Ohai has been the face of Houston, but if she wanted the trade, then this isn't a bad deal for Houston. They're getting a key defender. Also JJ Watt is originally from Wisconsin....not a bad drive from Chicago if that's where he spends the offseason.
I meant in terms of other NWSL teams. Other than Chicago maybe NCFC was the other alternative? But who knows if Riley would make that trade.
It wasn't mentioned earlier, but UTA have signed a US player from Sweden's league (social media reaction seems to be unimpressed) and have promoted their old assistant coach to interim head coach. Rumor: a couple of players from Tigres might be headed to HOU (In addition to the rumors of two POR players being up for trade, and a couple of NCAA players declaring early)
I doubt that her somewhat-injury-prone record means she'd take up a bunch of allocation money, but part of me wants to think that Chicago will be paying Ohai more than the $50k max... Anyone else agree, or is it just me? I just wonder if this is part of their Kerr Replacement Plan - she did tie for the Golden Boot before Kerr won it back to back.
Ohai was named Grand Marshall of the February 29 parade for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I llived in Houston 2 years and the event is a BIG DEAL. https://www.rodeohouston.com/News/Article/ArtMID/494/ArticleID/2627/Kealia-Ohai-Named-Grand-Marshal-of-2020-Downtown-Rodeo-Parade
macario!!?? i’m thinking she’s the only player portland is likely to give up 2 such good players for...they always have the inside info on these things....
Or Flemming. For someone who was rumored to want to go to Europe, the chance of playing for Portland (with Sinclair, also) would probably be the one thing that would keep them on this side of the Atlantic.
That’s if she puts her name in the draft. Unless she’s waiting to see if Portland can get the number 1 pick. Reminds me of the movie Draft Day.
great player! but i’m not sure portland has a great need for her. they have a dire need for someone like macario who can repeatedly and reliably put the ball in the back of the net. it’s the courage they’re competing with! if i’m portland, i would not give up sonnet and purce for fleming, or sanchez, or smith (this last one is the type they need but a big gamble). i’d give them up for macario in a heartbeat. (i know fleming is the only one who is a senior. i’m assuming portland knows something about a franchise type player coming out - and there are no franchise type players in the regular crop of seniors).
One way to generate some attention for the Ohai trade: Houston Dash trade J.J. Watt's fiancee to Chicago https://t.co/EX9cX455kH pic.twitter.com/0dylaVKpK9— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) January 7, 2020 This headline is trash. Kealia Ohai (which is her name by the way, since you didn’t even bother to mention it) is incredible entirely on her own merit and deserves to be treated as such. Be better than this. https://t.co/82GMrYOv9U— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 7, 2020 https://jezebel.com/put-some-respect-on-kealia-ohais-name-1840852374
From what I've seen so far today: More American players returning from Europe Rachel Daly re-signs with Houston, getting allocation money in the new contract Rumors of Diani, whose contract with PSG is over and not being renewed, coming to Portland with what must be all-in allocation money (total contract worth near $0.5m) I probably have missed something
Utah signs Chestly Strother (returning from time in Europe): Welcome to Utah, @chesstrother10 🤝📰| https://t.co/v6WM43aSPW pic.twitter.com/xPdPCOWib0— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) January 7, 2020
wow! more allocation money for a foreign player who many believed underperformed last year? if this trends some american players might have questions. are we trying to make nwsl better or just more foreign? a lot for one player indeed. but this may be smart for portland. they have to compete with the courage (williams and mcdonald) on athleticism, and france has a few big, fast players who are more technical than williams and mcdonald.
She may have underperformed last year, but she's consistently been one of Houston's better players and certainly above average in her total NWSL tenure - as well as a face of the franchise, which is all the more important after losing Ohai. Report from the EQZ the other day said HOU was very interested in tapping upcoming Mexican talent, FWIW
I was kinda expecting POR (or maybe NC/UTA/ORL) to go all in with their allocation money on one player. It's the first year of the new program, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some pressure (either from the top, from fans, or from peer owners) for someone to make a splash and flex the league's new muscle to show what an NWSL team can do in the international transfer market. Especially after losing Kerr, someone needs to make a massive signing, less NWSL quickly lose its luster to players worldwide.
I don’t doubt that, and no offense to Diani, but if you are going to go all in for a marquee player I’ll expect one with more name recognition to generate buzz. Diani is a very good player in her own right but she’s not going to right headlines for Portland.
Trade is official. No. 1 pick to Thorns. Pride get Sonnett, Caitlin Foord, No. 7 pick, and No. 14 pick.Hearing Foord may be on the move again though#NWSL— Dan Lauletta (@TheDanLauletta) January 8, 2020 Sophia Smith expected to declare early to play in Portland.
In time we’ll see definitely if this was a good move or not but right now this does not look like a good move for Portland no matter who they draft.
This one doesn't seem official yet, but likely to be announced today: Next up for Portland, from multiple sources: Thorns have traded Midge Purce, 2021 first round pick to Sky Blue FC for Raquel Rodríguez.#NWSL— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) January 8, 2020