Such great news! Weaver has been an integral part of the team, and they have missed her greatly this year. It would be great to get her back this year, even if she is only able to get on the pitch as a sub.
2) Short term? Whether or not this means an immediate improvement in the attack will depend on how far along Weaver’s rehab has come and how much she’s shaken off the early 2024 slide in form. She’s been off the training ground a long time, and as Washington hinted, Smith has picked up some troubling habits from her teammates lack of the rapport she shared with Weaver.
If the two can click again right away? That’s huge. Fingers crossed.
Ah yes, "loan." Gille, too! They just need one from BFC and SD and they'll have the whole west coast set. That is hilarious and also what happens when you let the club situation get so dire. A bit more blowback from the last year up north, it seems...sounds like she was just looking for a way out earlier in the season.
But also, I'm a bit confused from OL's perspective. I wouldn't think Huerta would be the type/skill level/age of player they'd be going after. I guess if it's just a loan, though, maybe it's just to buy some time before a more elite target becomes available. Then again...D1 isn't exactly competitive, so maybe they just needed a FB who can send balls into the box with little defensive responsibility? I don't pay much attention to OL, but I thought they recently picked up Svava, as well as having Bacha and Carpenter.
For Seattle, it sounds like they got money that'll allow them to make bigger moves in the offseason.
Agreed, you would think OL would have better options- though, any team with Horan and Renard is uniquely well-suited for a RB whose specialty is lobbing into the box...
They've been interested in her for a while- She was supposed to go there in 2020 but COVID happened, so I imagine she got another chance and asked Seattle to let her go.
Eh, she's pretty much the same player imo, just a few years older and on a worse team. Never really relied on pace or athleticism. I'm sure Lyon just picked her up for cheap to be a backup RB anyhow.
So, the forward line looks good for the near term: Smith, Weaver, Spaanstra, Turner, Linnehan, D'Aquila. Could probably stand to add an upgrade and loan out D'Aquila.
Yeah if we wanna even try to crack the top 4, we have to level up with another proven goalscorer. A clear starting RW. We've seen what happens when we lose one of Smith or Weaver. We can't count on rookies to level us up, even if they *might* have a high-ceiling. That's exactly what we want from our subs.
A Bay road win over NC and a Chicago road win over Portland, both unlikely, would drop us to 7th place, 1 point ahead of Chicago but still 6 points clear of Angel City for 8th.
Wanna see what a total rebuild looks? Goodness! Outside of AMC (which, whatever), I've liked what they've done so far, but they still have a whole lotta work to do this offseason. I can't figure out whether I'd be optimistic or not if I was a Reign fan. They have a sneaky good --if unproven-- U-20 young core (Adames and Bugg) have the allegedly-talented-but-need-to-show-it group (Howell, Huitema, and Mondesir), a few nice vets (Quinn and Ji), but not a whole lot else. They've shipped out three key starters and fan faves (Balcer, Cook, and Huerta) in one summer and have two originals (Fishlock and Barnes) on the verge of retirement.
Wow, they just brought her in! And she already doesn't play.
Yeah, I mean, they're sloughing off a lot of the dead weight, seemingly. Laura Harvey is familiar with and has connection with the youth soccer system, so she likely has some good insight for young US players (whether she PLAYS them is different lol.) Do they hit in the offseason with some quality free agents and a few big signings? Could def be a very different team next year.
I always thought that was a good place to snag some cheap high-ceiling depth for the Thorns, and am not sure why we haven't really gone that route esp because the MO seems to be *young*. Again, Heather Gilchrist is on that U20 at the WC right now and follows the Thorns, but also the Spirit (and unless things change quickly, Spirit are much the shinier club now.) Krikorian (now the Spirit GM) was her coach when he was still at FSU, also.
Yeah, in NWSL play (they lost to Portland and Tijuana in the summer cup) but the first four of those were draws. During those seven games, they played Portland without Coffey/Weaver/Smith/Fleming/Moultrie/Becky; Louisville twice, Angel City, and Utah before they made their signings. They've also had *6* different VAR decisions go their way in the last two matches alone, plus the lucky OG against NCC.....and they're still not in a playoff position.
While their performances have been undeniably better over the past two weeks, it kinda reeks of a much less impressive version of the Portland six game winning streak earlier in the season, which we all saw as a little paper tiger-ish. I'm not sold at all.
(But also, it's a good thing that they're doing the full rebuild! They needed it!)
Beyond her scoring and assists she provides box to box defending, high press, and what I miss most is joyful energy. Welcome Back Chaos Muppet!!!
Needed both of these things - Weaver returning to play, Weaver returning to Portland.
Such great news! Weaver has been an integral part of the team, and they have missed her greatly this year. It would be great to get her back this year, even if she is only able to get on the pitch as a sub.
Full Weaver Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuYH7IvOyXI
Always nice to have a player that encapsulates why sports fandom is fun even when the team struggles, and that's Morgan to a T.
(Also love how she refers to herself and and Soph as a duo within five seconds of the interview starting. What a draft class!)
Draft class: a relic.
1) Good news for the long term
2) Short term? Whether or not this means an immediate improvement in the attack will depend on how far along Weaver’s rehab has come and how much she’s shaken off the early 2024 slide in form. She’s been off the training ground a long time, and as Washington hinted, Smith has picked up some troubling habits from her teammates lack of the rapport she shared with Weaver.
If the two can click again right away? That’s huge. Fingers crossed.
We’ll see!
Is tonight must-win Friday? Magic 8-ball says: "You frickin' know it is." A home loss means the season no longer has any value to this organization.
Chicago is only 4 points back so the teams are on par. They're also 4-4-2 on the road while Thorns are a meh 5-3-1 at home.
Your move, Ken.
As a warmup, KC @ Orlando is as good as it gets.
LFG
Only if we want to be 7 points ahead of Chicago of 1.
And, only if it matters to us not to land in 7th, 8th, or out of the playoffs.
IMO a loss now means they no longer know how to win.
https://x.com/reignfc/status/1834356844472762549
Ahhh yes, Seattle getting Lindsay Horan'd. Ya hate to see it. Glas signing makes more sense now.
Someone should make sure that Reign know that they're no longer part of the "OL Groupe Family" and don't have to do such things anymore.
Huetra one of my favorite players regardless of whose jersey she wears. Dime Queen and one of the league's elites.
Ah yes, "loan." Gille, too! They just need one from BFC and SD and they'll have the whole west coast set. That is hilarious and also what happens when you let the club situation get so dire. A bit more blowback from the last year up north, it seems...sounds like she was just looking for a way out earlier in the season.
But also, I'm a bit confused from OL's perspective. I wouldn't think Huerta would be the type/skill level/age of player they'd be going after. I guess if it's just a loan, though, maybe it's just to buy some time before a more elite target becomes available. Then again...D1 isn't exactly competitive, so maybe they just needed a FB who can send balls into the box with little defensive responsibility? I don't pay much attention to OL, but I thought they recently picked up Svava, as well as having Bacha and Carpenter.
For Seattle, it sounds like they got money that'll allow them to make bigger moves in the offseason.
Agreed, you would think OL would have better options- though, any team with Horan and Renard is uniquely well-suited for a RB whose specialty is lobbing into the box...
They've been interested in her for a while- She was supposed to go there in 2020 but COVID happened, so I imagine she got another chance and asked Seattle to let her go.
True but 2020 Huerta is not 2024/25 Huerta
Eh, she's pretty much the same player imo, just a few years older and on a worse team. Never really relied on pace or athleticism. I'm sure Lyon just picked her up for cheap to be a backup RB anyhow.
I too was wondering what Glas coming to Seattle meant re: Huerta.
So, the forward line looks good for the near term: Smith, Weaver, Spaanstra, Turner, Linnehan, D'Aquila. Could probably stand to add an upgrade and loan out D'Aquila.
I'd say it's much better than it was a month ago, but still need a clear upgrade at RW.
Yeah if we wanna even try to crack the top 4, we have to level up with another proven goalscorer. A clear starting RW. We've seen what happens when we lose one of Smith or Weaver. We can't count on rookies to level us up, even if they *might* have a high-ceiling. That's exactly what we want from our subs.
Totally agree. Spaanstra, Turner, and Linnehan are promising, but they're for-the-future more than they are for right now.
The Parade of Horribles:
A Bay road win over NC and a Chicago road win over Portland, both unlikely, would drop us to 7th place, 1 point ahead of Chicago but still 6 points clear of Angel City for 8th.
Bay is up 1-0 early lol.
https://x.com/tayvincent6/status/1834638537599435120
Wanna see what a total rebuild looks? Goodness! Outside of AMC (which, whatever), I've liked what they've done so far, but they still have a whole lotta work to do this offseason. I can't figure out whether I'd be optimistic or not if I was a Reign fan. They have a sneaky good --if unproven-- U-20 young core (Adames and Bugg) have the allegedly-talented-but-need-to-show-it group (Howell, Huitema, and Mondesir), a few nice vets (Quinn and Ji), but not a whole lot else. They've shipped out three key starters and fan faves (Balcer, Cook, and Huerta) in one summer and have two originals (Fishlock and Barnes) on the verge of retirement.
Wow, they just brought her in! And she already doesn't play.
Yeah, I mean, they're sloughing off a lot of the dead weight, seemingly. Laura Harvey is familiar with and has connection with the youth soccer system, so she likely has some good insight for young US players (whether she PLAYS them is different lol.) Do they hit in the offseason with some quality free agents and a few big signings? Could def be a very different team next year.
I always thought that was a good place to snag some cheap high-ceiling depth for the Thorns, and am not sure why we haven't really gone that route esp because the MO seems to be *young*. Again, Heather Gilchrist is on that U20 at the WC right now and follows the Thorns, but also the Spirit (and unless things change quickly, Spirit are much the shinier club now.) Krikorian (now the Spirit GM) was her coach when he was still at FSU, also.
The thing is, they're rebuilding and they're climbing the table. I think they're undefeated in their last 7 matches, aren't they?
Yeah, in NWSL play (they lost to Portland and Tijuana in the summer cup) but the first four of those were draws. During those seven games, they played Portland without Coffey/Weaver/Smith/Fleming/Moultrie/Becky; Louisville twice, Angel City, and Utah before they made their signings. They've also had *6* different VAR decisions go their way in the last two matches alone, plus the lucky OG against NCC.....and they're still not in a playoff position.
While their performances have been undeniably better over the past two weeks, it kinda reeks of a much less impressive version of the Portland six game winning streak earlier in the season, which we all saw as a little paper tiger-ish. I'm not sold at all.
(But also, it's a good thing that they're doing the full rebuild! They needed it!)
Did Woodham come in with James, or am I making that up?
Around the same time, yeah, and they're both Welsh. They're not together (James is with Amy Turner of Tottenham) if that's what you're asking.
That was the name I was looking for. Thank you!
Thank the gods!!!