This is what Ken means when he goes on about how his squad is "the better team". In terms of "doing soccer-y things"? Yes. The Thorns generated more, and better chances. They "should" have run off with at least a point, either from holding on to a scoreless draw or from bagging the equalizer.
But as we all saw, the problems were the same problems we've seen from KenBall all season; at one end turnovers and individual errors in the backline, in the middle incoherence and an inability to play through a midblock, in front of goal failure to finish (when the buildup was there) or lack of connectivity that broke down the buildup with a mishit pass or tackle-for-loss before the shot.
I keep coming back to "WTF do you do in practice, Ken?" Because on the matchday field it looks like eleven people who just met. The understanding seems frail, the sense of skills-to-roles distant.
If it was obviously a problem of individual ability it would be on the player or players.
When it's across the squad? It's - as we also all saw - it's on the boss.
But - and here's what bugs me - I can see this squad sort of bumbling along to a 6th place finish. There's still a lot of individual ability here. And I think that'll be enough to save Ken's hide.
This match didn't tell Agoos anything he didn't know. If he didn't hand Ken his head before, I don't see this changing that. We're on 1.45pts/game almost halfway through the season, and the red line is 1.36pts/game right now. That's a playoff finish, and then all Ken has to do is win three games straight. He hasn't done that since the tenth game of 2024, mind, but...
One last interesting stat; right now we're GD+4 (16GF, 12GA). If you remove three of our eleven matches (Gotham and Racing here, Houston away) we're GD-2 (5GF, 7GA). Our attack looks better than it is because of three outburst games; without them it's 0.62G/gm.
The team with the lowest GF in the league (Chicago, 8 in 11 games) is 0.72G/gm.
"Because on the matchday field it looks like eleven people who just met. The understanding seems frail, the sense of skills-to-roles distant."
As you might expect from someone who watches so much Japanese WoSo, this aspect of the Thorns current state drives me absolutely batshit. WE League bottom-dwellers and most all of even the 2nd division Nadeshiko League exhibit VASTLY better understanding and cohesion on both sides of the ball that this Thorns side. The WE League's top three clubs, Beleza, Kobe, and Urawa, are so much better in these areas that they're almost playing a different sport.
Moreover, these teams' players are most always playing positions and roles they're actually suited to (imagine that...). This basic notion seems to completely escape the Thorns' coaching staff.
What that makes me think is that there’s something(s) the Japanese system does in training that builds that. It can’t be rocket science; soccer is a fairly straightforward sport. So there’s got to be some combination of drills, tactics, and mindset that gets driven home on the training ground.
There has to be such a combination: Japanese WoSo clubs from a certain (fairly low) level all play remarkably similar football: lots of short, 1- or 2-touch passing possessions, overlapping runs, precision passes to directly attacking players (not so much reliance on "dribble wide and cross"...wide-dribbling attackers tend to cut in on the dribble more often that just squaring up a hopeful cross). Defensively disciplined w/ high back lines and aggressive vocal leadership from either a CB or the 'keeper. Emphasis on high- and mid-pressure to regain possession quickly.
They ALL play like this, or at least do their best to, given their players' abilities. And if Tokyo Verdy Menina is any indication (admittedly an outlier U17 team - I'd bet on them in a match v this Thorns side!), this is the football they're _taught_. Probably from middle-school, I'd not be surprised to learn.
This sounds a lot like Spain, where it seems a lot of young players are taught the quick-pass-and-move game, and they end of with Pedri, Iniesta, Xavi, etc. I'm curious what differences, if any, you see between these two soccer cultures.
To some degree (and with the caveat that I'm _far_ from an expert on Spanish football), they have a similar approach to how they seem to train young players: technical skills, fast decision making, lots of one-touch passes, etc. I think Japan places a greater emphasis on defensive coordination and shape, though.
Am I correct to assume that Japanese culture is like many other Asian cultures in that there is much more of a tradition of cooperation (as opposed to the American (rugged) individualism)? I've heard that it has its origin in the rice paddy cultivation where survival necessitated cooperating with your neighbors. I have definitely seen this cultural attribute in my travels to Asia. I wonder if this tradition fosters a more cohesive, team-oriented approach to soccer. Just a big picture idea that may or may not have merit.
From kendo I’d say there’s a lot of what I’d call “sensei-senpai-kouhai” top-down structure. The senseis (teachers, coaches, leaders) establish the standards; here’s how WE all do this. The senpais (senior students, team veterans) support and enforce those standards. The kouhais (juniors, team members) job is to reply with a thunderous “HAI!!” (Yes! We understand and obey!”) and then practice until they sweat blood…
So my guess is that what David identifies as “Japanese style” is established/agreed upon at the top - as the All Japan Kendo Federation sets out the expectations for kendo worldwide - and thru the JSA and the Nadeshiko and the coaching that filters down even to the school club teams that standard is followed.
i mean the other thing is when the xG is that close it's a marginal game and sometimes you lose. You definitely don't deserve to win, as he keeps saying. The other point too: after going 1-0 down, the Thorns had 7 shots, worth .48 xG. Bay also had 7 shots, worth .65 xG.
Yeah, that's kind of the irritating thing; for all that the Thorns kind of "did more stuff" the actual threat they created from all that random running and passing wasn't significantly more dangerous than BFC did (and Bay is a "sorta-meh-midtable" club right now with Oshoala and Kundananji misfiring...). So, no; his plan such as it was put his club in a position where a minor collision of defensive errors+lack of finishing+bad luck=a "tough loss".
Given that the best he "deserved" would have been the draw, and it's irking to hear Ken go on about how he doesn't "deserve" these results. He's getting pretty much what he's doing...
If I can add the 9-1 corners, when have we had a good set piece game since Lindsey? While recognizing Turner for having some history of success there, can't score from the bench. I'll give recognition to Reyes for her decent header attempt. Anybody else?
Well, we had 8 corner kicks in the first half, and the two players I would want on the receiving end of those, Tordin and Turner, were both inexplicably on the bench. Gale gets the simple stuff wrong on a consistent basis.
1. The last season of Parsons was significantly more productive of corner kick opportunities than Wilkinson's (and Norris') Thorns.
2. The goal-creating actions from dead ball situations were not.
3. I don't have the data for Horan's last season (which in itself might not be revelatory; Horan struggled her last season here) but it suggests that Parsons' SYSTEM wasn't significantly more productive of goals that his first two successors'.
4. Under Gale, OTOH, Thorns corner kick attempts declined overall in 2024 and sharply relative to the league. The conclusion of the 2024 study was:
"...the Thorns suffered among the worst declines in corner kick generation between last season and 2023, almost two corners per 90 minutes less than they did previously. Only Racing and Angel City – 9th- and 13th-place finishers, respectively – were worse relative to the previous season than Portland.
My guess is that this largely reflects Norris- and Ken-Ball’s less-effective overall attack, as well as troubled by major injuries to Sophia Smith, Morgan Weaver, and Hina Sugita. The Thorns xG is practically identical across the 2023-24 seasons (about an average of 0.39) but significantly lower per 90 minutes – +0.09/90m in 2024 down from +0.58/90m in 2023.
Fewer dangerous chances means fewer opponent needs to block or clear over the byline, meaning fewer corners. And fewer dangerous chances from fewer corners means fewer goals."
I know some corner kicks were delivered to good spots, but most seemed off target. Time for beefing up training in these area (among many others) or perhaps try someone besides Sam and Olivia taking them?
But I don't think we're going to get a lot better in the attack until we have Soph AND Hanks out there together. The two of them, at full strength, playing off each other? Holy hell!
I ponder exactly that when watching Kaya juke and freeze defenders in the final third. She and Soph have a sizeable overlap of skillsets and while hack-a-Soph has been SOP for defending against Thorns, defenses will be seeing double once they're on the field together.
Not to mention I think Kaya is faster on the ball. Holy hell indeed.
I certainly hope that we dig up a gaffer who can find a way to use Wilson, Hanks, and Weaver as a synergistic unit. But I think it's worthwhile to be patient and see how they develop. Sometimes the sum of the parts takes a bit of jiggering-to-fit.
We're assuming Weaver is same Weaver as before. What I can tell you is that I have it on good authority that Hanks is similarly comfortable with her right as with her left.
With regard to the RB situation, will Müller be back next year for certain? Or is this her last contract year, and they have to negotiate a new one if she's going to appear for us again? She'd make quite a difference back there.
I know they're just Power Rankings, but whom at ESPN are Gotham paying off? Or, of whom do Gotham have kompromat?
Seriously... #5. After their 3rd straight loss? After being down 2-0 only 11 minutes in and remaining that way for the next 90 minutes? After 12 points in 11 matches? After needing Sonny's WWE shenanigans to con a late PK opportunity from Tigres? After going winless since April 26? After they fall to 10th on the table, just 1 point clear of 12th?
Their literal explanation is the gambler's fallacy, "Gotham are due for some statement league results". As are the Washington Generals, Ms. Swanick, time to put some big money on them!
Gotham aren't quite Thorns 2024, but they're not spring chickens.
Here are the ages of their 10 eldest players by season's end
Betos (37), Berger (35), Esther (very close to 33), Sonnett (very close to 32), Silva (very close to 31), Freeman (30), Lavelle (30), Gabi (30), Purce (30), Carter (very close to 28).
I compared their 10 eldest with those of KC, Orlando, Washington, Seattle, and SD. Gotham are arguably the oldest team. Yes, keeper age is not as relevant as midfielder age, and yes, injuries matter. But the point is that Gotham are basically meant to be a win-now team, and they're not winning.
1. Torpey should never play defense for the Thorns again. The defense seems to fall apart when she is out there.
2. The team (sans Hanks) looked tired and unmotivated. Understandable given short rest for most players.
3. Moultrie needs to find her teammates. Too often taking shots off target or into crowds. Play her farther away from goal to help connect our DMs to the forwards.
It's clear by now that we are going to have another middling season. Hanks is exciting to watch, but there's no one in the box who's open to cross. On the right side I don't recall anything going on that would scare anyone in the opposition. Gale's constant shuffling of the front line means that it is always trying to figure out who does what, when, or where. Moultrie seems to be full of herself.
I'm feeling sorry for Sam Coffey, who is having great time with the USWNT, then comes back home to try to manage this mess.
if you're not playing Liv closer to goal you're taking away the one thing that I think she is genuinely good to elite at - secondary late runs into the box
I'm listening. What has to happen that makes a late run into the box that's successful? One would be cross pulled back, right? The other would be someone that recognized sending such a cross? Crosses from the right seem to always go straight down the line. I could be wrong, but my memory says there is a lot of that straight down the line stuff.
Uhhh what the fuck? Obviously very glad she’s not going to be hitting FA, but how is it acceptable to do this? Feels like they’re only announcing it now because everyone would have assumed she was gonna be a FA in less than a month.
Interesting they did Sam and Soph within two months of each other too. At least it shows that the Bhathals knew their priorities when they started.
Just like why can’t we do things like a normal club lol.
I don’t understand the benefit of this. Sam didn’t want it announced? Why would that be? I don’t see why the club wouldn’t wanna announce it as soon as it was done. Now it’s been leaked and they don’t even have the benefit of the big announcement? It’s just v confusing at first glance.
But, yes it’s great she’s not a FA. I guess that doesn’t really mean she’s for sure sticking around though? Keeping things hush hush kinda feels weird like she isn’t sticking around? I dunno how to read this…
They posted an instagram story after it was leaked. Seemed pretty clear that it was thrown together in response to the ESPN story.
Team typically announce contract extensions to their best players pretty much as soon as they happen. This isn't a "oh let's wait a few weeks after pen hits the paper to time it with a big home rivalry game" situation, it's a "we colluded for over a year to keep this secret and no one has any idea why" situation. There is no logical reason for keeping it quiet for 15 months. Never seen anything like it.
Really interesting split in the general ~vibe~ I get from how Thorns fans are feeling about Moultrie’s play this season and the numbers. The numbers ADORE her. Like, “best chance creator in the NWSL” adore her. She’s described in this article as having a case for “best midfielder in the NWSL.” Every reliable advanced stat has her as the most valuable Thorn by a good distance.
Anyhow, this made me rethink some of my own evaluation of her play this season, which I would have labeled as “good not amazing.” Numbers can be misleading at times and aren’t everything, but when every metric has her in Debinha/Chawinga/Banda/Thompson territory, it starts to make me think.
Also, Moultrie has improved a huge amount since last year, both in defensive effort and in offensive effectiveness. I still don't know what her ceiling is, partly because she's still just 19, an age when most US players aren't even getting starts on their college teams. I've seen some grumbling here and suggestions that we should trade her, but I want to keep her here and see how far she can go. I sure wish she she had a better tactics coach.
However, I do give Gale credit for youth development. We've seen several young players step up, suggesting some team-wide thing is helping - meaning coaching. It's not perfect - Linnehan still seems like the same player as when she arrived - but that's expected, and overall there's been a lot of improvement.
Could you give an example or two of players who have improved under Gale. Moultrie, for sure, but she's so motivated it's hard to know how much she's just taken on her own development, especially since so much improvement happened in the off-season. It doesn't help her that Gale plays her on the wing so much, not that she really stays wide anyway. As you suggest, Linnehan has a lot of potential, about like when she arrived. Hanks and Tordin have stepped up, but ISTM they're mainly using the abilities they brought with them from college.
Mostly that I think her languid and relatively slow-moving playstyle can color some of my (and that of others) opinions on what she's actually doing on the pitch in a negative way. Along those same lines, her natural ability to get into really good positions isn't always something that stands out watching the game live in the same way it does in the metrics
I also might think of her differently if Gale played more players with complimentary skillsets next to her. She's already developed a nice chemistry with Hanks because their skillsets mesh instead of overlap like they do with say, Castellanos.
This isn't to say that she's a perfect player by any means, and eye test DOES matter to an extent, but it's always good to review opinions against her actual creation value.
I appreciate that Moultre is working harder than she has the past few years. I can see a real commitment to defense, which is only going to help her get callups to the National Team. It was a notable problem last year, and I'll bet she had a discussion with Emma Hayes or a member of the National Team coaching staff.
And nice call on the complimentary skills observation. Having too many players trying to do the same things becomes a problem.
The goal looked to me to be on Torpey more than anyone else. She abandoned covering Malonson to double-team Oshoala, giving Malonson a wide, wide, wide open shot. Bixby maaaaybe could have done better but that was just an awesome shot.
No keeper could have stopped that shot. Not only that, but if Malonson tried it 10 times in a row, not a single one of them would have gone in. It was a fantastic goal, but at an angle that most times would have defied probability of success.
Zero strikers in the first half, then two (Tordin and Turner) for most of the second. That's an average, over the whole game, of *one* striker, which is how many you want. Perfection!
O/T anybody going to Eugene for NCAAs? A once every several years opportunity. Schedule (ET):
Wednesday, June 11 Men's Day 1: 7:00 PM | ESPN
Thursday, June 12 Women's Day 1: 7:00 PM | ESPN
Friday, June 13 Men's Day 2: 8:00 PM | ESPN2
Saturday, June 14 Women's Day 2: 9:00 PM | ESPN2
Local tie-ins: Will be the last meet for Portland Pilot Italian distance queen Laura Pellicoro, competing in the 800m prelims. Runner Girl has done her share of chasing Laura.
Also, Pilot Matt Strangio will be in the 5000m finals bringing the lowest time in a very fast field. Local lad who was once Stanford bound then veered to Portland. Your gain.
I don't hate it, but I also don't find it particularly interesting. After a disastrous first effort -- they'll never not be BallsNation -- Boston went *very* safe. I mean, they did name a women's soccer club after a Subaru model.
Gotta say, I don't like the prospects of having two 1st Division and two 2nd division leagues in AmeriWoSo. The USL SL is a long way from the NWSL, but there are NWSL-quality players over there. By next year, between NWSL and USL SL there will be 25 1st Division women's teams.
____
"In late April, the National Women’s Soccer League – the oldest and biggest first division professional women’s league operating in the US today – announced plans to launch a second division, despite concerns over the first division’s financial sustainability and the NWSL’s slipping status in a women’s club game increasingly dominated by Europe."
"That announcement came on the heels of news that the Women’s Premier Soccer League, the longest-running active women’s soccer league in the country, plans to launch WPSL Pro as a second-tier league late next year. Meanwhile the USL Super League, a first division rival to the more established NWSL, launched with eight teams in 2024; Sporting Club Jacksonville will become the league’s ninth team when the second season starts this fall... Should all the proposed leagues launch as planned, there could be 50 women’s professional soccer teams in the US by 2030. In 2023 there were just 12."
"The emerging patchwork of leagues, officiating bodies, and teams in US women’s soccer can be bewildering to contemplate; keeping track of the growing family of acronyms alone – NWSL, WPSL, WPSL Pro, USL, and how they all relate to each other – is enough to induce a headache."
"The NWSL is expanding healthily: the league will welcome its 15th and 16th teams, from Boston and Denver, next year, and a recently inked $240m, four-year media rights deal with ESPN represents a powerful boost in TV revenue. But these encouraging signs can’t conceal the very real cultural troubles the league has had in recent years: most notably, a series of investigations in 2022 found that verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse was widespread and systematic throughout the NWSL, and a $5m restitution fund has now been established to compensate players affected."
"Meanwhile the competitive threat posed by the European leagues, which are coming to be seen as the pinnacle of the women’s game at club level after years of lagging America, continues to grow, causing jitters at the top levels of a league used to setting the global benchmark. In a bid to stay competitive with Europe and the upstart USL Super League, where there’s no player draft and free agency rules, the NWSL and its player association last year agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement to eliminate its draft, raise the salary cap, and free other restrictions on player movement. The question now is whether the league’s new era of spending can be sustainable – especially in an environment where many franchises aren’t profitable, salary creep outstrips income growth, and an exodus of top talent to Europe means teams are overpaying for a more mediocre on-field product."
"The challenge posed by the European leagues and the USL has already pushed the NWSL to abandon the player draft, which has been one of American soccer’s defining features in the era of professionalization. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen – league parity, after all, is one of the great historic strengths of US sports – but it’s possible that this latest blossoming of league rivals could push sometimes recalcitrant incumbents to embrace long-resisted changes. The USL Super League, for example, runs a fall-to-spring season calendar that makes it an outlier in the US but aligns it with Europe – and could eventually become an example to emulate for the NWSL."
Given the relative scarcity of slots in all of pro women's sports I can't think of any reason why soccer can't dominate as the top destination.
Growing pro WoSo in the States probably won't be coordinated beyond whatever control USSoccer might have over our lurching billionaire class. Without some kind of overall plan it could end up being kind of horrifying, with bizarre scenarios like three squads each in LA, Philly and St Louis scrapping over a single audience, while dozens of markets elsewhere continue to go unserved. Television might be able to exert some influence in how and where the sport grows as a broadcast destination.
Checking today there are 333 D1 women's soccer programs, 258 D2. As many as 28 players can be scholarshipped for a single D1 program.
That's a LOT of untapped talent going unnoticed and on to other careers, after soccering for at least fifteen years. Of course it's hardly a career for many who do find themselves playing pro. "I've got a skinny latte for Craig." Salaries are rising but where does a not-star player wind up after at best a decade as a pro?
Embarrassing Stats Report:
Shots: Bay FC 10, Portland 16
SOG: Bay FC 2, Portland 5
xG: Bay FC 0.9, Portland 1.1
Post-shot xG: Bay FC 0.43, Portland 0.92
Goals: Bay FC 1, Portland 0
This is what Ken means when he goes on about how his squad is "the better team". In terms of "doing soccer-y things"? Yes. The Thorns generated more, and better chances. They "should" have run off with at least a point, either from holding on to a scoreless draw or from bagging the equalizer.
But as we all saw, the problems were the same problems we've seen from KenBall all season; at one end turnovers and individual errors in the backline, in the middle incoherence and an inability to play through a midblock, in front of goal failure to finish (when the buildup was there) or lack of connectivity that broke down the buildup with a mishit pass or tackle-for-loss before the shot.
I keep coming back to "WTF do you do in practice, Ken?" Because on the matchday field it looks like eleven people who just met. The understanding seems frail, the sense of skills-to-roles distant.
If it was obviously a problem of individual ability it would be on the player or players.
When it's across the squad? It's - as we also all saw - it's on the boss.
But - and here's what bugs me - I can see this squad sort of bumbling along to a 6th place finish. There's still a lot of individual ability here. And I think that'll be enough to save Ken's hide.
This match didn't tell Agoos anything he didn't know. If he didn't hand Ken his head before, I don't see this changing that. We're on 1.45pts/game almost halfway through the season, and the red line is 1.36pts/game right now. That's a playoff finish, and then all Ken has to do is win three games straight. He hasn't done that since the tenth game of 2024, mind, but...
One last interesting stat; right now we're GD+4 (16GF, 12GA). If you remove three of our eleven matches (Gotham and Racing here, Houston away) we're GD-2 (5GF, 7GA). Our attack looks better than it is because of three outburst games; without them it's 0.62G/gm.
The team with the lowest GF in the league (Chicago, 8 in 11 games) is 0.72G/gm.
"Because on the matchday field it looks like eleven people who just met. The understanding seems frail, the sense of skills-to-roles distant."
As you might expect from someone who watches so much Japanese WoSo, this aspect of the Thorns current state drives me absolutely batshit. WE League bottom-dwellers and most all of even the 2nd division Nadeshiko League exhibit VASTLY better understanding and cohesion on both sides of the ball that this Thorns side. The WE League's top three clubs, Beleza, Kobe, and Urawa, are so much better in these areas that they're almost playing a different sport.
Moreover, these teams' players are most always playing positions and roles they're actually suited to (imagine that...). This basic notion seems to completely escape the Thorns' coaching staff.
What that makes me think is that there’s something(s) the Japanese system does in training that builds that. It can’t be rocket science; soccer is a fairly straightforward sport. So there’s got to be some combination of drills, tactics, and mindset that gets driven home on the training ground.
You’d think our boy could suss those out, but…
There has to be such a combination: Japanese WoSo clubs from a certain (fairly low) level all play remarkably similar football: lots of short, 1- or 2-touch passing possessions, overlapping runs, precision passes to directly attacking players (not so much reliance on "dribble wide and cross"...wide-dribbling attackers tend to cut in on the dribble more often that just squaring up a hopeful cross). Defensively disciplined w/ high back lines and aggressive vocal leadership from either a CB or the 'keeper. Emphasis on high- and mid-pressure to regain possession quickly.
They ALL play like this, or at least do their best to, given their players' abilities. And if Tokyo Verdy Menina is any indication (admittedly an outlier U17 team - I'd bet on them in a match v this Thorns side!), this is the football they're _taught_. Probably from middle-school, I'd not be surprised to learn.
This sounds a lot like Spain, where it seems a lot of young players are taught the quick-pass-and-move game, and they end of with Pedri, Iniesta, Xavi, etc. I'm curious what differences, if any, you see between these two soccer cultures.
To some degree (and with the caveat that I'm _far_ from an expert on Spanish football), they have a similar approach to how they seem to train young players: technical skills, fast decision making, lots of one-touch passes, etc. I think Japan places a greater emphasis on defensive coordination and shape, though.
Am I correct to assume that Japanese culture is like many other Asian cultures in that there is much more of a tradition of cooperation (as opposed to the American (rugged) individualism)? I've heard that it has its origin in the rice paddy cultivation where survival necessitated cooperating with your neighbors. I have definitely seen this cultural attribute in my travels to Asia. I wonder if this tradition fosters a more cohesive, team-oriented approach to soccer. Just a big picture idea that may or may not have merit.
Well…yes and no.
From kendo I’d say there’s a lot of what I’d call “sensei-senpai-kouhai” top-down structure. The senseis (teachers, coaches, leaders) establish the standards; here’s how WE all do this. The senpais (senior students, team veterans) support and enforce those standards. The kouhais (juniors, team members) job is to reply with a thunderous “HAI!!” (Yes! We understand and obey!”) and then practice until they sweat blood…
So my guess is that what David identifies as “Japanese style” is established/agreed upon at the top - as the All Japan Kendo Federation sets out the expectations for kendo worldwide - and thru the JSA and the Nadeshiko and the coaching that filters down even to the school club teams that standard is followed.
Ah, that makes sense. So maybe an established 'order' disseminated to those with a 'collective' mindset.
I wouldn't mind if we practiced Ken-go here, amirite?
Well playing against Urawa in July should really tell us a whole lot!!
Also, how do we get a coach from the WE league lol.
i mean the other thing is when the xG is that close it's a marginal game and sometimes you lose. You definitely don't deserve to win, as he keeps saying. The other point too: after going 1-0 down, the Thorns had 7 shots, worth .48 xG. Bay also had 7 shots, worth .65 xG.
Yeah, that's kind of the irritating thing; for all that the Thorns kind of "did more stuff" the actual threat they created from all that random running and passing wasn't significantly more dangerous than BFC did (and Bay is a "sorta-meh-midtable" club right now with Oshoala and Kundananji misfiring...). So, no; his plan such as it was put his club in a position where a minor collision of defensive errors+lack of finishing+bad luck=a "tough loss".
Given that the best he "deserved" would have been the draw, and it's irking to hear Ken go on about how he doesn't "deserve" these results. He's getting pretty much what he's doing...
If I can add the 9-1 corners, when have we had a good set piece game since Lindsey? While recognizing Turner for having some history of success there, can't score from the bench. I'll give recognition to Reyes for her decent header attempt. Anybody else?
'Tis yet another frustration from this regime.
Well, we had 8 corner kicks in the first half, and the two players I would want on the receiving end of those, Tordin and Turner, were both inexplicably on the bench. Gale gets the simple stuff wrong on a consistent basis.
Did a series of deep dives into our corner kick production. The latest was for 2024: https://rivetingpdx.com/2024/11/18/cornered-thrice-is-nice/
Conclusions?
1. The last season of Parsons was significantly more productive of corner kick opportunities than Wilkinson's (and Norris') Thorns.
2. The goal-creating actions from dead ball situations were not.
3. I don't have the data for Horan's last season (which in itself might not be revelatory; Horan struggled her last season here) but it suggests that Parsons' SYSTEM wasn't significantly more productive of goals that his first two successors'.
4. Under Gale, OTOH, Thorns corner kick attempts declined overall in 2024 and sharply relative to the league. The conclusion of the 2024 study was:
"...the Thorns suffered among the worst declines in corner kick generation between last season and 2023, almost two corners per 90 minutes less than they did previously. Only Racing and Angel City – 9th- and 13th-place finishers, respectively – were worse relative to the previous season than Portland.
My guess is that this largely reflects Norris- and Ken-Ball’s less-effective overall attack, as well as troubled by major injuries to Sophia Smith, Morgan Weaver, and Hina Sugita. The Thorns xG is practically identical across the 2023-24 seasons (about an average of 0.39) but significantly lower per 90 minutes – +0.09/90m in 2024 down from +0.58/90m in 2023.
Fewer dangerous chances means fewer opponent needs to block or clear over the byline, meaning fewer corners. And fewer dangerous chances from fewer corners means fewer goals."
I know some corner kicks were delivered to good spots, but most seemed off target. Time for beefing up training in these area (among many others) or perhaps try someone besides Sam and Olivia taking them?
This isn't going to improve until Ken is gone, until Wilson is back... and back to being Wilson, and until we upgrade the RB situation.
I think San Diego is showing you don’t need to have a superstar to be a good team as long as you have a cohesive plan
That said... SD picked up some established French internationals who have experience playing together. Cohesive plan and cohesive players.
Sure. None of them are superstars.
She might not be a superstar and rankings are fraught, but... Cascarino:
#10 Guardian's Top 100 (2020)
#56 Guardian's Top 100 (2021)
#29 ESPN Top 50 (2024)
Yeah I think of Cascarino as on the bubble of superstardom. She certainly stands out on Les Bleues.
FWIW, he had Wilson in 2024, and...
That's why Ken Gone is my #1.
But I don't think we're going to get a lot better in the attack until we have Soph AND Hanks out there together. The two of them, at full strength, playing off each other? Holy hell!
I ponder exactly that when watching Kaya juke and freeze defenders in the final third. She and Soph have a sizeable overlap of skillsets and while hack-a-Soph has been SOP for defending against Thorns, defenses will be seeing double once they're on the field together.
Not to mention I think Kaya is faster on the ball. Holy hell indeed.
She's also already a better and more willing passer, and I'd say she's perhaps even a better defender.
She doesn't have to be the same level of scorer as Soph. I'm saying they can help each other, kinda like Soph and Swanson help each other.
Add in Weaver (if fully recovered) as your quasi-Rodman and, baby, you got a stew goin!
Also just 20, meaning she will become both faster and stronger as she matures as a player.
Mmm . . . stewww . . .
And where does Weaver go, then?
I certainly hope that we dig up a gaffer who can find a way to use Wilson, Hanks, and Weaver as a synergistic unit. But I think it's worthwhile to be patient and see how they develop. Sometimes the sum of the parts takes a bit of jiggering-to-fit.
We're assuming Weaver is same Weaver as before. What I can tell you is that I have it on good authority that Hanks is similarly comfortable with her right as with her left.
fwiw, we're also assuming Wilson is the same Wilson. She might not be.
With regard to the RB situation, will Müller be back next year for certain? Or is this her last contract year, and they have to negotiate a new one if she's going to appear for us again? She'd make quite a difference back there.
I know they're just Power Rankings, but whom at ESPN are Gotham paying off? Or, of whom do Gotham have kompromat?
Seriously... #5. After their 3rd straight loss? After being down 2-0 only 11 minutes in and remaining that way for the next 90 minutes? After 12 points in 11 matches? After needing Sonny's WWE shenanigans to con a late PK opportunity from Tigres? After going winless since April 26? After they fall to 10th on the table, just 1 point clear of 12th?
Also, at this point we should be below Loovull.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45478878/nwsl-power-rankings-kansas-city-current-overcome-injuries-gotham-fc-stay-top
Their literal explanation is the gambler's fallacy, "Gotham are due for some statement league results". As are the Washington Generals, Ms. Swanick, time to put some big money on them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xu5cQlum38
Gotham aren't quite Thorns 2024, but they're not spring chickens.
Here are the ages of their 10 eldest players by season's end
Betos (37), Berger (35), Esther (very close to 33), Sonnett (very close to 32), Silva (very close to 31), Freeman (30), Lavelle (30), Gabi (30), Purce (30), Carter (very close to 28).
I compared their 10 eldest with those of KC, Orlando, Washington, Seattle, and SD. Gotham are arguably the oldest team. Yes, keeper age is not as relevant as midfielder age, and yes, injuries matter. But the point is that Gotham are basically meant to be a win-now team, and they're not winning.
Yes, I have a question. Why is it that "Laura Harvey" and "Emma Hayes" are never seen in the same place at the same time?
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jun/10/post-questions-emma-hayes-football-manager
WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?
Alternate: Whose cooler is cooler?
My take aways from the game
1. Torpey should never play defense for the Thorns again. The defense seems to fall apart when she is out there.
2. The team (sans Hanks) looked tired and unmotivated. Understandable given short rest for most players.
3. Moultrie needs to find her teammates. Too often taking shots off target or into crowds. Play her farther away from goal to help connect our DMs to the forwards.
It's clear by now that we are going to have another middling season. Hanks is exciting to watch, but there's no one in the box who's open to cross. On the right side I don't recall anything going on that would scare anyone in the opposition. Gale's constant shuffling of the front line means that it is always trying to figure out who does what, when, or where. Moultrie seems to be full of herself.
I'm feeling sorry for Sam Coffey, who is having great time with the USWNT, then comes back home to try to manage this mess.
if you're not playing Liv closer to goal you're taking away the one thing that I think she is genuinely good to elite at - secondary late runs into the box
I'm listening. What has to happen that makes a late run into the box that's successful? One would be cross pulled back, right? The other would be someone that recognized sending such a cross? Crosses from the right seem to always go straight down the line. I could be wrong, but my memory says there is a lot of that straight down the line stuff.
With apologies to Sammy Davis Jr.
Oh, who can take young stars?
(Who can take young stars?)
Dip them in his dreck
(Dip them in his dreck)
Strip the lot of tactics and leave the team a wreck
The Tabo Man (the Tabo Man)
Oh the Tabo Man can (the Tabo Man can)
The Tabo Man can 'cause he messes up the job
And makes the Thorns play worse
(Makes the Thorns play worse)
Well this is interesting!!
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45494340/usa-sam-coffey-portland-thorns-contract-2027
Uhhh what the fuck? Obviously very glad she’s not going to be hitting FA, but how is it acceptable to do this? Feels like they’re only announcing it now because everyone would have assumed she was gonna be a FA in less than a month.
Interesting they did Sam and Soph within two months of each other too. At least it shows that the Bhathals knew their priorities when they started.
Just like why can’t we do things like a normal club lol.
I don’t understand the benefit of this. Sam didn’t want it announced? Why would that be? I don’t see why the club wouldn’t wanna announce it as soon as it was done. Now it’s been leaked and they don’t even have the benefit of the big announcement? It’s just v confusing at first glance.
But, yes it’s great she’s not a FA. I guess that doesn’t really mean she’s for sure sticking around though? Keeping things hush hush kinda feels weird like she isn’t sticking around? I dunno how to read this…
Have they announced it? All I see is a leak that was then confirmed.
My theory about all information from the club is that they try to time releases to have maximum impact on ticket sales.
No idea what was in it for Sam, except possibly some negotiated perk, or they convinced her it was best for the team.
They posted an instagram story after it was leaked. Seemed pretty clear that it was thrown together in response to the ESPN story.
Team typically announce contract extensions to their best players pretty much as soon as they happen. This isn't a "oh let's wait a few weeks after pen hits the paper to time it with a big home rivalry game" situation, it's a "we colluded for over a year to keep this secret and no one has any idea why" situation. There is no logical reason for keeping it quiet for 15 months. Never seen anything like it.
I see it now. They certainly didn't make it jump out at you.
Pretty weird all around.
The phrase "promises were made" springs to mind.
If so, wunderbar.
Hopefully that story is well-sourced and it's all correct!
https://bsky.app/profile/nwslstat.bsky.social/post/3lrdtgrpep22u
https://bsky.app/profile/nwslstat.bsky.social/post/3lrc2yqv5zc2e
Really interesting split in the general ~vibe~ I get from how Thorns fans are feeling about Moultrie’s play this season and the numbers. The numbers ADORE her. Like, “best chance creator in the NWSL” adore her. She’s described in this article as having a case for “best midfielder in the NWSL.” Every reliable advanced stat has her as the most valuable Thorn by a good distance.
Anyhow, this made me rethink some of my own evaluation of her play this season, which I would have labeled as “good not amazing.” Numbers can be misleading at times and aren’t everything, but when every metric has her in Debinha/Chawinga/Banda/Thompson territory, it starts to make me think.
Also, Moultrie has improved a huge amount since last year, both in defensive effort and in offensive effectiveness. I still don't know what her ceiling is, partly because she's still just 19, an age when most US players aren't even getting starts on their college teams. I've seen some grumbling here and suggestions that we should trade her, but I want to keep her here and see how far she can go. I sure wish she she had a better tactics coach.
However, I do give Gale credit for youth development. We've seen several young players step up, suggesting some team-wide thing is helping - meaning coaching. It's not perfect - Linnehan still seems like the same player as when she arrived - but that's expected, and overall there's been a lot of improvement.
Could you give an example or two of players who have improved under Gale. Moultrie, for sure, but she's so motivated it's hard to know how much she's just taken on her own development, especially since so much improvement happened in the off-season. It doesn't help her that Gale plays her on the wing so much, not that she really stays wide anyway. As you suggest, Linnehan has a lot of potential, about like when she arrived. Hanks and Tordin have stepped up, but ISTM they're mainly using the abilities they brought with them from college.
What does it make you think, or start to think?
Mostly, I think she needs more space to operate, and I think she also needs to reduce her number of touches.
But I also think that Hanks and she will find some interesting ways to work together, as they have already shown.
Mostly that I think her languid and relatively slow-moving playstyle can color some of my (and that of others) opinions on what she's actually doing on the pitch in a negative way. Along those same lines, her natural ability to get into really good positions isn't always something that stands out watching the game live in the same way it does in the metrics
I also might think of her differently if Gale played more players with complimentary skillsets next to her. She's already developed a nice chemistry with Hanks because their skillsets mesh instead of overlap like they do with say, Castellanos.
This isn't to say that she's a perfect player by any means, and eye test DOES matter to an extent, but it's always good to review opinions against her actual creation value.
I appreciate that Moultre is working harder than she has the past few years. I can see a real commitment to defense, which is only going to help her get callups to the National Team. It was a notable problem last year, and I'll bet she had a discussion with Emma Hayes or a member of the National Team coaching staff.
And nice call on the complimentary skills observation. Having too many players trying to do the same things becomes a problem.
Time for the Tabo Tifos.
I propose:
* F*** you, Tabo. I do it myself!
* Our Coach is Robbish
and
* We've Been Robbed
Please make your suggestions here...
1) Fale?
2) Processing Lost Points Since 2024!
Unwell indeed:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/call-her-daddy-host-alex-010457063.html
Oooof. At first I wondered teammate of Sam? but BU, not BC.
What a grind for her. Ugh.
The goal looked to me to be on Torpey more than anyone else. She abandoned covering Malonson to double-team Oshoala, giving Malonson a wide, wide, wide open shot. Bixby maaaaybe could have done better but that was just an awesome shot.
No keeper could have stopped that shot. Not only that, but if Malonson tried it 10 times in a row, not a single one of them would have gone in. It was a fantastic goal, but at an angle that most times would have defied probability of success.
Yeah, maybe somebody needed to be on her but holy hell was that a top quality strike.
Zero strikers in the first half, then two (Tordin and Turner) for most of the second. That's an average, over the whole game, of *one* striker, which is how many you want. Perfection!
:-D :-D :-D
Hammer and tongs in DC. This goal by Manaka (who?) is stupid good. She's 20?
https://bsky.app/profile/nccourage.com/post/3lr4qm2owqc2v
O/T anybody going to Eugene for NCAAs? A once every several years opportunity. Schedule (ET):
Wednesday, June 11 Men's Day 1: 7:00 PM | ESPN
Thursday, June 12 Women's Day 1: 7:00 PM | ESPN
Friday, June 13 Men's Day 2: 8:00 PM | ESPN2
Saturday, June 14 Women's Day 2: 9:00 PM | ESPN2
Local tie-ins: Will be the last meet for Portland Pilot Italian distance queen Laura Pellicoro, competing in the 800m prelims. Runner Girl has done her share of chasing Laura.
Also, Pilot Matt Strangio will be in the 5000m finals bringing the lowest time in a very fast field. Local lad who was once Stanford bound then veered to Portland. Your gain.
Boston's crest: https://equalizersoccer.com/2025/06/07/boston-legacy-fc-reveal-crest/
Where have I seen this before? Ah yes. https://equalizersoccer.com/2021/06/30/angel-city-fc-unveils-official-crest-and-colors/
I don't hate it, but I also don't find it particularly interesting. After a disastrous first effort -- they'll never not be BallsNation -- Boston went *very* safe. I mean, they did name a women's soccer club after a Subaru model.
I'll always be happy that Baltimore named their football team after a poem.
Nevermore, Baltimore, Nevermore.
NWSL Week 11 Recap, featuring:
- Utah self destruct yet again
- Bev Yanez's smart Emma Sears adjustment
- Chicago robbed in LA
- More Rob Gale nonsense
- Thoughts on the Giraldez/Michelle Kang sitch
- An interesting Reign-Wave duel
https://www.theeaststandnwsl.com/post/nwsl-week-11-recap-utah-trip-over-own-feet-again-seattle-frustrate-san-diego-and-chicago-robbed-i
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/jun/11/does-us-soccer-need-five-first-divisions-the-answer-isnt-necessarily-no
Shots fired!!!
Gotta say, I don't like the prospects of having two 1st Division and two 2nd division leagues in AmeriWoSo. The USL SL is a long way from the NWSL, but there are NWSL-quality players over there. By next year, between NWSL and USL SL there will be 25 1st Division women's teams.
____
"In late April, the National Women’s Soccer League – the oldest and biggest first division professional women’s league operating in the US today – announced plans to launch a second division, despite concerns over the first division’s financial sustainability and the NWSL’s slipping status in a women’s club game increasingly dominated by Europe."
"That announcement came on the heels of news that the Women’s Premier Soccer League, the longest-running active women’s soccer league in the country, plans to launch WPSL Pro as a second-tier league late next year. Meanwhile the USL Super League, a first division rival to the more established NWSL, launched with eight teams in 2024; Sporting Club Jacksonville will become the league’s ninth team when the second season starts this fall... Should all the proposed leagues launch as planned, there could be 50 women’s professional soccer teams in the US by 2030. In 2023 there were just 12."
"The emerging patchwork of leagues, officiating bodies, and teams in US women’s soccer can be bewildering to contemplate; keeping track of the growing family of acronyms alone – NWSL, WPSL, WPSL Pro, USL, and how they all relate to each other – is enough to induce a headache."
"The NWSL is expanding healthily: the league will welcome its 15th and 16th teams, from Boston and Denver, next year, and a recently inked $240m, four-year media rights deal with ESPN represents a powerful boost in TV revenue. But these encouraging signs can’t conceal the very real cultural troubles the league has had in recent years: most notably, a series of investigations in 2022 found that verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse was widespread and systematic throughout the NWSL, and a $5m restitution fund has now been established to compensate players affected."
"Meanwhile the competitive threat posed by the European leagues, which are coming to be seen as the pinnacle of the women’s game at club level after years of lagging America, continues to grow, causing jitters at the top levels of a league used to setting the global benchmark. In a bid to stay competitive with Europe and the upstart USL Super League, where there’s no player draft and free agency rules, the NWSL and its player association last year agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement to eliminate its draft, raise the salary cap, and free other restrictions on player movement. The question now is whether the league’s new era of spending can be sustainable – especially in an environment where many franchises aren’t profitable, salary creep outstrips income growth, and an exodus of top talent to Europe means teams are overpaying for a more mediocre on-field product."
"The challenge posed by the European leagues and the USL has already pushed the NWSL to abandon the player draft, which has been one of American soccer’s defining features in the era of professionalization. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen – league parity, after all, is one of the great historic strengths of US sports – but it’s possible that this latest blossoming of league rivals could push sometimes recalcitrant incumbents to embrace long-resisted changes. The USL Super League, for example, runs a fall-to-spring season calendar that makes it an outlier in the US but aligns it with Europe – and could eventually become an example to emulate for the NWSL."
Given the relative scarcity of slots in all of pro women's sports I can't think of any reason why soccer can't dominate as the top destination.
Growing pro WoSo in the States probably won't be coordinated beyond whatever control USSoccer might have over our lurching billionaire class. Without some kind of overall plan it could end up being kind of horrifying, with bizarre scenarios like three squads each in LA, Philly and St Louis scrapping over a single audience, while dozens of markets elsewhere continue to go unserved. Television might be able to exert some influence in how and where the sport grows as a broadcast destination.
Checking today there are 333 D1 women's soccer programs, 258 D2. As many as 28 players can be scholarshipped for a single D1 program.
That's a LOT of untapped talent going unnoticed and on to other careers, after soccering for at least fifteen years. Of course it's hardly a career for many who do find themselves playing pro. "I've got a skinny latte for Craig." Salaries are rising but where does a not-star player wind up after at best a decade as a pro?