I was wondering how people rank the strenths and weaknesses of Parlow, Wambach, and Welsh. I don't see April playing or even picking more than one on the WWC team. The only thing I see that separates the three is Parlow's experience. The question is do the other two have any thing going for them that will put them ahead of Parlow in a few months?
Um, yeah. Mia and Abby connect really well. Mia called Abby's flying header "courageous" and she almost had another this week. A lot of Parlow's goals are cherry pickers, but then I guess that's a skill too. Abby's goals tend to be more determination and getting to where she has to be, creating something. I love watching her play, more so than the other two, but it's really too early to tell with Welsh. I hope her nervousness or whatever wears off SOON.
Our "big" three should actually be Fotopolous, Parlow, and Wambach if we play Sweden or Norway. Norway killed us in the '95 World Cup and the '00 Olympics because of their height. Regardless, Parlow and Wambach (especially Abby) have added fitness and skill to their repertoire. Watch out. Wambach is faster than Christie Pearce.
yeah, but Abby has gotten little love from April lately. I think we need more than one forward taller than 5'5". I think Welch is out of the picture until she starts scoring goals for NY. just my $.02
I'm convinced that April doesn't "have a place" for the big/strong women in her line-up - except for CP maybe. Me thinks that's a mistake. I would definitely have at least two - Parlow (or ?) and another - in case one gets hurt. Gotta have someone big and strong in there. There's a great selection in addition to CP - Fotops, Wambach, Welch - pick someone for __ sakes! You can't leave that talent at home.
Here is my $.02 on the big girls. Welsh is a bit raw technically...hence her finishing problems. She has tremendous speed and size, but needs to clean it up. Fotop is a bit slow laterally and does not have the killer speed. Parlow...I am not a big fan of. Lacks speed, but has the years of national team experience and good technically ability. Wambach is my favorite of them. She is the best combo of all those traits. Courageous, strong, technically. I may be wrong here, but I think she is probably second to Welsh in speed as well. ONe thing that hurt Welsh was playing in the direct style at Penn State. Had she played in a different program, perhaps there would have been greater demands on her to clean up her technically ability. At Penn State, she outran people. That did not demand her to clean it up. Just my thoughts.
I agree. Someone else (maybe Beulah?) pointed out that CP prefers to have the ball at her feet and play in the same style as Mia/Mille/etc where Abby (and Fotop but she's so slow it doesn't matter) can play more like the big/strong target player. And yes, I know Abby has ball skills but work with me here.
From CyberSoccerNews: Freedom's Abby Wambach fights to make national team Washington forward looks to prove her worth in doubleheader by Katherine Minarik
Repeat after me....Big and Strong...Big and Strong Wambach "fighting to make team" could be viewed as a good problem to have but I'm thinking that it's a self-induced problem - not utilizing the available resources. As others have mentioned - we have size advantage in the pool, lets use it. What did Michelle Akers bring to every game until the very last one? - presence, strength, determination..... I don't believe that the big/strong players need to be the best technical players or the fastest. Say what you want about any or all of them but their records speak for themselves. Fotops might not be fast but she's "fast enough" to have the NCAA Goal Record (still does, right?), Welch led the WNT is goals during her brief stint, I actually don't know much about Wambach other than the BSers tell me she's the best of the bunch. Seeing how us BSers know some much, I'll have to go with it Big and Strong...Big and Strong We have enough finess players, don't we?
CP should not even be on the squad. She is the only cynical player of the group; she is lazy; she is too cute with the ball and she virtually never, ever, ever scores in important games. For a big person, she contributes very little to gaining ball possession at midfield and her head seems useful only in front of the goal against weak teams. She tries fancy dish-offs, heel passes, etc. that are fantastic if they work. However, 50% of the time she miss-hits them and 49% of the time her team mates fail to read the forthcoming pass. Give me players like Macmillan any day. Strong, reliable, straight forward play. Give someone else the opportunity to play consistently instead of CP.
and how many other times have we seen the girls on the team try something fancy and it not work?? i heard of one instance in the cyberrays game brandi tried a bike kick to clear the ball and it was unsuccessul and went across the goal mouth of her own team. they may be the best players in the US, but not eveything they do is completely perfect. she might not be 100% consistent, but when she does show her strengths during the game, she makes things happen. For instance, who made the Lilly goal happen??? Incase you dont kno, Wagner passed to Parlow, Parlow lost the ball, then got it back, dribbled up a bit and hit the ball wide to Hamm who hit the ball through the 18, bobbled through some players and was then slammed home by Lilly.
The point about CP should be one of productivity and consistency over a series of high quality games. Of course back heels and little flicks are great and should be tried--at times. But the times should be right. She tries them too often at times when simple play would be preferred as more productive. Nor is it a question of being 100% consistent, but rather of maximizing consistency. Failed attempts a cute play interrupt the flow of the game for the whole team and stop attack opportunity dead. Most important, compare her to Hamm or Macmillan. These two are money players. CP fails the pressure test.
If its productivity, you should check the all-time USWNT leader stats - I think you will find the name Cindy Parlow on most of the offensive categories. I think many would consider her goal against Brazil in WWC '99 semifinal a "big-goal" in a "big-game." And her "golden goal" in the WUSA semi-final year 1 would pass the pressure test.
How many games has CP played in to only mention two pressure goals and one is in the WUSA. CP will be on the NT forever and that is that! April just loves the fact that she is a "PRESENCE" in the air. CP is lazy! I would just once like to see her run the entire 45 minutes, never mind 90 minutes. Lazy is not a word that should be used to describe a soccer player. She also gives up. When she loses a ball, she makes a quick effort to retrieve it and then she makes a last ditch effort to dive in with a tackle. She rarely chases. Maybe she is just smarter than us all, reserving her energy for one of those easy goals against a patty-cake competitor. This really is a waste of time to talk about because it is not going to change. By the way, the "big" three are: Anson, April and Foudy They control it all!
6thMan - TONE! I was responding to the previous post about CP's productivity. Stats are a measure of productivity. I don't see the logic in saying she is unproductive when I see her name in so many offense leader categories. And I named a couple of instances I could recall, rather off the cuff, that I considered to be pressure/big goals. Other than that, I did not say that Parlow should be the only "big" forward on the roster. Or that she is so much more superior to the others mentioned in this thread. How many big games has she had the chance to score in? Seeing the Olympics and WC only occur once in a 4 year period. Lets count them: 1) '96 Olympic Final she was the 17 yr. old high schooler; 2) '99 WWC Final - please remind me who did score in regulation or overtime during that game?; and 3) '00 Olympics - was used suparingly as a sub even though she was the top scorer of the team that year. By your logic, if only big-time goals occur in the finals of an olympic or world cup event, then 99% of all goals ever scored by anyone wearing the red, white & blue are patty-cake goals against lesser competitors. I bet that is what Lorrie Fair thought about her status with the team too. Come on, there is too much skill in the talent pool for most NTers to ever feel comfortable. I agree with you here - she does need to work on her work-rate. Then why did you post?
Hello Flix, Just to express my opinion but it just seems like an old story about CP. This has been said over and over again. Things will not change and she will be on the NT forever. I agree that there is a plethora of young talent trying to make the team, but no one will take her place. Doesn't April know that she could improve CP's game by sending her down. At least April will find out what kind of desires and dedication she has. Not trying to get a tone with you but it just really irratates me to see a player with no work ethic make a team that represents the United States.
Not that I'm a huge CP fan, but it's an overstatement to say she has no work rate. I watch a lot of old games on tape and while she is somewhat of a cherry picker around the goal at times, she does a lot of defensive work that doesn't get much notice. Like sticking a lot of tough tackles that pop the ball loose.
Repeat after me: Big and Strong, Big and Strong, ......... Geez, it's kind of a contradiction to think these women will be able to go all-out for 90 minutes as compared to others in the mid or front, isn't it? Don't they appear to be slower than they actually are because of their size- that's like some kinda' physics thing, isn't it? I'd have any or all of them on my team. Big and Strong...Big and Strong
Just imagine Big and Strong with a never say die work ethic and a huge desire. Frankly, I would take the never say die work ethic and huge desire over big and strong. Karin Jennings was a great example of what I am talking about. Please don't get me wrong, CP is a good player. It just seems a waste of her talent to not give it her all, ALL of the time.
re: CP is a 45 min. Player, though I did see her go a little bit stronger against Canada. Made it to the 63 min. mark before you could see her legs get heavy. Abby is a 90 min. player with a ton of heart, and chases everything. My point is this. If i were April H. i would have Abby on that roster in a heartbeat. Thus giving me the option to play either for 90, or one for the first 45 and the other for the second 45. Abby reminds me alot of Michelle akers. Very gritty player. fantastic header, and she is just getting better and better. It is unfortunate that April H. doesn't see this. and unlike CP Abby can score from outside the box and has. She has 5 goals in 7 international matches. and i can not understand what April has against the girl...i can tell you Mia wants her there!
Re: re: I'd be more comfortable in saying that with improvement Wambach might someday evoke comparisons with Akers. Remember, at Wambach's age, Akers was the best player in the world overall and in virtually every phase of the game (ok, she wasn't the fastest, but she was the best goal scorer, hardest worker, best header, hardest shot, best passer and had the best game sense; what else can you want?). Until then, though, I'd still prefer to see Wambach on the team and starting. It has to count for something that she clicks so well with Hamm, who might now be the best active player in the world. After all, whoever plays forward for the USA is going to be receiving passes from Hamm and Wagner.
Re........ There is always a problem with comparing athletes of different eras. When Michelle Akers was Wambach's age the world wide player pool was not nearly so deep or so developed. That's not to say that Michelle was not one of the best players of her or anyone else's time. It's just that it's difficult to compare. Ali or Louis, Ruth or Bonds, Unitas or Marino, etc. I don't think that is a stretch to make comparisons, though. The real problem for these new players is that we are not only in transition from a veteran team, we are stuck with a coach who has only one vision of the game. Wambach, Welch, Fotopolous all suffer from a NT playing system and style that does not fit their talents. I guarantee that if the NT gave Fotop the kind of through service that she received at Florida, she would score like she was ringing a bell. That statement is true in some measure for AW, CW, and CP as well. If we adjusted into a more power oriented game, they would prosper. It might be the answer to some of the bunker play we've been seeing. It ought to be tried - but I could make good money betting against it so long as April is coach.
Abby: Aweinspiring: I was merely reflecting on the idea that abby reminds me of Akers. I say this in the sense that she is very physical, throws herself in the fray as Mich did. very aggressive and couragious. Andthe difference between the two that kind of surprised me...is in a recent match i saw Abby run full out for the ball with a defender...and for a big girl she is pritty damn fast. I think she is working her A$$ off right now. And she has got to be discouraged by april's Failure to notice it. I know that mia is not happy about it, and she is trying to encourage Abby as much as possible to keep working keep improving. But; all this getting called into camp and then getting rejected has got to be playing on Abby's sychi. And I think that april would be doing her a favor to make a damn decision. Stop all the back and forth. That said. I have to think that with a 20 player Roster instead of the 18, Abby may just get under the wire. And I for one hope she does. i think we need her. One big body is simply not enough. you need to ensure there is a back up. And we just don't have that now.
Thanks for all of your thoughtful comments about Abby Wanbach, I had a thread with this same question about Wambach that didn't get any replies. Being from her hometown, I've been following her career with great interest. I thought that lately Abby hadn't made the squad because of her lack of fitness, being unable to play the full 90. With her skills that I have seen, a fully fit Wambach is easily better than Parlow, and should absolutely be on the finals squad. She is bigger, faster, and much better with the ball. More importantly, she just knows how to put the ball in the back of the net, from anywhere and with any part of her. Thanks for your comments.