US vs Canada May 8 in Winnipeg: Pre, during, post-game discussion

We're about a week away from finding out which players will be chosen for this trip. Anyone care to speculate?

 

Leroux and Holiday won't be on the bench.

 

What about Mew2?

 

Certainly lots of roster questions. Do they call Wambach? Certainly not if she hasnt returned for WNY yet. Do they have problems getting their Tyreso players back? With only one friendly the club only has to release their players two days before the game. Doubt u see Heath. With BVH out they prolly call another CB especially with Rampone gimpy (Johnston/Dahlkemper?). Does Virginia have finals that week? Probably no Mewis the Elder but possiblely Mewis the Younger. (Does UCLA even have finals : )) Leroux prolly gets booed for 90 minutes. Wonder if Barny returns from her sabbatical? And maybe Dunn.

 

Maybe she is the back-up CB as well. Everyone knows ur better off training a Mewis in a new position than actually bringing in a player with experience there.

 

I'm really hoping that Johnston gets another look. It seems like forever since her last call-up. I'd be shocked if Dunn is not there. With Wambach possibly out, Morgan still injured and if the European based players can't rejoin the team in time, this would've been a perfect opportunity for an Ohai call-up (if she wasn't injured of course). Could we possibly see Maya Hayes? A-Rod is probably a shoe-in, especially considering she's scored 2 goals in the NWSL thus far.

 

I can actually picture Sermanni and Ellis discussing this issue over a couple of beers earlier this year.

 

Well there is also the possibility that Ellis has calls in to Boxx, LePeilbet and Mitts asking how they r feeling.

 

I think UVa do have finals and UCLA don't that week

 

It'll be interesting to calculate the average age of players between this call-up and the China games.

 

So, assuming they take 21

GK
Solo
Loyden
Barnhart
Defender
Rampone
Sauerbrunn
Engen
Dahlkemper
Krieger
Dunn
Cox
O'Hara
Klingenberg
Midfielder
Holiday
Lloyd
Mewis S.
Rapinoe
O'Reilly
Forward
Wambach
Leroux
Press
Rodriguez

 

This assumes players like Johnston, Tymrak & Brooks dont get called because they r up against the contract number

 

Mewis S. has already been called up to 2 other camps. I wonder if she's reaching that threshold as well.

 

Doesnt matter...she's in college so they dont have to give her a contract

 

Good point....I had brain freeze there!

 

The place they r being held up is with Boxx...if she is going to retire she should just do it....likely if she did, Johnston would get her contract as Chicago is low on allocated players. That would also help the NT numbers problems because Johnston provides cover at a couple places.

 

In all honesty I'm not exactly sure why Boxx is still in the picture. She'll be 38 by the next WC and is coming off of an injury and pregnancy. Also, I still remember how most of us were complaining during the 2011 WC that her Lloyd did not combine well, while she missed 5 games a the last Olympics due to injuries. Give contracts to other new young talent to take her spot already.

 

I get the fiscal reasons for USSF subsidizing NT players with contracts. It helps NWSL stay afloat, which is a must obviously. But philosophically I take issue with it. It guarantees that a select group of players will get the bulk of call-ups for the national team, regardless of what form they are in. Even if a coach isn't expressly prohibited from calling up a non-contracted player, it seems discouraged. And that's a problem. The coach should have full license to call up U-23, U-20, even college players if he or she deems them worthy. Same goes for non-contracted NWSL players. To arbitrarily restrict your selection to 20-25 contracted regulars is doing a disservice.

With all that said, I do recognize that NWSL benefits immensely from USSF's involvement. But maybe there is an alternate way that doesn't favor a core group so much. Maybe subsidize each team a certain amount rather than the players themselves?

 

If USSoccer is going to throw there money into the league they r going to want it going to USWNT players not whoever the clubs decide to pay with it.

 

With Johnston it seems longer than it was. She was called for Canada/Russia. She was on the game roster (18) for Canada but didnt get used and apparently picked up a knock before the games against Russia were played.

 

Surely Boxx doesn't count against the 24 ATM? She didn't play at all last year.

I'm gonna need quite some convincing to believe that the Fed was dumb enough to limit itself to 24 contracts in a group of women of childbearing age, without protecting themselves against the very real possibility that five or six might get pregnant at the same time... The WNT has a long tradition of fertility at this point; the Fed cannot be that stupid.

And surely it is not that allocation controls Fed contracts, but that Fed contract awards require adjustments in allocation? The tail cannot be wagging the dog there-- what if an allocated player retires and there is noone left on their club of international quality, while the next Akers has surfaced unexpectedly on a fully allocated team?

The reason to keep Boxx in consideration is simply that the repair to her knee may possibly restore her to what she was at 32 rather than what she was at 36. There is a realistic if not overwhelming likelihood, given the caliber of athlete she was, that the loss of speed and mobility were due more to the developing injury than the advancing age, and that she might have enough left in the tank to play well thru the WWC. A 2009 caliber Boxx would be a major, major asset in Canada even if there were nothing left thereafter...

 

No idea on how injury/maternity leave effects the contract number. Not even sure 24 is still the number as the CBA was renegotiated to the agreement of both parties in 2013 (though we dont know if it's actually been finished and signed yet).

 

Didn't Lines last season say, he wanted a player, maybe press, instead of $24000, which he couldn't do anything with. NT players are the stars of the NWSL, just like any sport. If USSoccer doesn't allocate, the players could try to cluster on rosters and leave some teams (non-preference ones) out in the cold. Nothing is ever perfect. fans will try to find holes or complain, no matter what they do.

 

from what i see, the roster has not been released yet....?