We've heard the allocation of USWNT players could be happening before the Olympics in August, so I figured it was time to begin speculating. Though it will likely be more of an allocation than a draft, let's just play along for now... I'm going forward with the seven known teams and 3 players per team (I don't believe we know the number yet, so I'm just using the number of allocations WUSA teams had). Let's say the teams would draft in alphabetical order in the first round, and then the order would reverse for each subsequent round. So, the draft order would look like this: 1) Boston 2) Chicago 3) Dallas 4) LA 5) New Jersey 6) St. Louis 7) Washington 8) Washington 9) St. Louis 10) New Jersey 11) LA 12) Dallas 13) Chicago 14) Boston 15) Boston 16) Chicago 17) Dallas 18) LA 19) New Jersey 20) St. Louis 21) Washington You can do all 3 rounds if you want, or just the first round or two. You can take players' hometowns into consideration if you want, or not. It's up to you. What would your mock draft look like?
I'll take a stab at it... 1) Boston - Abby Wambach 2) Chicago - Lindsay Tarpley 3) Dallas - Hope Solo 4) LA - Natasha Kai 5) New Jersey - Heather O'Reilly 6) St. Louis - Lori Chalupny 7) Washington - Carli Lloyd 8) Washington - Cat Whitehill 9) St. Louis - Heather Mitts 10) New Jersey - Christie Rampone 11) LA - Shannon Boxx 12) Dallas - Kate Markgraf 13) Chicago - Nicole Barnhart 14) Boston - Stephanie Cox 15) Boston - Angela Hucles 16) Chicago - Leslie Osborne 17) Dallas - Ali Krieger 18) LA - Amy Rodriguez 19) New Jersey - Rachel Buehler 20) St. Louis - Angie Woznuk 21) Washington - Briana Scurry I wasn't really sure who to include in the 21. Aly Wagner's inclusion in the Peace Queen Cup camp roster makes me wonder if she should be among the allocated players. Also, I'm not exactly sure about the young players and who will still be in college (which is why I left off players like Cheney and Heath). Considering the number of opportunities I've had to see some of the younger players in action this year, the third round is almost a complete guess.
brilliant thread, this will make for some fun debate while we twiddle our thumbs waiting for more news. there's so much to think about: do you go for most talented overall or most talented at the most important position, and what position is the most important? do you go for youth or experience? do you use national team performance as your barometer or college/wusa? how much does local talent play into your decision? all very interesting things to consider. boston: lori chalupny chicago: lindsay tarpley dallas: abby wambach los angeles: hope solo new jersey: heather o'reilly st. louis: carli lloyd washington: natasha kai -in the first round, for the most part, i went for offense as my default strength. still, i feel like solo has to go in the first round because i feel like there's enough separation between her and the rest of the goalkeeper group that she warrants an early pick (for the purpose of this discussion, i feel like briana scurry's age is a significant drawback; i'm not trying to get into the solo vs scurry tomfoolery, etc). as for my number one pick, i've seen lori play a lot of games and there is little doubt that she'd be the first player i'd want on my team. she's versatile, capable of playing defense, holding mid or attacking mid, she's a workhorse and she leads by example. if i were going to build a team around someone i don't think there's anyone else i'd go with. of course you could pick wambach, and i imagine a lot of people will, but i feel like she doesn't bring you as much overall as lori does. as for the rest, they're all young and talented and have proven they can put the ball in the back of the net (which, keep in mind, also puts butts in the seats...i think this first season i might rather have a pretty good team that scores a lot of goals than a championship winning team that wins 1-0 every night). washington: shannon boxx st. louis: cat whitehill new jersey: stephanie cox los angeles: amy rodriguez dallas: heather mitts chicago: nicole barnhart boston: leslie osborne - in the second round i'd focus on finding a center piece for my defense (except for LA, which would have to find a striker to make up for taking a keeper in the first round). i think shannon boxx would be a great anchor for your team and a strong leader, even though she'll be 32 by the first game. i think barnhart goes before scurry again for the age difference. boston: kate markgraf chicago: christie rampone dallas: kacey white los angeles: angela hucles new jersey: india trotter st. louis: aly wagner washington: rachel buehler - like meinert, i'd say the third round is more of a crap shoot. markgraf and rampone are great players and leaders and would be a great foundation for a young team, but how much longer are they going to play? white and trotter played well in college, can they translate that to the wps? is wagner going to keep getting hit with nickel and dime injuries or will she return to the form she had an increasingly long time ago? i also do these picks based on the assumption that you can only choose from the national team pools of this year. if you can choose anyone, someone like yael averbuch might make the list... also, i found it hard to remember that while some of these players might turn my hair grey if they were in the wnt's starting XI, when the players are spread out they are still some of the best in the country. but anyway, tha'ts my list
I completely agree about Chalupny. If I had to pick one player to build my team around, it would be her. Versatile, incredibly skilled, experienced enough to lead a team and young enough to be around for a while.
Chalupny is a local STL gal and she will play here. She had quite a contingency when the post cup tour played in STL. It would be a mistake to put here elsewhere, especially when considering there are not many players from the midwest.
Meinert, I have no idea how accurate your mock draft/allocation rules will be compared to the real thing, but thank you for giving us the #1 pick...for fantasy purposes, at least. AC
I was considering letting Chalupny and Tarpley mysteriously slip to #14 and 15, but I thought that might be taking things a little too far.
OK, I'll play. In alphabetical order, IMO: 1st Round Boston: Christine Lilly (nastalgia) Chicago: Heather Mitts (only because that's what I want) Dallas: Kacey White (from texas) LA: Shannon Boxx (in her back yard) NJ: HAO (isn't she from around there?) St. Louis: Lori Chalupny (hometown girl) Washington: Abby Wambach (she's back at her old club) 2nd Round - Goalies Boston: Brianna Scurry (her and Lilly are such good friends) Chicago: Kristin Luckenbill (doing well with part owners FCI) Dallas: Nicole Barnhardt (just seems like a good fit) LA: Hope Solo (she belongs close to a beach. Too bad it it's not Miami so that she can be close to her greatest admirer, htide ) NJ: Val Henderson (time to get out of CA and head for the East Coast) St. Louis: Ashlyn Harris (leaves UNC early to pursue pro career) Washington: Siri Mullinix (making a comeback) Later rounds - Making a comeback Boston: Lori Fair (can't have a new league without her) Chicago: Debbie Keller (finally plays pro in her home town. Still not too old) Dallas: Kylie Bivens (had a bright future at one time) LA: Brandi Chastain (just won't give up untill she's around 85 or so) NJ: Tiffeny Milbrett (comes back to NY/NJ area) St. Louis: Nancy Augustiniak (I just like when she played at Clemson) Washington: Mia Hamm ( we need you back so desperately! if only for the dwindling fans in womens soccer. We long for the days of high pitched voices screeming Meeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!) Foreign draft picks Boston: Birgit Prinz (Germany) (the best German) Chicago: Kelly smith (England) ( English coach, must have English player) Dallas: Rubi Sandoval (Mexico) (IMO, best mexican player) LA: Marta (Brazil) (if Becham had to come to LA than why not Marta?) NJ: Rosana (Brazil) (can't have just one Brazilian) St. Louis: Steffi Jones (Germany) (tough as nails) Washington: Anne Mackinen (Finland) (because she was so good at ND) Other Notables: Boston: Cat Whitehill, Kate Margraff, Natasha Kai, India Trotter Chicago: Charmaine Hooper, Jenn Grubb, Amy Lepielbet, Lindsey Tarpley Dallas: Mary-Francis Monroe, Kerri Hanks, Keeley Dowling, Joanna Lohman LA: Aly Wagner, Jacqui Little, Leslie Osborne, Amy Rodriguez NJ: Christie Rampone, Christie Welsh, Tina Dimartino, Stephanie Cox St. Louis: Lindsey Stoecker, Jessica Maxwell, Carli Loyd, Angie Woznuk Washington: Lori Lindsey, Becky Sauerbrunn, Angela Hucles, Kele Golebiowski Just having fun. No rhyme or reason.
Alright, since I have the day off, actually, the whole weekend as well, I'll throw my hat in the draft ring here and take a stab at it as well. I might even do a couple mock drafts just because I'm bored and I have nothing else to do. My first one though is going to be based on where I think the players have expressed interest in going, which, no doubt, will play a factor. Maybe not a big one but I think it will play into things. 1) Boston -Abby Wambach 2) Chicago - Lindsay Tarpley 3) Dallas - Hope Solo 4) LA -Natasha Kai 5) New Jersey - Carli Lloyd 6) St. Louis - Lori Chalupny 7) Washington - Heather O'Reilly 8) Washington - Shannon Boxx 9) St. Louis - Cat Whitehill 10) New Jersey - Christie Rampone 11) LA - Stephanie Lopez 12) Dallas - Amy Rodriguez 13) Chicago - Leslie Osborne 14) Boston - Heather Mitts 15) Boston - Kate Markgraf 16) Chicago -Nicole Barnhart 17) Dallas - Angela Hucles 18) LA - Angie Woznuk 19) New Jersey - Kacey White 20) St. Louis - Aly Wagner 21) Washington - Becky Sauerbrunn Well, there it is. I got kinda stuck in the last round so I just threw people in! Abby has to go #1 pick in my eyes. As far as star power and recognition, you have to take her first I feel.
Honestly, at this point, I'm more curious about foreigners. Lisa De Vanna just went to Sweden, and Hedvig Lindahl, well, she's a Swede in Sweden. Good league, but I'll be curious to see if we can lure anyone from there.
Steffi's a US citizen (because her father was), so she never counted as foreign. Anne was with the Freedom in 2001 and 2002 but never worked out (possibly because Gabarra didn't know how to coach intelligent midfield play at the time) and ended up with the Charge. Judging by the W-League team, at least, he seems to have improved in this area, so perhaps it would be worth another try.
I'd think Hoop would go to Dallas, considering her and her hubby just moved to Texas from Chicago. (He's an assistant for Marci at Baylor now.) But then again, it would be the off-season. But it would seem odd for them to move cross country for a few months. And Anne Mak will turn 32 this year, IIRC, so I don't know if she'd want to stop her studies in Stockholm and come back to the U.S. for one last hurrah or not. And yes, I think the foreign player draft will be all kinds of interesting. Because even those of us who closely follow the int'ls are scratching our heads wondering who may or may not come over.
I don't have any mock draft picks to dole out, but I'm liking what I am seeing for Dallas in this thread. Abby Wambach? Hope Solo? Heather Mitts? I think I wouldn't be alone in camping out at PHP. OK maybe not. but anyway, this says a lot about the level of quality in the women's game. I'd be happy with just about anyone on the USWNT coming to Dallas. If Kelly Smith came here too, holy crap, man. I dunno about this "[player] will only play for [team]" stuff. That's not how drafts work, right? Anyway great speculation. Can't believe the league starts in 10 months. (!!!)
ok. I'm not doing my draft until we find out the actual rules. I guess I could live with these three. On a side note it's been two days and I'm still not over having to turn the calendar from Heather Mitts to Abby Wambach On the bright side...just 27 days to Hope!
Did I miss something, or did no one pick Christine Sinclair among the foreign players? Only the highest scoring player in US college D1 history and also a very high scoring international without a stellar supporting cast. Being a Portland fan, I may be prejudiced, but she would have to be one of the top foreign picks.
1) Wash-Abby Wambach 2) St Louis - Lindsay Tarpley 3) Dallas - Hope Solo (Philly will not be in this) 4) LA -Natasha Kai 5) New Jersey - O'Reilly 6) St. Louis - Box 7) Boston - Lilly 8) Washington - Cat Whitehill 9) St. Louis - Heather Mitts (Again, Philly will not be in the Mix) 10) New Jersey - Christie Rampone 11) LA - Stephanie Lopez 12) Dallas - Amy Rodriguez 13) Chicago - Leslie Osborne 14) Boston - Kate Markgraf O'Reilly will play for NJ, she has been making Appearances for Sky Blue since they began. Boston will have lily and Hucles... plus Leblanc from Canada if she does not stay in NJ (Assistant at Rutgers) One wonders if the Canadian Players will get an Exemption from Being Foreign players ( The W-League does not count Canada as Foreign players)
Did you mean for Boxx to go to Chicago? In the first round you had 2 St. Louis allocations and I'm guessing the second one was supposed to be Chi Town.
I understand the stadium situation and preparation. But why would Phily not do anything and everything possible to be part of the allocation? That is a loss of revenue in some of those players with the fan base.
it'll be interesting to see what they do with philly and the allocation. they certainly can't allocate players to philly and have them sit out a year, but it's also going to be kinda awkward to put a player on a team and then yank them off to even things out for philly. still, i think they'll do the latter with teams being able to protect a certain number of players