I was that guy (sort of) at Atlanta'96. Back then, ACOG ran a ticket lottery, and my mom & younger brother planned to go, so I bid on about $4k of tickets, won >$3k of them, and then ... they chickened out. So I sold off all of my extra tickets, one and two at a time, for face value (ugh! -- Georgia enacted a law against scalping above face value, but everybody blithely ignored it). By the end of two weeks, the wad of cash I brought home was so thick it wouldn't fit in one shoe. The woso final (USA-China) was in Athens at U.Georgia's Sanford Stadium (they dug out the hedges to install the field). I've previously written about how I read a map and navigated the car around the 5+ mile long traffic jam on the Atlanta-Athens highway, and we went ccw around the beltway and came up from the south with zero traffic, all the way into the parking garage ~3 blocks away. Anyways, I had 1 extra ticket to sell, so I walked about 10 steps and found a pair of women who needed 1 more ticket. They were prepared to pay hundreds, but I sold for (gasp) face value -- and they were shocked. I still have my entire batch of tickets somewhere in a mementos box, and about a hundred 8mm camcorder tapes that I've never had digitized -- I'm afraid to even look at them, in case they've all degraded by now. (sob) Lesson for you (not-so-)young ones: Record directly onto DVD (actually, today I guess you'd upload to the cloud)
Another lesson: Do something really nice for someone, if you have the chance and are so inspired. Trust your instincts. And then, maybe some day, even though you did it as a free gift, the circle may complete itself.
I know this isn't about soccer, but it's a reply to the lovely statement by cpthomas. Yes, it's true that something kind we did for someone, even a stranger, may somehow come around to us. But, depending on one's age, please consider this option. When I was in my 20s, some people were wonderful to me as I got started as a writer and a teacher. One became a longtime star on 60 MINUTES. Now many of those people have passed away. I can't do anything for them (though I thanked a few both at the time and then long afterward.) So I try to be supportive of people in their 20s getting started on different paths. For me, that's how I pay back the people who were great to me.
Well most isn't the coach or the professionals keeping track of these things right? I mean during the broadcast the commentators quoted Jill herself who said that CP's speed is the best on the entire team.
Yes, I heard that too. I'm most pleased with these two games because they let us see what Christen can do. As I see it, she's now in the competition for a starting position. That's a surprise to me, since it didn't look that way before these games. This is what these early 2019 games are all about.
she definitely showed up these last 2 games - esp speed with the ball. i like it. if she can put the other parts of her game together, she can take over pinoe's spot, or morgan's.
Her biggest weakness is her aerial game but if given the consistent opportunity I don't see why not. Although I am concerned about her strong start now that she's recently lost her mother which is quite tragic, especially at this time.
Press has since posted on it. I'm glad you didn't hear a peep, some slimy individuals came across something they shouldn't have and decided to make public these details before anyone in her family did, so thankfully no one reputable spoke on this ahead of the family.
they didn't do a good job, cause I still haven't heard anything about it other than your post here... ... again, condolences.
She should be a starter on this team. I don't care who you have to sit. She's really the superior player to Morgan, and if you asked 95% of coaches who they'd build their offense around, it would be Press. She has it all in terms of speed and technique. I don't know if Jill has some personal bias against Press for eliminating her UCLA teams in the College Cup every year, or if the federation is telling her who to play.
??? i could say with equal conviction, that if you asked 95% of coaches who they’d build their offense around, it would be morgan. but that’s because i see morgan as the better player in that spot. coaches are individuals. just like there are press backers and morgan backers on this board. so... she (& the fed) need to win the wc, and press gives her (them) the best chance to do that, but she’ll (or they’ll) play morgan instead because jill needs her head examined about unresolved disappointments in her previous coaching life, and the fed wants morgan to be the face of the team - even if they lose. hmm.... i know this is bs. but i think it makes much more sense, even here on these boards, to believe that the coaches think that right now morgan is the better player in that position, but if press out plays either morgan or pinoe she’s gonna be given their spot. first 11 players have lost their spots on this team before. lloyds butt is now mostly used to warm the bench.
Whenever someone posts a statement like "if you asked 95% of coaches who they'd built their offense around, it would be Press," it's a clear sign of an intense fan who is miles from rational analysis. I'm not saying that Morgan is better than Press, nor that Press is better than Morgan. All I'm saying is that it's difficult to read such an absurd claim--with not a shred of documentation--about what 95% of coaches might say.
I had my doubts that Press would even make the roster for the World Cup until the two friendlies in January when she played well. So, we'll see how Press performs in the upcoming matches. Jess McDonald is looking pretty good, and if Jess makes the WC team, who doesn't?
Eh. I'm not so sure about that. Press would need an actual run of starts playing 90 minutes at center forward on this team for me to determine whether she is a good tournament player or not. She didn't get anything but garbage minutes in 2015 and 2016 tournaments, or was on the wing. She really earned a good look post Olympics in 2016-2017 when she was outperforming Alex in club and on the national team. She only ever got on and off starts and half games only. I would have liked to see her for 90 minutes at CF during the 2017 SBC and TON, and she should have gotten minutes in this year's SBC as well when Alex didn't score once and to be honest, didn't even really look dangerous. I get that the Federation was trying to bully her into going to Houston though, when other players would have received different treatment. So she sat on the bench the entire tournament. Aerial game is the one weakness, true. I'm not sure how much that matters though. It doesn't matter if she plays wide and I think she brings enough skill to the central position to nullify it. Her most valuable asset we could have used in these games is being able to drop back and create space for herself if the midfield cannot get her the ball, which Morgan struggles to do. And our midfield is what it is. Mediocre. I personally miss the two front sometimes, and wouldn't mind seeing Press and Morgan paired more. I'm not a crazed fan of hers, but I can spot odd treatment of a player when I see it. Alex gets a lot more minutes to prove herself. Morgan fans be objective - would ANY other player get 90 minutes at CF for three straight games in a friendlies tournament without scoring or assisting once? Press would have been on the bench by the second game. I'm almost sure of that. I think she was credited with the assist on Rapinoe's goal but it looked like it barely touched her. The wind was crazy. RE: McDonald. She's not making the roster over Press, Morgan, Heath, Lloyd, Pinoe or Pugh. So she's duking it out with one of the bubble midfielders most likely. I think Brian probably slips in over her, whether that's fair or not (based on form, I don't think it is.) Depends on whether they want a 7th forward. McDonald's sample size of playing time is still very small so she needs to play more against good sides to make an accurate determination on how she performs at this level.
I think they think they can win with Morgan playing all the minutes because she's a good enough player (even if not necessarily the best at her position against every opponent), and her stature on the team gives her the benefit of the doubt (to a greater extent than other players) when she doesn't have a good game. I don't think this is so far fetched. Carli herself has said non-soccer factors play a role in who plays. Carli has never had Morgan type fame on the team and her age finally forced the coach's hand this year. Carli played for way too long on this team as a starter IMO, in part because of who she is not necessarily because she was the best player at her position. I don't think they've ever given her an opportunity to legitimately challenge Morgan and won't do it before the world cup unless Morgan (god forbid) gets hurt. If she wins a spot over anyone it will be one of the wingers most likely. If Morgan doesn't score a run of play goal against a good side this year (England, Brazil, Australia are really the only opponents left that I would consider legitimate - not sure what Belgium is like) I would start to get worried in Jill's position.
Press' position was never in doubt, imo. If it was, then Jill is crazier than I thought. If Jess makes the team, it's not in place of a forward. Not sure she has enough playing time. I wouldn't mind her on the roster, but would have much preferred Leroux got a second look before she got pregnant. I thought she was a bright spot on a really disappointing Orlando side (along with Weatherholt). Her work rate is second to none for a forward. As an Orlando fan, I'm disappointed she's not playing this year but happy for her pregnancy. Anyway, you can slot in McDonald without taking out a locked in player. I think this is possibly the roster (Jill's, not my preferred roster), with parentheses players on the bubble and the others being near locks. Not sure if I'm missing someone. Morgan, Press, Pinoe, Lloyd, Pugh, Heath, (McDonald) Horan, Lavelle, Ertz, Mewis, (Zerboni), (Brian/Sullivan), (Long/Colaprico) Sonnett, Dunn, Sauerbrunn, Dahlkemper, Davidson, O'Hara, (Short) Franch, Naeher, Harris So there's about 4 spots in contention among the bubble players. Jill seems fairly desperate to find another option other than Short, so we'll see. I figure whoever makes and dresses for the SBC is basically on the team. I think lack of depth is an issue. O'Hara, Heath, Pinoe, Lavelle are not reliable players. Ertz and Broon are also injury prone, and going into a tournament with Lloyd as your second option at CF is not ideal in the slightest.
I don't expect it to impact her game. She seems very driven and focused. Professionals in every field deal with family tragedies but life goes on and you have to pigeon hole it at work. Most people in the US have to return to work immediately after a loved one passes, and get very little time off, so at least she has time to process and cope.
Wonder why Sauerbruun escapes critism? Especially in the 2nd French goal, where she's shadowing Diani. Only to run away & back to the,goal after Diani gets some speed on her
I have mentioned in one of the play by play threads that Press seems to be for the WNT what Wolff was to the MNT. That is she shows a lot of flash and is really good at getting into good attacking spots and then, more often than not, she does something to kill the attack. She either misses the shot or she misses the cross or she dribbles into a dead end. I do not think she should be starting against good opponents because against quality her tendency to kill attacks would cause the few real chances that good teams allow to just disappear. Having said all that I am still unsure that we have a reasonably good forward/midfield set that will produce a number of quality chances and then have a good chance to finish those chances. We also depend too much on backs getting forward. Attacking backs are very good to have as an option BUT they should not be as large a part of the offense as they have become. There is a difference between a good option and a reliable plan. Press is close to being the perfect late (60-75 minute mark) sub to bring in when the opponents are tired and vulnerable but she is not , at this time, starter material.
I guess we'll see about the "new" Press over the next few games if Ellis plays her, but I hope someone works with Morgan to help her stay onside. That seems to be killing more US attacks as of late.
Based on what? Morgan hasn't been that great in any tournament over the past 4 years, including the 2015 WC and 2016 OG. She hasn't scored in the past two SBC (2017/18) and only once in the 2017 ToN. She scored a hat trick in the 2018 ToN vs Japan (after all their regulars retired). She's been great in the CONCACAF tournaments against tomato cans, which doesn't count at all. I'm not saying Press is better, but Morgan has got all the minutes up front and center and has greatly under-performed in tournaments over the past 4 years. Who knows if Press would have done better, probably not, but it wouldn't take much to match Morgan's play in the tournaments outside of CONCACAF. If it were up to me I'd probably still start Morgan, but I'd definitely wouldn't have her penciled in as the guaranteed starting striker (which Ellis obviously does). My biggest fear is that after this cycle, Morgan is going to become the new Carli Lloyd for the 2023/24 cycle.
she hasn't. posters have criticised her as having lost her speed... ...plus i've already posted that it's dahlkemper and davidson who'll be starting. they both hit the long diagonal pass (that jill wants) much better than becky does.