I believe I read that in the current camp, during a speed test, Williams came in third. It did not say who were first and second. The piece I read was about Vlatko as a motivator -- he counseled Williams to take coming in third as a challenge.
I agree with that but the post said she was the fastest not quickest. Rose, Macario, and Press def have the quickest feet but even that is subjective because they also have more technical skill than Lynn.
It's largely a function of our unwillingness to anglicize the spelling of imported words. There's no reason the "f" sound ever has to be spelled with a ph. It's not in any of the Latin languages.
Yep, that's the thing - the issue with Macario is which of the divas do you upset. I'd give her a look over Williams. When Tobin is back .....
When the same player wins these tests over and over it becomes an in joke when there is an upset. Does that mean the person who wins 8/10 times is slower? Fans usually remember one specific instance of speed in context and its usually relative to another player. the US speed tests are more quickness that absolute top end.
It's in the Mic'd Up video from USSF that was posted in the January camp/roster thread. From the video, it could have been in a 40m sprint test. Like I said in that thread, I would love to know who came in 1st or 2nd.
Like I said above, macario was first. She’s a starter. Not sure who sits but someone does. You obviously need vets around for leadership and culture and I’m not against anyone. But it’s time for a few of these ladies to step aside. I’ve loved Megan since college and sitting in the stands in Portland watching her boss the game. Loved her game. And I’d take Catarina ahead of her every day of the week. And double that for Lloyd. And Morgan. And Williams. The coaches are smarter than me and at training so they will pick the group that clicks and can do it all. Great. But I believe macario is once in a blue moon player. She will be on the field. Where and for who remains to be seen.
I wonder if the decision-making, if there is an Olympics, will be affected by the fact that the World Cup will be in two years rather than the ordinary three. This could cause a coach to want to ease out players not likely to be on the World Cup roster and to ease in players who will be competing for those roster spots.
I totally agree she is a very special player. One of the announcers made mention how effective the passing was when she was in there.
so seems like everybody thought Lloyd did a good job. But being the central striker, shouldn’t she of scored an goal?(or was just an dummy forward for everybody else to drive through while the opposing defense was kept distracted). would like to see Macario start at the #9, though Colombia’s defense was tailor made for Alex Morgan(slow & short, plus no offsides coordination) side note; while we’re still hyping/adoring 38 year olds, German fans just voted an 19 & 20 year old as their best players(shouldn’t we take an hint? lol)
So, where does Macario play? Morgan and Lloyd -- and maybe Press -- are the competitors for center forward. On the right wing, you have Heath and Williams -- and Press -- and on the left wing you have Rapinoe -- and maybe Press. Assuming that Morgan comes back with quality (not ensured as she hasn't been that great in recent years), Rapinoe seems to me to be the most vulnerable to give way to Macario, although Lloyd may be the most expendable. If you take five forwards to the Olympics, you choose among Morgan, Lloyd, Press, Heath, Rapinoe, Williams, and Macario -- all of whom are good or still good. A very tough choice, but chances are one or more of them will be injured, so maybe the choice will be easier And then there's Pugh (is she gone?) and Sophie Smith.
Soccer is a young persons game. Looking at your list above, and assuming I could only take 5, I would not take Rapinoe, Lloyd and either Morgan or Heath of Williams. It would all come down to how Morgan looks if she comes back. Some can, some can't. Sydney Leroux never could come back in Ellis's eyes. I also think Pugh may be done. She has been pushed out now for some time. If she doesnt make the bench Friday, I think its over for her. I want to see all the ones that didnt make it or who didnt get much time, get a good look on Friday. We do not need to see the old war horses for massive minutes again. No matter what they think about it
Pugh's absence is curious, indeed. But, she's only 22. She still has plenty of time to improve her skills.
Soccer may be a game for the young, but that is a relative term. The past two World Cups, the US had, on average, one of the older teams, as I recall both with an average age in the mid-range between 25 and 30. In addition, stamina, with proper training, improves into the 30s -- which is why the best distance runners are in that age range. That kind of stamina is only one factor, but it matters in a competition like the Olympics or World Cup. Before each of the last two World Cups, there were complaints our team was too old. It was not too old to win the Cup.
...and we just watched a whole raft of young 'uns having real difficulty keeping up with Carli and Pino still. Outliers can be, y'know, outside normal limits.
Am I the Only one who didn’t think Lloyd looked good? I could’ve gotten it so wrong... I thought she was slow and just ok against a terrible team? Maybe I paid attention at the wrong moments. She’s a warrior and has been thru it so i get keeping her in the squad for minutes and leadership but is she our best 9?
There have been folk on this forum who said that in 2009. She has been the most effective player in crunch time in this Millenium. . She has consistently shown among the highest work rates of all player in the last few cups, and she just came back from a long injury lay-off. Let’s do that comparison again in May. and we can compare to the young guns vying for a spot then. If the comparisons are even close to equal, you take Lloyd for he proven track record.
Keeping players on when long past their "best if used by date" has been a constant problem for both US Nat teams. We missed the WC on the men's team because we were too old. On the women's side .... WC, before last one, we were on our way out early until an injury forced Ellis to make changes that worked out. We were to old among other things. A good number of those players from then are still on the roster. IMO we are always reluctant to move past our stars of the past in favor of younger players. On the current extended women's team... we have Rapinoe, Lloyd, Morgan, and Heath...that are all either too old or close to it. Going back, in the end, we had to tell Abby and Lilly that it was over for them. I think we are there again. We have She Believes next month and that will maybe show us what our coach is thinking about players