As I have posted on other threads, I agree with the calls for a new coach. I would like to point out some positives about the program however. I have been very impressed by the recent play of Roberts. When Mac gets healthy our right side is going to be awesome. With Pearce at right back and Bivens and Mitts providing bench depth, I really think that this area can be a strength of our team through the next WC cycle. The left side isn't as clear cut with Lilly's retirement on the horizon. Hopefully youngsters will step up. I give the team a grade of "average" for this game. There were some bright spots but we should really destroy a team like Mexico. Lets face it, would a good team like Germany give up the set peice goals to the U.S.A. That is unlikely. As far as the young players go, I thought Boxx played well in the middle. We need to get her into as many high level games as possible so that she can get used to the tighter marking and speed of play. Bivens had an absolutely beautiful potential assist flubbed at point blank range by the stiker-who-must-not-be-named. She made some great touch passes to spring counterattacks but also made the horrible tackle that resulted in the PK. Mitts played a very solid game. Her passing was spot on. She needs to get forward more but I think that she may have been playing it conservative because she just getting back on the team.
She gave up the best chance of the game to Mexico (besides the PK) when she decided to be the 4th player marking the center forward when the left mid came streaking up the left and into the area, it's a good thing Scurry came out and the Mexican player skied her shot or it would have (obviously) been a different result. Don't get me wrong, I want her in the mix for the team as much as anyone (if only for the team calendar). I was really really REALLY hoping Milbrett would score so she could retire with her 100 goals... but it almost became a macabre game for me watching her miss chance after chance.... it's probably just my aggravation from watching this team underachieve for the last 5 years under Ape.
ESPN 2 If you watched the game on ESPN 2 Sunday, you noticed that there were technical problems with the signal of the game. Why did the problems occur? Could someone please find out? For a box score of the game as well as a recap: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=45955&itype=113&iCategoryID=0
Re: ESPN 2 They announced during the match that it was due to weather related satellite issues at the main broadcast relay station in Bristol, CT where ESPN is located.
Sad Sunday APE MUST GO! I've decided to lead off all my posts from now on with that phrase. She has worked since 1999 and deserves to be retired. Since she obviously has no clue about the games, she probably doesn't understand the effect she has had on the decline of the USWNT and won't voluntarily resign. Sigh! Now to the game from my perspective. I was there in the stands in the shade at the Cotton Bowl and have the following observations: - Other than a few passes including the assist to CP, AW once again showed that she does not belong on the pitch. She could improve a certain part of her game - DEFENSE - and help the team out. She is almost immobile out there expecting the balls to be passed to her. How many times did I see her try and slide to deflect the ball somewhere and end up 3 or four feet short of the ball? If she had been in motion, that wouldn't have been a problem. Plus, she is woefully out of shape. A lot may be due to the long year, but she really didn't play that much during the WWC, so she doesn't have that excuse. Maybe fitness to her is not a "personal" thing. - Talking about out of shape, same holds true for Millie. I'm not sure if Millie is only physically or both physically and mentally out of shape. She runs around a lot but all that running around doesn't produce good passes or good finishes. I agree with the one post that suggested that we schedule a game against Tonga, get her her 100th goal, and then retire her. - Mac made her appearance in the second half and her work on the right side was mediocre at best. Yeah she had a couple of "megs," but I thought the object was to collect the ball on the other side and not give it away. She had more give aways that any spectacular work. She needs to rest and get her full game back in shape for next year. She has a future, while Millie, unless she finds a miracle cure, does not. - Who was advising Ape on the subs, Jim Gabarra? Let's see, we sub Millie in for Lilly and move Mia back to left mid. Well, that's a good way of keeping her from getting any touches in the second half. Of course, the couple of times she did get the ball, she made some excellent passes over the top to the Wombat that could have resulted in goals were it not for the fine work of the Mexican sweeper. Of course, this doesn't make up for the gimme that Mia missed in the first half on a feed from Kylie Bivens. Lack of concentration? At least Mia started to shoot after she had received long passes and waited for teammates to arrive. Our "front walkers" evetually got in the box but were accompanied by several Mexican defenders too. - Defense was OK, but would have been exposed by a stronger team due to players playing out of position because of the wedding (e.g. Slaton playing central defense). In fact, my opinion after the game is that with this performance, we would have lost to Germany 6-0! - Other than Shannon Boxx and Lil, the midfield did not distinguish itself at all. TR made some good runs and showed speed, but little ability to control the ball. Foudy came in in the second half and showed some energy but little else. - Bri played a solid game (I was reliving the nightmare of the US-Italy game when she stopped the cross-shot from the left wing less than 20 seconds into the match. She became irate at the AR following the almost point blank shot that sailed over the bar in the second half. She screamed that it should have been flagged as off-side. It wasn't. It was her defenders, once again, putting her in a world of hurt. - The subs, other than Abby and her two goals, added little to the US attack. I remember watching the WWC final in California and marveling at how both Germany and Sweden (but more Germany) don't have to pass the ball around the back among the defenders once they take it from the opponent. They work it rapidly through midfield and up to the front runners (again, Germany more than Sweden). It was great seeing the entire team pushing the ball forward. Yesterday I saw the same thing I've seen since the USWNT switched to the defense-originated attack from when Tony DiCicco took over as head coach from Anson. Let's pass the ball around the back until everyone has a chance to touch the ball two or three times, let the opponent's defense settle back into whatever defensive scheme they are employing (bunker, etc), and only THEN will we start forward. I remember my first post of this followed a game between the USWNT and Italy in 97 or 98, when Italy played a bunker defense. Whenever we would take the ball away, we would start the passing it around in back while Italy quickly retreated into their bunker. I was looking for a fast counterattack to take advantage of their confusion while they dropped back. Not ONE TIME did we do that. Since then we have continued the four-back zone defense and the almost need to pass it around. It's boring soccer and takes no advantage of the opponents being out of position when they turn the ball over. I'm really glad this was the last game of the year for the team. I have followed them for several years and thought, even with the infusion of some players this year, that we have sunk down to, and in some cases below, the levels of other national teams. If we stay with the same coach for the Olympics, we will lose. A different coach, even with the same players, will do much better. Dino left quietly in disgust. I'd like to see Ape gone with or without fanfare.
The end is near [R] The end I'm speaking of here is the end of the USWNT as a dominant team in women's soccer. This team is going down the drain very fast. Anyone watching the game against Mexico should have come away shaking their heads. Mexico is NOT a good team and if not for two head balls in the second half, could have ended in a tie. The inability of the US to score multiple goals off the run of play against a weak team like Mexico should be enough for anyone to admit we're heading in the wrong direction. There can be no excuses. This WAS April's "A" team and they couldn't get the job done. Will we still be wheeling Mia and company out there when they're old and gray? For heavens sake, enough is enough. We're too old, slow, too and we're playing crappy soccer to boot. Millbret isn't in a slump, SHE'S DONE and so are the others too. Start rebuilding TODAY. I don't give a rat's ass about the olympics and would rather see people that will be in the next WC then to see one more game with people that are only hanging around because their name still draws people and there's still a check in it. We have to go forward or now. Cut the old players, start building for the future and dump April while you're at it. She's been a failure and will lead us straight into oblivion The MLS is a retirement league for European players. The USWNT is the retirement team for aging US Women stars.
Amen RR, Thanks for telling it like it is. The only change I might make is substituting "here" for "near."
Um, well I give a "rats ass" about the Olympics. And as much as I'd like to see the WNT rebuild (starting with a new coach) the team that played Mexico yesterday is the team that will go to the Olympics (minus two players, which ones will be cut?) I think it will take failure in that tournament for April to be fired and all the "old" players to retire. But I don't expect many changes before the Olys, too short on time to get a new team together. I think the USWNT will always be a world force, our college programs are too good for that not to be the case.
For anyone who might have missed the game (as I did) due to your satellite not bringing in the signal: I read in an article on space weather.com that the sun storms are still going on and are causing problems all over the place with reception.
This was a friendly. Only two stats matter: nobody was injured, and nobody cares about the game. Seriously, there is no good reason for having this game scheduled so soon after the World Cup. To accord it any significance is to demean one's self.
Running up the score? No need - Sam's Army had it covered While it looked like the team was a tired, we in the stands (esp. in Sam's Army) had a great time with it all. Different chants Sam's Army was able to get going (if you haven't heard the cadence, my apologies that they don't carry as well when typed out): "Mejor que los Hombres" (Better than the men - got both some laughs and some dirty looks from different Mexico fans) "Jeon-ju! It's just like back in Jeon-ju!" "Brianna, would you like a good book/beer?" (This was in the first half when she was right in front of us and Mexico hadn't put any real pressure on us.) Some of the other standard pro-USA and busting on Mexico chants. It was all good. Oh, and then Shannon MacMillan came over and gave me her shoes, signed them, and signed my MacMillan jersey (can you guess? She's my favorite player.) Membership hath its priviledges. (Actually, I understand that it was Tiffeny Milbrett who pointed us/me out to Shannon, who took it from there. Needless to say, I am VERY appreicative.) As for the actual match, I gotta say, I didn't drink enough to think that we played great (I was on two wheels, so you gotta' keep the alcohol to a minimum). Frankly, the finishing was not nearly as sharp as it had been in the past, and I will admit to being very confused as to what Foudy was trying to do out there. Bivens got schooled on that pk - happened right in front of Sam's Army (and while we got on the ref for the call, under our breath almost all of us admitted it was a good call) - and otherwise was vulnerable to attack for much of the game. If Mexico had more guns, that would have been a significant problem. Oh, and Brianna's save in the second half - top shelf. Absolutely top shelf. Overall, though, I think the phrase of the day should be, "Y'all come back now, ya hea?" It was a great time.
random thoughts I've been reading this thread for awhile and thought I might as well chip in my 2-cents worth. These last two matches should never have been played. I assume they were scheduled as some sort of package deal, perhaps to get the Cup mathces on-air. At the least, they should have been made contingent on US winning the Cup; as it turned out, the teams was about as flat and unenthusiastic as I can imagine. Most were simply going through the motions. No timing, not showing up where they should have been on runs, no sense of what to do with the ball. Bad for women's soccer and bad for any chance or reviving the WUSA. In addition to reforming the team and getting a coach that can reconceive the whole approach, what both the team and the coach need to do is sit down for a couple of weeks and watch tapes of ManU and Arsenal. Especially the way they pass the ball in the midfield: always on a diagonal, short sharp passes, never more than two touches (usually one), and FLAT, FLAT, FLAT. When they can do this, they may have a chance of beating a first rate team on more than a fluke. Keep the long ball and the through ball, but use them strategically, rather than relentlessly from not being able to do/try anything else. In order to play this way, the individual players are going to need to improve their individual skills. Most of them simply can't handle the ball well enough to support this style of play, but they are going to need to to compete on the highest level. Right now, we worshop athleticism and personality players. Both are great and both are necessary, but we also need the work-a-day midfielders that can break the defense down and spring the race horses or set-up the 1-v-1 specialists. And we need the defenders who know where to be and don't let anyone dribble past them. Neither of these roles is very glamorous, but we won't win without them and they have to be played at a level higher than what we generally have now.
Oh. Apparently someone cares as this board has been lit up. Any supporter of the USNWT would expect all matches to have meaning - even if only developmental. Demean? You've been paying too much attention to Dr. Phil. Demeaning oneself would be selling one's children into bondage. Demeaning oneself would be getting drunk and waking up in the gutter. Demeaning oneself would be stealing from a friend. No match should ever have that significance.
Mia Hamm is a good soccer player, but she is not the "greatest woman player in the world" as we are told. Her stats are primarily a function of longevity and the early U.S. dominance in the women's game. For whatever reason the promoters picked her to be the face of women's soccer (cute? not butch?). Admittedly, that's not her fault. She disappointed in the '99 Cup when Michelle Akers was the true hero, and she disappointed in the '03 Cup. Her "assists" have been delivering corner kicks -- not a big deal. She did not even make the Cup first eleven. Surprise. For my money, our best active long term veteran is Christine Lilly. I'd pick her over Hamm any day. Losing Shannon Boxx would hurt the team more than the loss of Mia Hamm.
Well, I agree with you that promoters have put Mia in bad positions, and in a lot of ways, she is not as good as she once was, but to dismiss her assists in the World Cup? Please. That first assist was awesome, and I'm sorry, but hitting corners is not easy. Is she the greatest player in the world? No. But she isn't chopped liver, either. Another way to look at it is this - my favorite player is Shannon MacMillan. My wife's favorite player is Cindy Parlow. Both of these players are in some ways the antithesis of Mia. Neither are 'posterchildren' of the team. So in that sense, we're in agreement that Mia the public image that has been promoted (not necessarily by Mia herself) is not worth the adolation and respect she once recieved. But if you want to aim your criticism at someone on the team who isn't producing right now, let's talk about Jimmy first and foremost. Mia may not be getting some of the calls she was used to, but she is still getting into dangerous positions from time to time and can still take on players a lot of the time. Julie, otoh, has simply been non-existant for games. Big games, at that. Mia is still producing stuff worthy of the shirt. Loudy Foudy, not so much.
I have to disagree with you there. Are you simply making a general statement or have you actually looked at her stats? She didn’t score her first goal till 1990. Her biggest year in the “early years” was 1995 (A world cup year) 19 goals 18 assist. If you actually look at her stats you would see that of her 144 goals 111 were scored from 1995 to the present. So IMO you theory doesn’t fit. Unless of course by “early years” you mean like 1998 and before. Mia Hamm was singled out by promoters and media alike for simple reasons. She was and still is a dynamic presence on the field. She produces on the field. Yes her looks might have been a strong point. But in sports looks only get you so far with the media. Fans don’t really give a crap. If they did then Kournikova would be as big with the fans as she is with the media. And last I looked little girls don’t care about her. Please qualify this statement to me. How is it “not a big deal”? Team USA scored more goals on set pieces than the run of play in this WC. How then can you dismiss her contribution like that? Last I heard set pieces were hard to pull off. Eliminate Mia’s set pieces from this tourney and then tell me it’s not a big deal. Look I have no problem with the fact that you don’t think Mia’s the best. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But you made your opinion my dismissing Mia’s achievements as “media hype” and “no big deal”. That I have a problem with.