What bothered me most about this game and what I saw that remained constant from the world cup, were the tactics (or lack of tactics)-employed by the US. The constant banging of the ball up the field, the lack of creative play in the final third. The reliance on set pieces to score. The issue isn't the hiring of a new coach. Its the need for this team to develop a higher degree of tactical intelligence akin and hopefully eventually superior to the Germany's of the World.
Developing and enforcing tactics (or tactical intelligence) is one of the primary responsibilities of a coach at the highest level. If we don't have it, April cannot escape responsibility.
It's the coaches job to define the team tactics, so you would have to start with the coach if a change is needed. By all accounts, even yours, that change is desperately needed.
First, I think April should fired as that vote of no confidence exhibition put on by USWNT. Slow to the ball and repetitive tactics were the hallmark for the US. Fortunately we got that own-goal (although I think Abby would have buried it if the Italian defender would not have played it.) One a positive note, I thought the officiating was top notch (I missed the last 10 minutes--beauty sleep awaited). Ali Saheli was in command, but he let them play hard without the antics we saw in some of the US matches in the WWC. I especially liked when we was very blunt with Abby about the persisent issue. Of course, the Italian defender tried to unhinge Abby only to get a YC. Saheli did a great job with his player management as well card management. The only mistake I saw was awarding the corner kick to the US and then calling the play right as it was kicked into touch. He should have just blown his whistle and called the half right away.
A team always ends up taking on the style of play the coach is training them for. If they don't do what the coach wants they should be pulled so what we are seeing is what AH wants. Apparently we can only switch the point of attack on the back line which is OK some of the time but to really be effective the switch should be made by the midfield. But that cannot happen because this team either has been told not too or does not have the confidence to make a pass into the middle of the field. Boxx recieved some passes but they occurred when she too was behind all the Italien players not infront of there first line. This team plays with no plan, no creativity and no freedom. If we have a plan it seems to be spend time moving the ball across the back line and then send it up and hope. Maybe we should call it the kick and wish plan. Please FIRE AH, she has never been a successful coach and is ruining good players as we watch. And don't tell me her record with the NATS is a winning record. This team with no coach could be this successful.
fired a soccer coach ? it will never happen here in US because soccer is not the main sport, it can happen in basket ball or football
Ape? Gone? Now? You know, I have seen a half a dozen threads, if not more, that have as a constant theme - the immediate-if-not-sooner replacement of the USWNT coach. While I agree wholeheartedly with those who espouse that course of action (I also agree with those who see Dr. Boob as unwilling to take that step, because he is still intent on punishing the "Etrenals"), it would really cause a great commotion on the Board by removing the "cause celebre." Why can't the Ape and her band of assistants and her sports phsychologist just leave? It would make life better for everyone: the team, the public and... US!
This is what the Fox Sports World Report anchor said: "The WWC 2003 performance showed deep fissures over tactics and personnel." TAKE THAT!
Re: Ape? Gone? Now? My guess for next yr, we win the gold in Greece and AH gets another gold opportunity, Contract extention, by the way, are you Lorrie Fair, Heartplay ?
I just received a phone call from God. God told me he has is really busy with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the AIDS scourge in Africa as well as toying the Catholic Church and the Pope, so he wanted me to rely something to SexySadie. God said, "April has never had a very distiguished coaching record despite some of the plum opportunities he gave to her (the Princeton, Maryland and UVA jobs)." God also went on to say, "if Dr. Bob doesn't replace her, I will do it once the wars are complete, AIDS has been solved and a plume of white smoke appears to the masses congregation at St. Peters." Hopefully Dr. Bob will pull the trigger or April will resign on her own. At the very least she needs to retire that ridiculous/hideous visor. That's a one-way ticket to Mr. Blackwell's list.
FIRE APRIL NOW! That was a disgrace Wednesday night. A fire needs to be lit under this team and a coach needs to be found whose idea of tactics goes further than "loft the ball into the box." Heinrichs (of whom I was originally a real big supporter) is not the one to do it. And a few more of the "Founders" need to be retired off. Foudy, Millbrett, Lilly, thanks for the memories. Really, you gave us some great ones. Play well in your tribute game against Mexico. And I hope that WUSA gets going again so you have a place to play next year, you still have alot to offer, just not on the national team anymore. Fawcett, you can stay for now. You seem to be the only one who can play defense around here.
Re: Re: Ape? Gone? Now? Sadie, your devotion is admirable and please don't take this as a personal attack, but have you been watching the same games that I have? The leadership/direction/style of play of this team- as posted above, below, and beyond - comes from the coach.... At the end of the day, it's the coach who has to answer to the play, or lack of play, of his/her players regardless of the players position on the food chain. This team ain't gonna win the Olympic Gold under the current direction...sorry...it pains me to say it. But as we have witnessed recently, kick and run has limited effectiveness.....and scoring on dead-ball plays is too dependent upon something you can't really control. I can't believe AH isn't gone yet! Everyday I check the news hoping to see it but............... And, as also posted, US Soccer might ignore us, however large or small we are, and just go with it and that would be bad......very bad.
Let us pray for a red card for ss. Please, return to your middle school grammar and spelling lessons.
aren't those guys in FSW channel are Rugby maniacs ? - by the way, how much do they know about soccer ?
Run, don't walk, back to those grammer lessons! And they know quite a bit about soccer, actually. It may seem like all rugby, all the time, recently--perhaps that perception is due to the Rugby World Cup, currently in progress.
I used to support these claims of poor tactics being the *main* reason for the US downfall, but I'm slowly beginning to disagree. Every strong team has what they might call its clutch players or gamebreakers. Germany's keeper and offense came up huge for them in the win over the US. The American gamebreakers didn't (except for Scurry at times & Macmillan should have been given a shot). That was the main difference and it usually is in top clashes like these. Ronaldo came up huge for Brazil while Khan didn't for Germany in the WC final (and if Ballack had played, it might have been a totally different story). That's also the beautiful thing about this sport. Tactics are a part of it but individual brilliance and attitude are also key. Let's not forget that Alex Ferguson was regarded as tactically naive at that time but he managed to guide Man Utd to a treble while relying on speed/athleticism, determination, and Beckham longballs.....the same style that the USWNT employs. A tactically inferior Brazilian team made it to the men's final and won the cup mainly through individual brilliance. So the USWNT is certainly *capable* of still winning trophies with this style, but they'll need some of the young guns to step up and take the gamebreaker role from the aging vets. I said before the US-Germany semifinal that this match would reveal the true mettle of the rookies. Abby is great for pushing around smaller or weak defenders, and Wagner is good against slow minnow teams but neither of them is really clutch against strong opponents. I remarked during the WWC '99 triumph that the US continues to play a predictable, athletically reliant style that the rest of the world will eventually catch up to and find ways of stopping. Much like the England NT's historical fall to mediocrity, I figured this style would hurt the US in the long run. But if England could produce gamebreakers like Totti or Zidane then I doubt they'd have as much trouble at the international level.
the saddest day of my life 'cause i have to leave this board.... You guys right, i'm going to learn more English grammatical lesson so, i'll see you in about 6 months, bye all.......bye bye Big Soccer....
I think Wagner is fine, she has fallen out of favor with AH because she plays a passing game, not the over-the-top-from-the-back-line that this coach seems to want. Wagner would be fine with a coach that wants quick, one touch passing and build up. Several players just played plain bad v Italy: Boxx, Lilly and Milbrett come immediately to mind. On the up side, Roberts and Wambach played very well. The rest were just so-so. Two players playing well is never enough now that the rest of the world has improved too.
My concern about Wagner is quickness, for she seemed slow to get anything going before an opponent swooped in to dispossess her of the ball at the WC. I personally would just like to see the women make a simple pass to a teammate on a regular basis, try some deception in their dribbling for once rather than putting their heads down and bulling forward, and trap the ball without it bouncing up to chest level as so often happens when they receive it. In short, I would like to see the National team show us that they are capable of more than just charging around the field for 90 minutes. Case in point, and by no means limited to this player, is Sobrero. That girl busts her ass out there all game long. How great would it be if she busted her ass considerably less and completed a pass to a teammate more often? What's the point of all that running and hustle when she consistently turns the ball over as soon as she wins it? Big problem for the team as a whole.
one good thing The one good thing was Mac's goal--cheeky free kick, near post from about 20 yards. Nice to see the knee seems ok. She played 45min, her fitness and speed aren't there yet, but I think she will be back by the Olympics. As much as we all hate April, and question her ability to see talent, I'm relieved she is giving Mac a chance to come back. I think April knows Mac is important to this National Team.
Re: the saddest day of my life 'cause i have to leave this board.... I've read some of 'sexy's' posts; clearly she is a fan of the game, and didn't deserve to be driven from this forum. It's just not funny to make fun of such an easy target. (sorry if that offends you ss, but I'm trying to look out for you here.) Lay off her, give her a break--whatever.
In several posts in the past I mentioned the lack of creative play by the USWNT. That has not changed, the US has had creativity coached out of them. It seems that whenever we see a new creative player they either disappear or their creativity disappears. I often have the chance to watch games with members of youth teams and their comments are very eye opening. During the US Italy game two 10 year olds started a little game, they would try to call the next pass or play before it actually happened and for most of the game they were about one second ahead of the US's play. That is they were correctly calling 60-70% of the US’s passes and plays. If 10 year olds, watching on TV, can call that number of passes it says that the play is too slow and too predictable. It is no wonder that the US seems late to the ball so often; The other teams know where the ball is going so they get a jump. Going back a couple of game to US vs Germany one of these same two girls was watching that with me along with a couple of others. During that game they watched closely and I kept a loose count of the "wows" and "ohs" that were uttered. The US had only a couple where the Germans produced 15 or more. At the last practice two of the girls asked me to help them learn a move they saw one of the German players execute. They have NEVER asked to learn a US team players move. While I have never felt that the US was extremely creative after April took over the creative spark has been all but extinguished. The Italy game was a flat game for the US but a flat US should beat Italy by two or three if the US is simply well coached. There is NO excuse for a team with the players the US has to play like a third rate college team and the coaching is to blame. The team did not play to win and that is the coaches fault. The ladies deserve better. The fans deserve better. And most of all world soccer deserves better. BTW: When you remove Last line Italy mistakes the score is 2-0. The near post goal was a HORRIBLE keeper mistake. ANY competent keeper should save every near post shot from such an angle. The other goal was an own goal that would, most probably not have been a goal as Abby would have been quite wide and going at speed without the defenders errant touch. This was a disgusting effective loss for the US even though the score was even and the apologists make all the excuses they can.