So....

Discussion in 'Boston Breakers' started by hocho, Aug 10, 2009.

  1. TheoMacDougal

    TheoMacDougal New Member

    Jul 13, 2009
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Chapman is a defender, and I don't think there's much difference in quality between her, Goffi and Weber

    I doubt that's feasible, anyway. I think, at least in terms of personnel, Tony was the de facto GM anyway, while Cummings handled more of the business aspects. I think he was president of the team, too, so you'd need two different people for those jobs.
     
  2. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They desperately need a lot of things. Starting with a coach who won't run off half the team... (but we all know that. A familiar harangue from the internationally-flavored parts of BigSoccer)
     
  3. papyrus

    papyrus New Member

    Nov 29, 2008
    NYC
    Oh, got it.

    Still, European stars could play here for a few months, mingle with the other star players, and then fly back when needed. No one's asking them to renounce citizenship! Can't see that it hurt Riise & others. ;)
     
  4. kool-aide

    kool-aide Member+

    Feb 1, 2002
    a van by the river
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Aside from that ACL tear... (man, that sucked. but they all do)
     
  5. TriscutBiscut

    TriscutBiscut New Member

    Jul 13, 2009
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    So, I was thinking maybe we swap A-Rod for Tarpley? Hope Powell for Tony D? :D

    I think the midfield is pretty solid, the defence is gonna have some holes with only Scott and LePeilbet the only rocks in the back, and the forwards...wow um how about we let players play, not keep rotating them. Even Rafa Benitez has learnt that.

    They need to have more shirt selections, I got my Smith shirt, but I really, really, really wanted a Scott shirt, but nope, they didn't have that. That's a pretty big opportunity, and have the sizes in stock as well.

    There isn't much that can be done in the way of the stadium...so yeah.
     
  6. disalex

    disalex New Member

    Aug 23, 2004
    I think Lipsher did pretty well. If you go by statistics she's 4th on the list for shutouts in the league and only played 11 games! Number 5 on the list played in 20. The breakers over all were 3rd on the goals against list, it's the offense that's the problem.

    They may not have scored but damn they looked so good for the last 20 minutes of that game......

    The stadium? I agree the lines are awful and DAMN that concrete is hard! I love our seats though, we are right behind the Breakers bench and watching Tony is a fun part of the game :)

    The refs just HAVE to go. They are just bad, Tony is right even if they shut him up. The AR on the near side of the field this last game couldn't even keep up with the play.

    I have respected and admired Tony for many years but I think he's had enough, it's time for him to move on. GM might be good for him Here's a crazy thought, what about Lilly as a player/coach? She could do a heck of a job pulling that team together I just don't know how much trouble she would have with the hard decisions.
     
  7. Merlin777

    Merlin777 New Member

    Mar 26, 2007
    Team changes as others have said: new goal keeper (you can do better here) and another striker (hard to find).

    You should also consider a coach change - harranging professional women is not a winning formula (see first NJ coach) in this league. Tony should be given credit for his successful past track record and his extensive knowledge of game, but his ability to motivate and create team chemistry was not good this year.

    Funny how we can all read the same U20 report and have different takes on it. My view similar to ratpacker - I also thought it was a very egotistical and self serving report. I seem to recall that one of his main themes was the need for good team chemistry, how would you rate the Boston Breakers team chemistry on scale of 1-10?
     
  8. cachundo

    cachundo Marketa Davidova. Unicorn. World Champion

    GO STANFORD!
    Feb 8, 2002
    Genesis 16:12...He shall be a wild ass among men
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    I read the U20 report and Tony TheDicko came off as a boor and a dinosaur. No surprise to hear how he treats the Boston players.

    Re: Amy, I have posted on the WPS forums since January how overrated she is as a forward. If I have time, I'll search my previous posts. Nice kid, but she is technically poor striker, poor first touch. What's worse her runs/patterns to goal are horrific to say the least. And because she is unable to create space for herself or for others, she makes the entire frontline suffer.

    Amy's future is as a fullback.

    The best you could salvage for Amy is to trade her for L.A.'s 1st-round pick, if you could swing it. Abner would be delighted to have her back; he was her youth coach. In familiar surroundings back in L.A., Amy might be able to resurrect her career. Getting a 1st-rounder for amy, however, is a stretch considering how everyone has seen how poor she is at what she does.

    [​IMG]

    I don't know ..... I think Tony looks good with no shirt on. :p
     
  9. TheoMacDougal

    TheoMacDougal New Member

    Jul 13, 2009
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Sure, and then maybe LePeilbet or Fabiana can give her tips on how to recover from that torn ACL [​IMG]

    Agreed that the attack is a major problem, but you can't just look at Lipsher's numbers and say she was good. Those stats are more a testament to the defense. Barnhart is a much better keeper, but her numbers look worse because she had such a poor team in front of her.

    We can leave all three keepers exposed for the expansion draft for all I care. They just never came up with an impact save when we needed it - there have to be better ones out there.
     
  10. papyrus

    papyrus New Member

    Nov 29, 2008
    NYC
    Well Rampone hasn't done too shabbily, but still, how can you see all the players when you are in the middle of playing yourself? It seems ridiculous. Also, if Lilly was behind the Hope Solo citizen's arrest & jail time, I am not sure she can handle team conflicts?

    Crazier idea: could Pia just do a double shift and pop over for Breakers games?

    Okay, it's a lot of work but in this economy, 10% of the workforce has a second job. Or maybe she can phone/text/video conf call in her coaching. I bet in ten minutes, she could coach better than Tony did in a week, esp. if it's true that he's as obnoxious as everyone says.

    I don't suppose anyone could give actual examples for those of us who don't go to Breakers practices or haven't followed the game for years and years...?
     
  11. soccerreigns

    soccerreigns New Member

    Jul 22, 2009
    GM and coach doesn't seem to work well! ask sky blue?
     
  12. mskenny

    mskenny Member

    Aug 23, 2008
    Ashland, MA
    Club:
    Boston Breakers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Does anyone have a link to this infamous report?
     
  13. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    DiCicco makes the point some of us on BigSoccer have been making - that it's unrealistic to expect most players to becomes stars straight out of college. With few exceptions it's going to take a couple years for these women to approach their full potential.

    So... regarding Amy Rodriguez (and, yes, Dan Loney did warn all of us about dubbing her A-Rod), just as I thought many people went too far in their expectations of her, now I think they're going too far the other way in writing her off. I doubt she'll ever be a great star but I think she can have a good career and a fascinating one at that, full of twists and turns, and I'm looking forward to watching it. I think she'll always be a bit of a wild card.

    (The other lesson to be learned from this - you're better off listening to us UCLA folks rather than those USC guys. :) You're even better off listening to Stanford guys than USC. Heck, you'd do better listening to those WCC crazies like they have in Portland or San Diego...)

    Obviously find the next Camille Abily if you can but there's no magic formula for that. Also, decide whether you're OK with Ali Lipsher as your starting GK or not. Besides that, your easiest, most likely path to improvement is for Kelly Smith's knee to get better. Seriously. All teams have solid players in their lineup but then rely on a couple players to stand out and to provide the bulk of the offense. Sol has Marta, and then Abily came up with 8 goals. Washington: Wambach, DeVanna, Bompastor. Sky Blue: Kai and, in a secondary role, Rosana. Chicago: Cristiane. St Louis: instead of Daniela they got an All-Star year from Eniola Aluko.

    Boston: Kelly Smith is your main gal, right? And she just wasn't 100% most of the season.

    You can always hope for a completely lopsided trade with some hare-brained GM who gives you someone you want for someone you've given up on. But I don't see Isaiah Thomas or Kevin McHale anywhere in the league so I wouldn't pin my hopes on that.

    Seriously, your fastest path to improvement is for Kelly Smith to get well. And you can hope that a couple of your young players show improvement - Rodriguez and Fabiana, but admittedly you don't know if that's a one-year thing or a two-year thing. And if you're not satisfied with Lipsher, then I'm afraid you might have to give up a high draft pick to get one of the other backup GKs in the league: Val Henderson, Jillian Loyden, Allison Whitworth, Karen Bardsley. That's a price you have to be willing to pay because, as some of us have pointed out, with few exceptions you can't expect someone straight out of college to answer your offensive needs.


    By all means, keep kvetching about DiCicco. I have no idea whether you're right or not but we need the entertainment.
     
  14. htide

    htide Member

    Jul 28, 2007
    tony-"Even though Amy is obviously a national team player too, her role with the national team is much smaller. On our team we needed her to be a goal scorer. We needed her to break down the opponent with her speed."


    um wtf do you think her role on the national team was?
     
  15. MRAD12

    MRAD12 Member+

    Jun 10, 2004
    Chicago
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I didn't get that comment either. I think some trades should be made for the good of teams and players. A-Rod should go to FC Gold pride and Dimartino and Weimer should go to Boston.
     
  16. Peg Hopper

    Peg Hopper Member

    Aug 4, 2004
    On the Border
    Club:
    Deportivo Cali
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I heard some similar discussions at the game last weekend.......with A-Rod coming west to FCGP for Weimer and a 2010 draft choice. A-Rod could be the ideal sub for Milbrett, or vice versa, each playing a half. Kinda like the role A-Rod plays on the Nats right now. Fresh legs and speed in the second half.
     
  17. Romario'sgurl

    Romario'sgurl Member+

    Wakanda FC
    Aug 26, 2000
    Wakanda
    Club:
    FC Ingolstadt 04
    Nat'l Team:
    Ghana
    It's been 3 days and I'm still laughing..
     
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  18. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think I understand what DiCicco is saying here.

    I interpreted Amy's role with the national team as primarily getting to open spaces and receiving and holding the ball to relieve pressure on the defensive side. See, I figured Pia was smart enough to listen to the UCLA/Stanford/Portland view of Amy and not the USC one. Pia knew that no one could be counted on to provide the steady goalscoring of Wambach. She also knew how hard it was going to be for the US to control possession against a couple teams (mainly Brazil). Pia used Amy to create some offensive space for us and hold possession. It's not like Amy scored a bunch of goals, nor did Pia seem to put much pressure on her to do so.

    Pia herself complimented Amy with words to the effect of "she's doing very well with the role we've asked of her" or something like that. Not usually words you use if you're expecting someone to score heaps of goals.
     
  19. Bonnie Lass

    Bonnie Lass Moderator
    Staff Member

    Lyon
    Norway
    Oct 20, 2000
    Up top
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    From the Women's N&A:


    Post 2008 World Cup Report

    I think that's the right one. It's from the Casey Nogueira thread in Women's N&A.
     
  20. mskenny

    mskenny Member

    Aug 23, 2008
    Ashland, MA
    Club:
    Boston Breakers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thanks, that was interesting reading! I'm guessing that was not meant to be made public.
     
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  21. PoetSong

    PoetSong New Member

    Jun 9, 2002
    Massachusetts
    I admit to not having read everything word-for-word, but the vast majority of it.

    While some may not like it and some may love it, I personally find Tony's honesty and ability to break things down refreshing.

    Working in the Education world, it's critical that I evaluate and reflect every step of every thing in order to ensure a successful learning environment for my students. Sometimes that's not pretty, and sometimes it's amazingly beautiful, but it's not about the appearance- it's about the truth and how one sees things.

    T's coaching staff might completely disagree- that's fine. USSF might, too. If the report engages in honest positive communication that furthers the goals, job well done in the report!

    A few notes that I truly did appreciate- T's thanking the staff in the first 3 pages. That shows class, humility, and respect for those who support him and the team. Outlining the goals- e.g. providing qualified players to WNT.

    T's last experience is 99 WNT- so his expectations may be a bit higher. At the same time, it allows him a REALLY good bit of knowledge as to HOW to prepare those players. Perhaps another coach is better for YNT, but if given the proper support with his strengths, he may just be the best thing for the U18s.

    See next post..
     
  22. PoetSong

    PoetSong New Member

    Jun 9, 2002
    Massachusetts
    Also- given his limited time with a team, staff, etc. that the team accomplished what they did in a less-than-one-year period is phenomenal.

    He made a few points that I applaud whole heartedly: communication with the different levels that often doesn't exist or exists in limited fashion (I wonder if this is a systemic concern for areas outside of Womens Soccer and Education, as I have been working on this for years with feeder schools!); the needs of the players, scheduling, etc..

    T did adress to some extent the impact of things- validating his perspective.

    That's not to say I'm fully behind every word- e.g. "the staff and I are what did things well" (paraphrase). You do have to give credit to players. Ultimately, you can have the best staff and icky folks in the field and not win. But that may just be a perspective that Tony takes that I'm not accustomed to. Management vs. whole team in celebrating success.

    Then again.. if mgmt. sees that they are responsible for the success of a team, I have no prob with his report. Critical is one thing, telling people, "you all S**ked" and not giving reasons why- that's another. All of his points seemed to show a need for improvement, for success, and were areas of concern (or angst). That's okay.

    How the public got a copy- no clue. Maybe some things are better off left behind closed doors.

    Also- remember perspectives and how they impact a person on everything. I truly valued T's global perspective. The lack of "rah rah America is the best" was not lost on me! The criticism of the over Us was great! Giving comparisons with other regions- well done!

    He did give credit to USSF where do, and it seemed sincere (e.g. resources, scouting, etc..).

    But.. I'm just an outsider looking in, so who knows. He does echo much of what I feel within the world of the US Education system. Scary... :)
     
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