Dash 2016

I'm not sure what Dash can offer, but Spirit has two good CBs sitting on the bench: Oyster and Zadorsky and they might be willing to trade one of them.

 

I'm very doubtful that Krieger will retire soon. She said multiple times that's not something she's planning right now. I don't think they need Brooks either. Maybe 2018 draft picks [emoji1]

 

If Waldrum is back, I am out.

 

Dash fans, Waldrum is a good coach but he has to have stability AND control. He needs to know if his players will be there week by week. I also think the Dash just have to do a little tweaking and they will be in the play-offs.

As a Notre Dame fan I wasn't that enamored with him at the beginning of his tenure at ND when he took over from Chris Petrucelli in 1999 although he did make the NCAA Final in his first year against North Carolina. I didn't think he was as good a coach as Petrucelli. But as the years went bye, he built a rhythm and his recruiting was off the hook. He was able to compete with Anson Dorrance for some of the best players in the country, and I became a Waldrum fan.

Randy Waldrum ended up winning many Big East Championships and 2 NCAA Championships as Head Coach of Notre Dame. And if it wasn't for North Carolina in the nineties, ND would have won many more NCAA Championships.

Give Waldrum some time and he will build a steady top team in NWSL in Houston.

 

On one hand, I think that you probably should have your stability and such settled by the time you hit your third year in charge. And I have to say, if you're leading by 2 at any time in the second half of a game, you should win. Houston's had two massive blown tires in just the second half of this season.

On the other hand, there are far more signs of progress this season than previously. I think Houston finally got an excellent international (incl. Canadian) contingent this year, and both Ohai and Lloyd proved they can produce, although both did so too late in the season to make enough of a difference. Clearly, what killed this team was the ridiculous six-game stretch of 0-1 losses. You can argue that the Dash weren't disciplined enough (over the entire season) to deserve more than their record, but I think many of those 0-1's could and should have been wins if the Dash players just learned how to finish their chances. I mean, a six-game losing streak for an undisciplined team may be reasonable, but when you lose all of them by the exact same slimmest of margins, I think that's just insanely bad luck.

Blown tires aside, 2016 was a tale of two seasons for the Dash. If the second-half Dash show up at the beginning of next season and stick through the entire year, I'd be perfectly fine with Waldrum and most/all players staying. However, I agree that if the Dash get off to a slow start in 2017, probably time for a coaching change then. While I think Waldrum should stay for now, I also think that the Dash organization had better have someone on speed dial.

 

I'm not thrilled about this decision either, but I'll probably support them anyway. But as we already heard from DynamoManiac, if he stays, he stays for the whole season. Apparently they don't like to fire coaches mid-season.

 

The best draft ever is already lost and I really hope they won't be able to draft Sullivan in 2018 due to high position in the standings (not to mention possible expansion).

 

She sounds like a coach already

We Cougs feel her fruitless-corner-kicks pain

Now I wonder what Waldrum sounds like when he's giving coach-speak soundbites.

 

Following a few links, it sounds like the Women's AFL will be a two-or-three-month league, February to April. So, in theory, Brush could come back to the States in time for NWSL, but it'd be a tight fit. She'd also now have two salaries back in Australia, so there's probably less incentive to come back to Houston, especially if soccer is just her second sports love.

 

Dash would need to want to resign her since her 2 year just ended. Not sure they will if they think they can get an upgrade with that international spot. Defense is still something they need to work on.
I actually liked the Brush and Privett pairing. I'm not sold on Roccaro yet.

 

That whole back line was just so-so. No one was terrible, yet none was good or great.

 

She's not coming back

 

Houston should to move heaven & earth to get Romero back. I still that, of all Houston's roster moves, was the most idiotic. Just gotta wait until her rights with Seattle expire... I'm sure Houston can offer her more now as an international free agent (yes I know there technically are no such things in NWSL) than whatever the FMF gave her as an allocated player.

 

Sure you know Romero doesn't require an international spot since she's American. Not a particularly likely move, though, with Poliana at right back. The big need remains CB where they are far from a solution still. Brush won't be back, Roccaro has been unimpressive so far and Privett is raw.

From intl spot standpoint, rumor is NWSL is dropping back down to 3 intl spots per team next season, which would leave Dash with 4 (acquired a permanent spot from FCKC). O'Sullivan, Poliana and Daly hold down three of those. If Andressa comes back, she'd have the 4th.

 

I pray Andressa comes back. I guess the question there is, if she doesn't, do they go after another Brazilian? It seems like the idea is to always pair them due in large part to the very little English they can speak.