Funny-- I thought she was de facto saying boob jobs were ugly. And much as I like/appreciate honest scars, those do seem kinda dishonest and ugly to me.
Hope is off her rocker. Lloyd got plenty of plaudits in 2008 and 2012, for her game-winning Olympic goals. She got plenty of plaudits in 2015 after her hat trick in the World Cup final. She got plenty of plaudits in winning back to back FIFA POTY awards. What would make her happy? For Lloyd to play every minute of every game until she is 40 years old? For no other players on the WNT to ever be covered by the media? To have Lloyd's name written in Sharpie on the team sheet, to never have her place in the starting 11 or the roster questioned? She is speaking utter nonsense. Very classless to bring Morgan into the conversation and tacitly demean her on-the-field performance. But then class has never been Hope's strength. Her USSF candidacy is a joke. It's such a shame a more qualified, less embarrassing woman is not running instead.
If nothing else she did an excellent job showing she wouldn't be able to distance herself from her personal feelings to address USSF issues. On a more awkward note, I see Solo is to be honored at the Denmark match for her 200 caps.
Solo actually has a couple of good ideas as far as her candidacy goes, but she's just obviously unqualified for USSF president. She constantly seems to be demonstrating her lack of diplomacy. If you listen to the whole interview, besides her comments on Morgan and Lloyd, she pretty much throws all of her teammates under the bus by saying they wimped out (or were cowards, if you will) by agreeing to the new CBA. She also still makes the claim that she was terminated because of her fight for equal pay (and doesn't seem aware that all of the other players involved in the CBA fight are still on the team). As for other female candidates, Kathy Carter is running; she's very qualified. The issue with her candidacy is that she pretty much represents the "status quo," which no one is interested in.
Who is no one? The organization could definitely use more organization and beefing up, but from a business standpoint of growing the game and supporting the product in the US, many are in favor. USSF is nowhere near as large as some want to assume it is.
You're right. I should have said most fans don't want the "status quo." As for those who actually have a vote, I think there's quite a few who will vote for Carter, especially from the professional side. She'll certainly get more votes than Solo, I'm guessing.
We are 16 months and 14 days (11,976 Hours) from the opening Match of France 2019. File this firmly in the “But What the H. do I Know” file. As the Poster who is the most objective about and critical of the Team - - During this recent phase, JJ is out Carli Lloyding……Carli Lloyd. And one of JJ’s likely running mates - - Sam, has a hammer of a shot (like Carli) when she pulls the trigger. Carli’s professional approach to training, preparation, etc. would be of value to any Coach leading into a major competition that lasts a month, but the extent of that value may be determined by the makeup of the remainder of the Team. Named to the WC Squad or not, Carli’s irreplaceable value may be in pushing her Teammates to the extreme for the roster spots leading up to the Tournament because no one will work harder or be more motivated if she feels it slipping away. And as far as the Abby Wambach vocal leadership duties go – I believe we have that covered… I present Exhibit A: Kelly O’Hara is a Bad A** personified and will take guff from absolutely no one.
Unlike last time when Ellis had to dig up corpses in the backyard to keep Dunn from going to WC, this roster still looks amazingly open. I could see 26 or 27 still in real contention when Ellis is forced to announce a roster. Gonna be very interesting.
I suspect that players now virtually out of consideration include Franch, Huerta, Long, and Klingenberg. It's too bad in the case of Franch and Huerta. Franch could be our best goalkeeper and Huerta should still be in contention for right back. Well, there's always hope.....
The biggest problem with Franch is she is never going to get a chance to show her stuff for the A team. That makes the decision based on practice only and who the GK coach likes better. This is another reason why the US would be better with a B team than U 23s. If nothing else it would be a place for GKs to get actual reps under the eye of US coach. Would agree on Long and Klingenberg. Huerta is still in the trial stage. If O'Hara is now preferred on the left then Smith definitely needs a backup on the right. It was interesting that Sonnett got time as RFB against Denmark.
Solo was 26 before she got "a chance to show" what she could do. She got, what, over 200 caps even with suspensions. Franch is 27 and missed more than a year injured IIRC-- I'm as impatient as the next fella, but I think it is a little premature to say she'll never get a chance...
Correction: Solo was 19/20 when she got her first caps in 2000 and 2001. She was starting consistently when she was 24 (in 2005).
I was talking about when she first got a shot at being first choice--which was when she actually became first choice. Franch has had a few minutes here and there and so did Solo, yes; but she had no chance of starting meaningful games with Scurry and Luckenbill and Mullinix around.
Sky Blue traded the best player in the world for Lloyd. They haven't won a game since. Lloyd is a slow, non-dynamic, midfielder that really adds nothing to the Sky Blue attack or defense. She hit a nice free kick last week, but missed a penalty in the same game. She basically adds nothing to going forward, defending, or even moving between the two. Sky Blue is not a big draw to begin with, losing constantly with Lloyd might just put them out of business.
Yeah Lloyd's been sliding down the slide of mediocrity and knowing Ellis, baring an injury or a retirement announcement, Lloyd will probably fill the sentimental slot for WWC 19' just like Wambach, who did absolutely nothing during WWC 15'.
Lloyd wanted to leave Houston and play for Sky Blue in her home state, but Sky Blue was crazy stupid to trade Kerr for her--not the move a franchise that seems to be struggling should make, to state the obvious.
One wonders, in the NWSL, how much choice any team has with these national team players. Houston was forced, in the same deal, to trade for Press who wouldn't play for them. Basically, Carli wanted to move back to NJ and she might sink Sky Blue completely because of it. Not all her fault or USSF, Sky Blue is not really a "First Division" club. I think the model they were going for was kind of something like the Richmond Kickers. A pro team on top of a youth soccer empire. But as an entity in the top league, they are not on a level with their competition. The owners have deep pockets and created the team as a place for their kids to play just about. Wonder why they haven't sold. I feel that if USSF really cared, they would have brokered a sale of the club to someone (cough cough Man City Group).
Yea, if you've got a NT player and she doesn't want to play for your team anymore, as was the case with Lloyd and Houston, you are in bind unless you decide to play hard ball with the player. I think Lloyd still had years left on her Houston contract, didn't she--so Houston could perhaps have refused to honor her trade request. I'm not sure how it played out. What I don't understand is why Sky Blue opted to trade the league's best goal scorer for Lloyd--who, granted, is a gifted goal scorer herself but is in the last stage of her career. Kerr, at 24, is more than 10 years younger! I mean, it's flattering, I suppose, that Lloyd wanted to play for Joisey, but who makes that trade? You have to realize that you're getting the short end of the stick by some margin, no? Did the league pressure Sky Blue to make that trade? I see no reason why, in a league with only 9 teams and given that there are a lot of good players around, every team in the NWSL can't be competitive--assuming you don't make bonehead trades like this one and assuming every franchise has is spending roughly the same total amount for players (which may not be the case). I've seen most of the teams play this year--and nearly all are solid or better, except Sky Blue. (Washington has struggled with its performance, too--but is now finally getting Lavelle on the field, and she should help the team's performance and attract fans.
Except, of course, keep us from being eliminated by Nigeria. You score the only goal in a knockout round game, that's not nothing
And, speaking of Wambach, see her remarks at the recent Barnard College graduation: https://barnard.edu/commencement/archives/2018/abby-wambach-remarks. Definitely worth reading.