Press still has a perfect record of never getting a goal against a top 10 team. We will hopefully be playing those teams. When is she going to show she is an offensive asset? Until then, you can't say she can do something AROD has done already.
I think you've been drinking too much of that kool-aid. Nobody, other than Holiday, coughs up the ball more. I can only remember her completing one pass in the offensive half against France.
That stats I saw had the US completing 63% of their passes and France 67%. Why is it I dont remember it that way?
Maybe cause those stats have nothing to do with a single player's ability to keep possession in the offensive half.
the stats actually say that we played a good game. the team can take a few things from them. but they are only stats we lost the game. we created more chances than they did, but didn't put ours away. Stats: USA / FRA Shots: 15 / 11 Shots on Goal: 7 / 4 Saves: 3 / 6 Corner Kicks: 3 / 2 Fouls: 5 / 7 Offside: 0 / 1 we sometimes are accused of being too physical. but we even fouled less than they did.
[QUOTE="BrooklynSoccer, post: 31795310, member: 120234"..Have we ever seen Press truly impress (Pun intended) on the Nat team against a team that's not from Latin America?...[/QUOTE] I think she was rather impressive in her debut against Scotland, which while not a top team is not from Latin America.
Haha. Ok, you win. She scored against a #8 team. They dropped to nine as a result. and she has one assist (to Syd) against a top ten team (France). Amy has played about three times as many matches, and has nine times as many goals and ten times the assists against the top tier, including three goals against Japan and Brasil, two against Canada, and singles against Norway and Sweden. Kristen needs to about Quadruple her production over the next 60-70 games to catch up. There really isn't any comparison, especially considering the two golds and a silver on the wall. And I can't believe it sounds like I'm defending Amy. Watching her Sky point blank shots drives me wild. It might just say how far Kristen has to go yet.
The referee did not blow the whistle on fouls very often...I blame her for those stats. I agree the US forwards were not clinical on the day but did create enough chances to win or draw. Had that penalty from Wambach gone in, it would have been a very long 15 minutes for the French girls...
This is an issue that is going on for long time now. I noticed it during Algarve Cup last year. In a Denmark game for example, Denmark had 7 SOG and scored 5 G, USA had 11 and only 3 goals scored. Similiar scenario happened in Japan and Sweden game. And before anyone tells me that SOG means nothing, because some are better chances than other, I say if it's not a good chance, why take it? Why not pass a ball and create a better one?
How many of the completed passes were between defenders, defender to GK, midfielder back to defender? Also, many turnovers were committed while dribbling, not passing.
Well, that's still 1/3 of our (& theirs!) passes failing, and that would seem about right to me. Of course we remember those passes in midfield right to the other team. It did seem like about a third of our passes were of that sort. I agree with many posters, personnel should be settled by now. We should be working on various systems, defense, set pieces, PKs, etc. etc. I do recall prior to 2011 when USWNT seemed to be in a similar malaise, it was obvious once the tournament started, that Pia had been working on defensive tactics quite a bit.
I forced myself to rewatch again. I know this stuff has been said ad nauseum but I'm just so irritated. I told myself the first time that perhaps the effort level of some players was a fitness issue. But in the first half you could see some midfield players not challenging opponents with the ball when they were only a few yards away. Holiday often just jogs alongside as a spectator. She has neither the mindset or inclinations of a holding mid...or if you don't want to call it that ... just playing that far back. If she's not moved up she shouldn't be on the field. If she doesn't display better commitment she doesn't belong on the field. The operative word being sometimes. Some players have been known to launch rainmakers from 25 yrds and beyond when there are better options. It's a valid point because often looking at shots against the USWNT at every level, sometimes those teams can't get any shots inside the 18 yard box because of stout defense so they launch them from outside. Yet those low pct opportunities are counted as SOG. I don't think this was really the case for the US in the France game. Although the French defense deserves credit. They forced a lot of bad angle shots and limited, to some extent, chances down the middle.
Sorry for the delay. I was in a severe coma from extensive drinking, glue sniffing, and head bashing after the USWNT lost to France. That was immediately after plotting a grassy knoll strategy to take out Sunil Gulati and Jill Ellis. Full match: American (ESPN) commentary is now uploaded.
A couple of comments-- watched the game on TIVO a few days ago, but only just had time to read the thread... It was pretty obvious early on that we were allowing the French too much unpressured time in their own end. Obviously you don't want to see make-runs-at-them-from-7-yards-away type pressure; but you can't let them start from the midline before they feel any either. We've been expecting them to gel into the Next Big Thing any day now for a couple of years; and it looks like they finally have... Blaming Chalupny for the loss is just an example of "a little learning is a dangerous thing." She was hung out to dry over and over, and what happened was probable if not inevitable; she played well but was used up by the time she came off. The notion that Kling is ahead of Ali in Jill's depth chart reminds me of people's contention that Mitts was ahead of her this time last cycle; pretty sure she's not playing much because she's got the job, not because she's lost it. Harris is not as good as Barney. We're not getting much from Press. That's not really a criticism of her, just an observation. The things she does best are also being done by other folks, and she's not the sort of player who can develop the ability to fill other needs in response. Like Tiffany Milbrett, she needs to do what she does best to help, and she's not going to get much chance if either Morgan or LeRoux is healthy... She needs a Lil and a Parlow, not a LeRoux and a Lloyd... I know I keep comparing her to Millie, but she keeps reminding me of her,,, The game was crying out for HAO-- or better yet, TR...
A blast from the past. I wasn't a big fan, but that game would have been prime for Tiffany Roberts...