Dash 2018

I don't think Waldrum could blame the qualities of the player near the end. He had Andressinha, Brooks & Brian in the midfield. Ohai, Lloyd & Daly across the front. He never quite got the defense right but he certainly didn't have a lack of talent. Paul is a different type of coach. She is organized and gives her players set roles. I think that is a positive step for the Dash. But that does her no good if she can't get the talent right. They had Hanson rated above players like Quinn even tho were desperate for defenders. They had Simon rated above everyone but Lavelle in the dispersal draft. They r turning away experienced players at defensive position and turning attacking players like Agnew, Mewis, Daly & Keever into defenders. If she is wrong on a lot of this how do u let continue to handle the talent on ur team?

 

Ok, we pretty much agree then.

That's a really good question. Given Waldrum was brought back for a 4th year despite a very, very long list of issues, I'd have to assume that they'd chalk it up to a learning year and retain her. Kind of like with Owen Coyle on the Dynamo side. They went in with best of intentions, he was horrible, they brought him back, he was worse and then they finally fired him.

Not that I'm comparing Pauw to Coyle, I would curse my worst enemy with that comparison.

 

Certainly she talks a much better game. She is far more organized. It's a professional environment which you couldn't really have said before. She's not perfect, she's made a lot of poor decisions thus far in how she deals with players that have a locker room impact.

Unfortunately, they are clearly too cheap to hire a knowledgeable GM. A strong, knowledgeable GM would have been able to counter-act some of the naive roster things she's done (from an NWSL perspective).

She's also going to run into the structural issues Waldrum had in terms of the team being cheap. They still aren't doing fitness training,because they don't have a fitness trainer. In the past it has been a cost issue but kind of get a sense that it is by choice with Vera.

If you watched the Facebook Live event today where Janine Van Wyk was talking, she doesn't directly discuss Vera not doing fitness training but she does get into a lot of Vera's philosophical differences with how US teams train. Which is all well and good except that is the league you are trying to compete in. Figure come summer, they are again going to look gassed way before opponents.

 

I think they have to strike a balance. Pauw seems to believe that over training leaves a lot in practice while conventional wisdom in this country is what u put in on the train field brings dividends in matches. For me Im still not seeing how she gets the ball to the attackers or how they r able to defend for most of matches.

 

It's interest to hear her plans (mostly via JVW). I thought they overtrained in the first 3 years and it showed up in matches. I think it was year 2 when Waldrum and the team wanted to move practices to evening. They were overruled based on something about staffing at the facility in the evenings or some such. If Vera gets what Randy wanted and was shot down on, that is in and of itself a change.

The fitness training, though, I think she's way off base and org has been. Year 2 and 3 they had part-time access to a Dynamo fitness trainer. Last year they didn't even have that. I remember Lloyd returning from Man City and going, "this team is in terrible physical condition, can't play 90 mins". Fans so that too, the only players that could be counted on to keep playing to the end were Daly, Brooks and Ohai (before injury). Not coincidentally, they were the players that worked hard on being physically fit independently.

 

The first yes, the second I would assume. You're getting a full on view of how cheap the org is right now. When the Boston dispersal draft happened, word is Canetti didn't realize they actually had to pay the Boston players. So, they aren't going to go over 20 through the season. Hence waiving Weimer after trading for her, even though no cap cost or roster cost in keeping her. Dealing Okvist for a 3rd round pick. Once we get past this month and SJP is healthy, I'll be shocked if they don't waive Henninger.

 

Not waived, but traded. She didn't really play much in Portland so I'm guessing Pauw wasn't impressed either, but at least, perhaps they recognized that she had enough value to be able to trade her. Whether a 3rd round pick is a good return or not, we'll see this season.

The real mistake was taking her in the dispersal draft to begin with. When you look at some of the established NWSL players that they could have had that would have helped the team, and instead they took an international player that was probably more expensive too, made no sense.

 

This Houston crap is saddening for me, because I really like quite a few of their players, such as Ohai, Daly, Brooks, Henniger, Mewis, and Hahn

 

Add this to the list of FO achievements

NEWS | Washington Spirit claims forward @TiffanyWeimer off waivers

📰 https://t.co/OxEB6FUm5G#WeWill // #SpiritFam pic.twitter.com/tKYHB7Z4KW

— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) March 21, 2018

 

So, recapping the continuing saga. They traded Okvist who they selected with their #2 Distribution pick and didn't need a cap spot, a roster spot or and INT spot to Orlando for a 3rd round pick. They also had the player they traded Washington for who also didn't need a cap spot or roster spot (4th round pick) claimed off waivers by they team they traded to.

 

I don't know what the situation is in Houston, only what I've read here and elsewhere. It appears there may be some serious issues with Houston's management -- maybe.

From what I understand about good soccer management, at least in the US, there are two key people responsible for a team: a General Manager and a Coach. There also can be a third, the Owner. If there's a problem in Houston, where is it? Coach, General Manager, Owner? Or, is there a financial issue with the larger Houston enterprise that's affecting the women's team? Or is there no problem? Or is there a weather problem (the possibility being that Houston just isn't a good soccer site for weather reasons)?

 

In the past, I'd say at all three levels. Right now, ongoing issue is ownership and management.

Ownership is really cheap. You can get sense of it by looking at their unwillingness to go over 20 players with the Boston players. Waived Weimer even after dealing a pick for her rather than pay her salary. Dealt Okvist.

Management has a lot of issues, but honestly one of the biggest is failure to change their way of thinking from dealing with higher paid MLS players. When players are paid tiddlywinks, you have to adopt a different way of thinking about them and treating them. They've always treated players like commodities.

 

Dash r currently considering offering Dubai a third round pick to get Kgatlana back.

 

Probably wouldn't be worth it. Like Amber Brooks tweeted, though, she had to go back and get her visa sorted.

 

It's a small thing until u throw it in the pile with all the other small things and one big thing. Im starting to think my categorizing the team as rebuilding was an over estimation. This is starting to look like an expansion team.

 

There's a reason why 3 South Africans came and 2 don't have any issues. Amber Brooks hinted at that when she said it is not the fault of the organization.

 

Well, the Press saga has concluded for now. Houston will be looking to make use of her rights at the end of the season.

 

What I've read is unclear about when her contract with Goteborg runs out. One source said the contract is "until summer" and another said "through summer." She may still be "in play" later in the season.

 

I saw three months which means July. At that point she can either leave and sign elsewhere or exercise a player option to remain.

via Caitlin Murray https://www.prosoccerusa.com/nwsl/c...weden-skips-nwsl-after-houston-dash-standoff/

 

At this point it seems like it can go two ways as I really doubt Press wants to be in Sweden. Come the summer European transfer window she can sign a very nice deal with someone like PSG and hope it doesn't undermine her chances at the WC roster OR Houston can move her rights allowing Press to winter in Europe if she chooses and return to the NWSL in 2019. Since Houston seems determined to get a USNT player back from a Press deal, an expansion club, if there is one, seems to be their best course. There r always limits on the number of USNT players u can protect in expansion so there should be some in play. This works well for Press if there is expansion in LA, San Jose or Vancouver, all of which have been named at one time or the other.

 

I can't see how she would be seeing she will be playing for a team that has been finishing near the bottom of the league.
I think Houston is in a good position, even if they trade her in July. There may be a team that is in the playoff picture and may feel she can help. Plus it will give Houston some time to figure out what they want to do. By then Pauw should have a much better idea of what type of players she will need to compete in the NWSL.

 

As long as Houston insists on getting a USNT player back I can't see a midseason trade. If ur trying to strengthen ur team for a playoff run u wouldn't want to be moving the NT players u already have. After the season anything is possible, especially if there is an expansion draft.