It's never too early to start a thread for the following season and it seems this offseason may be as busy as the one 2 years ago. So its pretty clear that the biggest question in the offseason is, will Kim stay or go. In the below podcast, Laura touch on this a bit and from what I can gather, it seems Little is still undecided and that the biggest question for her will likely be one of ambition. What more can she do in the NWSL? Is there another challenge that she want to take on? http://www.sounderatheart.com/2015/...-seattle-reign-nwsl-championship-sounders-mls I seriously have no clue about this but let me hear your ideas. At least the good news is that it sounds like Harvey is here for life, if the Predmore's want her to that is.
Right now I'm leaning towards Little returning to Europe after the season, especially if Seattle wins the final. If that gets accomplished, there really isn't anything left for her to achieve over here. It would suck to see her leave, since she's such an amazing player to watch. But I'd bet money on some clubs in Europe making offers to Little that would be far more lucrative than what Seattle would be able to offer. That might be too tempting to pass up. While a very small part of me would prefer her leaving, since that hurts Seattle, as a fan of the league I want the best players possible playing in the US. My take on the Reign as a whole is that there are going to be changes made in the offseason regardless of the outcome of the final. I could see quite a few bench warmers wanting out. The club has a great atmosphere, but if a player has a choice between staying in Seattle and picking up a few garbage minutes once in a while, or moving to a different club that might not be quite as strong but would have starting spots available, many would pick the latter option.
So what I'm hearing is that Reign fans should be rooting for KC to win so that Little will want to come back next year...
Take that back. Nah I think I'm mentally preparing myself for it and if she leaves, that just means it'll be another adventure to see who can step in her place.
LOL. Well I don't know if that would convince her to stay anyway, so might as well root for them to win.
For me I guess the concensus will be that the biggest draw out there for Little is the CL, when it comes to the club stage. With that in mind, there are only a handful of teams that she could join that has a legit chance of winning. With a player of Little stature, you have to think she won't or better yet shouldn't settle for being a bench player. Which means that rules out teams like Lyon, PSG, Wolfsburg, etc as they are pretty stacked at her position. Others like FC Rosengard that lost Mittag and Bachmann this year could use her help. It will also be great seeing her play alongside someone like Marta. Then there's Bayern who is a young and exciting team that she could fit in with as well. Given that all the good players are fleeing Sweden, I think if she's looking to play CL football, Bayern is her best bet. Harvey on the other hand was quick to point out though that Little does not find the NWSL stale yet. I partially disagree especially if the Reign win the title this year. Even I myself is finding the league a bit stale. Hopefully given we about to start a new chapter in women's professional soccer in this country by entering that elusive fourth year, the powers to be will hopefully make some changes to spice things up.
I can see why you would think the league is becoming a bit flat. We've had 3 seasons, so the feeling of it being new and fresh that carried us through the first season and having an expansion team in the second season has worn off. Hopefully the introduction of Orlando and the roster shakeups that come with expansion will help.
With the ongoing Little discussion, we shouldn't forget the rest of the squad as there could be some shake up. Let's look at them individually shall we: Sure things Hope Solo - Will retire a Reign. She lives in Seattle and plays for a team that gets her and she appears to like them so given her age, I don't see her going anywhere. Haley Kopmeyer - With it being an Olympics year, she will be with the team for next year. Her long term future depends on when Solo plans to retire, if it is not anytime soon, she might look for a starting role in the near future but not next year. Lauren Barnes - Unless she is left unprotected and picked in the expansion draft, I do not see her requesting to leave or the team looking to move her. Rachel Corsie - Will be here as long as Fishlock is here. And I guess the decision has been made a lot easier for Harvey and the owners as she has proven to be a quality defender after not starting the first couple of games. Stephanie Cox - Another player who I think not only will she retire a Reign, but she just might join the coaching staff at some point. Kiersten Dallstream - For some unknown reason, Harvey loves Dallstream and given that she's a very competent utility player, I think she stays. For example, I was much more impressed with her this season than the last especially going forward. Kendall Fletcher - Club should do everything in their power to keep her. She also have her NWSL/W-League routine figured out so I think she's set until retirement. Jessica Fishlock - Will need to be surgically removed from this team so I think she stays. I think that decision obviously became easier with the arrival of Corsie. Megan Rapinoe - See Hope Solo. Another player I think will retire with this club. Katrine Veje - Very exciting player and I think she will be back for the whole season. Keelin Winters - Another lifer here. Don't see her going anywhere. Beverly Yanez - Will be with this team as long as she wants. Undecided Mariah Bullock - Another player who I think is comfortable with her role on the Reign. I'm not sure with her being married where she and her husband plan on staying but given that they both went to standard, I'm guessing it is somewhere on the west coast which means she might want to be closer to him as much as possible as a newly wed. So if she is not left in the wilderness and chosen, I think she will be back. Kim Little - There's not much left to be said here. Havana Soluan - Your guess here is as good as mine Gone Caroline Stanley - Will be waived as she was only signed when Solo and Kop got hurt. Michelle Cruz - No idea but leaning towards being gone. Amber Brooks - I think she's gone as this wasn't the best marriage for both. Most likely back to Germany as well. Unless she feels she's too old now and don't want to do the playing abroad anymore and might look to join one of the east coast teams to be closer to her family. I think a team like Washington could benefit very much from her services. Washington have a surplus of average to below average DMs that they need to make a decision on going forward if they want to take that next step. Danielle Foxhoven - Still haven't proven herself after 2 seasons with this team and she was given ample opportunity. I therefore think she will be waived and some team might snatch her up. Merritt Mathias - Someone I believe who Harvey had a high opinion off in the beginning but didn't live up to it. I think her stink with this club is similar to Leroux's actually. Once Harvey start using code words like "hard worker" to describe her forwards, you should know your time is up. Elli Reed - Something happened to this player after she returned from Australia. With Fletcher now capable of playing RB, I think Reed will be let go and Harvey may chose to go with a rookie as backup and to free up some cap space.
Yes I'm sad that we are not extending the season but hopefully that is next especially with more MLS teams joining and they can raise the cap. But I need something exciting to happen.
My thoughts on the roster: Stays: Solo- I laughed at the thought of her leaving or Harvey trading her. Kopmeyer- She's come a long way from that rough game as a rookie. Too valuable with the Olympics next year. Barnes- The Reign's best defender this year. Corsie- Comes with Fishlock, but would be safe ragardless. Fletcher- She can do both NWSL and W-League as long as there's no burnout. Fishlock- She's way too loyal to Harvey/Seattle to even think about leaving. Rapinoe- Too valuable to give up, even with missing time for NT duty. Veje- I was skeptical, but she's adapted well to the US game. Very valuable with Denmark not going to the Olympics. Winters- Another no-brainer, although I'm not as high on her as some others. Yanez- Is thriving with the Reign, and no good coach would trade their top scoring forward away. On the fence: Reed- If Cox stays, Reed is gone. If Cox retires, Reed may stay. Little- I've already given my thoughts on her. Cox- She's said that this might be her last season, but did not definitely say she would retire. Bullock- She might be happy with being a sub for Seattle, but only so many players can be protected in expansion, and a team like Orlando wouldn't pass up the chance to get a decent DM. Goes: Brooks- I feel for her, because she was drawn back to the US with the vague promise of further call-ups, only to be relegated to a bench warmer. But there simply isn't room for her in the current Reign team. Cruz- Almost no playing time is never a good sign for a player's future. Foxhoven- One of Harvey's rare misses. She's done squat in two seasons. A move elsewhere might be what she needs. Mathias- The emergence of Veje is not good news for her. Stanley- May stick as a reserve for when Solo is gone for the Olympics. Solaun- Being the first pick for the Reign is becoming hazardous to your health. Nairn was the exception.
If there's a midfielder anywhere that can keep Little on the bench she was either strangely absent from the WWC or terribly off form.
I expect that she'd have a hard time displacing Nécib at Lyon and Marozsán at Frankfurt. But other than that, I think you're right. Although Marozsán has had a lot of injury issues lately, so maybe Frankfurt would still work. And I guess either team could play one or the other out of position... Seattle has done that with Little at times and France has done that with Nécib.
As expected, Jess will be on "Loan" during the off season. This kinda possibly confirms that she might be resigning with the Reign?? And I also stressed the loan part for @kernel_thai benefit as he has become obsessed with it. "I have something planned and I'm really excited" - Wales midfielder @JessFishlock More: http://t.co/kyFZMPFv4D pic.twitter.com/Hsl3MYpx4b— BBC Sport Wales (@BBCSportWales) September 20, 2015 Now the question remains, where? My first guess is in the W-League. If not that than possibly Glasgow City?
I trust you on this. Will be an interesting move to France actually. Which brings me to if it is indeed a loan move, why do they need Fishlock? Certainly not for the domestic lead as they can win that with their eyes closed. Even if it is for champions league, that don;t get competitive until maybe the semis or possibly the quarters if you are unlucky. Depending on the schedule, Jess might miss the finals again so basically all you have is the quarters and semis. It's not my money so I can't complain too much but it seems like a waste. On the other hand, good on Jess for taking advantage of this and getting to play in France.
Ahh Ok. Than this seems like a good fit. Will Corsie also be joining? I always thought Lyon was short on defenders
Maybe I'm in denial but the way I heard Harvey, it sounded like her stating professionally that she can't take for granted that Little will re-sign. I didn't hear her actually expecting Little to go somewhere else tho. It just seemed to me as much as Harvey is passionate and a cheerleader for the team and players, she was keeping a professionally respectful boundary - while commenting honestly on the podcast her thoughts on Little's options.
These are pretty much my thoughts as well. I will say that if Cox retires, either Reed or Cruz will stick around.
Makes sense to me. Reed goes back to RB, Fletcher goes back to CB, Barnes slides over to LB. Remember, Barnes was always a LB at UCLA, it's her natural position. Barnes won't be quite as dangerous an attacking player on the left side as Cox but she still may be one of the more dangerous ones in the league unless her service skills have declined from lack of use the last four or five years. When she was at UCLA, she was just about the best at free kicks in college, quite superior to anyone's left foot currently on the US national team. I can say that with a fair amount of certainty because Holiday (Cheney) takes free kicks for the US now. At UCLA, where they played on the same team, that never happened. On corner kicks, for example, from the right side, Barnes always took the kick -- her service was so superior. Some good observations (from BlueCrimson and Reign and others) -- this was, of course, a very good, deep team, but one which will feel the (presumed) departure of Little and Cox. It may require more radical changes than we're contemplating because losing Little, for example, changes almost everything to some degree. My most radical thought at the moment is this - that Fishlock may take over the #10 duties. Of course, it won't be a seamless transition; of course, Fishlock's not as good as Little in that role. But the point is, who is? Short of getting Vero, Miyama, Abily or one or two others, Seattle's not going to find someone who can do what Little does. Fishlock's enormously talented and she may be as good as anyone else in the league once Little departs for Europe, as we're assuming she will. If so, what does that mean? Room for both Bullock and Amber Brooks, doesn't it? Unless Veje plays the midfield when Rapinoe is with the team, instead of putting Veje's left foot on the right side (or middle, where I think her left foot is wasted) I think Mathias did very well in her role as the CF. Of course, it'd be nice to have someone who can find the back of the net more often so it's possible to look for an upgrade. But it's also possible, given the salary cap and other constraints on finding a replacement, that Mathias remains Seattle's best option there
On the topic who stays or goes, I think it's trickle down effect depending on Little and Cox - Brooks...unless she is packaged in a trade I could see Brook making it to January at least. If Little goes Harvey might see a Brooks/Fishlock/Winters midfield for 2016. If Little stays then Brooks is a prefect player to leave off the protected list as bait in the Orlando expansion draft. Of course if Brooks is out of contract and Little remains she might as well look elsewhere than resign for a 5 minute a match role. - Cox...being a volunteer HS coach isnt going to stop her from playing if she is still having fun. - Mathias - I think she stays. While not spectacular she is certainly serviceable and can play anywhere on the outside. - Reed - has gone from talk of an NT snub to no where ... unless other player moves guarantees her a starting chance I think she takes her skill set a bit south to Portland. She has been a good soldier and I doubt Harvey stands in her way.