Waiver Question

I'm pretty sure that the drafted players do not count toward the 16, because the waiver draft was supposed to be held before the college draft. But I would think that Latham, as a discovery player, would count toward the 16.

An aside about Kester...she might *want* to play in Carolina, but frankly, I don't think the Courage have any need for her. I wouldn't start her instead of any of our already established midfielders. If San Diego did waive her, I'd be surprised if the Courage picked her up.

 

If Kester was waived I also don't think that the Courage will select her in the Waivers Draft. However, if no other team selects her, Carolina will probably invite her to try-out for the team.

It will be extremely difficult for Sherrill to make the 16 player roster of the Courage, but she might still be able to earn a spot with the team either as a reserve or as a developmental player. also if Hege Riise, Unni Lehn, & TR are away on national team duty at the same time, the Courage might need to sign a midfielder to a temporary contract. I would think that a player with WUSA experience who is living in the Triangle Area will probably get first consideration for such an opportunity.

 

That's a really good point that I hadn't thought of. Since 75% of the starting Courage midfield is made up of internationals, there will need to be significant cover.

I would hope that, when Kester made her feelings known, she took that into consideration and realized it'd be very hard to get regular playing time with the Courage (certainly not a regular starting spot).

A tryout invitation? What the heck...it doesn't really cost much. And she might show something.

 

Well, you guys waived Wynne McIntosh, Sherrill Kester, Fan Yunjie and Mercy Akide.

 

how could you guys waive Wynne! I hope NY picks her back up!

how do y'all have on D?

 

Well its about time! Kester has done nothing in two years, McIntosh lost out in the numbers game,too many better players at her position. Mercy and Fan were likable but didn't deliver what other foreign players did for their teams.

Now the trade looks like Tiejen, Boxx and Smolak for Wagner and Lalor. Hmmm??? Time will tell. The player out there we should look at is Allie Kemp. Local girl with unreal speed and can play the flanks better than anyone on our roster. Come on Dave Presher and pull the trigger on that acquisition!

If this Brazilian we've been hearing about is good, this could be a playoff team. One more defender wouldn't hurt either.

 

Here's the Announcement!

http://www.sandiegospirit.com/342876.html

***

And here is the preseason roster (as of today)

Branam, Jenni
Bush, Susan
Connors, Kerry
Fawcett, Joy
Fleeting, Julie (I)
Foudy, Julie
Lalor, Jen
Latham, Christine (I)
MacMillan, Shannon
Mascaro, Jen
Pagliarulo, Jaime
Palmer, Susie
Pickup, Kim
Sauer, Amy
Tanaka, Rhiannon
Wagner, Aly
Zhang Ouying (I)

All of the players whose options are not renewed will go into a Waiver Draft set for Monday, Feb. 24. The Spirit has the second pick in that draft, should the club choose to pick up a player.

***

Notice that the reserve players aren't mentioned at all. I wonder what that means?

 

And here is the full list of those waived. Who do you think the team should pick up?

http://www.wusa.com/press_room/342872.html

The only 3 that I'd consider would be these ones:

Amanda Cromwell Defender Atlanta Beat
Allie Kemp Forward/Midfielder Boston Breakers
Tara Koleski Midfielder Philadelphia Charge

 

I wonder if Wynne will be picked back up if no one selects here? It's really too bad that she hasn't even had a chance to show what she can do.

And I'm still surprised that the team decided to hold onto Zhang, unless there is going to be some sort of trade coming up. She just doesn't look to fit in with the coach's stated aims of getting faster and tougher (and she severely cramped Mac's playing time on the right side...)

 

i wish amy sauer woudl be waived! and marvin...why the hell shoudl Kim be waived...id just like to know

 

Re: Kester... This is a WWC year, so you better believe teams, including the Courage, will need "significant cover." Nobody wants to get drained with L`s while their stars are in the Cup.

Sherrill is versatile and experienced and is better than a huge majority of the reserves in the league. She is indeed good enough to be on the Courage roster...

 

Kester is a good player who should be picked up by a team. The lowering of roster spots in a season with the World Cup and important friendlies is absolutely idiotic.

 

So what positions do you think the SD staff might be looking for if they choose to draft waiver day?

 

"Spirit bids adieu to fan favorites"

Here is Mark Zeigler's article on the waived players. It is on page 3 of today's sports section, and includes pictures of Mercy & Fan.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/sat/sports/news_1s22spirit.html

 

Kester and the Courage

I remember reading, and to be honest with you, I now don't remember if it was in a news article or on a message board, that for personal reasons, the Courage was the "only" team that Kester wanted to play for.

Now, I don't know the veracity of that statement. But if that is her position, she is doing herself a great disservice. She should not limit her options like that, especially when the team she has chosen might not have as much use for her as other teams would.

Kester played in all 21 games last year, and started 15 of them. If she expects to get the same kind of playing time with the Courage this season, she will probably be disappointed. I just cannot see her getting that much playing time with the midfielders that the Courage have on their roster. If she's willing to accept that, then yes, she could prove to be a valuable addition to the reserves.

One final note, about the roster size: 16+2+2 = 18+2. The roster size at the start of this season will be the same as the one at the start of last season. Only the designations (and presumably the salaries) have changed.

 

Kester got married over the summer and her husband is in N. Carolina, hence the request. She knows she isn't going to get that much playing time here or anywhere else.

If she were a good player, she would be in demand, but the fact remains, she was a marginal player at best in San Diego. One goal in two years? With all those starts, where were the assists for MacMillan, a prolific scorer. Kester didn't take players on 1v.1 enough and was no defensive presence either. Her speed was never utilised, and she wasn't a strong enough player physically. She's not a bad player, but she got paid well for the last two seasons and produced no results. In the WUSA its all about results. This is professional soccer. Kevin Crow told everyone at the beginning of the season last year that is this team didn't win games, players, coaches and GM's could lose their jobs. Guess what? That's exactly what happened. Welcome to the "real world."