Gotta say, I’m becoming less and less a fan of this level of league parity- I don’t particularly want a league where the top six teams are all so flawed that no one can separate and they all just end up within 3 points of each other. It’s just bad soccer masquerading as competitive parity, and it almost dilutes the value of winning the shield.
On the Thorns side? The perfect storm of bad tactics, horrible individual errors, and Florida humidity. Outside of “Norris, please do the slightest bit of tactical introspection,” I don’t have much to say other than I’d like to see Reyes start over Kuikka (and that after much thought, I will be buying a Sam Coffey jersey as my first since my 2018 Horan)
This was a difficult game to watch for sure, but the players have responded to losses very well in previous years.
Reyna Reyes has absolutely earned a regular starting spot and I think her starting today would of been the right call. If Menges was available, I would of preferred Nally paired with her. Since it was Hubly it would of made sense for Natu to pair with her to add some speed. I like the speed/power combo for CBs.
Olivia and Sincy have been rotating starts. I was hoping Olivia started this one and Sincy the next one. This matchup needed more speed, possession, and control.
Wish we knew more about who’s supposed to be BUYing the damn team.
I know I keep banging this drum…but it really is possible to go from bad to worse. Look at the mess ACFC has made with all that celebrity money. Look at how KC is blowing thru the goodwill the new owners built up last season. Watch a San Diego game and marvel at the ugly bunker…
Obviously I want a fresh ownership breeze with an ambitious plan to sweep out the slipshod Peregrine dross, headhunt an outstanding coaching staff, and make some brilliant roster moves.
All without jacking my season pass cost into the stratosphere, mind!
But right now? Aside from not even knowing where the sale process is going (shit, without knowing if there even IS a sale..!) we really have no idea what the potential buyers plans are. For anything.
Well yes, there’s always a chance things could go poorly on or off the field...but even in the examples you cite:
- ACFC will be totally fine. They’ve made some roster building mistakes, but I have faith they’ll get it together relatively soon, for better or worse. Everything else they’ve done off the field has been excellent.
- San Diego made the playoffs their first year, are now considered clear contenders, have a clear emphasis towards signing and developing youth, and despite what most everyone thinks of Stoney’s style, it works.
- I don’t know what Ashton’s deal with KC is, and the BTS/people skills stuff is very concerning, but their owners are still building a full soccer specific stadium, great training facilities, and have put a shit ton of money into the roster. I’d take that in a heartbeat.
Ultimately, it’s the potential for being stuck in purgatory that worries me. This team will be fine in the short term because of the talent, but what if they can’t re-up Soph? Weaver? Hina? Coffey? The longer we sit in ownership limbo, the bigger the chance that Paulson lets the state of the roster decline. New owners will, at the very least, want to be involved, be seen as positive change, and make a mark on the roster....whatever that looks like.
Not much you can do about it. It's gonna be a parity league as long as the league keeps expanding, there's a hard salary cap, and the top European leagues present an attractive alternative for top talent.
As Aiden noted in the match thread, this thing where the Thorns can't find an outlet from the backline and have to resort to 1) passing into coverage or 2) a long ball that almost always gets lost, and the ball is turned right back has been something we've seen for a loooooong time (shit, even Parsons' squads did it to the point where in my writeups I came up with the nickname "dink-dink-boot" for it so's not to have to describe it every time...)
And what's weird is that as individual players there's been a lot of talent in our midfields; yeah, Sinc this season...but you'd think that given the skills that the Thorns midfield and forwards would automatically move to space to give their backs an outlet.
But they don't...and I have a hard time believing that's an individual player decision; that's got to be coaching - "Stay pushed up, your backs will find you".
But as often as not they can't, and when the squad can't scramble back, well...se saw it yesterday.
This doesn't seem like PhD level coaching. Is there some sort of Power of Positive Soccer Thinking that keeps the coaching staff trying this despite the fairly obvious downside?
On reading the starting XI I was relieved it was on CBSSN and I had other things to do with the two hours. Coach virtually mailed this one in, even if he of course "had his reasons." I remain embaffled.
Even IF Marta is playing in the midfield, why do you give most of the minutes to Sinc, who is going to fade in that heat and humidity, instead of Moultrie?
And why do you give most of the minutes to Sinc, not Moultrie, when most of Orlando's roster is comprised of young, fresh legs?
It wasn't Sinc's fault they lost yesterday, but from a game-planning standpoint it wasn't particularly wise. The only charitable explanation I have for it is that Norris wanted her out there because the center back combo would be shaky.
Which is so backwards to me! If that centerback duo could be shaky, then dammit make sure you have a midfield who can hold onto the ball, and run in the FL heat when needed! And, stick with a more conservative formational/tactical approach rather than having two advanced midfielders AND your fullbacks (BOTH!) staying high up. It's like he read what would be needed for this game and did literally everything the opposite. It's baffling to me...the amount of times Nally was 1v1 vs a much faster player was insane. And Bella, woof. He's gotta do something there, too...but if you fix the midfield then you improve the defense and thus also improve Bella. Although, arguably that just bandaids over a GK problem that should be addressed.
Bella has been a great story and has given us some terrific moments, but I don't think she's the future here, and that's sad to say because she's a local kid.
The future is tall keepers, yes, but ones with more athleticism and explosiveness. All you have to do is watch how Nadine is training the backups, and how quick they are off their feet, how quickly they recover, how nimble they are, etc. You can see that that's where this is heading.
Y'know how I've been harping on the idea of the FO trying to swipe CB Moeka Minami from AS Roma to shore us up in back? Well, that plan probably just got more expensive: Moeka-chan just got named to this year's Serie A Femminile Best 11!
The same damn thing in Houston! The only other game we lost...Start Sinclair in southern heat (she's 40 TODAY), and you lose the midfield, then you lose the defense, and then it kinda snowballs from there. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!
I had a sinking feeling when the roster came out, and sure enough my fears were borne out. No Menges? No Sauerbrunn? Sinclair starting in all that heat and humidity? We were listless from the start and it only got worse from there. Add bad defending and little ability to bring the ball out of the back and you get this result.
Definitely a tough game to watch and it showed throughout. It was a 'trap game' right when you saw the weather forecast and how Orlando played at home compared to the road.
If you told me they would get 6 pts from 3 road games with us winning at Orlando and Chicago, I think most would of taken that.
Dunno if I’d describe the Thorns turning the ball over as “uncharacteristic”. Turnovers have featured prominently lately, even in the win at Lumen. Turnovers were a huge problem in San Diego and Houston, and tonight. It’s becoming a feature, not a bug.
Gotta say, I’m becoming less and less a fan of this level of league parity- I don’t particularly want a league where the top six teams are all so flawed that no one can separate and they all just end up within 3 points of each other. It’s just bad soccer masquerading as competitive parity, and it almost dilutes the value of winning the shield.
On the Thorns side? The perfect storm of bad tactics, horrible individual errors, and Florida humidity. Outside of “Norris, please do the slightest bit of tactical introspection,” I don’t have much to say other than I’d like to see Reyes start over Kuikka (and that after much thought, I will be buying a Sam Coffey jersey as my first since my 2018 Horan)
Oh, and sell the damn team, Paulson.
This was a difficult game to watch for sure, but the players have responded to losses very well in previous years.
Reyna Reyes has absolutely earned a regular starting spot and I think her starting today would of been the right call. If Menges was available, I would of preferred Nally paired with her. Since it was Hubly it would of made sense for Natu to pair with her to add some speed. I like the speed/power combo for CBs.
Olivia and Sincy have been rotating starts. I was hoping Olivia started this one and Sincy the next one. This matchup needed more speed, possession, and control.
Good choice on the Coffey kit!
Wish we knew more about who’s supposed to be BUYing the damn team.
I know I keep banging this drum…but it really is possible to go from bad to worse. Look at the mess ACFC has made with all that celebrity money. Look at how KC is blowing thru the goodwill the new owners built up last season. Watch a San Diego game and marvel at the ugly bunker…
Obviously I want a fresh ownership breeze with an ambitious plan to sweep out the slipshod Peregrine dross, headhunt an outstanding coaching staff, and make some brilliant roster moves.
All without jacking my season pass cost into the stratosphere, mind!
But right now? Aside from not even knowing where the sale process is going (shit, without knowing if there even IS a sale..!) we really have no idea what the potential buyers plans are. For anything.
Well yes, there’s always a chance things could go poorly on or off the field...but even in the examples you cite:
- ACFC will be totally fine. They’ve made some roster building mistakes, but I have faith they’ll get it together relatively soon, for better or worse. Everything else they’ve done off the field has been excellent.
- San Diego made the playoffs their first year, are now considered clear contenders, have a clear emphasis towards signing and developing youth, and despite what most everyone thinks of Stoney’s style, it works.
- I don’t know what Ashton’s deal with KC is, and the BTS/people skills stuff is very concerning, but their owners are still building a full soccer specific stadium, great training facilities, and have put a shit ton of money into the roster. I’d take that in a heartbeat.
Ultimately, it’s the potential for being stuck in purgatory that worries me. This team will be fine in the short term because of the talent, but what if they can’t re-up Soph? Weaver? Hina? Coffey? The longer we sit in ownership limbo, the bigger the chance that Paulson lets the state of the roster decline. New owners will, at the very least, want to be involved, be seen as positive change, and make a mark on the roster....whatever that looks like.
Not much you can do about it. It's gonna be a parity league as long as the league keeps expanding, there's a hard salary cap, and the top European leagues present an attractive alternative for top talent.
I definitely prefer it to the alternative! Parity is at least exciting, even if it gives us all weekly whiplash.
As Aiden noted in the match thread, this thing where the Thorns can't find an outlet from the backline and have to resort to 1) passing into coverage or 2) a long ball that almost always gets lost, and the ball is turned right back has been something we've seen for a loooooong time (shit, even Parsons' squads did it to the point where in my writeups I came up with the nickname "dink-dink-boot" for it so's not to have to describe it every time...)
And what's weird is that as individual players there's been a lot of talent in our midfields; yeah, Sinc this season...but you'd think that given the skills that the Thorns midfield and forwards would automatically move to space to give their backs an outlet.
But they don't...and I have a hard time believing that's an individual player decision; that's got to be coaching - "Stay pushed up, your backs will find you".
But as often as not they can't, and when the squad can't scramble back, well...se saw it yesterday.
This doesn't seem like PhD level coaching. Is there some sort of Power of Positive Soccer Thinking that keeps the coaching staff trying this despite the fairly obvious downside?
LOL this is absolutely dreadful:
https://twitter.com/Field0fVision/status/1668372107468709892
Agree. I think they rated Kuikka too high.
On reading the starting XI I was relieved it was on CBSSN and I had other things to do with the two hours. Coach virtually mailed this one in, even if he of course "had his reasons." I remain embaffled.
Here is what I don't get.
Even IF Marta is playing in the midfield, why do you give most of the minutes to Sinc, who is going to fade in that heat and humidity, instead of Moultrie?
And why do you give most of the minutes to Sinc, not Moultrie, when most of Orlando's roster is comprised of young, fresh legs?
It wasn't Sinc's fault they lost yesterday, but from a game-planning standpoint it wasn't particularly wise. The only charitable explanation I have for it is that Norris wanted her out there because the center back combo would be shaky.
Which is so backwards to me! If that centerback duo could be shaky, then dammit make sure you have a midfield who can hold onto the ball, and run in the FL heat when needed! And, stick with a more conservative formational/tactical approach rather than having two advanced midfielders AND your fullbacks (BOTH!) staying high up. It's like he read what would be needed for this game and did literally everything the opposite. It's baffling to me...the amount of times Nally was 1v1 vs a much faster player was insane. And Bella, woof. He's gotta do something there, too...but if you fix the midfield then you improve the defense and thus also improve Bella. Although, arguably that just bandaids over a GK problem that should be addressed.
Bella has been a great story and has given us some terrific moments, but I don't think she's the future here, and that's sad to say because she's a local kid.
The future is tall keepers, yes, but ones with more athleticism and explosiveness. All you have to do is watch how Nadine is training the backups, and how quick they are off their feet, how quickly they recover, how nimble they are, etc. You can see that that's where this is heading.
Y'know how I've been harping on the idea of the FO trying to swipe CB Moeka Minami from AS Roma to shore us up in back? Well, that plan probably just got more expensive: Moeka-chan just got named to this year's Serie A Femminile Best 11!
It (from 3,000 miles away) was so obviously a day for the Yoots. Yeah, Sinc has always lived with humidity, half the battle!
Liv and Reyna--given their spectacular last few matches--seemed obvious starters. And yet....
The same damn thing in Houston! The only other game we lost...Start Sinclair in southern heat (she's 40 TODAY), and you lose the midfield, then you lose the defense, and then it kinda snowballs from there. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!
Happy Birthday, Sinc. Sorry about that stinker yesterday.
They should've sent her to the spa for a massage and a pedicure instead. Give those dogs a break!
https://rfef.es/es/noticias/oficial-i-esta-es-la-lista-de-preparacion-para-el-mundial-de-australia-y-nueva-zelanda
No Patri or Mapi Leon, but this is still a damn good roster. Didn’t think Bon Mati was going to be there, and wasn’t fully sure about Alexia.
Hmmm...
https://twitter.com/chris_awk/status/1668080041916342272
This is disturbing.
I had a sinking feeling when the roster came out, and sure enough my fears were borne out. No Menges? No Sauerbrunn? Sinclair starting in all that heat and humidity? We were listless from the start and it only got worse from there. Add bad defending and little ability to bring the ball out of the back and you get this result.
Definitely a tough game to watch and it showed throughout. It was a 'trap game' right when you saw the weather forecast and how Orlando played at home compared to the road.
If you told me they would get 6 pts from 3 road games with us winning at Orlando and Chicago, I think most would of taken that.
This next game is crucial.
Dunno if I’d describe the Thorns turning the ball over as “uncharacteristic”. Turnovers have featured prominently lately, even in the win at Lumen. Turnovers were a huge problem in San Diego and Houston, and tonight. It’s becoming a feature, not a bug.
End of First Half Power Rankings: The "It's Not You, It's Me" Edition
"In (the NWSL), whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers."
-- apologies to Neville Chamberlain
1. San Diego
2. Washington
3. OL Reign
4. Gotham
5. Portland
6. NC
7. Houston
8. Louisville
9. Orlando
10. KC
11. ACFCNFT
12. Chicago