Quote from Jim on the Freedom Web site Stoecker’s return will allow her to play next to Steffi Jones. Stoecker’s knee injury came in the third game after Jones arrived last June, and the pair did not see much time on the field together. “With Stoecker and Steffi in there in front of the defense, we feel like that back six is very strong,” said Gabarra. 4 defenders and 2 defensive midfielders. Anybody else worried that we should be a bit more agressive offensively?? I know Lindsey and Steffi can get forward but that is not their first thought. Who else is out there then, Abby and Mia up front and Monica and Lori in the midfield??
Bai Jie whenever we get her visa issues resolved and Kelly Ican'tspellherlastname the Australian are two attacking options we will have in the midfield. Oh and let's not forget about Skylar!
I know those two will hope but a team with 6 players thinking defense first is not planning on scoring a whole bunch of goals.
We tied for the league lead in scoring last year with the same formation. I don't see what your problem is.
Not really a problem, just an observation that I don't like the looks of it. And we did not have Steffi and Lindsay together much last year. 4 games or less I believe. But let me add that when Steffi does gt forward, she seems to have a very powerful shot. Maybe we will see more of that this year.
I'd like to see Steffi get more involved in the offense. I remember her taking some long (and hard) shots last year, but most of them were off the mark.
I'm not sure why you think having two holding middies means a defensive, non-attacking team. The reality is quite the contrary. Two holding midfielders allows ball-winning to occur farther up the field, controlling the center of the field and exerting offensive pressure. Moreover, it allows for much more complex attacking patterns (and asymmetrical formations), because the defensive core is so solid. The obvious example here is, of course, Arsenal -- who with their flat-4 and two holding middies nevertheless have the most potent attack in Europe. Since the Freedom have moved to a possession-based offense, ball-winning and positional play (i.e., winning the battle of midfield) is of central importance, and a Stoecker-Steffi pairing in holding middie makes me feel very VERY confident about our offense. I think our best starting XI is a 4-2-2-1-1, with Bai as winger, Lindsey as play-making middie, and Hamm as a withdrawn forward behind Abbs: ________Mullinix S Little__Grubb__Minnert__Barr ______Stoecker_S Jones Bai Jie______Lindsey _________________Hamm ________Wambach Indeed, this is the best starting XI in WUSA, imo.
Thank you. I see Minnert displacing Little or Barr, not Moore. My impression is that she's a flank defender for FFC Frankfurt.
Re: Re: How About Attacking Sorry, my bad! I like the Grubb-CMoore pairing in central D anyway...and we need more coverage at fullback (our weakest position). It will be great seeing Little and Barr compete for the starters role until Minnert arrives.
I am not saying we will not score goals, just that I don't like the approach. Arsenal scores with this type of lineup but I think that has a bit to do with the front four being Pires, Henry, Wiltord, and Bergkamp or something similar. We will score because Abby will work her butt off and hopefully Mia will be brilliant. Just an observation and we will see what happens starting tomorrow.