Two words: Ricardo Clark. Is he the dumbest guy? No – but the living proof that Bob Bradley is.

I mean, I love soccer and I’m fairly knowledgeable about the game – but I’m no soccer geek. So how is that me, every TV analyst and seemingly everyone in the universe knew that starting Clark and Robbie Findlay was a horrible mistake – except Bob Bradley? And that Bradley must have been the only one surprised when Clark’s horrendous giveaway in midfield led to yet another early hole for the US?

How and why Bradley came to this decision, I will never know. Both Clark and Findlay were terrible against England, and the US played fluid, cohesive football with Benny Fieldhaber and Maurice Edu in the midfield against Slovenia and Algeria. I’m deeply saddened, because this was a rare opportunity for the US – Ghana was beatable, and Uruguay equally so in the next round. Not only did Clark’s gaffe ;ad to an early goal, Bradley was forced to burn a sub 30 minutes into the game by his atrocious play, and the entire first half was more or less wasted. Only when the US took the field with Edu and Fieldhaber in the middle to start the second half did we seize control of the game.

It’s time for Bradley to go. I deeply regret the missed opportunity to have Jurgen Klinsman at the helm for this World Cup – I doubt he’d reconsider now. But Bradley’s strategic weakness is so apparent that US Soccer has no choice but to take a new direction.

Meanwhile – ganbare, samurai Japan!