Former MLS and U.S. men’s national team coach Bob Bradley was appointed today by the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to coach their senior men’s national team.  Bradley, fired by the USMNT this summer, had been rumored for months to be taking over the Pharaohs but was just today confirmed finally as the head coach.  This is Bradley’s first coaching opportunity outside of the United States; at various times in the past fifteen months he had been linked with Fulham, Aston Villa and Santos Laguna.  Bradley follows in the footsteps of a fellow USMNT head man, Steve Sampson, who took over the Costa Rican national team after his disastrous U.S. national team stint.

While Bradley’s spokespeople have not commented on the hiring, EFA spokesman Azmy Megahed told the Associated Press that Bradley is expected to arrive in Cairo this weekend to finalise the deal. “All is good. Bradley will be here on Sunday to sign the contract,” Megahed said.  Terms have not been disclosed.

During the interview process, Bradley had taken a veiled shot at American soccer, telling CNN Arabic, “The Egyptian team is well qualified to be a dangerous opponent, but it only lacks some organisation on the field. The Egyptian player is a talented one unlike the American who depends mainly on his fitness.”  Bradley reportedly beat out former Colombia coach Francisco Maturana, former Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac and ex-Montenegro manager Zoran Filipovic for the head coaching job.

The Egyptian job is certainly a challenging one, as the team has recently fallen on hard times.  The Pharaohs won their third straight African Cup of Nations in 2010, but failed to qualify for the 2012 tournament; it was the first time in 33 years they did not qualify for the tournament.  Historically, while the team has had success in the continental tournament, it has only qualified for two World Cups with the most recent being the 1990 Italian edition.  The team is mostly composed of Egyptian league players, with the biggest names being Borussia Dortmund’s Mohamed Zidan and Sunderland’s Ahmen El-Muhammadi.  The roster is older and many of the upper youth team players have yet to catch on internationally, yet Egypt still has a FIFA ranking of 34.

Qualifying for the World Cup, especially with the rise of Ghana, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, will be a challenge for the Egyptians but not impossible.  Currently, the Confederation of African Football is in the group stage, with Egypt in a group with Guinea (68), Zimbabwe (86), and either Comoros (175) or Mozambique (103).  If Egypt finishes first, they move to the third round with the nine other group winners, where they will play five two-legged knock-out ties.  The five teams with the highest point totals advance to the World Cup.  This is a long way of saying that as long as Egypt takes care of business (like they should) they have a great chance of making the 2014 World Cup, which would go a long way to restoring Bradley’s international reputation.

What do you think of Bob Bradley’s new job?  Is it good for U.S. soccer that an American coach is managing outside of CONCACAF?

Reports have come out this evening confirming that Bob Bradley will stay as coach of the US Mens National Team for another four years.  Just as speculation was growing that Bradley would be out, Jurgen Klinsmann would be in, and US Soccer was going to make some significant changes before the next World Cup, it seems that everyone has chosen stability over transformation.  There are several different ways to look at this:

This was the right move

Bradley may not be the most charismatic character of all time, but he did well.  Under his stewardship, the US won the Gold Cup, got to the finals of the Confederations Cup, won the CONCACAF qualifying group, and won its World Cup Group.  While the US did crash out of the World Cup by losing to Ghana in overtime, that game was as close as a game could be, and had the US won it, this decision would be a no-brainer.  While major countries like France and Italy were having personality breakdowns in South Africa, Bradley kept our boys loose, focused and together as a team.  The team was in great shape physically, and despite the obvious limitations of the US squad, especially after Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu suffered serious injuries, the team met its main objective – getting to the knock out stage.  Bradley has earned the chance to take the team to the next level.

This is a disaster

 Bradley is not the guy to take the team to the next level.  He made some fundamental mistakes in our tactics that cost the US a chance to really make a mark in South Africa.  What was Ricardo Clark doing there against Ghana?  What was Gooch doing in there against Slovenia when he could barely walk?  Were it not for a saving goal by Landon Donovan, the US would have been going home in the group stages, and this decision would have been a no-brainer.  Furthermore, that run at the Confederation Cup was not much of a run – we got slaughtered by Italy and Brazil in the group stage, lucked into the knock out stage, and blew a two goal lead in the final that could have delivered a historic moment for US Soccer.  Finally, winning things in CONCACAF is no great challenge.  Even Steve Sampson could achieve that!  If the US is ever going to move up from the JVs to the Varsity squad of soccer nations, it needs new leadership.

Honestly, it really does not matter

There is no more over-valued job than coach of the national team.  You don’t really develop players in that position, – you simply pick the best 23 available and see what happens.  Perhaps a coach like Raymond Domenech can cause a team like France to fall apart, but only a fool would say that Vicente del Bosque caused Spain win in South Africa.  Spain won because they have the best 23 players in the world.  The US will have more success when they have better players, and the coach of the team has only the most marginal impact on growing the pool of players that can succeed at the highest level.

What do you think?

 

Sitting here almost a week after the 2010 World Cup, I like many other US fans have been going over the many pros and cons of retaining Bob Bradley as the US manager.  US Soccer President Sunil Gulati and Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed probably have many of the same questions that we do,  as they decide what action they should take regarding Bradley.  But there is one question that keeps haunting me, one that I would definitely have to know the answer before I retained or hired Bradley, and that is,  Can Bob Bradley Learn?  Let me explain

During his tenure Bradley’s team have been chronic slow starters. These slow starts haven’t  just been a disease of the World Cup.   Starting  at the beginning of World Cup qualifying in 2008 to today the US has played a total 40 matches.  In 13 of those matches the US was trailing by halftime, that’s 32%!  Ten of those thirteen matches the US trailed by the 25th minute.  The startling aspect of these numbers are that these results came against CONCACAF teams during qualification.  Teams that are considered inferior competetion by the world’s footballing standards.  Now I am not saying the the US should expect to beat  all their opponents by 4 goals or that Bradley should have the US playing some sort of free-flowing, pass happy football.  He can only work with what he has. But  Bradley has regularly fielded teams that were unprepared in some aspect of the game, be it mentally, physically, or tactically.  After this World Cup the US will be taken seriously in any tourmanment it enters but their inability to start quickly gives the appearance that they don’t take match seriously.  For the first time the US can leave a tournament with international and domestic respect.  In the next four years lets have that respect because the US can field a team of truly professional, composed footballers and not because we are the spunky underdogs or the fighters who never quit.  Lets be the fighters who never give up a lead, the fighters that kill off games. Let teams chase us. This can all be done playing the brand of football we play right now!

Now the growth of this US team since 2006 can not be understated, but can Bradley grow and learn as a manager in the same way?   Bradley will not last long in a second tenure with the US or at Fulham if he continues to have his teams shoot themselves in the foot in the first halfs at matches.  In the past four years we have seen Dempsey and Donovan prove to us that they perform in a world class league and on the big international stage. We’ve seen them complete their growth as players.  Will we see Bob Bradley complete his growth as a manager?

After the failure of Germany 2006, nobody wanted to hire Bob Bradley for this job. It was hard to find a fan that thought he was the right man. US Soccer was desperate to hire Jurgen Klinsman. Columnist fantasized about importing some maestro from Europe or South America.

When the other options failed to pan out and Bradley was hired, there was clearly an air of Miss Congeniality about his appointment. His initial contract was not even guaranteed through the 2010 World Cup. Bradley was the date we all settled on while we looked longingly across the dance floor at the girls we really wanted.

And yet, Bradley did great. From the beginning, he wanted this team to play against the best competition he could find. That meant friendlies against top teams, and winning the Gold Cup so that the US could play in the Confederations Cup. Bradley banished the notion that games against Upper Tonga, Lower Bratslana, or the People’s Republic of Weak Sisters could offer anything useful.

Moreover, Bradley would seek out, find and play the young generation against these teams. The first time I saw Charlie Davies or Bennie Fielhaber play was when they put on the USMNT uniform. His son Michael earned a position on the team in such a way that nobody could ever accuse his coach of nepotism.

The team that took the field this month in South Africa was the most prepared US team in history. They had played more competitive games against meaningful opponents than any that had preceded it. Their fitness level was spectacular, and everyone knew their roles and responsibilities.

While many can take issue with some of his team selections, that will be the case with any national team coach. Every national team loss all over the world is always attributed to team selection, and the fact that the US team now has choices worthy to generate a debate is, in itself, an odd sign of progress.

That all being said, it is never a good idea to give a national team coach a second term in office. The US should look for a new boss.

The record for the second go-around is almost always a disaster. Italy’s Lippi, France’s Domenech and even the US’s Arena can all attest that the second trip to the dance is almost always worse.

Why is this? National teams need a fresh set of eyes to keep the team playing in a manner the Marine’s call “frosty.” Teams that are alert, aggressive and ready for action always do better. Teams that develop a comfort level with their coach and whose players assume (usually correctly) that their rapport and history will guarantee their place almost always underwhelm.

Four years from now, Landon Donovan will be treading that fine line between being a supremely experienced player who can dazzle and a 32-year-old player who is losing a step. If Donovan is really on the latter side of that line, will Bradley have the fortitude to drop him? If a manager does that to a player who has been with him for seven and a half years, will the rest of the team find that emboldening or demoralizing?

The US may be ready for a coach that combines the strategies and tactics of a foreign manager with the physical fitness and sports science expertise of a US coach. Who is that person? It is hard to say, but managing a young and improving US team is a plum position for many coaches of high reputation. It would be a strong move for US Soccer to explore that job pool.

As for Bradley, I would love to see him become the first American to manage overseas. I don’t doubt his ability and his intellect, and it would be fascinating to see the Princeton educated and hyper-disciplined Bradley bring something very new and very American to a European club team.

This Saturday marks the last tune up match the United States have before they take the field June 12 against England in their World Cup opener.  After four years of building his squad, Bradley still has some questions that still need to be cleared up before the South African campaign begins.  Here is my lineup.  It allows the establish players to gain more cohesion as group and at the same time it provides Bradley with a few answers.  Feel free to post your starting 11.

Forwards:  Jozy Altidore and Herculez Gomez

In the last match Jozy started to show signs of what all US fans hoped he would be after a season in the Premiership. Give the big man another run out to help him find his game.  After the disappointing end to his season at Hull City, he needs as much confidence as possible.  As for his partner I choose Gomez.  Robbie Findley only improved his chances of seeing the field June 12^th, but we need to see what Gomez can bring as a starter. He is an established entity as a super sub, and my reasoning is that he has had a better season, in a more competitive league than Findley. Show us what you got Herc!

Midfielders:  Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Jose Francisco Torres, Landon Donovan

Torres skill in the Turkey match was a revelation to all watching.  It was what we all wanted to see since the loss of Claudio Reyna and John O’Brien, but can he do it for the full 90, that is my question and that is what I want to see on Saturday. I would trade Maurice Edu for Michael Bradley at the half to see how that combo works in midfield, and I would also like to see Beasley and Holden come in for Deuce and Donovan later on as I feel this guys all have the potential to be subs that can come in and score, something the US has lone needed.

Defenders:  Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay Demerit, Steve Cherundolo

This is it for Gooch; show us that you have fully recovered. Allay all the fears that US fans had after seeing him get beat in the Czech match; build on the solid showing you had in the Turkey.  The same can be said for Bocanegra, prove your match fitness.  We have been hearing everything is ok all training camp, show us fellas.  Lastly, with having Cherundolo as the right back it would give the US a chance to work on covering him when he bombs up the right, something that Demerit and Bradley had trouble to doing in the early stages of the last match when Spector was in.  If Bocanegra can’t go the full 90 I would like to see Spector come in as a left back sub, as Bornstein showed me that he was incapable up handling the speed of the international game.

 Let’s hope Australia puts out a strong team so we can see what our boys are capable of and if they have learned anything from their previous matches.

In the next few days, USMNT Coach Bob Bradley will begin showing his cards and send out invitations to 28-30 players to join his camp in Princeton later this month.  Before those invitations go out, it is time for all the fans, pundits and blowhards to pipe in with our opinions on which 23 lucky souls should be on the plane to South Africa. 

So, without further ado, and with no Freddy Adu…here is my list:

Forwards – 4
Jozy Altidore
Brian Ching
Herculez Gomez
Edson Buddle

There is no thinner portion of the US team, made unfortunately thinner by the absence of Charlie Davies.  As dramatic as it would be to see Davies take the field next month, a mere eight months after his horrific car accident, it is just not going to happen.  Davies’ first competitive game, and his first test to see whether he has the ability to sprint, stop on a dime and pick out the right target, cannot be against England.  Sorry, but Charlie will have to wait until Brazil 14 to play in his first World Cup.

As for Gomez and Buddle, they get the slots in a slim field because they are doing the one thing that no other US forward is doing right now – scoring goals.  They may not be the best, but they are the best right now.

Midfield – 9
Michael Bradley
Maurice Edu
Landon Donovan
Clint Dempsey
Ricardo Clark
Stuart Holden
Jose Torres
Benny Feilhaber
Alejandro Bedoya

All of the sudden, the injured seem healthy, the substitutes are all starting, and our midfield seems surprisingly strong.  With Bradley, Donovan and Dempsey sure starters, the competition for that fourth slot in the midfield seems intense.  Edu has recovered from his injuries to become a critical player for Rangers.  Clark has recovered and is now starting and impressing for Frankfurt.  Torres has had an outstanding season for Pachuca.  Holden was doing great for Bolton before his injury and is back in full training.  If Holden impresses in the camp, he could slot in on the wing allowing Donovan or Dempsey to move into a forward slot.  Bedoya probably does not get in any game day roster, but as a rising star, going to South Africa would be a great experience.  Bob Bradley has a lot of tools in his midfield, and a lot of options on how to deploy them.

Defense – 7
Oguchi Onyewu
Carlos Bocanegra
Jonathan Spector
Clarence Goodson
Jonathan Bornstein
Jay DeMerit
Steve Cherundolo

With Gooch back in training with AC Milan, this all becomes a little easier than it was a couple of months ago.  It would be nice for Gooch to have a run out in AC Milan’s last couple of games, but at least he will show up in Princeton fit.  This allows Bradley to put in his preferred back line of Bocanegra, DeMerit, Gooch and Spector/Cherundolo.  At the moment, I would go with Cherundolo who seems to be playing better than Spector, but in either case, Bradley looks to have all the options for which he could have hoped.  The potential wildcard in all of this?  Goodson, who has had a rocking season in Norway and looked like the only American worth a damn in the January friendly against Honduras.

Goalkeeper – 3
Tim Howard
Marcus Hahnemann
Brad Guzan

Howard is the guaranteed starter, and barring something tragic, Hahnemann and Guzan will enjoy a pleasant seat at the festivities.  That being said, Hahnemann has been outstanding for Wolves this season – in fact a large measure of credit for the way Wolves has avoided relegation is down to Hahnemann’s work between the pipes.  He has been calm when needed, acrobatic when needed and positioned himself particularly well.  If Hahnemann’s affection for heavy metal music was the cause of his great form, Bradley would have the rest of the team listening to Slipknot all the time.

I can’t imagine any of these 23 not being invited to Princeton.  We will see who their competition is in the coming week.

Bob Bradley has brought stability to the men's national team with a consistent formation, but what are the costs to over-reliance on one set-up? (Photo: Newscom)

One of the positives Bob Bradley has brought to the United States Men’s National Team is formation stability.

Whereas Bruce Arena employed an admirable adaptability, Bradley’s move to an unvarying 4-4-2 has given his players consistent time within one system, allowing them to master its intricacies, the virtues of which can be seen in the States’ skill on the counter.

In the wake of his late-summer interview with Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, Bradley’s approach is often described in terms of Italy, given his stated admiration for last decade’s AC Milan teams. But the current set-up became popular thanks to its success with Brazil, where it has become common to adapt central defenders who have distribution talent to pivot roles in a 4-2-2-2.

While this formation leads to a huge gap in the middle of the pitch (making link-up play difficult), Brazil augments this approach’s deficiencies with the athleticism and dynamism of their four main attackers.  Think Kaká, Fabiano, Robinho.

The U.S.’s success with this set-up has come as Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Charlie Davies settled into their roles. Once Bob Bradley acquiesced to using Donovan and Dempsey as wingers, it gave Davies a route into the team, giving the United States enough firepower to offset what is an inherently conservative approach.

But whereas Brazil’s depth of talent will allow them to stay in this system through injuries and dips in performance, the United States’s talent pool is not as deep. If injuries occur, the United States will have difficult finding players to fill the four key attacking roles.

Depth becomes a bigger issue when some of the program’s key talents have no spot in this specialized set-up.  Some of the players who do have spots have been forced to adapt their styles to the system.

In addition, at central midfield, where the U.S. has a reasonable depth of talent, limiting the team to two players of a certain type means many talents face increased competition.

Injuries to Clint Dempsey (pictured) and Charlie Davies are stressing a 4-2-2-2 formation reliant on the skill of its four attackers. (Photo: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Expanding on Issues: A Shorthanded Attack

While the United States has three very good attackers (Donovan, Dempsey, Davies) and a prospect (Altidore) whose potential for growth justifies his continued inclusion, there have been recently been questions surround three of those four options. Davies and Dempsey are recovering from long-term injuries and are still doubts for South Africa. Thankfully, Jozy Altidore has found a strong run of form at Hull City after a fall that looked to compromise his development.

Through all this, the other attacker – Landon Donovan – has continued to be the most reliable player in the national team set-up.

If the States had to replace three of their attacking four, would it make sense to stay with a system so reliant on these four attackers?

We have seen Stuart Holden’ mixed results (Gold Cup, compared to Honduras), a perfectly acceptable rate of development for a player so young. Robbie Rogers has been similarly inconsistent, while the replacement forward options are also problematic. Conor Casey had a good performance in Honduras, but those are his only international goals, while Brian Ching’s virtues are lost without a player like Davies playing off him.

If the United States ever had to go with Casey, Donovan, Holden and Rogers for a stretch of matches, would they be best served keeping the current formation?

Possibly, possibly not, but the current inflexibility leaves no choice.  The lack of options only exacerbates the drawbacks of the 4-2-2-2.

Any criticism of Michael Bradley (pictured) must keep in mind: the 4-2-2-2 forces him to play out-of-position. (Photo: Newscom)

Expanding on Issues: Central Midfield Depth, Two Spots

In the Brazilian system, the key to the two central midfielders’ value is ball-winning ability and distributing diagonally to the wings and forwards going wide to win balls.

Perhaps this explains the United States’ reliance on the counter attack.  The U.S. has no players playing the deep midfield roles who can consistently provde this type of distribution (let alone overcome the formation’s problems and link-up conventionally). Michael Bradley could be this type of player in a more traditional, central midfield role but not from a defensive position to which he is less-suited.

In the current set-up, the U.S.’s best option for the pivot positions is to rely on their best ball winners, but Jermaine Jones and Maurice Edu have had fitness issues that could keep them from settling-in before South Africa. Ricardo Clark is the next-best option, showing consistent improvement over the last year, becoming the States’ best ball-winning midfielder.

Michael Bradley has valiantly played this role, slowly adapting over the qualifying cycle, but his talents are wasted in this spot.  In addition, his tackling is not his best skill, often putting him in a bad position as a central midfielder.  He may never be able to avoid the constant threat of yellow and red cards should he continue to be deployed in this role.

Bradley would be better in a pure, central midfielder’s role, if not a more attacking position (like he played at Heerenveen). His father’s system has forced him to be shoehorned into a role to which he is not suited.

Michael Bradley is not the only player without a natural spot in the 4-2-2-2. Kyle Beckerman, Jose Francisco Torres and Freddy Adu are also players who may need to change their games. And where do younger players like Chris Pontius – or even Stuart Holden – fit?

Perhaps they don’t, but in lieu of a deep talent pool like Brazil’s – where a player like Anderson could come in and replace Felipe Melo, even if a player like Diego doesn’t have a role – the United States faces a troubling choice when people get hurt:

Stay with a 4-2-2-2 that would exclude that match’s best options, or develop a back-up plan?

Bob Bradley's deference to Italy and AC Milan can be used to inspire a fall-back formation: 4-3-2-1. (Photo: Newscom)

Alternative: Of Pyramids and Christmas Trees

The United States’ success with a 4-2-2-2 makes it difficult to abandon it, but Bradley should have at least one other option to fall back upon in case of injury or bad match-ups. Given the United States’ depth in central midfield, its swallow pool at forward, that fall-back should be a 4-3-2-1.

Ironic because of Bradley’s Italy deference, his choice club – AC Milan – exclusively employed a 4-3-2-1 at the end of Carlo Ancellotti’s tenure.

Like the U.S. Men’s National team, Milan had a lot of depth at the 3-level (Andrea Prilo, Gennaro Gattuso, captain Massimo Ambrosini, Mathieu Flamini and players who could occasionally play at that level: Clarence Seedorf, David Beckham).

Like the USMNT, there was a thinning crop of forwards, where an aging Filippo Inzaghi continued to top the pyramid (or, Christmas tree) before this year’s switch to a 4-4-2 (and then a 4-3-3).

As would be the case with Bob Bradley’s team, AC Milan has had creative presences at the 2-level that were able to express themselves with the relatively free roles afforded by this system. Most famously, Kaká exploited this, but Seedorf, Alexandre Pato and Ronaldinho also saw benefits from this set-up.

For the United States, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey would be perfect fits at the 2-level, where Charlie Davies could also play there. This could also be a better fit for players like Torres, Adu, and Holden.

Playing with three central midfielders in a 4-3-2-1 could also offer protection for a back line that can have its relative lack of quickness exploited.

This summer, we have seen strong performances (Spain) from a United States central defense that featured Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit, but if you get either of those two moving laterally, they can be consistently beaten. Having three central defenders who can play deep helps keep the opposition from easily moving through the back line’s gaps.

With three central midfielders, you can are also less-reliant on players like Bradley, Feilhaber, and Beckerman being ball-winners. Again, we turn to AC Milan for an illustration.  Andrea Pirlo has played a deeper role for the recent Milan sides, but he’s never had to be a hard man. That’s been Gattuso. That’s been Ambrosini (to a certain extent).

Michael Bradley, in a 4-3-2-1, could play slightly above players like Jones and Edu and Clark.  With a more ambitious deployment, the USMNT could better utilize Bradley’s skill, helping the team to better link-up play through the middle of the pitch.

Having three players in the deeper positions of midfield would allow one (or more) of the Jones, Edu, Clark trio to jump into attack, leaving up to two players back to protect. The midfield trio could pick-and-choos their opportunities to get forward without leaving the team exposed.

The Need for Flexibility

The 4-3-2-1 could turn into a better option for the 4-2-2-2. It’s a better fit for the program’s personnel, and it allows for more on-field, tactical flexibility than the current set-up.

But the current approach has been proven to work. The players have developed a certain expertise, allowing them to give performances like the one we saw in Honduras.  Even so, the ability to switch to a 4-3-2-1 could be a valuable in-game tactical option, whether it be to preserve a lead or to augment play when the United States struggles though the midfield.

Even if the 4-2-2-2 remains the preferred option, the fitness and form issues that have plagued the United States’ attackers make a 4-3-2-1-option a beneficial fall-back.

For most Europeans, the January transfer window is all tease and no touch.  Very few moves of true import happen in January, and that is especially true in a World Cup year, where players would rather see if the tournament can up their stock.  However, for American soccer stars, the January transfer window, which occurs during the MLS off-season, is their best chance to find a new home.  With several moves simmering away or coming to fruition, this is a good chance to recap the current state of play.

Ricardo Clark Signs With Bundesliga Team Eintracht Frankfurt.  For a tough tackling player like Clark, this is a great move.  The Bundesliga probably suits Clark’s talents more than Premier League and it will give him a greater chance to grow as a player.  Interestingly, Clark has been offered and accepted a contract through the end of the season with an option held by Frankfurt to extend it by three years.  For Clark to accept this contract represents a real leap of faith on his part, and he will need to prove to Frankfurt that he is worth keeping.  You gotta like that type of bottle!

Stuart Holden is not Going to Bolton, So He May be Off to Portugal. Stuart Holden’s trial at Bolton was probably doomed the moment the team fired Gary Megson and hired Owen Coyle as their new manager.  Coyle was always unlikely to start chopping heads and hiring new talent in his first week as manager knowing that his main mission is to inspire a demoralized team.  Given that, it came as little surprise that Bolton did not opt to pick up Holden, who is now seriously looking at playing for Sporting Braga in Portugal.  Let’s hope that Holden does find time on the pitch wherever he goes, because the US could need him this summer if Clint Dempsey is not fully fit.  That being said….

Dempsey to avoid Surgery.  Fulham released a statement today saying that, “Early indications are positive in that no operation is required.  At this stage it is thought that the injury will not prevent him playing prior to the end of the season.”  Although another detail or two would be nice (what is the injury, how long is the rehab?!?!?!), this should take a worry line or two away from Bob Bradley’s forehead.  Hopefully we can see Dempsey out on the pitch continuing his terrific run of form sometime soon.

Is Carlos Bocanegra on the Move?  It seems the rumors are swirling that Bocanegra is moving from Rennes to Saint Etienne.  After having a successful season last year, Bocanegra has found himself on the bench for most of this season under new coach Frederic Antonetti, and a loan to League 1 strugglers Saint Etienne will both help him be ready for South Africa and give him a chance to prove his value in a possible summer transfer.

Has Hull Given up on Jozy Altidore?  Maybe.  By signing Zaki from Egypt and signaling that they may also be making a move for his compatriot Mido, Hull seems to be moving away from Altidore as the solution to their lack of goals.  The signing of Zaki, one of the great head-cases in the sporting world, indicates how desperate Hull coach Phil Brown is to find some goals from any source.  Altidore has talent, and his size and speed are rare weapons, but he is very far from a finished product at this point.  It looks like Jozy will have to either commit himself to developing more on the training pitch or with a different team before he can really get some quality minutes in a major league.

The last time many of us saw DaMarcus Beasley, his miss on a corner launched a Brazilian counter-attack that led to the eventual trouncing of the US in the group phase of the Confederations Cup.  It was the culmination of a number of mediocre and lackluster performances from him in the national team shirt, which was the only shirt he was wearing due to his lack of play at his club Rangers in Scotland.

Fast forward to this December which sees Beasley inserted back in to the starting line up and producing. In five games he’s given Rangers 2 goals and 4 assists, which has many of us US supporters wondering if this play is sustained thru the season, does he merit a call up for next summers World Cup in South Africa.

In my opinion yes. For the simple fact that he solves some of the tactical problems Bob Bradley has due to the loss of Charlie Davies.

We are all wondering if Jeff Cunningham or Robbie Findley can be a suitable replacement for Davies, in reality the perfect replacement for him would be Landon Donovan.  In the current setup moving Donovan up top would leave a hole on the left side of midfield, a hole that Beasley can and has filled in the past.  He has pace to match Donovan and he has a fine tuned understanding of Donovan and Clint Dempsey’s play. It is also gives us a true left footed midfielder, one who can ease the burden of set pieces off Donovan.  Beasley is also easily the most experienced American player who has played in Europe. With a resume that includes  playing in the PSV/Ajax derby, in a Champions League semi-final, the Manchester City/ Manchester United derby, and in 2 World Cups.

With the US getting their most favorable draw ever in a World Cup and desperately needing to get rid of the bad taste of the 2006 World Cup out of everyone ‘s mouth, this summer Bob Bradley has to send an all hands on deck call to all players who can help them progress out of their group. Now this is all contingent on Beasley maintaining his current level of play, if that is done, then not only does Bob Bradley have an extra tactical option, but we all have a greater sense of hope as we head to South Africa.

Early in Bob Bradley’s tenure it appeared like the US was going to be a side that utilized width and the quality runs of its fullbacks to stimulate an attack. But as time has worn on, Bradley’s ideal playing style has been limited by a lack of depth in the player pool, the falling off of certain key individuals, and the general lack of depth being produced by our national team programs.

Bradley’s ideal playing style would be to pass and go in a 4-2-2-2 formation. Utilizing the two attacking midfielders on either flank, daring runs which were a trademark of DaMarcus Beasley’s career have died off with him on the left side, while on the right, Clint Dempsey is not accustomed to playing out wide, and doesn’t fit traditional role of a winger.

Perhaps with Stuart Holden likely to get the start for the injured Dempsey in San Pedro Sula, we’ll see the style Bradley wanted from the beginning of his tenure finally executed properly on the right side. Also critical in this setup would be right sided fullback Jonathan Spector, whose tactical sense is better than the vast majority of current American players.

On the left side, Edgar Castillo would be the ideal player to fit this US system. Castillo’s defending has been suspect throughout his Primerá Division career. But his runs have been daring, and effective down the left handed side, that he could really add some bite to the US attack. Should the US secure qualification to next summer’s World Cup, look for Bradley to integrate the former Mexican international fully into the setup.

In the middle of the pitch, Bradley would be wise to use Jose Francisco Torres in place of Michael Bradley as the technically gifted attacking central midfielder. Torres can drift wide and make the kind of runs needed to fit this style. But the younger Bradley will not be dropped inspite of his terrible club form, not because he is the coaches son, but because he has come up through all of the USSF programs in Florida, the youth national teams and MLS.

As I have repeatedly stated, I believe Bob Bradley is doing a fair, perhaps even good job with the minimal talent at his disposal, and the requirement of the job being dictated by the USSF. But the fact remains that the United States isn’t nearly as talented, or tactically aware as some of our fans would like to think. When failures occur, they are blamed, unfairly I believe on the manager. While anybody would foolish to state that Bob Bradley is the ideal international manager, the USSF’s ineptitude in player development and unwillingness to hire a foreign manager that would change the culture around the program, leaves analysts like myself believing that Bradley is the least of the USMNT’s current problems.