This has been happening slowly for years, unfortunately. Brick by brick...this team has been very slowly dying on the vine. I've been saying it here for years now...despite the wins, the quality and team play, and consistency of both, has just continued to diminish. Obv there are reasons why, not all of which we could help....but we sure didn't help ourselves before or during either. We're just lucky we have a Sophia Smith, otherwise we'd prob be in the same realm of dreadful as Seattle. Sophia's play has just created the smoke and mirrors....
If we don't start waiving players and bringing in others in this window, I will remain worried...lots of bigger names signing new contracts currently and we need to be in those conversations for multiple positions. Issue is, we have a lot of int'l slots taken by bench quality players.
They went back to the beginning of the play on NWSL+, and from the field "line," it looked like maybe half her foot was off...but like Medford Thorn, I'd have loved to see the proper VAR drawn line.
The rule is too fussy when a toenail gets you offside. It ought to be a full torso and player involved. Also a judgement if the defender holds up to make you offside.
My hope is they don't panic with these recent results and just pull in Stoney because they want someone now and she seems easiest. Pick someone soon, but please, pick someone else.
we've gotta stop worrying about every game being a referendum about whether Soph is going to stay or not, she signed an extension for next season at the very least. If things are this bad a year from now we have bigger issues
Please go spread the gospel elsewhere to everyone who thinks this coach deserves the position, because they're numerous and loud lol. And no, not for Stoney lol. That has been equally loud.
I thought it was a poor pass, if that's the one I'm thinking of. And I wish Soph would've laid it off to her overlapping FB at a similar late game instance.
It was, but there was also no chance Sinc could run it down. It's like throwing a frisbee for an elderly Lab and watching the dog give up on it knowing the futility of even trying.
There's still no chemistry. This is not a well drilled team. No one knows what to expect from anyone else, no one knows where to go or how to create space.
Not a balanced roster. Over-invested in midfield but don't play through midfield. I know if was hard to make moves while ownership was up in the air and the coach in flux. New coach can't come soon enough.
Karina LeBlanc, you're on the clock. I don't want to see you walking your kid around the pitch waving to the crowd. I want you solving this club's problems with coaching and roster construction.
That's a good call. I might have to do that too. Something like "Karina, where's your phone?" Or "Hold your phone, not your kid's hand, while you're at work."
I can accept losing to clubs like Orlando and KC. We’re not at their level. But this mob? If we can’t put a can like Utah to the sword, we must be in worse shape than I thought.
I have been saying this even throughout our "win" streak. Even in those games, we've never had more than 45' of a good game. Usually less. We've been mostly lucky, it seems. Haven't seen more than 45' of a good game from this team since last year...the play has been bad, even with Gale's wins.
Would love to see Jessie take that space if they're giving it to her rather then passing almost into the defender. Push up into that space, THEN pass. Make the defender have to make a decision!
We're in danger of slipping into the same kind of morass as KC slipped into last year. You don't want to can the interim HC unless you're absolutely sure you've got your permanent coach. The downside, though, is that the season can slip away.
Great players tend to do that barring injury. They start declining from such a high level of performance that the “descending branch” of their career is long.
I do think we're in the midst of transition, which will continue for another 1-2 years. I assume we will have a new coach, probably 3 longtime vets/leaders retire, a lot of pressure about going into Soph's last year definitely under contract, competition for starting GK (assuming Bixby comes back and Alvarado doesn't just want to be 2nd or 3rd on a depth chart), etc.
Right now, I would consider this year a success if we could get to 3rd or 4th in league and a home playoff match.
Well, it's clear that we're gonna have to get a goal by any means necessary and then sneak out of town with the points. Because we sure don't deserve a win.
Our fullbacks track back way too far inside. It’s not an individual thing…they all do it, so it’s got to be coached in. It’s not working, and KC and now Utah has been punishing us for doing it.
I fell asleep at about 60'. Did we win?
Never thought I would see the day I said the timbers are a better football team than the thorns, but here we are.....
This has been happening slowly for years, unfortunately. Brick by brick...this team has been very slowly dying on the vine. I've been saying it here for years now...despite the wins, the quality and team play, and consistency of both, has just continued to diminish. Obv there are reasons why, not all of which we could help....but we sure didn't help ourselves before or during either. We're just lucky we have a Sophia Smith, otherwise we'd prob be in the same realm of dreadful as Seattle. Sophia's play has just created the smoke and mirrors....
If we don't start waiving players and bringing in others in this window, I will remain worried...lots of bigger names signing new contracts currently and we need to be in those conversations for multiple positions. Issue is, we have a lot of int'l slots taken by bench quality players.
Perhaps a GM whose player acquisition priority is something _other_ than "doing a solid for her countrywomen" would be a good start?
If only Linnehan hadn't been offside on that Soph goal.
Wait. That's why they called it offside? She wasn't even involved in the play.
Yeah I seriously thought they would reverse it as it had no bearing on the play.
I thought the offside was on Soph, way back upfield when she first received the ball.
Yeah, Linnehan wasn't even involved in the play, right? That would make no sense...
Yeah, I think so too.
Did not see Soph offside on the replay only Linnehan. Maybe they didn't go back far enough on the replay.
They went back to the beginning of the play on NWSL+, and from the field "line," it looked like maybe half her foot was off...but like Medford Thorn, I'd have loved to see the proper VAR drawn line.
I thought Soph was maybe an inch or two offside. Looked really close. Would love to see the lines drawn.
The rule is too fussy when a toenail gets you offside. It ought to be a full torso and player involved. Also a judgement if the defender holds up to make you offside.
Hogan WOTM by default. She faced 25 shots, 14 on-goal, and made 6 saves.
Wait, 14 shots on goal and only 6 saves? That sounds like the remaining 8 went in. We were bad but we weren't THAT bad!
My hope is they don't panic with these recent results and just pull in Stoney because they want someone now and she seems easiest. Pick someone soon, but please, pick someone else.
and yes it is time to panic, you just tied the worst team in the league and same shit result to a second worse seattle team
Yeah, I mean they should've been panicking a long time ago with how this team has been playing lol...
in no world should they pick stoney, she is the female equivalent of Gio.
My immediate evil thought: hire Stoney and can her at season's end. J/K
I might entertain a Stoney interim for a few weeks while we are trying to get a coach in here lol...just for the potential bump for a few games.
Shitshow capped by poor ref decisions at the end.
The Bhathals need to have a direct line with Soph to reassure her that next year won't be like this year. Otherwise, she's gone.
we've gotta stop worrying about every game being a referendum about whether Soph is going to stay or not, she signed an extension for next season at the very least. If things are this bad a year from now we have bigger issues
But that's what I mean. They have to reassure her now that it won't be like this next year, that they won't let it be like this again next year.
Ludicrously small amount of stoppage time plus the ref making what WAS given all about him...pretty typical PRO performance, really.
Could have easily lost that match.
Bof. That's it. Just bof.
Held scoreless by the worst team in the league? Ouch.
For those counting at home: sub 1 NPxG for the fourth straight game
Please go spread the gospel elsewhere to everyone who thinks this coach deserves the position, because they're numerous and loud lol. And no, not for Stoney lol. That has been equally loud.
Oh great y'all....Meghan Nally incoming next weekend against SD lol. We will not win that game even with how dire SD has been...
Nah, it'll be Obaze.
If she's ready! She's been out a while now and this was the first time she's been in the 18 in a long time.
Next week, Obaze at CB. Hubs just got herself a suspension on accumulated yellows. Solid!
Uh, let's hope she's fully fit! Otherwise we get Nally.
Smith switches the field to Sinc, who goes after it like Joe Biden stepping on stage.
I thought it was a poor pass, if that's the one I'm thinking of. And I wish Soph would've laid it off to her overlapping FB at a similar late game instance.
It was, but there was also no chance Sinc could run it down. It's like throwing a frisbee for an elderly Lab and watching the dog give up on it knowing the futility of even trying.
About to be 5 points from 5 games. Gotta get a head coach in, now.
Ok Shelby!!! Y'all must be ahead of me a bit.
PLease tell me when we score ty lol
There's still no chemistry. This is not a well drilled team. No one knows what to expect from anyone else, no one knows where to go or how to create space.
It's bad chemistry with a poorly constructed roster. These bad decisions over the years have come due...
Not a balanced roster. Over-invested in midfield but don't play through midfield. I know if was hard to make moves while ownership was up in the air and the coach in flux. New coach can't come soon enough.
Shelby, thank you very, very much.
At least Hogan is doing well....?
Oh my God. Great by Hogan. But what?
And Iffy showed why we were fine to send her to Seattle.
Becky/ Beckie goal incoming...
Ok Soph, please just do it yourself. No one is going to help.
She's trying.
Omg nobody knows what to do in front of the goal
If nothing else, no one is pushing Sinclair to the ground without a bit of extra effort.
We could be down by like 5, but Utah couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat....
To be fair, they probably haven't taken this many shots in training this entire season.
The Thorns look extraordinarily average tonight.
I think I would take average at this point lol. This is straight poor play.
Karina LeBlanc, you're on the clock. I don't want to see you walking your kid around the pitch waving to the crowd. I want you solving this club's problems with coaching and roster construction.
My partner has talked about making a sign saying as much for her walk arounds lol.
That's a good call. I might have to do that too. Something like "Karina, where's your phone?" Or "Hold your phone, not your kid's hand, while you're at work."
Fleming's crosses are too much to bear
Let this Challenge Cup pass from me.
😏
I wonder if we're knock, knock, knockin' on Stoney's door?
God I hope not. If for no other reason that if she tries to play sufferball with this backline we’ll be down by six before halftime.
Oh, I don't disagree: can't stand her style of football. But can't miss a chance to keep the Grandad Rock reference going, right?
Utah have had 22 shots tonight through 78 minutes.
One very consistent thing about this team over the years: we suck in hot weather.
Yes, but they've gritted out some good points in recent years playing in that circle of Dante's hell known as the Dash's pitch.
Need OWK to summon Jesus for a goal in Utah...
20 minutes to find a way to get all 3 from this turkey. OWK in for Coffey. Assume Sinc is coming in for Dias.
We need it but we don't deserve it
I can't believe we're going to lose ground to Chicago and NC this weekend.
I can accept losing to clubs like Orlando and KC. We’re not at their level. But this mob? If we can’t put a can like Utah to the sword, we must be in worse shape than I thought.
I have been saying this even throughout our "win" streak. Even in those games, we've never had more than 45' of a good game. Usually less. We've been mostly lucky, it seems. Haven't seen more than 45' of a good game from this team since last year...the play has been bad, even with Gale's wins.
But at least we WERE beating the cans. That doesn’t take “good”, “mediocre” will do, and we were.
This isn’t even mediocre.
Yeah, it could be seen coming from a mile away, though.
Yep. Been going this way for a while…
Chief, we're in bad shape.
That sure looks like the case. This is…not good.
Friday needs to be the last league game Gale coaches. He's done a terrific job as an interim. But he was an interim for a reason.
As Thornando points out, I don’t see how swapping one caretaker for another helps. If we do have a HC selection? That’s different.
Yeah, I don't mean another interim. I mean a head coach. Pick one. It's a big job. I'm sure there are tons of coaches who would take it.
But we need to have the permanent HC ready. Do we? We can't go with another interim HC.
I'll take Stoney in a freaking heartbeat.
As I replied to David, if she tries her defend-and-counter style with this club she’ll ship half a dozen goals every game and lose 0-6.
If the Bhathals want to completely rebuild this club around her ugly tactics, that’s another thing entirely. But hopefully it won’t happen.
It's been two and a half months. There's another 6 weeks after Friday before the Thorns play another league game. That's enough time.
Maybe we should just cycle through all of our assistant coaches and hope for a 6-game bump with each one. Maybe we'll make the playoffs lol.
Keep up the press gals!
Would love to see Jessie take that space if they're giving it to her rather then passing almost into the defender. Push up into that space, THEN pass. Make the defender have to make a decision!
Fleming bringing it up fast and a nice pass to Beckie. Now THAT'S what I want to see.
Still think she could've done better there....she had so much space in front of her. She's gotta push into it and then pass.
Agreed. But that's the first time I can remember all season when I thought "More of that!"
*head desk*
Beckie looks like she's got a bit of a shiner.
Almost 60th minute. About time for smash-and-grab from Portland, or else this is heading to a draw or a loss.
We're in danger of slipping into the same kind of morass as KC slipped into last year. You don't want to can the interim HC unless you're absolutely sure you've got your permanent coach. The downside, though, is that the season can slip away.
Reyes’s lack of speed on display today
Kinda glad the Gale effect has worn off now and didn't last an extended period...this has to be a red flag to owners/the FO.
Ok Diaz. I see you.
She wants it.
What a stat. Sinclair is only 45 minutes from playing 15,000 in this league? Holy cow.
Fishlock, Menges, and Becky S just passed this recently...
Wow didn't know Menges was on that list. She's noticeably younger (31) than the rest of them. Heck, she could conceivably get to 20,000.
Yeah just was announced in one of her last games!
She’s been playing 11 years for this club, so…
Sure. But that's still a lot of minutes.
Great players tend to do that barring injury. They start declining from such a high level of performance that the “descending branch” of their career is long.
And there were years when she didn't play a lot for us too.
Why does everyone have their "best half of football" against us? I swear I've heard it like at least 6 times this season....
I do think we're in the midst of transition, which will continue for another 1-2 years. I assume we will have a new coach, probably 3 longtime vets/leaders retire, a lot of pressure about going into Soph's last year definitely under contract, competition for starting GK (assuming Bixby comes back and Alvarado doesn't just want to be 2nd or 3rd on a depth chart), etc.
Right now, I would consider this year a success if we could get to 3rd or 4th in league and a home playoff match.
Oh same....but like this? This is some midtable mediocrity (at best lol)
Agreed. I watch other teams like NC and Washington and I see more identity even on an off-day.
Pride embarrassed them last week. I was expecting a good fight from them.
Well damn, what about us?! Should've been embarrassed by that performance at home...
Yup both teams looking for bounce backs.
Because we play rec-league-level defense all too damn often.
Slightly better from Fleming tonight. Low bar but hope this is start of real contribution. Dias and Linnehan both disappointing.
Well, it's clear that we're gonna have to get a goal by any means necessary and then sneak out of town with the points. Because we sure don't deserve a win.
Yeah, and then folks will crow 'bout how great the coach has done. Do not go on the Riveting FB page lmao...
FWIW none of the people involved with the podcast or the website have anything to do w the FB page. Just saying’.
Oh I know y'alls opinions and they are not reflected in those comments lol
Well, that was thing that happened. Could be up by 1 or 2, could be down by 3 lol. Garbage football...
The bee-yoo-tee-ful game!
I really should be studying for a great big kanji test tomorrow, too...but here I am!
Our fullbacks track back way too far inside. It’s not an individual thing…they all do it, so it’s got to be coached in. It’s not working, and KC and now Utah has been punishing us for doing it.