Who on the USA enhanced her reputation in WWC '03? Who tarnished hers? Who stays? Who goes? Opinions can change after the Canada game, but that game should not count for that much in overall evaluations. Enhanced: Wambach (potential to be the best player in the world, showed it often during the Cup, most exciting player on the team, engaging personality, the total package); Reddick (solid defense, offensive contributions, only 21, calm, a linchpin of the future); Boxx (can she play straight defense? That might make her even more valuable); Parlow (played much better than her detractors, yours truly included, expected her to play; expanded range of game); Bivens (played well when many thought at the start of the Cup she'd lead the team in fewest minutes played); Scurry (redemption is sweet!); Akers (I know she's retired, but it remains true that the USA has never won a major tournament without Michelle Akers). Tarnished: Foudy (not a presence, other than a 15-minute stretch in the second half v. Norway); Wagner (played like a deer caught in the headlights); Milbrett (see Wagner); team's medical staff and evaluators (can you say Slaton, MacMillan, Hucles, Mullinix?). Stays: Fawcett (as long as she wants; truly the unsung hero of this team for a dozen years); Hamm (still world-class); Lilly (still world-class, can teach younger players); Sobrero (returned to near-99 form); MacMillan (depending on health recovery); Wagner (she's got too much talent to nuke after one awful Cup, but let's get Wambach featured in the ads as the face of the team); Heinrichs (you try coaching a team to a repeat title that became champion by only the slimmest of margins but everyone warpedly thinks is dominant, that experiences the retirement of the greatest player ever, and its captain, for a federation that gives you cr*p warm-up matches, while your country's league keeps you from conducting a full-length camp, and your federation sends you all around the country to promote the game during the tournament). Goes: Foudy (we need midfield help and the Olympics roster is not large enough to give her a spot); Milbrett (because when O'Reilly returns Milbrett is superfluous); Roberts (see Foudy). Ready, fire, aim!!
Hot: Wambach, Reddick, Parlow (but does she have a whole 90 in her?) Not: Foudy, Hamm (the return of the haunting question, can Mia bring it when it matters most?), April Heinrichs, and April Heinrichs The big ?: Lilly - how much longer can she keep this up; Wagner - a player like this needs a lot of touches, barely saw the field, then on a team playing a style that does not suit her game
I agree that the team did not play a style that suits her game. But even so, when Wagner did get the ball, she often made a bad pass or got disposessed. I remember against Nigeria she got stripped of the ball after a touch or two trying to settle it -- I don't think the team's style had anything to do with her being disposessed or making a bad pass as often as she did. To me, she looked a little out of her league out there -- many of her passes looked rushed, as well.
Hey, with a player like Wagner you have to accept that. She's going to hold the ball and wait for something to open up or try to create with a risky pass. Holding the ball more and trying tose iffy passes means she will lose the ball to the other team and is why you often need a dedicated D-mid behind a creative midfielder. She has the ability to change games because once she gets the feel for a game she'll make better decisions and some of these moves (still, though, only some of them) will work. Why is it that a midfielder who loses possession while holding a ball and waiting for a play to develop is doing poorly, but a winger who blindly carries the ball to within 10 yards of the endline and sends in a cross to the keeper - even if nobody is in a position to contend for the ball - is making a good play? A cross is after all a pass, and a pass isn't a good one if there is no one to receive it. The same can be said for those balls over the top that a front running forward cannot reach. Honestly, you're only going to have a successful possession a handful of times in a game (if success = getting off a good attempt on goal) and ALL the others result in a turnover of some kind. And HartwickFan, how do you do coming into a game at 50 or 60 minutes? 'Cause when I do it it's gonna take me 5 touches to get used to the speed of the game, no matter who I'm playing against. Aly Wagner has excelled against teams much better than Nigeria for the US. And I think she was put in a situation where she could not succeed.
Enhanced - Wambach, Boxx Tarnished - Foudy, Bivens (notclosing down the German's on her side) Stays - Fawcett (no one is playing better than her right now), Lilly, Hamm (face it like her, hate her right now we need her she is the play maker for Abby), Mac (dependening on her confidence which should be back inthe next few months), Millie (I think she can play though her blues) Goes - TR (unfortunatily), Bivens, and Hucles
Good point -- I agree with you that coming into a game at 50 or 60 minutes will require a bunch of touches to get used to the speed of play. That certainly made it harder for Wagner. I think Wagner started against North Korea, and I thought it was one of her better games of the tournie -- she had a respectable performance, but still nothing special, IMHO. Now maybe that was due in part to the team's style of play not suited to her strengths. I believe you that Wagner has excelled against teams much better than Nigeria. But has she excelled against teams that are as physical and pressure as much as Nigeria? It just looked to me like the game was being played at a pace that was simply a level higher than she was comfortable at, and with a physical edge that she wasn't used to.
Biven goes, not way. She was picking up to Boxx and Foudy's mistakes in the Germanay game. She was covering a whole lot of real estate. Remeber that game was probably her tenth international game. This World Cup was a learning experience for her and she will adapt her style of play to the faster international pace with more game under her belt. Also, Wambach was the person who was mark the player that scored the first German goal and Foudy was person was two step behind that player when she jumped. Personally, I would play Bivens in the mid- field; she is fast, she plays the ball quickly, and she can boom the ball a long distance up field. The college game presently have plenty of defenders that can be gloomed for the Olympics and the next WWC. For me Stays: Hamm (pretty please with sugar on top), Wambach, Parlow, Lilly, Boxx, Brianna, and Bivens On the Bubble: Wagner, Pearce, and Mac Goes: Millie, Hucles, Slaton, and Foudy
Hot: WAMBACH (absolutely fantastic performance) Reddick (really stepped up for Chastain) Parlow (I wish she was given a full 90, I think she can do it. Not: Milbrett (what happened?) Hucles (didn't impress me at all) Bivens (but I think she was just nervous. It's only her first time, so I'll give her a break)