Jenny and Heather jobbed again...

Tough to accurately make a judgment when one was not there in person to see the practices...

Though Benny not making the roster was a surprise... especially given Bryan's being named to it.... but again, those are non-witness-to-practice-or-coaches'-heads thoughts

 

This friendly is meaningless. Jets @ Raiders will be more exciting.

 

When Jenny & Heather got jobbed the last time, they both said that April told them the reason they didnt make the final cut was because of lack of intl playing time.

April obviously is going with a youth movement this winter, so why arent Jenny & Heather there?!? Did they have a horrific training camp, report out of shape, or forget to pay April the entrance fee or something? Thori Bryant and Kate Sobrero arent better than Benson/Mitts.

Are Bryant/Sobrero more classic defenders who stay home and dont get involved in the Offense, where Benny & Heather are more flank defenders who like to move up?

This is getting to be outrageous. Two of the nations best young defenders not even getting a chance at garbage time when two of the nations grizzled veteran defenders wear themselves out in the offseason, then play a full WUSA season, then try and play in the WWC on tired, achy, old legs.

I guess Philly fans just better come to the realization that the only Charge players we are going to see play in the WWC are Pichon, Lihong, and Fair. Its kind of funny actually. Philly is known for their strong defense and goalkeeping, and that unit isnt represented while we get 2 midfielders and our only scoring forward as representatives.

KSP

 

Mitts and Benson not on the roster

I am so disappointed in April's decision. Okay, she said like last roster that Heather didn't make it basically because she lacks experience...How in the world are her and Benson going to get experience is she doesn't give them the time of day? Let them play in a "friendly" vs Japan....Give them the opportunity to get "experience"....How in the world are they going to get experiece if she wont' give them the light of day...Besides them not making the roster...their confidence is probably shot...I am really disappointed in the roster that ms april picked

UGH!!!


Charlene

 

I thinks Heinricks is a joke. She only got the job because the USSF couldn't find another woman out there. I'm sure they could have looked a little harder. I hope they axe her after we get embarrased in China. Fotopolous is the one getting jobbed for years. AND CHristie Welsh. Weren't we one of the oldest teams in 99? It's mostly the same team.

 

Heather sould be there but i am tired of trying to make the point.Go Eagles Go Charge

 

It all has to do with the STYLE of the player.

Basically USA defenders have been big and fast, and technical skill had been secondary.

USA was so good offensively, the ball would be in their offensive half 90% of the time.

The other 10% of the time, the other team would be countering, hence the emphasis on being able to run fast.

As the female game is improving, there's greater equality in the level of play, putting more of an emphasis in better technical defenders.

Gone is the day where the USA will beat teams 9-0, excpet in the cases where it's Trindad&Tobago or similarly less gifted national squads.

Against World Cup level nations, USA might control 60% of the possession, permitting the other team to attack with greater possession.

Passing skills, working the ball out of trouble, and becoming offensive options are skills defenders will need in the future.

The mindless hacking of the ball out of touch or upfield isn't good enough in the future.

And those are the skills Mitts and Benson bring to this country.

Too bad if April wants to live the past.

She isn't going to gamble with change and that's very obvious.

She'll live with her old buddies, and that's fine with me.

But it's NOT the way to develop a national side capable of beating Germany and Norway and Canada and China.

 

I'm sorry but I don't think Jenny or Heather should replace Thori Bryan. While she moves upfront often enough she just doesn't do it as much as Jenny or Heather. This is good. April's tactics may be criticized but sometimes you just want a player to just play their position and besides Thori is consistent and a good player. Not as good as Danielle Slaton though.

 

My back four for the future for the USWNT is Slaton, Benson, Tietjen and Reddick. For now Bryan's consitency and conservative play is good in the back.

 

If we know anything about the USSF, it's performance at the youth levels which guides opinion formation.

Slaton and Reddick need broken legs not to be in the future backline.

Then comes the interesting point in style of play.

Personally, Lorrie Fair at d-mid is a waste of time for me. Having a player who is NOT a turnover machine, and who can distribute forward in a creative fashion is my preference.

Michelle Akers dominated the game from deep, and the hope is Devvyn Hawkins or Callie Withers evolve into such a player.

This changes the dynamics for what you look for in your other defenders.

My emphasis is always on skill, skill, skill in defenders, they don't have to be Brazils outside backs, but I highly prefer backs who can play the length of the pitch and who can cross effectively.

We've all seen Mitts and Benson display those talents.

And in your central defender, you want somebody who can handle Prinz and Sinclair, some one big enough and yet with enough mobility to cover space.


Sounds like AI to me.

 

I've received a PM pointing out my AI initials are in error.

Of course, EI was the intent.

I tried responding to the PM but I got a response saying the recipent mailbox was full and needed to be cleaned out.

EI is Erica Iverson and if you want to mark Prinz or Sinclair, you need a physical presence.

Sinclair has such good mobility, you'll need Paolo Maldini for the job.

 

http://www.fifa2.com/scripts/runisa.dll?S7:gp:518809:67173+wwc/1999/techrpt/teams+E+1070+1999+101USA

I was reviewing the USA technical report from the 1999 World Cup, and the story remains true today..

Weaknesses: offensive: -
defensive: the defence often appeared unorganised and uncontrolled; It had little depth and balance, recovery was usually slow
general: there was more dependence on individual qualities (technique, fitness) than team work