Couple of questions here: Regardless of the result, is Pia staying or going? Will we see some players retire? (Abby, Boxx, Rampone?) There are now talks of trying to keep the players in the States by creating residency camps instead of having the players go abroad. Here is an interview with Gulati: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=8246590 What benefits the team as a whole? doing long residency camps with 25-30 games a year or letting the players go wherever they need to in order to better their skills?
I'd personally rather see our players compete in Europe for a year. Hopefully by 2014 we can start another league here in the US. I know Morgan has already hinted that she likes the 8 month league schedule in Europe than the 4 month one here in the states with the WPSL. The USWNT can still play 10 to 12 friendlies throughout the year, but may be missing some players due to club committment.
As long as we are talking about what will happen after the cup, keep in mind that the USWNT Player agreement expires right after the Olympics and is up for renegotiation. Everything is up for grabs, so things like player compensation, residency arrangements, interface with possible leagues, etc. is all up for grabs. I'll also note that the year after the olympics had traditionally been a really slow year for the women. The last two cycles show only about 8 games the year after the Olympics.
I hope Pia decides to move on...maybe to Sweden ... i don't care as long as it's not here. I think we've grown a little stale and we need a fresh approach. We should not have to go to overtime against Canada, no matter how much they're improved. Player by player we're a far better team and yet.. we almost had to go to PKs to get by. Pia has the most talent in the world to work with and yet we have a lot of trouble getting it done. She says she trusts her bench but uses few of them in a tournament with short time between games. Our offense is primarily cross it into the pox and hope for the best. I think we are capible of playing a much higher caliber of soccer but it won't happen with Pia running the show. Hire the Canadian coach
Can't play high caliber with the level of technical ability available which is low. The Japanese have boat loads of technical ability and game smarts that compensates for physical disadvantages.
Another thing to think about is that Jillian Ellis sits next to her on the bench and is the presumptive next in line. And April Heinrichs is her boss. Be careful what you wish for.
Hopefully they all go out and have a huge gold medal celebration party, and all get totally hammered at a pub somewhere...
This is starting to be crazy-making, as it is so obviously not true. Say you don't like the way she uses her bench if you like, but to say "she uses few of them" when she has used them all except the backup keeper, is either ignorant or mendacious...
Pia will stay. She wants a WC and record-wise, there is no compelling reason to fire her. I'm certainly no Pia fan, but the alternatives may be even worse. I think Mitts, Boxx, and Rampone will retire, but not Abby. Not unless injury problems finally overtake her. Same with Solo. I honestly don't see a lot of turnover on the team other than the retirees. Rodriguez may eventually get pushed aside and possibly LePeilbet, if we could ever develop some good young outside backs.
It might defend on your definition of "uses". Yes, all of them played, but the entire bench combined played fewer minutes than the top 7 starters. Buehler got more minutes than Boxx, HAO, Mitts, Leroux, Sauerbrunn, and Rodriguez combined despite being subbed out three times. It's hardly a platoon system when the most-replaced starter (LePeilbet) has 436 minutes while the most-used sub (HAO) has just 195.
Mitts didnt play much, A-Rod and Sydney didnt play much either. O'Reilly not too much Thats why we're gassed in the final game and why Rapinoe had to come out. She could have used more people more often... wouldnt have hurt us
Mitts played the entire Colombia match, but that was it. A-Rod got all of 31 minutes, Leroux 71; HAO actually led the subs with 195.
I love Pia and yes I don't always agree with her decisions like why she always started Rachel Buehler when I always felt she made too many mistakes in games to be starting over Becky. Anyway, May I ask a potentially ignorant question and I'm sure it is, is it possible to train American players to be as technical as Japanese players? My guess is culturally maybe it's not possible with the system that is in place, but would you guys want the American players to be like the Japanese players? Or would you want them to have their own style?
My answer would probably be a hybrid. Yes, they need to be more technically skilled and it can be fun to watch. But there are times that a more technical game seems to take the sting out of the attack, which is one thing I enjoy watching from the US. But technical skills and that type of play would help us finish off games more proficiently, just by keeping possession longer. I think it requires more patience and that isn't necessarily one of our strong suits.
Do you think, it's our very starting lineup that doesn't have the patience or the US pool in general that wouldn't have the patience to pull off more possession style?
Umm-- plattoon system? That would be a bit more than just playing them, now, wouldnt' it? Its not clear to me when all this non- tactical substituting was supposed to happen, as we were rarely two or more goals up. People got used as much as and when practical as far as I can see. Youmight want to argue about Sauerbrunn, I suppose, but that's not really about willingness to sub, that's about the relative merits of Sauerbrunn, Beuhler, and LePielbet; you're not really arguing that she should have used her bench more, you are arguing she has the wrong person(s) on it. u
I think it goes back to what you said in your original question. It's not the way of our culture. We're all about attack, attack, attack. Make something happen now. We're a video game society. That's been our general approach to all sports, which I think is why this sport was so slow to take in the US compared to other nations. We want our sports to be an ESPN highlight reel and I think that mentality is often present of our young players. I don't think a transition to a more technical game is totally impossible, but the transition would be painful and slow...and once again, I don't know if we're patient enough for that. At one time, I thought a player like Tobin Heath might be one to lead us in that direction, but now I have serious doubts.
Did she give in a bit for the better? Or are too many people mad at her? Also do you think it's Pia's fault the US is not more possession oriented considering she's a European? But here's what I would like, what do the major fans want? Do they want them more like Japan? Or the style they are playing now is that guaranteed for the next 20 years and would you be fine with that?
For one thing, our players need to learn better first touches and the ability to pass accurately - consistently - while under pressure. I don't mind if we play something like Real Madrid. Not everyone has to go for the Barca tiki taka.