According to Jeff Kassouf, there will be a Washington FC in the W-League, but it's owned by neither the Hendricks nor Borislow. So I guess I'll be splitting my loyalties between them and the WPSL Chesapeake Charge.
I can't wait for all this to get started. We have an owner who made himself General Manager (surprised he didn't make himself coach also). Gave away everyone that's good and is going to try to win with off-the-street walk-ons. We have another owner who is going to interfere with the General Manager and Coach on a daily basis and tell them what to do. We have a team who may have a player that's also an owner or vice-versa. This is going to be one interesting WPS season.
Now that would be just too funny. Everytime Hope gives up a goal...and God willing there will be many.... YOUR GM WOULD HAVE SAVED IT! YOUR GM WOULD HAVE SAVED IT! La La La La, Hey! La La La La, Hey! YOUR GM WOULD HAVE SAVED IT! YOUR GM WOULD HAVE SAVED IT!
http://ourgamemagazine.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/wps-officially-announces-a-number-of-magictalk-sc-signings/ Finally!
So suddenly, a team that had only four players officially on their roster three weeks ago is totally stocked. GK-McLeod, Solo, Fraine D-Marshall, Dalmy, Rampone, Sauerbrunn, Moros MF-Boxx, DaCosta, Davis, Klingenberg MF/F-Tarpley, White F-Wambach, Press, Rasmussen, Masar I count 18, unless I'm missing someone. They need to add some defensive depth, but it looks like the roster is almost set. While I will congratulate the team on some very nice signings, the PR on this whole mess is awful. Absolutely nothing on the Washington Freedom site, only a mention in the transaction section of the WPS site. Normally, a team would announce two or three players a week to build excitement for the team and generate ticket sales. But I guess when you don't know where you're going to play or where you're fanbase will be, that's a problem. For goodness sakes, show some consideration for your fans. This is ridiculous. One little giggle out of this...on the scrolling DCFreedom Twitter on the Washington site, a tweet came up from VaSoccerNews that said..."have you seen the #dcfreedom site? Pointless." Nothing like having a blurb scrolling on your website which rips the site (note it is a retweet from someone else, but still).
i put the list out there awhile back..its pretty much the same add ellertson and schnurr , huffman, devanna
with ellertson they just got real good on the defensive end. that's a solid experienced squad. too many people jumping on WNY boat. philly has a healthly kai who i'd call a marta killer...given she was on the Olympic squad that beat Brasil and the SB squad which beat the Sol. Boston should be in the mix also. they have a lot in the MF...so I guess Formiga wont get signed after all.
????????? kai doesn't play defense. she at the other end of the field. no individual has proven to be a marta killer.
Kendall fletcher is close, if paired against marta she stops her a whole lot. I think the person was saying that a healthy Kai in an offensive minded team means goals galore.
Sorry I didnt know Kai didnt play defense. I'd take a hlthy Kai and Rodriguez vs Marta and Sinclair in one game for a championship. Hope that helps.
Yeah, I've heard the Ellertson rumor for quite awhile, but I refuse to believe it until I see it made official. So if the four you mention happen, that makes 22. Will four of the rookies be developmental players or do Press and Klingenberg make the 18 and one of the veterans end up on the taxi squad?
I tried creating a depth chart at each position and then assumed that the lowest person on the depth chart would be developmental. I ended up with Masar, Davis, Moros, and Fraine.
Masar is the one that would surprise me. She scored 8 of Chicago's 21 goals last season and was 7th in the league in goals. But this team is now heavy with forward/striker types.
Glad Dalmy finally got picked up. She is, after all, the top American defender pointer getter the past two years. (now where's that call up?) Hopefully she see's plenty of playing time on a team with what looks like has good defensive depth.
I was also surprised by Masar. However....this kid is a fighter and has entangibles that others may not have. At first in Chicago under Emma Hayes, Ella Masar was a bust. Couldn't kick the ball in the Atlantic Ocean. When Namazi came in and made adjustments, she found her groove and after that couldn't be stopped. I am glad she found a home. I think she will contribute to this team. Dalmy, on the other hand should be on the senior team on a consistant basis. Her runs from right defender spot to make great crosses, enabled several CRS players like Nogueira and Ella to score some nice goals. IMO, Dalmy could be a starter on any team. If the Freedom play WNY in South Florida this summer, I'm def going.
Yes, it's a tough call. Which one of these should be last on the list?: Wambach, De Vanna, Rasmussen, Press, Masar (Which is the ordering of my depth chart right now. Wouldn't argue much with switching Press and Masar, though.) Or maybe you don't demote any of the forwards and try to pick another midfielder or defender.
Whomever ends up getting demoted to the developmental squad, it's a great thing to be in that situation where you have a hard decision on who to dress.
i guess that's an arguable option.... but one of those pairs has historically had more trouble scoring than the other. so, everything else being equal, i know which one i'd bet on to actually get to the big game in the first place.
I was thinking DaCosta, but there are a lot of things to be factored in when making such decisions. I actually agree with you for the most part. You're probably right, though, because Tarpley can play forward if they need her to as well, so that would make it more likely that one of the forwards would be developmental. I guess the question is will Press end up more like Kelley O'Hara or like Kerri Hanks. It will be interesting to see if they go with a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2. I personally think Rasmussen is a better passer/playmaker than De Vanna, but I can't argue that De Vanna is lightning when it comes to scoring goals. I think Rasmussen could be used as an outside midfielder if needed.
De Vanna is at her best as a supersub. I'd be inclined to start Rasmussen and then bring in De Vanna in the second half.
My feeling is I would lean toward Rasmussen, if for no other reason, I think De Vanna is very comfortable coming off the bench as StarCityFan said. De Vanna's game is more of a sudden strike, which can be very disruptive to opposing defenses late in games. She can change the energy in a game. I think Rasmussen needs to get more into the flow of the match for her to have the most impact, so I see her as being better as a starter. But it is certainly a close call either way. Both are very good players.