Solo/Ryan catch-all thread part 1

Re: Style of Play = U.S. Outcome?

Cat was exactly the one I was talking about.

PS - the goalie wasn't our problem. When a talented team gets open cracks at the net they're gonna score some. The problem was why they were getting the shots. Also Scurry didn't stop our offense from producing goals, Brazil did.

This day has been coming for some time. We did not look good in any game. We had a 10 minute flurry where England imploaded, other then that, we basically sucked. Hope just moved herself off this team for good. No way Ryan ever calls her again if he's still the coach next week. I seem to recall her letting is a soft goal or two earlier in the tourney.

 

Re: Sad video about Hope Solo..

I think that video goes a long way towards explaining why Hope was so pissed off about the benching. I can imagine her dreaming of holding up the World Cup in the air and saying "this is for you, Dad". Ryan gave her no chance to make that dream come true. She was hoping for that "healing moment".


Hopefully she won't hold that bitterness inside her for the rest of her life......

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

I wish I knew how to post youtube clips in a post. I'd post an example of a truly ballistic press conference. Just search for Mike Grundy...

 

Re: Sad video about Hope Solo..

I think she will have to. She's not in the Tiffany Millbret zone

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

kool-aid

or any major league baseball team manager. they define balistic

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

<youtube>the last part of the youtube url goes here</youtube>
replace <> with []

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

Ryan just needs to do the honorable thing and resign within the very near future. Period. He made the decision, said he was totally comfortable with whatever the outcome, and lost the game and probably the team. At that level there isn't much of another option for him but to fall on his sword and resign.

I can't blame Scurry for wanting to play that game, but she just hasn't seemed as focused nor has she significantly improved her game over the last half dozen years while the whole women's game around her certainly has. She was not nearly as (recently) experienced and battle tested as Solo and she's looked it for quite a while. Heck - she's not a kid anymore and while those years of experience way back when should still help her she's in a field where physical prowess and reaction time (the advantages of youth) are still quite important.

Solo was hurt and emotional - and we should glad she was. If she could just blow off being benched and not care after going undefeated (and that's exactly what it was, no?) then she probably shouldn't have been the first choice for those prior 40+ games. The whole thing simmering under the covers is how much Ryan's announcement & style affected the team. If players didn't know about it beforehand then you can be darned sure both the decision and his approach had an effect - 'cause in the back of their minds some have to think that no matter who you are or how well you've done you could be his next surprise. If they knew that's one thing - if they didn't he injected a significant distraction at a pretty inopportune time.

Who knows - maybe Ryan clearly foresaw the likely outcome (no matter who was in goal) and decided to shield Solo from that particular firestorm while both giving Scurry her WC game? That's mighty far-fetched and a bit too Machiavellian even for me...

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

Sitruc, you rock!

Hope was downright calm in comparison to this guy...

[youtube]5VytIZZzee0[/youtube]

 

Re: Solo Benched for Semi-Final Against Brazil...

I won't repeat my whole reply in the "ballistic" thread, but the US Federation shouldn't have to do anything about Ryan now - he should do the honorable thing and resign now. Period.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

This is a great point. One of the complaints about the WNT over the years has been how arbitrary the selections are and how it seems very "clubbish" and unfair.
The way he did this is not psychologically good for a team
It was arbitrary and arrogant

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

Look, here's the reason that Solo isn't going to be blacklisted.

Nike and other sponsors hit the gold mine with the 99 team. Right as women's sports was coming on, they had a group of attractive, accomplished, articulate, American female athletes. This team .... it's "the best team you've never heard of." It's a different A - anonymous. Its principle goal scorer is - whether you think it should be this way or not - too masculine to be completely effective as a pitch person. Its most attractive player is a so-so right back.

This thing has caught some heat in the media, with a lot of it siding with Solo. She just increased her name recognition greatly, and she was already a good candidate for star potential. She's one of the better players on the team, one of the more attractive players on the team, she has a Picabo-Street-like memorable name, and she plays a high-profile position. What people now know about her is that she was unjustly benched in this championship after playing well, so that will give her a media-friendly storylinefor the next tournament. Plus, Nike likes outspoken athletes who aren't afraid of controversy.

So she's a very good candidate as a marketable commodity, plus she's probably the best keeper in the country. So if you are US Soccer, do you choose that, or do you go with Coach "I'm boneheadedly benching my effective keeper in the semifinals" along with, say, Little Miss Telegenic, Kristin Luckenbill?

My guess is if they let Ryan stay, they'll tell him to play her and like it.

PS: Let me add, I'm not saying that playing time should be determined on the basis of looks or marketability. Solo should have to earn her position on the field. I'm just saying that realistically, she might have just made herself the most marketable young player on the team, and I don't see US Soccer denying itself that commodity to play a less capable player who doesn't bring that extra dimension.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

i am officially a fan of hers.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

No Gregg was the choice after Diccico. It's the one in this picture not named April. Christ I can't remember her name. http://womenssoccer.com/images/WUSA/AwardsCeremony2003/wusaawards013.htm
FYI I didn't embed the pic because of the ugly.

 

Re: Solo Benched for Semi-Final Against Brazil...

The thing that pissed me off about Ryan after the match was that he was in complete denial that he screwed up. He put blame on Osborne and the red card. Not on his inability to prepare his team, which a lot had to do with the distraction he caused with the keeper switch. Let's see how he sleeps on it and whether he has any reflection that he screwed it royally. If he can be a man about it, then at least he can salvage the consolation match. But if he continues to be in denial, today's match can actually look pretty good for the next one will be even uglier.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

What a load of shite.

She was unfairly benched. She wanted to play and she was honest with the media. I would be more concerned if she said that she was fine with the decision.

Positive life force? Come on.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

They say there is no "I" in team. How the hell is Hope Solo any different from the saintly Terrell Owens?

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

I thought that was a joke.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

Whatever else this controversy does, it certainly elevates the third-place match to something worth watching. Will the team rebound? More importantly, who will be in goal? (my guess: Briana, because Coach Ryan said "she played a great game against Brazil today," and he wouldn't want to be seen as a hypocrite, would he?)

And Briana herself is not immune to Solo-like criticism of teammates, viz., Siri Mullinix. But what I most remember about Briana is how, even at the peak of her soccer reputation, she insisted that soccer was a nice little game but what she really wanted to do was play professional basketball.

 

Re: Style of Play = U.S. Outcome?

Do you watch the men's team? Because the thing with the men's team is that in a mature environment their ability to possess the ball and play creatively.

In a developing environment the women's team has regressed in their ability to maintina possession and play creatively.

At the level of the WC, my problem with such a direct style of playis this...you're counting on you physical superiority and a breakdown in the other team to score. If you run into a team that can match you physically and doesn't break down, you have no plan B. And if that team is creative, they will just toy with you.

But the problem is endemic in the US women's game and I've made the complaint several times on the these boards in the last few months. Skill is not valued or developed in the women's game now. Think of how many quality #10's the you've seen in the women's game. From the USWNT to UNC to the WAGS league in my area, the emphasis is on throwing athletes at the other team until they break. And all the while, the men's game, from the USMNT to teams like U of MD to club teams emphasize ball control and technical skill, and occasionally foster creativity (but not nearly enough).

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

I can't believe some people are pouncing on Hope Solo for this. Wtf lol

Fukc the PC bs, call it for what it is. It takes a strong woman to do it and I'm glad she did it. Ryan needs to go.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

Whether the decision was good or bad it was the coaches decision, and Hope, as a professional, should perhaps have behaved professionally. I believe that in the multitude of paperwork she signed for US soccer there is a contract listing appropriate behavior when talking with the media. "oops" As for the rest of the team, whether they were upset with the coaches decision or not, I am sure they went out there to win. I am not convinced that Hope could have saved the first goal had she been in the game, and in the end, that was all Brazil needed to win.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

That was one really bad pic. I'm still laughing. You did the board a huge favor not embedding.

Pia Sundheg (or however you spell it). Gotcha. I was caught in a time warp w/ the Gregg thing. Although, I do think she's another the Fed, ummm, passed over.

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

Thank you! I'm glad someone else has caught on to this. Hope Solo's name is everywhere right now, and ironically, is probably more secure in her position than ever.

I applaud Hope for her comments, and for the courage to break the party line. Change is never brought about by people staying quiet.

 

Re: Style of Play = U.S. Outcome?

 

Re: Hope Goes Balistic at News Conference

coming from a Philadelphia Eagles fan, don't even try this comparison