Addition by Subtraction-USA Mens Soccer

The United States Mens National team has hit it's peak under Bob Bradley, it is time to move on. The talent pool from which the US has to choose from has grown through the years, so it's no longer an issue of not having the talent to compete. I have been trying to hold my tongue, the reason being Bradley has had success during his tenure. I also thing he is also the reason that the US hasn't reached it's full potential. It's his philosophy, they attack only to fall back when successful which only results in failure against the elite teams in the world. Case in point, the recent game against Mexico for the Gold Cup title. The US jumped out to an early lead of 2-0, anybody that's ever played soccer or been around the game knows that 2-0 is the worst place to be. The reason being that 2 is not enough to kill the will of the opposing team, 3 is that number in soccer at which teams perceive the door is officially closed. Much like American football aka the NFL, teams that go up and play prevent defense at the end of games often lose. The same is in soccer when score early and fall back to just defend and hope the time runs out, it seldom results in a win. Mexico was down 2-0, then went on a 4 goal run that ended the game. Soccer is truly a game of momentum, when the other team senses that you are no longer attacking you are at their mercy. Think of the talent that the US has been blessed with at the forward positions and they don't attack, when healthy Charlie Davies and Jozy Altidore are scary tandem up front. Add Landon Donavan, Clint Dempsey, and Michael Bradley in the midfield and you would think the US had the pieces to put major pressure on opposing defenses. By falling back so often, it puts an insane amount of pressure on the US back line and goalie Tim Howard. He does an amazing job considering the amount of duress he's under against elite teams. The back line never really gets a chance to rest, not only because of the formation but the philosophy. I do give Bradley credit for bringing Freddy Adu back into the fold, the reason being he may be one of the only true center attacking midfielders this country has. We've yet to see him with the opportunity to distribute the ball to the combo of Davies and Altidore, while flanked by Donavan and Dempsey. This country has the pieces, the best way to get the US to the "elite" level may be through subtraction.