Technically, are we even allowed to have a ball to kick? Back to the topic -- no, the rest of the world isn't "passing us by," at least not yet. The youth results are a little worrying, but bear in mind that we're grabbing a bunch of college kids from all over the country for a quick camp and Cup, while many other countries can drill their pro academy kids and send them over. (That said, it's noteworthy that even England has a few kids playing NCAA soccer. Must be something worthwhile about it.) The analogy I used recently is that if you were making odds, it's no longer USA even money, Japan/China/Brazil/Germany 4-1 and field 1,000,000-1. It's now much closer to NCAA basketball. Last year's NCAA odds: Villanova 6-1, Virginia 13-2 (oops), Duke 8-1 (slightly smaller oops), Kansas 10-1, etc. The men's World Cup isn't far off from that sort of spread. 2018 odds I found: Germany 9-2, Brazil 5-1, France 11-2 (congratulations), Spain 7-1, Argentina 8-1. Three more are 20-1 or less. (Croatia was 30-1.) The first site I found that does odds the "2-1" way rather than the "+250" malarkey tells me the USA is at 11-4. France 7-2, Germany 6-1, England 7-1. Five more are 20-1 or less. So that's the new reality. The best two teams in the world will each have a 30-ish percent chance of winning. By 2023, that might be down to 20-25 percent like the men's World Cup. And don't read too much into the SheBelieves Cup. Ellis was still in either "tinkering" mode or "we're not going to show England how we'll really line up" mode, and there was a Sauerbrunn-sized hole in central defense. Ellis has learned (hopefully) that she can't just stick Julie Ertz behind two attacking players in center mid and win possession, and all U.S. fans should pray Sauerbrunn is at 100 percent this summer.
40 days, 40 nights..... Walls of Jericho..... Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah..... The Cosmos..... You know, all disasters of biblical proportions.
The WNT is basically a too many cooks problem. They all know there's a problem, and everybody either wants to be part of the solution, or thinks they should be part of the solution. And they all realize that even with all the obvious faults, they can still win it all - and that anyone with the power/cojones to take over and clean the mess up will be the fall guy should the USWNT not win the WWC, whereas mainly Ellis will bear the brunt should the current course fail to succeed in France, and with 2015 on her resume, not winning in France shouldn't end her career. There are two narratives regarding Canada WWC15 about Ellis. Anti-Ellis: Ellis was backed into a corner and forced to play the only players left after injuries and two terrible opening results, and the U.S. won the World Cup despite Ellis's obvious mistakes and mismanagement. Pro-Ellis: (Which I follow) Ellis's selection of squad and to a lesser extent playing roster early in the cup was unduly influenced by political, financial, and marketing concerns. After the two bad results, the shackles were removed and Ellis was, within the limitations (no Crystal Dunn) of the roster she had on hand, able to finally play the strategy and players she wanted, after which the U.S. romped to glory. The shackles coming off because winning with the anointed players on the bench was a hell of a lot better for everybody than getting knocked out early. The thing is, it's all understandable, and mostly forgivable. It takes a lot of effort and expense to make a women's soccer player a household name. Alex Morgan, short of a broken leg, was going to Canada. Years of Gatorade and Nike and McDonald's commercials and SI nudes had made her the face of the team. Of course she's going to be on the team short of breaking a leg (like Abby Wambach did in the last friendly before Beijing 2008). And like the 2003 team that was too old, you can't expect players to voluntarily retire. They don't get where they are without an unbelievable drive and ego. They don't believe they can still play at the level needed, they know they can. Each and every one of them. It's not on the players to decide who is on the squad. And the most impossible position of all is whoever is in the head coaching chair. I doubt they get any direct instruction from above with regards to sponsorship or marketing partners. But you don't get that far without being oblivious to what's going on around you. They probably get some input from above about playing WNTPA players and non-WNTPA players - but only indirectly, as in for budgeting reasons - it costs more to bring non-WNTPA players in. And I'm pretty sure she's aware of what happened to her predecessor. I think there's a lot of inertia with this squad. It is not anywhere near its potential, and it has pissed away a lot of player development opportunities, but honestly it's pissed away less than the last four or five WC/OG cycles. I'm not particularly happy with where the team is, but this development cycle is just a lather, rinse, repeat of the last three and maybe four cycles. Potentially our best finisher was left out of the 99 squad. There was pretty much zero player development before 03, and we took three injured players and the oldest squad into that tournament. The squad rolled on 07, but our lossless in 51 games wet behind the ears coach froze in the World Cup spotlight, then pulled one of the biggest choke job panic switches in World Cup history. But let's remember that we've won one of the two championships in every four year cycle. We have rebounded from each World Cup loss with Olympic Gold Medals the following year. However we've also rested on our laurels after winning the World Cup (well 99/00 is splitting hairs). So yeah. In some ways this team is currently a hot mess. But they're also more than capable of winning it all. All the drama definitely makes it worth watching.
Can you elaborate for those of us who don’t follow the USWNT or NWSL closely? Who is the player and what makes them toxic?
The player is Jaelene Hinkle and she’s toxic because she refused a callup to the USWNT because they wore a Pride branded uniform that was worn for a series of friendlies during Pride Month in 2027. Her decision didn’t sit well with certain factions fans of the USWNT who tend to be rather active around LGBTQ issues.
This is a soccer board and since NASL doesn't exist what else are we going to talk about? Cheese and tanks and fish puns?
Trimming Andy's post here, with which I'm in roughly 95 percent agreement. Not taking Dunn could've turned into a huge mistake. But getting Morgan Brian on the field made a huge difference, as did turning Wambach into a supersub. It's interesting this year that past performance is no longer indicative of a guaranteed roster spot. Brian is barely in the player pool right now, and she was huge in 2015. She's not exactly old, either. In fairness to Morgan today, she has rebounded nicely from her injury. I don't quite get the obsession with her among the children's literature market and the dudebros, but she's in great form. So is Megan Rapinoe, who shouldn't have been there in 2016 but is essential this year. Here's the one disagreement I have -- I think the problem in 2003 was actually an overreliance on a then-young Wambach. The narrative among a lot of people who don't follow soccer closely is that the USA was unlucky against Germany. Actually, they were tactically naive and predictable. So I don't know that the *team* was too old. But the tactics were. We *think* this is less of an issue in the new CBA. Maybe we'll find out if the USSF reply includes that CBA as Exhibit A. Definitely, but Solo deserves a ton of the blame here. A lot of people on that team will go to their graves without telling the whole story. I get it, but I'm also bearing a lot of knife wounds in my back that could've been avoided. So will Greg Ryan, for that matter, even though he was indeed wet behind the ears. Note that every other former USWNT coach has gone into another USSF position or a pro coaching job elsewhere, but not Ryan. (That said, college jobs may be better than pro coaching jobs in many respects, stability among them. Ryan is embarking on his 12th season at Michigan. Greg Andrulis is coming up on No. 15 at George Mason.) Definitely. In many respects, they're better than they've ever been, especially offensively. They can beat you so many different ways. I also don't think they're quite as combustible as they've been in past years -- no Solo, I don't think anyone's going to Cordeiro to try to push Ellis out the door, and being co-plaintiffs in a lawsuit can be a bonding experience. But the competition has never been more difficult.
Is this the catchall lawsuit thread? Alex Morgan et al v USSF has been assigned to Judge Gary Klausner in LA. His claim to fame in sports law might be his dismissal of the fans' class action lawsuit over the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on the grounds that fans have no legally protected right to see an "exciting fight" pic.twitter.com/OHWFHW5HWe— Steven Bank (@ProfBank) March 14, 2019
See, this is what is wrong with society. Marty McFly's kid comes back with some almanac from the future saying a player is going to do something and we condemn them for an act they haven't even committed yet.
The part that I have never been able to grasp is how much control does Ellis have with team selection (23 woman roster) and matchday selection (starting 11). Is she actually in charge or is she basically an advisor who has the title of coach. With regards to 2015, I thought moving Lloyd away from the midfield helped the US more than her goalscoring. She was a defensive liability who often attempted to cherry-pick opportunities to score. Even there, I wonder how much of a role Ellis had.
I'm pretty sure everything is left in Ellis's hands. I'm also pretty sure Ellis is a very intelligent woman who knows which side the USWNT bread is buttered on, and she definitely saw what happened to her predecessor.
Exactly. Sunil Gulati was never dictating Ellis' roster. She faced restrictions on the number of "floaters" (players who weren't under USSF contract) who could come into camp, so she was more or less stuck with a pool of 20-something players with only a couple of exceptions. But that's also not chosen by Gulati or Jay Berhalter or Dan Flynn or anyone else. But this has historically not been a team in which the veterans with good agents and endorsement deals give up their spots and concede that they have faded and been surpassed by younger talent. That *might* be changing. Abby Wambach seemed gracious about her reduced role. Carli Lloyd is competitive as hell and will keep fighting for a starting spot, but I don't see her leading a movement to oust Ellis.
Right hence my earlier oblique comment about budgets. She can bring in whomever she chooses, but she's also probably under some financial constraints based on USWNTPA players in general and NWSL "federation" players in particular - especially given that she probably has a major voice in which players are tagged federation players and which ones are not. One reason we might be seeing a steady stream of college players "as floaters" is because they're much, much cheaper to bring in than a professional player who would be covered by the CBA and paid accordingly.
He's a 77 year old George W. appointee...seems to be a centrist...this is good for USSF. He also fought in 'Nam. Federal district court service[edit] Klausner is a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Klausner was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 18, 2002, to a seat vacated by William Duffy Keller.[2] Klausner, a Republican, was recommended for the post by a unanimous vote of a local bipartisan committee that screens potential judicial nominees, and his nomination was uncontroversial.[3] Klausner was rated "well qualified" by a substantial majority of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.[4] He was confirmed by the United States Senateon November 14, 2002, by voice vote,[5] and received his commission the following day.[2]