1. I did not get to see much of the Washington game, except for Birgit's goal, but after last night, wow. I was shocked. The Courage played like the walking or running dead. Boston beat them to most every 50/50 ball. The players that I thought played well throughout were Hege(until she was injured), Unni, Birgit, Breanna, and Bax(when she came in for Hege). 2. Lucks get well soon, we need you in the net. 3. You would think the Courage would have come out pressing Boston, to see if they could score one early and get in their heads. They didn't. Instead it was Boston doing that to the Courage, and boy did they plant themselves big time in the Courage's head. 4. The goal by Dagny Mellgren. Yikes. I had flashbacks to year one. Offsides trap, the backline thought she was offsides so they threw their arms up and quit running. Dagny 1 v 1 against Maite and goal. I saw a lot of that the first year with the Courage. I hope I don't see any more of it, but won't be making it next week due to a family obligation.
I didn't see the last game but after watching Atlanta trounce Boston 6-0 on PAX the week before, I have to wonder what happened. My only guess is that Riise's early injury decimated our midfield cohesion...
wjc, The (dis)Courage were already losing 2-0 when Riise went out. Simply put, Boston took the game to them early and took advantage of a defense that was working with their third 'keeper of the spring.
It is too soon to panic but I'm mighty worried. OddBall, I'd say that the things you pointed out about the Washington game apply to the others. We haven't won many 50/50 balls. The team doesn't seem to have any "fire" (except Prinz but I think she's better than sliced bread...) Of course, last year, the first couple of games, we probably should not have won, except for amazing games by Luckenbill. She's out right now so that hurts, hurts bad.
This season Wow - 0-3 to start off. I do not think that I would have ever expected that after last year but here we are. I agree with all the things that Oddball mentioned but here are a few others to chew on: 1) Our back 4. It was pointed out in another thread that we are consistently getting beat here. In the Power game there was always a wide open attacker on the left side I think it was and the Power coach - I sit behind the visiting team bench - was yelling for them to distribute the ball more quickly and atack down this side. It seemed like we were all packed in middle on defense and not covering the width of the field. Maybe some of this will change when Lucks gets back. I hope. 2) Birgit is playing great and working hard. Here is a thought though. This is her 2nd season in the league and all the teams have seen her and I am sure all the coached watched a lot of tape. Maybe to a certain extent they ahve figured her out a little. That coupled with the fact that Fotop has offered very little offense thus far and as much as I have seen is not really a threat. So, they are able to play Birgit tighter knowing that Fotop is just going to try to flick the ball on and she is by no means a threat to break away. 3) What is wrong with Slaton? She still looks to have not recovered to her early form from last year. Maybe the knee is still bothering her more than we all know. Pretty disapointing thus far. 4) Entlich has got to find a way to inspire this team. What did Marcia do so dofferently last year that the team played their hearts out for her. No where near the effort that we saw from last year. I hope this gets better. It is a long time till the next home game. The 24th seems like forever and a day away.
I don't know that teams have figured Birgit out as much as she isn't getting much help. I agree that Fotop hasn't show much this year. How do you guys feel about putting Birgit in the amid spot and moving Unni up top? Birgit is tracking back A LOT on defense anyway (probably also because she isn't getting service). I have no problem turning the keys over to her. My line-up suggestion: keeper (Lucks please heal quickly!) boyd fetig baxter slaton roberts Burt Venus Prinz Fotop Lehn
1. The back 4's performance is the least of the Courage's problems right now. The Courage has the lowest number of shots on goal/game in the league, loses the majority of 50/50 balls and puts very little pressure on the opposition in the midfield, constantly loses posession due to unforced passing errors and plays the majority of the game in their own end....where the defense eventually wears down and makes mistakes. 2. Birgit has so little help up front she's trying to do it all herself... and getting stripped of the ball before she can get a shot off. Easy for opposing defenders to gang up on her if she's the only threat. 3. Again, Slaton may not be at 100% yet but she wins most 50-50 balls and 1-v-1's. She's also made some good runs up the wing...deep into opponents' territory (so has Burt). I think Slaton needs to make better passes but she's no worse than the average. She also seems to give up more corners than I'd like...but again with so much of the play in Carolina's end, it's hard not to give up corners. If you want to get a real eye opener, watch a tape of any game and see who's losing 1v1's and 50-50 balls, who's not effectively pressuring opposition ball carriers, who's making bad passes...who's not getting the job done. There's more than a few guilty parties but Fotop really stands out for me. If all she can do is shoot, then Carolina needs to make that skill pay dividends or get her off the field. 4. I think Jay wasn't in a position to make any radical moves...until now. Before the NY game it would certainly have looked reactive and premature to start messing around with the team that won the Cup. Now it's pretty clear this team isn't going to win many games playing the way they are. After watching the Atlanta/Washington game, I'm not sure Carolina has the talent to beat either of those two this year, but I'd like to be wrong about that.
I agree with all of that. I don't think our back line is the problem. Birgit needs more help. Perhaps we should try Borgman up top. And I hope the coach can figure something out about our midfield. I don't see the return of Overbeck as helping our situation. When is Lucky coming back -- that could make a difference on helping the besieged back line.
Huh ? Okay, so I agree that we have some major offensive problems right now. We can not get the ball in the net which is a result of the fact that evidently we have forgotten how to shoot. Just kidding. Seriously though, our offense is a big problem but if you do not think we have problems with our back 4 then you are in denial. There is now width back there and they are unorganized. No one uderstands who is markig who and where to go. There have been several early goals in our games. So, not all of this is a result of breakdowns in the midfield. I agree that both Burt and Slaton have made soem decent runs up the wings. In fact I see Burt doing more of that this year, at least I am noticing it more this year, than she did last year. I think Lucks and Carla can help shore this up some. Both are vocal and Carla is a great teacher. I think she will do wonders for Breanna. Anyway, I am not saying that this is not our only prblem cause by far it is not. But it is a major problem that has to be solved. As for 50/50 balls. Well you know you either want to go for them and win them or you do not and right now it looks like they just do not care to. Oh yeah, you are so right that Birgt has so little help up front. You know, I think Fotop is a great person and I like her to death. I just never have really been able to figure out how she fits in here. She had a ton of goals last year but where is it now. Oh well, hers to hoping that Jay E. can figure something out. Cheers.
Re: Huh ? Which brings us to another area of concern. Is Coach Entlich up for the job? At what point do the results on the pitch become his responsibility?
Re: Re: Huh ? Yeah, a friend and I were talking about that yesterday and didn't come up with a good answer. This same friend says that if things don't change in the next game, he'd like to see a blockbuster mega-trade to get a playmaker. He couldn't come up with any American/greencard holders we could get that we were pretty certain would markedly improve the team. It isn't like San Diego is going to trade Aly I think a big trade is a bad idea, especially since I'm not 100% certain of Entlich's abilities or "vision." I wouldn't be adverse to sitting Fotop for a half for motivational purposes.
Re: Re: Re: Huh ? At some point, even if we continue to lose, I'd like to see some experimentation. For all the stick some of us (and particularly myself) gave McDermott in 2001, she did mix things up, and appeared to learn from her mistakes. Plus bringing in Lehn, Prinz, and Slaton didn't hurt - either! It worked in 2001. McDermott benched her. She only got one start in five games from late May-mid June. If I recall correctly, she responded nicely. Coming in off the bench to score some goals.
Let's shake 'em up Exactly. And in the build up to Year 2 Fotop kept talking about how much she worked on fitness during the off-season. I think Birgit's pending arrival provided additional motivation. Andy, what line-up experiment do you want to see? I like the bite Baxter offers but can she really cover enough ground to play midfield.
Re: Let's shake 'em up If you can't beat them with skill, beat them with fitness. With four player subs available, I'd like to see Entlich, - who claims that everyone on the roster is there for a reason - start using them. Have three players pace themselves for 45 minutes, then sub them at the half. Save the other sub for tactical/injury reasons. I'd be aggressive and go for broke. It's hard for me to pick a specific lineup because 1) I haven't been attending practices and 2) I really don't know too much about the players at the end of the bench. I think the Courage have to seriously fish around in the trade market for someone who can keep the ball at her feet. Right now we don't have anyone that can keep the ball on a string. It's pretty clear that playing Route One (lobbing balls from the defence straight to Prinz/Fotop) is not working. Part of the reason our defence has looked bad is that 1) our keepers aren't doing the same job Lucks did last year and 2) the lack of any ability to hold the ball in the midfield means our backline is under pressure the instant Fotop/Prinz lose the ball. Perhaps - and this is something that may or may not work - we could put Overbeck out there in the role of Carlos Valderamma. No running needed. Just stand in the middle and pass the ball. I just don't know if her ball control skills are up to snuff. She's a good enough kicker of the ball, but I don't know if she can hold the ball.
Re: Re: Let's shake 'em up I remember a quotation from Burt at the beginning of this year where she said Entlich wasn't working on fitness as much as Marcia. I'd like to see more subs used but probably because I like Venus and think she'd make a great "super-sub" type player. Is it possible to attend practices? I don't have to work on Friday. If practice is before 2pm... In the afore mentioned trade talk with my friend, he said Serlinga and I thought Makinen but we didn't see how we'd get either. Interesting idea. During the Atlanta play-off game, there was a point where the ball just wasn't getting to Birgit when she was making runs. I'm in the stands yelling "give it to Birgit" over and over. I really wasn't lovin' the Overbeck substitution (understatement, I mean left midfield??) but then she almost immediately sent Birgit a great ball, on the ground, met in stride, exactly the right spot. I stopped complaining. Later, Overbeck scored and Marcia's a genius.
Like I said the back 4 is the least of Carolina's problems right now... sure there are some problems, but in relative terms Carolina has bigger problems up front, in the midfield and in goal. In reference to Overbeck doing wonders for Boyd... It's a nice thought and I'm sure Carla has a wealth of experience but Boyd has 42 international caps as a starter with Canada. Lots of those games against the US, Norway, China etc. She's no rookie in need of a mentor. The whole team is still adjusting to their new coach and whatever tactics he wants to employ. Boyd has a bit more work to adjust to new teammates... and them to her. Up front Carolina needs another speedy and skilled Forward who can work the attack with Birgit...who? In the midfield Carolina needs someone to fill Riise's shoes. A smart playmaker with great touch and vision....who? And that's assuming the rest of the midfield picks up their game. In goal, Lucks should be a big improvement assuming she plays up to last year's form. So my concern is that too much of the problem is really about not having enough of the required talent/skills on the roster. Carolina is overloaded with defenders.. Slaton, Boyd, Fettig, Burt, Baxter, Borgman, O'Hanley and Overbeck. There are 3 founders on the team and I'll be surprised if Carolina get's their money's worth out of anyone but Roberts. I'd trade 2 of the founders, but that's not going to happen and even if it could, who would Carolina get in return? Could trade an injured Riise for a healthier lesser talent, but with the future of WUSA in question who would take that trade? Wouldn't want to trade Lehn, unless for a talented foreign forward who would more than make up for the loss. That leaves trading Carolina's defenders for some more strength in the midfield or up front. Boyd and Slaton would bring the highest trade value. Carolina probably wouldn't get full value for Fettig or Burt... I think they're undervalued. Baxter, Borgman and O'Hanley could be traded for fair value.... but I don't see how to get an impact player... can't do a 2-for-1 very well with limited roster sizes. If trades didn't work, I'd try moving Burt up to Forward with Prinz. I'm impressed with Burt's attacking abilities. I'd put Slaton into the Midfield. Baxter and Borgman would go back on Defense with Fettig and Boyd. If I used Fotop, my tactic while she was on the field would be to force as many corner kicks as possible and hope Fotop put some of them in. Someone would need to be designated as Riise's replacement...where is that hidded talent??
I'd put Borgman up top. She has experience as a forward and is speedy and a fighter. I don't know what to do with the midfield.
I was just looking at the Power Stats on the San Diego site. The concept looks good to me....if executed properly it could provide a pretty good indication of team and individual performance... Anyone know who all uses the system and if Carolina has tried it?
In this article, coach and players talk about what's wrong: http://carolinacourage.com/356484.html a little more here: http://carolinacourage.com/357450.html
I kept thinking the same thing last year when the CyberRays kept fizzling offensively and no one was helping Katia up top. Sawyers didn't do it until the last few minutes of the last game of the season against Boston, however. Borgman will put the pressure on up top all day if need be. If absolutely nothing else Danni can force some turnovers up there and take some of the defensive pressure off the other Courage forwards!
Main problem for the Courage, with just a few exceptions....LACK OF SPEED. They're slow. Fotopoulos is slow, and Prinz isn't much better. They don't have speed burners in the MF or in the back either...big problem.