The Company has finally returned and we’ll be doing weekly podcasts again!  This week we start with the Season Premiere of Heroes.  We cover the first two hours of Volume Five “Redemption” titled “Orientation” and “Jump, Push, Fall” respectively.

We hope you enjoy!  Please excuse the disorganization as we get things together on our end.  We are changing location, staff, and format…so please bear with us!

As always send your mp3 voicemails or e-mails to thecompanypodcast@gmail.com

Thanks!

-Demi

The first episode will be a Season Four preview episode and will feature a revamped show format, new guest hosts, and more, just in time for the premiere of Volume 5: Redemption on September 21st.

For more news on the return of The Company, be sure to check for updates on the website (www.thecompanypodcast.net) and the iTunes feed.

See you in a few weeks!

In this episode we cover the first two episodes starting after the return of Heroes godsend, Bryan Fuller:

Cold Snap and Into Asylum.

Some things we discuss:

• The Cinematography of Heroes: How has it changed?  Is it better?
• The Writing:  Are characters becoming smarter, or is it just wishful thinking?
• The Story: Where does it go from here?  What do we want to see happen?

Your hosts for this episode are Woo and Demi, Engee will be joining us for further episodes.

We hope you enjoy!  We are glad to be back!

-Demi

What I’d like to post about today is a great thing one of my favorite podcasts is doing.  Jay and Jack from The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack are doing a 25 hour podcast to benefit Autism Speaks!  It will be live until 6pm tonight, so we encourage you to check it out and donate if you can.  It’s for a great cause, and they are really entertaining…especially if you love Lost (like Woo and I).

Woo and myself have often considered branching off to do a Lost Podcast in the style of The Company, and if we were to do so…we’d definitely have to look to Jack and Jay for some inspiration.  They are widely respected in the Lost fanbase, and they definitely have our support during this process!

To check out the live feed on Ustream:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/jay-and-jack%27s-25-hour-podcast-for-autism

To donate or learn more about Jay and Jack or Austim Speaks:
http://www.jayandjack.com/2009/03/20/jay-jacks-25-hour-podcast-for-autism-speaks/

The iStory allows readers to choose their own paths through an exciting Heroes-related story.  The most popular results through a given chapter are used to advance the story via a live polling feature.

‘The Agent” begins with Rachel Mills, who Heroes’ fans should be familiar with from Villains and ‘The Recruit” web-series, as she starts her new job under Nathan Petrelli and the U.S. Government (check out the latest episode to see her cameo).

From NBC.com:

Rachel Mills has survived bizarre encounters at Pinehearst and in the Middle East, but this week she begins her strangest adventure yet. Rachel has found acceptance and a sense of belonging in her new role. But her first mission turns her world on its head. At a crater that was once an airplane, Rachel learns that she is again a soldier in a war, and the enemy is more dangerous than she could have possibly imagined.

To participate in the interactive iStory experience, visit http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/iStory/

In this long-awaited interview (it was record before the mid-season finale last year, but due to technical difficulties wasn’t recovered until this week) David shares his experiences on the set and with the cast of Heroes, talks about how he got into acting, and discusses some of the other work he does in the industry.

We hope you enjoy the interview.  Be sure to check out davids.com to keep up with everything David is doing.

You can also follow him on twitter here:
http://twitter.com/dhlawrencexvii

Heroes is back, and so is The Company!

Be sure to subscribe to our feed, join the forums (on the top bar of the website), and look out for a brand new episode of The Company podcast, covering the first two episodes of Heroes: Fugitives this weekend!

EDIT: If you are experiencing problems in audio-quality or pitch modulation with the flash stream, please subscribe or download the file directly.

-Demi

This interview has been modified from its original form to enhance quality.

This week we cover the the highly anticipated Volume Three finale entitled, “Dual”.

Some things we cover:

• Engee returns to host an ENTIRE episode!
• Sylar as Jigsaw?
• Ando: Ultimate Sidekick
• Daphne…Supergirl?
• Voicemail: Marshal from Toronto.
• and much more…

Sorry again for the lateness.  Look out for our interview with David H. Lawrence in the coming week.

-Demi

This week we talk about the episode leading up to the Villains’ finale, “Our Father”.

Some things we discuss:

• Arthur’s Death: Sooner than expected?
• Blast from the Past: Our thoughts about the visit to sixteen years ago.
• The Catalyst: Confusing or just stupid?
• Continuity Alert! Hiro’s Mom was dead in 1991…WHAAAAA????
• Sylar: Dexter on Heroes.
• and a surprise appearance by Engee and Socrates!
• Best fast-food restaurant?

We look forward to the Volume Finale this coming Monday! Hope you enjoy the listen.  Join the forums be sure to send us a voicemail at 205-383-4781 or an e-mail at thecompanypodcast@gmail.com.

This episode focuses on the two part episode set ” The Eclipse”.

We also answer a voicemail with an interesting question:
How would we end Villains, and what would we do in Volume 4: Fugitives?

It’s a long one, and it’s not our best…but enjoy anyway (despite its horrible lateness).

However, we are back with our thoughts on episode 309 entitled “It’s Coming” (no pun intended).

Some things covered:

• Status of the show during Thanksgiving
• The return of Heroes Unreal Tournament
• Hiro’s Blast to the Past
• Sylar’s empathetic experience with Elle
• Father and son reunion
• Mohinder…Dr. Frankenstein?
• Did this episode mark the “jumping the shark”?

All this and more (including a special guest host)!

As always, please e-mail us your questions and comments at thecompanypodcast@gmail.com.

Send us a voicemail by either calling 205-383-4781 and following the prompt, or by sending an mp3 file to our e-mail.  Voicemails should be under 60 seconds and be either about The Company or Heroes, but we’ll pretty much take anything.

As of this moment, there have been no talks regarding a replacement host, but it is possible that guests hosts could be brought in to fill guest roles, both from the Heroes fanbase, and friends of The Company.

We here at The Company appreciate all the work that Engee has put into the podcast, and hope that despite recent happenings, that there will soon be no hard feelings towards the working relationship we had as a podcast.

Engee will retain posting privileges as both a “Host” on the Farpoint Media Forums and The Company website, so he will be able to comment on these developments as he so chooses.

Engee will always be welcome here at The Company, and we still consider him a member of the family. We are also open to his return to the show if some of the issues causing this separation were remedied.

We wish him the best.

-The Company

How has Season 3 up to this point?  We delve into the good, the bad, and the just plain stupid on this week’s episode of The Company.  We even have a special guest host this week!

Some things covered:

• The amazing three hour episode of Deal or No Deal (hint: it doesn’t exist)
• Major Heroes News and Rumors including the recent firings of Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander, who might come on board to replace them?
• What Season 3 is doing right.
• What Season 3 is doing wrong.
• What needs to happen for Heroes to turn it around.
• Community Participation! VOICEMAILS!!!!

As always, feedback is appreciated.  Please subscribe to the podcast using the RSS/iTunes links to the top-right of the website, and be sure to check out the forums on the top navigation bar.

Also, voicemails are awesome and we need more! Send us a voicemail over the phone at 205-383-4781, or send us an mp3 file attachment to our e-mail address: thecompanypodcast@gmail.com (You can also send us text-based stuff there too). Typically voicemails should be questions or comments under 60 seconds in length dealing with either the podcast itself or Heroes the television show.

If you didn’t get to check out the Jimmy-Jean Louis interview we had, you can check it out here:
http://www.thecompanypodcast.net/2008/11/06/special-edition-03-exclusive-interview-with-jimmy-jean-louis/

Or you can see all of our past episodes/interviews by clicking the “Podcast” tab on the top navigation bar of the site.

Hope you enjoy!

Jimmy is awesome and we’ve done an interview with him before, so if you’d like to hear our first interview where we discussed his work on Seasons 1 and 2 as well as how he got the part of The Haitian, check it out here.

We talk with Jimmy about a lot of things including:

• What was it like to come back to Heroes after the Strike?
• How is it to have all the new people on board? Was it nice to finally work with another Haitian?
• Heroes in Haiti, how many episodes and what seemingly out of place characters pop up in Haiti?
• Will we see some of The Haitian’s family, and if so, will there be anything “special” about them?
• Jimmy shares with us his thoughts on Brea Grant, who we interviewed earlier.
• Thoughts on every Haitian’s favorite sport: Football! (Soccer for you Americans :-P)
• We discuss some of Jimmy’s other non-Heroes projects including:
• Jimmy’s new non-profit organization to aide a Haiti in Crisis.
• and much more!

Hope you enjoy! Be sure to check out Jimmy’s website for information on his other projects and his non-profit, “Hollywood Unites for Haiti”.
http://www.jimmyjeanlouis.com

PS:
This is the picture we mention and the one Jimmy says is a good representation of a possible Jimmy Jean-Louis/Black Panther.

This interview was recorded on Thursday, October 30, 2008.

And by that we mean that we dress up…and talk dirty.

Of course, since there was an episode we do discuss it and this podcast covers the events that took place in Eris Quod Sum, Episode 307 of Heroes.

As always voicemails are accepted at 205-383-4781, or you can e-mail us (or send us an mp3 voicemail) at thecompanypodcast@gmail.com.  Join us on the forums at the link at the top of the website!

The two have been heavily involved with the show since its first season taking on daily showrunning tasks for series creator Tim Kring.

It is believed that the reason for the firings is due to a lack of satisfaction with the two by NBC regarding the creative direction of the show and the recent tendency to go over-budget despite slipping ratings.

First the drop in ratings, and now this?  Is this showing the end of the line for Heroes or a new beginning?

One thing is for sure:

This does not look bright to fans or advertisers.

Source:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117995152.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

We here at The Company are throwing in our hats to the celebration of the event by presenting a special week of festivities we are calling “Fright or Flight Week” (if you are Heroes fan, you should get the reference..if not..check out a Season Two episode list).

Everyday (starting today) this week, The Company website will feature a different Halloween themed video on the right bar of the website.

The blogs this week will feature some sort of Hallow’s Eve subject involving Heroes.

All of this leads up to this Friday October 31st and the release of our highly-acclaimed Halloween Special.

Last year we dabbled, but this year our Halloween podcast will not only cover tomorrow’s episode, but will also feature a variety of Halloween content including costumes, discussions on things like “Scariest Moment in Heroes”/ “Scariest Character”, and also a special return of Heroes Masterpiece Theatre!

Join the festivities by sending us a voicemail at 205-383-4781, hitting up our e-mail at thecompanypodcast@gmail.com, or joining us on the forums at the link on the top of the site!

Michael Ausiello from EW.com reports that Dan Byrd from Aliens in America will be cast as David, a teen with a bad streak:

Sources confirm to me exclusively that Byrd has been cast on Heroes in the recurring role of David, a dark and twisted kid who tells lies easily and has a cruel streak. Word is he’ll be a possible apprentice to Sylar (Zachary Quinto).

EOnline confirmed that Emmy Winner Zeljko Ivanek of Damages has been tagged to join the cast as a mysterious new character named “The Hunter”. Kristen Dos Santos says:

According to insiders, the Hunter’s first appearance is in episode 14, which kicks off Volume Four: Fugitives. (Heroes creator Tim Kring is writing the Fugitives premiere!)

Am I the only one that instantly thought of Kraven on that second one? And what’s with creating a new character that sounds and looks similar to West?

Ivanek is a very impressive actor though (He has many acting credits to his name, the least of which includes literally getting hit by a bus on Lost), so the talent seems to be stepping up throughout this third season, unfortunately the Sprint product placement will probably compensate in order to pay for such talent.

Sources:
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/10/dan-byrd-joins.html
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b64432_emmy_winner_comes_heroes.html

However, for the purpose of this blog, I’d like to highlight those members of the Heroes cast that go above and beyond the call of contract and reach out to fans over the internet.

These productions are “home-made”, as in the actors, for the most part, either make or participate in these productions themselves, on their own time.

The following is a Top 5 (5 being good, 1 being amazing) list of content created by Heroes’ actors:

5.  “Rapper’s Delight” - Greg Grunberg (from celebrity group Band From TV)

This video is amazing.  It’s not just amazing because of the special guest vocals from Jorge Garcia, the rockin’ bass from Adrian Pasdar, or even the awesome blues piano skills from Hugh Laurie during “Shake Ya Tail Feathers”.  What makes this performance truly phenomenal is the same thing that makes an Oreo cookie absolutely delicious:

The delicious, white, creamy middle.

In the middle of this final closing song to what seems to be a fantastic concert full of special guests, delicious, creamy-white Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman on Heroes) recites a series of lines from “Rapper’s Delight” WHILE playing the drums.  The only thing even close to “average” about this band is the main vocalist (who’s main credit includes The Bachelor), and this performance was NOT a letdown.  Check this out.

4.  “Star Wars/Comic-Con” - Milo Ventimiglia

So, there are a variety of things that make this video hilarious.  Unfortunately, one of the main ones is Russ, Milo’s friend who does not actually count as a “Heroes” cast member.  Therefore, this seemingly top-tier video has to be dropped to fourth place due to its heavy use of outside sources.

Despite it being fourth place, seeing Peter Petrelli as a Jedi solves a lot of Heroes questions. 
Also, why didn’t Russ play Doyle?

3.  “Mail bag!” - Brea Grant

It’s no suprise that Brea would crop up on the list after I so highly talked of her website in both my recent interview with her and the latest podcast episode.  Brea really epitomizes geek chic.  Chic as in the style, not internet slang for “girl” or the Canine Health Information Center.

She uses her website and blog to interact with fans in such a natural way.  One of the best ways she’s found to do this lately is through her “mail bag!” segment.  Sure its easy enough to answer e-mails on a blog, but Brea takes it a step further by reading them on screen!  She then loads them up on YouTube so that you know that it, in fact, is her.

2.  “Dr. Oh No” - Adrian Pasdar

Clever James Bond reference be damned, Adrian Pasdar can make some videos!  His channel on Youtube (perhaps even more hilarious) “buckshotwon” showcases videos from the life and times of Adrian Pasdar, usually from the perspective of himself.  The best of these deal with the Heroes set.

This particular video is no exception.  “Dr. Oh No” came out almost two months before the season premiere of Heroes: Villains but provided some shocking insight into the character of Dr. Mohinder Suresh.  I’m not going to lie, its where my original thoughts of “Spiderman Suresh” came from. I didn’t just pull that out of my ass like the Heroes writers did.

The music also adds a slight bit of irony to the mix as at the time of the video’s release, nobody quite understood why the song was used besides the apparent comedy of using such a ridiculous song to show the setting.  Now we know that it actually exists as a reference to Suresh’s mad hormone levels as a side effect of giving himself powers that lead to sexual interactions between himself and Maya which, fittingly, resulted in him “webbing” her. I can only assume that the line “I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it” is referring to Matt Parkman.

What makes Adrian’s videos really rise above the rest is the level of quality the videos present.  While there are some that are short, sweet, and mostly unedited, there are many that have a variety of cuts and edits which provide a sense of drama, as shown in this video.

1.  “Crazy Bunny” - Milo Ventimiglia

I’m not going into the background of why the video exists, you can find that out for yourselves. I’m also not going to explain why its number one, it’s obvious.

‘Nuff said.

Edit:

Honorable Mention
“Grunny TEARS IT UP” from Adrian Pasdar (filming) and Greg Grunberg

No vidcast again this week. Give me a week to get the video feed caught up and we’ll start doing them again.

This week we talk about:

• Our Interview with Brea Grant and her website.
• Hiro and Ando learn a new magic trick.
• Matt comes home with some Turtle Power!
• Daphne gets a stalker.
• We see Arthur Petrelli’s Power! And Adam gets a taste of it.
• What does this all mean for Angela’s visions?
• Sylar and Peter’s new relationship/circumstance.
• We all agree on one character Heroes needs to kill off. You won’t believe who it is.
• New Weekly Feature: The Company Assignment. Go to the forums to participate.
• Send us a Voicemail: 205-383-4781. E-mail us: thecompanypodcast@gmail.com

Hope you enjoy it! If you like the podcast, please show your appreciation by donating or reviewing us our iTunes!

Music by cdk from ccMixter.org

Brea is a fantastic actress who really knows where her roots are. She was a delight to interview and I hope you guys enjoy it. It was only supposed to last around fifteen minutes but it got close to a half-hour!

Some things we talk about:

• I ask Brea what its like to join the cast of Heroes as a newcomer, was it scary?
• How does Brea connect with the community through her website.
• Interactions behind the scenes. Who would Brea like to work with that she hasn’t yet?
• Fringe…the new X-Files?
• How do they make Daphne super fast on the show?
• Questions from the Community
• Brea calls The Company out for being mean!
• and much more!

Hope you enjoy! Be sure to check out Brea’s website and follow her on twitter!
http://twitter.com/breagrant
http://www.breagrant.com/

P.S. For the record, Brea is awesome! We were talking crap about Daphne in the future (all in good fun), and not about Brea personally. Geez, that’s embarrassing. Sorry about that, you rock!

P.S.S. I personally don’t find twelve-year-olds to be that attractive. Engee on the other hand…

This week we talk about Episode 305 of Heroes: “Angels and Monsters.”

We discuss:

• Peter feels the hunger, and Sylar feels the love.
• Angela sees the future and isn’t able to move!
• Arthur Petrelli is alive? Well, what is his power???
• Claire sees the lines of good and evil blurred between Level 5 and her father.
• Daphne starts her quest to assemble the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
• Hiro betrays his best friend…What a hypocrite!

We also talk about our blogs! If you haven’t seen them, check out the main page for links to them!

As always, please leave a voicemail at 205-383-4781 with a question or comment and join the forums at the link on the main site!  We also accept e-mails including mp3 attachments for voicemails at thecompanypodcast@gmail.com!

Enjoy!

With ducktape and a sharpie, I slapped theories on to every animal.  Using my bathtub as a ring, I put one of each animal in to the tub and waited for the victor to stand, well,  to stand victorious.  I repeated the process four more times.  Miraculously, a different species won each round, go figure.

Match 1 Winner: Miniature Horse-Never Defecate Theory

To prove the age old adage wrong, size doesn’t matter with this horse.  After whinnying his opponents to death, he kicked the hot water knob on, and subsequently drowned his opponents.  You may try to argue that the penguin should be able to swim, well, after the first match, lets just say I paid more care as to where I slapped the strip of ducktape on each animal.

As to the theory, well, Arthur would save a lot of money on toliet paper.  Plus, he would never have to worry about eating too many pork & beans before a three hour wedding.

Match 2 Winner: Penguin-Perfectly Fold Clothes Theory

Penguin went into the match with ferocity only the above picture can portray.  Yeah.  Needless to say, penguin managed to brutally eat all his opponents’ livers, letting them bleed to death slowly.

The power on the other hand would allow Arthur to live in domesticated bliss with the woman of his life, Angela.  Let’s be honest, we all know Angela kicked Arthur out of the house for being a slob, if only he could have folded his dress shirts, tear.

Match 3 Winner: Sloth-Flawlessly Floss Theory

Sloth used her brute strength and ripped the tiny legs off Minature Horse.  She quickly followed the delegging death of minature horse with the clubbing deaths of the remaining competitors.  It was a gruesome cycle, the way she attacked the furry critters, swinging her unnaturally long arms extended in length by minature horse legs.  After not watching the sickening process for what seems like minutes, I felt it was safe enough to open my eyes.  My eyes looked out and saw that Sloth had eaten everyone.   She was now flossing her teeth with dental floss, which was oddly symbolic of what was written on the ducktape.

If Arthur had the power to flawlessly floss, he wouldn’t have to worry about going to that job interview with greens stuck in his teeth.  He could also go on that date with that chick and not feel utterly useless in life when he gets dumped because he has steak all up in his teeth and tried to kiss her then he gots sprayed in the face with bear mace then he went to the hospital crying and lost his self respect.  Wow, I think that sentence could use a few commas, but it was important to get off my chest.

Match 4 Winner: Bunny Rabbit-Power to Waive ATM Fees

Bunny rabbit wriggled his cute ears.  The other critters exploded at the awesome display of sheer cuteness Bitches.

Now, the ability to waive atm fees, not a cute power to have, but essential none the less.  Postulate with me for a second, ok?  If Arthur has to buy twenty billion dollars worth of Pez despensers, he’ll have to go to the atm and withdraw all that cash, because I’m told that’s how it works.  Now, if he only has twenty billion dollars in his account, and he withdraws exactly twenty billion, he will still be charged a few dollars for atm fees.  Thus, his account is now overdrafted, and bunny rabbit will have to kill someone.

Match 5 Winner: Gary Coleman-Live Forever…………Stuck in Prepubescence Theory

In an unexpected, and very unfortunate series of events, Gary Coleman entered the bathroom after a night of many refusals and putdowns at the bar, and, urm, he grabbed Minature horse by the legs and<<<<<<<CENSORED>>>>>>>.

You might think being stuck in prepuberty would be a bad thing, but think of all the lollipops you would get at the drive-thru bank teller, or all the discounts for being young and stuff.  Arthur would be able to go to Chuck-E-Cheese and not have to worry about getting stuck in all those plastic tubes.  Great times.

While I’m not sure of the hosts who will be able to make the interview since its mid-day, but I will at least be there to ask some questions that you guys may have.

If you guys have any questions that you’d like us to ask Brea, please let us know here.

I can’t guarantee your questions will be asked, but we’ll try to get to some good ones.

Got more than one question? List them all!

Post your questions either on the forum, to the company e-mail (thecompanypodcast@gmail.com), or in a comment on the website.
The interview will be recorded on Monday October 20th at 11:30am CST, so your questions will need to be posted by 10am CST in order to be seen in time.

Edit: Somehow the audio got switched around.  This should be fixed now If you’ve already downloaded the messed up copy, this is the real episode 11.

Heroes starts to deliver and so do we! Episode 11 is here!

As we look over Episode 304, “I Am Become Death” we discuss:

• The Peters go to the future and get 0wn3d.
• Tracey finds out she had a sister that banged The German.
• Mohinder eats somebody and turns into a cockroach?
• Matt trips out and sees his future life partner who, surprisingly, is no longer a man.
• Present Peter goes on a mission to find Sylar…and does.
• Hiro and Ando discover that the key to stopping the end of the world lies with a white dude with a fake British accent.

We also talk about our blogs! If you haven’t seen them, check out the main page for links to them!

As always, please leave a voicemail at 205-383-4781 with a question or comment and join the forums at the link on the main site!  We also accept e-mails including mp3 attachments for voicemails at thecompanypodcast@gmail.com!

Enjoy!

Editor’s Note: The following blog may appear to have nothing to do with Heroes on the surface, but deep down I’m sure its full of all sorts of deep, hidden messages regarding the show we hate and love…….or not. Enjoy regardless

Hello all, and welcome to the first installment of THE blog. To start things off, I ask you to ask yourself a series of questions: Do the other blogs on our site leave you yearning for more? Have the other blogs left you physically sick to your stomach, however funny they may be? And lastly, have the other blogs left you ask the question, “What am I even doing here?” If you answered yes, no or maybe to any of the previous questions, you’ve cu….come to the right place.

You are probably wondering, “What the hell is he gonna blog about? Kantian ethics? Existentialism? Nietzsche’s Uber-mensch? Some kind of convoluted psycho-babble bullshit?” Well, not exactly. You will surely be glad to hear that my blog concerns none of the above. Sure, one can learn loads from the aforementioned subjects but are they really relevant to the most pressing issues we as young people encounter in our daily lives? No. But I will tell you what is important. Hell, this might be the might most important issue any red-blooded American faces day-to-day. The United States Men’s National Soccer Team. Ever since our quarterfinal finish (even though we got screwed) at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, expectations have been sky high. However, the USMT has done nothing but underachieve and disappoint. For as long as I live, I will never forget how I felt on June 12^th 2006 when Jan Koller powered home a stinging header from 6 yards. I hung my head. Not in shame, but in sadness. Right then I knew we were nowhere near as good as our 5^th place FIFA ranking might have suggested. Something had to change. And it did. Bruce Arena, the former USMT coach of 8 years, was essentially let go, however the position was not immediately filled. Months went by and still no coach. Finally, fans across the country thought they saw the light at the end of the tunnel in the shape of Jurgen Klinsmann, the charismatic, energetic German footballer who had just led the German National Team to a surprise 3^rd place finish. But Sunil Gulati, the President of the United States Soccer Federation, put that fire out in the blink of an eye. I will spare you that tirade for another day. Gulati in turn, named Bob Bradley, noted former Chivas USA and Princeton University (yes, that is a slight), interim coach and eventually granted him the title of permanent USMT coach. This is where I will begin dissecting possibly the biggest mistake in United States Soccer Federation History.

Four Reasons Bob Bradley Should Resign/Be Fired From His Post as USMT Coach

1. Failure to Win the “Big Game” – Sure, Bob Bradley has coached, if you wish to call it that, some decent games. We tied Argentina here in the states and we beat Mexico every time we play them north of the border. But seriously think: When was the last time we garnered a legit “big name” victory against a top opponent. Believe me, I’ve looked and I cannot find one. The most note worthy victory I found outside of the Mexico rivalry was a 3-0 win against a second rate Polish side in a stadium in Krakow that has seen almost as much corruption as Capitol Hill. I mean seriously, we have nothing. We lost 2-4 to a pretty strong Brazil team in 2007, but I don’t care how good Brazil is, a loss is a loss, at home nonetheless. And yeah, we only lost one nil to eventual European Champions Spain in Madrid, but did you watch the game? We played more defensive football than Rangers did in last year’s UEFA Cup, which is extraordinary. Until Bob Bradley can tally a W against a legit top ten or 15 squad, can we really consider ourselves a top team? Absolutely not. Something has got to give.

2. Failure to Call Up Potential Big Stars – Players and their respective call ups follow:

Freddy Adu – 8, Jozy Altidore – 3, Danny Szetela – 2, Kenny Cooper – 2, Sal Zizzo – 1 and Neven Subotic – 0.

These names I just mentioned are the future of American Soccer. Period. Without them, we will be left with players such as Eddie Johnson, Ricardo Clark and Brian Ching leading the charge. Granted, if these last three I mentioned hit some kind of rich vein of form, by all means, play them. However, if they haven’t done it in their combined 82 national team appearances, I don’t see it coming anytime soon. Freddy Adu is the best American prospect EVER and the SECOND best current player only behind Landon Donovan. Why Bob Bradley refuses to give him looks when he has starred at every level of National Team affiliated competition he has partaken in floors me. Jozy Altidore is playing in Spain for Villareal, likely the second best league IN THE WORLD. Kenny Cooper is the second leading scorer in the American domestic league, MLS, with only Landon Donovan topping him. These three deserve call up after call up above anyone else, especially when the biggest problem the USMT has is scoring goals. Come on Bob, get it together. And another thing, if Neven Subotic gets capped for another national team (namely Germany), Bob Bradley should be fired on the spot. Subotic is likely the best defender this country can stake claim to. Yeah, you heard me, the best. He starts, scores and excels for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga. Sure, the Bundesliga is no England, Italy or Spain, but hell, its better than France (Carlos Bocanegra [61 caps]) or the lowly Belgian League (Oguchi Oneywu [37]). And guess how many defenders we have playing in the top flights in England, Italy or Spain. Yep, none. Something has got to give.

3. Failure to Impress in Less-Than-Impressive Situations – Here are the scores to our last five competitive fixtures:

· 8-0 Win, Home against Barbados

· 1-0 Win, Away against Barbados

· 1-0 Win, Away against Guatemala

· 1-0 Win, Away against Cuba

· 3-0 Win, Home against Trinidad and Tobago

Now most of you are probably looking at that 8-0 win against Barbados and saying, “Wow. Eight nothing. That’s pretty impressive. I don’t what this guy is talking about.” Let me say this. No offense to Rihanna or any other Barbadian, but the Barbados National team is garbage. Trash. I feel farely confident my Sunday league team, Norwood United 1 could hold up against these part-timers. The fact that we could only muster a 1-0 victory, thanks to Eddie Lewis’ 34 year old legs, is frankly embarrassing. The Cuba and Guatemala scores are no better. Sure, these teams are supposed to be our regional rivals, but 1-0 victories are unacceptable. We should be plastering these teams 3, 4 and 5 nil. The only positive I can take from these matches is the fact that we have yet to concede a goal. However, this is a double-edged sword because I fear our defense will grow over confident and get humbled by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres come South Africa 2010. Bob, get it together or take a walk. Something has got to give.

4. Failure to Match Goals Set Forth in the Q-Report (Project 2010) – I know this whole Project 2010 things sounds really covert and Bond-esque but its really not. Carlos Quieroz, the well respected manager of the Portuguese National Team, wrote a document in 1998 immediately following the USMT’s LAST PLACE finish at the 1998 World Cup. In this report were a number of issues including a youth academy in Florida to harvest young talent and a ton of multi-million dollar initiatives for furthering the soccer development in this country. But the most important issue spoken of in the Q-Report was the goal to be a genuine contender to win the 2010 World Cup. At the pace we are at, not a chance. We can only muster one nil victories against regional minnows and we can’t even begin to play with the big boys across the pond. If the United States Soccer Federation is content with qualifying with ease and then bowing out at the group stage, then that is fine. But then again, why would they pour 50 million dollars into Project 2010. With Bob Bradley’s tactics (win a free kick or corner and pray to the heavens we can score on that) we do not stand a chance. We need a coach with some international clout. We need a Klinsmann or a Scolari or a Quieroz. Not a Bradley, who made his bones on the college and MLS circuits. To play competitively at the international level, we need an international coach. NOT an MLS coach. Without an international caliber coach, with a legit pedigree, its looks as if the Q-Report was made in vain. Something has got to give.

So Bob, if you are listening, please, for the good of the country, step down as the head coach of the USMT. You are a good guy, and a good domestic coach. But lets not kid ourselves, you simply are not an international caliber coach. For the betterment of our team, let it go. Don’t think you are not appreciated because you are. But all good things (and okay things) must come to an end. We thank you for your service but the time has come. I just hope that should you remain coach, which it looks like is an ever-increasing possibility, bring home the cup. I hope you prove me wrong.

*”Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” —Roy Keane, former Manchester United midfielder and current Sunderland AFC Manager

P.S

To all who may say that I blogged about an issue that was stupid or irrelevant or unimportant, here is what I say. Even though I hate his guts, he has a point and I respect the hell out of him for it: “Some people think football (soccer) is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.” —Bill Shankly, former Liverpool FC manager, now deceased