Christmas is coming. So is the announcement of Vancouver Whitecaps' new head coach. You'll just have to wait a little longer for both.
Caps President Bobby Lenarduzzi was on Team 1040 radio this morning and talked about the search. He wouldn't comment specifically on rumours or individual names but did say: <i>"The people that we're talking to have commitments and don't have the ability to make that decision as quickly as we would like. Having said all that, I would hope that by next week we would be able to confirm who the next coach of the Whitecaps would be."</i>.
We can rule out Santa Claus then. His commitments extend for a few weeks yet.
On Sunday it was <a href="http://soccerly.com/article/soccerly/bob-bradley-offered-whitecaps-job" target="_blank"><u>reported</u></a> that the Whitecaps were set to break the bank to bring Bob Bradley to Vancouver as their new head coach and an offer had been made, but not accepted or declined.
But would Bradley be the right man for the job? Does he even really want it and why are people excited by such a possible appointment?
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
He's certainly a name. One that resonates with football fans both sides of the border, a lot of that due to what he has achieved at international level. His appointment would certainly tick all the boxes in terms of MLS managerial experience, but it is experience garnered when Major League Soccer was a very different beast.
Bradley has not coached at club level since 2006. He hasn't won any domestic silverware since 2000. Does he still have what it takes to manage a football club on a day to day basis or is he one of the older generation of American coaches living on past reputations and left behind a little by the modern game?
Coming in from the college ranks, Bradley first made the move into Major League Soccer in 1996 where he was Bruce Arena's coach at DC United for two seasons before moving on to become head coach at new expansion team Chicago Fire, where he won the MLS Cup and US Open Cup double in his first season and picked up Coach of the Year honours.
Bradley spent five seasons in Chicago before the New Jersey native headed home to manage the struggling MetroStars. His tenure there was to last nearly three years before he was sacked towards the end of the 2005 season after poor results.
His last foray into club football came with Chivas USA in the 2006 season, where he guided the second year club to the playoffs for the first time.
Nine seasons as a manager in MLS, one MLS Cup win, one MLS Cup loss, two Conference crowns and taking his teams to the playoffs in eight of his nine years in charge.
It sounds impressive, but when you start to dig in behind the numbers, it's not so much.
Here's a full breakdown of Bradley's record as a MLS head coach:
[TABLE=class: grid, width: 90%, align: center]
[TR]
[TD]
Year
[/TD]
[TD]
Team
[/TD]
[TD]
Regular Season
[/TD]
[TD]
Playoffs
[/TD]
[TD]
Games Managed
[/TD]
[TD]
Won
[/TD]
[TD]
Drawn
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost
[/TD]
[TD]
Win %
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
1998
[/TD]
[TD]
Chicago
[/TD]
[TD]
2nd in West
[/TD]
[TD]
Won MLS Cup
[/TD]
[TD]
37
[/TD]
[TD]
25
[/TD]
[TD]
0
[/TD]
[TD]
12
[/TD]
[TD]
67.6%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
1999
[/TD]
[TD]
Chicago
[/TD]
[TD]
3rd in West
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost Conference semi
[/TD]
[TD]
35
[/TD]
[TD]
19
[/TD]
[TD]
0
[/TD]
[TD]
16
[/TD]
[TD]
54.3%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
2000
[/TD]
[TD]
Chicago
[/TD]
[TD]
1st in Central
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost MLS Cup
[/TD]
[TD]
39
[/TD]
[TD]
21
[/TD]
[TD]
6
[/TD]
[TD]
12
[/TD]
[TD]
53.8%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
2001
[/TD]
[TD]
Chicago
[/TD]
[TD]
1st in Central
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost semi
[/TD]
[TD]
33
[/TD]
[TD]
18
[/TD]
[TD]
7
[/TD]
[TD]
8
[/TD]
[TD]
54.5%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
2002
[/TD]
[TD]
Chicago
[/TD]
[TD]
3rd in East
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost Conference semi
[/TD]
[TD]
31
[/TD]
[TD]
12
[/TD]
[TD]
4
[/TD]
[TD]
15
[/TD]
[TD]
38.7%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
2003
[/TD]
[TD]
MetroStars
[/TD]
[TD]
3rd in East
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost Conference semi
[/TD]
[TD]
32
[/TD]
[TD]
11
[/TD]
[TD]
10
[/TD]
[TD]
11
[/TD]
[TD]
34.4%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
2004
[/TD]
[TD]
MetroStars
[/TD]
[TD]
3rd in East
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost Conference semi
[/TD]
[TD]
32
[/TD]
[TD]
11
[/TD]
[TD]
7
[/TD]
[TD]
14
[/TD]
[TD]
34.4%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
2005
[/TD]
[TD]
MetroStars
[/TD]
[TD]
4th in East
[/TD]
[TD]
Was fired by then
[/TD]
[TD]
29
[/TD]
[TD]
10
[/TD]
[TD]
10
[/TD]
[TD]
9
[/TD]
[TD]
34.5%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
2006
[/TD]
[TD]
Chivas
[/TD]
[TD]
3rd in West
[/TD]
[TD]
Lost Conference semi
[/TD]
[TD]
34
[/TD]
[TD]
11
[/TD]
[TD]
13
[/TD]
[TD]
10
[/TD]
[TD]
32.4%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
TOTAL
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]
302
[/TD]
[TD]
138
[/TD]
[TD]
57
[/TD]
[TD]
107
[/TD]
[TD]
45.7%
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
His 45.7% win record is greatly helped by his first four years in charge in Chicago. From 2002, his win record is a decidedly uninspiring 34.8%.
To put that into some context, Martin Rennie had a win record of 32.4% in his first season in charge in Vancouver and a 38.2% one this season just past. An upward trajectory and we'll never know in which direction his record would have continued.
Rennie's record is a small sample size to hold up as a useful gauge of a modern MLS manager but before Bradley moved on to international football, his star was certainly starting to wane. Not that you can just look at something as basic as a winning percentage when evaluating the effectiveness of a coach.
When Bradley left Chivas he became interim manager of the US national team towards the end of 2006. An appointment that became permanent five months later.
He guided the US to a 2007 Gold Cup triumph and a comfortable qualifying campaign to reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they bowed out in the second round to Ghana.
Just over a year later he was sacked but soon found himself back in charge at international level, making the move to Africa to manage Egypt, before Ghana were again to play a part in his downfall after a comprehensive World Cup playoff loss to them last month resulted in him looking for new employment.
And Vancouver have seemingly come a calling for his services, offering up to $1 million for them in the process if the reports are to be believed.
Frankly, I find it quite baffling and it smacks of a panic move to try and land a big name appointment to appease some of the fanbase and watching eyes.
Now, if he were to accept Bradley may prove to be an excellent appointment, assembling a modern MLS backroom team and leading the Caps to the promised land and becoming the new MLS dynasty. We all hope for that.
But there are already warning signs and concerns.
The amount of time he has spent away from domestic football is certainly a major concern that needs to be raised. Seven years is a huge gap.
There is a big difference between running an international team and the day to day running of a football club and all the work that goes with managing players and their sensitivities, egos and personal requirements on a daily basis.
He'll have others around him to help do that of course, but you also don't want the players to feel he doesn't understand their "needs" or is out of touch.
Many former international managers around the world have struggled to adapt to such a transition back to the domestic game and fail to find the winning formula they once had, bouncing around from club to club.
That international experience will certainly earn him the respect of players, especially the senior ones, something which has been hinted as being lacking in some players' views of Rennie.
Is he the best manager to bring on the Caps aspiring young talent though? He's obviously done well with his son and comes from a NCAA background, but he's more used to handling seasoned pros these days.
As for the League itself, MLS isn't exactly unrecognisable since Bradley last managed in it but it's not far off it.
He is a MLS Cup winner but that was 15 years ago now. His last domestic trophy won was the US Open Cup in 2000.
I really struggle to see how this makes him some kind of MLS messiah and such a lucrative proposition at this point in time. He may be the biggest name on what was looking a frankly horrible shortlist of candidates, but that doesn't make him the best choice.
Does he still have the necessary knowledge, skills and acumen to make it work? Is he cut out for modern day club football management?
Bradley will obviously have help from his own coaching staff and the key will be to bring in guys with more recent knowledge of the League. He would certainly need a strong support team and Jesse Marsch is a name being bandied about as his possible assistant.
Due to his Montreal connections and previous reputation as a player, some would not be too pleased with such a move, whilst others will feel it's the ideal scenario, with Bradley getting Marsch ready to take over the team if he moves on to bigger and better things. I fall into the former category.
Appointing Bradley is a gamble, but yes, you can say the same about any manager. I do question though how much his heart would be in the role and is he holding out in the hope that something better comes along? How long do the Caps wait? If he isn't fully sold on the Vancouver job, do we even want him here?
I'm not for one minute saying that he wouldn't give the job his all if he got it, but will there always be that lingering desire to go and manage in Europe or at international level again? And if an opportunity came along would he jump at it, leaving Vancouver in the hunt for a fifth coach in their short MLS tenure?
He has been <a href="http://worldsoccertalk.com/2013/11/21/after-egypt-decides-not-to-renew-bob-bradleys-contract-bradleys-next-job-may-be-in-norway/" target="_blank"><u>linked</u></a> with a job in Norway. Apart from giving him the chance to manage in Europe, such a move would likely see him less in the spotlight of media scrutiny, which any return to MLS would bring in droves.
Football's always a game of what ifs, but Vancouver Whitecaps are needing a little bit more certainty with their new manager.
I'm not sure Bob Bradley gives them that at this moment in time.
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