With Roy Hodgson leaving Fulham a month back to coach Liverpool, many names were brought up to replace the former manager. And one that really surprised me was Bob Bradley the head coach of the USA men’s national team.
Although Bradley has done a fine job overall of watching his side climb up the FIFA rankings over the last month and knows all about the pressure of performing well in critical matches, could a English Premier League club ever seriously consider hiring a Yank?
I, personally, don’t think so.
But snubbed 30 man roster American forward and Fulham player Eddie Johnson believes it could happen. Here is what Johnson had to say about his international boss potantially becoming his league boss:
Bob could do a good job at Fulham. If you look at the statistics then it’s plain to see that he has done a good job with the U.S. They did well in the World Cup, won their group and played really well, and that’s all down to him. He’s a very similar manager to Roy. He plays attractive football but also organizes his team in a defined shape that is hard to play against. They are similar in a lot of ways. The training sessions are very similar and their style on the pitch is.
Now I see Johnson’s point that if the tactics and approach are similar then why not give the Yank a shot, but this is England we are talking about here and this is a Yank we are talking about becoming the coach of a top eight team. You might think such logic is a bit shortsighted, but the truth is how many English men coach for an NFL team? The answer is obviously zero.
And sure the times are changing in European football for us Yanks and sure we know have a few respectable players in top leagues around the globe, but at the end of the day, sadly, stereotypes do still exist and an American born soccer coach controlling a top eight team in the biggest league in the world still sounds like a pipedream to one Yank.
If Bradley does get the job then make sure that he doesn’t bring Robbie Findley along with him. Or else it will not last too long.
