Thanks to TishaVench15 for the heads-up on this one: CyberRays Look to Get Back on Top in 2003 The article reiterates a lot of what we discussed on this forum during the season. It also features this quote from LaKeysia Beene, which, although not earthshaking news (many people on here were saying exactly the same this season), IMHO is pretty strong words coming from a player in the press: Pssst, hey, Ian, listen to your GK. If she's willing to lay it out for the press, then let's see you be willing to accept that as a big problem and listen to her. Let's stick with a consistent lineup in the back next season. While you're at it, you might want to pay attention to which players your GK is most comfortable with back there (talk to Jay, talk to 'Keysh). Her confidence in them, and theirs in her, will work wonders for team chemistry and consistency of play. The article also highlights our lack of a solid D-mid. Several people on here (myself included) have advocated trying Brandi out as a D-mid--it will be interesting to see if Ian makes that adjustment next season. I personally was also completely unrealistically hoping someone like Betsy Barr would be enough of a sleeper in the upcoming draft that she'd still be available when the CyberRays finally get a pick. Unfortunately I think that may only happen in some alternate universe (most of the mock drafts I've seen both here and elsewhere have Barr going before we get a pick, and I think that's probably accurate). What kind of player do you guys think we should be looking for in the upcoming draft, anyway? We may still be shopping for a striker, despite the acquisition of Clemens. I doubt there will be a ton of quality (more than we already have) left by the time we draft, however, so moving an international to sign a discovery player may still be our best bet if we think we need more firepower up top. Should we be looking at a d-mid with our draft pick? Or should we just be happy to get whatever quality player is left at any position at that point?
Okay, well, I'm no analyst or expert, so I'm sure there will be people disagreeing with me...but this is what I see. Actually, I see a few things, as I was in fact discussing with a friend today. This past season, I saw it as a mistake to think that Pretinha could replace Murray. I saw it as a mistake to think that Brandi could replace Murray. I saw it as a mistake to draft a defender. Okay, okay, rumor has it that Borgs can play up top also (and if she had stayed on her feet in that game against ND, I thought she could have put 1 or 2 away, Soro ), but we haven't seen that yet with the 'Rays. So who knows what's going on with that. I saw mistakes, but I don't know what we should have done. I don't know what the addition of Clemens to the team will bring. And I wouldn't expect much from the draft either. Maybe Mandy will do nothing for us and the chance we took on her was a waste. Maybe Mandy will do all right for us and we could still use a little more firepower. Maybe she'll have a stellar year for us and show that our firepower is sufficient as is. We changed our offense, so right now it's a question mark. We know that last year the defense did not work...So now it has to be changed too. Let's face it: that problem of having too many world class defenders that we thought was a "good" problem to have...it hurt us big time. Listen to Beene. Listen to Soro. Something has to be done. Last time I counted, we had 7 defenders with international experience. Okay, so two of those are Eagleson and Nanez, and they aren't starter material. (Have they retired or something?? I thought I heard something along those lines... ) Stil...we are left with Brandi, Boof, Thori, Di, and Frenchie. Too many to field at once, yet each one too good to be benched. My suggestion is this: trade Di to NY for something in return. I'd truly hate to see her go, but it's clear that we can't keep all five. We might as well get something back. NY needs defenders badly...would Sermanni really turn her down? We had this discussion before...except now we have acquired Clemens. I still like the idea of asking for Janss in return for Di--once NY drafts Welsh, Janss is more valuble to us. With our depth at defense, Di is more valuable to NY. Or, we could take a chance on our offense as is, and ask for something else...a d-mid, perhaps. Anything less than Janss, though, and I would argue that the 'Rays deserve additional compensation. Additionally, trading Di would open up an international spot, which increases our possibilities exponentially. How does the international market look?
hmm how bout no? .. okay had to edit this.. maybe i'll approve of a Di trade IF we get Ronnie to be our new D-Mid.. I miss watching her play D-Mid.. in the bay area once again a pretty good article by my buddy dean.. =Þ
Di goes to NY for Janss...hmmmmmm...though it is a trade which MAY work for both teams...hmm... Being the like the biggest Aussie/Sj Crays fan down under, it will hurt me to see Di go across the country to play for NY. she is a kick ass defender on a kick ass team. I just don't want to see such a trade happen. As selfish as it may sound, no, no trade. Though Di may be comfortable with Tom coaching her...I just can't see...no...I don't want to see Di playing on the east coast. Nothing aginst NY, I just don't want to see Di go... GO AUSSIE!!!
LOL Nice edit. I was waiting for that. Looking at NY defensive situation, though, I doubt they could afford to give up Ronnie. :| Whalen still on the mend, Whelchel recently tore her ACL... We can hope, though.
Okay.. Eagleson retired.. Lisa did just fine last season in my opinion.. she held her own and grew a LOT as a player.. anyway she's not limited to just D.. and now.. WHOA for JANSS??? ::Rita has heartattack:: wait we're talking about the same Di and the same Janss here RIGHT? Wow.. wow ..wow.. honestly.. that just isn't a fair trade.. and wow.. cant get over the whole Janss thing.. yes she's good.. but to give up a player like Di.. an international player (yes I'm still mad about the limit on international players).. for Janss.. I could watch a game without my contacts and compare the two and see how wrong that trade would be.. lol
I do not believe Janass can help the team and I do not want the Rays to change Di. I do want the team to get back on track this year and hopefully this will happen. We need to get a solid lineup and stick with it.
When making any trade in any sport, you have to realize that you have to trade value to get value 99.9 percent of the time. We have a surplus of defenders, so we've got value that can be used in a trade to strengthen our team. So are there any other suggestions that don't involve Brandi or Di? Or perhaps we trade Di for Janss and someone else who can help the team? Or ... well, speculating on trades is one of the things sports fans do to amuse themselves during a long offseason.
Firepower! I would like to see Laura Schott of Cal (Berkeley) begin her pro career w/ the C-rays. I don't expect her to go as low as 12 but maybe a trade?Seems a good fit if it could be worked out. All time leading career and season goal scorer at Cal and sat out probably 10-12 games. Injuries held her down her senior year, but finished w/ I believe 7goals in her last 7 games, coming of the injury. Probably love to play in her backyard
Yes. Trade Frenchie. There's another suggestion. We already know Di, Boof, Thori, and Brandi work together. But Frenchie doesn't deserve to be tossed around like what's-her-name from San D...Kester or whatever. That, and we're still at our max for internationals. Freeing up an international spot was another huge reason that I suggested trading Di.
yeah, but Frenchie also plays a damn good outside mid, so I would rather put her there than trade her. And as for Kester...I believe she made it clear she is retiring if she can't play for Carolina (where her husband is).
Just my opinions, nothing more. Is that really you, or did aliens body-snatch you? =D This is true. However, we also already know that Boof, Keysh, and Frenchie work well together having been on 9 million U-whatever teams together (and winning). I didn't personally see any real issues on the field with Frenchie to indicate in any way that she's the weakest link chemistry-wise of the defensive players. (Brandi and Thori are the two that don't always listen to Boof, from what I could see.) As we know, that's all just speculation on my part--I'm sure the players (and I HOPE the coaches) know who actually does work well together. I also agree with *Crazy_Chastain* that Frenchie also plays an excellent left mid, and since Sissi won't play forever nor will Tisha, we'll need good mids either next year or the year after. Frenchie should be kept. Since I obviously don't like the "trade Frenchie" idea , I'll point out (again--we do go in circles during the off-season when there's nothing new to talk about, don't we?) that Bryan is another defender with value that we could trade. Borgman we might get someone good for as well. Boof and Brandi are really our only two untouchables on defense, IMHO (for different reasons). I don't want to trade anyone, really. I'd rather play someone like Di or Brandi at D-mid if D-mid is not what we pick up in the draft, and then just figure out a formation that gets all of our best players out on the field together. Di or Pretinha are the internationals most likely to get moved--trading Katia or Sissi would be unfathomable. Pretinha's value to another team is questionable--so many people think she's been a bust overall (though I liked her in the midfield for the 'Rays)--so there we are back at moving Di to free up an international spot. I also auppose we could just waive Pretinha, if we wanted to, now that her two-year contract is up. I have no idea how that actually works, however. I guess it also remains to be seen if the 'Rays can even afford to pay a top-flight international after the collective bargaining agreement for this season is finalized. I have no information on any of the international players' contracts, but I do know that they have a range that they get paid within. Di was a relative no-name and we may have gotten her at a bargain basement price (again, I don't know for sure). If that's the case, then salary cap may become an issue for us, now that we have Clemens, if we try to get another international. In regards to Janss...I don't really know much about her to comment either way. However the fact that she didn't start for NY makes me wonder a bit about her value. They needed all the firepower they could get, but she still wasn't starting. That doens't inspire me. What's Little Sister got to say about her? My tentative thought is, come up with a defensive line and keep it intact, move Brandi or Di to D-mid, take whoever the best available player is in the draft, and hope that Mandy Clemens + Katia is all the firepower we need. I may change my mind tomorrow, however. ;-)
o o o.. Oh Rita has an idea (wow must be since i'm an 'adult' now haha).. how about NOT trading ANYONE and shutting up about trading anyone.. lol.. if frenchie leaves.. i'll have to mail her brownies.. if di leaves i'll have to mail her letters and cookies and brownies.. shoot.. just leave us the way we are and make it work.. we have a quality team and honestly none of our players should be thrown around.. leave em how they are..
Re: Just my opinions, nothing more. Oh, goodness! I'm certainly not promoting the idea. I'm not accusing her of being "the weakest link chemistry-wise" either. Someone asked for another suggestion. Like you said, Brandi and Boof aren't going anywhere. I'm not really sure what Thori's trading value is compared to Frenchie's or Di's...especially compared to Di's when it comes to NY. Granted, we don't have to trade with NY, but no one needs defensive help more. I would think that NY wants Di more than any other team would want any of our defenders. I could be wrong about that, though. I don't think Borgs has much market-value yet. You're opening up a whole new can of worms here. No one can replace Sissi. Tisha herself is world class as well. When we lose them...let's just say that an entire thread can be dedicated to this issue. I think so. And you know that. Agreed, and agreed. The mistake with Pretinha started a long time ago. It started when someone thought she could actually replace Murray. I don't know if she's worth an international spot, but I can't see how trading her would improve our situation...if a trade were possible. I'll guess you'll have to ask Pat or Charlie why Emily didn't start. Little Sister loves "Pipsqueak," of course. But then again, Little Sister doesn't think like I do (she reminds of a few people, though ). While I'm sure she was somewhat disheartened at the Power's 8th place finish, I get the feeling that she was more sad to see Wynne go. If Little Sister were a C'Rays fan, I'm pretty sure she'd be thinking something along the lines of this: *Don't trade anybody!! They're all too cute! Unless you could get Millie somehow. Or Mackie. * That being said, I know Little Sister was impressed by Janss as a player too. At this point, though, I'm thinking that maybe Janss isn't as important to us now that we have Clemens. Okay, we can roll the dice with what we've got. That too is a plausible suggestion. I just don't want it to turn out like last year, when we spent the entire season trying to figure it out...and still didn't get it.
Let's not trade anyone unless we have to. I agree that they need to work with what they got. I hope Di doesn't get traded, but it does free up the international spot. French is too diverse to be traded and we need to keep her on the west coast. Thori..well, she needs to learn to serve some better balls forward. If she does that, I will keep her.... - Maybe moving Brandi back up top would be the best solution for now...that way we can keep all our defenders and get them the palying time they need together.
Re: Re: Just my opinions, nothing more. Get ready, because this is, according to Tisha herself, her last season. (She said that in the middle of last season, and things may change. But most likely, this is it). Sissi was going to stay for a total of 5 years, right? That could change, but that's what she has said a few times. But anyway, like UW said, we won't discuss that sad time until later. I LOVE that we have some talk going on in here! This is great. All the trade speculations are very interesting. Once again, we have to trust the coaching staff to do what is right. Speaking of the coaching staff, who took Sermanni's place? Another thing to remember, the draft is set for Feb 2. Granted, we probably won't have a very exciting one, but the crop of talented players out there isn't just 1 or 2 rounds deep.
Re: Re: Re: Just my opinions, nothing more. We can discuss it, but if we do, I think it should be in another thread. I am under the impression that this thread is about succeeding in 2003. So far, Tisha's and Sissi's retirements are independent of that. I could go on for post after post about the problems we will face when we lose the players who were once collectively referred to as "the best midfield tandem in WUSA." We'd better make 2003 our year. Um, riiiiiight. After all of the mistakes that were made last year, that's a tall order. But I'll be content in knowing that what I say or do won't change a thing that they do.
Re: Re: Just my opinions, nothing more. So I emailed Little Sister, asking "What have you got to say about Janss?" and "Which was harder to take: the Power's 8th place finish, or losing Wynne?"... Her response: "I love Janss! She's a very funny girl... pipsqueak. and she scores. I would say losing wynne. She was cutie, but she's not someone to miss because of soccer. More because she was just local, on the Power, local... good stuff. Hopefully the Power's numbers will get better." Seriously, that's what she said. Word for word.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Just my opinions, nothing more. That's why I said once again. I know it'll be hard for everyone, and we'll have disagreements with the coaches (what fans never disagree with their team's coaches, ya know?). Hopefully, we won't run into some of the bonehead-like problems we saw last year. Oh yeh, whenever anyone here gets fed up with Sawyers, just think of all that Gabarra has done in DC. There's just no comparison.