If they can work out the business deals, I want Chalupney and Boxx. Hope is a stud, but our problem is not defensive! I think we will be ok with Loyden. I agree that Aluko is very dangerous, but we already have a plethora of forwards who can score. What good will be one more scoring option that we can't get the ball to?! We NEED connectors through the middle and people who can complete passes. I have said this before, but it bears repeating--I think Chalupney is the perfect soccer player (excepting for those pesky concussions) and I would love to be able to see her play more in person. She's always in the right place, has perfect technique, works hard, and doesn't get pushed around. She came up as a mid-fielder--for a while as the supposed successor for Lilly--and is much more offensive minded than most defenders. She would be a great asset in getting the transition game going. Boxx may be slightly less impactful now, but she is still so strong and has great vision. About a week ago--on a different thread--I semi-chastised some posters for saying they wished we could trade for a player like Boxx. Who knew we would have a chance to get the real thing! Lori Lindsay should have reminded us last game how important it is to have a steady player in the middle to run the offense through. With Chapman playing so great at d-mid, Boxx could concentrate on getting the ball out wide to a slashing Carney/Rapinoe or making through passes to the feet of Christiane/Aslanni. Unfortunately, it's players like Maser, Klein, and Sitch (and similar players on the other WPS teams) who are going to be the most hurt by the Athletica disbanding. That's 11 more starting jobs up for grabs, as well as a lot more competition for playing time. I also feel for their fans and employees.
i think Chalupny is a nice choice. She's a versatile player that can play in the back. I may be alone in saying this, but I actually don't think the defense is as strong as people make it out to be for the Red Stars. It seems like the outside backs were much more mobile against FC Gold Pride the other night, but there have been different combinations tried at times (is Engen in our out, for example). Obviously, scoring is probably the number one issue, but I would take a closer look at the defense as well. There hasn't been a really consistent left back for the organization.
One thing about Chalupny is that she really seems to love living in St Louis. Chicago might have an advantage in that they are the closest team geographically to where she wants to be. It's entirely possible she'd rather stay in the general area than move to (say) Massachusetts or California.
i agree with druid on chalupa-- chicago could have a major advantage. as far as left back... yeah i agree. i like whit better in the middle, she (generally) seemed a lot more comfortable working with markgraf in that capacity. of course i only saw the webcast, so any corrections would be well appreciated!!
i thought engen did a good job in the middle against fc gold pride. one thing i forgot about: didn't chalupny have some health problems coming into season? concussion related? i haven't seen enough Athletica games this season to assess how she has been doing. anyone? and on a final note, there are several players on the Athletica roster that are relatively local to the chicagoland area, so that could be enticing for chicago to have a look at some of those players.
i don't know how much control Whitney has over where she plays. She seems like the kind of person who would just be happy to be on the field. i think something new came up with Chalupa, but I'm not sure. she seemed healthy up until something at the start of the season. of course she had played with Athletica and USSF was still screaming she wasn't healthy. Odd.
I would speculate that a lot of the big names that Athletica had may just have to take a pay cut and sign on for just a year inorder to fit into a club. The Players, the WPS, and especially Pia want to make sure people like Solo, Box and Chalupny get playing time during this pre-WWC year. And in the off season these players may just rework their contracts when teams have more flexible rosters. I would also speculate that I think there is a good chance that we may just end up with Chalupny based on things that have been said above. I think she just might be willing to take a bit of a pay cut and play left back inorder to stay close to home and family if at all possible. And this would be nothing, but good for us, since that's the one position we've never really had filled, and Chalupny's pure class act on and off the field. I think Boxx is also a real possibility, but only if they have the contractual ability to drop Formiga, which could be a real possibility since she was brought in so late in the season giving her a higher likelyhood of not having a guranteed contract. But this is only speculation we'll see.
Well now Boxx, Aluko, Solo, Blank, and Ellertson are gone. Rumors are Chalupny could also be soon taken as well as Miyama. Is Tarpley our only option left?
yeah i'd heard Blank was going to ATL. good moves by the Beat. I'm stumped by the lack of CRS info though. Kind of on edge, as a fan of both-- and really upset about what i've read/heard about Tobin's injury.
I'll take another Tarheel in Chalupny and/or Tarpley. We can be Tarheel managed, Tarheel coached, Tarheel played. It took two former UNC Tarheel standouts (McDermott and Rayfield) only one week to straighten this ship and make it into a professional soccer team. So I'll take a couple more Tarheels on board, thank you.
If these rumors are true I'm very disapointed in the red stars in not getting the top athletica players. I don't see how fc gold pride with marta can afford boxx. Don't know red stars salary cap issues but they should have done some cutting if it meant getting some top players.
Charlie Naimo tweeted earlier that his "ear was burning" b/c he couldn't get off the phone. he's obviously working on someone (maybe that's plural?)... i guess we'll see. i'm frustrated with the lack of info though.
Oh my goodness... you totally had ESP. Ellertson, Solo, Aluko, Blank... their GM did some posts on the Beat page. Very agressive team. I hope you don't mind if the STL fans hit Chicagoland this weekend and root for the Beat. I'm working on my way up I-55. I think we would normally root for Chicago since you are neighbors & are being very kind extending ticket offers to us, but this weekend... Our hearts are broken and many tears have been shed by Athletica fans and family everywhere.
Hi - all you say about Lori is right on! She is a VERY hard worker & made more promotions & appearances for the Athletica than anyone...even worked harder than the front office (but that's another story). As for her concussions, her last ones - that caused her to miss some WNT time earlier - turned out they were sinus headaches. Now, I know she didn't play in the WNT game over the WPS bye weekend; but I haven't found out why. Maybe it was concussion?
No we won't mind as long as the red stars win. I understand as I've gone through losing soccer teams,sting,power,etc. It is always hard and I understand you want to cheer on your former players. Hope eventually you do get a team back in StLouis.
I think we may be getting Tarp back, hopefully. I had hoped for Chalupny, but she's going to Atlanta too.
To any CRS FO personel/ownership reading this: Will there be any anouncements soon as to any Athletica players we may sign and how close are we to getting a new permanent coach? Thanks.
Great for getting Tarpley, disappointed about Chalupney. But I'm glad that a lot of them are finding a home together. Wish I could be there to see the game, but family obligations... Go Stars!