Thank you heartplay for being fair.I am so tired of the bashing of players and coaches and even people in the back ground of the ussa.It so clear that some people who post here are not fair so i will move on .Maybe we will let Fear and m9fantic pick the team and the staff
You know what? Thats the point of a discussion board. To give your oppinion. If my oppinion happens to upset you than that is not really my problem. It's also not my problem that i'm not alone in my oppinion. It's also not my problem or my fault that you can't see how much Mitts sucks and doesn't deserve to be starting over Pearcie. She isn't good enough. End of story.
ok if it matters that much to you please just learn how to spell it correctly. i'm kinda sick of the player bashing too but... i choose to read it anyway so that falls on me. this is the place for OPINIONS... as well as facts and whatever else ya can throw in there. the one thing everyone does seem to agree on is that pretty much everyone played bad. so my opinion would be that it has to do with one or more of the factors that effects the whole team.... ex. field, coaches, weather, or my best guess.... the fact that they're probably overtraining in camp, which i wouldn't blame on them. maybe they'll taper well into the tournament (cuz i'm doubting they tapered well into this particular match) and do great. that's my hope. just my pocket change.
but Mitts commitment to the team and to the game of soccer is unbelievable (she can be compared to chastain in this area), she turned down an offer from a tv local station and be with the nat instead.
I'm not exactly new to BIGSOCCER. I used to go by a different name a few years ago, but I follow every day. But this discussion has struck a nerve and I feel that I must post again. The Mitts bashing is unwarranted. I was at the game in Louisville and I sat right behind the U.S. bench as I try to do at all Nats games I go to. First of all I watched the warm ups. Mitts looks more sharper with her strike of the ball then Rampone. They were warming up together. When Mitts recieved the ball from Scurry she was immediately covered and had no choice but to pas back to Joy or get rid of the ball. The turf gave everyone a problem with passing. Mitts is very fast. In fact several spectators that day mentioned so, maybe the fastest player on the team. I can see why Ape would try her at starting right back. Kate played worse, Joy didn't play all that well, Cat did worse, and Mitts actually cleared a ball that had everyone beat to save a possiblr goal. She went in hard for many 50/50 balls.I believe the game plan was not a good one. I have watched her in other games where she excelled. Now, I am not saying that she is better than Rampone in that position, but she is definately an asset, depending on the game plan. Seeing a game live is different than seeing it on TV sometimes. I like Mitts not for her looks but because she is a good athlete and a good soccer player. I hope she makes the team. I like Wagner's game in general but against Japan she looked slow. She got one good touch that resulted in a goal. Abby got a goal but was on the ground all day(what else is new!). I agree that Welsh should have been in there instead of Parlow. In fact I was yelling for April to put her in. I don't want to go into the rest of the team because most of it has been written already. Mitts had one bad game. So did everyone. Get over the looks! She is good enough to be on the team. By the way, I have read many of Beulah's reports and posts over the years, including on other sights. Though interesting and she is good for soccer talk, I don't agree with everything. Has Beulah ever played at a high level, coached or reff'd to be an absolute authority? Maybe. There are a lot of us on this sight who have, and we have our own opinion.
agree, by the way which player who is actualy better than her, on/off the field ? probably Foudy bashers out there would help me on this....
You know...its games like this when I miss Tisha Venturini....we need to do something about the playmaking. You know what I think? I think Lindsay Stoecker shoulda gotten a chance at camp. I think she would be a tremendous help. That being said... Since we have 70 go-jillion defenders...Why not play a formation like this: Scurry Rampone-Reddick-Fawcett-Markgraf Foudy-Chastain-Boxx-Lilly Hamm-Wambach Personally, I think Boxx could be a playmaker, she's big and strong like Akers was. Chastain has the defensive AND the offensive skills to play holding mid. Just my two cents. Or we could just get somebody to start stuffing Ape in a closet before every game...
Good lineup except that Brandi is not used to playing that role. I would like to see Chalupny in there. I've watched a few NC games this year, especialy when they played SC in the playoffs where she had great touch, was aggressive and did whatever she wanted at will. She just needs more playing time with the NT.
Wow, nobody nailed me for my rant last night--true thing, I was so sleepy I had to edit my post to correct my spelling of "ugh" and "sheesh"--didn't bother with editing anything else. I'm again sleepy but MAN, I just reread Beulah's game report. Again, I'll preface my comments with the fact I'm a MacMillan fan (so I guess a lot of people will just disregard my opinon, that's fine. But what, we can't be fans at Big Soccer? I sort of thought that's what it was about.) Anyway, formost I'm a soccer fan, and then a National Team fan. Now that I understand Beulah is not someone with some inside info: well, I'll continue my rant; points about Beulah's "game report" (even though for Mac it was just a bunch of odd rantings on what a disappointment she is overall.) I'm disappointed too--about the last game, and said as much in other posts. But the other stuff just bugged me: -Beulah said Mac hasn't "earned her way onto the field"; I don't think there has been a person in the history of sport that has come back from an ACL so fast. She can't be put in the group of players that have just always expected to be there (we know who they are.) She has always fought hard for her limited place on the Nats. -Welsh, O'Reilly, Chalupny are "more tactically sophisticated" then a 4 year assistant coach at UP? And they have "done more to deserve attention? Nope, not in my mind. -Beulah said Mac "doesn't see what's coming much of the time". I think it's the other way around; often Mac does on the field what others are not clever enough to follow. Coming off the bench is hard; you have to be able to read the game well, Mac has made a National Team career of it. -Beulah said Mac "doesn't create well for herself or others"; um, isn't she like 6th in all time scoring for the Nats and has a ton of assists? -What's with the weird "little sister" comment? What did it have to do with this game, and how does Beulah know about the personal dynamics of the Nats? From what I can garner from articles, MacMillan has been a very self sufficient person from the age of 17. This is so dumb to argue about (and I guess I'm just arguing with myself) because we all know MacMillan will be cut from the National Team. I don't think she deserves it, and believe she could have been one of our best players. Sorry I'm as long-winded as Beulah, and I should be posting over on her boards, but I just don't want to bother.
Howdy, I'm a longtime lurker, first-time poster. I've noticed that Abby being on the ground a lot has been mentioned a few times. But watching the game on TV and seeing some of the hits that she took, I was worried she wouldn't get back up at all!!! Most opposing teams attack Abby (poor girl...), swarm Abby, pull and tug on Abby... I'd think that takes a toll on a player. *shrugs* Just my two cents.
I back up my opinion (there is that better?) that Mitts shouldn't be on the team with the fact that she has never played better than Pearcie. I have said that many times. If you think that’s bashing that’s your problem. I think the entire team played lousy in the first half, I single out Mitts because of all the players who played on Sunday (with the exception of Lucks) she's the only one who is not US Nats caliber. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And for the record yophilly.. I don't give a crap what Mitts looks like. You keep insisting that we don't like her because "we can't get past the looks". No one but you has mentioned the looks. So it seems that the only person this hang up is you.
Correct me if I'm wrong 6th man... But you have Bivens at left back...the spot normally occupied by Sobs...in the past three WUSA seasons...I don't remember Kylie playing left back (obviously I could be wrong though). Did she play in that position on occassion for the Beat or when she was at SCU? If she did play left back, how did she play in that position? If that stuff is unknown, then I much rather go with a known left back such as BChaz or Sobs or whoever else has played there regularly.
I disagree. I don,t know if you read my earlier post, but I think Mitts IS good enough to make the team. I went to the game in Louisville and sat behind the U.S. bench and Mitts was not the worst player that day. Cat, Joy, Kate, all had bad days. I can see why April would play her on outside back because she is one of the fastest if not the fastest player on the team. And I have seen her play live many times as well as the rest of the NATS, not just on TV and she does have good enough skill for the National Team. I hope she plys in Nashville and Blaine, cause I will be there again. And as far as Lucks is concerned, I watched her warm up before the game. She took shots from the Team and rarely dropped the ball. She cleanely handled most shots as when I saw Siri before, she would deflect, drop, pickup, drop, etc. I don,t know how they showed her on TV cause I didn't tape it, but she is very athletically built in lower body and is fairly tall.
I just watched the tape of the game, the Japan's goal was clearly offside. It's so hard to watch this tape, i feel so pain and hurt right after the game and went to my room and cried for hours on my bed until my dad came in and gave me his credit card and said go out shopping, forget about it and lets just hope they will play better next time..., thanks dad, i said.
Go watch it again. She had the right defender (Mitts I think) ahead of her when the pass was made. SORRY! Onside.
I'm not just judging her or anyone else based on this one game alone. I think I can make my point clearer in this way.... of all the defenders in current consideration... Joy, Brandi, Pearcie, Sobs, Cat and Mitts... Mitts does not have the talent to warrant a start over any of them..... Unless they're hurt and she's the only option. Her speed means nothing if she can't read the game well or make better decisions. Regardless of what the broadcasters said, she isn't as good as her hype. But just out of curiosity... how many times have you seen her play live with the Nats. And I ask this cause I want to put your opinion in perspective, playing in the WUSA -vs- playing at the international level.
Bivens has played the left side for the WNT, SCU and the Beat. She also has played the left side in mid-field during the World Cup too. She even played left forward for SCU. I think Bivens and Pearce can play both sides. While Bivens is not left footed, her crosses are strong and on the mark.
For all the Bivens fans out there, it doesn't look to good for her right now, as far as the Olympics. She hasn't played for the Nats in quite a while and with only three more friendlies to go, its a little late for her to be brought back into the mix, unless there's an injury or something like that. Like someone mentioned earlier in this thread (or a different one, I dont remember), Bivens needs about another year of international experience to become a more complete and smart player. Especially with more and more of the vets retiring (sad as it is), it allows more roster spots to be up for grabs. I would like to see her more as a flank middie (she can play wither left or right), where she can use her hard tackles and physical style of play to her advantage, and not have to worry AS MUCH about giving up dangerous free kicks.
How many times have you seen her live, either with the WNT or the Charge ? Granted the WUSA is a step from National Team, but if you can dominate in the WUSA... You would be ready for international She dominated at her position for the Charge. She can adjust from inside to outside easily She can step in and preform well at national level. She has had many starts this year, most of which were not seen on TV. Her respect comes from Internationals and teammates. Also, What player would you put in her place ?
Live... once. On TV with the Charge many. On TV with the Nats... few. But I've never claimed otherwise. What has been a factor is this: from everything I've seen IMO she is not better than the others and therefore doesn't deserve to be starting over them. I did however catch the highlights of the oly qualifying game against Mexico on Spanish TV. She was directly responsible for one goal. She made a really bad play, a bad read and let her keeper get slammed. On the second one she wasn't directly responsible for the play that led up to the goal. However she was caught up field way out of position. She seems to do that a lot. In the game against Brazil(in april) she gave up the ball a lot. I remember she let her attacker beat her on that goal. And she looked lost, she got lots of help from Pearcie in that game. You just made my point. She played well in the WUSA. Certainly for the Charge. But honestly I don't think that’s an automatic guarantee that a player would do well at the international level. In her place? On the roster or the starting line up? I honestly think the only reason she's been starting is because Joy was rehabing her back. And Brandi was "supposedly" having issues. (i think that's just Ape bull) If Slaton was healthy I don't think Mitts would even make the traveling roster. Unfortunatly that is not the case. But for all this... it's probably meaningless. We'll see what happens next game. Joy is healthy now. Brandi proved she isn't done. And once again Rampone let her coach know she should be starting. Given all this Mitts should be relegated to bench warmer.
Speed Kills when used correctly. I watch a lot of Fire games and Demarcus Beasley destroys defenses because of his speed or maybe you remember what happened to Jeff Agoos during the Men's World Cup because of his lack of it. He got destroyed. Look, I'm not saying that she should start over Rampone, but used correctly (I don't know if April knows how to do this), she can be sent in to give a different look or option. She has an athletic gift that cannot be taught and her ball skills are not that bad and because of that, IMO she should make the Olympic Team. For a fairly short player, she seems pretty fearless on 50/50 balls and one on ones. At least that's what I see. We'll see.