The team has been running on fumes and nagging injuries since last month's international break. With Niemiec and Rosana departing and Yuri's season ending injury - Och's was never going to be enough. Throw in the fact that they've got 5 players likely to get big minutes and travel fatigue from last night to next Thursday - then they come out of that to a game 48 hours later followed by two games within a week (thanks to the KC reschedule) - and then another midweek game later in the month. They need bodies. Especially in defense and midfield. A lot of players have already missed games due to nagging injuries. Now we're entering the part of the season where card accumulation will start causing gaps (Zerboni isn't going to play all 24 games). I think Mewis got a broken nose last night. I'm hoping Dahlkemper, Smith, and Debinha don't all play in both both remaining games, and while I hope Williams gets a run, I'm really hoping it's Sunday and not Thursday. The reinforcements are really good to see.
BREAKING: Orlando Pride Midfielder Maddy Evans Announces Retirement. @Mevans018 will play final match Saturday at Orlando City Stadium.— Patty La Bella (@PattyLaBella12) August 11, 2017
Amanda Da Costa, veteran of the WPS and NWSL as well as a Portuguese international, announces her retirement.She's 27 years old.— John D. Halloran (@JohnDHalloran) August 18, 2017
Mana Shim waived and Heath moved back on roster from disabled list: Club, Mana Shim mutually agree to part ways. https://t.co/X1vWDFvw5t #BAONPDX— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) August 28, 2017 Tobin Heath has been activated from the disabled list and the club has added her to the active roster. #BAONPDX pic.twitter.com/HvKG1Dx7Ml— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) August 29, 2017
NEWS: Orlando Pride Sign Midfielders Jo Blankenship and Jordan O’Brien.Details: https://t.co/RcAqmBWVTZ pic.twitter.com/pVpt5YK78X— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) August 29, 2017 NEWS: Dash claim @coxyyywoxy from waiver wireINFO: https://t.co/uLpWY7Q6Fu pic.twitter.com/zB18h4gqrG— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) August 29, 2017
So kmew stopped in Chicago for a week.... Wtf Houston. Wtf NEWS: Dash acquire @KristieMewie and future considerations from Chicago Red Stars for Morgan BrianINFO: https://t.co/TBDz3C5rA2 pic.twitter.com/cv3qrLixwk— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) August 30, 2017
Well, all of this end-of-the-season wayfaring seems crazy! I'd dare to say that it doesn't look good for the league itself that players go around this way in such a moment of the fight for play-offs.
Strange. A former NT prospect and now journeyman player like Mewis for a (former?) star like Brian. Maybe Brian was unhappy in Houston. Or maybe Houston gave up on her? What goes? .
I guess there's rumors about her going to Lyon. With her injury history, I would be worried about seeing a single NWSL minute of her in 2018 But with her injury history, odd that Lyon would be interested. She's pretty off the radar these days
Yes, and it doesn't look good for those league also! Basically I don't like too many players exchanges: they confuse the fan-base and when teams get shuffled around mid-season too much I am never sure if it makes sense to say that "team X" won the whole season (was it really "the same team" throughout all of the season? Or what the limit in changes is when you want to claim that it's the "same team"? a "Ship of Theseus" problem, if you want. ). It feels a little different for me when changes are due to international committments (in particular leagues overseas being out of sync with NWSL), although I have to admit that few things changed the play-off brawl more dramatically than Morgan getting back to Orlando from OL...
That's pretty presumptuous of you. Who is confused by players moving around? Hell, the national teamers get shuffled all of the time. If a player getting traded or transferred a couple of times triggers you, I'm not sure you're ready for the NWSL to grow up and be a fully independent professional sports league.
Yes, yes, just forget it. It's just I live in the past, in European leagues of the old days, when you were pretty much identifying a team with its players, more than with the colors, the crest or the franchise. Just see me as a time-traveler coming from the '80s and forgive me.
Lol, so true! There was an Italian writer, once, who had written something of the kind, wondering how people were going gaga for foreign players they hadn't even heard of before, as long as they were wearing the jersey of their beloved team...
The rumors going around are that Brian wasn't happy in Houston, and was in talks to join Lyon, so Houston shipped her off to get something back instead of losing her for nothing. No doubt "helped" with that by US Soccer. And the real kick in the butt for Houston? Thanks to Mewis playing for Chicago last weekend, she might not be eligible to play for the Dash until next season.
FIFA rules: Players may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season. During this period, the player is only eligible to play official matches for two clubs. They are pretty strict on it and have limited players who are dropped by teams from getting picked up by another, even though they aren't getting paid while waiting.
The way the info about the trade came out, there may be additional future consideration (for both teams or either team) depending on whether unspecified conditions are met. Maybe one of the conditions has to do with Mewis being allowed to play for Houston this year. Plus, the League is a single entity. The players' contracts aren't with the clubs, they're with the NWSL. I wonder if that could make a difference. I don't see why it should from a FIFA perspective, but who knows?
The future considerations are likely based on Brian's status for next season. If she goes to Lyon, as rumored, Chicago would get considerations from Houston. If Brian stays in Chicago, the Red Stars would have to give something to the Dash.