There are nine games left in the MLS regular season, the Metros are six points out of a playoff spot, and the vultures should be circling. One would think that a "SuperClub" should not miss the playoffs and that Alexi Lalas has been given the green light by AEG to do whatever he (or they?) think is necessary.

So what does the future hold for Bob Bradley? He came to Metro three years ago with a reputation unmatched by MLS coaches, a reputation that could be now damaged. So should the Metros fire him right now? The answer is no... Unless you're willing to write off this season altogether.

Although the Metros are six points out of a playoff spot, they are over .500, and have been very rarely outplayed this season. They are still alive in a very tough Eastern Conference; if they were in the expansion-helped West, Metro would be third, not counting being helped by a bad-team heavy schedule that Western teams play. But it's not that we're happy with Metro position now; they dropped points they shouldn't have, and a six-point gap could prove too large to cover at the end. It's just that this could have been Bradley's plan all along.

If you look at his 2003 and 2004 Metro teams, they had one major problem: they peaked too early. The 2003 squad was an overachieving one, which won five one-goal games in a row early in the season, and then pulled out a number of late-game results to keep afloat before an indifferent Clint Mathis and a late-season swing saw them plummet. The 2004 squad peaked in mid-summer, when they often looked like the best team in the league, but then Amado Guevara went into a shell and another late-season collapse couldn't be avoided. Meanwhile, DC, coached by Bradley pupil Peter Nowak, took charge in the last stretch of the season and won the whole thing at the end.

Bradley saw that; he knew that what you need to do to be successful in MLS is keep up the pace for the first two-thirds of the season before steamrolling into the stretch. And with nine games left, Metro could be set up to do that. Bradley held on to the allocation on purpose, to give him flexibility when the transfer window opens; he did not have the same option in 2003, when all he could fit under the salary cap was Andrzej Juskowiak, and in 2004, when he gambled on three strikers before the season started, with none of them panning out (and although Sergio Galvan Rey has come around a year later, even more was expected from him) and his hands were tied in August. Now, whether Daniel Garipe, or whoever Metro sign, will be a difference maker, is not yet known. But there is that chance.

One problem of Bradley's reign is that he tried to play by MLS rules, where the league blatantly aided other teams, such as LA and DC (to be fair, the Metros were recipients of such a gift themselves as recently as 2000). The league is very balanced now, with so little separating the teams. A miss here, a goal there, and the whole season gets turned on its head. But of course, what matters is results. And not counting the Open Cup Final trip, Bradley has not gotten them with Metro.

So hold off, Alexi. Hold off until the playoffs, hold off until Bradley has a chance to complete his plan. If he fails to make the postseason... if he fails to advance in the postseason, fire him. But what good would firing him now do? Who can the Metro bring in who would jump right into the equation, with Bradley's players, and be expected to achieve anything?

In reality, Alexi has the golden ticket here. Bradley has drafted very well and build a solid nucleus with Metro. Look at New England, look at San Jose; these are teams on top of their conferences, teams which were not better than Metro last year, but teams which were allowed to stay together (be it with some additions) and gel and rise to the top. We might just see that from Metro in 2006, if nothing drastic is done, with or without Bradley. And whether he will get any credit in the latter case, we will see.