I'm sure a long while back there might have been a thread devoted to Abby, but I want to start one right after the last tournament for her in 2 years. Questions: Will she go for Canada World Cup? How do you guys rate her? Is she truly a great player to you hardcore fans? Something perhaps more controversial, she hasn't gotten as much attention as Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan, do you think it's because she doesn't fit American societies image of the perfect marketable female athlete? Do you think she deserves as much attention as Alex Morgan or perhaps more over her career? Do you think ultimately, she might break Mia's record of the most goal's scored by a female? How would you rate her so far in the legendary female footballer status?
She'll break it, because she only needs 15 goals to reach 158 and the US will have a 10-match tour coming soon with getting her the record on their minds (is Guatemala available?). But Sinclair will take it away soon after. Sinclair will eventually own the record for "good" dependent on how many matches Canada can schedule over the next couple of years. Sinclair will definitely be around for the next WWC ... Abby will depend upon injuries.
At present, Abby is a top ten all-time player in my book based on her scoring rate, leadership and her performance in big games. With her silver boot performance in the Olympics and her health she should continue to play. I envision her going out as a champion with the Women's World Cup 2015 if she continues to stay productive and healthy. Especially having running mates like Leroux and Morgan. IF that happens she may go out as the best. I would really like to have Pia play her in Boxxy's spot if Shannon hangs up her boots. She has the versatility, mobility and stamina to do it. We could get some youth up front.
She's good at pressuring the defense. I think moving to mid could actually boost her career, although it will be difficult to get her for headers in the transition attack. Ultimately, something has to be done with the midfield (as well as to the defense of course). I could see Alex Morgan in the attacking midfield, although we could keep her up top for holdup play (which she is really good at). LeRoux could stay up top for breakaway runs but should probably retreat to midfield to help us out on defense. Due to our talent level, I think we could have a completely free-form midfield provided that everyone get back on defense (and provided that our back line gets fixed, of course).