Apparently the GK wasnt doing medic duty on another part of the field so it was a tougher chance than it seemed.
I think his commentary was spot on regarding what the team needed to do today. It usually is. If only he and Ellis were switched around. Then, you'd get to hear her voice doing commentary and I'd get to see a better coach lead this team in the World Cup.
Um...well...err...points of interest 1. The fact that with two matches left before WC, Julie Johnston is the leading goal scorer on the team is a bit troubling. 2. That they had 20 corners and only managed two goals is troubling. Also nice to see Ellis is trying to make CK so complicated that it's hardly an advantage to taking them. 3. All we learned about Solo is she looks good in red. 4. What's the purpose of starting A-Rod if u arent going to play Holiday far enough forward to play her thru on those surgical runs? 5. U know ur playing an impotent team when most of the discussion is about Campbell long throws.
I was trying to be inclusive. And your point about not playing Holiday higher up the field made me remember: There was a play in the second half when Holiday was high up the field, with Press in front of her, almost like she was a striker (what a novel idea). They had a quick combination that looked great and almost scored. I thought to myself, if only those two players were being utilized in their best positions for the entirety of a match. Sigh.
What happened to the field? #USWNT starters for today's match against Ireland! Coverage starts on @FOXSports1 at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT! pic.twitter.com/OTX3wVk8b5— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) May 10, 2015
I have been knocking Ellis since she got the position. She has done little to convince me she is the right person for the job. If she thinks she is going into the WC thinking Wambach can play 90 minutes she will fail. We do not look like a top team going into the WC right now. We look like a team that might get out of the group stage but that will fail during the first game after that.
Well I'm not all gloom-and-doom with this team, but the 2015 World Cup is definitely NOT the USWNT's tournament to lose. I was a little shocked when Alexi Lalas said that it was; his prediction about the USMNT not making it out of the group of death last year proves he's not exactly the paragon of optimism. Even Morgan has said that the U.S. is not the favorite, and other teams [Germany and France being the foremost] seem better poised to take the trophy... but still... I believe that we will win.
On Wambach, I doubt very much that she thinks W can play 90 minutes. Especially after today. But, I think it's reasonable for Ellis to play W for 90 minutes in this game to make it clear to everyone that she can't play 90 minutes.
As Ive said many times in different places, my problem with this team isnt the offensive approach or lack of finishing. I think both r big problems but the main one is defense. If they had brought in a coach who gave a sniff about defense, and Ellis doesnt, I think they could have made a credible run at the cup just by playing hard nosed defense and grabbing goals just because their offensive talent is so good. Even with the hap hazard offensive approach they have players who can just make a goal out of thin air. With Ellis selling out the defense at every turn they r going to have to outscore some teams and that's gonna be tough.
I have...and she has said as much...the point is why does a coach who doesnt believe in DMs insist on a formation that has two of them? If Lloyd needs to be forward most of the time just play her at CAM.
Lots of things went well today. I think you're right. With Johnston channeling Bruce Lee, we'll be assured of a goal a game anyway...
Two adjustments I think would improve the U.S. attack. First, make Press the focal point. At least until Morgan is back to form. Enough of this midfielder nonsense. Second, move Holiday to an attacking mid role, or even a striker alongside Press. Interplay between the forwards is lacking to the point of being nonexistant. They look painfully inept trying to combine. Holiday's best quality is her ability to link up in the attacking third. She is wasted as a holding mid, at best. At worst she is a liablity with her lazy, casual passes and unwillingness to hustle back defensively. But then you run into the problem of Ellis' player selection. There is nobody to take Holiday's place. Lloyd is best as a freestyling attacking force. Brian is too slight to play DM. The other midfielders are primarily wingers. She has Johnston playing center back. Boxx isn't starting material. So...I guess we are stuck with Holiday/Lloyd trying to do both. Be a defensive shield in the middle, and organize the attack. And it doesn't work. Despite her two goals, I maintain Abby is best used as a 60+ minute sub.
This is all spot on—especially the piece about Holiday's being a liability defensively with her casual play. And those botched corners? Yikes. Poor service should be the anomaly, not the norm. Would Ellis ever bench a player to light a fire under her? It worked when Pia did it to Lloyd leading up to 2012 Olympics.
"The norm" means above the average. "Botched," in terms of her execution, means not in accord with the instructions she was given. What were Holiday's instructions about corners? Were they to try some near post corners? If so, on the near post corners the "botching" at least was not attributable to her, as they all in fact were to the near post. She missed one totally into the side netting, so that clearly was botched. But one into the side netting is not "the norm." Unless you know whether she was under instructions to try some near post corners, it's not fair to call any of the near post corners that didn't go into the side netting "botched." Of course, if you don't like the team trying new things, I guess you could say the coaching staff botched the corners.
Inconsistent corner kicks are yet another reason I want Christine Nairn on the team soon. She has great ball control, set pieces are superb (corners and free kicks), competitive attitude. Did you see her audacious rip against Portland last night? The only real knock against her is her lack of speed.
Ireland's always been a touch team to crack. They played Germany pretty even at the WC qualifiers, loosing at home 2-3 & away o-2. They haven't won many games, but that's because like this game, they don't come much out of the shell, preferring to clamp down the middle, by even giving up guarding the flanks. that's why it was so hard for the central mids(Cheney & Lloyd) to penetrate their defense. We out shot them like 30-0, 25 corner kicks to 1. This game was pretty much over by the 1st half. Otherwise Elllis wouldn't of gone to whole sale substitution's. From what I've seen, the US way more better prepared than most other countries. They're only obstacle is going through a group with very physical teams that might put a lot of wear & tear on them. This is why I expect Ellis to sit Morgan till the final 8, I mean Morgan's claiming an injury every 2nd game she's in, these days
What has happened to Syd...I cant remember the last time she played well. She got 45 minutes today and ddnt contribute a thing
The good: --Three goals. We won. --A goal from the run of play. --Getting multiple chances on goal and creating some nice opportunities. --Even if they weren't really tested defensively, we have some outstanding CB's....one of the strengths of the team, imo. The bad: --Finishing. If now's the time that we're "sharpening", then this is definitely something that needs to be sharpened. We won't be getting as many chances against top teams, and the offense has to put their chances away. --Possession and linkup play. We need an offense that can keep possession under pressure. But even more so, we need a midfield that can possess when there's no pressure at all....Holiday, I'm looking at you. --Not really related to the game, but the number of injuries this team has had lately is worrying. Hopefully, its just been an abundance of caution so that everyone enters the WC 100%. The ugly: --Corners. Really? This is what they've been working on recently? How did that go in practice? --Substitution patterns. It drives me crazy. Has Ellis always done scripted subs (like at UCLA) or is this a new thing with the WNT? Overall, this team does not look ready for the WC. We don't look bad, per se, but we definitely don't look in top form, and that's troubling less than a month out from the Cup. Hopefully, some miracles of gelling and sharpening happen in this camp. I'm not saying the US can't win it all, because there's always something about this team that rises to the occasion, but we should not be considered favorites.
It's all good man I mean woman . I'm a female as well but I just assume everybody here is mostly male. I apologize for venting during the PBP period of this thread. I am very passionate about the USWNT and it's killing me that my cable service is canceling out these games in favor of 2014 Championship Darts. There's research that I've done in the internet the last 48 hours that indicates that the WWC won't be affected by this "alternative programing" business. I will personally call AT&T Uverse in the next few weeks to confirm this research otherwise I'm seriously considering switching to DirecTV for the WWC. Needless to say, I saw the match.... delayed on Standard Definition Fox Sports 2(apparently I DVR'ed the match on the wrong version of the channel). After spending 2 minutes doing something I wouldn't be caught dead doing... altering the native aspect ratio and zooming it to fit the whole screen because SD looks like the screen got pushed back behind the TV, I saw the match. My one comment for this match is this. I'm glad I decided not to drive 400 miles and spend 200 dollars going to this match. This USWNT underperformed against a team that didn't even qualify the WWC not to mention the Euros. On the plus side, at least a forward scored instead of all the defenders. I won't have issues watching the match next weekend. I'm going to be there in person in front row seats at the Stub Hub Center so screw you Fox Sports 1 and AT&T.
I won't have issues watching the match next weekend. I'm going to be there in person in front row seats at the Stub Hub Center so screw you Fox Sports 1 and AT&T.
Bit off topic, but I'd dump U-verse like a bad habit. The maximum internet speed they offer (at least in my neighborhood) is 45 Mbps down. Time Warner Cable offers 300 Mbps. Even if you don't want that much speed, the cheapest they offer is $35 for 6 Mbps, whereas TWC offers 50 Mbps for $35. They don't have FS2 in HD, though, which is a bummer. But you can watch it on TWC's streaming website/app in a decent quality.
Boxx did the same thing against Brazil that led to a Brazil OG. Just because a player plays defensively does not make it taboo to get forward at times.