I saw it on twitter, but @BlueCrimson what exactly are the (speculate) details of the 3 team trade? Royals get Press (OMG OMG OMG OMG) but give up Elby and draft picks? And Houston/Chicago do...?
There really isn't much concrete information out there. What we do know is that Chicago will be losing Taylor Comeau, Sofia Huerta, and Sam Johnson, Houston will be losing the rights to Christen Press, and Utah will be losing Brooke Elby. Houston could be giving up a player or two, but since they had a bye this past week, it wasn't announced on social media. And Utah is also speculated to be giving up draft picks, which would fit with Harvey's "I hate the draft" MO. Here's how I think this trade will shake out: Chicago gets: Elby, draft picks Houston gets: Huerta, Comeau, and something else (maybe Maegan Kelly) Utah gets: Johnson, rights to Press
Thanks! I like Elby a lot, but I think this would be a steal of a deal for the Royals. Especially given the feelings, as you stated, that Harvey has for drafting. Press could turn this toothless on offense but damn good defensive team into something really really dangerous. I also think Bowen got shafted with minutes with how things shook out this season and so this move, likely putting her into the lineup more, would be a plus.
Bowen at RB still makes me nervous. I think if NC had played Dunn on the left like they normally do, she would have been overwhelmed trying to defend both Dunn and Hinkle. Harvey might split time with Bowen and Miramontez until she settles on the one she likes best there. And yes, Press for Elby and picks is an absolute steal. This upcoming draft kind of sucks, so whatever players would have been selected with those picks probably wouldn't be as useful to Harvey as Press.
On the other end, Press is a useless asset to Houston since she won't report. And since she only will report to a handful of teams, they are even more limited in what they can do. This might end up helping all three teams - maybe us more, true.
The trade is now official. Utah gets Press and Johnson, Houston gets Huerta and Comeau, Chicago gets Elby, two first round picks in 2019, a first round pick in 2021, and conditional first and second round picks in 2020. Utah is clearly rolling the dice for success this year. If it works out, then good for the Royals. If it doesn't, then that could be disastrous going forward. This is not a young team, and even though Harvey is not a fan of the draft, this team needs to start getting younger soon. Fair warning: if the playoffs are achieved, it wouldn't be wise to count on Press. She tends to choke when the pressure is on.
Utah may have a problem. Press' contract with Goteborg doesn't end until July 8th. However, the transfer window closes on Wednesday. The parties involved are working to sort this out, but if this doesn't get sorted out by Wednesday, then Press cannot play in the NWSL this season. Hopefully for y'all, it works out in your favor and we get to see Press play in the league this year.
Press is a huge addition, and a good fit for our team, but I worry that we've mortgaged our future with this trade. That's a lot of first round picks.
Harvey hates the draft. She would rather trade those picks to get experienced players. Her track record on developing young players is not great. Where she excels at is getting quality internationals to come play for her and building around them. I think it's a fairly steep price to get one star forward who might only play half a season, though. And if it doesn't work out, then you've just lost a lot of assets that could have been used to refresh an aging roster.
It’s a gamble, but the RSL FO has a terrific track record with gambling high stakes on players. Right?
The academy is going to be for both teams, yes? If so, then we'll have an alternate path to bring young players along. And if there's nothing like what we have in place, then those teams should flesh out with top prospects relatively quickly.
long term that is the plan. Currently, however, the club only has an academy setup for the boys. RSL Women still exist, and I see that as the temporary "feeder" portion for the Royals, if you will.
You could announce an academy set up next season and I bet U18s would fill up with some of the top players in the country - because no one else is doing this, players would flock to RSL. You could impact the "draft" much more quickly.
Very true They have a lot of high quality girls in the local clubs - Avalanche especially - that they should leverage in the interim. On the boys side of things they invite a lot of club team players to come train at the facilities around the valley. I don't know of them doing the same thing on the girls side, yet.
That's a really interesting idea. The model is essentially: set the team up for short-term success, use the publicity to attract international stars in the medium term, and use the academy as an alternative to the draft (long term). The risk is that women's college soccer is so powerful. How many truly talented players would pass up an opportunity to play for UNC or Stanford when so few earn a livable wage as professional athletes? It's a bold gamble.
That seems to be a 5-10 year plan. Hopefully by year 10 there's been enough cap growth that a lot more players are making a more livable wage.
That’s a good point. Getting a degree from a great school will be a more attractive prospect for some girls. Others, though, probably have no desire to go to college and they will be a attracted to the academy opportunity.
There is no concept of "home grown" in NWSL, correct? If the Royals invest in, lets say, a squad of really good 14 year old girls for the next four years. What is to stop other NWSL clubs from coming in and making offers? Should they attend college, is there any sort of "restriction" those players would have in the NWSL draft?
Correct, there are no "homegrowns" in NWSL. The league does have the "discovery" process though, and in theory, if they like a younger academy/UWS player then they can claim her via discovery. I think there's a limit of four discovery players per year, though, and if they use those spots on academy/UWS players, then they can't use them on internationals they want to claim/protect.
I think so; there's no organizational/geographic protections for unclaimed players to my knowledge. That is, the only advantage to bring a player up through your academy would be that you're aware of her first and thus you could make the discovery claim before other teams know she's worth claiming rights to.
Disaster averted. Goteborg announced that Press is leaving ahead of schedule and will return to the US. She obviously won't play this weekend, but will be available for the match against Seattle.
I understand the concern is now moot, but I need to be educated. IF Press could not leave Goteborg until July 8, then why did that mean she would not play in the NWSl this year? Utah has 9 games after July 8. Thanks.