She still wants to contribute if her husband is picked as a new coach...Nothing is impossible...Even Julie Foudy wants to come back too...making sure that no one will act like Solo did...preserving the good image of US women's soccer team she helped to build up...
i cannot think of anything worse for womens soccer then those two coming back into the team be it as a player, coach or wife of coach.
I don't know if this a step, but I would have the Fed disclose their level of support, financial primarily but also other aspects. The level of support would dictate how much of the following is possible. 1. Buy some asbestos underwear and ask Fed for a credit card with frequent flyer miles; I will need them. Read on for why. 2. Meet with the players on the team for the past WC, thank them for their play and contributions, and inform them all positions will be open immediately. 3. Meet with assistant coaches and other team functionaries to discuss what they see as their future with the team-to-be, their thoughts on the status of the USWNT and how to improve play, etc. Take required action based on their responses. 4. Announce that as of the presser there is no official USWNT because tryouts and evaluation will begin in January. 5. Hire replacements as needed. 6. Begin evaluation process by meeting with regional ODP coaches on the philosophy of the direct the USWNT needs to take to improve. This include not just the players or the tactical aspects or the technical skills but also training, competitions, removing politics from the identification and selection process, etc. (See, I told you I would need the asbestos underwear.) 7. Have staff contact college coaches and even high school coaches to identify talent that is not in the ODP system. Follow up with the coaches and dispatch scouts. 8. Attend ODP and other significant events. ODP tryouts are too far away to select a team for the Olympics. I might even try to set up some tournaments or other events to make sure I could see the players on the pitch in match conditions, not just in drills. 9. Set up games with mid-level teams and top-level teams as possible. Yes, we will lose some of those, so education of the soccer community will be necessary so as few as possible freak out. The asbestos underwear will be handy here. 10. Once the framework is in place, start turning the crank. 11. Once a reasonable idea of the available talent is formulated, begin planning how to use that talent. I don't see it possible to decide on a formation or even a style of play until the talent is identified. Heaven forbid, it there just aren't at least two world-class holding mids in the U.S., jumping right into a possession game is going to be hard. 12. Once the game plan is in place, begin selecting the players to make the game plan work. 13. I'm not against a residency camp, but that may or may not be feasible in the time available. 14. With or without a residency program, start playing games against the mid-level opponents, ramping up to stronger opponents leading up to the best opponents who will play the USWNT. Travel if necessary and feasible within the budget. We aren't playing the WC in the U.S., so we might as well be accustomed to playing in front of unfriendly crowds. 15. Go from there. custar
No way you have time for ODP issue if you're the coach for Beijing.Win the gold,and you'll have some cred to get things seen your way.
1) Dump everyone 26+. Might as well build with youth in mind as those middle to late 20ish women will be 30ish+ come 2011. Keep Abby as shes one of the best goal scorers in the world. As much as I HATE the "long ball and hope it finds some part of her body", it does work so keep that as an option (key word option) Move Abby to more of a secodary role to allow more diversity in attacking options. Use the olympics as testing ground for a young team with emphasis on 2011 and beyond. 2)Build from scratch with emphasis on youth. Look for individual skill on the ball, vision on and off the ball, and especially front line with a eye and nose for goal. Look for forwards that can take on defenders and speedy wingers that can serve in deadly crosses. Continue the tradition of being the best set piece specialists in the world. 3) Work on tactics and strategy, particually possession, passing, and dribbling. Set pieces and Abby long ball may have kept the USWNT a top team in the world for the last few years but too many teams are figuring it out and bringing their own styles that the current US tactics are becoming obsolete. 4) Drill back line discipline then drill it some more. Theres too many 5-1 type wins where a momentary lapse of judgement allows a consolation goal or 2. Games where goals may be hard to come by may lead to a 1 nothing loss. 5) Make conditioning and endurance a top priority. May very well face better teams in the coming years but none with bigger gas tanks. 6)Bears repeating- emphasis on short passing and possession. 7)Tactics employed to maximize and utilize all attacking options: Use of flank play and crossing. Ability to dribble straight to goal taking on defenders, long range (30 yards) blasts on goal, and finally, long ball and hope Abby gets a head or foot on it.
OK I would leave the college girls in college. 1 I would hold a draft. 2 invite those with top W-league teams and experience 3 Look closely at those with international experience..not just WNT players Dont know why people discount the W-league.... my DD has played longer in the W-league (7 years) than she did at a top Div 1 not having a professional league has turned into a blessing for her...she's been playing in Brazil the last 2 years..... 4. ala Bob Bradley ...get my kid on the TEAM!!!! QUOTE=luvdagame;13058395]try to get the wusa II up and running as quickly as possible. (i know they're planning to wait until 2009). failing that, keep the residency program (it's the only way to keep international level players game fit without the wusa II since the w-league is too substandard for consistent international performance), but keep the player pool a bit more fluid (not too fluid since some of your good players are going to have to get a regular job and ruin the base level of your pool's fitness and playing ability). if possible, get more games against germany and brazil. (i know this is not entirely up to the ussf. it's not easy to schedule and sign contracts with the good teams).[/QUOTE]
without the wusa, (and not counting the current wnt), college has some of the best women players. which teams would be participating in the draft? a draft is usually held when several teams have to choose from a pool of players. how do you become an international without playing for the wnt?
I know no one on the national team now is playing abroad, anyone know the stats on americans playing abroad. Im assuming its really small if not any.
I bet there are alot more than you think... Americans play for Canadian Teams Swedish Teams German Teams Brazilian Teams I am not saying they are international...only the soccer gods can bestow that status they are players with international experience..... Lets move outside the box
It doesn't matter who the next coach is, he or she will pbring in players that fit they're style of play. six months, eight months, a year from now we will be arguing on BS why he/she has this player on the team on not this one. UNC fans are going to want UNC players, ND fans are going to want Kerry Hanks, etc. West Coast fans are going to argue why isn't Val Henderson starting at goal and cheney not starting at forward. No one is going to be perfectly happy no matter who the coach is.
I agree with much that's already been said, especially by book the keeper. It can't all be done right away, however, because we still have to qualify for the Olympics. This can't be taken for granted. There's no date for the qualifying tournament yet, but it can't be far off. In 2004, it was held in late February. Unfortunately, that's too soon to really change the style of play. But defense can be improved. Get better, quicker defenders. Get size in central defense as well (key for Canada). Whitehill and Lopez out. Bring in Slaton at left back. Pair Markgraf and Ellertson in the middle, but also bring in Pryce and Oakes. While long ball will still be the order of the day on attack, use Kai and her pace and play more up the touch lines. In the meantime, prepare a separate 'A' team for the Algarve Cup. Use it to start developing the new attacking style. Bring in players with skills and speed -- at least James, Trotter, Buie, Cheney, and Adams. After qualification and Algarve, bring the new players into the full team. Schedule several *away* friendlies in late spring against Brazil and strong European sides. Choose a team in June with emphasis on possession, skill, and speed.
1) Immediately, my staff (I assume that the WNT coach selected will have a good crew) and I would assess what strategy is necessary to beat Germany and Brazil in the Olympics. Based on the strategies, I would select a team that could execute those strategies. Since Germany and Brazil are very different teams, the strategies/ formations/ starters will probably have to vary form game to game. The entire preparation for 2008 would be focused on building a team to beat Brazil and Germany. 2) Since the Olympic timeline is very tight, I would probably use 50+% of the current team (which has been pretty successful overall) and look to the college ranks and WNT pool to fill the rest of the team. 3) When the time came, I would make sure that every player understood their role. Player X plays when long ball is used and player Y when patient build up is played. Great teams are very self aware teams. 4) After the Olympics, I would start a careful search for the best players in the country with an eye to the 2011 World Cup. 2009 would be used to find these players and give them a chance to play at the WNT level. 5) I also wouldn't want to destroy the fabric of the WNT. The heritage of the team is very strong and proud. Over the years, the team has been consistently focused on building up women's soccer. Anyone who has been to a WNT game can attest to the time that they spend with the fans after a match. Mia, etc, always said that their legacy was the number of girls playing soccer in the country. That mind set has been passed on to Abby, etc. and hopefully will be passed forward by them as well. 6) Another thing that I would want someone on my staff to address is the promotion of the team. The Nike ads during the year were terrible. The team had a lot of personalities that were not exposed at all. The TV only showed the team standing like statutes without them being able to talk. The team needs to build an identity that they can be proud of and that will bring in additional fans and dollars. With more money, the team could travel more to places like Germany and afford to have a larger pool of players.
have always loved woznuk's game, but i've always said she'll get bumped off the ball too easily in the international game. she's too frail. this is simply not true. the white hot hatred the posters on this board have for ryan will unite them in fully supporting the new coach who will bring in the type of players that we've been clamoring for all along.