Brazil is hosting the Olympics, so they're already in. And even if they weren't, the WCQ doubled as Olympic qualifiers, and Brazil would have gotten in anyway since they won. That nitpick aside, with the reduced amount of teams going to the Olympics, players that would be playing in Canada won't be playing in Rio. So it's still an issue, but not as big an issue as it's going to be this year.
What players? The USWNT members? The CanWNT members? Sure there's a chance they don't qualify... but that would just be so shameful they might as well disband the NWSL cause it's obviously not working. My point is as long as teams are going to be losing their USWNT, CanWNT, and BraWNT members they will need to find replacements. With the current rules they can only replace them with U.S. amateurs. So adding international slots does not help the roster problem, because they can still only be replaced by U.S. amateurs even if an international slot is free. It doesn't matter if Japan, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and any other countries with players currently in the NWSL that I missed don't make the olympics. The ones that do go to the Olympics can only be replaced with U.S. amateurs. And to clarify, the problem is not the quality of amateur players, the problem is teams' reliance on college graduates (as they can't use NCAA eligible players) committing their entire summer to be a reserve for that team for nothing, just so they can sit on the bench when the NT players are away. That's not an enviable position for the player to be in or for the team's GM/Coaches to be in.
It's actually possible that the US doesn't even qualify for the 2016 Olympics. Only two teams from CONCACAF will qualify. We've seen US WNT youth teams not qualify for youth WC's when only two nations from CONCACAF could qualify. And Mexico has beat the US before. This qualification will be much tougher than the one held this past season.
I see some stats over on the All White Kit which are somewhat surprising. None of the big name forwards in this draft look all that good. Four lasses from Texas A&M rank highly. Allie Bailey, Kellie Monogue, Shea Groom, and Bianca Brinson. Bailey edges out Dagny Beowulfs-daughter as tops in All White's ranking of scoring efficiency against ranked opponents. Hmmmm.
I see the league is hosting a live chat during the draft on Friday morning.... ""The Live Draft Chat will feature expert analysis from host Lesle Gallimore, the women's soccer head coach from University of Washington with special guests Becky Burleigh from University of Florida and Nancy Feldman from Boston University. " Could be fun.
I keep seeing Grubka going to Chicago. While there is certainly nothing wrong with Grubka, doesnt Chicago need help in other places. Currently they have Johnston, who the could move to DM, Erceg, Johnson, Hemmings (who also plays outside). There is also the possibility they want Oyster who is local. I think they should try and get a skill player on offense and one of the top outside backs and be happy with the CBs they have.
Now Boston finds itself in a complicated situation. Last week they were probably certain they could wait until #14 to grab McCaffrey and add another local star to the mix. Now they have to be thinking about taking her at #9 because Jill Ellis has made her famous. Thy also have to worry the WNY might move her to the top of the forward list and snatch her up bfore Boston gets a sniff.
That is not totally clear to me. There is a story about it on their website.. so not sure how it actually will work. Maybe they update with a link? Right now the links associated with the story are listing of the players who've declared.
Guessing Lynn Williams won't be available until classes over at Pepperdine since she's clearly staying in school in Spring.— Chris Henderson (@chris_awk) January 13, 2015
Another player that was rated as a player that might be taken in the draft was Texas A&M's Annie Kunz, but she was not on the list. I guess it has to do with her being on the track team.
Sounds like WNY knows who they are drafting in the first round: 1st round sorted with contingency now the focus is all on the 18 and 21.. I think we get two great players there excited to see who?— charlie naimo (@CharlieNaimo) January 13, 2015
For those who would like to hear the draft, Jen Cooper of Keepernotes is planning a live broadcast from the site. It will be on Mixlr.com/keepernotes and should start around 9:20 EST.
This is how I feel about it: All these mock drafts having Boston take McCaffrey when they have eight forwards on the roster already.— Chris Henderson (@chris_awk) January 14, 2015
I'll make one guarantee, McCaffrey goes to Boston. These teams pick players they're familiar with, if she's available they'll take her. If it doesn't happen I'll eat some crow.
Plus they need a player that can tweet really well. It would be nice if they could trade up and take another Mewis. Mewis's don't exactly grow on trees anymore.
And it's not like they have 8 name forwards. They have Andressa Alves and a lot of ???. Also McCaffrey could be used in the midfield. And as mentioned above, some teams want players that their fans r already familiar with.
I'm actually thinking forward, then m, then GK. Somebody has to step into Press's cleats while she's at WWC. If LC is also possibly gone, then eek! It should be a great f who can play m, and a little d, if needed.
Most mock drafts agree with you on this matter http://orangeintheoven.com/2015/01/14/2015-nwsl-mock-draft/