Soph is the best player in the league and I hope she’s here for many more years, but Sam is gonna be the captain and face of this franchise for a decade+ if she wants it. A true delight of a human and a damn good soccer player.
The Reyna Rene Reyes Stubblefield super slo-mo demonstrates what I was seeing from her last night: the gal REALLY values the ball; will dig, dive and claw for it without fouling; and has stickem on her boots
Love to see players (esp defenders) with that ball hunger. Her timing for tackles and interceptions has been pretty great also. Better than half our defenders already (if not most) I'd say. I've been super pleased with how fast she's been improving game to game.
This weekend I'd like to see Weaver and Vasconcelos on the wings, with D'Aquila in the 9. Gotta give her a chance in her predominant position before I rule out that she's been just "meh." She hasn't been given the minutes there (or at all really) all season, so she's likely to be behind in development. She doesn't really look like a winger to me, either.
If we put Izzy at the 9 we must commit to crossing the ball in the air, something the team has been loathe to do. Understandably with the twin towers of Dunn and SS9 as "targets". So now we're asking Norris to adjust tactics to better suit the players he actually has available. Which means it ain't gonna happen.
As to Betfort, maybe she revives her career by becoming a CB, perhaps starting as soon as Saturday?
Yeah, 100%. The only judgement I’m comfortable making on her right now is she just is not a winger. She doesn’t have the touch, close control or pace to play out wide. She’s a center forward. Let’s see her there with Weaver wide.
Absolutely. If Betfort gets another start I don't know what to think. Giving her 15-20 minutes at the end of a game is the best approach, where she can use her energy to cause some havoc.
I saw that and for a second was just like....if in the future, Paulson still owns this club and everyone still hates us (for valid reasons this time) and Soph has long gone, and our GM and HC are unmoved, and the acquisitions have dried up.....at least we will have Sam Coffey as our captain lol.
I know it’s tempting to despair about the lack of progress (or news!) about the sale. But the bottom line is that we as supporters have no say in that. It’ll be what it’ll be. And my thought is that at this point we can support the squad and hope for the best. And if the best doesn’t happen?
THEN it’s time for rope and lampposts. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Just hard to watch in real time the consequences of actions, or lack thereof, from this FO, HC, ect...we all saw it here months (years?) ago: lack of defensive acquisitions over the years, a midfield that was departing for the WC (could you imagine if Sam DID get the call-up?), no F depth beyond Smith and Weaver (one of whom was always gonna be on that plane), and not great depth overall. Add in no reason for current optimism with the current FO, HC, and current owner in a perpetual sale, and it's not hard to see why optimism might be hard to come by in those regards. I can compartmentalize, though. Despite all of *this*, the full team can still get points and perform, thankfully. It's just a shame, because with some competence, the team/club could be great.
It’s very human to want and hope that the new owners will be awesome, smart and kind and humane.
But the reality is we have no idea. They may be. Or they may be greedy or shortsighted or foolish.
And it’s worth recalling that Paulson may be a trash fire as a human being, but as an owner he spent a lot on the team. There’s a reason a lot of the players and staff sent him good wishes last autumn; he was seen as a good owner. He and Peregrine built two Champions and a Shield.
I want this sale done, too. The club needs to move on. But I don’t kid myself; moving on can mean going from bad to worse instead of better.
The longer the sale drags on, the longer these problems persist. Paulson was never going to invest more in the club after deciding to sell.
After so many months, it’s reasonable to fear that he is demanding too high of a price and is content to keep counting his profits. That said, if a sale happens relatively soon, the new owners could quickly make major improvements for next season.
Let's be clear that KC's owners are very much NOT running them into to the ground. They've done pretty much everything right aside from hire a GM with bad people skills. They will (unfortunately) be completely fine on the field, possibly even by the end of the year.
It's reasonable to expect the new owners to put money into the club and the roster at the very least...something Paulson is no longer willing to do as a lame duck. It certainly could go wrong, but it's much more likely to be beneficial.
God she’d be a perfect acquisition for RW. I wonder if it’s a good idea to make signings now, though, when we have an expansion draft looming. But, players like that ain’t gonna stay on the market long if you don’t get into the conversation. If it were Diani, I’d be ok with a summer signing! Sinclair would need to actually be benched or retire so Hina stays on the field. Diani was due to come here before the pandemic hit but she wanted to stay overseas once it really hit. Couple you imagine a front line of Weaver, Smith, and Diani? Good lawd. Wonder if it was more a Thorns thing, or more a Parsons thing. Would be lovely to see it happen….I choose delusion lol.
Sinc wasn’t protected last expansion draft last year. No way she’s protected…she’d just retire. She would straight up say NO, if Utah tried to pick her lol. I don’t think Kling or Becky (or Hubly?) were protected last time either. I think at this point, no one is taking a player that close to retirement so it’s not worth protecting them.
If there's a silver lining is that this lineup got a game in that didn't matter in the league. They looked and played like a pickup team most of the evening. More practice will help as will more game time. Weaver would have really helped had she really been available. God love Olivia Moultrie but as good as she is she's not yet ready to carry the team. She needs help.
Agreed on all counts. In the end, last night was a warm-up for Saturday.
It doesn't give KC anything valuable to scout. If anything, KC will just see a group that was completely disorganized and lacking ideas as well as ability to execute,
The video won't tell them what Portland would look like with Weaver, Kuikka, and Menges in position from the start. And let's hope to God that's what we get on Saturday.
According to Ryan's Oregonian article, this is the "first of what is expected to be multiple NTRP's."
Let's see 'em! I hope they are 3 more actual competent forwards and a competent 8 so Sam doesn't have to play two positions while Porter is on the field.
Ummm…why? Two league games (possibly a third in August, if the US gets to the final) and some now close-to-meaningless Cup ties. And there’s no hope for anything but garbage minutes Saturday, so basically one game and a maybe…
And since there’s no roster space they’re gone August 21.
I mean…I agree that this roster is pretty weak below the regular starters. But the answer to that is the FO needs to improve that roster. Don’t see how a wodge of walk-ons is going to help much with that.
I was hoping they might bring in a better F fleet than we have now lol (aside from Weaver), but I understand that's fantasyland. The bar is pretty low though, so wouldn't be surprised if an NTRP came in and looked better than D'Aquila, Betfort, Beckman, and/or Vasconcelos. I can't believe Betfort has been here for 3 years honestly....and I wouldn't be surprised if an NTRP came in and looked better. Vasconcelos was an NTRP last year and is still better than 3 of our other forwards as currently played (and is the only one who has scored out of the group.) Hell, OLR's two F NTRP's looked better than all of ours who played last night, although, the bar was low.
Some folks on the internets are saying the CB NTRP that was just brought in was one of the best CB's in the A-league, so it's not impossible that person looks better or has a higher ceiling than Nally or Provenzano. She's also 5'9", so if she's faster AND taller, we're halfway there lol. CC is lost, so might as well make it a try-out for players we bring in.
Of course, KK really needs some actual roster improvement, but I'm just not sure what we can expect there due to the sale dragging on, lack of know-how or connections, or sheer incompetence...so the best I feel like I can hope for is an NTRP that's better than what we have in a few positions....which again, ain't that hard to beat! Now that Horan is gone, we're at 25. That should def be held for a strong CB in the offseason, though I'd argue we should shed several of our players on our current roster for better depth as well. Also gonna lose 2 to the expansion draft.
Also noticed that OLR's brand new NTRP's were noticeably better than PTFC's reserves. So that's... not good.
Re Betfort: I was immediately a Betfort fan when we first saw her in the WICC a few years ago: a big strong fast player with a chip on her shoulder. Coach Wilkinson even featured her in those games as a Kornieck-like target for goal kicks to the center circle, a nice weapon to have.
But now seems like the aggression/joy has been coached out of her- without that, she just looks tentative and without the ability to create with the ball on her feet- kinda like what would happen if you played a CB up at forward in an emergency.
But
On the defensive end, last night Betfort (finally) got a body on Elyse Bennett (who was enjoying last night like the JV kid filling in on the freshman team) and muscled her into irrelevance on at least 1-2 cornerkicks that i saw. Was so refreshing to see a Thorns player other than perhaps Weaver with the physical strength/assertiveness not to get pushed around or run over by a big opposing forward in the box.
If an undrafted player who’s been playing pickup soccer for the six months since the draft can walk on and start playing better than the current reserves I’d be shocked. Seeing as how we’ve just been smacked in the face with how hard it is to find and field a truly top class player at a skill position like a Smiith or a Sugita, it’s obvious what sport shows us all the time; talent is a pyramid. For every great player there’s a dozen - or a hundred - good players. And for each of them there’s another dozen or hundred “decent” ones, and so on down to “can play rec league” to “can’t play at all “.
The Mana Shim/Bethany Balcer sorts of discoveries are celebrated precisely because they’re rare as fairies…
I’d love for some undrafted walk-on to be the Next Smith. But I wouldn’t bet the house on that happening.
A midseason All-Star game (I don't care how the sides are chosen), with a ROBUST skills competition and a REVIVAL of the best part of the NASL and early MLS -- the shootout! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRITqS6WEn0
I might consider Balcer instead of Weaver based purely on production. West wins because they win the midfield battle. Assuming the game is played as a friendly with only light tackling, the final score could be 7-5.
Thought about that too. Settled on Weaver cause she’s both the better overall player and actually has more contributions (7 G/A vs. 6 G/A) than Balcer.
Hmm good point. I'd probably give her the Fishlock spot given Fishlock hasn't played as much....but I'm also trying to avoid having two teams playing with two 10s and havin too many Thorns.
Lets hope the team plays a lot better this weekend. Assuming we get back and start Weaver, Menges and Kuikka should really help, as should the fact that a lot of the players got playing time. Hopefully there is some Coaching going on right now, and players are feeling more comfortable being back on the field.
Coach Norris has a tight line to toe right now, as he shouldn't focus on the poor play last night while at the same time using the tape to point out the simple mistakes that were made. I don't know what to make of the forwards at this point, they simply were invisible for most of the game.
Indeed! Love a 5'9" CB. Also love that "track and field" is listed as something she's won awards in, albeit in high school. I hope she's got some wheels. Watching a few A-league vids, it looks like she plays left-side CB, which is exactly what we need. Earn your keep, gal!
Quick look shows she's a captain of one of the better A-League teams, and their season starts back up in November (so not sure either side is considering the possibility of her sticking beyond this short-term deal- but it would make more sense if they were, right?) Down under, she's a regular starter with some individual season awards as well;
I have no idea about the NWSL salary cap rules, minimum salaries, types of contracts, etc.
That said, in a hard-capped league with several really good to world-class players who could play elsewhere, you're going to have to pay them, and play them, more to keep them here and happy.
So, that also means you've gotta have people who will sign for the minimum or close to it, who either won't or can't command regular playing time, etc.
Mind you, I'm not thrilled with this way of doing things. We saw last night just how dangerous it is to be this thin on depth of quality and preparation to play.
But, I do think that's at least *part* of what's going on here.
Former blog Thorns target Deanne Rose was released by Reading today, as they prepare for the second tier in England. Maybe KK can pull out her Canadian rolodex for that one...
Has been capped with the French Nats and plays for Paris FC. I trust MarPar’s input with Krikorian’s as well. She’ll prob turn out to be a good get. Pretty aggressive to get another probably starting quality F, though, with who they already have and how they play. I’ve heard her name mentioned and she looks familiar but I can’t say I’ve seen her play.
I don’t know a ton about her, but I did like the little I saw. Is she more a CF or a winger (sp. RW?) I know she’s just coming off a long term injury and has barely made the WC in time. Is she a starter on this team? With Hina currently playing there, I imagine Sinc would need to take the bench for reals this time for that so Hina can move to the 10. Wouldn’t hate it!
I’d rather KK gets Diani so we have an actual winger playing winger lol. But, I think that sort of ambition in not in her wheelhouse. Would love to be proven wrong, though! She was supp to come here just prior to covid, and then that happened and she decided to stay overseas. Ugh. What an acquisition that would’ve been. Imagine if we had gotten both Kerolin and Diani on our team lmao, or even one of them.
I seem to remember Orlando has Rose’s NWSL rights…but I think NC originally drafted her.
If PTFC did sign a big-name winger (agree that w/ KK it's unlikely), though, that would push Hina to the bench to back up Sinclair, and Moultrie into obscurity (or Europe).
That was hard to watch, but not altogether shocking that it happened. I saw some good stuff out there, but just not enough of it against a Reign team that played HARD. That team plays with an edge and in matches like this one, it makes a difference. Think it’s a Harvey thing. Can’t lie, I’d love to see how her approach would play with our roster. Hope they can just let it go and move on to Saturday.
This team takes losses very personally and tend to come out even more intense and strong the next game out. KCC at nearly full strength will be a good challenge.
I'm listening to a KC Current podcast right now. Not sure that Mace will be back on Saturday. That said, KC's roster should be more complete than ours.
Even I found myself not caring by the end of this, so whatever....but:
- Pretty worrying how poor Izzy has looked. Hard to tell how much of this is Norris playing her out of position to fit Betfort in at striker (????), but she’s looked totally out of sync. Hopefully improves with more time. I think it’s fair to note that her profile is a player who needs service. If she’s being relied on to provide the service, her skillset is wasted.
- Hogan looks marginally better than Bella, but certainly not as confident as I’d have hoped. I don’t blame her at all for the goal -- Kling, what the actual hell-- but she came off her line a few times and caused the wrong kind of problems. Cmon Nadine!
- Sanderson mentioned this on the broadcast but Porter was so bad that Sam had to drop into her old six role over and over again despite playing as an 8.
- The weird McGrady/Kuikka positional flip was pointlessly stupid? Why, Mike?
- I don’t blame him for the wing depth issue, however. Should’ve been addressed and wasn’t, and now we see Reyna Reyes, a left back, playing RW when we need a goal.
Oh good! We lost our midfield and forwards so we signed ONE defender NTRP? ----> Kayla Morrison from the Melbourne Victory (in the A-league) Anyone know the name? *facepalm*
I certainly hope that isn't the only NTRP, but I would say that at this stage I'd rather see us sign quality rather than pick up a midfielder for the sake of a midfielder. And hey, maybe she's better than Meaghan Nally!
I was just reading that she is/was the captain of the team who just won the A-league in the most recent season. So, should have some leadership qualities that we desperately need back there. I don't watch A-league though, so I have no idea what position she plays, or really anything about her....hopefully CB!
Edited to add: watched a few videos and all of her goals shown appear to be from set pieces/CK's and with her head. So, adding another aerial threat there would be nice. She is indeed a CB.
We only have 3 midfielders though, so they damn well need SOME bodies lol. And, why haven't we brought in Mia Fishel as an NTRP yet? :)
Honestly, she looks fairly good. And she's left footed which could be nice for how we build up, because you can switch play in different ways. Could turn out to be a shrewd signing.
"The total salary floor, or minimum salary spend, for the 2020-21 season rose to A$294,000, growing to A$315,000 in the 2021-22 season, with a salary cap of A$450,000, as part of a five year deal that will see the salary floor rise to A$390,000 by 2025-26.[29] The deal also included improved standards in training venues, travel and accommodation, high performance staffing, and player workloads. The A-League Women minimum annual wage in 2021 is A$17,055."
That's a bit more than $11k US dollars minimum salary. "And all the Vegemite you can choke down, mate!"
I get that she's like 4th choice, and she plays with the right intensity and when I saw her in open training last year, she trained really professionally. But like...she can't pass the ball. At all.
Melina, I'm sorry you had to write a recap of this match. Thank you for your service.
Melina is one of the absolute best!
One pundit purple heart awarded.
https://twitter.com/ThornsFC/status/1674448892820090881?s=20
Soph is the best player in the league and I hope she’s here for many more years, but Sam is gonna be the captain and face of this franchise for a decade+ if she wants it. A true delight of a human and a damn good soccer player.
The Reyna Rene Reyes Stubblefield super slo-mo demonstrates what I was seeing from her last night: the gal REALLY values the ball; will dig, dive and claw for it without fouling; and has stickem on her boots
https://twitter.com/AlabamaSoccer/status/1674422962366324736
Such a turnaround from her first few appearances, hopefully we'll see similar advancement from Izzy.
Love to see players (esp defenders) with that ball hunger. Her timing for tackles and interceptions has been pretty great also. Better than half our defenders already (if not most) I'd say. I've been super pleased with how fast she's been improving game to game.
This weekend I'd like to see Weaver and Vasconcelos on the wings, with D'Aquila in the 9. Gotta give her a chance in her predominant position before I rule out that she's been just "meh." She hasn't been given the minutes there (or at all really) all season, so she's likely to be behind in development. She doesn't really look like a winger to me, either.
Would be shocked if Izzy is not starting against KCC and Gotham at the 9.
If we put Izzy at the 9 we must commit to crossing the ball in the air, something the team has been loathe to do. Understandably with the twin towers of Dunn and SS9 as "targets". So now we're asking Norris to adjust tactics to better suit the players he actually has available. Which means it ain't gonna happen.
As to Betfort, maybe she revives her career by becoming a CB, perhaps starting as soon as Saturday?
Yeah, 100%. The only judgement I’m comfortable making on her right now is she just is not a winger. She doesn’t have the touch, close control or pace to play out wide. She’s a center forward. Let’s see her there with Weaver wide.
Absolutely. If Betfort gets another start I don't know what to think. Giving her 15-20 minutes at the end of a game is the best approach, where she can use her energy to cause some havoc.
I saw that and for a second was just like....if in the future, Paulson still owns this club and everyone still hates us (for valid reasons this time) and Soph has long gone, and our GM and HC are unmoved, and the acquisitions have dried up.....at least we will have Sam Coffey as our captain lol.
And here I thought I was the Eeyore here.
I know it’s tempting to despair about the lack of progress (or news!) about the sale. But the bottom line is that we as supporters have no say in that. It’ll be what it’ll be. And my thought is that at this point we can support the squad and hope for the best. And if the best doesn’t happen?
THEN it’s time for rope and lampposts. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Just hard to watch in real time the consequences of actions, or lack thereof, from this FO, HC, ect...we all saw it here months (years?) ago: lack of defensive acquisitions over the years, a midfield that was departing for the WC (could you imagine if Sam DID get the call-up?), no F depth beyond Smith and Weaver (one of whom was always gonna be on that plane), and not great depth overall. Add in no reason for current optimism with the current FO, HC, and current owner in a perpetual sale, and it's not hard to see why optimism might be hard to come by in those regards. I can compartmentalize, though. Despite all of *this*, the full team can still get points and perform, thankfully. It's just a shame, because with some competence, the team/club could be great.
It’s very human to want and hope that the new owners will be awesome, smart and kind and humane.
But the reality is we have no idea. They may be. Or they may be greedy or shortsighted or foolish.
And it’s worth recalling that Paulson may be a trash fire as a human being, but as an owner he spent a lot on the team. There’s a reason a lot of the players and staff sent him good wishes last autumn; he was seen as a good owner. He and Peregrine built two Champions and a Shield.
I want this sale done, too. The club needs to move on. But I don’t kid myself; moving on can mean going from bad to worse instead of better.
We won’t know until it does.
The longer the sale drags on, the longer these problems persist. Paulson was never going to invest more in the club after deciding to sell.
After so many months, it’s reasonable to fear that he is demanding too high of a price and is content to keep counting his profits. That said, if a sale happens relatively soon, the new owners could quickly make major improvements for next season.
Or move it. Or run it into the ground (hi, KCC!).
As a former Newcastle supporter, be careful what you wish for.
Let's be clear that KC's owners are very much NOT running them into to the ground. They've done pretty much everything right aside from hire a GM with bad people skills. They will (unfortunately) be completely fine on the field, possibly even by the end of the year.
It's reasonable to expect the new owners to put money into the club and the roster at the very least...something Paulson is no longer willing to do as a lame duck. It certainly could go wrong, but it's much more likely to be beneficial.
Pretty much exactly my train of thought too tbh
I'm choosing to delude myself into believing that Karina is *this close* to signing Kati Diani to be our next RW, to go alongside Smith and Weaver.
https://twitter.com/womenstransfer/status/1674140950682120195
God she’d be a perfect acquisition for RW. I wonder if it’s a good idea to make signings now, though, when we have an expansion draft looming. But, players like that ain’t gonna stay on the market long if you don’t get into the conversation. If it were Diani, I’d be ok with a summer signing! Sinclair would need to actually be benched or retire so Hina stays on the field. Diani was due to come here before the pandemic hit but she wanted to stay overseas once it really hit. Couple you imagine a front line of Weaver, Smith, and Diani? Good lawd. Wonder if it was more a Thorns thing, or more a Parsons thing. Would be lovely to see it happen….I choose delusion lol.
I'm choosing to delude myself into believing that Karina is playing a long game and waiting until after the expansion draft to make big additions.
Speaking of which, chances that the Thorns protect Christine Sinclair? On a scale from "Almost assuredly" to "Lead-pipe lock"?
I'm hoping for a third option -- Sinclair retires and joins the technical staff or FO.
Sinclair retiring would go a long way to fixing the PTFC midfield issues.
Then, trading another of the excess midfielders (Rodriguez?) for a winger of like-value would have the roster start making more sense.
Sinc wasn’t protected last expansion draft last year. No way she’s protected…she’d just retire. She would straight up say NO, if Utah tried to pick her lol. I don’t think Kling or Becky (or Hubly?) were protected last time either. I think at this point, no one is taking a player that close to retirement so it’s not worth protecting them.
If there's a silver lining is that this lineup got a game in that didn't matter in the league. They looked and played like a pickup team most of the evening. More practice will help as will more game time. Weaver would have really helped had she really been available. God love Olivia Moultrie but as good as she is she's not yet ready to carry the team. She needs help.
Agreed on all counts. In the end, last night was a warm-up for Saturday.
It doesn't give KC anything valuable to scout. If anything, KC will just see a group that was completely disorganized and lacking ideas as well as ability to execute,
The video won't tell them what Portland would look like with Weaver, Kuikka, and Menges in position from the start. And let's hope to God that's what we get on Saturday.
According to Ryan's Oregonian article, this is the "first of what is expected to be multiple NTRP's."
Let's see 'em! I hope they are 3 more actual competent forwards and a competent 8 so Sam doesn't have to play two positions while Porter is on the field.
She was literally playing both midfield spots and left wing lolol
Lol, yeah, at points she was the highest player, and I was like WORLD CLASS STRIKER SAM COFFEY LET'S GOOOOO
Ummm…why? Two league games (possibly a third in August, if the US gets to the final) and some now close-to-meaningless Cup ties. And there’s no hope for anything but garbage minutes Saturday, so basically one game and a maybe…
And since there’s no roster space they’re gone August 21.
I mean…I agree that this roster is pretty weak below the regular starters. But the answer to that is the FO needs to improve that roster. Don’t see how a wodge of walk-ons is going to help much with that.
I was hoping they might bring in a better F fleet than we have now lol (aside from Weaver), but I understand that's fantasyland. The bar is pretty low though, so wouldn't be surprised if an NTRP came in and looked better than D'Aquila, Betfort, Beckman, and/or Vasconcelos. I can't believe Betfort has been here for 3 years honestly....and I wouldn't be surprised if an NTRP came in and looked better. Vasconcelos was an NTRP last year and is still better than 3 of our other forwards as currently played (and is the only one who has scored out of the group.) Hell, OLR's two F NTRP's looked better than all of ours who played last night, although, the bar was low.
Some folks on the internets are saying the CB NTRP that was just brought in was one of the best CB's in the A-league, so it's not impossible that person looks better or has a higher ceiling than Nally or Provenzano. She's also 5'9", so if she's faster AND taller, we're halfway there lol. CC is lost, so might as well make it a try-out for players we bring in.
Of course, KK really needs some actual roster improvement, but I'm just not sure what we can expect there due to the sale dragging on, lack of know-how or connections, or sheer incompetence...so the best I feel like I can hope for is an NTRP that's better than what we have in a few positions....which again, ain't that hard to beat! Now that Horan is gone, we're at 25. That should def be held for a strong CB in the offseason, though I'd argue we should shed several of our players on our current roster for better depth as well. Also gonna lose 2 to the expansion draft.
Also noticed that OLR's brand new NTRP's were noticeably better than PTFC's reserves. So that's... not good.
Re Betfort: I was immediately a Betfort fan when we first saw her in the WICC a few years ago: a big strong fast player with a chip on her shoulder. Coach Wilkinson even featured her in those games as a Kornieck-like target for goal kicks to the center circle, a nice weapon to have.
But now seems like the aggression/joy has been coached out of her- without that, she just looks tentative and without the ability to create with the ball on her feet- kinda like what would happen if you played a CB up at forward in an emergency.
But
On the defensive end, last night Betfort (finally) got a body on Elyse Bennett (who was enjoying last night like the JV kid filling in on the freshman team) and muscled her into irrelevance on at least 1-2 cornerkicks that i saw. Was so refreshing to see a Thorns player other than perhaps Weaver with the physical strength/assertiveness not to get pushed around or run over by a big opposing forward in the box.
Need much more of that! Please!
If an undrafted player who’s been playing pickup soccer for the six months since the draft can walk on and start playing better than the current reserves I’d be shocked. Seeing as how we’ve just been smacked in the face with how hard it is to find and field a truly top class player at a skill position like a Smiith or a Sugita, it’s obvious what sport shows us all the time; talent is a pyramid. For every great player there’s a dozen - or a hundred - good players. And for each of them there’s another dozen or hundred “decent” ones, and so on down to “can play rec league” to “can’t play at all “.
The Mana Shim/Bethany Balcer sorts of discoveries are celebrated precisely because they’re rare as fairies…
I’d love for some undrafted walk-on to be the Next Smith. But I wouldn’t bet the house on that happening.
There is an extremely addicting new chrome extension (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fbcharts/ogkjijheeoanpdacakgofneeagpakbnb?hl=en-GB) that lets you use Fbref to create percentile radar charts in comparison to the top 8 woso leagues in the world....and everyone should do this.
- Hina is in the 99th percentile for pass completion.
- Crystal Dunn is insane: https://fbref.com/en/players/a20c6459/Crystal-Dunn
- Soph is a freak: https://fbref.com/en/players/a4568174/Sophia-Smith
I’m on my phone so hard to do, but curious about Sinc…
Totally OT, but here's what I want:
A midseason All-Star game (I don't care how the sides are chosen), with a ROBUST skills competition and a REVIVAL of the best part of the NASL and early MLS -- the shootout! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRITqS6WEn0
Not sure why this hasn't happened yet honestly. Hosting it in California or Portland the first years would be amazing.
Alright gimme the West (PDX, Seattle, ACFC, SD, Houston, KC) vs. East (Chicago, Gotham, DC, Louisville, Orlando, NCC), traditional 4-3-3s:
West: Weaver-Morgan-Soph (Yeesh)
Debinha-Coffey-Fishlock (Yeesh x2)
Vignola-Girma-Lind-Huerta (There are not many good left backs so I threw ACFC a bone)
Sheridan
Subs: Hina, Thompson, Kizer, Sanchez
East: Rodman-Kerolin-Williams (Yeesh x3)
DeMelo-O'Sullivan-Sanchez (a lil too attacking tbh)
Fox-McKeown-Erceg-Krueger (again, a real shortage of good defenders)
Lund
Subs: Sullivan, Borges, Adriana, Bruninha
Who wins?
I might consider Balcer instead of Weaver based purely on production. West wins because they win the midfield battle. Assuming the game is played as a friendly with only light tackling, the final score could be 7-5.
Thought about that too. Settled on Weaver cause she’s both the better overall player and actually has more contributions (7 G/A vs. 6 G/A) than Balcer.
What about Dunn?
Hmm good point. I'd probably give her the Fishlock spot given Fishlock hasn't played as much....but I'm also trying to avoid having two teams playing with two 10s and havin too many Thorns.
Lets hope the team plays a lot better this weekend. Assuming we get back and start Weaver, Menges and Kuikka should really help, as should the fact that a lot of the players got playing time. Hopefully there is some Coaching going on right now, and players are feeling more comfortable being back on the field.
Coach Norris has a tight line to toe right now, as he shouldn't focus on the poor play last night while at the same time using the tape to point out the simple mistakes that were made. I don't know what to make of the forwards at this point, they simply were invisible for most of the game.
One of them is being played out of position. Going to have 2 regular season games as the starter at her natural position.
I think this is our Kayla Morrison:
https://kuathletics.com/roster/kayla-morrison/
Indeed! Love a 5'9" CB. Also love that "track and field" is listed as something she's won awards in, albeit in high school. I hope she's got some wheels. Watching a few A-league vids, it looks like she plays left-side CB, which is exactly what we need. Earn your keep, gal!
Quick look shows she's a captain of one of the better A-League teams, and their season starts back up in November (so not sure either side is considering the possibility of her sticking beyond this short-term deal- but it would make more sense if they were, right?) Down under, she's a regular starter with some individual season awards as well;
https://www.wsportsandmedia.com.au/kayla-morrison
My god, there really is a Morön BK in Sweden. Tall, feisty defender used to scrapping with Aussies? Why not.
There's also an FL Fart in Norway...
https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2014/08/01/fl-fart-norway-soccer-fan-will-money
Don't get me started about Dildo, Canada...
https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/trip-ideas/travel-stories/theres-no-place-like-dildo
Or a certain town in Austria who could never keep their sign intact and changed the name.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugging,_Upper_Austria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7UBy1usnrg
https://youtu.be/1OvMZT2zfy0
I remember that! Sorry they had to change the name.
I have no idea about the NWSL salary cap rules, minimum salaries, types of contracts, etc.
That said, in a hard-capped league with several really good to world-class players who could play elsewhere, you're going to have to pay them, and play them, more to keep them here and happy.
So, that also means you've gotta have people who will sign for the minimum or close to it, who either won't or can't command regular playing time, etc.
Mind you, I'm not thrilled with this way of doing things. We saw last night just how dangerous it is to be this thin on depth of quality and preparation to play.
But, I do think that's at least *part* of what's going on here.
OT:
Former blog Thorns target Deanne Rose was released by Reading today, as they prepare for the second tier in England. Maybe KK can pull out her Canadian rolodex for that one...
Spirit apparently announcing a big signing today....
I stg if it’s Diani I will yell and then cry lol…
Could see it - he did want her pre-pandemic.
Hmmm. It seems an okay signing but not, like, huge.
But also I read that the Kang buyout of OL may be over the line today, so maybe that’s the big news?
Appears to be Ouleymata Sarr from Paris FC. Not gonna pretend I know that much about her.
Has been capped with the French Nats and plays for Paris FC. I trust MarPar’s input with Krikorian’s as well. She’ll prob turn out to be a good get. Pretty aggressive to get another probably starting quality F, though, with who they already have and how they play. I’ve heard her name mentioned and she looks familiar but I can’t say I’ve seen her play.
I don’t know a ton about her, but I did like the little I saw. Is she more a CF or a winger (sp. RW?) I know she’s just coming off a long term injury and has barely made the WC in time. Is she a starter on this team? With Hina currently playing there, I imagine Sinc would need to take the bench for reals this time for that so Hina can move to the 10. Wouldn’t hate it!
I think she's more of a center forward but she does have the attributes to play wide.
I’d rather KK gets Diani so we have an actual winger playing winger lol. But, I think that sort of ambition in not in her wheelhouse. Would love to be proven wrong, though! She was supp to come here just prior to covid, and then that happened and she decided to stay overseas. Ugh. What an acquisition that would’ve been. Imagine if we had gotten both Kerolin and Diani on our team lmao, or even one of them.
I seem to remember Orlando has Rose’s NWSL rights…but I think NC originally drafted her.
If PTFC did sign a big-name winger (agree that w/ KK it's unlikely), though, that would push Hina to the bench to back up Sinclair, and Moultrie into obscurity (or Europe).
That’s one of those good problems to have.
Looked recently at how (regular season) Thorns dominate the league's best list?
https://www.nwslsoccer.com/stats/leaders?season=gnqacg1k5u6wlm4kd6fo4u8k
Too bad about the yellow card tally, but there's time yet for that too.
Well buckaroos, proud that our humble work-for-nickels boys are doing same with the USL.
https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1278027
No point here beyond enjoy what you've got while you've got it.
LFG!
That was hard to watch, but not altogether shocking that it happened. I saw some good stuff out there, but just not enough of it against a Reign team that played HARD. That team plays with an edge and in matches like this one, it makes a difference. Think it’s a Harvey thing. Can’t lie, I’d love to see how her approach would play with our roster. Hope they can just let it go and move on to Saturday.
This team takes losses very personally and tend to come out even more intense and strong the next game out. KCC at nearly full strength will be a good challenge.
I'm listening to a KC Current podcast right now. Not sure that Mace will be back on Saturday. That said, KC's roster should be more complete than ours.
Definitely more complete for sure, having this game at home should be a nice balance though. What's your prediction?
Something more inspiring than the U11 rec ball we watched on Wednesday. That's less of a prediction and more of a plea.
Even I found myself not caring by the end of this, so whatever....but:
- Pretty worrying how poor Izzy has looked. Hard to tell how much of this is Norris playing her out of position to fit Betfort in at striker (????), but she’s looked totally out of sync. Hopefully improves with more time. I think it’s fair to note that her profile is a player who needs service. If she’s being relied on to provide the service, her skillset is wasted.
- Hogan looks marginally better than Bella, but certainly not as confident as I’d have hoped. I don’t blame her at all for the goal -- Kling, what the actual hell-- but she came off her line a few times and caused the wrong kind of problems. Cmon Nadine!
- Sanderson mentioned this on the broadcast but Porter was so bad that Sam had to drop into her old six role over and over again despite playing as an 8.
- The weird McGrady/Kuikka positional flip was pointlessly stupid? Why, Mike?
- I don’t blame him for the wing depth issue, however. Should’ve been addressed and wasn’t, and now we see Reyna Reyes, a left back, playing RW when we need a goal.
A backup keeper playing with a pickup team? If Hogan HADN’T had a miscommunication or three with her defenders I’d have been shocked.
Yeah I’m definitely not majorly concerned, but she definitely looked a tad hesitant.
Meghan Nally was running loose out there; I’d have been hesitant, too.
(moving from the other thread...)
Oh good! We lost our midfield and forwards so we signed ONE defender NTRP? ----> Kayla Morrison from the Melbourne Victory (in the A-league) Anyone know the name? *facepalm*
I certainly hope that isn't the only NTRP, but I would say that at this stage I'd rather see us sign quality rather than pick up a midfielder for the sake of a midfielder. And hey, maybe she's better than Meaghan Nally!
It was always going to be multiple NTRPs :)
I was just reading that she is/was the captain of the team who just won the A-league in the most recent season. So, should have some leadership qualities that we desperately need back there. I don't watch A-league though, so I have no idea what position she plays, or really anything about her....hopefully CB!
Edited to add: watched a few videos and all of her goals shown appear to be from set pieces/CK's and with her head. So, adding another aerial threat there would be nice. She is indeed a CB.
We only have 3 midfielders though, so they damn well need SOME bodies lol. And, why haven't we brought in Mia Fishel as an NTRP yet? :)
Honestly, she looks fairly good. And she's left footed which could be nice for how we build up, because you can switch play in different ways. Could turn out to be a shrewd signing.
A page of stats, make of them what you will.
https://fbref.com/en/players/e0177e6c/Kayla-Morrison
I know nothing of A League, have not watched Aussie club footy since the W League folded.
It’s the same league just rebranded
Oof, the pay...
"The total salary floor, or minimum salary spend, for the 2020-21 season rose to A$294,000, growing to A$315,000 in the 2021-22 season, with a salary cap of A$450,000, as part of a five year deal that will see the salary floor rise to A$390,000 by 2025-26.[29] The deal also included improved standards in training venues, travel and accommodation, high performance staffing, and player workloads. The A-League Women minimum annual wage in 2021 is A$17,055."
That's a bit more than $11k US dollars minimum salary. "And all the Vegemite you can choke down, mate!"
Gosh she's so bad lmao
I get that she's like 4th choice, and she plays with the right intensity and when I saw her in open training last year, she trained really professionally. But like...she can't pass the ball. At all.
This was lol: In 2020, Morrison played in Sweden with Morön BK....
As opposed to Moron KK?