I don't know. Pretty much all of the young players they brought out that weren't previously marketed names in the USWNT were really good. In fact, I think a new coach who is more willing to use all the players in the talent pool rather than mainly the ones with a large instagram following is really going to help the team going forward. As for O'Hara, I'm pretty bummed to lose her. I think I saw her play 3? games in person. Twice as a sub. She completely changed our team's dynamic and pegged the opposition into their half of the field.
That's fair. And maybe we're lucky enough in this country to have such a strong youth and collegiate setup that our national team will continue to be dominant despite the lack of a legitimate professional league. It's really weird.
The women's college soccer system is very good. I have followed BYU for a while now, this season not so much, and even attended games there. It is a quality program and helps when you don't have a solid professional league.
The question I would pose is how long is that sustainable/better than the Euro team/leagues pushing the women's game on the professional side? When do we see the shift from a collegiate athlete being better than a Euro academy/early pro minutes? It's almost the exact opposite of the men's side where the college system is obviously inferior in development and progression. Further, the NCAA limitations will only expedite that shift, I think. It's not meant as a slam to the NCAA, but only allowing athletes to play/train in tight windows compared to a full blown professional environment is very different. I was very hopeful that the NWSL could find a way to partner with MLS and establish legitimate girls academies in this country. Yes, we already have some amazing youth club's, but the academy side of things is such a different environment. At the very basic, it's not a pay to play system, typically. I suppose the biggest hurdle there is that women players dont have anywhere near the same salary/transfer fees that an academy can survive on. Producing a top level player in the women's game, right now, returns pretty much nothing to the team, no? Maybe I'm out of the loop on transfer fees on that side, but I don't remember anything being reported about them. Was there a single transfer fee/loan fee for any of the USWNT players that went to Europe?
I think we see how the sale of RSL is going to go now. It will be sold piecemeal. Wouldn't surprise me to see RSL move, too.
Yeah, this sale is telling. Piecemeal it is. If DLH does it, he will be loathed and despised in Utah. Terrible legacy to leave but he may not be too prideful for it methinks.
I thought I saw a story a little bit ago saying the nwsl couldn't wait until MLS had to step in. Do if dlh really is waiting until then, this is completely on him. Unless the new owner really didn't want the team, I guess.
this The timeline for Royals/NWSL was much tighter than MLS because of the adjusted schedule for the NWSL in 2021. They couldn't wait until the jan 8 league "take over". Something to think about: The recent move to only have like 3 players on contract with the Monarchs looks very calculated. It can be veiled in a move to allow more room for Academy and RSL players, sure. But it is also about not having to pay players guaranteed money when/if the team folds and or moves.
One massive difference between MLS and NWSL is the barrier to entry. MLS is a competitive thing to get into. If RSL leaves, it is very hard to see Salt Lake being in line for a club for a long long time. However, NWSL could be in Salt Lake in 2021 even with the Royals gone... USL falls in between the two, leaning more towards NWSL in terms of difficulty to enter I feel really bad for all of the Royals player that have had to deal with this fiasco. To be showered in great facilities and things like cars is awesome. But if it comes with an environment like the one we've seen reported, it starts to sound like a certain very old (the oldest) profession
Something that wasn't included in The Athletic article or NWSL's article about KC getting an expansion team is RSL (Utah Soccer) retained the right to the Utah Royals name and the ability to restart the team in 2023. The Royals have been a passion project for DLH, so maybe he's not willing to give up on them as fast as it appears on the surface. https://www.rsl.com/post/2020/12/06...rship-utah-royals-fc-group-kansas-city-kansas
It would be quite the move from DLH to wait until 2023 and be like "Utah Royals are back!" I see this more as a move by NWSL to leave the door open for the new RSL ownership to do the right thing but not have to deal with it right from the word go.
This lengthy blog post is a gold mine of information about how badly the FO was managing the Royals. He has a lot of Utah-related sports content on his blog and I think I need to be checking in periodically. Quality stuff. EDIT to add it is from mid-October, before the sale went down. And from reading it, thank goodness the sale went down. The players and coaching staff deserve better.
1. If you needed more proof of the misogynist nature of the club, look at how the club handled this shit. 2. For those saying that it was just DLH and Andy Carroll causing the issues - both were on leave when this went down. The ineptitude of the rest of the staff was on display