Thanks, Bruce. Have a seat.
First of all, I want to thank you for all you've done on behalf of US Soccer. You've given the program a stability over the past several years that many federations. And, in conjunction with Major League Soccer, you've deepened the player pool for the men's national team in a way that we only dreamed of 20 years ago. Plus, how can I forget that the United States has supplanted Mexico as the big dog in CONCACAF? We all thank you for that.
Having said that, this game, at the national team level, is all about the World Cup. Let's be honest - we got lucky in 2002. Nobody took us seriously, nobody knew Donovan or Beasley or O'Brien, and we shocked the hell out of Portugal. Add a tough draw with South Korea and some favorable mathematics after the Poland abomination and we made it out of the group. In another stoke of luck, we drew Mexico in the round of 16 - an opponent we outplay anytime we meet up outside of the Azteca. Being bounced out by Germany on a bad no-call by the ref stung, sure, but it would have been unseemly to complain at the time.
But this year, Bruce, the results are just not meeting expectations. I've been looking over the paperwork - 1 goal scored (by us, I mean - don't count the own goal against Italy) in three games. Hell, the number of shots we had on target I can count on my fingers. And when we needed offense most, you didn't make any changes to get us any. A 4-5-1 against Ghana? When we needed to win and, hopefully, score a bunch? Where was Eddie Johnson? Remember him - the guy who blew through qualifying?
In short, Bruce, I'm just not sure you have what it takes to hack it at this level. Our tactics, preparation, and results were poor, to say the least.
Let me tell you a story. My alma mater, West Virginia University, had a football coach there for a long time named Don Nehlen. Nehlen took a nearly dead program and built it up into a big time football school. He managed two undefeated regular seasons and some stunning upsets. But, in the end, he could never really push the team to the next level. His record in bowl games was awful. The undefeated seasons? Both ended in lopsided bowl game losses. In the end, Nehlen stepped aside to let someone new take over the program and push it to the next level. And it's worked.
That's what we need now, Bruce. You've built a strong foundation, but it's time to hand over the reigns to the next guy and let him build upon that. I hope you understand.
In other words - don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Bruce, Could You Step Into My Office for a Minute?
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2 comments:
Wow, WVU has been quite topical on blogspot today hasn't it? Don't forget to see how I muddied the waters for the brother-in-law on that Marshall post.
Too bad for team USA. It looked as though they were doing well. Is this better than they have done previously or did they not match up to their expectations?
Expectations are a dangerous thing. Last time (2002), got out of the group, beat Mexico in the round of 16, and outplayed Germany in the quaters, losing 1-0 (the ref missed a hand ball in the German box!). BUT, we only got 4 points in the group phase and made it out due to some favorable results in the group that we had nothing to do with. In other words, we got lucky.
Going into this Cup, the media hyped the team beyond realism. ESPN, in particular, finally decided to promote soccer, but got it wrong with regards to the US team. Much to much was made of our place in the FIFA world rankings - 5th, ahead of Italy, for example (but behind the Czechs, who also got sent home after the group phase). So I think irregular fans may have expected more than this team could deliver.
Having said that, had we just played well in these games, I would have been happier with the results.
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