Some initial insight: https://www.hottimeinoldtown.com/2018/1/18/16906504/mkot-red-stars-trade-christen-press-sam-kerr I don't like this part:
Rory Dames on today's moves: http://equalizersoccer.com/2018/01/...on-mega-trade-involving-press-lloyd-and-kerr/
Let's say that it makes it more of a rip-off to Sky Blue, and we'll be closer to the truth! Basically, Red Stars traded off Press for Kerr, all the rest is background noise. And, as I said above, the margin is in Chicago's favour, especially if Press wanted to go and wasn't motivated anymore to play in Chicago. Also, what Dames said it's undeniable: "Her age (24) is a huge upside. She’s at the very front end of her career". Press is 29: as fit and good as she can be, I'll always prefer the younger and hungrier one over her. Also, I like how kindly Dames has put the other question, with a somehow gentle understatement: "Michele [Dalton]’s been a good soldier for us and has shown her worth at this level, but I would say that it’s gotten complacent over the last two years"
As someone said in another thread, I assume CRS required a written commitment from Kerr in that sense or something of the kind, before embarking on this massive trade.
As I said in the other thread, the deal is done, Press is no longer in Chicago but we have arguably the worlds best female player and I for one can't wait to see how the "new" formed Red Stars look and to see Sam Kerr in action. I'm also excited to see how some of the new drafted players will fit in. They can only hold on to 20 players I believe so it will be a lot of completion for spots. One thing I hope is that when Alyssa Naeher is off to USWNT camp, we Red Stars fans aren't getting white knuckles anymore holding on to our seats when the opposing team starts heading toward CRS goal. Getting a new good and reliable backup keeper will make all the difference in the world to what we have seen over the last few years, IMO.
Not trying to be a vulture but I would love to have Adriana Leon back to the Red Stars and Morgan Andrews.
Check out this article on Arin Gilliland where she compares her experience between the NWSL and Australia League. Ouch! http://thefootballsack.com.au/2018/01/gillilands-letter-sparks-newcastle-love-affair.html
Not sure if there is just a general thread here, so apologize if this is in the wrong spot. But with the Boston players that were picked up, how will this affect roster size? And with open tryouts what is the likelihood that anyone actually gets picked up, when most teams in the league already have 25-30 players "rostered"?
It's been mentioned a few times in the main threads but gets lost easily (and thus gets mentioned again as people ask the same question, so no worries!) - all pickups from Boston are exempt from the roster cap, the salary cap, and the international-slots cap. Since each team could pick up to four Boston players, the effective roster size this year is 24 instead of 20 since the ex-Boston players don't count toward the 20. That said, even though they don't count against the salary cap, they still need to be payed, so that might affect things for clubs like Seattle, DC, Chicago, and NJ more than for the men's-backed clubs.
I wouldn't put *too* much weight in the club comparison because she's comparing her experience at an independent club in the US with a men's backed club in Aus. Also, combining the fact that all W-League clubs save Canberra are men's-backed with the fact the AusWNT players make less than the USWNT players, it also makes perfect sense that the "gulf" between WNTers and non-WNTers is smaller there.
Gilliland's comments are interesting. The part about the men in relation to the women is a reflection about her experience in Chicago. One of the things I've seen in Portland is that the men and women get equal billing. The women support the men, and the men support the women. It's been great seeing Diego Valeri, the Timbers' top player, coming to all the Thorns games with his little girls decked out in Thorns garb. And, it's been great seeing the Timbers tweeting about the Thorns -- and vice versa. This may be a benefit of joint ownership that hasn't been much discussed.
"Benefit of joint ownership". That's if the MLS team in your town has any interest in owning a joint MLS/NWSL team. Sporting KC apparently has no interest, New England has no interest, and I doubt the Fire have any interest. The Red Stars and the Fire share the facilities at Toyota Park. That's all. The ownership is different. The village of Bridgeview owns the stadium and since the Fire bring in more cars and more stadium concessions to the cash registers of the city, they are the priority. My understanding is an occasional doubleheader between the two is pretty much the extent of the cooperation. And for those who constantly harp on MLS owning more NWSL teams well, I highly doubt the current Fire ownership would have any interest in owning a women's team in Chicago. The Red Stars owner as I said before is in it for the right reasons. His heart is in the right place. I would guess he has probably lost more money in the last ten years bringing women's professional soccer to Chicago so that Miss Gilliland can have a place to play than many of us may make in a lifetime. So those of you who wish for an MLS takeover of NWSL, please give the individual owners a break, cause you may get what you wish for one day. Just my opinions.
Perhaps there's a way for the Red Stars and the Fire to become mutually supportive -- the players, at least -- without the two teams having common ownership. For the Red Stars, I think their owners have proved themselves and are great, but that doesn't take away from what Gilliland is talking about in relation to the men and women in a city supporting each other. If they can't accomplish mutual support, then that is a cost of having split ownership. I don't see any way to deny that. It may be a cost worth paying, but it's still a cost. I'd take her statement as an expression of the significance of the cost. I don't know what the answer is in Chicago. I'm sure this is something Arnim Whisler has thought about and probably would like to fix, if it's possible. I wouldn't take this out on Gilliland, she simply said something that's true.
Chicago Red Stars just hired two new Assistants: http://chicagoredstars.com/gary-curneen-craig-harrington-joins-red-stars-coaching-staff/
The Doubleheader I've always wanted: https://www.chicago-fire.com/post/2...o-red-stars-host-doubleheader-march-31-toyota Chicago Fire vs. Portland Timbers Chicago Red Stars vs Portland Thorns