99 replies to this topic

[JeremyStrain]

On to the final!

Man that one was crazy.

 

Saw an absolutely fantastic interview with Emma that was talking about adjustments, and you can't just throw out "your style" and think you're just going to beat everyone. You have to look at who you are playing, what you run, what the weaknesses is are, what adjustments they may make looking at your video etc. and then adjust from there. The game is all about adjustment, not ego.

 

I was like man, tactically, she's a monster. She really does get it. When she subbed Albert in for Horan, and took the last of the older players out in extra time I was like oh man, there's a ballsy move. But it makes sense, fresh legs out there when everyone is dead on their feet, especially our older over 30 players that were already banged up (Rose). She added some vet back in the mix later when she went to the 5 back conservative look with Casey in after the goal, I wasn't mad at it, even with it Alyssa had to save us on that starfish save.

 

I was telling a friend I don't like the script being written for the finals though. Marta comes back from suspension just in time to play us, who has been struggling to score the past two games. Let's hope it goes well. Gotta get this train back on track.

[BSLSteveBirrer]

I hope we kick Marta's butt back to Brazil in shame. She should have been suspended for the rest of the tournament. But that's what she does. She so good and so well known that she just can play dirty and get minimal penalty from it.

 

US will be ready but they need to bring their A game.

 

Dear Sophie,

 

If you get a breakaway please find the back of the net. 

 

TIA!

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Get this done ladies. Back on the tallest step on the podium.

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Half time scoreless but Brazil has been the better team. US getting beat 1x1 way too often.

[BSLSteveBirrer]

GOLD!!!

And as a reminder keepers rule!!

[JeremyStrain]

GOLD!!!

And as a reminder keepers rule!!

Probably her last run with the team, and such a great way to end it if it was. Some of those saves were epic.

 

She's gonna be 39 for the next WC and 41 for the next olympics though, so gotta be shifting younger right? I figured Murphy would get the job, she'll be 29 and 31, and could probably go two rotations. They have a kid in Portland who is 23 and a monster too, used to play for UNC.

 

I'm interested to see what they do in goal, cause like Kingsbury would be next up for me, but she's 32, so same problem really, you MIGHT get one run out of her. Then Murphy, Campbell, and I can't remember her name, but the one playing in England now, just left Portland recently, hyphenated last name, they are all 27. Do you shoot for one of them and probably get 2 runs? Or look younger and try to get 3? I feel like all the big GK stars the last few decades have all been 3 run players.

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Going younger is often the way to go but when it comes to keepers its a bit different. It really depends on two main factors.

 

1. How well is your current keeper aging?

2. How much experience and playing time are the younger keepers getting.

 

In regards to #1, I think we may well still see Naeher in the next WC. She was a beast and I saw no signs of her slowing down. Now much can change before then but I wouldn't put it past her to still be the #1.

 

And point #2 really becomes critical. IMO the only reason Matt Turner is still #1 for the men is because he's been the #1 and none of the younger keepers are getting much playing time either. Sort of like how boxing gets judged. You have to pummel the champ to win the title. If its even close the champ keeps the belt. Same thing here. I do not think Turner is our best keeper but since nobody else gets playing time with their clubs they can't supplant him when it comes to national team duty. Now its a bit different for the women's game because playing domestically is about as good as playing anywhere in the world. The NWSL is as good a quality as any other league. That doesn't work on the mens side. You can be starting and playing well in MLS but that is not near the level of play of any of the big 5 Euro leagues. MLS keepers just need to transfer to Europe (and this goes for field players too) but the problem is there are just so few keeper jobs that even when they do transfer they get stuck riding the bench or loaned out to some low level league that's not even as good as MLS.

[JeremyStrain]

Going younger is often the way to go but when it comes to keepers its a bit different. It really depends on two main factors.

 

1. How well is your current keeper aging?

2. How much experience and playing time are the younger keepers getting.

 

In regards to #1, I think we may well still see Naeher in the next WC. She was a beast and I saw no signs of her slowing down. Now much can change before then but I wouldn't put it past her to still be the #1.

 

And point #2 really becomes critical. IMO the only reason Matt Turner is still #1 for the men is because he's been the #1 and none of the younger keepers are getting much playing time either. Sort of like how boxing gets judged. You have to pummel the champ to win the title. If its even close the champ keeps the belt. Same thing here. I do not think Turner is our best keeper but since nobody else gets playing time with their clubs they can't supplant him when it comes to national team duty. Now its a bit different for the women's game because playing domestically is about as good as playing anywhere in the world. The NWSL is as good a quality as any other league. That doesn't work on the mens side. You can be starting and playing well in MLS but that is not near the level of play of any of the big 5 Euro leagues. MLS keepers just need to transfer to Europe (and this goes for field players too) but the problem is there are just so few keeper jobs that even when they do transfer they get stuck riding the bench or loaned out to some low level league that's not even as good as MLS.

To point #1, it's not like there's a glaring weakness and it's like there's the pasture...but she's getting up there, and 39 and the world cup just don't feel like a great match to me. I wanna compare to Solo, but she had all that drama and got kicked off the team before she naturally may have run her course, even then I think she was 35 when they kicked her off. That's a tough comparison though cause Hope was such a mess at the end.

 

To point #2, agreed. I know Campbell, and Murphy are NWSL starters. Claudia Dickey was the 23 year old I was thinking of, she's the starter in Portland now, and Phallon Tullis-Joyce is the one that just went overseas (giving Claudia the gig in Portland) I was thinking of. But I don't know if she's starting/playing much. I know what you mean about the men's side, saw that happen with Zack Steffen a little bit early on in his career.

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Take a look at this. Pretty sure if you can play at 39 or 40 at the men's WC you can do it on the women's side.

https://www.sporting...2q14rmp1h18s0zf

Now at lot can happen between now and then but Naeher is so so good. We'll see.

[JeremyStrain]

Take a look at this. Pretty sure if you can play at 39 or 40 at the men's WC you can do it on the women's side.

https://www.sporting...2q14rmp1h18s0zf

Now at lot can happen between now and then but Naeher is so so good. We'll see.

I mean if anyone can do it, a GK would have an advantage I suppose. But i know when like some of this generation was washed and really ready to be replaced was between 34-38. Field vs GK though, I can understand that. And it comes down to having someone behind her better than her.

 

Just thinking that if Emma is on this youth kick and is building for the next 12 years, she already cleaned up the D, and has changed over a lot of the forwards. GK has to be on her mind...as a good coach you always want to kind of know in the back of your head who is next. I mean what if she was hurt and took the decision out of their hands you know?

 

Will be interesting to follow.

[DuffMan]

https://www.espn.com...up-olympic-gold

[JeremyStrain]

Welp. Called that one. Alyssa just announced her retirement. Which makes it less weird now that Phallon who I mentioned is getting her first cap at 28 and Mandy Haught at 26 was called up as well.

[BSLChrisStoner]

ESPN: Easy win shows Emma Hayes' USWNT rebuild is going masterfully

https://www.espn.com...ing-masterfully

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Coach Hayes is just doing what previous coaches, especially the last one, didn't have the guts to do. Move on from the old crowd that had lost their step and had become more interested in social matters than soccer. Nothing wrong with having a shift in focus. But a coach has to recognize when its time to infuse younger, hungrier talent.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Japan beats US 2-1

https://www.cbssport...ieves-cup/live/

[JeremyStrain]

Coach Hayes is just doing what previous coaches, especially the last one, didn't have the guts to do. Move on from the old crowd that had lost their step and had become more interested in social matters than soccer. Nothing wrong with having a shift in focus. But a coach has to recognize when its time to infuse younger, hungrier talent.

It's funny. I've been leading this cry to transition some youth in key positions for years, but now seeing Emma do it, I'm a little like ummm ok, maybe too much too soon? I think some of it is injury issues, so it seems worse than it is, but there's also some extremes, a lot of 16 year olds and 18 year olds thrown in the mix. May be for the best in a couple years, but the WC will be interesting to see who she takes. Especially at who ends up winning the GK competition.

[BSLSteveBirrer]

It's funny. I've been leading this cry to transition some youth in key positions for years, but now seeing Emma do it, I'm a little like ummm ok, maybe too much too soon? I think some of it is injury issues, so it seems worse than it is, but there's also some extremes, a lot of 16 year olds and 18 year olds thrown in the mix. May be for the best in a couple years, but the WC will be interesting to see who she takes. Especially at who ends up winning the GK competition.

The time to infuse youth and see just what you have is now. Find out if those teenagers have what it takes and get them on solid development track to correct weaknesses. And especially to train them to play how the Nats are going to play. This gets overlooked so often in our youth training.  

[JeremyStrain]

The time to infuse youth and see just what you have is now. Find out if those teenagers have what it takes and get them on solid development track to correct weaknesses. And especially to train them to play how the Nats are going to play. This gets overlooked so often in our youth training.  

Yeah I mean I've been touting the youth, don't get me wrong, but I think there's more than a roster full of talent in between the retiring stars and the teenagers. They should be an exception, like Trin, not the norm. In Europe it's common, and that's where you reach when you are going young, but here we have the college system. I think they should be pulling from there, or the recent grads. Like watching the Thompson sisters forgo Stanford to jump straight to the US Roster. You telling me there aren't two other players at UNC, Duke, Stanford, Wake etc. that are good enough to play on that roster for 4 years while they get some experience in NCAA and then are ready to come learn how the nationals are going to play?

 

Our country is NOT Europe, and trying to copy that model isn't going to work here. These girls are NOT ready to jump from ECNL to playing grown professional women.

 

I wanna see the U23 and U20 rosters and you tell me there aren't 2-3 players better or as good as the Thompsons or Lily. And this is no knock on them, I'm a huge Alyssa fan, and Lily showed some promise last time I saw her too, BUT I don't like wasting assets either, so jumping the line, and speeding up the time these girls jump to Europe to play pro just seems dumb to me. It's all part of a broken system they need to fix. We should be embracing the difference we have here instead of trying to bypass it. And I get the argument that colleges are playing to win, not to develop them for a future level, so is it best for their development? But I think playing as many competitive, meaningful games at that level against other high level college players is doing a good job of prepping them. Look at the dynasty we have on the women's side. One could argue that our system is better than Europe by looking at the results. The men's and women's side are different though.

[BSLSteveBirrer]

College soccer is not the path to success for a soccer player with high level aspirations. Certainly it can work. But the academy route is better IMO and not even that close. For sure the women's game and men's are a bit different in that regard but in the end college is fine but not a path I would recommend for the elite youth players.

[JeremyStrain]

College soccer is not the path to success for a soccer player with high level aspirations. Certainly it can work. But the academy route is better IMO and not even that close. For sure the women's game and men's are a bit different in that regard but in the end college is fine but not a path I would recommend for the elite youth players.

I am up front and personal with the youth, academy and US pipeline right now, and can tell you it's not great. There are giant holes in it, it starts as pay to play, the ODP program is broken, and now the selection process at the younger stages for US is all about connections and being seen, but only certain level clubs are being seen. There are better players out there NOT playing in certain leagues that are getting the looks, mostly because of the absurd costs and travel, or living close enough to one of these clubs. The college system mitigates this and gives more exposure to more players which lets you make more informed decisions. Instead of having to find them at U17, you get 4 more years to ID them, these girls change dramatically in those 4 years.

 

Getting to college takes being seen, but there are many more opportunities to be seen for that than the US pathway, and once you get there being seen is all about production and merit. Now don't get me wrong, there are problems in the college pathway as well, BUT it's something unique to our country that can be leaned into. It's easier to pick from the best players in college than it is to FIND the best players in U17 and I know that personally since my kid is playing up and playing there right now. We have seen and played against, and are friends with some of the girls being called into the US development pool, and I can tell you some of these kids haven't won a game in 3 years, some are getting the exposure because of who they know and where they play vs merit.

 

If neither is perfect, AND we have been dominating the world (remember, only talking about the women's side, the mens is buns) for decades now, I think we should lean into what makes us unique.

 

I take Penelope Hocking over Lily Y. every day of the week right now. Yohannes, Albert, and the Thompsons are the future, but I'd have them a cycle behind, and right now would be playing some other 21-23 year olds while they finish baking, and bring them up to replace the NEXT batch of girls that cycle out.