SoccerAmerica - Bradley's Gladbach slipping 03/16/2010

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Winless in four games and outscored, 7-0, in its last two matches, alarm bells are going off at Borussia Moenchengladbach, where World Cup-bound Michael Bradley plays in midfield.

Gladbach is in 12th place in the 18-team league, seven points above the relegation zone. But after a 3-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund and a 4-0 loss to VfL Wolfsburg the last two weekends, fears have set in that Gladbach could be in for another fight against the drop.

Bradley joined the Fowls on a four-year contract when they were promoted to the top tier for the 2008-09 season, after they spent a year in the second division.

They missed having to play in a relegation playoff by one point during the 2008-09 season.

Bradley has generally gotten good reviews for his energetic play in the central midfield, but his handball last weekend resulted in a penalty kick that gave Wolfsburg a 2-0 lead. And the entire midfield has struggled.

The four-game winless streak started with a 2-2 tie with Hoffenheim after Gladbach led, 2-0, and Kicker Magazine rated Bradley lowest in the squad. He also received very poor ratings in the following three games.

There are still six games left to play. Gladbach faces 13th place Cologne on Friday – which provides a good chance to get back on track. Cologne has a 6-11-9 win-loss-tie record compared to Gladbach’s 8-12-6.

0 comments

John Klawitter

commented on: March 16, 2010 at 8:17 a.m.

Can Bob Bradley be objective here. I have no problem with nepotism as long as judgement remains unobscured. We are talking a Men's National Team and not just a club team. If Michael is truly the best we have at his position, so be it, but it is concerning to learn how he is being assessed in Europe. The USA deserves to field it's very best team in South Africa and if MB does not perform well, one would like to think that it would be taken into consideration.

Nathan Geason

commented on: March 16, 2010 at 9:24 a.m.

Other than scoring some goals, is the coaches son really the best player we have at this position - I am not so sure. If club from is what gets you to the National team, then shouldn't club form keep you off of the National team.

David Bafumi

commented on: March 16, 2010 at 7:27 p.m.

Name a central midfielder that has out-performed Bradley.. Clark? Feilhaber? Edu? I don't think so. He's our best central midfielder no question.

John Roode

commented on: March 16, 2010 at 9:23 p.m.

All 3 of those guys are better at the position than Bradley... and you can add Beckerman to the list. Bradley's defending is horrendous. His positional awareness is terrible, his tackling is atrocious, he doesn't know how to use the help he has {by shepharding attackers into help)... and he is slow. I am not at all surprised by his recent poor grading. I'm surprised that he was signed by a Bundesliga team to begin with. I know they think he brings some offense to the table, but we don't need central midfielders getting forward. It's hard enough getting even 1 or 2 attackers in the box at the WC level, let alone 4 or 5. We need solid defenders in midfield with linking skills. Beckerman is the best at that and should be playing on the left side of CM... and ANYONE but Bradley on the right. That will allow our flank players to combine and get forwad with more confidence. In addition, Beckerman has the highest work rate of any player in the current pool. We will need that at the WC level. On my team, Bradley MIGHT have a place as a substitute coming off the bench in games that we are midway through the second half and down a goal... nothing more.

David Bafumi

commented on: July 15, 2010 at 3:05 p.m.

haha you were wrong

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