Resign? Bob Bradley? NO ... Bradley has not resigned
by Steve Davis on Aug 13, 2010 11:24 AM EDT
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The internet beast really is Mother Nature in a lot of ways.
We get so very much out of it. It fills up our lives. But there’s a mean side, and every now and then it strikes us with great vengeance and menace.
I give you today’s silly and inaccurate round of “Bob Bradley resigns” as Exhibit A.
To catch you up quickly, one very small internet site reported Wednesday that Bradley would no longer be manager of the
I won’t mention the
(FYI, here's a short lesson on what we call SEO, or "search engine optimization." By using the words "Bob Bradley" and "resign" and "resigned" in my headline, I'm ensuring that some of the false reports will fall further. Because my site is a member of the SB Nation family, and because SB Nation sites have massive traffic flowing like rush hour in sunny So Cal, and also because search engines pick up words faster in headlines and photo captions, they will find this piece faster than pieces on less well-visited sites. See how that works? Aren't we a bunch of smart patooties?)
To be honest, I don’t blame the guy with the small internet soccer site. He’s just doing the best he can, sitting in a small room, reading his “A Man, a Can and a Plan” meal tips and writing his thoughts on the U.S. Soccer scene. God love him. If people like this didn’t exist, we’d all still be depending on daily newspapers for our soccer news – and most dailies are so hopelessly stuck in time that still believe Giorgio Chinaglia is “avoiding defensemen and kicking goals” for the Cosmos.
I do blame MSG, however, a big news organization that should know better.
MSG irresponsibly ran with the report on its Wednesday night broadcast of the Red Bulls-Toronto FC match. I was out with friends that night but I watched the game first thing Thursday morning. When I heard the MSG announcers talking about the report of Bradley’s resignation, I nearly spilled by meticulously brewed Italian roast all over the dog. That was a close one for the border collie.
I rushed to the phone to see if I had breathless messages from editors (“We gotta check this out!”) and was shocked when I didn’t. I thought, “Hmmm, maybe the world has gotten smarter about these things. Maybe we’ve tamed the internet beast – just a little anyway.”
Alas, I was wrong. Sometimes it just takes the hornets a little longer to attack once the nest has been kicked, apparently. So it all got to tumbling this morning. The calls came. I had to check and … well … you can read the knockdown story.
Long story short, there’s no change. Bradley remains in charge. For now.
That doesn’t mean that something won’t happen next week. Or next month. But there’s absolutely nothing to these reports. As for Bradley at Aston Villa, I think that’s a bunch of hooey. Sure, Bradley’s agent may make a couple of calls to see if there’s any interest. But I have my doubts about whether there is actual interest from Aston Villa side. Not because Bradley isn’t a good coach, but just because they probably will cast their nets elsewhere – at first, at least.
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It didn't work
It’s spread like wildfire.
by chrisperry1983 on Aug 13, 2010 11:31 AM EDT reply actions
And to add to that
Along with him resigning, he is set to join Villa, which paves the way for Donovan to join him over there (according to one of the three reports I’m reading)
by chrisperry1983 on Aug 13, 2010 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
One problem...
…none of those reports have much substance behind them besides just idle Internet chatter. All football journalists have pretty much poo-poo’ed the AVFC rumors re: Bradley coaching them.
Right
I’m just saying how outlandish it’s become. From a one-report rumor to he’s quit and is going to be announced as the new Villa boss.
by chrisperry1983 on Aug 13, 2010 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions
That's the problem with 24 hour news
People are more concerned with being the first to break a story than check the facts. It’s looked at as better to issue an apology if it’s wrong then be behind in breaking the story. It has become a major issue across all realms of media.
Little Guy Myself
As one of those “small internet soccer sites” I am at least aware of the damage to my sites reputation for spreading unsubstantiated rumors. DO I blame them, no but there is a good chance the site (not mentioned) will never become a Main player so to speak within the internet soccer world.
As for Bradley, I hope a decission gets made soon so we as fans and the USMNT players can move on. Enough already.
Chris Wimmer
http://vasoccernews.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/vasoccernews
Some reported it correctly
Many sites stated that it is rumored that Bob Bradley is heading to Aston Villa, which is correct. He hasnt resigned true, but there is no way to prove that it isn’t rumored that he will head to Aston Villa.
No, that's not the way to go at it
That’s a sorry way of backing into the story … and it’s not the right thing to do. That’s just getting your site into the fray just to add traffic through the search engines, or because you don’t want to the site that doesn’t look like it’s keeping up. It is irresponsible for legit sites like Huffington Post (a violator today on this mess) to report internet rumors. They need to be better. Period. They need to know the original source, check out the story with proper officials and then decide from there what to say about it.
by Steve Davis on Aug 13, 2010 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Confused about statement.
I happen to follow said small internet site pretty frequently.
IF you have read the report, it never claimed that bradley resigned. Simply set to depart. Not fired or resigned.
What I didn’t understand is that one person somewhere at MSG didnt fact check this (or at least run a disclaimer) and now said internet guy is being hounded not just by MSG, but by journalists like you and Ives. Cool, the story wasn’t accurate (and didnt say it was fact). I don’t understand how people can run with this story and then grind out the little guy? No one wants to man up and say HEY, maybe we would have checked it first. I’m seriously disappointed with the ‘made men’
Copy/pasting the actual report from said website, in the tone of the article not wanting to release:
X website has learned that United States manager Bob Bradley will not stay on as manager for the next World Cup cycle. According a source, Bradley will not continue as manager of the US national team into the next World Cup cycle. We have also heard that Bradley’s departure could be revealed at a press conference as early as this week.
Bradley led the United States to a second round exit after a 2-1 extra time loss to Ghana. Contract negotiations with the United States Soccer Federation had been suspended till after the US-Brazil friendly.
Bradley had been linked with the Fulham job before Mark Hughes got the job, and has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the vacancies at both Aston Villa and D.C. United.
Bradley took over as interim manager following a disappointing US 2006 World Cup performance, and was named manager on December 8th, 2006 after contract negotiations with Jurgen Klinsmann broke down.
Klinsmann is the favorite to lead the US during the next World Cup cycle, having already been pursued by the USSF following the 2006 World Cup. Others mentioned as candidates include domestic coaches Dominic Kinnear and Sigi Schmid.
So why is everyone bashing the little guy?
by Johnathon Sykes on Aug 13, 2010 12:09 PM EDT reply actions
because the "little guy" put himself out there
look, there is a certain responsibility that goes with all this. if he says “I think” or “in my opinion,” then none of this happens. but when he stars saying he has “sources” and such, then he opens up a whole new can of worms. And them suckers do get everywhere, you know? … but you are accurate in saying that MSG deserves more of the blame, which is exactly what my post said.
by Steve Davis on Aug 13, 2010 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions
There are plenty of little guys who do it right. MFUSA and WVHooligan are sites that I read everyday because I enjoy what they post and they don’t try to drive traffic up by fabricating news stores.
WVHooligan is a well-documented plagiarist. He has stolen extensively from real news sites. I’m sure a Google search can tell you all you need to know on that front.
Match Fit USA is a solid blog, but it does not purport to be a news site. Its specialty is analysis and commentary, which it executes quite well.
I didn’t know that about WVHooligan, but I will still read the site.
All I am saying is that Jason Davis is doing it the right way. He is holding down a regular job and writing about the sport he loves (although, at times it is obvious he does not know as much about the game as he should – wtf is a sideback?). He is not fabricating rumors to increase traffic and trying to get a quick payday/street cred.
I have never fabricated rumors to increase traffic. It would easy to post every little rumor that comes across(and some sites do it), but we take the time(and our record shows it) to look into everything we post.
by Trevor Hayward on Aug 13, 2010 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Tim, you sound like someone with an axe to grind. As our article said, Adu is in negotiations with LA, it could easily go either direction at this point. There is still a few days before the windows closes.
by Trevor Hayward on Aug 13, 2010 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions
I just think that your site jumps on rumors and posts them with the interest of trying to gain traffic. What you post is really common sense to everyone, you just jump on it and claim it as your own.
Look, I have tried the soccer blogging stuff before and may do so again in the future. It is tough. But jumping on rumors and putting your rep on the line is not the way to go.
If the Adu to the Galaxy post comes true, then I will give you credit.
And stop with this wishy-washy crap. You might not have said Bob Bradley resigned, but you said he was leaving which is the same damn thing.
I find that incredibly insulting. We put in serious time on the MLS transfers we’ve broken. We don’t jump on rumors, look at MLS Rumors for a site that posts everything they hear. We put time into researching and checking things before posting. I find it insulting that since we’re not Ives or Goff you instantly discredit any work we can do.
by Trevor Hayward on Aug 13, 2010 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Thougths
I think you are being a bit of an elitist with your post, but your general point is spot on.
This guy originally reported the Freddie Lungdberg deal to Chicago. That was common sense. Everyone knew Chicago was going to add a DP and it was obvious Freddy was leaving Seattle. Put two and two together and say that you broke the story on it, using a source.
Bob Bradley will leave the US job at some point over the next month. That is also inevitable. This guy posted it and when it happens in two-three weeks he can look back and say, “LOOK! I broke this!”
He also posted the rumor about Freddy Adu to the Galaxy. Again, on the surface Adu is looking for a club and it makes some sense to return home. But he will get burned on this one. If you are a journalist/blogger/whatever covering MLS, you damn well better know the rules. There is no way other MLS clubs are going to let Adu go to the Galaxy without charging a price that I doubt Bruce Arena would be willing to pay.
The bottom line is that this guy is throwing all sorts of poop against the fan and hoping some of it will stick. I guess he is doing it for traffic or just trying to gain insider status. Who knows.
I think you are being a bit of an elitist with your post
Yes, and he SHOULD be an elitist. Amateur journalism sucks. Blogs (largely) suck. Sites like World Soccer Reader suck. Real journalists are losing their jobs left and right, watching their careers get undercut by Internet morons who increasingly blur the line between real reporting and fantasy — all while leeching off the work of those real journalists and getting the benefits from it.
Sometimes I wish the pro journalists of the world would all just take two weeks off. Every newspaper site would go dark, every magazine would shut down, all the Steve Davises would go on hiatus. Let the world see what it’s going to be like when real journalism goes away. Because right now everyone takes it for granted. They just assume the news is “there,” like the air, and that it will always be there. Give them two weeks of reality — two weeks of living with nothing but the World Soccer Readers of the world — and maybe they’ll figure out how much they actually depend on the people who do this stuff for real.
I love the Internet… but God, I hate it sometimes.
by HN1 on Aug 13, 2010 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
thanks, HN1
fyi, the decaf is usually over to the right. (JK!) … look, there is absolutely a place for wild-ass opinion (bar talk, as you say) and aggregator sites and such. they just need to be clear about that they are. there are great blogs out there that don’t get a lot of traffic … but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good blogs. … some other folks have also called me out for arrogance / elitism. maybe they’re right. in terms of information collection and distribution right now, it’s a complicated world and we’re all sorting it out on the fly.
by Steve Davis on Aug 13, 2010 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
The journalists that are in trouble are the ones that companies did not react to the changing media world. But that is another story for another day.
I said he was being a bit elitist because I am sure Davis was a little guy once as well. I am sure he was a working a crappy job at a small town newspaper covering crappy American high school sports. He got picked up by SI/SB Nation and is now one of the top American soccer journalists. But I would wager he was a small guy once as well.
Every journalist that works for a major publication is pissed off and threatened because of the blogger. But this is not a case of a journalist attacking a blogger, it is a case of journalist calling out a blogger for reporting crappy information.
Yes, I like the word crappy.
Say ... !
You, sir, must have seen some of my fine work back in the day reporting on Lollygag High for the Daily Crapper and later for the Crappy Morning Standard. Good times! I always wondered why those publications didn’t make it. Might have had something to with the names, but probably not.
OK, gotta toss in my two cents here
Listen, I am not a journalist by the classic definition, I never have claimed to be and very few bloggers do. If you don’t like what we write then simply don’t read it. I have a real job, and I have my passion job (one that pays very, very little, but brings great rewards) which is my blog. Blogs are often unlike, newspapers and magazines, written by people with opinions and passion about their topics. If you want “all the truth, that is fit to print” please stick to the Washington Post, SI, and other sites that is what they do. If you want some passion, some opinion, and often some speculation of a wild ass kind, then find some blogs to read.
The reason I moved my blog to the SB Nation is that it is a Nation of fans who just happen to write blogs. Yes some have turned their passion into full time paying gigs for various publications, and I respect the hell out of those guys like Steve. I try to make sure people know when I state something I think is factual “the quotes of Dave Checketts’ proclaiming the soon arrival of Ronaldinho to LA”, hell he said it, not me. So because it didn’t happen (or happen yet" does that mean that it wasn’t real journalism on my part? Nobody, and I mean nobody had that story before I did. I just happened to listen to the radio interview on a local station, and posted it and within hours it was headlines all over the blogosphere and on may “real” media sites as well. Speculation happens all the time, in both the “real” media and online, if you don’t like the sites that do it, then simply avoid them it will be better for your stress level.
I will keep on doing what I do, and yes it often pisses people off when I say “the Don” and make fun of a guy that I have a lot of respect for, but will not put up on some type of pedestal. If you don’t like it, please for the love of god and all things holy crap like, don’t read my blog.
Many of these sites
are the modern day equivalent of people talking in a bar. They speculate, spread rumours etc. and it’s all good fun.
However, if a large news organisation start to base their news on this then they have a serious quality issue.
There are no friends. Just strangers that we've met.
by Arizona via Slough on Aug 13, 2010 12:18 PM EDT reply actions
Poor reporting
Hey everyone, so I’m “the little guy”, Steve hasn’t yet responded to my email, so I’ve got to set the record straight. Here is a great recap by MatchFitUSA http://www.matchfitusa.com/2010/08/bradley-to-villa-evolution-of-rumor.html of how badly our initial report was twisted into all kinds of crazy rumors(we never said he resigned/was fired or was headed to villa).
Steve is writer I have a lot of respect for, but this article is both incorrect(a disservice to your readers) and self-serving. MSG and Ives(who has since had one of his writers send me trash email) both misinterpreted our report as having said Bradley had quit or been fired. We reported that according to sources(which we still stand by) it looked unlikely he would be retained as manager, and an announcement could be made as early as this week.
We have a good record when it comes to breaking MLS transfer stories, recently we were the first to report both the Alvaro Fernandez to Seattle and Freddie Ljungberg-Chicago transfers(among others). I still stand by our initial report, but if Bradley ends up re-signing with US Soccer, I will be the first to admit that we got this one wrong.
We do some great work(not to toot our own horn) and many of SB Nation’s writers got their start at WSR.
Warning: Tedious back-and-forth ahead! ...
Generally speaking, I have no interest in a tit-for-tat on this site. I had my say, Trevor had his and the world is still spinning as far as I can tell, so let’s just move on, I say. But since people called me to say I MUST respond … well, ok.
(I would have responded more quickly, but I was in another argument for awhile. This one was with a delicious grilled chicken taco salad. The taco salad in question put up a respectable fight … but that taco salad is no longer with us. So I declare myself the winner in that one.)
Two quick points here …
— No, I did not respond to his email. In part because of what I said above, but also because the contents (essentially his comments above) are not entirely accurate, in my opinion. And as I said, tit-for-tat, he said-she said and the like just sends us all in boring circles, so I’m just going to leave that one there.
— Also, in terms of not returning his email … again, sometimes I just let people have their say. I’m fine with that. But, as far as not returning emails in general … we all do that sometimes when we just want to move on. Right, Trevor? (And before you answer, remember that I might actually talk to some of the people owed emails / phone calls by you at this very moment.)
— If I look at your post now, I believe there is a paragraph missing that was in there previously, no? Wassup with that? Can we really have a serious discussion about this when you pull elements out of the original report and then hold it aloft and point to its accuracy? I know I can’t.
FYI, when I belittle bloggers and web sites, I think it’s safe to say that I’m hardly at my best. I shouldn’t do that. But this mess did eat up a damn big chunk of my day … so forgive me my trespasses if I get a little cranky at times.
Steve, I didn’t mean to suggest the lack of a response was a slight(although i would appreciated a quick note), but that I wanted to get a response in. I have immense respect for you as a writer, so none of this was meant to be a tit-for-tat argument. I altered the article as we received new information, particularly regarding the idea that Bradley gave a farewell response. I still stand by our initial report that he will not be retained.
I also need to note that our was unable to handle this initial wave of traffic, which did not help with the misinterpretations that were put out there. I ultimately stand by our report(and sources), but if Bradley ends up renewing, I will be the first to admit we got this one wrong.
by Trevor Hayward on Aug 13, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
This was the deleted sentence:
"According a source,[sic] Bradley gave a short farewell speech to players and staff, thanking them for the last four years following the United States’ 2-0 loss to Brazil on Tuesday night. "
Moreover, it was coupled with this sentence: “We have also heard that Bradley’s departure could be revealed at a press conference as early as this week.” Not “any departure.” Not “potential departure.” Not “possible.” Just “Bradley’s departure.” As in, the one that already exists.
So if you can’t see why this passage is easily interpreted as “He’s been fired or has resigned” — how else does a departure come into being, after all, and why else does a farewell get made? — then you are at best being willfully obtuse. Yeah yeah, maybe it’s not a survive-the-Supreme-Court interpretation. But for all practical purposes, it’s exactly what the passage implies, it’s exactly what a reasonable reader would infer, and more to the point, it’s exactly what a reasonable writer knows will be inferred.
So to turn around and characterize this inference as a “misinterpret(ation)” is just weak sauce.
by HN1 on Aug 13, 2010 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
The bookmakers certainly took notice.
I’m just fascinated with how the prices for Bob Bradley taking over at Villa dropped so dramatically based on these reports. On Bet365, and most other places from what I can tell, his odds went from around 4-1 to 4-7 based on these reports alone! They have since dropped to 6-4 last I checked, but in any case A LOT of money moved around based on these reports.
No betting now
And now they’ve taken it down. It’ll be interesting to see if Bradley’s still the favorite when they put prices up again. Well….it’ll be interesting to me – maybe not to anyone else!
What is also fascinating
is how big a story the “non-story” is. Wild speculation about managers and players movements are routine in Europe. Even respected sources like The Guardian have “The Rumour Mill” which reports what is essentially gossip.
Once you learn to take it all with a pich of salt then it isn’t an issue.
There are no friends. Just strangers that we've met.
by Arizona via Slough on Aug 13, 2010 3:05 PM EDT reply actions
Ity's not
“essentially gossip”, it IS gossip. But there’s no harm in that if you announce it as such (putting it in a section called The Rumour Mill for instance!) and don’t allow it to leak into actual reporting (or base entire reports on it a la The Sun and Mirror).
Fair enough
but nobody gets upset about stories in The Sun or The Mirror (or Talk Sport) because everybody takes it for what it is.
It really isn’t a big deal.
There are no friends. Just strangers that we've met.
by Arizona via Slough on Aug 13, 2010 11:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Crikey.
Did you have to be so demeaning of someone else’s endeavors Steve? If these are only silly, unfounded rumors, why get involved? There’s hundreds every single day yet I’m sure you don’t go out of your way to call people out on them.
If Bradley is revealed to be leaving his post in the coming week and Birmingham bound, I hope you take the trouble to admit your mistake.
Seriously?
Is that a real question? “Why get involved?” … Because dealing in information is pretty much my entire life. But mostly because an editor from SI.com called first thing this morning and said, essentially, “Get on this … tell us if Bradley is really gone, stat!” Not to be demeaning to you (honestly) but I think you missed a major part of this entire discussion. The part about accuracy and citizen journalism and the troubling brew when the mix is foul.
A Partial Answer
Maybe I have missed part of the discussion. I"m assuming it’s the part wherein you explained why it’s necessary to harangue the “little man” (excessive use of the term, by the way) because he’s publishing something he is not actually insisting is fact at this stage.
And this isn’t SI.com, is it? That article surely dealt with the problem. This one appears a little petty and spurious. Maybe it’s that “elitist” tone that others have picked on that I find so annoying…
Here's a Couple of Rulers - Y'all go Figure it out
Seriously Steve, you’re sounding a bit like Tim Brando above, and I think it’s a bit disingenuous of you to single out one certain website, misrepresent what they posted, while giving ESPN and English news media outlets a pass on this issue. The whole bash on the bloggers routine is getting really old, especially in the realm of sports where so many “mainstream” print guys now have blogs that they use in different ways – take a look at Jerome Solomon at the Houston Chronicle for example.
Those of us in the sports news industry need to keep in mind that we’re a hybrid of straight news and opinion. That’s why it’s so hypocritical of Brando to bash on bloggers who do online what he does on radio for 3 hours everyday.
Keep in mind I come at this more from the op/ed angle – I rarely do just straight news stories (when I do, I keep my voice out of it as best possible). I really don’t care who’s the first to break a story. Somebody throws out a rumor/report like Bradley resigns, I’m not gonna be all neurotic and anal over is it true or not – OMG I can’t say anything till it’s official from US Soccer. No, I’m gonna say – here’s the rumor, is it true or not, who knows, but let’s assume it’s true and start looking at what that means. Hell, I can’t wait to go on air Tuesday and continue the discussion of coaches we’d like to see takeover the US team, a discussion we started last week just cause we all think it’s time for Bradley to move on.
Final thought Steve, be careful about biting the hand that feeds. I’m of the opinion that the amount of soccer coverage in the blogosphere helps soccer journos to maintain their positions in the old mainstream media by evidence that there really is a market for this kind of news. I’m not a fan of every soccer site or writer out there, but I appreciate their existence and longevity cause it helps us to justify the sport’s coverage at our radio station.
