THE POOL ISN’T VERY DEEP WHEN IT COMES TO HIGH CALIBER TALENT IN OUR COUNTRY AT THIS MOMENT!

    I DO THINK THAT CHING SHOULD HAVE MADE THE ROSTER AND HOLDEN SHOULD HAVE GOT SOME PLAYING TIME, BUT COACH BRADLEY KNOWS MORE ABOUT THESE PLAYERS THAN ANY ONE OF US!

    GO USA!!!!!

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  6. I agree 100% to this.

    Knowing this teams biggest weakness for over a year is the concession of a quick goal, a coach should have been sophisticated enough to lay out a pack it in plan for 20, then play.

    In 5 minutes it was evident Findley was not faster than Ghana’s back line. BB should have known this before the game. Everyone knew clark was the third best option.

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  7. He did a good job overall in the past 4 years. However, sending the B team to the Copa America was a mistake, and as a result we’ve had our standing invitation to a prestigious tournament revoked. He also has stuck stubbornly to failed players. Many of his ‘changes’ were forced on him by circumstances (see Confederations Cup). He’s good @ analyzing changes in a match, but often-times they’re the result of mistakes he made to start the match (see the Ghana debacle).

    I do think overall he’s a good coach with a good future. And I don’t think it would be wrong for him to coach the USMNT in the future again. But I do think he’s the kind of coach whose act would wear thin with the USMNT over 8years. And we need to find some new players in places I’m not sure he’s ready to look. So thank you for your service, BB. But it’s time to change.

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  8. Bradley should go. There is no benefit to having the same manager for a second go round. More importantly, his replacement should not be similar to Bradley, but offer something thing truly different…and better.

    Right away, almost all MLS coaches are eliminated. Including Nicol, Kinnear, and Sigi.

    Reply

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