Bradley vs Arena: Different Styles

Eddie Johnson and Brian Ching celebrate a goal against Barbados, the only game which a current US striker has scored a goal in the last 14 months for the national team.

Bob Bradley’s tenure as United States National Team manager has gone about as well as can be expected: A CONCACAF Gold triumph, several victories in the “old world” and thus far a smooth run in qualifying including an elusive win over Guatemala. So with this in mind, clearly their will be no coaching change for the US in the next several years. But Coach Bradley unlike his predecessor Bruce Arena seems to be reluctant to use current club form as a guide to player selection. Arena, almost to a fault felt it necessary even during World Cup qualifying to call in any in-form American player to give him a look.

Bradley seemed to take the Arena philosophy early in his tenure. Bradley’s first year and change on the job saw the call ups of about 70 players. However since the March friendly with Poland, Bradley’s selections have become less and less creative and more and more predictable. Thankfully some of this predictability has been the now routine call ups of Frankie Hejduk and Eddie Lewis both of whom spent a year without being called in after World Cup 2006 when younger players tried and ultimately failed to fill their positions. Unfortunetely this also means the continued routine call ups of Eddie Johnson, now playing his trade in England’s second division, Clint Dempsey who has scored one club goal in the last nine months, DaMarcus Beasley whose role should be filled by Lewis until the later retires, and Ricardo Clark who has looked completely out of his depth in his last four matches for the United States.

The return of Clark to the national team for critical qualifiers is totally unjusitifed. Despite playing on MLS’ dominant team, Clark’s confidence is in the tank. He has been most unimpressive to me while playing for the Dynamo this year other than in a few glimmers. Eddie Johnson and Brian Ching the current US strikers have scored goals in only one match for the US in the last fourteen months: that match was an 8-0 thrashing of Barbados. Had Arena still been managing the national team, in form Kenny Cooper or Charlie Davies would have surely been called into this squad if for no other reason to judge them in camp.

Clint Dempsey not only has played poorly for the US, but seeing him in person now in several US matches over the last 12 months I fear he has gone from having a monster killer instinct to disinterest in the national team. This probably comes from being overworked at Fulham and now confused about his role there, thanks to Manager Roy Hodgson’s tactics. DaMarcus Beasley is a player whose hustle wins him accolades from American coaches and whose Champions League experience gets him love in the press, but whose utility on the international level appears to be waning. Beasley’s first touch and creativity are completely devoid when he needs it the most and I personally am much more comfortable with a wily veteran like Eddie Lewis on the pitch than Beasley whose mistakes and poor positioning are more likely to cost you points than win you anything.

Bradley’s call in of Marvell Wynne is long overdue. For some reason with Wynne available for matches against Mexico and Barbados earlier this year, Drew Moor was called in ahead of him as the first choice right back. Also the call up of Mexican-American fullback Michael Orozco who hopefully can earn his first full US Cap is a welcome sign.

The omission of Kenny Cooper, and Freddy Adu the most creative player the US has are glaring. Arena most certainly would have called both players in to camp in a similar situation. Only time will tell if Bradley’s decisions are justified.

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Bob Bradley's Tactics

Under Bob Bradley the USMNT has become reliant on set pieces for scoring and quite possibly more dependent on its center backs than any top 50 national team/photo from US Soccer

For all the criticisms of Bob Bradley’s tactics by commentators including myself, the continued success rate the United States enjoys on set pieces is remarkable. This is all the more remarkable when you consider the trouble the United States had scoring on set pieces in the 1999 to 2003 period after Eric Wynalda, Marcello Balboa and Alexi Lalas all outstanding in dead ball situations were off the national team. The resurgence of quality in these situations could not have come at a better time: It seems obvious that the United States does not have players with the on the ball skills or finishing ability to consistently score in the run of play. Or perhaps American managers do not know how to tactically put talented players like Landon Donovan in a position to succeed without relying on his dead ball skills.

If you eliminate the two matches against a completely outclassed Barbados team, six of the eight goals scored by the United States this year have been scored from set pieces. Of these six goals, four have been scored by the Center Backs, Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra. In other words in matches against
competitive opposition, chances are the US will rely on set pieces to score and additionally the chances that a non striker or midfielder will be the difference maker is also high. This is because in Bob Bradley’s “bucket” system the idea is to absorb pressure and to selectively counter attack. The intent of counter attacking by the US since 2007 has been largely to create corner kicks or free kick opportunity rather than to actually place a shot on goal.

Tactically it is extremely risky to rely on this sort of play. The inability of American strikers to finish and American midfielder to hold the ball or create chances may be why Bradley feels such a scheme is necessary. Very few national teams with the sort of perceived talent the United States has plays such a strange tactical scheme. At the very same time, very few international managers have two center backs like Bocanegra and Onyewu at their disposal. While it can be argued that one or maybe both are actually liabilities on the defensive end, both are deadly accurate when receiving service in dead ball situations. Watching as much international football as I do, I must state that I don’t know of two other center backs in the world who score as many goals with as few opportunities. John Terry, Rafa Marquez and Juan have all scored goals for their nations, but they do not I would venture to guess score as often in limited opportunities as do the two US backs.

The reality of the situation is this: the United States may have superior or inferior talent to most of its opposition in CONCACAF. But in fact right now it does not matter because Bob Bradley feels he has found a formula that works: sit back for much of the match and then hit the opposition not with a classic counter attacking goal but on a corner kick or free kick which is often times inevitable in a match. Bringing up the two center backs who are both physical and athletic causes problems for CONCACAF sides with smaller and less athletic players. Until someone in CONCACAF can shut down Bocanegra or Onyewu in the area or prevent the US from getting a Landon Donovan, Eddie Lewis or DaMarcus Beasley set piece, Bradley is going to keep his tactics consistent.

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Bradley's Bucket: Things Have to Change

Bradley Leads the US/NY Times Photo

We’ve discussed several times recently on the American Soccer Show the “bucket” formation employed by US Coach Bob Bradley. Part of me sympathizes with why Bradley is using this formation: from my vantage point the US has less attacking talent currently than at any point since the 1994 World Cup. However, the lack of creativity that the US team develops during the course of a match forces the US to rely on counter attacking, something Bob Bradley seems less comfortable with in his words than did his predecessors.

This is not to say Bradley is conflicted: I simply think the US doesn’t have the type of personnel and skill level particularly down the flanks for the Bucket to work effectively as an attacking oriented formation. The bottom line is the formation isn’t working the way Coach Bradley would like against respectable opposition. The bucket has also served to put Michael Bradley, the coach’s son in a very difficult position and a remarkable amount of responsibility for a 20 year old. The younger Bradley is depended on to be a creative force offensively while playing in a withdrawn position and is also counted on to break up the oppositions attack. As we saw against England, when Landon Donovan whose skill level is so high he can be a creative force from any position on the pitch is absent the US is completely impotent offensively. The US created exactly one good scoring opportunity before minute 69 when the wily veteran Eddie Lewis entered the match. Lewis would be the perfect wide player on the left side for Bradley’s formation, and it is no wonder why even at thirty four, Lewis has repeatedly looked outstanding when playing for the national team under Bradley, after looking less than adequate at times (while being moved to several different positions) under Bruce Arena. Lewis himself created more legitimate scoring opportunities in his twenty one or so minutes of action playing down the flank then DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey created combined in the previous sixty nine minutes. While this speaks highly of Lewis’ ability to play in the bucket it speaks also very loudly about the limitations the formation places on Beasley and Dempsey.

Given the limited capabilities of the current US National Team player pool, Coach Bradley must consider changing the formation, or at the very least tweaking it, so that a creative attacking midfielder can set up between the two wide flank players. I would strongly consider moving to a 4-5-1 formation with Landon Donovan playing in the center of midfield between Clint Dempsey on the right side and DaMarcus Beasley on the left side. This also gives Bradley the option of playing Freddy Adu in the middle while Donovan plays out wide on the right side and Clint Dempsey is the lone striker.

What are everyone’s thoughts on the US formation and what personel would you like to see against Spain and Argentina this week?

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Casey and Olsen Deserve a Look

For some reason Bob Bradley as I write this has yet to submit his squad for Sunday's friendly versus Brazil at Soldier Field in Chicago. Based on recent performances in MLS two specific National Team veterans need to get a long look from Bradley with World Cup Qualifying around the corner next year.

Benny Olsen performance at Copa America alone should merit another call up for him. But beyond that, his recent performance in MLS has been nothing short of remarkable. Olsen is finally healthy and it's showing with his fantastic ball winning on display in every DC United game, and seven goals to boot in the attack. Olsen as we've discussed before on this site and the Major League Soccer Talk podcast is a perfect utility player who can play in a holding midfield role or out wide. He's an asset to any national team coach looking for gritty veteran leadership and deep player pool.

It's been a while since anyone mentioned Conor Casey and the US National Team in the same sentence. Casey seemed to fade from Bruce Arena's radar even as he played well for Mainz in Germany a few years back. Casey still has not scored a goal for the US at the Senior Level, and his early play in MLS after leaving Germany earlier this year was pathetic. But Casey has in the past four Colorado Rapids game completely regained his confidence, scoring two goals and contributing to several more. Casey has held off Daniel Osorno, the longtime Mexican National Team forward to keep the starting striker position with the Rapids.

Casey hasn't been overally convincing, but considering the woes the national team has at striker, I'd certainly give him a good look given his recent form.

US Tactics for Sweden Friendly

This European heavy squad is interesting for its balance of regulars for 2007, returning players seeing their first call up since Germany 2006 (like Josh Wolff and Marcus Hannehman) and youngsters (like Sal Zizzo, Kamani Hill, and Charlie Davies.) Landon Donovan may want to decline the invitation to play since the Galaxy who apparently are his first priority are globetrotting all over the place in recent weeks. While I've been very critical of Donovan's attitude in the past, particularly his public snub of Copa America, in this case he'd be justified base don the Galaxy schedule which MLS backloaded and David Beckham's injury which has forced Donovan to strain himself the past several matches. I'm happy to see Josh Wolff recalled. IMHO he's miles better than Taylor Twellman or Eddie Johnson. Wolff's record as an MLS striker pales in comparison to both Twellman and Johnson, but on the National Team he has been more effective. His move to Germany last season has also helped to revitilize his game. Jay DeMerit, Carlos Bocanegra and "Gooch" continue to be the mainstays in central defense, although given the squad Sweden has called for this match I'd expect the US defense to be hammered. I'm somewhat surprised Frank Simek didn't get a call up, but perhaps Sheffield Wednesday already in trouble this season asked Bradley not to pick him. Mastroeni, Bornstein and Donovan are the only MLS players in the team, and Heath Pearce for all his cockiness and big talk seems to have played himself off the national team for now with his poor Copa America performance as well as his shocking first match with Hansa Rostock.
Despite Bob Bradley's stated preference for the 4-4-2, I think he's learned the US doesn't have two effective strikers up front at any one given time, while the midfield is loaded with talented players. Thus a refinment of the 4-5-1 is neccesary: I'd expect to see the US come out in a 4-2-1-2-1 look which will be shaped like this:

Howard

Spector Onyewu Bocanegra Bornstein

Mastroeni Feilhaber

Donovan
Dempsey Beasley

Wolff

Beasley and Dempsey will have the ability to push up to join the attack or to slide back when Feilhaber or Bornstein go forward. Unlike his predecessor Bruce Arena, Bob Bradley has a strong discipline with his teams when it comes to spacing and covering for overlapping runs. In the 2nd half I would expect to see Michael Bradley enter the match allowing Benny Feilhaber the opportunity to become more attack oriented. Jay DeMerit's entrance to the match would also give Jonathan Spector and Jonathan Bornstein the freedom to push forward because my view is that DeMerit is twice the central defender on this level of either Oguchi Onyewu or Carlos Bocanegra. If the US can stay in the match, look for Bradley to insert Davies late for energy and pace up front.

Beasley and Dempsey Make a Point

Bradley's Style is Different Than Arena's in use of Flank Play

With the United States fielding a virtual "B" team for yesterday's full international versus China it was imperative for the two most experienced American attackers in the side to step up. Both DeMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey answered the call. Operating with more confidence in Bob Bradley's 4-3-3 formation than in Bruce Arena's 4-5-1 formation (which played like a 4-3-3 when Dempsey and Beasley pushed up) both veterans made daring runs, great crosses and created countless opportunities for the US tonight. They gave a virtual clinic on how to play on the flanks. The match began with the US swarming forward with numbers and signaling their intent to spend the night attacking. The first American goal came when Beasley dribbled around the Chinese keeper and was then taken down.

Hamburger's SV Benny Feilhaber scored the second US goal with some nice team play combining with Sacha Kljestan, but it was Dempsey and Beasley who continued to create countless chances, which China's goalkeeper did a very good job of reading. In the second half Dempsey finally scored after having been denied from point blank range twice and then Oguchi Onyewu who is currently club less and hoping suitors come his way scored the fourth US goal. The 4-1 final was a fitting result for a dominating performance with so many non regulars playing for the U.S.

The following American players received their first senior national cap in this match:

Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA, MLS)... Kljestan has been a key player for Chiavs USA
Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF, Sweden)... Davies has been getting regular playing time in Sweden whose season overlaps with MLS
Kamani Hill (VfL Wolfsburg, Germany) ... Has fought for playing time at Wolfsburg and shows promise
Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)... Nguyen is among the most polished Americans and has become a regular for an outstanding club


Bob Bradley has to be pleased with the play of his youngsters and with the leadership both Beasley and Dempsey demonstrated. Bradley must hope that the MLS based players coming into the National Team camp this week feed off of this result and the energy Dempsey and Beasley have shown and have a successful Gold Cup. This was the fifth match for the United States under Bob Bradley and with the exception of the disappointing stalemate against Guatemala, the US has used pushing the ball down the flanks to create countless opportunities in the other four matches. Even though Bruce Arena professed a faith in wing/flank play to often the ball seemed to be floating in the middle of the pitch with the wing players coming inside. Arena perhaps had too much faith in Claudio Reyna and John O'Brien both central midfielders to truly give his wide midfielders the freedom to create opportunities with the regularity they have under Bradley. Which style is preferable for the US is debatable. Using O'Brien and Reyna as target men, the US were unlucky not to advance to the semifinals in the 2002 World Cup. However, the number of good chances the US has been creating under Bradley against respectable opposition seem far greater than any point during the Arena era, but the real tests are coming this summer.

Bradley to be Named Permanent Head Coach

This is my first blog posting here. I want to thank Kartik for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this excellent website. I have learned through a source at US Soccer that Bob Bradley will be given the permanent head coaching job of the senior national team on Thursday. This will allow Bradley to shape his roster in a more creative way for the summer friendlies although I must say I am somewhat disappointed that we didn't make a run at some of the potential available international managers. My understanding is that Sunil Gulati, the President of the USSF wanted to take a look around the world at candidates but that much of the USSF Executive Committee just wanted to move forward with Bradley as the coach. I will have more as it becomes available.

Fox's Jaime Trecker on Bradley's Call Ups

" If nothing more, this roster at least signals that Bradley is serious about trying to win some games. Moreover, the selection is a welcome change from a pattern that had some players wondering if their international careers were finished as soon as they dared play in better leagues overseas."

His view pretty much sums up my thoughts as well.

The full article is here: http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/6572014

Bradley Calls Up the Perfect Mix of Players

Bob Bradley has passed his first major test to be National Team Coach in my eyes. Unlike his predecessor and mentor, Bruce Arena who often times ignored the play of non "chosen" American players based in European leagues, Bradley picked three players for the upcoming friendlies versus Ecuador and Guatemala that I have been calling for to get a call up for their first cap: Watford's Jay DeMerit, Sheffield Wednesday's Frankie Simek and Benny Feilhaber who has played very well this year in the Bundesliga. In addition, Youngsters Heath Pearce a future star for the national team at left back who has been largely ignored and Jonathan Spector who has been one of the most consistent players on lowly West Ham were recalled to the National Team.

Players based in England called up to the National Team:

Oguchi Onyewu (Newcastle)
DeMarcus Beasley (Manchester City)
Tim Howard (Everton)
Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham)
Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
Jay DeMerit (Watford)
Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday)

Other European based players called up to the team:

Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany)
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany)
Michael Bradley (Heerenveen, Netherlands)
Heath Pearce (Nordsjaelland, Denmark)
Benny Feilhaber (Hamburg, Germany)

By mixing young players based in Europe like Pearce, Spector and Simek with some of the top American players, Bradley is allowing the potential squad that will work together in South Africa 2010 a little time to gel three years before the World Cup. I like his philosophy and hope these call ups indicate a new willingness to work young European based players into the national pool well in advance of World Cup 2010 qualifying.

The US Could Learn from Steve McClaren

Let me preface this blog post by saying I am in no way a fan of Steve McClaren and feel he is completely out of his league coaching England. But he does have one thing right: Friendlies need to be used to deepen the player pool so when major tournaments roll around you are fielding the best possible national side. Gareth Barry, Ben Foster, Micah Richards and Joey Barton have all gotten a taste of International Football thanks to call ups from McClaren and the FA's scheduling of strategic friendlies.

This is in direct contrast to the policy of United States Soccer Federation in their handling of friendlies leading into Copa America and the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer. These two tournaments are the biggest the US participates in besides the World Cup, but instead of deepening the player pool by calling up some very deserving uncapped players such as West Ham's Jonathan Spector Watford's Jay DeMerit, Sheffield Wednesday's Frankie Simek, Bolton's Johann Smith, Heath Pearce who exceles in the Danish Super League or PSV's Lee Nguyen. These players who have been playing in Europe have been all but ignored by the continued MLS's bias in the selection of members of the US National Team player pool when you get beyond the top 20 or so players. Jamie Trecker who sounded the alarm about the decaying player pool on an EPL Talk podcast interview with the Gaffer last year and had a great article on the day of the Mexico game about the same subject. The article can be found here. Clearly part of the problem is the fact that Bob Bradley is an interim coach and that he is calling a comfortable squad up so that he can try and win the full time job.

The US victory over Mexico was nice, but believe it or not McClaren may have laid a stronger foundation for the future of the English National Team in the loss to Spain than the US did in the win against Mexico. That's not meant as a compliment to McClaren but a statement about the US unwillingness to experiment with new players and tactics when they have the opportunity to do so. If the US crashes and burns out of Copa America with a similar squad it fielded in Germany 2006 remember the missed opportunities the USSF had to deepen the player pool and to call up some very successful American players plying their trade in Europe.

More Thoughts on Bradley's Debut

Jeff Carlisle has an excellent column at Soccernet.com:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=400435&root=us&cc=5901

Ives Galarcep on the importance of the match:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=400533&root=us&cc=5901