Is It Time For Bob Bradley To Be Replaced?

Second-Half Comeback
Saves USMNT, But
Coach Needs To Go

By MIKE DICK
One Great Season

Great fightback. Well done. And yes, the Americans got TOTALLY SCREWED out of the three points in their 2-2 draw with Slovenia on Thursday.

But let's not let the USMNT's fine comeback and the injustice done by the incompetent referee erase the fact that the Americans also bent themselves over with another pathetic first half performance. Every U.S. fan hopes -- and many of them actually believe -- our team is a force to be reckoned with in world football.

But the Slovenians made the U.S. squad look naive and amateurish in the opening 45. The Americans totally lacked passion and commitment aganst a team that called them out and guaranteed they would beat them. Bob Bradley's troops gave Slovenia all the time and space on the ball they wanted. USA couldn't maintain possession, had virtually no midfield and resorted to pumping hopeful long balls up to Jozy Altidore and Robbie Findley. The American defenders were all over the shop, and they paid dearly for it all. Sleepwalking through a match at the World Cup Finals with plenty on the line? They were Yanks alright, but in the masturbatory metaphoric sense.

How on earth the lads were not motivated from the start boggles the mind? The old sports cliche says "you can't fire the players, so you fire the coach." The players should be ashamed of themselves for that first-half effort, and for not coming out with fire in their eyes from the first whistle. But Bradley must take the blame. Many were calling for his ouster at the Confederations Cup until the U.S. did a surprising 180 and went on their improbable trip to the final. Bradley's job was saved, and he may well have gotten another get-out-of-jail-free card Thursday. A loss would have been devastating, and the cries surely would be going out for Bradley to get the sack. Well, no matter what happens from here on out, it's time for Bob to go after this tournament.

The Americans have progressed to the point where they are the top dog in our admittedly rather lightweight region. The next step is to take it up a notch, and try to challenge the best from Europe and South America. We should expect more than what we got today. The USMNT were nearly embarrassed by Slovenia (a useful side, but nothing close to Europe's best) with the whole world watching. If the U.S. is are to be a serious footballing nation, then the coaching job should be a hot seat. You either produce the goods or you're gone. It's not good enough to spin their wheels; the Americans have to move forward. It's clear that for that to happen, the USMNT needs new leadership in the form of a top-class manager with an international pedigree. Would that guarantee success at the international level? Hardly. But the time has come to give it a shot.

Today at halftime, maybe Bob shoved some verbal vuvuzelas up his team's behinds. If so, great. But a match takes place over 90 minutes, and if we saw the commitment over the whole of the match that we got in the second 45, we'd all be celebrating a comfortable win with our place in the knockout stage all but assured. Instead, we were denied three points in part by some shambolic refereeing. But that shockingly bad decision likely would not have been as costly had the Americans shown up to play from the opening kick-off. Let's hope the Stars and Stripes can get after it from the very start in the Algeria match and then take it from there. Either way, let it please be Bob's last stand.

Click here for Mike's bio and an archive of his previous stories.