You keep saying this, but it's just not true. The USWNT plays the toughest/strongest schedule in the world just about every year. The problem is that there's not that many strong teams, but they still constantly schedule games against the best teams every year. MATCHES VS TOP TEAMS (Last 7 years)... #2 Sweden (7x) #3 Germany (4x) #4 Netherlands (4x) #5 France (9x) #6 Canada (7x) #7 Brazil (8x) #8 England (7x) #10 Spain (3x) #11 Australia (9x) #13 Japan (7x) #17 China (7x) #18 South Korea (7x) NAME 1 OTHER TEAM IN THE WORLD THAT PLAYS A SCHEDULE THIS STRONG EVERY YEAR, MEN OR WOMEN... JUST ONE. YOU'LL DODGE THIS QUESTION OR WON'T ANSWER IT HONESTLY, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T. *#9 is North Korea, who has never played a friendly against the USA for obvious political reasons. There's not always a Top 10 team available to play every window. All of UEFA is playing WCQ the past 2 windows. Are you really complaining that they most likely played the best team available, #18 South Korea?
Plus South Korea was coach by the very experienced Colin Bell. I’m surprised that they hit us with an very high press for most of the first half, despite leaving themselves vulnerable to quick counters(an previous specialty of ours but I guess not under Vlatko). 2nd half was more bunkering, but can’t blame as they must of been tired from all that pressing they previously did(as well didn’t have as strong of an bench to go to) don’t think it really matters if we play too high of an ranked team; last year we went to France(#3) only to find out that their big club, Lyon, went into quarantine a few days earlier(thus we easily beat essentially their B squad) don’t expect big opponents in the near future either; England announced their own SBC & already signed up bigwigs Germany & Spain, France usually has its own now as well & I’m sure Algarve Cup will start up again(although reports of new, high covid cases out of Europe might bring everybody’s plans to disarray) if anything, this game proved that we need new blood(players as well as coaches) few reasons?; heavy handed moderators who’ve probably banned or threatened to ban(they don’t believe in treating woso equal/instead want posts to be nice & dainty) our men’s NT finally cracking the top #10, getting an surge of interest from American soccer fans that was usually was reserved for our more award winning USWNT
One more BS game Vlatko then we'll see if you're gonna be a real coach or or another Jill Ellis. You need to cut loose many of these women that won't retire. They are killing us and every game it becomes more obvious they are too old. It's time to send the following from last nights roster away: O'hara, Heath, Morgan, Rapinoe and there are others that are border line and that are either too old or aren't good enough that Vlat should also pass on. He said that there will be a reset... lets see if he really has the guts to do it. Ellis didnt want to do it and ran away.... It's them or you Vlat.
I agree. It is quite honestly painful to see them laboring on the pitch with their constant offsides, terrible goal misfires, and just all around clear decline in their game. Rapinoe was the worst. You can clearly see her already out of energy after only 15 mins of play. Heath's style of play does not work at all against compact defense. Moving the ball quicker is the way to break it down. Morgan and O'hara I think still doesn't want to retire because they were really trying hard but everyone else was just a step or 2 quicker than them unfortunately. It is time to clean house Vlatko. It is long overdue.
Agree. Vlatko can't do much with this group that has been there so long they can soon claim Social Security. Bring in Rodman, Balcer, Hatch, Purce, Bledsoe, etc. We have too much talent in this country. He needs to clean house after this last game. Also, get rid of the contract, let players earn call-ups game per game like the men do. The contract is a hamper to development. It seems once they get a foothold, establish their little cliques within the USWNT, you can't get them out with a crowbar. Get em out!
Vlatko is the one that need to be let go. Ellis had them winning now under Vlatko we got beat by Canada in the olympics dont blame the players and you especially should not blame Jill Ellis.
Im not sure on Vlatko yet. I get the feeling he is not being allowed to drop players he may want to drop. We'll see what happens when the embarrassment tour is over and Lloyd is gone. If he is still calling in the oldsters over rising stars then i will agree he must go too. I just dont know how much is him and how much is US Soccer at this point. Im willing to give him a couple more games to see if he imitates large scale changes. He certainly can't be happy watching what he saw last night. We were terrible
I do not believe that Lloyd is any part of the "problem" except she is, I think, the eldest . She seems also among the fastest and most fit of the players currently rostered. However there are "problem" players like Rapinoe and others. Rapinoe is not even any longer either the best crosser or free kick taker on the US squad and she has let her conditioning lapse. I do not mind her, or pretty much anyone's else's, politics but her effectiveness on the field has dropped has dropped dramatically. It is almost like she does not really care any more. However there are a number of the elder statesmen on the team the need to go. If any player is not regularly producing for their club they should go. While club play is not a 100% guide to national team production it is a pretty good general guide and it is very rare for a player to be a poor performer at club but a good one an the national level. The other way around is much more common. I do not believe in an arbitrary age limit at any time. Production matters but age does not. The real problem with the roster is there is no transparency, no meaningful communication with the fan base and no creativity in play. That speaks truly negative volumes about the coach and the organization. You are correct that we must wait and see before any real judgement can be issued. However I have seen enough of the coach to know with fair accuracy that he is quite poor at planing and setting the team up to succeed. He also really fails at in game adjustments. This last game really points out how bad he is. He seems unable to make effective changes if things do not go well. The performances in second halves have shown that most every coach in the world is better. People disparage Jill Ellis but she succeeded in wining two World Cups in a row and brought in many players. Yes she stuck with many vets for longer than a lot of people wanted but she won World Cups, which is the main job of a national team coach. But all that aside I really do not see why it is a good idea to dump players because of age. The only real reasons to dump players are if they do not produce, disrupt the team or simply do not put out the needed effort. Age can be a part of that but it should never be the determining factor. The rosters we have had are plenty good to win and dominate the vast majority of teams including Canada if they were decently coached. I say change the coach and then see what happens. Vlatko Andonovski is simply a horrid national team coach.
Vlatko should be allowed to have his own team, his own players for a full cycle. Every coach in the World, men or women are allowed to bring in players that play the coaches style/scheme. If after a full cycle of his own players he fails, then bring in another coach. This thing about he inherited Jill's players is bogus. The players were in their prime a few years ago, not anymore. Anyone's grandmother could have rolled out the balls back then at practice and coached them. Two-three years in soccer is a lifetime. Players have changed, other Federations have changed and gotten better and/or changed their style of play. This current team cannot compete as well on the world stage as it did several years ago. Player change is needed. The problem is if a player is under contract with the Fed the coach has no choice but to play that player or put them on the roster since they collect a paycheck, thus getting newer/younger players in is like pulling teeth. If given the chance to make changes, whenever the time comes to renew contracts (as I don't see that going away unfortunately), unload the old, slowing players and bring in new ones who have done well in NWSL. Vlatko stays.
The problem with allowing a poor coach to continue just because he/she does not have their own players is just asking for more bad play. Vlatko Andonovski has shown that he cannot make choices or changes during play that improve the play. This regardless of the players involved. It seems that the vast majority of the time the USWNT is poorer in the second half than in the first. This is usually not a problem because most of the teams we play are pretty poor and our talent is plenty good enough to dominate 90-95% of the time. If you wait for a bad coach to fail with their own players then you effectively kill part of a generation of players. Allowing this coach to continue could well mean that players like Rodman and others that are currently almost good enough to be national team regulars will be ruined or at least soured on playing for the US. Vlatko Andonovski needs to go now before he does harm that will be very hard to fix. That is unless the USWNT desires to become average. The talent in the US pool is good enough that "average" is as far as we can fall even losing some players. However the USWNT should aspire to be at or close to the best. Vlatko is at best an average coach at the national level and that is the level Vlatko brings to the USWNT.
I have a feeling something is wrong with Andonovski. He used to be a former NWSL coach, which doesn't sit well with me considering how many male NWSL coaches have been fired in the last couple of months for unethical behavior over the years. Can you believe some people on here wanted Paul Riley a few years back as our Nat'l team coach because he was a great manager? I'm willing to bet something is going to come out in a few years when some players retire and are brave enough to speak out. Something happened during the Olympics and I'm not buying the humid weather and no fans excuse.
Ellis won 2015 with Pias roster. So miss me with the excuse that Vlatko should be given another chance to build "his" roster. Vlatko is 2 years in the job and already 1 tournament in his record a bad tournament at that. The fact that so many of you still want to give this foolish man a chance is rooted in sexism thats the only reason why. Im telling you right now if Ellis or Pia is coaching the team the way Vlatko is now with the results he is getting there would be a resounding campaign to #FireEllis #FirePia. Keep him and this team will get worse no matter what age group is on that field.
I think this was over the line. There is a thing called "individual responsability": vaguely accusing a coach of unethical behaviour just for "being male" shouldn't be accepted. One of two: you positively know of any unethical behaviour by Andonovsky or you avoid slandering him out of nowhere.
If you guys want to act like he’s the greatest coach in USWNT history and how dare we call for a replacement then I won’t interrupt your devotion and praise for this person. Just don’t pretend you never liked the guy if he in fact ends up a disaster. Those of us that criticize him do so for good reason. This USWNT is unrecognizable, unable to score against a team that’s ranked 18th and that doesn’t just happen in 6 months… If this were Jill Ellis or Pia Sundhage, there wouldn’t be such a defense and people wouldn’t be making excuses or giving them second chances. I’m sorry but I’ve been on this forum for years and there’s a distinction on how female coaches are treated when they go through a rough patch and how male coaches are treated when they go through a rough patch. When it’s a female coach, the coach is blamed for the problems, when it’s a male coach, the blame goes to the players and not the actual coach. Either way, women are blamed in both instances. If you think I don’t have a valid argument, just look at all the praise some of the most prominent male coaches got in the NWSL and NCAA and what’s recently been revealed about them. It’s a systemic problem and we need to look at our own prejudices and ask ourselves why we are harsher on women more than the men
Just to clarify: I never said that Andonovski is a great coach, I've got no personal attachment to him (nor to USWNT, for that matter) and, on the contrary, I tend to think that USWNT underperformed under his tenure, especially at the Olympics, and that replacing him wouldn't necessarily be a bad move (although, since USWNT is not the team I root for, I haven't any strong opinion about it). The only thing I said was that it's not fair to target him through made-up accusations of "unethical behavior" just because he's male and he coached in NWSL .The fact that some female coaches were possibly unfairly treated in the past has nothing to do with that: two unfairs don't make a fair. That's all I said, and if you put different words in my mouth, well, you're simply in bad faith.
Vlatko Andonovski is a very good coach. Your hatred for this man is uncalled for and unfounded. Many players on this team have endorsed him. So you're an expert on hiring coaches? What's your experience? So many of you are in love with the cult of personality of the USWNT.
unfortunately this ‘friendly’ match was meant to be opposite; it was fully about getting fans into the stadium with name recognition players trying to make an profit($30 a ticket times 20K fans = $600K plus TV rights)It sort of an retirement tour(Carli Lloyd plus hinting maybe Pinoe?). In the first half everything seemed to be set up for Pinoe. Then noticed; every final cross to Lloyd in the 2nd half, even though SK had the penalty area pretty much covered(the outside shot was there for the taking but nobody took it as per instructed to get the ball to Lloyd). But for Vlatko haters, the tie is exactly what happened the last time these two teams met; two years ago right after the USWNT won the WC & still coached by Jill Ellis. Australia just won an home game, 3-1, vs higher ranked Brazil, so if our trip down under is still on, it might just a truer contest on where we stand as compared to this one obviously more dedicated to getting Lloyd & Pinoe on the scoreboard
My issue is in the USWNT's strikers. Midfield is fine. Defence is fine. The ability to put the ball into the net is the problem. Felt like the SK game was the Olympics all over again. Pinoe, Heath, Morgan, Williams, heck even Press have all looked mediocre.
I clearly am in the minority, maybe a minority of 1, but I did not think the US was bad in the Korea game. This is soccer, 0-0 games happen and sometimes the result is worse. Overall, with one exception, I think the US played well. I do agree our finishing was not good. And I agree that in the second half the players appeared to be trying to get Carli chances to score. And I agree that there are players on the team who probably need to be phased out -- Megan seems not to be fully invested any more, Alex seems not to be able to be contributing any more. I have doubts about some of the other seniors, too, but not as great. And, I like seeing the young players out there, although I think they still have a lot of proving to do. I also do not think it is possible to say whether young players will be successful until they have been seen in international games against strong competition -- which means I think those who are posting like there are young players who are sure things are being unrealistic. Of course, I consistently have believed that all that really matters for the WNT is the World Cup. I think the Olympics and other games between Cups should be for the purpose of getting ready for the World Cup. That is why, when Ellis tried the three back against France in She Believes, I did not have a big problem. It was part of the prep for the World Cup. Others were calling for her head, but not me. And likewise, I am not now calling for Andonovski’s head.
The world of international women's soccer is changing. The contract is no longer viable if we want to continue to remain at the top. I have to be honest, from someone who is a big fan of the women's game and the USWNT, but not a crazy diehard, it seems insane to me to have this type of an arrangement...almost comical.
Does someone actually know what the contract says about who gets paid, who can be called in, when the pool can and cannot change, and so on? Not opinions, the actual contract language. I ask because some posters appear to believe or asssume that the contract limits player selections. I am not sure that is true and would like to read the actual language to decide for myself.
All I know is that when you have players in their mid 30's with some pushing 40, no matter how good they were, and they are playing against the best players on the planet who are far younger, it's a problem.
I was pretty sure someone would notice that Press didn't play. But I was pretty sure they would also notice that Lynn Williams didn't either. I mean, we can disagree on just how highly we rate her, but it's disgraceful how so-called fans of women soccer are willing to just shit on her. As for the game, the 0-0 scoreline doesn't bother me so much as the US best chances in the 1st half were all coming off very poor turnovers by South Korea. Without those turnovers, the US wasn't accomplishing much of anything. The US ball movement was better in the 2nd half when Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh came in for Rapinoe and Heath. (Kristie Mewis was in for Macario, too). I'm not writing off Rapinoe or (especially) Heath, but we should feel emboldened to start playing other, younger players in their place. It looks like time.