Back in Big D and just now starting to get the feeling back in my extremities from Saturday night. Many of us questioned the scheduling of the tournament in the Northeast at the beginning of March….however, if the matches were played 24-48 hours before or after they actually were, the conditions would have been significantly better in each city - - oh well. Soooooo many topics to discuss but most have already been covered. My NJ & DC hotel computers wouldn’t let me log into Big Soccer to post but hey - - you guys deserve a break from me every once in a while. No doubt the results were disappointing, I hope that after watching the replays a few times I’ll be convinced that our play was not disappointing….from some of the earlier comments on this and the other game threads, that exercise may be futile. From my uninformed, non-technical prospective I have a whole laundry list of rationalizations, explanations, facts, reasons, but in the end there all just convenient excuses. System experimentation/changes Personnel turnover Weather On-going off field distractions. No Matches for 107 freaking days (numerously ranted) The protracted “failed” Contract renegotiation – ya know, that may be a little more of a gut punch than we realize. But I’m not a degreed Psychologist so what the H. do I know. But as disappointing as our results, the fact remains that the U.S. hosts an annual tournament where approximately 80 of the best Bad A** Female Footballers meet for a celebration of the Beautiful Game. Very cool that US Soccer honored Anja pre-match in Philly- - she is such a stud. Kinda hope in the future they enhance the feeling that it is their tournament too - - just played in the U.S. Christie’s Ceremony caused a liquid discharge from the optic region that froze and fell as sleet. As always, there were 1,000’s of kids with huge smiles on their faces and eyes as big as saucers. Their uncontrollable exuberance caused by seeing their heroes in person playing a game that they play. To me, that’s why these women are Champions every day and they don’t need to raise a trophy or win a Gold Medal to prove it. Until the day they plant me: I will always believe in these Women I will always believe in this Team BTW, does anyone speak Norwegian?
Did I mention how much I hate Heath's floaters on corner kicks? It gives the defenders ample time to camp underneath and drink tea. It's like waiting for a balloon filled with helium to come down.
A few random thoughts from the tourney.... 1. 4 of the 5 best teams in the world faced off. In non WC or Olympic years this IS the best tournament each year. I hope it continues ( but in the southeast or southwest PLEASE ). 2. Given the level of competition this was going to be a GOOD test. Running up the score against creampuffs does not serve a purpose and hides weakness. 3. Who is the leader of this Team? There was no "fire in the belly" displayed. I saw no one out there exhorting their teammates on, showing a little/lot of fire. At times all squads need someone, who when things are going poorly, to step up, kick people in the butt, put the Team on their back and say "Follow me!" 4. Lloyd is not a leader. 5. I hope the 3 Back experiment is over. 6. The staff better have a plan on how to neutralize high pressure because it was shown to be very effective in making the US look, how do I put this......, not good.
She took the right footed corners (1) against England while Lavelle took the left footed ones. I believe Wagner mentioned in one of the matches that Ellis referred to Heath as one of the best set piece specialists in the world so at least we've got that going for us.
I believe Wagner mentioned the US might be planning to be in Tournament this summer. If we're hosting maybe it will be called #She'sstartingtowonder
In an effort to get a few more CAMs on the field Ellis should consider the tried and true 2-7-1 ......................FWD ............CAM...CAM.....CAM ........CAM.....CAM...CAM.....CAM ...................CB...........CB
If the 3back goes the way of the dinosaur then it's going to be much more difficult for Ohai to get call ins. Wingback was perfect for her.
No it wasn't... the formations that help Kealia are those with more forwards, more 3 fronts with wingers, and more outside midfielders even if they're pinched in. The current "wingback" in this formation is a deep laying position that does not favor Kealia at all. Even a traditional 4 man defense gives Kealia a better chance to make the team as a converted fullback.
Wait...what do you mean. I haven't been hawkishly paying attention to the WNT lately, mostly because of the leadership and the Ellis crew have annoyed me for years. But please tell me Tony G. is still on the team. Michelle French should be far, far away from this team. The federation should poach Sampson or Meinert.
Tony G. is still with the WNT, AFAIK. But as of a couple weeks ago, both Snow and French have joined the senior team's coaching staff: http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...s-national-team-staff-michelle-french-bj-snow
Oh that makes perfect sense, because of all the success both Snow and especially French have had coaching. oh wait. So, do we all the call the federation to complain? Who's pleased with the direction of the WNT?
The 3 teams that finished 1st-3rd have yet to play the best tournament in this year and probably 2nd best tournament overall.
What was frustrating for me was seeing our 3 defenders wasting time passing the ball back and forth to each other in the 85th minute hoping to draw in the French players. Why in the world would France stretch their defense at that point up 3-0? There was no sense of urgency so score from anyone, but perhaps maybe Dunn. In all honesty, I was disappointed to see Morgan somewhat disinterested as well. I remember the 2014 match against France where the US was down 2-1 with 8 minutes to go, and she was yelling to I believe Heath to take the throw in, so she could pull around the defender and score. I'm not sure if it's due to sickness or the US being down 3-0, I noticed her just pacing back and forth in this match as the throw-in came in.
Disagree. First Ohai defends the flank well. This is a key at wingback or outside mid but much less valuable in a 3front. Second, Ohai is very dangerous in space. Putting her as a wide forward in a tight 3 front is exactly how got 0 goals in 11 matches for the Dash last year. It wasn't until Waldrum moved her to a more outside role that she exploded. Third, to be an effective wingback u need to be able to create goals and assists. Ohai can get to goal by taking on players, get to the byline to make the cross or cut back and shoot. Fourth, speed kills both on offense and defense.
U stop going to matches and stop buying USWNT bling and u make it clear that if USSoccer wants ur money they have to take coaching seriously and not just hire their friends. I think the fact that USMNT attendance was way down was just as big a factor in Klinsmann moving on as the Mexico result.
I really believe we need more fire power than that against the elite teams. I can see this line-up giving us another 1 goal per 3 matches against the top 5 teams in the world. I love Pugh, but she really needs to improve her scoring ability. I know that HAO received a flack on these boards for having the same move, but what I liked about her game is that she was a threat to score from outside, and even if she was dispossessed 4 out of 6 times taking the ball to the end line, the 2 times she created some space, her crosses to our forwards were spot on. These days we have a lot of players that are flashy, but fail to deliver that final pass.
Euros would place a little higher in my books if it was competitive. Last time anyone but Germany won dinosaurs got in for half price.