We haven't discussed much about the future WWC 07 offense for the NT. I for one, think there are some question marks. Abby is a lock, and Heather O has turned it up a notch and should be even better by Cup time, but what of the rest? This might be unpopular, but there's no way I see Fotopolous being part of this team. She is too one dimensional and will probably disappear against stronger teams. Millie has not exactly torn up the place since her return, and I don't see her getting alot stronger and faster in the next year and a half. Welsh did well early, but has been quiet as of late. If either Abby or Heather O suffer injuries, who is going to be the spark? Who is going to provide the element of danger? I understand Ryan's desire to convert Frimpong-speed kills on defense, but speed kills on offense too. Why not see what she can do there? We are not exactly hurting on defense, although Kate is the only defender with world class speed at the moment. (though Pearce is certainly no slouch). Offense to me seems like a concern at the moment. Any thoughts?
I was intially interested to see where Millie would be when she was first called in. Her first couple of outings weren't bad and I thought - maybe. The last couple were not good. Look like '03 WC Millie in the Mexico match. Always behind the play. Mac looked much better and more dangerous. I could see Fotop (which has always been her role) coming off the bench when you need a goal and I think it is good for Abby to have another big, physical player to practice against. Not sure if that is enough to earn a roster spot though. Wish we could have seen Welsh in Algarve. It is hard to make a determination based on what we saw domestically. In fact, it's hard to make a determination based on what we saw domestically for any of the really. Heather O definitely added some energy against Mexico.
I have always been a huge Millie fan. I even tried to follow her foray into Swedish soccer, but not being able to read Swedish it was somewhat of a bust. Do you know how hard it is to find a reliable Swedish to English online translator? I try to rationalize that we haven't seen her with a real full national team yet, because the midfield has been in such a jumble and the lack of training or games. Millie's game relies on run of play passes and those just don't get made when players aren't comfortable with each other. I also have to be honest and confess that I miss the old Millie, this one seems such a shadow of her former self. I watch the games and I see her missing shots that would have been laser tracers in the net and sigh wistfully. I do think that it is important to keep her,though. HeatherO is the only other one on the team with a similar style of play and if she goes down all they will be left with is big Abby-type forwards. Millie looks confident on her knee, she looks like she has the desire back, it's just not translating onto the pitch. I see our startes and being a no-brainer...Abby and HeatherO. Heather definately was a spark against Mexico, she is just so dangerous facing up. The defenders were flat footed all day. Abby has made great strides to being a full 90 player and is still going to be the focus of the opposing defense. When this happens, Fotop and Welsh, will get goals. I don't see them doing that on their own, though. Fotop is a pure goal scorer and, on a team where it was hard to score goals for many years, I don't see how you can give that up. She always seems to know where to be all the time. She is a true professional and she always makes the back post run. Welsh had a lot of goals so you have to look at her also. Mac did look good against Mexico and she's a great compliment to Lil on the corner kicks. I would love to be able to see the camp coming up. I would love to see how each of them do during the training. I see them taking four forwards to China so at least one big name will be left out. If Trotter and Rapinoe really impress Ryan, all three might stay home.
speaking of.... where's CP? (she just disappeared) Heather O and Abby look like starter material. Mac should be the 3rd or off the bench forward. I don't know if we have a "both sides of the ball" forward in the mix. IMO that was always Mia's biggest contribution. I haven't seen enough of Heather to know if she has the potential to playmaker, track back and create havoc like Mia did. Abby is more of a pure striker although she does work her butt off and can potentially be a great playmaker. At the moment I'm not too worried about that because we still have Lil. I hope Aly uses this time to fulfill her potential. That was my gripe with Ape. I hope this new guy can help her. That will be a bigger concern the closer we get to the Cup. Millie I think is on her last legs. She's not a starter anymore, IIRC looks like Fotop has gotten more time ( I could be wrong). Millie's game has always been heavily reliant on a strong playmaker. That freed her up to make those runs in the box. It's a big reason why she struggled in NY. She looks to be S.O.L now without a dependable playmaker. I've never been too crazy about overloading the front line with the bigger slower girls. But we need one in case Abby goes down. I vote for Welch on that. She brings that cherry picker quality and is much faster than CP and Fotop, not to mention younger. We need one more forward of the small and fast variety. Starters: Abby, Heather. Bench. Mac, Welch.... ?
you're forgetting Tarpley. she's a forward, but can play center midfielder as well as right middie, which is the spot they seem to be grooming her for. don't forget her beautiful strike against Brazil(?); if she doesn't make that, we lose in regulation, Wambach doesn't get the game winner, and we don't win it all in the next game.
Yeah Tarp I think is now a permanent mid. I think she can fill the hole Foudy left quit nicely. But as far as forwards go... we need one more, at least. Abby---- Heather Lil---Aly--Tarp ----Boxx----- The back line is a whole different thread. Someone come up with a list of the smaller forwards. Heather O at the top.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong (and I can't find the damn link), but I swear that I thought I read somewhere that she was pretty much undecided about her future with the team. She's back in school now I think?
Look here. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=243287. Not sure what happened to the comeback she was planning to stage...
Maybe Trotter or Rapinoe will impress. CP seemed indifferent about coming back and Ryan may feel like he's got enough big girls to look at.
What? Have you even seen India Trotter play? Well I have this year and I think she deserves a look on the National Team. I hate when people make claims that "it must be a buddy system or the coach knows the family that's why she's on the team". IMO their just talking out of their -ss without knowing much about the player. Good for Ryan in giving her a look.
Unless of course, the player in question is Marci Miller...then you can't help but wonder why she's been called in again...
Maybe Ryan sees something in her that fits his style of play and wants to take another look. The story on her I believe is that she's a very aggressive defensive mid. Someone that may give Boxx a breather once in a while. Maybe he knows some intangeable that we don't know. From what I understand she has plyed for him before and may know her family, but that doesn't mean that he's only giving her a chance because of that. From the NIU website, Anson Dorrance said of her getting the coaching job there, "Marci has proven herself at the highest level of the game. She was an extraordinary college player and I was disappointed not to have her at UNC". So just because India Trotter and marci Miller didn't go to the five or six "high Profile" schools and you haven't heard much about her and you heard Julie Foudy wasn't impressed about Marci on TV, doesn't mean Ryan doesn't see something in her/them.
Marci was never anything more than a late game sub for the Beat. Stone liked to view her as an animal he could unleash. It only worked half the time. Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember a WUSA game where Prinze basically ran right through her. She has been hyped to no end about how "tuff" she is. Truth is she is too small to be a viable option for this team. And IIRC her speed of play is well off the international pace. Can you imagine what would happen against Germany or Brazil if Boxx couldn't play?
Oh please, give me a little more credit than blindly just taking what Julie Foudy says in her broadcasts as my own view point. I've seen Miller play. She wasn't a regular in the WUSA, and to me, hasn't proven herself in international play. She disappeared against Australia, I can't even imagine what she would (or wouldn't) do against Brazil or Germany. So far Miller hasn't given any indication that she deserves to keep getting called up. Its one of the few things Ryan has done that I shake my head at. As for India Trotter, I didn't say anything against her, so please don't imply that I did. Personally, I'd like to see what she can do.
That was one game maybe she was nervous. I remember when Kate Sobrero first broke into the NATS, she wasn't very impressive at all, look at her now.
Marci Miller may be explainable by her connection with Ryan-(undergraduate assistant with him at SMU) I agree, she doesn't have the stuff at this level, so why is he even looking at her? A bit disturbing if you ask me. It would be a much better investment to groom Ozzie or Oakes as a backup to Boxx. I have a question - anyone know whatever happened to Natasha Kai (striker from Hawaii)? The buzz on her was pretty impressive, yet she's seemed to have fallen off the map. I am guessing she aged out for the U-21's. If you never heard of her, here's an intro. http://www.cybersoccernews.com/uswomen/040223u21camp.shtml "Another player who could have easily have escaped attention is Natasha Kai, a striker from Hawaii who is in a US national team camp for the first time. "She’s an interesting case," said Petrucelli, when asked about the 20-year-old. "This year the team really is an in-between team, because we are in an Olympic year as well as a U-19 world championship year. With no U-19 cup last year, we had players like Sheree Grey, Brystin Davis and Ashlyn Harris play, but given what is going on, those players are hands-off for us. "April (US head coach April Heinrichs) is dipping into our pool, so we had to find some unconventional ways to find players and go to different places where we might not have normally been looking and I think that Natasha is a good example of a player that was probably a little hidden. "We had a couple of people call and say that we should be looking at this kid, so I started following up and making phone calls and everyone said that she was worth a look and she has come in and done well. "She is an unbelievable athlete, one of the best that I have seen in our sport. Certainly she has some work to do technically and has to learn the game a little more to find out what it takes to compete at this level, but she is good enough that she is worth the investment." http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/uwire/110705aaf.html "Natasha Kai scored the only Bows goal in her final match as a member of the University of Hawaii soccer team. It's nothing new for the local girl from Kahuku, in fact it was her 72nd goal in 72 games with the team. Kai filled Hawaii's record books in her four years at the university and is undoubtedly the best athlete ever to play for the Rainbow Wahine. Her awards and records go on and on and she has excelled in almost every offensive category. In the Western Athletic Conference, she was named Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year three times - an unprecedented feat."
i just can't take that Rapinoe's goal she scored during the U-19 championship away from my mind. I think i like her better than O'Reilly to combine with Wambach.
What makes me wonder is that Ryan seems to be building the team with Lilly as a sure lock. But she has not committed to staying with that national team through the next olympics. It appears as though it is wait and see for her. So, what if she decides not to play or gets injured? I do not see any person that he is looking for or training to take her place.