Uh, coach, maybe you should think twice about drafting Solo in 2003...

hope did not play well today at all. on scotland's second goal, hope shouldve have stayed on her line, but committed from a bad angle and scotland got the goal. the first goal wasn't too much her fault, but she didnt follow through with the save. i just odnt think it was her day at all. i remember a mexico match last year i think and she didn't play too well either. i rememebr her making many of the same mistakes. i'm not sure if she's about ready for this level yet...maybe april should give her some time...

 

I don't see how she can be blamed for the first Scotland goal - she made a great hand/fist save, but the ball went right to an open Julie Fleeting (why Scotland's most dangerous forward was open is a very reasonable question).

But she definitely takes blame for the second goal - she was practically out of the six-yard box trying to defend the cross, rather than staying on her line.

What the heck would you guys do with Solo, anyway? It's not as if she'd get much playing time.

 

What the Charge could use would be a 3rd centarl defender and a better back-up keeper.

With picks 6 and 7, you can fill those needs.

What other college keeper out there is better than Solo??

And experience always makes a keeper better, and you can't take away Solo's athletic prowess.

 

i do not think we need solo...we need a backup goalie but i think moore stands as the #1 goalie, getting solo with ape's NT fetish with her would automaticly start a goalie controversey.

however with this recent play i dont think she would be viaible for the power over wagner than i first thought, aka no hope of a trade but you knew that already

i will still say that the power need a goalie (and a way to dispose of webber) before a mid just not solo before wagner.

 

I'm saying Solo would be better than Zabala, and if Moore starts 14 and Solo starts 7, I think you have 1 and 1a, no controversy.

The whole issue is having depth and getting a 3rd centarl defender and a 2nd keeper are about the only areas I see needing some help.

Talent is talent, and sometimes youth makes mistakes, but from mistakes lessons are lerned which make you better.

And if you wanted an other college keeper, I want to hear names about who I should be looking at.

If Solo is the best of a poor selection, than corner the market on her. Who knows what you could get bargaining wise.

 

for a backup id be a notch below like a Nikki williams or a greathouse i just see the press hounds always going when is solo coming after every mistake moore makes (read webber in 2001) , but solo would be a big pickup if we got her i wouldnt argue that...you could also trade her to the power probley for say a nikki williams and emily janss (who would replace liu). but if solo drops to 6 and shes the only talent left i always say buy the best talent, not what you need, you can always get what you need by trading the best talent if it gets to dire straits.

 

My big point is Hope Solo is the only young goal keeper out there.

Let her mature, but you can't deny the tools she has, getting experience at a higher level is the key.

And let her learn from Moore.

I think it's win-win for everyone, and if Moore happens to have an injury, then you have a great talent to step in.

People should not look at faults, but at the players up-side.

And that's why I say, Hope Solo would be a superb pick for the Charge at #6 or #7.

 

if solo falls to 6 you have to take her, im just not convinced she will fall to 6 or that the power might try to trade for another draft pick in the first round to get her.

 

Assuming NY takes Wagner and the 2nd pick is Welsh, with SD perhaps doing a trade, Boston taking Orlandos seems to be the way it goes.

So San Jose and Atlanta would be teams NY would need to deal with.

Sermanni might deal with San Jose, but what could NY give SJ??

Janss plus a 2nd rounder for Solo?? Is that enough for Solo.

I think the big key is what other seniors emerge in the draft.

Is there a good forward SJ might really like to pair with Katia??

I agree Solo sinking to #6 shouldn't happen. SJ or Atlanta should work a deal to fill some talent need, but ultimately is what can NY give up.

And Janss is the only name I think who might satisfy either Atlanta or San Jose.

Would NY trade #1 from next year to move up to #4??

 

Janss MAYBE lalor, or R. fair would be the only names they could legitmitally give for solo...the thing is, beene is a young goalie so i dont think you draft solo if your SJ, not with a proven greathouse behind her. However if you can sell webber on napa valley wine and rice a roni you may get her to agree to goto SJ where shed be a pure backup to beene (with venturini retiring it would not impact the salary cap) who could step in in emergencies. the perfect role for webber. and webber can be a good teacher, just not a good doer.

boston has Leblanc, i can see them maybe going for solo, but the thing there is since they have a founder in goal (ducar) they MUST get rid of leblanc then because you cant reserve a founder and reserving solo would kill her confidence.

5th pick is atlanta, i think they are high on wilson as the heiress to scurry, could trade the pick but atlanta's system is so brusing and they need a defender and the power are fresh out of those .

if we select her i think the goalie need is SO great in NY that they will do anything to get solo from whoever gets her...so i wouldnt go past trading her for Janss if we land her.

as for next years #1, the power will probely need reddick at all costs so they would keep their 1st round and trade accordingly.

 

The Boston question is whether getting Orlandos is a better move than getting Solo.

The general reports I've seen are high on Orlandos, she's NOT Slaton, but a step below.

I do NOT see San Jose getting involved in a Webber or Fair, way too smart for it.

The ONLY way San Jose deals with NY is a deal where Wagner ends up in SJ and the #4 pick gets used by SJ going the other way.

Possibly sending #4 plus a couple players Sermanni wants, might be a move.

 

I thought Solo did okay. I though the goals can more from a lack of familiarity between keeper and back line. If she is still available when Mark gets his turn, I think he will take her. But not as the six pick. His number six pick will be someone unexpected.

Dwight

 

Why not? Plenty of founders have spent time on injured reserve.

Ducar played four games. She's 29 with a history of back problems. LeBlanc is 22, very athletic, and getting better. Boston should leave Ducar unprotected and see if any other team wants her.

 

Solo's inexperience showed with the 2nd goal, when she was caught out of position. She probably thought she was a defender for venturing too far out like that. LOL. Had Solo been in good position, she could have snagged that service. However, it doesn't change the fact that Sobrero failed to cover her mark. SCO's volley would have been difficult to stop even if solo was in good position.

Solo had good position when she came out to challenge Fleeting on her near-goal. On that play, the burden of action was on the attacker, and Fleeting failed to bury that gimme. Blame Chastain and Bryan on that near-goal.

Solo had good positioning and showed good instincts on stopping the 1st shot on the 1st goal. There's no denying the kid has talent and athleticism. this is what I've seen from her in college.

After that friendly, I think NY would want a chance to draft Solo.

If the draft positions remain the same, and if Solo's still on the board, PHL will draft a field player with the 6th pick. This will finesse NY to come up with a trade with PHL, so that they can pick Solo with the 7th pick. Solo's a gift for PHL with the 7th pick, but Mark may be willing to trade Solo for NY's '04 1st-rounder.

 

You mean you can put a founder on the 3-reserve roster? If so, that would be great. But don't they have a no-cut clause in their contract? By putting a founder into the 3-reserve roster, does that not violate the no-cut clause? As I understand it, the reserves don't draw a salary, but a small monthly stipend.

 

There's some semantics about reserve.

You have your 18 roster slots, then the reserve for about $1000 per month.

You won't find founding types getting that $1000, but I'm sure you'll find some unfit founders relegated to that reserve condition, and reserves activated to play.

The one thing about Krikorian is his eye to college talent...Tullock...Monroe...Alfiler...Hall...keeper from Clemson whose name I cannot recollect...

I still think central defense and a keeper need some upgrading, but if a talented field player is out there, then one of those needs might be addressed in later rounds.

From what I've seen of Solo, I like her style, and she'll only get better.

 

Krikorian does seem to have a good eye for college talent. The easy part is identifying who and where the talent is. The difficult part is in projecting if and how that talent will manifest itself at Woosa level.

So Solo made a mistake in goal playing with the senior squad. Big deal. That was good for her development. One can look at something as half-empty, while the rest will look at it as half-full. That's why Ape's bringing Solo in along with the senior squad, so that her training and development will grow at an accelerated rate.

I taped the US-SCO friendly because I hauled my ass to then-3rd-ranked Stanford as they hosted 10th-ranked Texas and the U-19 standout Kelly Wilson. I now realize why Ape brought Wilson to the Algarve Cup. Although Wilson had a very quiet day, one can see that the kid is brimming with talent. Her first touch is very good. By Ape bringing in Wilson to train with the national squad, Wilson probably accelerated her growth and development, something that would have taken a longer time to develop had she just trained exclusively with the U-19s or U-21s.

A player's dad told me that he's seen many of the Longhorns play HS soccer because about half of their starters came from California. Texas' coach won a College Cup coaching Notre Dame. While Stanford recruits the cream of California soccer, Texas' California recruits were not push-overs. Their coach had a good eye for talent, and knew the girls could grow and mature into the college game. Texas' best players are juniors or sophomores, so they'll only get better with another year together.

The analogy I'm making is that as long as Krikorian has a good eye for talent, drafts well, and develops them at the pro level, then the Charge should be in good shape.

Drafting a "project" like Solo, or any other talent for that matter, is the easy part. The difficult part is for these players to make that adjustment to the level of pro play. The pro clubs have the resources to nurture the development of the rookie. But ulitmately, it's up to the rookie to assert herself that her talent and skills are good enough to compete at the pro level.

 

Andrea Alfiler (RES)
Jenny Benson
Mandy Clemens
Kerry Connors
Lorrie Fair
Karyn Hall (RES)
Erica Iverson
Rakel Karvelsson
Tara Koleski
Erin Martin
Rebekah McDowell
Heather Mitts
Mary-Frances Monroe
Melissa Moore
Marinette Pichon
Kelly Smith
Jennifer Tietjen
Stacey Tullock
Maite Zabala
Zhao Lihong


are 20 players I expect to be in contention for roster slots next year.

Liu, Demko, Schillig, will be doing other things next spring.

And add the next foreign allocation and there's 21.

Assuming picks 6 and 7 are used, and not dealt, there's an incredible numbers crunch .

I'd expect Hall and Koleski to be in danger.

For my point I assume Solo falls through to 6, and gets picked. This makes Zabala a reserve.

And I assume pick 7 would be a central defender.

Try picking your next 2 reserve players, Alfiler and the #7 pick???

If everyone is healthy, picking 18 is difficult, particulary if you want to groom some young players.

The solution is possibly making 2 for 1 type trades which opens up some roster slots.

 

I think the clubs have to pare their roster down to 18 by a December deadline. The waived players then go to a waiver draft. Clubs then have the option to sign a waived player(s) to a contract. However, by signing a waived player(s), the club will then have to release another player from its final 18.

The Charge won't sign the 4th international until after the waiver draft.

Candidates for the waiver wire include the 2 GKs, Demko, Hall, Karvelsson . . . . .

PHL have little choice but to expose Rakel. I don't want to say it, but if the Charge expose a healthy player, she'll get picked up. Hopefully, no one will take a chance on Rakel's knee, then she'll get another chance with the Charge.

The 2 GKs will be exposed, as most other clubs will expose at least 1 of their own GKs.

Expect NY to hit the waiver draft hard, signing a Charge waivee or two.

 

On my list of 20 above, I assume Demko, Schillig and Liu are gone. Demko might become a coach??

So I think Zabala and Koleski are prime candidates for 19 and 20, although Hall might fit in there.

There was talk about Karvelsson wanting to get healthy enought to play for Iceland in October, if they can get past England .

I still think the big roster squeeze is when the 4th international and the draft picks are here in the spring. I can imagine the case where two good players from the Charge get traded for one really good talent.

I'm not fully aware of the reserves, but don't they have the chance to be picked up by other teams prior to being named reserves.

Players like Martin or Karvelsson could be borderline 18 next April, and that's where they can be lost.

 

Karvelsson, in my opinion, makes it through the final cut. If not, why not waive. Contract? Then why is Rakel at every home game hobbling (sic) out to the field?
Ailfiler may be in Pia sights as a reserve. Any defensive minded coach should be looking for a marker player. In my opinion, Andrea marked player to player as well as any basketball player ever as has. View her use of the "hand check" as reference.

As to Solo, she demonstrates the reflexes needed, but needs to work with a defense to become solid.

Against Scotland she worked with a defense who had their own defences in mind.

She propably didn't affect her place in Krikorians mind with this performance.

Scott

 

Back to the roster situation, and starting with the 20 mentioned in my previous post, eventually #21 is a foreign allocation.

Then let's say picks 6 and 7 get used, and let's say Hope Solo and Christine Latham are the selections, which are plausible, since Latham would give more of a physical presence at forward, and Solo upgrades the keeping situation.

that makes 22 and 23, and I still think a central defender needs to get into the draft mix, which gives us 24.

My understanding is, and I could be wrong, once the final 18 are determined, before becoming reserves, 19 thru 24 need to pass thru the waiver process.

Players like Hall, Zabala and Koleski are probably in roster danger clearly.

Then you want to keep your young drafted players, so Martin and Karvelsson and Conners become possible reserve losses.

I'd like to keep Alfiler, so she makes my 18.

And in the reserve equation, a 3rd keeper isn't even addressed.

There's a huge roster squeeze. Trading two players to get one helps the squeeze a bit. And you never know fully about injuries.

Personally, I say unless someone gives you a potential starter for players, don't even trade, live with all your depth.

I could see Pia having some interest in McDowell. And depending upon how she evaluates the draft, send the #6 pick and McDowell for the #3 pick.

Orlandos would be my pick at #3,and if we really get lucky Solo is available at #7. And then all the needs I see the Charge having are addressed.

And we also need to know if Zhao is available for next year. If not, then I assume two foreign allocations are available, and we need to get a wide player with skills approaching those of Zhao.