I wish I thought the club had an actual plan that would maximize what’s left of her strengths, and the league allowed a big enough roster to allow for a “player emeritus”, and the new ownership has a fat enough wallet to take her cap hit.
As it is? It’s been sad to watch this great player rubbish her legacy with years of declining ability that have hurt her club (and at the last OG, finally, her country; oh, that penalty!).
Her coaches and managers and friends should really stage some sort of intervention. It’s time to retire. Period. Full stop, so we can give her the love and honor she’s earned, so we can build her statue at 18th & Morrison in gratitude for all the great memories, and wish her well with unmixed happiness as she begins the next chapter.
As a coach (HS and college) it sucks to have conversation with a senior player that they are getting cut. However you also have to do it because if you don't, you send a message that you accept falling standards.
I constantly catch and try to stop myself (and often fail) at throwing out shots at Sinc about all this and it really stinks, because she absolutely deserves to be remembered for her remarkable accomplishments. She’s the GOAT, an absolute legend, and a pillar of women’s soccer, and now also an easy punchline a la Michael Jordan on the Washington Wizards. As you’ve rightfully noted quite a few times there are a lot of problems with the Thorns lately and it’s hugely unfair to heap them all at Sinclair’s feet, but she’s also been pretty emblematic of those problems, and that’s not gonna change on its own.
Frankly, she deserves the shots taken at this point- She hasn’t deserved to be in the team as much as she has been on merit since around 2017.....and while she’s not the only problem, having to watch a team of fun young players try to compensate for her shortcomings (and often succeeding!) has rightfully marred her image among many non-casual Thorns fans.
That doesn’t mean we can’t also remember and love her for what she’s accomplished and what she’s meant to the City, the franchise, and especially to players like Soph, Weaver, and Coffey over the last two decades. She certainly isn’t the first and definitely won’t be the last star athlete to run into this exact issue, and I wish we had leadership more capable of dealing with it in the appropriate way.
The reason I can’t just utterly dump on her is that the thing that’s a problem now is her relentless drive to compete. It powered her through all those years she helped bring titles and glory; here, to the CWNT, to UP, to the sport.
Would it be great if it was tempered with the realization that her body can no longer cash the check her spirit writes? Sure. Is it shocking that she doesn’t see that? No.
That’s her manager’s job. Her coaches, trainers, owner, friends, teammates. They need to help get her to where she can see the cold reality.
Nothing can diminish her past. But it’s painful to watch her very human failings tarnish her future memory. It’s hard to know that when those of us who lived through and celebrated the Sinclair Era of Portland soccer gather to toast our heroes, when her name comes up, after the first drink, after the glories of 2005 and 2013 and 2017 are talked to death, someone will pause and add “…if only she’d have hung ‘em up a year earlier…”
I’d love for them to find a role for her that fits with what she wants to do post her incredible career. It’s sad watching her these days. The instincts are there, but the wheels aren’t.
Rant alert: HOW IN THE HELL is Nahas not a COTY candidate? The job he’s done with a talent deficient NCC is miles more impressive than what Amoros did with Gotham, and light years more than Stoney. He’s turned Tyler Lussi into a real starting level winger! They play lovely soccer! Their lineup is Kerolin, Miura, Manaka, Fox, and a bunch of randoms! I thought they would be the second worst team in the league before the season! List should be Nahas, Tweed, Amoros, Stoney imo.
I agree. I picked NC to be 11th in the league and they wound up being one of the teams I feared most and I had AC 10th but Tweed has done a great job but definitely Nahas should a COTY candidate. I would pick him over Amoros.
Going with Tweed as taking over mid-season "because reasons" is a recipe for continued team failure and being made scapegoat. Well, she did the inverse of all that.
I hope they don't split the vote from Thorns fans. I'm not even sure who I'm gonna vote for.
I'm shocked by that also. I would've picked him as COTY. Pretty soccer with mostly average/young players. JCA I get- Gotham were literally last place last year. I thought he and JCA were the only two that should be on this list. Tweed- has done great. Give her the job and let's see what she can do over a full season. Casey Stoney....sure she won the shield but her style is excruciating. Or at least it was for 70% of the season until she realized she didn't always have to play sufferball. NWSL are obsessed with Laura Harvey and Casey Stoney and will try all they can to add them to any list. Add Tweed for next year because she's shiny...
- Smith and Coffey play for the same team. Seems like the spaghetti strainer should prevent two players from the same team being up for league-wide MVP. The award is MVP of the league, and if's not even clear who's the MVP of the team, how can they be MVP of the league?
- Debinha? Without whom KC might have finished 12th instead of 11th?
That takes us down to Girma and Kerolin.
I go with Girma.
**Defender of the Year**
- If Girma is MVP, then of course she should also be Defender of the Year. And even if she's not MVP, as the only defender on the MVP list, she should be Defender of the Year. No reason to discuss the others.
So, Girma again.
**GK of the Year**
- Lund and Campbell are here based on their heroics from keeping their teams from being even lower in the standings. Their numbers are fantastic, but their teams were 9th and 10th on the table, so obviously they weren't stopping shots often enough.
So, Sheridan here.
** Coach of the Year**
- All due props to Tweed, but she was the interim coach and coached 1/2 the season. That's like Luke Walton's incredible run as interim HC with the Warriors for the first 1/2 of the season as Kerr recuperated. You know who CoY that season? Kerr, not Walton.
- As for Amoros, Gotham almost didn't make the playoffs, while SD won the Shield.
So, Stoney here. Yes, I know that's a sweep for SD up to now.
** Rookie of the Year**
- Thompson was riding the bench by year's end.
- Bright was spectacular, but her team did miss the playoffs (though they also overachieved).
- Nighswonger's team made the playoffs, and even advanced.
This is more of a “how do you think about the awards” thing, but I’ve always been of the opinion that COTY should go to the coach who either did more with less or completely changed the fortune of a team.
I gave my spiel on why I think it really should be Nahas, but out of the candidates it’s gotta be Amoros or Tweed for me.
Tweed- I disagree that it’s anything like Walton/Kerr: Walton was a caretaker assistant who just kept the GSW machine going while Kerr was out. Tweed took a high profile disaster and turned them into one of the best teams in the league in a matter of months by changing the way they play and adjusting game by game. Sure, it could ultimately prove to be just a new-coach bounce type of thing, but I think she’s a perfectly viable candidate despite the short timeline.
Amoros: The more classic COTY candidate- Took a bad team and made them good by sticking them with a distinct tactical identity. Not sure the whole “almost missed playoffs” thing means too much for me cause there was only a 6 point gap between first and seventh in the league, which kinda dilutes the significance of finishing a few spots higher in the table. If SD cruised and won the shield by 5-10 points? Sure, give it to Stoney.
Check the advanced stats over at FBRef. Based on PSxG-Goals/90 Lund and Campbell saved their clubs about a goal every 4 games (-0.25). Sheridan was still in the plus numbers but about half that (-0.11). So, no; both are better candidates purely on technical merit (and Anna Moorhouse is even better).
No disagreement on the metrics, but they're still not stopping enough for their teams to win more often. I know this is a simplistic point, but giving up more goals than your opponent is the only way to lose, and their teams finished 9th and 10th out of 12, and not that much ahead of #11 and #12. So, I went with Sheridan.
The point is that the reason Sheridan’s teams won WASN’T Sheridan’s goalkeeping, and both Lund’s and Campbell’s goalkeeping made their teams better than they’d have been without them.
Since the award isn’t “best keeper on a good team” but “keeper of the year” that’s kind of the bottom line, neh?
I’d have no heartburn if Sheridan did win it, since she was brutally overlooked in the years she WASthe best keeper in the league but was toiling for the appalling Sky Blue just like Lund and Campbell are now…
I think we're having a philosophical disagreement, and I'm good with the argument you're making.
The one I am making is this. I don't care, for example, if the Warriors lead the league in points allowed, so long as they lead the league in points scored and that translates into a gaudy W-L record. It's about style of play. But, it's going to be impossible for me to say that somebody on their team is Defensive Player of the Year if the team gives up the most points in the league. And there's no way I'm giving that award to them if that team is near the bottom of the standings.
No knock on Campbell or Lund. The problems for Dash and Racing are really not in the box, but elsewhere, and those are translating into less protection of the keeper and more scoring opportunities.
But... for what their teams do, those two keepers are still letting in too many goals, and it shows in the results. You can't lose a game for scoring too few goals, but you can lose one for giving up too many. The award is Keeper of the Year, not Team Defense of the year.
While she’s my favorite Thorn, have her jersey, and think she’s been mostly really good this year (not as good as last year imo through no fault of her own, but still real good), I think it’s bizarre that Sam’s a candidate over Weaver. I honestly would have voted for Weaver over both of them, but I’d go Soph by a hair here just because of how crazy dominant she was when she played.
Also wouldn’t be surprised to see Girma win it, and wouldn’t be mad if she did.
Yeah, I'm not sure why Weaver is always overlooked. I think Smith, Girma, Kerolin are prob the best shouts, for me. NC is def not the same team without Kerolin. She scored like 75% of their goals. Girma has just been solid every.single.game. And Soph, well she has just dominated...and was on another planet before the WC. Not just goals, but an assist queen as well! Took the golden boot. They all are there for different reasons, it's just about "what does 'MVP' actually mean..." Out of the 3, of course I'd choose Soph.
I'm irritated Sheridan is in the running again for GOTY when others who weren't even nominated were better...give it to Campbell or Lund. Lund should've gotten it last year.
Anyway...when are we getting a new coach or some sale news leakage....lol
My guess is that there won’t be anything on either until after the Final. Peregrine wants to suck the last $$$ out of this season, and there’s no point in a coaching change for them now. Assuming the sale DOES go thru the new ownership will decide whether to keep Norris or headhunt.
So I’d start looking for something in mid-November or early December…
JCA deserves this and Nahas is a huge snub. Had Orlando snuck into the play-offs, I'd suggest Seb Hines as well. He's taken a pretty dire Orlando with an incredibly lackluster roster into something that could compete. I'm very interested in how Orlando does next year. To me, Stoney did exactly the same things as last year. San Diego finished with 36 pts last year and 37 this year. If anything, they played a worse form of soccer with a better roster. Agree it's similar to Harvey's perennial nomination. Coach of the year should be either a turn-around or a less-is-more award.
It's unfortunate that rookie of the year only nominates 3 players. Paige Metayer and Emily Madril deserved shouts, though Madril played that odd half-season in Sweden so doesn't qualify.
"Before your freak out, don’t worry: Sinclair announced via social media she appears to be set for one last season with the Portland Thorns in 2024..."
This year feels vaguely like 2019 to me: Rough end to the season following a WC, a late season shellacking a la the 2019 Courage 6-0, a general air of “get us to next season,” and a coach who seems out of ideas (and who hopefully won’t be here next year). This team is much better overall on paper, but the aura is similar.
That said, this being the NWSL, I wouldn’t be *that* surprised if Soph comes back and they win another title. I do wish NCC had found a way through cause I remain worried about Gotham’s personnel.
I dunno. There’s something wrong with this squad’s headspace. I hate to be this way, but I don’t see them keeping it together for two games in a row.
Plus opponents have a track record of figuring Norris out after they see him once. He opened the season thrashing Orlando, KC, and Racing; all three beat in the rematches. And Gotham has now seen him twice.
Interesting writeup in the Equalizer about last night's match and why ACFC had been successful in the Tweed era.
Basically, Tweed has constantly changed tactics from match to match and didn't go with the same look twice. Read between the lines: Norris was outcoached and the team was not prepared last Sunday.
But as for last night, Reign smothered ACFC. 4 shots (Camberos 2, Henry 1, McCaskill 1), none on goal. Good work by the Reign gals.
Last thought: Tweed rode Anderson, the hot keeper, down the stretch. She was between the ACFC posts for 5 of the last 6 matches, including the final 2 matches when Haracic was available for duty. Haracic is 31 and signed a contract extension in March through 2024 with an option for 2025. Anderson is 22 and came into the season behind Isenhour (who started in 4 Challenge Cup matches) but has since beaten her out for #2 and is now bucking for #1. Keep an eye on this.
Thing is, as a hockey fan I kind of expect to see that kind of swap. Keepers have form, like goalies, and I don’t get why soccer coaches (and, presumably, keepers) are so resistant to the idea of “riding the hot goalie” to take advantage of that form. The “starter/backup” model seems fixed in most people’s heads.
Not going to stand up for Norris in LA; he saw the trainwreck happening and had no answer; his tactics and subs were useless.
That said…I’m not sure how much you can do when you’re facing a massive collapse from multiple individuals. Nobody outside of Weaver and Sugita was performing and you only have five subs.
So I don’t see that as a Tweed win so much as a Thorns/Norris loss. As I think I said at Riveting; I didn’t see Tweed put a killer king-fu move on us. More like she and the Angels stuck their fist out and we ran our face into it.
Don’t have much to add here: It’s a real bummer and I hope whoever new ownership is has a plan that involves her playing 500 minutes next season instead of 1000.
Aside from that, it’s amusing (and semi-frustrating) to see the response from all the non-STF thorns fans and national media on social media. The 30 or so commenters on this site are having meltdowns and everyone else is doing the Twitter equivalent of chanting “one more year.”
I was bored at work and spent 5 minutes reviewing how the team did coming off varying days of rest this season; obvious caveats apply, that this is completely contextless and doesn't account for roster due to injury/international duty/etc, but even so in my mind this might reflect how the coaching staff does with extra time to prepare and plan for their opponent.
3-6 days off between matches - 5-5-1 record
7-9 days off between matches - 3-4-4 record
12-14 days off between matches (and offseason break)- 4-1-1 record
So, the team seems to do better with short rest than moderate, but longer is better? I dunno what to make of any of it, probably should've tracked goals scored/against but my 5 minutes were up, either way between last week's shellacking and having so long a break until the semi fingers crossed that adds up to something good.
The media machine is already fawning over Gotham, and Portland looks to be the bad gals potentially spoiling the party again. That’s another advantage of a team playing in the quarters and winning…they get to show up with the media (and honestly it sounds like everyone else on twitter) rooting for them. I hope the Thorns can hear it, and I hope they turn that into a Gotham-sized chip on their shoulder…Though, maybe in this case a 2 week layoff benefits the Thorns more, to tamp down some of Gotham’s momentum after this win.
I don’t think Gotham played particularly amazing, but their defense was solid (or was NC’s attack just completely sterile? Prob lil bit o’ both…) With the way ours has been operating, we’re just gonna need to score more than we concede…and that’ll be a tough task without Sophia fully fit. I realize she’ll be getting some NT trainings in (and hopefully minutes), but she’s prob not gonna be more than 60 mins fit by the 5th (if that), and she won’t be in-form Sophia either. Expectations are tempered…
Also also…wow, San Diego sure have a cake walk with travel for the rest of the season, huh? October 29th USWNT friendly is in San Diego. November 5th semi-final is in San Diego. November 11th final is in San Diego.
Both clubs were tight in midfield (Gotham’s backline played pretty high, too…) so what chances Gotham created were mostly down the touchlines or long balls over the top. Both TRIED to play on the ground centrally but between poor passing and opponent tackling got nowhere.
I didn’t think either side looked terrific. Both had some decent buildup - Carolina moreso - but both repeatedly failed to finish.
And at least the first goal was on the keeper; slow to pick out the shot, slow to move, weak dive. I’d be reassured by that except for Bixby’s tire fire in LA.
This just in from Cary... 37th minute, 1 shot between the two of them. Gotham have more yellows (2) than shots (1), and NC have none of either. I suppose it's good this one is hidden on CBSSN.
There’s no rhythm to either attack. Shit-ton of hacking in midfield and tight marking that neither team could pass out of. What chances anyone had in the first glad hour were Carolina but the finish wasn’t there. Then Gotham should have had a goal in the 32nd but Purce fell over the ball. Not really much fun to watch.
Welp, that looks to be done. Shots went up to 6-1 and score went up to 1-0 right before halftime. Looks like we'll be visited by Gotham again in a couple of weeks.
Yeah, NC has generally held up well defensively, but without Kerolin they have no outlet. The frontline they have currently is just mostly non-threatening. They do a lot of good work building only to have it come right back at them because all 3 F's are just not as skilled as their teammates. Gotham have looked relatively sterile despite the goal. Still would rather play NC than Gotham, so I'm cheering for a NC fluke.
Semi-related....how do we get Emily Fox to Portland.
Offer Pickett and Erceg, apparently. And be Loovull. Nothing wrong with Erceg and Pickett, but I think this trade will haunt Loovull. Not as much as getting nothing for the rights to Foord and next to nothing for Heath's rights, but it's going to hurt. Fox is just now 25 and should be a starter for the Nats for another decade.
Stumbled upon Sjöblom's LinkedIn. She worked for several years in HR, including while serving as head coach of Tyresö FF. It explains a lot about what I heard when I listened to an interview with her. Namely, her description of how the coaching staff (with her at the helm) worked together and spent a lot of time processing things. Cami Ashton wanted "collaboration" with the FO, and that's Sjöblom's professional academic training in HR. Going to be very interesting what happens now if Vlatko is given the role of "director of sporting" as well as HC.
Coaches who also have roster control almost never succeed. There’s numerous instances across sports of this not working out, often explosively so. It sounds like a good idea --coaches can bring in players that ostensibly fit their system etc-- but it’s really not. Seems like there’s some real weird power dynamics at play in KC.
I actually think it's probably the right move for right now, but not for the future, if that makes sense.
Somebody has to guide the club through expansion and through the roster situation that's been created at present.
Neither the Longs nor the Mahomeses are the right ones to do it.
So, it comes down to Vlatko vs. Ashton -- who do you trust more with that power?
Ashton, with the largesse of ownership, has shown herself adept at acquiring talent, especially young talent and international talent. But the talent that is there doesn't fit, and there is a ton of it.
I think Vlatko is wise to try to end the era of "too many cooks in the kitchen."
But... an even better move would be to get in a different GM, and make sure coach and GM are on the same page.
KC have 29 players. 4 didn't appear at all this year. 6 appeared in 2-9 games, 10 appeared in 10-15 games, 3 appeared in 16-19 games, 6 appeared in 20+ games.
Some of that is due to injuries, but much more of that is indicative of no cohesive vision.
Vlatko built some excellent squads at FCKC, but 1) I’m not sure how much control he had over roster building, and 2) his work with the Nats doesn’t inspire confidence. He never really got that squad to work well tactically or establish a consistently effective XI.
In light of that he seems like an NWSL 1.0 kind of guy.
Sinclair needs to be the inaugural name on the Thorns Ring of Honor at PP. It needs to happen between the end of this season and the start of next season.
How do we know the semi-mythical new buyers group isn't full of Sinclair fangirls too? What do we know about them at all. Maybe they know nothing about soccer but think it would be really cool to own an NWSL team. It's a problem that has plagued the WNBA in the past. It's time for Paulson to go but we shouldn't forget that until recently he certainly cared about how the team played and had ambitions. I'm worried about the whole damn thing.
I'm pondering Peregrine observing NWSL franchise values skyrocketing and slow-walking the everloving hell out of the sale to wring out yet more cash. Won't be surprised if 2024 season sees them still in charge.
I wish I thought the club had an actual plan that would maximize what’s left of her strengths, and the league allowed a big enough roster to allow for a “player emeritus”, and the new ownership has a fat enough wallet to take her cap hit.
As it is? It’s been sad to watch this great player rubbish her legacy with years of declining ability that have hurt her club (and at the last OG, finally, her country; oh, that penalty!).
Her coaches and managers and friends should really stage some sort of intervention. It’s time to retire. Period. Full stop, so we can give her the love and honor she’s earned, so we can build her statue at 18th & Morrison in gratitude for all the great memories, and wish her well with unmixed happiness as she begins the next chapter.
As a coach (HS and college) it sucks to have conversation with a senior player that they are getting cut. However you also have to do it because if you don't, you send a message that you accept falling standards.
And a legend at that. No, that’s not a talk anyone wants to have.
I constantly catch and try to stop myself (and often fail) at throwing out shots at Sinc about all this and it really stinks, because she absolutely deserves to be remembered for her remarkable accomplishments. She’s the GOAT, an absolute legend, and a pillar of women’s soccer, and now also an easy punchline a la Michael Jordan on the Washington Wizards. As you’ve rightfully noted quite a few times there are a lot of problems with the Thorns lately and it’s hugely unfair to heap them all at Sinclair’s feet, but she’s also been pretty emblematic of those problems, and that’s not gonna change on its own.
Frankly, she deserves the shots taken at this point- She hasn’t deserved to be in the team as much as she has been on merit since around 2017.....and while she’s not the only problem, having to watch a team of fun young players try to compensate for her shortcomings (and often succeeding!) has rightfully marred her image among many non-casual Thorns fans.
That doesn’t mean we can’t also remember and love her for what she’s accomplished and what she’s meant to the City, the franchise, and especially to players like Soph, Weaver, and Coffey over the last two decades. She certainly isn’t the first and definitely won’t be the last star athlete to run into this exact issue, and I wish we had leadership more capable of dealing with it in the appropriate way.
The reason I can’t just utterly dump on her is that the thing that’s a problem now is her relentless drive to compete. It powered her through all those years she helped bring titles and glory; here, to the CWNT, to UP, to the sport.
Would it be great if it was tempered with the realization that her body can no longer cash the check her spirit writes? Sure. Is it shocking that she doesn’t see that? No.
That’s her manager’s job. Her coaches, trainers, owner, friends, teammates. They need to help get her to where she can see the cold reality.
Nothing can diminish her past. But it’s painful to watch her very human failings tarnish her future memory. It’s hard to know that when those of us who lived through and celebrated the Sinclair Era of Portland soccer gather to toast our heroes, when her name comes up, after the first drink, after the glories of 2005 and 2013 and 2017 are talked to death, someone will pause and add “…if only she’d have hung ‘em up a year earlier…”
That's why the manager has to throw in the towel for the boxer. You never want to see a champion declare "No Mas!"
I’d love for them to find a role for her that fits with what she wants to do post her incredible career. It’s sad watching her these days. The instincts are there, but the wheels aren’t.
https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/national-womens-soccer-league-announces-2023-nwsl-award-finalists
Coffey and Soph both MVP candidates.
Rant alert: HOW IN THE HELL is Nahas not a COTY candidate? The job he’s done with a talent deficient NCC is miles more impressive than what Amoros did with Gotham, and light years more than Stoney. He’s turned Tyler Lussi into a real starting level winger! They play lovely soccer! Their lineup is Kerolin, Miura, Manaka, Fox, and a bunch of randoms! I thought they would be the second worst team in the league before the season! List should be Nahas, Tweed, Amoros, Stoney imo.
Yes, but who's going to be the winner of Don't Let The Door Hit You Award?
Sjöblom?
Parsons?
Somebody else?
Hopefully Mike Norris...
Nahas was my pick to win weeks ago. Agree he's done more with less. Should have been a candidate.
I agree. I picked NC to be 11th in the league and they wound up being one of the teams I feared most and I had AC 10th but Tweed has done a great job but definitely Nahas should a COTY candidate. I would pick him over Amoros.
Going with Tweed as taking over mid-season "because reasons" is a recipe for continued team failure and being made scapegoat. Well, she did the inverse of all that.
I hope they don't split the vote from Thorns fans. I'm not even sure who I'm gonna vote for.
I'm shocked by that also. I would've picked him as COTY. Pretty soccer with mostly average/young players. JCA I get- Gotham were literally last place last year. I thought he and JCA were the only two that should be on this list. Tweed- has done great. Give her the job and let's see what she can do over a full season. Casey Stoney....sure she won the shield but her style is excruciating. Or at least it was for 70% of the season until she realized she didn't always have to play sufferball. NWSL are obsessed with Laura Harvey and Casey Stoney and will try all they can to add them to any list. Add Tweed for next year because she's shiny...
Let's see here...
**MVP**
- Smith and Coffey play for the same team. Seems like the spaghetti strainer should prevent two players from the same team being up for league-wide MVP. The award is MVP of the league, and if's not even clear who's the MVP of the team, how can they be MVP of the league?
- Debinha? Without whom KC might have finished 12th instead of 11th?
That takes us down to Girma and Kerolin.
I go with Girma.
**Defender of the Year**
- If Girma is MVP, then of course she should also be Defender of the Year. And even if she's not MVP, as the only defender on the MVP list, she should be Defender of the Year. No reason to discuss the others.
So, Girma again.
**GK of the Year**
- Lund and Campbell are here based on their heroics from keeping their teams from being even lower in the standings. Their numbers are fantastic, but their teams were 9th and 10th on the table, so obviously they weren't stopping shots often enough.
So, Sheridan here.
** Coach of the Year**
- All due props to Tweed, but she was the interim coach and coached 1/2 the season. That's like Luke Walton's incredible run as interim HC with the Warriors for the first 1/2 of the season as Kerr recuperated. You know who CoY that season? Kerr, not Walton.
- As for Amoros, Gotham almost didn't make the playoffs, while SD won the Shield.
So, Stoney here. Yes, I know that's a sweep for SD up to now.
** Rookie of the Year**
- Thompson was riding the bench by year's end.
- Bright was spectacular, but her team did miss the playoffs (though they also overachieved).
- Nighswonger's team made the playoffs, and even advanced.
So, Nighswonger here.
This is more of a “how do you think about the awards” thing, but I’ve always been of the opinion that COTY should go to the coach who either did more with less or completely changed the fortune of a team.
I gave my spiel on why I think it really should be Nahas, but out of the candidates it’s gotta be Amoros or Tweed for me.
Tweed- I disagree that it’s anything like Walton/Kerr: Walton was a caretaker assistant who just kept the GSW machine going while Kerr was out. Tweed took a high profile disaster and turned them into one of the best teams in the league in a matter of months by changing the way they play and adjusting game by game. Sure, it could ultimately prove to be just a new-coach bounce type of thing, but I think she’s a perfectly viable candidate despite the short timeline.
Amoros: The more classic COTY candidate- Took a bad team and made them good by sticking them with a distinct tactical identity. Not sure the whole “almost missed playoffs” thing means too much for me cause there was only a 6 point gap between first and seventh in the league, which kinda dilutes the significance of finishing a few spots higher in the table. If SD cruised and won the shield by 5-10 points? Sure, give it to Stoney.
Check the advanced stats over at FBRef. Based on PSxG-Goals/90 Lund and Campbell saved their clubs about a goal every 4 games (-0.25). Sheridan was still in the plus numbers but about half that (-0.11). So, no; both are better candidates purely on technical merit (and Anna Moorhouse is even better).
No disagreement on the metrics, but they're still not stopping enough for their teams to win more often. I know this is a simplistic point, but giving up more goals than your opponent is the only way to lose, and their teams finished 9th and 10th out of 12, and not that much ahead of #11 and #12. So, I went with Sheridan.
And, if you’re looking to reward a good keeper on a decent team, Orlando’s Moorhouse is both and statistically better than all three…
The point is that the reason Sheridan’s teams won WASN’T Sheridan’s goalkeeping, and both Lund’s and Campbell’s goalkeeping made their teams better than they’d have been without them.
Since the award isn’t “best keeper on a good team” but “keeper of the year” that’s kind of the bottom line, neh?
I’d have no heartburn if Sheridan did win it, since she was brutally overlooked in the years she WASthe best keeper in the league but was toiling for the appalling Sky Blue just like Lund and Campbell are now…
I think we're having a philosophical disagreement, and I'm good with the argument you're making.
The one I am making is this. I don't care, for example, if the Warriors lead the league in points allowed, so long as they lead the league in points scored and that translates into a gaudy W-L record. It's about style of play. But, it's going to be impossible for me to say that somebody on their team is Defensive Player of the Year if the team gives up the most points in the league. And there's no way I'm giving that award to them if that team is near the bottom of the standings.
No knock on Campbell or Lund. The problems for Dash and Racing are really not in the box, but elsewhere, and those are translating into less protection of the keeper and more scoring opportunities.
But... for what their teams do, those two keepers are still letting in too many goals, and it shows in the results. You can't lose a game for scoring too few goals, but you can lose one for giving up too many. The award is Keeper of the Year, not Team Defense of the year.
While she’s my favorite Thorn, have her jersey, and think she’s been mostly really good this year (not as good as last year imo through no fault of her own, but still real good), I think it’s bizarre that Sam’s a candidate over Weaver. I honestly would have voted for Weaver over both of them, but I’d go Soph by a hair here just because of how crazy dominant she was when she played.
Also wouldn’t be surprised to see Girma win it, and wouldn’t be mad if she did.
Yeah, I'm not sure why Weaver is always overlooked. I think Smith, Girma, Kerolin are prob the best shouts, for me. NC is def not the same team without Kerolin. She scored like 75% of their goals. Girma has just been solid every.single.game. And Soph, well she has just dominated...and was on another planet before the WC. Not just goals, but an assist queen as well! Took the golden boot. They all are there for different reasons, it's just about "what does 'MVP' actually mean..." Out of the 3, of course I'd choose Soph.
I'm irritated Sheridan is in the running again for GOTY when others who weren't even nominated were better...give it to Campbell or Lund. Lund should've gotten it last year.
Anyway...when are we getting a new coach or some sale news leakage....lol
My guess is that there won’t be anything on either until after the Final. Peregrine wants to suck the last $$$ out of this season, and there’s no point in a coaching change for them now. Assuming the sale DOES go thru the new ownership will decide whether to keep Norris or headhunt.
So I’d start looking for something in mid-November or early December…
JCA deserves this and Nahas is a huge snub. Had Orlando snuck into the play-offs, I'd suggest Seb Hines as well. He's taken a pretty dire Orlando with an incredibly lackluster roster into something that could compete. I'm very interested in how Orlando does next year. To me, Stoney did exactly the same things as last year. San Diego finished with 36 pts last year and 37 this year. If anything, they played a worse form of soccer with a better roster. Agree it's similar to Harvey's perennial nomination. Coach of the year should be either a turn-around or a less-is-more award.
It's unfortunate that rookie of the year only nominates 3 players. Paige Metayer and Emily Madril deserved shouts, though Madril played that odd half-season in Sweden so doesn't qualify.
Vilda is coaching Morocco's women's team, and Benstiti is coaching Algeria's. One wonders if Riley will coach the Tunisians.
The simple fact of that matter is this is a year late. She was disastrously bad at the World Cup.
"Before your freak out, don’t worry: Sinclair announced via social media she appears to be set for one last season with the Portland Thorns in 2024..."
Freak out incoming...
Read the comments Sam!
Read the room, Sam!
This year feels vaguely like 2019 to me: Rough end to the season following a WC, a late season shellacking a la the 2019 Courage 6-0, a general air of “get us to next season,” and a coach who seems out of ideas (and who hopefully won’t be here next year). This team is much better overall on paper, but the aura is similar.
That said, this being the NWSL, I wouldn’t be *that* surprised if Soph comes back and they win another title. I do wish NCC had found a way through cause I remain worried about Gotham’s personnel.
I dunno. There’s something wrong with this squad’s headspace. I hate to be this way, but I don’t see them keeping it together for two games in a row.
Plus opponents have a track record of figuring Norris out after they see him once. He opened the season thrashing Orlando, KC, and Racing; all three beat in the rematches. And Gotham has now seen him twice.
Interesting writeup in the Equalizer about last night's match and why ACFC had been successful in the Tweed era.
Basically, Tweed has constantly changed tactics from match to match and didn't go with the same look twice. Read between the lines: Norris was outcoached and the team was not prepared last Sunday.
But as for last night, Reign smothered ACFC. 4 shots (Camberos 2, Henry 1, McCaskill 1), none on goal. Good work by the Reign gals.
Last thought: Tweed rode Anderson, the hot keeper, down the stretch. She was between the ACFC posts for 5 of the last 6 matches, including the final 2 matches when Haracic was available for duty. Haracic is 31 and signed a contract extension in March through 2024 with an option for 2025. Anderson is 22 and came into the season behind Isenhour (who started in 4 Challenge Cup matches) but has since beaten her out for #2 and is now bucking for #1. Keep an eye on this.
Thing is, as a hockey fan I kind of expect to see that kind of swap. Keepers have form, like goalies, and I don’t get why soccer coaches (and, presumably, keepers) are so resistant to the idea of “riding the hot goalie” to take advantage of that form. The “starter/backup” model seems fixed in most people’s heads.
Not going to stand up for Norris in LA; he saw the trainwreck happening and had no answer; his tactics and subs were useless.
That said…I’m not sure how much you can do when you’re facing a massive collapse from multiple individuals. Nobody outside of Weaver and Sugita was performing and you only have five subs.
So I don’t see that as a Tweed win so much as a Thorns/Norris loss. As I think I said at Riveting; I didn’t see Tweed put a killer king-fu move on us. More like she and the Angels stuck their fist out and we ran our face into it.
Don’t have much to add here: It’s a real bummer and I hope whoever new ownership is has a plan that involves her playing 500 minutes next season instead of 1000.
Aside from that, it’s amusing (and semi-frustrating) to see the response from all the non-STF thorns fans and national media on social media. The 30 or so commenters on this site are having meltdowns and everyone else is doing the Twitter equivalent of chanting “one more year.”
That leaves many of us Thorns fans still “one goal beyond.”
I was bored at work and spent 5 minutes reviewing how the team did coming off varying days of rest this season; obvious caveats apply, that this is completely contextless and doesn't account for roster due to injury/international duty/etc, but even so in my mind this might reflect how the coaching staff does with extra time to prepare and plan for their opponent.
3-6 days off between matches - 5-5-1 record
7-9 days off between matches - 3-4-4 record
12-14 days off between matches (and offseason break)- 4-1-1 record
So, the team seems to do better with short rest than moderate, but longer is better? I dunno what to make of any of it, probably should've tracked goals scored/against but my 5 minutes were up, either way between last week's shellacking and having so long a break until the semi fingers crossed that adds up to something good.
The media machine is already fawning over Gotham, and Portland looks to be the bad gals potentially spoiling the party again. That’s another advantage of a team playing in the quarters and winning…they get to show up with the media (and honestly it sounds like everyone else on twitter) rooting for them. I hope the Thorns can hear it, and I hope they turn that into a Gotham-sized chip on their shoulder…Though, maybe in this case a 2 week layoff benefits the Thorns more, to tamp down some of Gotham’s momentum after this win.
I don’t think Gotham played particularly amazing, but their defense was solid (or was NC’s attack just completely sterile? Prob lil bit o’ both…) With the way ours has been operating, we’re just gonna need to score more than we concede…and that’ll be a tough task without Sophia fully fit. I realize she’ll be getting some NT trainings in (and hopefully minutes), but she’s prob not gonna be more than 60 mins fit by the 5th (if that), and she won’t be in-form Sophia either. Expectations are tempered…
Also also…wow, San Diego sure have a cake walk with travel for the rest of the season, huh? October 29th USWNT friendly is in San Diego. November 5th semi-final is in San Diego. November 11th final is in San Diego.
Both clubs were tight in midfield (Gotham’s backline played pretty high, too…) so what chances Gotham created were mostly down the touchlines or long balls over the top. Both TRIED to play on the ground centrally but between poor passing and opponent tackling got nowhere.
I didn’t think either side looked terrific. Both had some decent buildup - Carolina moreso - but both repeatedly failed to finish.
And at least the first goal was on the keeper; slow to pick out the shot, slow to move, weak dive. I’d be reassured by that except for Bixby’s tire fire in LA.
This just in from Cary... 37th minute, 1 shot between the two of them. Gotham have more yellows (2) than shots (1), and NC have none of either. I suppose it's good this one is hidden on CBSSN.
Ryan seals the deal
There’s no rhythm to either attack. Shit-ton of hacking in midfield and tight marking that neither team could pass out of. What chances anyone had in the first glad hour were Carolina but the finish wasn’t there. Then Gotham should have had a goal in the 32nd but Purce fell over the ball. Not really much fun to watch.
Someone's getting their money's worth, surely. Shirley. Surly.
Welp, that looks to be done. Shots went up to 6-1 and score went up to 1-0 right before halftime. Looks like we'll be visited by Gotham again in a couple of weeks.
Yeah, NC has generally held up well defensively, but without Kerolin they have no outlet. The frontline they have currently is just mostly non-threatening. They do a lot of good work building only to have it come right back at them because all 3 F's are just not as skilled as their teammates. Gotham have looked relatively sterile despite the goal. Still would rather play NC than Gotham, so I'm cheering for a NC fluke.
Semi-related....how do we get Emily Fox to Portland.
Offer Pickett and Erceg, apparently. And be Loovull. Nothing wrong with Erceg and Pickett, but I think this trade will haunt Loovull. Not as much as getting nothing for the rights to Foord and next to nothing for Heath's rights, but it's going to hurt. Fox is just now 25 and should be a starter for the Nats for another decade.
Lauren Barnes was 53 of 53 completed passes the other night.
https://nitter.net/agale137/status/1715892828264620391#m
Respect.
So THAT's how you beat ACFC! You take care of the ball!
Our LB could never...
Stumbled upon Sjöblom's LinkedIn. She worked for several years in HR, including while serving as head coach of Tyresö FF. It explains a lot about what I heard when I listened to an interview with her. Namely, her description of how the coaching staff (with her at the helm) worked together and spent a lot of time processing things. Cami Ashton wanted "collaboration" with the FO, and that's Sjöblom's professional academic training in HR. Going to be very interesting what happens now if Vlatko is given the role of "director of sporting" as well as HC.
Coaches who also have roster control almost never succeed. There’s numerous instances across sports of this not working out, often explosively so. It sounds like a good idea --coaches can bring in players that ostensibly fit their system etc-- but it’s really not. Seems like there’s some real weird power dynamics at play in KC.
I actually think it's probably the right move for right now, but not for the future, if that makes sense.
Somebody has to guide the club through expansion and through the roster situation that's been created at present.
Neither the Longs nor the Mahomeses are the right ones to do it.
So, it comes down to Vlatko vs. Ashton -- who do you trust more with that power?
Ashton, with the largesse of ownership, has shown herself adept at acquiring talent, especially young talent and international talent. But the talent that is there doesn't fit, and there is a ton of it.
I think Vlatko is wise to try to end the era of "too many cooks in the kitchen."
But... an even better move would be to get in a different GM, and make sure coach and GM are on the same page.
KC have 29 players. 4 didn't appear at all this year. 6 appeared in 2-9 games, 10 appeared in 10-15 games, 3 appeared in 16-19 games, 6 appeared in 20+ games.
Some of that is due to injuries, but much more of that is indicative of no cohesive vision.
Vlatko built some excellent squads at FCKC, but 1) I’m not sure how much control he had over roster building, and 2) his work with the Nats doesn’t inspire confidence. He never really got that squad to work well tactically or establish a consistently effective XI.
In light of that he seems like an NWSL 1.0 kind of guy.
Sinclair needs to be the inaugural name on the Thorns Ring of Honor at PP. It needs to happen between the end of this season and the start of next season.
How do we know the semi-mythical new buyers group isn't full of Sinclair fangirls too? What do we know about them at all. Maybe they know nothing about soccer but think it would be really cool to own an NWSL team. It's a problem that has plagued the WNBA in the past. It's time for Paulson to go but we shouldn't forget that until recently he certainly cared about how the team played and had ambitions. I'm worried about the whole damn thing.
I'm pondering Peregrine observing NWSL franchise values skyrocketing and slow-walking the everloving hell out of the sale to wring out yet more cash. Won't be surprised if 2024 season sees them still in charge.