A new season is coming. Time for thsoe with crystal balls to see the future... 1) Atlanta 2) DC 3) Carolina 4) San Jose 5) Philadelphia 6) Boston 7) San Diego 8) New York
you have the Charge missing the playoffs lol i guess im not the only one who sees the charge as fading out. Me I have DC Atlanta Carolina Philly Bos SJ Spirit Power Another DC beating of the charge in the playoffs this time at RFK and then the Courage being knocked off in FC3 in a rematch
Atlanta, Carolina and DC are defensively sound. Philadelphia has to overcome the loss of Iverson. The playoff battle for 4th will include ALL the 5 bottom teams.
With the parity in the league, I would venture to say that anyone's prediction is plausible. So I made a totally random picks with little slips of paper and here's what I got: SD Philly SJ Atlanta Washington Boston Carolina New York But my heart tells me this is what the standings will be: Atlanta New York Washington SD Philly SJ Boston Carolina
1. Freedom - Solid team, plus Mia Hamm will be on a mission to get the Founders' Cup. 2. Charge - Likewise solid, with a dangerous attack. Defense more questionable this season, especially on set pieces. 3. Breakers - I think Sundhage will get this team to live up to expectations. 4. Courage - Best team on paper, but everyone will be gunning for them, and they don't seem quite as intense. 5. Beat - Except for Scurry and possibly the defense, not at the same level as the playoff-bound teams. 6. CyberRays - No reason to think they're going to be better than last year. 7. Spirit - Goalkeeping and defense are suspect, but they could move up. 8. Power - Better than last year, but that's not saying much. My detailed analysis
I almost totally disagree with you StarCityFan, especially about my Beat. Atlanta will hover near or at the top throughout most of the season. They have a very good midfield and their forward line is the deepest and most talented in the WUSA. There are two major obstacles for them this season: 1)They must solve their problem of giving away balls in the defensive end b/c of the sloppy passing 2)Overcome the last few weeks of the regular season where they are on the road. I truly believe that New York will do quite well this year. Maybe they won't win the regular season, but I definitely think that they are post-season material (even with their two injured players). With a solid keeper in Smolak, a better prepared defence, and the addition of Whalen, this team will be tough to beat. Washington might go through some tough times early in the year, but overall, they will be excellent contenders for the championship. San Diego will do considerably better this year with a solid midfield. The only potential problem they might have this year is their backline, but with the inspirational performances of Fawcett and the potential signing of ex-Beat Lisa Krzykowski, it may solidify. Philly might have a disappointing year this year. A big question mark is their Iverson-less defense and midfield. Their offense should have no problem with a healthy Kelly Smith and Pichon. They also possess one of the deepest and most talented forward line in the league. It remains to be seen, however, what Scasna, Hoffman, and Makinen will do to this team. With so many new faces in the midfield, this team might become the new SD of the past, but if they manage to all gel, Philly will have the most intimidating midfield along with Boston. I have no guess at the prospects of San Jose... Now Boston is interesting...They might well be a a Philly-esque team. No not because they hired Pia. They too have a potent offense. Mellgren can do much better than what she has done the past two seasons. I believe they just need to find that player that can link up with her. If Pia can solve their defensive organization, I can see them being number 3 or 4. Oh yes, now carolina. ukes: Well that about says it all. Prince Beergut is the only reason why they won Founders Cup III. The opposing defences just need to tick her off early in the game. This may sound mean Carolina fans, but she needs to develop a tough skin and not let tough defenders get to her. The trick is to beat her psychologically...now if the opposing team had a defender with a mix of Carrie Moore's marking ability and Nonen's toughness, Carolina will be reduced to nothing more than season 1 Carolina.
Much more parity this year. No single team will run away with the league. 5 teams competing for final playoff spot until last week/2 weeks of season. Very different styles now becoming much more evident, with inherent strengths and weaknesses. Philadelphia Charge - just a good all around team Carolina Courage - so many weapons, gk is a ? - was it luck or talent? Boston Breakers - late season run carries them to playoffs Washington Freedom - when Mia is hot, she's still the best. Siri can win games for them too. Atlanta Beat - play around them, not through them and you will win. They will hand you chances defensively. New York Power - vastly improved defense, offense is still limited. Will frustrate everyone. San Diego Spirit - better than before, still not a contender. Exciting on attack - who's your goalie? San Jose CyberRays - it's a quick fall from first to last, isn't it? Boston vs Washington in FCIII
I refuse to place the Beat as the No. 1 in the league b/c I've done it for two years now and all it's netted me is heartache. Soooo ... 1.) Breakers. A comeback from nowhere. 2.) Atlanta. (I didn't say I wouldn't place them high on my list. 3.) Washington. Mia starts off the season with a bang but can't pull it together. 4.) Carolina. Won't see a repeat of 2002. 5.) Philadelphia. Without earning a single trip to the finals, the Charge will indeed fade out this season. 6.) New York. Not a bad recovery, but still far from making any huge impact. 7.) San Diego. Their picks won't save them. 8.) San Jose. Once FC champs continue to plummet down the rankings to hit rock bottom. Reverse principle of 'Worst to First'. See: DC United
My first stab (reserve the right to change my mind before Saturday): 1. DC 2. Carolina 3. Boston 4. Philly 5. SD 6. Atl 7. SJ 8. NY The predictions are frought with risks. Can the the Freedom midfield stop anything this year? With Stoecker's return, Jones should play further up and Lori Lindsay may prove to be a real key acquisition. I'll wager yes. Carolina should be solid enough, depends how they take the coaching change and how much they try to play Slowverbeck. Boston should start to realize their potential under Sundhage, who should make a decent D out of so-so defensive personel. I never want to count Philly out, we'll see what Krik is worth and, by subtraction, how much Sundhage meant to their last two seasons. SD has the talent for sure, not sure about the coaching yet. Atl is due for a drop. Too many big egos on one team is not good and Stone's act has to be wearing thin with his team. SJ was a decent enough mid-range team last year, I think Bos and SD has passed them though, unless Clemens is finally the answer to Murray's departure. See Atl for a coach's act wearing thin on a team. NY can't possibly be worse than last year, but I don't see how they've passed anybody else in the off-season. Lastly, I can't believe Charge fans are picking against their team - I guess they figured the chest-thumping didn't work last year so they'd hang in the shadows this time and try to sneak up on everybody
My 5th place pick for the Charge has to do with losing Zhao and Iverson and integrating a number of new faces. In a league I expect to be very balanced, these question marks are real, and with 4 out the first 5 on the road, I expect them to get off to a slow start. Still with Arrington and Pichon and Smith out there together, this is a potent offensive trio. The way for the Charge to win will be attack attack attack. To beat the Charge, it'll be a matter of doubling Smith, and hacking her all game.
Where the hell did you come up with that? I don't think DC will be #1, but I'm sure they'll make it to the playoffs.
It's all one big crapshoot. There is amazing parity on paper. The biggest determinants will be injuries, NT callups (all NTs) and chemistry, particularly for the teams with new international players. I wouldn't rule out ANY team from making the playoffs. Including New York. Have people looked at the gigantor experiment Tom Sermanni's conducting out on Long Island? Practically every Power player is 5'8" or taller, and the one who isn't is named Tiffeny Milbrett. Unlike DCU, I thinking the coaching continuity in San Jose and Atlanta will work in their favor. I'd give Sawyers the edge because he's made subtle adjustments to a team that was actually really good in spurts last year, just not consistent. The same goes for Gabarra. If I had to choose, I'd say that San Diego and DC get two playoff spots, and it's a season-long race for the others.
Dcupope your forgetting minnert when she finally shows up...she will be that midseason boost you got from mia and jones last year. As for atlanta its all a question of when and how good is withers when she shows up. do agree with DCU about hooper and the egos on that team, at times there seemed to be two beats on the field, as for stone, i dunno, he keeps things together, sometimes you need that, kinda like billy martin and the 70s yankees. however i think like last year that they will show up when it counts and make the playoffs. My real lineup (anyone check the date of my pro DC posts yesterday) DC Philly Boston (sleeper pick! anyteam who goes unbeaten at home has gotta have a shot, and with their improvements, watch out, they were NOT as bad as their 01 and 02 records) Atl Car (way too much juggling for my tastes and alot of overachievers from last season) SD SJ (too old) NY (double win total though )
He may wind up being ahead of the curve. Think George Mikan, and how he revolutionized the pro basketball game back in the 40's. You're seeing a peek into the future of the women's game, and the fact Carolina and Washington went the height route last year paid off spectacularly. Paul
How about the speed merchant experiment in NY? That was a massive failure. A team needs more than height or speed or some physical attribute, skill and tactics come into play somewhere.
For what it is worth. 1. Philly A solid team and the absolutly most dangerous forward in the league. 1a. Atlanta - Great defense but still lacking finishing to put teams away after dominating for most of a game. (The new blood may be a difference here) ( These two teams may be so even that they actually knock each other down to third ) 3. Boston - Will show the most improvement but not quite catch up with the top two unless they beat each other up too much. 4. San Jose - Not much different here OK team that can find ways to loose the big one more often than not. 5. Washington - Last year they won in spite of their coach this year they will again loose because of him. 6. Carolina - Loosing one of the best coaches in the league will REALLY hurt here. 7. San Diego - A team looking for direction but finding only lost sheep. 8. New York - Bad and looking to get worse. Of all the teams this is the one I REALLY hope I am most wrong about but I do not see the seeds of anything better. Without good defense and mids the forwards might as well phone it in as they will not be getting many shots.
Sure wish we had easy access to the 2001 and 2002 prediction threads. And I certainly hope the mods resurrect this thread on the evening of August 23rd to see how everyone fared in their predictions.
I'd take DC's, Carolina's, or Philly's forwards over Atlanta's, and I'd take Philly's, Carolina's, San Diego's, or Boston's midfield. But anything can happen - who'd have believed at the beginning of 2002 that the Freedom and the Courage would be in the Founders' Cup?
I knew the Freedom were going to play in Founders cup... really I did! I knew Mia wouldn't let her fans down. Boy was she pissed off in 2001 when they didn't make it. However, I thought Carolina would improve in 2002, but not make it into the playoffs though...but then again, I also said that the Beat would win FCII over DC
We're going to finally see whose side is correct; can height make a difference, or not? That's why the Power will be an intriguing team to watch, a guinea pig, as it were. Paul