Agreed I'm just not ready to part with Henderson yet. And I think they keep Marlborough bc of her KC connection. My ideal situation would be to waive Williams or trade Lepeilbet/Bogus. But I can't think of a team that has room for 2 players though. Or a team who needs forwards that don't score much. Or a team that has defenders to give up. That's why I thought Williams would be the easiest to waive, bc she is the least talented on the current roster.
I agree. ARod and Hagen are set. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the others would be Silva (21), Henderson (23), Marlborough (23) or Bogus (30). Silva is still young and has shown great potential as another Tymrak in the making. She is the future. You don't trade that away. Henderson was a proven starter last year and it continues to be a mystery why she hasn't been playing when she is clearly a better option than Bogus. Marlborough is a new draft pick that looked really good in the preseason. They obviously signed her for the future so that also seems unlikely. Bogus has proven she can't play KC's possession style, has a history of only lasting 1 year with teams, and has no future promise. Seems like an easy choice to me. That said, Henderson probably has the most trade value if they are looking to get something in return. Though the fact that she hasn't had any playing time to show off her value doesn't bode well for a deal.
Henderson will be the perfect player to trade to Houston for a draft pick. If I'm houston, I'll be all over that trade because we all know in this league, especially Houston, it's better to have proven players on the pro level than a draftee who may or may not pan out. They only reason I think this trade haven't happen yet is KC wants to wait for Hagen and Gorry to show up first in case something happens to Arod or Bogus in the interim.
I'm not so sure... Houston already has a plethora of young forwards that can't score. With 7 forwards on their roster, they'd have to cut somebody to add her (after already having cut one player to add Engen and Klingenberg, assuming they got Roster relief for Bock). If KC really wanted a team to be interested in Henderson, they should've let her play more to (hopefully) score some goals and get her value up. At this point in time Marlborough is probably worth more, as she has the same number of career goals, but in a lot less minutes.
Call me paranoid but I follow Melissa Henderson on Twitter. She announced being a client of Chuck Vine and TI Sports Marketing. She was also mentioned in a tweet with: Desiree Scott, Tiffany Cameron, shelina Zadorsky, and Renae Cuellar. Is there a pattern here?
I saw that and thought the exact same thing. There's no reason to sign with an agent in the middle of the season unless....
I believe that if she had a standard FIFA-approved contract, she would be able to leave the team for lack of playing time and seek to catch on with another team. That right, however, is not available to her under the NWSL contract -- it's one of the FIFA-approved provisions that players with NWSL contracts give up. It's interesting to see a situation in which this provision might be relevant. Of course, that assumes there isn't some other reason that she is not playing that no one posting here knows about -- injury, illness, post-concussion effects, etc.
From the press release of the France roster, Hagen is with BM until Sunday, then she'll be with the NT for the France matches. The absolute earliest she'd be available is the match on the 21st against Chicago. Gorry may already be there. Most of the other Aussies returned to their teams right after the Asian Cup.
Unfortunately, my inside information is dried up as the team eliminated my position a couple weeks ago. Now I get to enjoy and watch the games strictly as a fan. I can say that originally they were both scheduled to be here by next week. The USWNT callup for Hagen changed those plans obviously, not sure if Gorry's still on target or not
Really sorry to hear that. I've noticed that KCs press releases/PR have been off. Must be bc of your absence. I appreciate the info you do have about Hagen and Gorry. You are welcome here any time CometsFan!
So I think we need to discuss the impending arrival of Sarah Hagen and what they will do to our line up. The big question is where will she fit? She is a 5'11 forward with very good technical skills, and very dominant in the box. Your typical target forward but in the case of Hagen she is one of the top target forwards in Europe and should be that in the NWSL. Because of that, Hagen will start and start up at top, without question. The problem arises is where does Amy Rodriguez slot in when Hagen arrives? Does she play at wing? Or does Vlatko Andonovski switch the formation to a more forward heavy line up like a 4-4-2? My problem with this is that it would change how our offense dictates its attack from a midfield centric to a more forward lead offense and I think that is a mistake. Out of all the teams in the NWSL, which clubs come the closest to the Blues for play style? Its pretty obvious that its the Seattle Reign. They both play with the ball, keep the ball as much as possible and dictate the offense using their midfield. But there are differences with both offenses. Seattle is a more dynamic offense and by that I mean, they activate their midfield into the attack unlike Kansas City. What do I mean by "activating", the forwards on Seattle check by to the midfield and hold up the run of play and allow the midfielders to make runs. This in turn allows the midfielder to take the ball on the run attack and force the opposing defense to react to their attack. This then creates options for the offense. The midfielder in question can then continue the attack if there is an opening, or if defenders close off their attack, then this creates space for team mates to make their own runs, and then the dynamic attacking comes through. They make a run and the midfielder sends the ball into open space thereby creating a quality scoring chance. Kim Little is very key to how this offense works and last season, Kansas City worked exactly like this. Lauren Holiday was constantly activated, constantly was attacking the box, scoring goals and if she was getting marked by enough players, would create scoring options for her team mates. Its why she won the golden boot and scored 12 goals and picked up 9 assists which was tops in both departments for the league last season. This season, this isn't the case. Amy Rodriguez does not "check" back to her midfield. Instead what she does is if she can't turn on a defender, instead of holding the ball up and allowing a midfielder to make a run, Rodriguez immediately back passes back to the midfield. What this does it basically ends that run of play. It has to be restarted and the build up has to start over again. There is no dynamism to the attack. No activating of the midfield, no getting Lauren Holiday into the attack into the box and allowing her to dictate the attack from there. And because of this, our quality of scoring chances has dropped this season. And why the Blues send so many crosses into the box. Which I find to be the most frustrating aspect about our offense. Mattias will send a cross in when there is no Blues player in the box ready to take the cross. She has to look up and actually see the run of play develop. Mattias has been a very frustrating player to watch this season. An example is the Breakers match we had recently. Our only goals came off penalty kicks. Not something you can be proud about against a Breaker side that has a very weak back end with the exception of Alyssa Naeher who has been outstanding for her club. But has been shelled all season long. To have the only goals scored be on the penalty kick is not good. Both Seattle and Kansas City have their key talisman players in Kim Little and Lauren Holiday. Its just with in Seattle's case, they are using her to her full potential and in Kansas City, Holiday isn't. And that is where Sarah Hagen comes in. Because Hagen is what Holiday desperately needs. A forward that does check back to her midfield, a forward that is a top holding option and will hold up the attack and allow players to make runs. Hagen will be a difference maker for the Blues. Its what happens around her that will be the big question. Does the Blues stay in their traditional 4-2-3-1 formation? Or do they switch to a conventional 4-4-2 formation. Lets look at how potentially the formations will look at and the strengths and weaknesses to each one. Traditional 4-2-3-1 ----------------------------------Sarah Hagen -------------Erika Tymrak---Lauren Holiday---Amy Rodriguez -----------------Jenn Buczkowski---Jenna Richmond Kasey Kallman---Amy LePeibet---Becky Sauerbrunn---Leigh Ann Robinson Probably the formation that Andonovski could go to. Hagen would be the top holding target option, Rodriguez would play at wing and the midfielders of Holiday, Tymrak will still run the attack. Richmond would stay in this line up and frankly she has been outplaying Buczkowski by a large margin. She is excellent at holding the ball up and keeping it away from the other team and has been very good on the offensive side as well with 1 goal and 3 assists. Traditional 4-2-3-1 (with Frances Silva) ----------------------------------Sarah Hagen -------------Erika Tymrak---Lauren Holiday---Frances Silva -----------------Jenn Buczkowski---Jenna Richmond Kasey Kallman---Amy LePeibet---Becky Sauerbrunn---Leigh Ann Robinson In my opinion, the best all round formation. Everything stays the same with the exception of Silva slotting into the line up. Why is she so important? She defends, she is one of the best ball handlers on the team and probably in the league. And she has fantastic vision so you add another player in the line up that can hold onto the ball and allow players to make runs. Last match Silva only played 20 minutes but made a massive impact. Was constantly spinning from tackles which allowed her open space to attack and then held the ball up and was sending through balls to Tymrak on the run! Stuff that we normally don't see. With Silva you have 3 players, Holiday, Tymrak and Silva who are always looking up when they have the ball at their feet. They are play makers. To me this is the most dynamic line up that we would have. A top target forward that WILL check back to the midfield, hold up play and allow the midfield to mount runs and attacks into the box. Last match, the Blues were attacking the box, Henderson was checking back to Tymrak and there was constant dynamic movement from the midfield on the attack. Richmond and Silva got goals because they got activated onto the attack. Rodriguez in this formation would sub in and play either wing or at top and be a change of pace player. With her speed she could be effective and disrupting a tired defense late in the match and put matches away. Conventional 4-4-2 (standard Diamond Midfield) -------------------------Amy Rodriguez---Sarah Hagen--------------------------------Lauren Holiday ------------------Erika Tymrak--------------Merrit Mattias -------------------------------Jenn Buczkowski Kasey Kallman---Amy LePeibet---Becky Sauerbrunn---Leigh Ann Robinson Formation that I think Andonovski would most likely go to. Pluses are you have Hagen and Rodriguez playing in their traditional roles and both of them would be on the pitch at the same time. With Rodriguez on the flank, she can use her speed to get into 1v1 situations with the defender and get crosses into the box so Hagen can fetch them like the US women's national team. Minuses of this formation is that our formation would go from a midfield offense to a forward driven offense. Much of the play would be directed to the forwards and how they match up against the opposing defense. Our strong midfield would be relegated to support roles. Add to all this is our single holding midfielder. It hasn't been effective for our team in the beginning of the season. In fact Andonovski had to switch out of the 4-4-2 when our defense kept getting exposed to the counter attack and over the top balls. A large part of this is the poor play of Buczkowski which has opened my eyes at how really effective she is because Jenna Richmond has been a stud this season and hasn't even played the full season. This formation would miss out on Richmond's steadiness in the back and her ability to keep the ball and provide a linking player to the attacking midfielders. Conventional 4-4-2 (standard Diamond Midfield with Jenna Richmond and Frances Silva) -------------------------Amy Rodriguez---Sarah Hagen --------------------------------Lauren Holiday ------------------Erika Tymrak--------------Frances Silva -------------------------------Jenna Richmond Kasey Kallman---Amy LePeibet---Becky Sauerbrunn---Leigh Ann Robinson This is in my opinion, the best formation we could have. Rodriguez and Hagen would be paired up top, but with the inclusion of Richmond and Silva onto the line up. Our mode of attack changes completely. Firstly, Richmond by herself would help improve our defense just because she rarely ever turns the ball over with bad passes. Instead of the one touch passes that Buczkowski favors, we would have a midfielder that would keep the ball and hold it and take tackles to move the ball up. What this does it opens space for other players to run into for Richmond to pass. By taking a defender on that Richmond does so well, she eliminates one marking player that her team mates would have to face and the run of play can get started. Richmond is very vital in the run of play since she most frequently starts it. Frances Silva's inclusion is also important in that you would have 3 play makers in the midfield that will use their vision to create options for the offense. Instead of Merrit Mattias who lacks that vision and seems to only want to rush the byline to send crosses in. This only facilitates the forward driven offense if Mattias does this. But by replacing Mattias with Silva, you then can go back to a midfield driven offense. With Silva, Tymrak on the wings, you have players that don't look at the cross as a first option, but trying to attack the defender on the dribble as a first option. And that is a massive difference for how an offense conducts itself. With Silva, having both Rodriguez and Hagen up top would work out very good because you have the option of having Rodriguez race to the side lines and beat defenders with her pace or you have Hagen you can hold up and check by to the midfield and get players like Holiday into the offense or be the target forward option in free kicks or corner kicks. The inclusion of Jenna Richmond and Frances Silva in the line up is critical for the role of our offense. Yes they are both rookies, but they both do not play like one. Richmond in my opinion has been playing like a rookie of the year player. And Silva's impact cannot not be understated, she needs more time on the pitch. It should be very interesting how Andonovski makes his adjustments.
I think KC finds a way to put Arod and Hagen on the field at the same time whether it's in a 4-2-3-1 (my preference) or a 4-4-2 (which could work with Hagen who is an actual hold up forward unlike Bogus. I'm excited that KC has the depth to experiment. The Houston game was a chance for the non national teamers to make a statement and with the exception of Mathias,Marlborough , and probably Laddish they did. I'm excited that we have enough depth to win and give players rest at the same time. Sure, it will take some time to hell offensively but there's lots of firepower. Silva, Gorry, Henderson, Mathias and Gorry may not start every game but will contribute. And that's ok.
It's funny you mentioned Seattle being more dynamic, but then don't suggest a 4-3-3. I think if they want to keep both A-Rod and Hagen on the field a 4-3-3 might be best. Move Tymrak up top, Hagen in the center, and A-Rod to the right. Mathias goes to the bench or RB.
Tymrak up top? I don't think that would work, Tymrak and Rodriguez are both left footed. Silva might be the better choice up top since she played forward at West Virginia. 4-3-3 formation -----------------Amy Rodriguez---Sarah Hagen---Frances Silva -------------Erika Tymrak---Jenna Richmond---Lauren Holiday Kasey Kallman---Amy LePeibet---Becky Sauerbrunn---Leigh Ann Robinson Probably what I would go with. I'm not against this so long as it includes players like Silva and Richmond, but if Buczkowski or Bogus start over any of them then this formation will not be effective. Plus the Blues are all about clogging the middle up, its why they go with 2 holding mids to add numbers in the middle of the pitch. A 4-3-3 this could be problematic since the forwards would have to do quite a bit of defending or Holiday ends up sitting deep which I do not want. Holiday has to be further up to receive balls from her holding mids. She shouldn't be putting so much energy defending. Its why the 4-2-3-1 really caters to the midfield attack and Lauren Holiday can be the general, not sitting deep.
I would not mind if Andonovski goes with this line up. Has to have Richmond and Silva in it to retain the midfield focused offense. Any other player will cater to the forwards. Bogus or Mattias on wing would just be trying to go direct down the side lines sending crosses in which cuts out our midfield from making plays. We need the midfielders dictating play, not the forwards. -------------------------Amy Rodriguez---Sarah Hagen --------------------------------Lauren Holiday ------------------Erika Tymrak--------------Frances Silva -------------------------------Jenna Richmond Kasey Kallman---Amy LePeibet---Becky Sauerbrunn---Leigh Ann Robinson
With the arrival of Hagen and Gorry, Bogus' permanent home should be on the bench. Or with another team. She's been out with injury for weeks and hasn't been missed.
Yes. She would fit in perfectly in the Rapinoe spot in Seattle's 4-3-3. Her role would basically be the same as in the 4-2-3-1, whereas if she plays midfield in a 4-3-3, then she has a lot more defensive responsibility. Just because you are left footed doesn't mean you have to play on the left side of the pitch. I've seen A-Rod have some great shots on goal from the right side of the box using her left foot. Sure, but the premise of what I suggested was getting A-Rod and Hagen on the pitch together while keeping a similar system to what they have been successful with. So why suggest they play with only 1 DM? My suggestion had Buczkowski and Richmond in the Fishlock and Winters roles. In the 4-3-3 I suggested, when defending it basically turns into the 4-2-3-1. The one difference in my suggestion from what they do now is that A-Rod would have defensive responsibilities. Your suggestion of only having one DM would cause Holiday to have to defend more and drop back more. That's why I suggested a 4-3-3 with two DMs. With my suggestion if you couldn't tell so far, Holiday would be the center of the offense in the same way that Little is with Seattle.
This is a good suggestion, and I think it utilizes strengths nicely. This line-up isdefinitely something KC should consider but it's gotta have Buz and Richmond defensively. As for your Seattle comparison...Pro: I think Hagen is a better true hold-up forward than any of Seattles forwards. Cons: I'm not sure this midfield can cover enough ground...Little is a freak, and I'm just not as impressed with Holidays work rate. And Fishlock/Winters combo is more athletic than the Buz/Richmond combo. But hey, KC has listed themselves as a 4-3-3 before. Last seasons 3-2 win over Portland the line up was listed as... Barney Robinson-Brunn-Sess-Mewis Scott-Holiday-Buz Mathias-Henderson-Tymrak Subs: Farrelly, Jones, Noyola Which isn't that different from what u suggest. I bet we see it actually. With stronger off the bench options of Gorry, Silva, Mathias, Henderson
Welcome to NWSL Ms. Hagen. You will be a Household Name in this Ligg. It will be a pleasure to watch you play and develop into the next Wambach Prototype from the factory line.
I truly hope Sarah is in the running for one of those few forward spots for the World Cup. There are just so many forwards now to choose from. Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, Amy Rodriguez, Christen Press and Sarah Hagen. I don't think the USWNT will be using 6 forwards for the World Cup sadly, they normally don't send that many forwards. So Sarah will need to be a force in the league if she wants to put her name on that coveted list to the World Cup roster.