Many, many practices: Kawasumi: "-- just swing the right leg above your hip -- over the fingers, under the crossbar --" Fishlock: "I think I understand" 2017/09/17 Sun: Kazakhstan 0-1 Wales (2019 WWCQ Euro Group 1) (recap) 54' 0-1 #14 left ck to 1m 1/4 right, GK Zheleznyak double-hammers away to 13m 6-right, ball bounces through box top mid-right. Fishlock waits at 17m, swings right roundhouse half-volley armpit-high, perfect fast lob over Zheleznyak under crossbar, drops into 1/3 back right low. (jump to 1:19:30) (jump to 1:20:35 for netcam replay angle)
Missed this forum the past couple months. I've been keeping up with Reign news via twitter and other than the very real possibility of missing the playoffs for the second straight season, there are a few player moves that have concerned me. The trade for Williams - This really shocked me mostly because of how it was handled. From the onset of the season I mentioned that Kopmeyer had serious problems when it comes from initiating plays from the back. That festered all season and led to us dropping points in multiple games. However the fact that Harvey had sign Williams on such short notice as well disgard Elston did not sit well with me at all. We have had players on this team where their individual efforts have cost the team points during the playoff run but they weren't dropped unceremoniously (Mathias 2 red card at the end of last season cost us against Chicago and Washington down the stretch). Elli Reed announce her retire though she will be finishing out the year. I won't be surprised if we she mass retirements of some of the "vets" on the team. I personally think this should have happened earlier, especially in years when we had favorable draft assets. As it stands right now, we do not have a pick in the first two rounds which makes me nervous about how this badly needed rebuilding of the team will occur. In previous years it was easy to sign internationals but with the Spanairds, Italians, etc now joining the ranks of European countries investing heavily in women club soccer, it will be much more difficult to recruit.
Do you think Harvey's biggest mistake is hanging on to players who are not good enough to challenge for a starting spot, instead of cutting them loose to fill in holes elsewhere on the roster?
Eh, probably Harvey front-loaded her roster (and contracts, etc.) to win in 2013-2015. There might not be enough liquidity (salary cap and talent) available to do that and stockpile young or better talent. New York and Chicago took their lumps for those years. These things are cyclic. I do kind of agree that Harvey shows extreme loyalty to her players, c.f. Reed, Mathias, and Dallstream. But maybe it's not feasible to just upgrade on the fly, and so the player's own loyalty is worth something, too. Who's waiting by the phone who's clearly better and would play for that pay slot? (For those players claimed off waivers this year, I assume Seattle picks low in the order, and never had a chance to decline them.)
I don't think they're at the bottom, but they're in the bottom half on the waiver priority list until the season is over.