Deuce

Well I happen to think, in time, if given the chance to proven himself, he'd crack the England XI. But I know that'll just seem laughable. It's alright. Fine, we can remove that pesky adjective if it so affronts. I know how damning they can be and how important arguments of semantics are.

Agree to disagree. He's consistently proven the skeptics wrong.

Why couldn't a "world class" player get a game for Villa? Surely even Alex McLeish wouldn't have left him out so much if he was "World Class"? Only playing Devil's Advocate btw I dunno, why does Pardew insist on playing Jonas 30+ matches a year? Incompetence does exist among PL managers and McLeish has proven to be a dullard. Bradley left Villa, went to Chievo and played so well that Roma sprung for him, and he played more minutes for them than any other midfielder in their squad last season.

Well, yeah. I'm not claiming we're world beaters, because we're not. But even top 20 sides have world-class players. Bradley is ours. The perceived "skills deficit" has been shrinking year-by-year. This isn't the U.S. team of even 5 years ago. Swap out the kits and you could confuse the U.S. team for many European sides based on style of play.

It matters a great deal where he's from because that's the footballing culture he's been around the majority of his life. He may well have moved to Europe when he was 19, but as a pro that means he's probably got 10-15 years of playing an American game ingrained in him. I see it in my fellow Sounders fans. They fucking love Osvaldo Alonso because he's tough tackling. But he's just such a limited player. A lot of his "tackles" are fouls and he offers very little outside of being a bully. It's the mentality here. I love it here in the US but it's pretty gutting knowing my kid is going to grow up thinking "soccer" is all about direct running for 90 minutes. Also, there's no way Bradley would walk into our Newcastle side. He'd be decent backup for Tiote and probably be behind Bigi in the pecking order for a CM spot. It's interesting you should mention Dempsey. He's rather the exception that proves the rule. He DOES have some technique and skill on the ball and that's made him probably the biggest American player in the world. First of all, the tenacity and "never quit" attitude so engrained in American sporting mentality has won us many matches that we probably had no business winning (like the game yesterday, when we came back from 2 goals down against what was arguably a better side, in their home stadium). Unlike many top sides who fold like a stack of cards when they start losing, our team doesn't give-up. Maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but it's also true. You may beat the U.S., but it won't be because they quit at HT. And yet, anyone who watches U.S. soccer with regularity knows that our players do have technical ability. American soccer is no longer based solely on hard-work. Klinsmann especially has put an onus on finding players who can play high-tempo passing football. We've been winning games the past year or so playing rather attractive football, not bludgeoning other squads to death as the U.S. teams of old might have. And the bit about him backing-up Bigi is just complete and utter garbage. He's a far better player than Tiote and more developed all-around than Sissoko. It's also quite ironic that you should criticize American fans for valuing tough-tackling players when so many in English football still place a premium on such qualities. Our own manager being one of them.

He was never given a chance.

Well Pjanic is more than likely out the door soon anyway, though he's not in competition with Bradley. Pjanic is an AM who can play wide too, Bradley can't challenge him for those spots. De Rossi is the only player on the roster with the same basic position as Bradley: holding midfielders who can pick out the pass and get forward a bit too. But De Rossi hasn't played at a high-level for Roma for a couple seasons. Depending on what happens with Lamela and how Totti holds up, I imagine we'll be seeing a lot of 4-man midfields, with Strootman running box-to-box, Florenzi given relative free reign, Pjanic locking down the right side and cutting in to goal, and Bradley holding.

Strootman isn't a replacement for Bradley though.

Like I said, I'm really not all about repping all American players to a fault. Majority of the U.S. team couldn't cut it in the PL, the best we could hope for would be Cameron at Stoke kinda deals. We'll even see if Altidore is up for the challenge. Guys like Zusi, Eddie Johnson, Besler, Evans, despite being regular players for us, aren't nearly that level. But I know Bradley's worth. He's really a class player.

He's better than Tiote and more consistent (and better defensively) than Sissoko, imo. A 2-man central midfield of Cabaye and Bradley would actually work very well. A 3-man central midfield with Sissoko and Bradley running box-to-box with Cabaye as a deep-lying playmaker would be best.

I don't see how the extent to which he's "American" matters in the slightest. Bradley has been playing in Europe since he was 19. He's clearly quite good enough to play at a high-level in the Eredivisie, Bundesliga, and Serie A and no doubt could continue to play at a high-level in the PL for more than the likes of Stoke (he'd walk into our starting XI with ease). It's a tired and entirely incorrect argument that says American players are all hustle with little technical ability, as Dempsey and Bradley have proven consistently at the highest levels and what recent U.S. performances, like the one yesterday against Bosnia, have shown.

Every. Single. Year. Spurs have had the better players for at least the last two seasons. At least the season before last RVP was the best player between them and maybe even the league. But last season, Bale was the RVP figure and Arsenal still finished above them. Dunno about that. Bale was definitely cream of the crop, but Cazorla, Podolski, and Walcott (and maybe Giroud) would all have started for Spurs last season. And Arsenal's defense down the stretch was airtight.

Same. He'll get you the goals but at 14m, he hurts what you're able to do with the side overall.

Replace Bradley with Muntari in the U.S. team (or Roma) and they'd flounder. He's a far better player than Sulley Muntari. There are only a few U.S. players I'll defend to a fault. Bradley is one of them.

Of course not. He might actually improve the squad. Can't be having that.

Is he a "poor man's Jonas," JS? I'm still not buying that. I watch every U.S. game and enough Roma games. He isn't exactly a whirling dervish, but I've also seen him dispossessed in one of those turns maybe 3 or 4 times ever. He's deceptively tricky with the ball. And I've gone through about 30 minutes of "Bradley all-touches" highlights for Roma watching his first touch, he's been heavy-footed a few times. But hardly "no first touch." Fact is, he's a very good, versatile box-to-box central midfielder who's proven himself at every club he's played for (except Villa, but Houllier is an idiot for not using him while on loan).

Yeah those are some outlandish claims, man.

I dunno. I can't muster any dislike, tbh. It's not as if they've hopped on the bandwagon of a successful club. There's no glory in becoming a Sunderland fan.

Are we supposed to haze American Sunderland fans? Is that our duty as Newcastle followers? I feel like they're all from New Jersey anyway.

He needs to get regular playing time, which he wouldn't have gotten here. Carlisle beats rotting away for the reserves.

Not really a like-for-like switch, as Fernandes is more of an AM it seems. Could do worse I guess.

GW1 Liverpool 2-0 Stoke City Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa Norwich 1-1 Everton Sunderland 1-1 Fulham West Brom 0-1 Southampton West Ham 0-0 Cardiff City Swansea 1-2 Man Utd Crystal Palace 0-2 Tottenham Chelsea 3-0 Hull City Man City 3-1 Newcastle Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/001/779/hnnnnng.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUrDmnNpp6M

Christ.