Comments on: USMNT Man of the Match: Michael Bradley, by default

By: wfjackson3

wfjackson3 — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:48:48 +0000

And lets not forget how he didn’t bother to guard anyone and was caught ball watching on the first goal.

By: tsingletonvt

tsingletonvt — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:20:46 +0000

I am in the Jones camp as well tonight. Bradley had a few lazy, odd passes. His diagonal, pop up moved the ball deeper in the box and led to the first corner before the first goal. He probably could have done better with that and then there is no corner. I also think at least one of his other errors maintained possession for Honduras or have them possession only to see the defense bailed out by offsides. I like Bradley, but this was a sub par effort.

If there is nobody worthy of a nan of the match, then we do not need to have one. As US soccer fans we need to be more honest about what we see on the field. Criticize when needed and recognize when deserved. It was not deserved tonight.

By: tylerbetts

tylerbetts — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:18:48 +0000

I can see the argument against Howard. I don’t blame him nearly as much on the second goal (maybe I should, but I can’t get past the lack of effort from Gonzales). And, some of those first half saves were highlight-reel fantastic.

By: wfjackson3

wfjackson3 — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:26:03 +0000

In the title? “MotM: Michael Bradley, by default.” Perhaps I am misunderstanding your use of default.

At any rate, I just don’t think he was that good today. Sure he had the passing numbers, but he was playing in that role. His passing did little to entice the imagination and it didn’t do much to breakdown the Honduran defense either. I saw Jones doing much more of consequence. His corner kicks were sharp and provided some good chances. The long ball assist was brilliantly weighted and spot on.

I just don’t see it. Maybe I am blind, but then again, I don’t see anyone making a good argument for how he was specifically better than other players on this occasion.

By: Richard Farley

Richard Farley — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 01:10:25 +0000

It’s hard to give a goalkeeper the away when he played such a big part on the game-winning goal.

As for Jones, I can see that, but he was very slow on the ball a points in the first half and (more importantly, to me) was pulled so early it’s difficult to make the case that he was the man of the match.

By: Richard Farley

Richard Farley — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:56:34 +0000

to suggest it was Bradley just because he is Bradley is a joke

Where is this joke?

By: wfjackson3

wfjackson3 — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:34:38 +0000

Jermaine Jones was easily our best player on the field today, up until the point he was subbed out. And to suggest it was Bradley just because he is Bradley is a joke. Almost our entire midfield played like junk today, and Bradley’s inability to impose anything on this game had a good bit to do with it.

By: mvktr2

mvktr2 — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:13:23 +0000

Gotta disagree, he wasted every service opportunity he had, not a single one was decent. On top of that as you said he did little to limit Espinoza. He simply had an off game. Heck I thought Jozy Altidore showed more grit and hustle than I’ve ever seen from him in a US kit. Additionally out of everyone whom played LB, RB, LM, or RM Eddie Johnson was the only one that made a concerted effort to keep width in the attack and tucked in beautifully on the counter creating a couple of chance. It should be noted Kljestan did an admirable job a few times.

By: tylerbetts

tylerbetts — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 23:40:05 +0000

I had Bradley third. Not that anyone actually deserves it. It’s a “by default, because you have to have one” kind of award.

But I had Jermaine Jones and Tim Howard ahead of Bradley. Jones delivered that beautiful pass to Dempsey for the goal, had some other nice linking plays, and didn’t do anything stupid (a real bonus for him). And Howard – damn, another Tim Howard game.

I thought Bradley – thought not by his own fault – didn’t have a great impact for much of the first half. He was forced to drop too deep for the first 30ish minutes while his teammates couldn’t possess the ball.