The biggest problem with the current 4-3-3, as I see it, is the forwards being too rigidly assigned to a specific area of the field. The last time I remember the USWNT playing 4-3-3 truly effectively was the late 1990s, when it was usually Hamm, Milbrett and Parlow/MacMillan. Admittedly it was a much different time - opponents were weaker - but the forwards shifted around a lot to the point where nobody was playing "right," "left" or "center." They were always passing and moving. With the current 4-3-3, it seems like players don't have that freedom, or they lack the tactical know-how to do it. Obviously when HAO is one of the three, she pretty much stays exclusively on the right because that's the position she knows. She nailed down the right winger role for the past ten years, so of course she'll revert to that because she's comfortable there. But even the others, more natural forwards, seem to be stuck to a particular side of the field and rarely change it up. Hard to say if they're being directed to do so by the coaching staff or whether they're too nervous or incapable of combining more dynamically.
...which would make wambach the best goal scorer in the world. so I'd like to have that wambach, or a reasonable facsimile of her on this team next year when it's time to go into battle. I'm just not sure that my fandom can overcome injury, time, and the likely development of a hagen for example....(not calling for hagen to be on the team if she does not surpass abby). so wambach might make the team. but i'm pretty sure she's not the lock some posters may think she is.
I don't understand this argument? Are you saying Wambach is not a lock because she may not be healthy or are you saying there are 4 other forwards that are better than her when she is healthy? The health issue is something that is true for everyone on the team so it's no use applying that to her only. Sure, she's hurt right now but so was Rapinoe and Morgan. If Wambach is fit come 2015, I do not believe her game would have deteriorated so much that she still won't be useful on a 23 woman roster.
I don't think anybody is a lock. You can get injured two weeks before the World Cup and be done for the whole tournament. So everything is unpredictable here on out. Abby could be injured now and be like Morgan and suddenly bounce back from the sprain just in time for the World Cup. Or she could not and ultimately miss out on playing. She's a strong player so I don't think we can predict what's going to happen 8 months from now. You could bring in Hagen and like Altidore, sprains her hammy during game 1 of the tournament, then ask Ellis..... so where's Wambach? You could bring in vet Wambach over Hagen and Wambach sprain her hammy and the other criticism will apply, "why didn't you bring in Hagen instead?". So my question is, why not bring in both just so we have that target forward already secured?
my argument is simply that taking into account wambach's age, size, speed, and how much the game has taken out of her, she has more things that are likely to mitigate against her making this team. i don't care that much who makes the team. i'd love for her to make the team if she's healthy and scoring/assisting. but i'm just being realistic that of the players listed as a lock by the poster i was replying to, wambach is less of a lock than any of the others.
i have no objections to this. sounds good to me. which forward will they leave at home tho? and if they carry all the forward suspects, does that reduce the number of mids or defenders they carry? and is that a good risk to take?
With their personnel and the way they r playing the 4-3-3, theyd be better off just going 4-5-1. They have already gone to 2 DMs. If they keep that pair home they can pinch in the two AMs and get their width from the 2 FBs . Of course if Lloyd and Long r gonna bomb forward all the time into the attack it makes it hard to send ur FBs.
Which, if they r still bent on a 4-3-3 next summer, likely means add one defender and one midfielder as I cant see them not carrying 6 forwards on a roster of 20.
The big question is whether the wings get pushed into forward pool...that means throw HAO and Rapinoe into the forward mix. Then u have the four midfielders who played last game (Heath, Long, Holiday & Lloyd) That leaves one midfield spot that could go to Rapinoe, Brian or a DM type. So my uneducated guess...they leave Brian in school, take HAO instead of Hagen and then its a pickem between BVH, KO and Kling for the last spot.
Here's my list, not sure if makes any sense or not but can we win the world cup with these people? 23 ROSTER 2015 1. Solo 2. Leroux 3. Rampone 4. Sauerbrunn 5. Ohara 6. Engen 7. Brian 8. ARod 9. HAO 10. Lloyd 11. Krieger 12 Holiday 13 Morgan 14 Cox 15 Rapinoe 16 RVH 17 Heath 18 Barnie 19 Klingenberg 20 Wambach 21 Horan 22 Hagen 23 Press