Comments

1. -Could LA, Montreal be a MLS Cup preview?

   – Any hope of a NYCFC playoff push appears over
   – Villa getting pulled at half, perhaps a unhappy locker room?

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2. Zelalem went 74 minutes for Rangers in 3-0, apparently was fouled in the box, but it went uncalled. No other mention of him in the match report.

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3. Weird that both teams wearing red in the ATM-Bar game

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4. Wow! What a goal by Benteke!

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   • And then by Martial to finish off the match – what a debut! Too bad LFC didn’t start Origi and Ibe in the 1H.

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5. Dikranovich- let me be clear, the only people who think Bob is a world class manager are delusional Americans who only want to talk about the one win against Spain. He won with Chicago 15 years ago, awful at Chivas, average with US, Egypt was positive with all the political turmoil but the didn’t qualify, and Stabaek is always in the top 3 or 4 in their league so it’s not like he’s turned them around and Norway is a league equal or less than MLS. His best hope is to get hired at somewhere like Fulham where they want back in EPL and will spend some money on players, but I don’t think they’d hire him either.

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   • Alright, stabaek just got promoted and weren’t expected to do well either last year or this year. Not saying Bradley is gonna get any top league jobs, he’s not, but give him some credit where credits due.

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   • Good to see that you put energy into deriding Bradley equal to that with which you defend Klinsmann. You are excessive in your claims in both cases, but props for the vigor.

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   • I’m guessing Johnny you are a diehard Klinsman fan. Probably think Jozy sucks etc

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     • Actually your wrong on both of those. I just try to live in reality, there has never been an American manager in the EPL or Bundesliga and Bob being one next year is incredibly unlikely. His best shot is to take over a team in the championship Fulham, QPR, Blackburn, Wolves, someone with some history that he could guide to promotion.

   • Jraz,

     http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/why-bob-bradley-heading-top-one-fascinating-step-time

     You might want to read this article on Bob.

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     • I looked it up in the 23 year history of the EPL there have 6 non-European managers (3 Argentines, 1 each from Brazil, Chile, Uruguay). And out of the 322 managers 270 are British or Irish. And all 20 current managers either played for the team they now managed, coached in English lower levels, and/or coached in another major European League.

       As I said and your link points out, it will be more stops for Bob to reach that level, if he even wants too. I appreciate your attempt to moderate the opposition view and your calling me out on my embellishments.

6. Red Dragons just look listless today. Entirely out of creative ideas, Benteke (sp?) stranded with zero support to create link up or quick attacking combinations, and then no urgency to press Man Poo when they have the ball.

   WTF is Rodgers doing with this squad? Not seeing any philosophy on the pitch to dictate the style we want to play.

   Yes – massive squad change (huge losses with Gerrard and Sterling moving on) and it’s early days in the BPL season but Rodgers was hired to instill a style of play. At least show some urgency and cohesion to press as a team to create counter-attacking opportunities.

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7. Cameron starten shakey for stoke but looked better in the second half. Maybe its because he spent all international break being played out of position?

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   • U do realize he played at RB all year last year at Stoke.

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     • No nothing exists outside of were they played for the USMNT in early 2011, if its not were they played then they are out of position.

       And based on how many people put Dempsey at LM yesterday in their dream Mexico line ups I think it may also be tied to their listed position on FIFA 2012 by EA Sports.

8. Already an eventful morning of football, with Manure-Pool and Atleti-Barca to come.

   Massive disappointment for Chelsea: 3 points lost to the battle to 38 and survival.

   Citeh already Champions of the Premier League.

   Bayern Munchen with another last minute penalty win, have hated them since the Beer Hall Putsch!

   Ronaldo with 5 for RM…my o my!

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   • “Have hated them since the Beer Hall Putsch!” Boy, you hold a grudge for a long time.

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     • This is my go-to joke re: BM.

       Man Utd/Pool is unwatchable so far.

     • The Premier League is definitely overrated. These teams spend a ton of money but the games are a dud. I mean Fellaini is United’s center forward today lol. The second half picked up but I may have to watch more Bundesliga games as Bayern, BVB, Wolfsburg, and Leverkusen provide more excitement.

   • If you sit the table next to the fixture list, the only even kind of crap team CFC played (West Brom), they beat (the teams beating or tying them, #1, 4, 5, and 7). I have no concerns about staying up. The schedule will get friendlier and they will start winning games. But the team is a mess and even having to conduct this kind of schedule-parsing is a massive comedown.

     I am going to be interested how long Mourinho lasts.

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   • To top it off, that Hitler guy got off easy.

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9. Ronaldo looking for a double hat trick

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10. Bobby Wood with a goal earlier.

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11. While injured Fabian is in the Champions league.

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12. Personally I am annoyed that we have no Yanks in the CL. Are we suddenly the Canadian NT?

    Any news on bob bradley? His team is 2nd but i wonder if he wants to stay for a few years and create something special or if he wants to leave for the Bundesliga or PL next summer

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    • Managers don’t go from 2nd in Norway to the EPL or Bundesliga. Sorry, it doesn’t happen that way. He would have to make a run with the club in the Europa League to even be considered. Stabaek, could be a stepping stone to the Championship or say Belgium, but not a top 5 league. The only people that view Bob as a world class manager are Americans, the EPL ain’t calling.

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      • JohnnyR, I’m sure you realize that about 20% of the teams in the EPL are owned by Americans, the same people who you say would rate bob Bradley.

      • Those same Americans have NEVER hired an American coach when they could have (not even an assistant coach). American fans tend to rate American coaches and players higher than American owners abroad (and there are 1 or 2 in Italy as well).

      • Yea, because all EPL managers are world class managers.

        His resume is pretty well suited for a bottom dwelling EPL team. MLS aside, his recent career has revolved around taking very mediocre teams and getting the best out of them. Stabaek is a shining example of this – recently promoted, and given little chance to stay in the Tippeligaen. To have them now in second is quite an achievement. I doubt he will in fact coach an EPL team, but to pretend like he’s not close is a joke.

      • Who are these mediocre teams he’s turned around that you are talking about? Chicago had a great group of European veterans he didn’t develop any of them during their championships, Chivas got worse during his time, worse US record than Arena and Klinsmen, Stabaek is a traditional Norwegian power that had had a bad run the previous few seasons and leading them back up to a Europa possibility is nice, but it doesn’t compare.

        EPL managers have either had success at other at least Mid League Clubs (Portugal for example), or the Championship, or had great playing careers Bob meets none of those.

        He’s no doubt a good guy and he is way more successful than I’ll ever be in my career, but to think he’s going to straight from Tippeligen to the EPL is a ignorance or idiocy. His path is to a better league outside the top leagues so no England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and then on if he is successful or become an assistant in one of these leagues and take over when the manager gets canned mid-year.

      • Johnny r, get real for a second. Any coach who takes a team to the knockout stages of the World Cup is capable of coaching in any league in the world.

        if you can’t admit that, or the fact that Americans own 4 or 5 epl teams, than there might be no hope for you.

      • Klinsmann was on the list for manager of the year for doing the same.

      • Dikranovich

        “Any coach who takes a team to the knockout stages of the World Cup is capable of coaching in any league in the world….if you can’t admit that, or the fact that Americans own 4 or 5 epl teams, than there might be no hope for you.”

        Hyperbole

        Managing a national team is a completely different gig from managing a club team especially one in the top 4 or 5 leagues.
        Being “capable” is one thing, succeeding is another.

        American owners want the best possible person for their team. If it is an American I’m sure that is a plus but the current American owners have had their chances to hire SBI faves and have , so far passed on the chance to hire real Americans..

        If Brendan Rogers get fired I sincerely doubt that Red Sox nation will replace him with BB and I hope they don’t because whoever it is will be expected to make Liverpool, Liverpool again and that is nearly impossible…

      • No hyperspace George, just reality. Before deuce went to Spurs, bids were made by both Liverpool, and villa, two American owned teams. Guzan plays for an American owner. Roma’s American owner admitted he wanted American players, and who played for Roma?
        Sunderland American owned, and who do they sign from AZ?

        Avram grant had zero playing or coaching experience in England, or anywhere outside of Israel for that matter, and everyone knows where he coached, and who his owner was. Oops!!!

        The World Cup is big, please don’t mince any words. If you can take a team through qualifying and into the knockout rounds, that qualifies said person to coach in any league in the world, and it says so right in my little soccer handbook.

        How can anyone suggest or agree that Johnny zzz’s point is valid?

      • Dikranovich

        “No hyperspace George, just reality”.

        Your reality not necessarily everyone else’s

        “Before deuce went to Spurs, bids were made by both Liverpool, and villa, two American owned teams.”

        Which means non American owners outbid them. I guess the Americans didn’t want Deuce that bad in spite of his national origin.

        “Guzan plays for an American owner.”

        Lerner has put Villa up for sale.

        “Roma’s American owner admitted he wanted American players, and who played for Roma?”

        How many American players do Roma have now?

        “Sunderland American owned, and who do they sign from AZ?”

        That worked out well didn’t it?

        “Avram grant had zero playing or coaching experience in England, or anywhere outside of Israel for that matter, and everyone knows where he coached, and who his owner was. Oops!!!”

        Untrue.

        Grant got the job probably because he was Ambramovich’s friend but he also was a very successful coach in Israel and with the Israeli national team. He was technical director of Portsmouth ( that is a soccer team in England) before he took the Chelsea job.

        Chelsea were in contention to win the EPL until the last day of the season, they went to the Champion’s League final and lost on penalties and they went to the League cup final . Not good enough by Chelsea’s standards but hardly horses++t.

        Like I said, capable is one thing. Lots of managers are good enough to coach in the EPL but succeeding there, which Grant did not do, is another thing . And he was lucky to even get the chance to fail.

        You can’t tell me that Grant is not capable of managing a team in the EPL but I can tell you that he wasn’t a miracle worker and that is what everyone there expects.

        “The World Cup is big,”

        It is big. But what you don’t get is that managing a team through a World Cup campaign is also a completely different thing from managing a team in the EPL.

        “ don’t mince any words”

        Don’t mince words? Okay who are the most successful EPL managers of all time ?

        SAF, Wenger, Mourinho.

        Not one fricking game of World Cup experience between them.

        They have 10 games of national team management between them, all by SAF when he was Scotland’s interim manager in 1985-86 after the death of Jock Stein.

        “If you can take a team through qualifying and into the knockout rounds, that qualifies said person to coach in any league in the world, and it says so right in my little soccer handbook.”

        When you become the owner of an EPL team, I’m sure that handbook will be useful but right now I don’t think the present owners have access to it.

        “How can anyone suggest or agree that Johnny zzz’s point is valid?”

        His point and your attempts to rebut his point both have holes in them

      • I’m not so sure if quoting your fellow bloggers drives home your point, or waters it down, but whatever.

        The point was that a blogger said a coach doesn’t go from Norway to the epl, sort of as if he knows what he is talking about, glossing over the fact that the coach in question has also coach a team to the knockout rounds of a World Cup, all the while ignoring the fact that a ram grant had not a class A coaching license, nor experience as a coach or player in the English league, at any level.

        And I’m sorry, but I take exception to this kind of thinking.

        Avram grant had not managed or played in England when he took over the Chelsea job. His resume beyond Chelsea was getting Portsmouth relegated, followed by west ham.

        bob Bradley is at least on par with Avram grant, isn’t that the point? And that grant was given jobs by three different clubs in England. At least one of those clubs gifted him the job, most likely through a ethnic/religious connection, and a power play by an owner, to show his former employee who was boss.

        Anyone who thinks Avram grant was appointed Chelsea manager because he was the best man for the job, is off their rockers. Don’t you think?

      • JRaz,

        Ole Gunnar Solskjær

        Manager of Molde and Josh Gatt was signed by Cardiff City an EPL team at the time ( 2014) and got them relegated.

        He probably got the gig because he used to be a big star at Man U and Spurs but the reasons are irrelevant.

        Bob Is capable of managing in the EPL but it is a tough, risky move for anyone. The main advantage for US fans is that he would be easier to follow.
        Personally I’d rather see him take on an obscure German BL side but that’s just me.

      • GW – As I said former players in the league are brought in from time to time, just as the NBA hires former players with little or no experience over guys that have been coaching for years.

      • Lets see coach of the USNT showed well there. Coach of the Egyptian NT did really well considering the circumstances. Then took a second division norway team to the first division in one year. In year two have them competing for the title. Yeah those EPL or Bundesliga teams would be wise to pass on him

      • Here’s the last I’m going to talk about this topic

        1. I think Bob Bradley is a good manager, I think he showed incredible courage as an American to manage Egypt in such a politically unstable time in that country. Is he better than some of the managers in the top divisions I’m sure he is.

        2. Can anyone name for me an American manager in the top European leagues in the last 50 years? No because there aren’t any. Will Dolo be one, maybe, but he has a better shot than Bradley because he played there and is working for his long time club.

        3. Top European countries don’t see making it out of the group at the world cup as success. So Bob, doing the same as Arena, Bora, and JK does not making him incredibly attractive.

        4. Rosters in Europe have what 30 – 50 players that are up for first team duty each week, so yes owners in Europe are looking for American players, each team gets one manager not the same thing.

        5. He didn’t earn Stabaek promotion, they were already promoted back to the Tippeligaen a spot where they are a traditional top 5 team. The league is equivalent at best and most likely less quality than MLS. And can anyone name a player on his team besides Grossman, or name a non-american that plays in the league.

        6. The original post acted as if Bob could just walk into any job in Europe because he finished 2nd in Norway and he used to manage the US. You can hate JK or just think he should move on (as I said several times this week) but that doesn’t mean you have defy reality on who Bob is, there were more problems with USMNT besides the poor finish at the Gold Cup. If you want to talk resume Arena is more qualified, and I don’t in anyway think its right but JK has a better chance of managing in top league next year than Bob. Its the way the world works.

        Sorry that was so long, and I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings because I harshly criticized your beliefs.

      • Stabaek has been relegated out of Norways top division twice in the past ten years. The coaches befor Bob Bradley had 39 and 34 % winning percentage. Coach Bradley is currently on 51 %. And the previous coach only has a 34% winning record because he was in charge when they gained promotion from the second division.

        Nobody acted as if coach Bob was just going to walk into a job in England or Germany, but I think the nature of the profession, coaching, is a nomadic one, and professional soccer coaches end up all over the world, coaching in all kinds of different situations.

        If j razor made a point it is that it can be hard to go to a foreign club and coach. There is a pretty long list of good coaches that have come from Europe and South America and not found success in lil old MLS.

      • Dkranovich,

        Your point is that if a manager gets his team into the knockout rounds of the World Cup that qualifies him to be an EPL manager .

        Avram Grant never did that. He doesn’t meet your standard.

        In spite of that he led Chelsea to the League Cup Final, the Champions League final and had them with a chance to win the league until the last day. I don’t care if his only previous experience was winning the state championship with E.O. Smith high school the man proved himself capable of managing an EPL team.

        Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho.Kenny Dalglish, Manuel Pellegrini, Carlo Ancelloti and Roberto Mancini also do not meet you standard and they did okay in the EPL.

        POINT #1: Your claim that leading a team into the knockout rounds of the World Cup qualifies you to manage an EPL team is an arbitrary, meaningless, distinction made up by you. While I’m sure it doesn’t hurt, by itself, that experience is not enough. The most successful managers in the history of the EPL had no meaningful World Cup experience.

        POINT #2: An EPL ownership group can appoint anyone to be manager. They can appoint you, J razor, Ives, Abby Wambach, Alexi Lalas or Jesse Marsch. My guess is that Jesse Marsch would do the best job out of that lot
        .
        POINT#3: BB probably won’t get an EPL shot because he, as far as I know, does not have the right connections with an EPL ownership group and/or he does not have a high profile, attention getting, flavor of the month job.

        Bob Bradley, like Avram Grant, in all probability , could successfully manage an EPL team assuming the situation is right and he gets the proper support.
        But you can say the same thing about more than a few other managers from all over the world. The KEY is you have to be given the opportunity and chances are BB and those other guys won’t be given one.

        You act as if the EPL owners monitor SBI closely. They probably don’t. In the greater soccer world scheme of things the USMNT manager is a comparatively obscure job or would be if not for JK.

      • No GW, my point is that a manager can go from Norway to the EPL, especially one with experience managing a World Cup team. Taking an expansion team to an MLS final looks good on a resume as well.

        Personally, I’d prefer seeing coach Bob go to the championship and take a team, Nottingham Forrest would be my choice, and taking that team back to the premiership.

      • Dkranovich,

        It’s fine that you believe that. And it may even be possible.

        But, being possible and being likely to happen are two very, very different things. There is a distinction there that you fail to appreciate.

        Buying a lottery ticket means it is possible that you can win the jackpot. But the odds are very much against you.

        No one, not even you, respects Bob Bradley more than I do. But the odds that he will become an EPL manager any time soon are very much against him.

      • Well, GW, since you have made such a a good debate, I’ll tell you, Bob Bradley is already on a list of English bookmakers and has odds placed on him being the next liverpool manager. Coach Klinsmann is 50/1 to be the next manager, Coach Bradley is 33/1

      • If Bradley is 33/1 to take over the Liverpool job, you know he has to be even higher to take over the Sunderland job, and the current managers of both clubs are one two by the odd so makers to be sacked next.

        Coach Bradley could have done himself a big favor by beating or at least drawing Rosenberg. As it was they gave up a 90th min goal. At least it was on the road.

      • Dkranovich

        This is not unusual.

        Bob was recently quoted pretty good odds on being the next manager for Leicester City, right around the time Preki was supposed to be the next Leicester manager.

        For his sake I hope he doesn’t get the Liverpool job. It is a poisoned chalice.

        If it were me I‘d chase Klopp and Mourinho.

      • I guess we can conclude that Norway to EPL is clearly possible. I mean if Sacramento FC to EPL is even a consideration.

      • Dkranovich,

        There is a difference between POSSIBLE and LIKELY.

        It is possible that you will be named the next manager for Liverpool.

        It is possible you might even do a good job.

        However, both possibilities are unlikely.

        By the way Preki didn’t get the job. Which should tell you something about odds makers on new managers.

      • GW, when you start trying to compare the possibility of a blogger getting a professional coaching job in Europes big four leagues to an actual coach who is already in Europe, you must know you have lost the argument.

        I’d say coach Bradley has a better than 50/50 chance of coaching in one of England, Spain, Italy or Germany’s top leagues. Prolly closer to 70%, which would put him in probable territory.

      • Dkranovich,

        This isn’t an argument.

        Bob is perfectly capable of managing a team in the BPL.

        You think it is highly likely.

        I think it is unlikely.

        Neither of us really knows.what will happen or what the actual odds are that anything will happen.

        That’s a difference of opinion of a topic where neither of us has access to any real information.

        It’s not an argument.

    • I think he should wait until the Real Madrid job opens up. Barcelona it’s another possibility.

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    • Fabian Johnson plays in the UCL this season.

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    • You get this cuts both ways, right? We do sign there and we encounter casual xenophobia underrating our quality. Which is why the more fertile soil for our players is usually not at high budget teams that can afford to be soccer snobs. JK wants us in the CL but he can’t make those level teams treat our players right.

      And we have a strong domestic league so this isn’t Canada.

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    • I think he wants to move up in Europe. Whether that happens or not, only time will tell. I suspect that there would have to be one or two other successful gigs between Stabeck and a top 5 league. Will he make it higher? I have no idea, but any time a US player or manager does well, it’s a good thing. Ernie Stewart has been doing very well as the GM in Alkmaar and Cherundolo is apparently an assistant at Hanover. Baby steps but you have to walk before you can run.

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      • GW if you start back at the beginning that’s all I was saying. Ernie has an advantage being Dutch and Dolo played at Hannover for years so both have those things over Bob.

13. What might have been had Bradley remained at Roma? Would he be mostly a sub or could he have continued to fight as a starter? He was ideal for the italian league.

    And same with Dempsey. Had he stayed at Spurs? Do you think he would have done alright last season? Soldaldo was a flop. And adebayor is inconsistent. Me thinks Clint would have been a super sub

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    • Yeah I agree, I think Dempsey still could of found a role. Perhaps he would have done even better because he’d have Eriksen creating. While he was there everything was just designed to get Bale the ball.

      Even time off the bench was going to be hard to come by with Roma signing Nainggolan. I think he probably needed to move if he was going to be a regular starter.

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      • Now everything is designed to get Kane the ball. Last year I think Kane scored as many goals as Bale did in his best year.

      • True

    • Yes, people should stay at their clubs on the subs bench and hope, not go someplace where they’ll start and be paid handsomely to do so, particularly before a World Cup.

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    • After they sold Bale they got something like a half a dozen new midfielders and after a year or so maybe half of those were gone because they were so overstocked at that position. Additionally, AVB got sacked and then they went through a couple of coaches before finally settling on Pochettino. I think Clint saw what was coming and he was wise to take the good offer that he got. I doubt anyone in the EPL would have given him the long term contract and the security he got from Seattle. And, despite all the predictions of doom and gloom, he has still been scoring at a great rate for the national team.

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14. Have to attend the Comic Con in Long Beach. Will miss the Liverpool-United match.

    1 shock victory this morning for Everton. Please Jebus let Liverpool crush United today

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