re: Michael Bradley's performance versus Germany compared to France's midfielders

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Watch again. The number of long, diagonal balls he played perfectly into feet (like Yedlin, who do you think got him the ball in all those great positions) was astounding.

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You need to watch the game again. I did a play by play on his contributions on page for on just the first half. He made just as many bad passes in the offensive half than he did good ones.

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He also covered 10 miles for the game and completed 90 passes, as many as Witsel and Fellaini combined.

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I love that people keep bringing up this stat like it automatically means that he had a good game. Running around more isn't always a good thing. I.E. ball chasing.

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Central defenders are ALWAYS among the slowest players on the team.



Well that's not true at all.

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it makes sense....guys in mid are tall to defend against headers

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Serious question, how familiar were you with MB before this WC? One of his stand out traits has always been his iron lungs and non stop work rate. So yes, it does need to be factored in to how well he played (and he didn't play all that well) since it's a necessary trait for ANY player in the center. Again, he is not a true AM. He is a box to box midfielder which is largely based on work ethic so of course that needs to be factored into his grade.

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I'm sure he ran more than any one else in the Ghana game but that doesn't mean he had a good game

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I agree. That stat alone only tells me that he has a high work rate, but not that he was productive.
I personally think that his tracking back and helping to close down passing lanes and his movement helped cause a lot of turnovers and fizzle out the opponents attacking play. Those are things that you won't find in any stats, but generally players with high work rates are given credit for.

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I personally think that his tracking back and helping to close down passing lanes and his movement helped cause a lot of turnovers and fizzle out the opponents attacking play

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And helped open up the offense by making runs into space creating other space or helped increase possession by making runs to the ball. etc.

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Serious question, how familiar were you with MB before this WC? One of his stand out traits has always been his iron lungs and non stop work rate. So yes, it does need to be factored in to how well he played (and he didn't play all that well) since it's a necessary trait for ANY player in the center. Again, he is not a true AM. He is a box to box midfielder which is largely based on work ethic so of course that needs to be factored into his grade.

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Work rate should be a given for Michael Bradley. It's setting the bar extremely low to grade him on how far he ran.
Again with the "have you even watched MB" stuff.

Never in this thread have I said he played well. But when covering ground is a huge part of his role, yes it has to be taken into account.

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And helped open up the offense by making runs into space creating other space or helped increase possession by making runs to the ball. etc.

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Which is something Jones had going for him when he did go forward that Bradley didn't have in the first couple games, was another player in the area to make those kinds of dummy runs or to draw defenders away.

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halfback=righthalf, lefthalf, centerhalf

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Half back is an antiquated term. It once referred to the three players who played behind the forward line in a formation called the W-M. It is no longer used. Center half was the central half back that eventually pushed between the fullbacks into a primarily defensive role. Sweepers are rarely used as they once were, as the game evolved away from that. The 3 man back line can employ a sweeper, but not like the liberos of old.

Fullback usually refers to the wide defender in a 4 man back line. Wingback is the term for the wide defender in a three man/five man back line. Center mids refer specifically to the players in the center of the field. Outside midfielders are either wingers, who try to go to the byline to make opportunities through one on one play, or wide midfielders, who try to work opportunities through overlaps and 2 v 1 mismatches with the fullback.

This is the common parlance of formations now.

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he trots around at like half jogging speed constantly

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Click this link, and watch him track back and stop the counter. It should link to the right time, but if not, fast forward to 34:43.

LINK