Pia talks finding the balance

I think this is true. Akers, for instance, (IMO) made the US team better, for some time, after she was no longer the best (technical) choice for our midfield. Other players were totally amping Their games, in awe of Akers' effort to sustain her own.

It is tough to judge these intangibles, especially on a women's team where the team chemistry counts for so much. It is a judgement call. The thrust of my initial post, and those subsequent, is that I think the US WNT is now too hide-bound toward retaining the old guard, and that there is not much support (given that we have yet to totally fall on our faces) from either the entrenched players or the USSF to push for experiment. That leaves any coach, new or established, in a fragile position.

It's a moot point anyway (after the Olympics) with all the announced retirements. There's going to be changes by necessity with most of the old guard moving on, with the probable exception of Hope, Abby, Lloyd, and Buehler. I'm a little worried about the dmid / holding midfield position. Who do we have that's up and coming that can actually play that position?

a ton of players Engen, Klingenberg, Bock, Edwards, Arod, Osborne,

(Emphasis added.)

Wow, are you newsouth posting under a different name?

I was about to say this list looks sort of odd. Osborne might be able to play it but I'm not sure a new coach will call her in at age 28 if we're building for the next WWC.

When has Engen or Klingenberg or ARod played dmid professionally? I thought they were CB, LB / LM, and winger / forward.

Bock and Edwards should probably get another look with the new coach.

Really?

While I would not kick Engen down the road, I think she has found a role in central D. Were I to think about moving her, it would not be to holding D, rather to ACM, which I believe she played in HS to some effect. However, I think she is brilliant at the center of the back line, and I would not mess with that.

Klingenberg? I can't imagine playing her centrally. She does not have the height, and all her best qualities (and she has many!) are so much more effective on the flank.

Arod? Holding mid? Really?

Bock, Edwards, Osborne? I dunno, any could rise to the job, but maybe this is why Boxx still has it? I (also) have not seen a break-out contender for the spot who makes my heart skip a beat...

on the contrary:

contracts for wnt players is central to understanding the nat program and to whether we will have the best of these women keep doing what they do.

I agree - I should've said "arguing against the WNT contract system" etc. etc.

As much as i hate on the uswnt, i don't think getting rid of the contract system is a good idea without a REAL financially stable and well paying pro system in place.

I've come to the conclusion that a lot of the players who don't make the cut should be over in Germany and Sweden like Hope and Krieger honing their skills. Really, it took Europe for those two to make the cut. I'd hate to see a player like Rampone fighting monthly in those ridiculous camps for a spot she won many moons ago, because someone wants to see their favorite who is half the player Rampone is but might have a better week or month than her.

Just one haters opinion.

Well I for one do not like the contract system, I don't care how long it's been around and how it's ingrained into the US women's sytem.

No coach who knows what he/she is doing is going to make Rampone "fight" for her job in camps. However without these ridiculous contracts the USWNT coach won't be tied down to play certain players even if their skills have diminished. It will allow coaches to play players that are up and coming.

There is no reason for some of them players to be playing every game in the ALgarve or other "meaningless" games. A friendly game against let's say New Zealand should be a time when the USWNT coach puts Whitney Engen in at sweeper and sits back and watches what develops. Not force the same "contracted" ole players in a meaningless game where you know what the outcome is going to be and not put in other players into the mix.

Earn your spot on the team. That's how the rest of the world does it.

The rest of the world also has player contracts. The USWNT players earn their contracts by being called in and capped a certain number of times (and there are more contract players than there are spots on the roster for a given tournament, so there's plenty of room to "chop & change"). Also, I believe the contracts are 1 year deals. So I'm not sure where you get the idea that paying these guys is limiting Pia's options.

As far as appearances, US Soccer basically "sells" NT matches to outside groups to put on/sell tickets/promote. They can't get money for what would amount to a "B" international . . . believe me, what's good for players is about as far from that calculation as you can get. (and the men have similar stipulations for most games - the difference is that when the US plays in Europe they have may have more flexibility since those associations aren't bringing the USMNT in for marquee games).

I would personally sit Wambach, Box and Rampone for the 2 game tournament against Japan and Brazil. These players do not need the additional experience to be prepared for the Olympics. Morgan and Leroux could start at forward with someone like Hagen coming off the bench. This would also give Engen a chance to start 1 game.

No, I'm not newsouth. Have you watch Arod defend? She is hands down the best striker, mid we have on the current team at defending. She's better than Box. Way better than Llyod and any of the outside mids.

Why not choose Osborne. She's better than Boxx. As for Engen, Klingenbeg, Bock and Edwards there all versatile, they can all play on the back line, middle of the park or outside.

What do you mean by this quote? They probably get another look. They damn well better be given serious playing time in the NT.

You don't need height to play in the middle, just look at Candana's best defender is Matheson 5ft nuthing. She plays DM/ACM/CM and on the wings. One doesn't need height to play in the middle. She's better than any of our current mids.

Watch her play club. There's plenty of times that she will sit in the midflied and link up play w/ the other striker or outside mids. She's play just like Matheson, same robust tackeling, will set the tempo of the defensive end of the midfield.

Boxx does not have the job because she is better than anyone I mention. She has the job still because Pia clearly doesn't pick her team based on best players around but on who she likes, period.

Personally, I'm resigned to the reality that we won't see any significant personnel changes between now and London. Given the way Pia approaches player development, it simply will not happen, especially on a small, 18-woman roster. Any meaningful breaks from the status quo will have to wait until a new coach takes the helm. I've complained plenty about stale player selection on these forums, but at this point, there's no productive reason to squabble over the absence of people like Engen, Klingenberg, Henderson, or Press. The team is already chosen. We can lament this state of affairs, we can criticize the reliance on athleticism and lack of tactical awareness, we can bitch and moan about Pia's stubbornness all we want, but it won't help.

As primitive as the team plays sometimes, they still have a real opportunity to bring home gold. Germany is a legitimate threat, but will be absent. Brazil is young and rebuilding - although they have Jorge Barcellos back, who could make a big difference. France and Japan could defeat the U.S. on any given day, but the U.S. has shown the ability to raise their level to meet the situation (see World Cup semi-final and final). It should be a tight tournament with no clear single favorite. Regardless of the final medal standings, its been widely assumed that Pia will be replaced afterward. Rampone and Boxx have stated their intention to retire. Mitts and Lindsey will probably do the same. Abby Wambach, for all her past heroics, might want to consider it as well; she has looked sluggish this whole year.

The pervasive complacency of the past four years will be (one would assume) demolished by a new coach, so that players who have coasted by on mediocre performances - Lloyd, Beuhler, LePeilbet, A-Rod, Heath - will not receive a free pass anymore. The U-23 and U-20 girls look promising, and will push out the underachievers. The team should look significantly different a year from now. But in the meantime, I see no reason to get worked up every time the "starting 11" gets trotted out in a friendly match. Its frustrating to be sure, but it shouldn't be a surprise. Holding out hope for fresh, untested players to be integrated (and being let down every time they aren't) is a recipe for angst.

^^^^so i guess the only way there's hope is if we get another "blessing in disguise" injury. the last olympic gold seems to prove that we can win if: the coach doesn't use her pre-established system(boot it to abby!!!); and one of the ole girls club "bosses" isn't there...

I think this has it right. If it were my post, I'd tweak it to reflect two points.

1) Pia doesn't make a move because she doesn't have a move to make. She knows there's a problem in the midfield, and she should be faulted for not seeking out new players that could help solve the problem. I would like to see an unhappy Cheney moved off the flank to her more natural position in the midfield, and Lindsey the first mid-field sub. (Lindsey deserves some credit for stabilizing things in the Japan Algarve.) Ain't gonna happen, though.

2) Pia is being out coached, but doesn't have a response. Give the Japan coaches credit for successfully exploiting our weaknesses through the middle, really from Wambauch down through the middle to Beuhler, and neutralizing our strengths on the flanks. Not much left for an offensive attack other than long balls over the top. WNT had three shots on goal in the Japan game. Three. Not very reassuring.

Granted, it's not wise to make too much of one match. But the weaknesses are in plain sight. Kirin will be an interesting little get together. If Pia makes no changes in the starting line-up, as I and FF14 expect, it will signal that she has no moves, that she's going to London will what she's got, and that she's hoping like hell that young horse she only grudgingly put in the starting lineup will work a lot of magic at the London games.

i'm not sure jorge or the japanese coach will even show their hands in this little mini-tournament, but for sure pia will use her starting 11, it's in her nature.

the best teams need one defender similar to ali riley to kill those dashes and balls over the top, which ali more or less did for new zealand for 88 mins, just not enough talent around her when the usa started to sub. if pia thinks baby horse sprinting will carry this team, she's in for a rude awakening.



long faces again.

Arod must be the answer.

Abby will not go away unless we Prinz her.

Well I for one, and maybe I am the only one, don't think she should go away. She definitely needs to get more fit. And her minutes should be managed. But she still gets the job done.

My big question is whether Wambach would be capable of transitioning, both mentally and tactically, to a substitute role. She has been a starter her entire USWNT career, except at the very beginning (circa 2002-2003). In interviews she always come across well, very team oriented and concerned about building for the future. But all those statements have come while she's accustomed to being a 90 minute player, and the star of the team. Being benched after so long could be tough.

I can see the obvious value in keeping her around as a late-game substitute when down a goal. But it'll take a coach with some fortitude to change her role so dramatically (not to mention some maturity on Abby's part).

Morgan and LeReoux up top in the Algarve was definitely a peek into the future, but I agree the future ain't now. Trouble is, what about Wambach? I think it is more than just getting fit. From the matches I saw up in Vancouver, her mobility appears shot. She could run in a straight line, but appeared to be laboring just to do that. Is she still injured? Is she saving herself for London? Have 15-20 years of highly competetive soccer taken their toll? I agree she's not done, but will she accept a reduced role, especially if she believes the record is in sight?

Newsouth, would you please answer some of these questions. I know you will be fair since none involve Morgan.

My opinion on Pia and the USWNT is that Pia has been trying to fit a square peg in a round hole since she's been the coach of the USWNT.

She has been trying to get US born and raised players to play her European style of posession soccer with players that have never been taught that type of soccer nor have the experience of playing that type of soccer from their little orange slices U-8 traveling team all the way up through college.

Unfortunately, very few American players have that type of skill on the ball like you see with the Europeans, Brazilians and what we saw with the Japanese players.

This team needs a coach that understands the American mentality and style of play. IMO, an American coach.

That's why Dicicco and Dorrance were so succesfull as USWNT coaches, they understand how to coach American women and get the best out of them what they have been taught all their soccer playing lives.

The next hire is important. But, if Sunil, Jill and April are running that search then we are in SERIOUS trouble. And, that's not said as a joke. Serious trouble if those minds are making decisions.

I think there is a huge difference between US men and US women in regard to style of play in the past and it's important to not confuse the two.

I disagree with this statement. The US women have always dominated in possession. They have usually been the most technical team on the pitch (obviously some old China teams, Brazil teams, etc where also very good)

Greg Ryan changed the style of the game. He put very technical players and sat them on the bench (example, Aly Wagner). And tactically he was as advanced as Even Pellerud at his worst. So for 3 years out of the WNT lush history, we played a very direct game... (but really, if you go back and watch some of the Greg games, it's not nearly as bad as it's made out to be)

Pia came into camp and stated, very publicly, we're not as technical and tactical as the rest of the world.

But this was all a political move. Her first day she states in the media this team HAS A TON of work to do. That we are FAR FAR behind the rest of the world in tactics and style. If this team wins the Olympics (which it did) or WC, it will make Pia look like she did all the work.

Pia then continued to play these same women who are not the most technical or smartest soccer players. She also chose to develop player who are not the most technical. Take two young midfielders who played together. 1. Narin, who Pia has capp'd and has been in numerous camps, since the age of 18. And then there's Noyola..Who was never capp'd and left off the senior teams and left for the Mexican WC team.

We've all seen these two players in action. Technically and tactically, there's no comparison. There's something very strange and contradictory about this coach.