Yeah. Rabble, rabble, for those of us who haven't read, I want to hear the thoughts of the people who have read it. Maybe we should create two threads? One for people who've actually read it (and the people who want to know what's in it) and one for people to discuss their wild speculation on small, random excerpts. (Also, bahahahaha at perfect teammate and class act. That is almost definitely not true because Lilly is, as far as I know, still human and imperfect. There are fan stories of people who've had run ins with her and had an absolutely horrid time and thought she was a bitch! That doesn't bother me - everyone has their off days, or months even - but pedestal whitewashing is hilarious and just as whack. ) C'mon, people who've bought and read it - more posts on what's covered.
It is time for Hope Solo to GROW UP! The world doesn't revolve around her. To tarnish the reputation of a coach because he benched her ,( and by the way she's never said why she was benched) is so immature and selfish! This happened 5 years ago, get over it! I don't think National coaches go out of their way to loose a World Cup game, so there is a really good reason as to why she was benched.....oh and by the way the score was 4-0, our offense didn't do it's job either...She's a really bad example of a" team player" I hope her national career is over....
I can totally believe that multiple members of the team were still "feeling no pain" after a long celebration and then (timezones being what they are) showing up for the Today Show interview. They managed to clean up & not embarrass themselves on tv so all was well at the time. Frankly, I don't see anything wrong with the team celebrating their win all night. Most folks know players celebrate w/ adult beverages after a massive win like that. Most players celebrate all night after any sort of championship win--see NFL, NBA, MLB, FrauenBundesliga, Champs League (men&women) NCAA championship teams. But it does bother me that she felt the need as part of her book/self promotion to 'tell all' in ways that would curtail future team interviews. Did you see the team on the Today Show this year--if they'd been there the anchors would have had to ask about drinking b/c of what Solo said. What post Olympic media team wide appearances have they made? I didn't see them getting studio interviews as a team from NBC the next day. Did you?
Are you new to following this team? The good reason, according to the coach, was that he felt Scurry had historically been good against Brazil and that's why he threw a backup player who hadn't had game minutes in over 3 months and was not game fit into the semifinals of the WWC cold. The first goal is an own goal because of course, the defense is unsettled with a new and rusty GK suddenly inserted into the lineup. Shortly after that, Marta gets to work. Then, our DM gets thrown out of the game and we're down to 10 players and unsurprisingly, the rest of the game is an abomination to watch as a US fan. To be fair, it was pretty abominable even from the beginning, but personally, the first half of the game, I was in a numb state of shock at seeing who was in goal. By the half, I was just down to morbid fascination to see how badly we lost. Needless to say, there is little to no argument among women's soccer fans that this was a terrible move on the coach's part. (There is no reputation to tarnish, sorry. That was a terrible move with a really stupid reason. Almost everyone knows it. It gets overshadowed by the media controversy afterward, but I don't know any person who watched that match or followed the team then who thinks that the GK decision was a smart one.)
Such a weird own goal, too. That diving defensive header when the ball wasn't too far from her feet. Harder to try and head than to take one step and kick. So very bizzare. And the ball's trajectory was freaky weird, too. All the pre-game media said what a stupid move it was. Switching keepers is one of the few tactical things sports media that doesn't know soccer can see is really stupid. Retired vets can easily say it's stupid w/o having to throw a former teammate under the bus. And all the knives (media & team) were sharpened to really go after Ryan & to defend Solo. Caesar would have thought his knife wounds were mere scratches in comparison. All Solo had to do was keep walking. But she didn't make that choice. Maybe she can't see the long game. Maybe all she sees is her own feelings? idk. So Ryan survived. Really, her outburst was a godsend to him. Saved his a$$ so that now he has a good paying NCAA gig.
Bret Hall, Ryan's assistant is a well known soccer figure in my home town of Chicago. Next time I see him, I'm going to ask him a few questions a bout Solo's ascertions. Bret Hall played with Greg Ryan on the Chicago Sting back in the NASL days. She mentions Bret Hall a couple of times in her book and how in a meeting he stood up and told the team that they should lift her up and help move forward. She mentions him as a tough coach but with a forgiving heart and seems to have liked him.
No I'm not new to this "team" , and are you sure about that? It's none of the fans business what decisions a coach will make. You have no idea what may or may not have gone on with that team, and why that decision was made. Greg Ryan said very little.....It's nobody's business outside the team as to what goes on among team members. If you've ever played for a team you'd know that. Let me put it to you this way. there is more to the story then meets the eye..... and I commend him for not saying anything up to this point. People can draw as many conclusions as they want, but there are 2 sides to every story. And, I have a feeling, he doesn't really care what people think. As for the shoving, it's her word against his. She's a whack-o.....
...and Scurry was standing like a statue about 5 feet behind her when she headed it in. About 99% of the starting keepers in International soccer would have called the defender off, and charged out to get it herself/himself. I blame that first goal on the lack of communication between a rusty goalkeeper and her back line, who weren't used to playing with her.
We fans can certainly criticize the results of a decision. Greg Ryan played a hunch and it backfired horribly. Benching a keeper playing that well in the elimination rounds of a tournament is at least nearly unprecedented if not completely so. Solo's reaction to the decision certainly warrants criticism as well, but Ryan botched the biggest call of his coaching career.
enters weird twilight zone time warp to make posts from 2007 I don't dispute that the backline (and the dmid) & keeper had very, very little continuity nor that Ryan was ridiculously stupid for benching Solo on purely playing grounds. Of course, Ryan made other decisions in the build up to 2007 that were also poor. And get forgotten over time. At one point (2005, 2006, very early 2007) the team was playing more passing combos & more 'technical' but in the last push for the 2007 cup, Ryan made the intentional choice to instruct the team to go more long-ball & direct. There was disconnect w/ the late change and overall team play suffered. He wet the bed well before he shat his pants. And let's not forget that Ryan was not the first, second, or third choice to be hired after April in the first place... leaves weird twilight zone time warp of 2007 About the book, does Solo talk in detail about what happened during 2004 pre-Olympic camps?
I believe that there is more to this story then meets the eye, or is written in the book. If Solo was missing team functions in China and being late, maybe in his eyes she was not being "team minded", so then he may have felt that it was the right move to bench her. Apparently the team leaders like Wambach and Lilly went along with replacing Solo with Scurry as well. I'm not saying replacing Solo with Scurry was the right thing to do, but there may be 2 sides to every story. Where's Gayle Bryan? I believe she was at the 2007 WWC as a media member. Gayle I know you don't post much anymore but if you are reading this stuff, weigh in please.
Okay, spell it out then. Stop dropping hints that you know something and just come out and say it. You are now implying that Ryan had to bench Solo. What was it? (Injury, drugs, assault) Second question: Why has the rest of the team kept this quiet? They had no love for Solo.
He's been singing the same tune for 5 years now..why change now? Yeah, this group is slipping. Y'all don't spill the tea like y'all used to. No bueno..
http://proxy.espn.go.com/espnw/more...mates-supported-tweets-againt-brandi-chastain A hot-button topic the first week of the Olympics was Hope Solo's reaction on social media to Brandi Chastain's analysis of the match between the U.S. and Colombia. Solo writes about the experience in the epilogue of her new book, "SOLO: A Memoir of Hope." Here is what ensued in the aftermath of Solo's tweets: SO...WAIT... she ALREADY wrote about the Brandi comments and it's IN the book that came out yesterday>>???? wtf. spooky. weird. desperate. She really dislikes the 99ers and seems to make it a personal vendetta to go after them... and tarnish their image. again, haven't read the book yet, so maybe it will be different then excerpts. Jackiesdad - totally agree with you - good parent figures are important and many studies will support this, but there comes a time to take responsibility for your actions, especially when you're an adult, (with money, success, etc..) Hope refuses to do this. She has negative comments about EVERYONE, except herself.
I'm going to guess that midwest midfielder can't actually post whatever info they possess (assuming they have the info) because it would out their real life identity or that of their source. There would be a limited number of ways to know that (purely hypothetical) Solo broke curfew or got drunk before practice or brought a guy to her room(/purely hypothetical) or whatever might cause a reasonable coach to drop a player (were Ryan a reasonable coach). You also assume that very high levels of anger over Solo's outburst would mean the players would do the same thing and waive all the laundry in public. (again, assuming midwest midfielder's posts are within the realm of truth). I can very much see the team deciding to keep particular information private and adhering to the 'what happens in the lockerroom/hotel stays there' rule. Now that a book has been published, who knows. Maybe someone who is retired and not in soccer coaching or announcing might say something if asked. Maybe not. Sometimes rumors get out well after the fact from players' old friends or cousins or some such. Of course, as you say, midwest midfielder could be making up stuff out of whole cloth. In that case, they won't ever post a reason b/c, as you say, they're full of it. We'll never know unless a retired someone besides Ryan responds to a question about Solo's book. Someone who is retired and no longer in soccer.
You bring up some very reasonable points. I certainly can understand midwest midfielder not being able to name a source. However, if you are going to posit a thesis which is very much revisionist in nature it needs to contain at least some detail. Second, I can buy your argument that perhaps the players would keep things in the lockerroom, but a coach and the US Federation? That I find tougher to swallow.
Oh yeah, and BTW, Boston Breakers fans did not escape Hope's fury. She writes about her allegations that Breakers fans used racist chants toward Japanese players when her team came to play Boston. Remember that folks? That was a huge blogathon here on BS.