A friend of mine told me in 2022 that the American didn’t have a clue how to coach

I was optimistic when Toronto FC signed Bob Bradley to be sporting director and head coach, and I remained optimistic despite the losses piling in early 2022.

Of course, back then there was reason to be optimistic: Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernadeschi were on the way in the summer, there were more moves likely on the way in the 2022/2023 offseason, and it could be forgiven because they were mostly young and inexperienced.

I wasn’t the only one with positive feelings back then. However, one very knowledgeable Italian who himself was a youth and young adult coach for many, many years, said, “this guy is the wrong guy for TFC.”

He himself, back in 2022, questioned Bob Bradley’s tactics and ideas and refusal to adapt his philosophy and style to the team in front of him. I scoffed and defended Bradley, “they need to learn the system they’re going to play once he gets a good team together.”

Well, my friend Loris was right, and I was wrong. And, despite all the nonsense coming out of TFC’s camp about Bernadeschi being “out of line” with his post-game comments last week, the fact is: Bernadeschi was right, and Bob Bradley is wrong.

Perhaps, Bernadeschi could have been a little less animated, but he wears his heart on his sleeve.

The only person out of line this season is Bob Bradley.

Toronto FC don’t have ideas on how to properly play because Bob Bradley is old, stubborn, and out of his depths at this time in his career. With two European Champions on your team and a world-class goalkeeper, you need to be innovative and adaptable to the situation at hand.

Sure, there have been a ton of injuries, but that would lead most managers or coaches to adapt their tactics and style of play to suit the needs.

Not Bob Bradley. Nope, he doubled down. And all while trading away a bunch of young Canadian talent, who would be helpful right now. That list includes fan favourite Jacob Shaffleburg, Jayden Nelson, Luca Petrasso, Lukas MacNaughton, and Luca Petrasso.

So, you get rid of young players who could be helping for old guys that are horrible and somehow think this is a good thing.

That alone is why Bob Bradley needs to go.

The worst example of Bob Bradley’s poor decision making was bringing in 34-year-old CJ Sapong, who can’t do a proper run to be in open space, misses chances he should score, and shouldn’t be in the league.  

I know 60-year-olds (here’s looking at you Constantin and Steve) with a better touch on the ball.

And I go to enough live games to confidently make those assertions. There are 10-year-olds throughout Canada that play smarter and have more pitch awareness than Sapong does. Seriously, go to a live match at BMO Field and really pay attention to what this guy does. You’ll see.

Rather than admit his mistakes and cut his losses with players like Sapong, change his style and tactics, lean on his young but experienced coaching staff for new ideas, or really do anything but give lip service about “accountability,” Bob Bradley keeps being Bob Bradley.

And because of that, it’s time to say goodbye to the sporting director and head coach.

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