Sunil Gulati is on the clock. The man who runs the U.S. Soccer Federation failed to get his coach after the last World Cup and had to name Bradley as the interim coach. Then Bradley notched a ton of wins against mediocre competition, and Gulati had no choice but to give him the full-time gig. Gulati must take decisive action and get rid of Bradley soon. Then he needs to go get a world-class coach -- either his first choice in 2006, Juergen Klinnsman, or someone else with experience winning at the World Cup.
Bradley is lucky that the USA is not a soccer-mad nation. If it were, Bradley would be getting roasted for his poor tactical decisions at the Cup. There are so many questions that I don't even know where to start:
What did Robbie Findley do to deserve more than one start, much less a third against Ghana?
What more could Edson Buddle have done to earn even a SHOT up top?
Why did we end EVERY game with Clint Dempsey playing striker, yet not start him up top ONCE?
What did Rico Clark do to earn a start against Ghana? Had Maurice Edu not taken that position?
Bradley simply relied too heavily on his strategy, going back to it again and again even after it failed to work. We had no second striker to place next to Altidore, and yet he kept giving Findley and Gomez opportunities (although he didn't give Buddle much of an opportunity).
Perhaps the five best players on the roster (Howard not included, although I don't think he had a GREAT Cup) were Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, Edu and Feilhaber ... and yet Bradley was never flexible enough to rely on them all to start a game. There were major holes on this roster when it was set up, and they were holes that scared me entering the Cup. We didn't have a striker who could score consistently (and the four forwards combined for ZERO goals at the Cup), and the defense was a major weak point that caused the U.S. to fall behind early in three of its four games. Maybe you can argue that Bradley took the best 23 he could, or maybe you can argue that his construction of this roster wasn't very good. The jury is still out on that one, I believe.
One thing that can't be lost is the positive in how Bradley's team fought. We need to use that for the next manager to build upon. This team fought hard the entire time and was a break or two away from advancing to the quarterfinals and having a legit chance to make it to the semifinals. But, in the end, this performance was an underachievement and failure for the second straight Cup.
There are some good things to build upon for 2014. Howard will be back, and at 35, will still presumably have another Cup in him as one of the premier keepers in the world (at least that's his reputation). The midfield is going to be very, very strong again. Donovan (32) and Dempsey (31) should have another Cup in them, although I'd like to see Dempsey moved to forward. Michael Bradley, at 26, should be in his prime and could be emerging as the successor to Donovan as the greatest player ever to wear a USA uniform. Feilhaber (29), Edu (28), Holden (28) and maybe Jose Torres (26) could return, and there is plenty of depth waiting for their chances in Sacha Kljestan (28), Alejandro Bedoya (27), Sal Zizzo (27), Robbie Rogers (27), Freddy Adu (25) and maybe even Jermaine Jones (32), who we missed as a defensive midfielder in this year's Cup. The midfield appears like it will again be the strength of this team.
Altidore, at 24, should continue to develop, as he gets more and more games and opportunities to play in Europe. As much as was expected of him this year as the team's top striker, it's hard to remember sometimes that he's only 20 years old. I'd like to see Dempsey moved up top to pair with Altidore, but Charlie Davies, who will only be 27, could be the missing piece if he can return to form following a near fatal car crash last year. It's hard to think of what might have been should he have been healthy in South Africa. I would also expect Lee Nguyen (27) to make a serious run at making the roster at forward. It should be wide open because I wouldn't expect Gomez or Buddle to get another chance, and Findley would have to make some major improvements to get another chance, even though he'll only be 28 in 2014.
The defense will face some major restructuring, and I'm not sure how many of the seven defenders from this Cup will be back in four years. Bocanegra, the captain, and Cherundolo -- the two outside backs -- will each be 35. DeMerit will be 34, and Onyewu will be 32. That's a very old back line. Goodson didn't get off the bench and it's tough to see him in Brazil in four years. Spector (28) and Bornstein (29) could be the two outside backs in four years, and there's some good young talent looking to crack the team. Chad Marshall and Heath Pearce, who will both be 29, just missed the 2010 roster. Omar Gonzalez, who at 21 right now is one of the brightest young defenders in the nation, could be the center back of the future for the next eight years. Other young players hoping for their shot on the national team are Gale Agbossoumonde (18), Eric Lichaj (21), Ike Opara (21), Kevin Alston (22) and Tim Ream (22).
There are also plenty of young players that none of us have heard of. Honestly, who thought four years ago that Michael Bradley would not only be on the World Cup roster this year, but would be starting? Nobody. We just don't know what will happen four years from now, but what we do know is that the U.S. can't stand pat now. It's time to take the next step and bring in a world-class coach to take us to the next level.
