USWNT v France (She Believes), March 7, pre/pbp/post

Yeah, because people have never talked about a player being left off the roster before... I certainly can't remember anybody talking about Dunn not making the WC roster...

 

Well, German has won 6 in a row...I thought France had a chance last time but failed badly. It looked like Denmark was going to draw their way to a title. And Sweden had home turf. So sure anyone can win and if France, England, Spain or The Netherlands do win it makes for a much better tournament in four years. Right now it's America's Cup, German style.

 

Well Waldrum said it was so u can argue with him over it

 

Lavelle could have put an end to that...instead we got her impression of Young Tobin. She not a flank player any more than Long is a CB. If Ellis had started Lavelle at the #10 against France it would have gotten my attention. Right now she get filed in the Square Pegs file.

 

I don't know why we r talking about this but what has Lavelle done to get a place on this team other than the pretense development is working? Was it her Youth World Cups? Was it her NCAA championships at Wisconsin? Was it her performance in the NWSL?

 

Well for starters, Rose is currently on the WNT team roster, she played in the "She Believes Cup" and Rose started the match against France, which just happen to also be what this thread is for:
"USWNT v France (She Believes), March 7, pre/pbp/post)

I like Ohai, but her fanatics try and hijack Bigsoccer daily.

 

I hope so, but every single person who makes decisions for US soccer has watched Ohai play hundreds of hours of soccer from her teens until now.

 

Rose had never played flank before, ever. Started in her first WNT cap against a top 5 team. Earn unanimous praise from current and former coaches and journalists. And created the nights most dangerous looks on goal. Yes, she still has a ways to go before she's the staring "winger", but your bias is as subtle as Hope Solo's attitude here.

 

Can you clarify how you are applying this argument... or would that be too much Ohai talk?

 

Lavelle played well. I actually thought she was better against France than England because she tried to combine more. I have nothing against Lavelle and think she will eventually be a good player for the US. BUT the situation is absurd. The WC holder and #1 team in the world plays against #s 2,3 & 5 and the coach starts a player for her first cap and with no pro experience at a position she has never played before. Really? But hey, it wouldn't have bothered me if Lavelle had started at CAM which is her actual position. Instead she started ahead of Dunn and Pugh on the flank because that makes sense.

 

Why do you think many different winners make a competitive tournament? Who eventually won a tournament 20 years ago has no meaning for or effect on competitiveness of a tournament today. Germany won the WC twice in a row too and the 2nd time without conceding a goal. Still no one would argue against the WC being the most competitive tourney. You have to look at the participants of a competition and the level of quality they field NOW. And unlike the WC or the OC or America Cup you wont get to see 6-1 or 10-0 scores in the group stage.

 

with more teams in this year's Euros, you probably going to see blowouts; Italy lost 0-6 in the recent Cyprus Cup to Switzerland, the Swiss in return, lost 0-6, in their last friendly to Spain.

as a fan of German soccer, was happy to see them win Olympics, They came in with a solid team, with relatively few injuries. That wasn't the case in 2015 at the so called more prestigious, WC, when 2014 p.o.y. Nadine Kessler decided to retire, Fatmire Alushi decided to have baby, & Marozsan was caught hobbling on one leg in some of the games. With their 3 best players at the time basically out, they obviously weren't going to win it.
This time around in 2017, I don't for see Germany winning the Euro championship, Don't get me wrong, they still have arguably the best woso program in the world, but unfortunately the NT has been hijacked by a bureaucrat named Jones, who simply wouldn't switch the players or style.
It's pretty much the same with the US. In fact winning the WC in 2015 might prove out to be own worst enemy for the future, as now we got an self indulgence coach that ruined the Olympics with her own fav picks(the WC squad was made of previously picked players by other coaches), and then so far this year, with her stupid 3 back formation. Yet the US soccer federation probably can't get rid of her until she ruins the next WC for us well as does carry the stigma of being a 'world championship coach'
The temporary downfall of the USWNT doesn't mean we got a bad system either, both the current #1 & #4(Canada) have gone through the college system, and players from around the world apply to get into it,

So just saying; it's no so much the prestige of a tournament that's so important, but just good of form a team is at a giving year; for example Germany probably had the best team in 2014, winning in dominate fashion the Algarve Cup, but there wasn't anything else to play that year.

 

There were times she didn't move towards the passer in the England game and the back (Krieger/Johnston?) was yelling at her and Tony pulled her aside to talk to her about defensive responsibilities and moving to the ball which is pretty basic. Some of this is a bigger stage and better players, but I agree the flank is, at least currently, a poor fit for her.

 

I don't want to seem like Im picking on Lavelle because Im not, she's just the latest example of coaching foolishness. Lavelle has been in US development for a while. This wasn't a matter of the US having a different idea of where she should play than her college coach. Lavelle has featured in a CM role every time I have seen her. This is just the Ellis belief that experience counts for nothing. That's how u get a CAM starting at CB or OM. At least she was nice enough to give Long a few practice games.

 

She also played on the wing.

Stop the game at about 62:40 on the game clock, We're on the attack. Pugh is hanging back, not releasing her mark. And, just before that, she was late into the box on an attack because she didn't want to release her mark.

Anyway - at at this point, it was Williams&Press up top. Lloyd in the hole. Tobin & Pugh as wingbacks.

 

I think this time the Euros should be interesting. I think Norway might surprise. They may not be yesterday's news in this sport after all.

 

This is what I am talking about...who runs a 3 back system and doesn't expect the opponent to overload the flanks with direct play? My kids middle school coach and Ellis apparently.

http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2017/3/9/14850300/uswnt-2017-shebelieves-cup-france-jill-ellis

http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2017...fense-tactics-explainer-antonio-conte-chelsea

off ball movement still weak

Again, experiment the whole tournament. Test players. All of that is great but they should still look coached up and prepared, at least a little bit.

 

I think it's just too simplistic an excuse to write it off to experimentation. If u cut off ur hand to see if it will grow back it's dumb not experimental

 

I just saw this story pop up in my news feed and I remembered reading your post.

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/04/01/18/18/20170401-feat-wnt-casey-short-rises-up

"Casey Short's pro soccer career almost ended before it began. Now she's fast becoming a #USWNT mainstay."

Prepare to be disappointed.

 

I guess that is the Long and Short of it.

 

This is a depressing but insightful thread. It seems that a World Cup champion has fallen mightily within two years. Some rebuilding is in order. I agree with those who pointed out that Ellis is substandard as a coach and that the best coaching decisions in the '15 WWC were made by the Colombia referee.

 

One question I have concerns Morgan Brian, who in the 2015 WWC was the USA's best technical player on the field and whose insertion into the lineup was the linchpin to the WWC victory. There has been little discussion of her on this thread, when it has been Brian whose ability to receive passes from the defenders and then move the ball forward without turning it over was the key to the improved USA attack in the last three knockout rounds games of the '15 WWC. What is the story with Morgan Brian?

 

What story are you looking for? She was sneakily the best player in the SBC. I thought it was Sam Mewis but as I got into stats it showed Morgan Brian by far & away had the fewest turnovers, most connecting passes forward than any midfielders (to forwards or other midfielders, not back to defenders), & created the most clear cut chances of anybody on the team. It barely registers when you watch a game that she's by far & away the best player on the USWNT right now... more than Heath, more than Morgan... more than anybody.

 

Sorry, but someone beat you to that pun. Almost a month ago.

 

Almost nobody made reference to her in this entire thread, except for one post decrying that she disappeared in the game. I did not see the game so I cannot pass judgment on that assessment.
However, I am not surprised by your analysis. It is consistent with the Morgan Brian I saw play in 2015 and 2016. As a young player, with championship experience and ball control and overall soccer skills (skills lamented as absent from the broad swath of current USWNT members on this thread) that range the entire gamut of the game (from winning balls as a defensive mid, to receiving passes from the back line and turning upfield to lead attacks, to having a drill of a shot on goal herself), Brian seems to me to have been, since I first saw her, well, the best player on the team. I know she has had knee injuries and as they mount her knees' health becomes more alarming. But, her overall skills, her work ethic, her resilience (witness coming back after the head smash in the WWC semi against Germany) and her intangibles suggest to me that she has the potential to be the leader of this team for the next decade. Can she do it?