I thought D’Aquila looked very good. I love her demeanor and posture on the field. She looks ready for more minutes. C’mon coach, get her more minutes!
This game was a vast improvement for Reyes but as mentioned several times, that passing. Ugh. If she’s going to play that high up passing has to get more accurate!
Leon. I like her. I remember watching a game in the She Believes and thinking, Wow! What a great, young player. Canada is lucky. Ha! Didn’t realize she has been around as long as she has. But I thought for that game at least she was the best player on the pitch. For that game
Man, Hina in the midfield just looked so good. We have to make this happen! C’mon coach!
The issues the Thorns are dealing with are not really new. They have had stretches of inconsistent finishing for a few years now. I don’t know if that’s really a Thorns thing or a soccer thing. Players get hot and cold like all sports. It seems like in soccer to be a consistent scorer you need volume. The more shots the more goals. We certainly have the volume, they’ll start knocking them in. Happened last year too. Right now we got some things to figure out, but we’re top of the table and dropped one meaningless game that had a wonky lineup and substitutions.
If you talk to SCU coaches, fans, and staff they'll all say the same thing.
Honestly I thought her passing was quite sharp the first half, but seems like there was a dip from almost everyone in the second half. They went super direct towards the last 30 min of the game.
Hina as a hybrid winger already drops down to midfield the majority of the time, for this team it works even better as she's a good finisher too. Coach Mike did say he'd drop the team down to a 2 forward look sometimes too.
Definitely not just a Thorns thing, but a general soccer one. If our xG and shots continue to be where they are, we'll be fine. Right now seems like Crystal is our best finisher tho.
I see the "it" as well....and am baffled why, when she seems to be a great scoring option (esp in a way we DON'T have on the field) that she isn't given the minutes or proper role to do so. I see in her the correct instincts and skill that it takes to score goals, and I don't see that in half our rostered F's. That's what the CC games are for, good grief, let her play! Over the WC break, goals will have to come from her and Weaver...betting on Betfort to do it is unfair to everyone. She just doesn't have the skills so it's an unfair expectation for her...I don't blame D'Aquila for looking 'meh' when she's playing an out-of-position-winger to a player that isn't even a pro level forward. Would still, for once, like to see her A) either start with the rest of the starters, or, B) start at CF, with at least some support in midfield/on the wings.
The pieces are there, but I think coach is getting positioning wrong. Next to Rhian's constant rotation of partnerships, playing players out of their positions was the thing that drove me the most crazy about her coaching. We're seeing more consistency of partnerships with Norris (so far- besides the CC, obvs), but we're still trying to shove square pegs into round holes with players positionally....
And yes, I feel bad b/c i really love watching Betfort's energy on the field, but it's getting obvious she just doesn't have the ball skills to play forward (though, maybe she's tearing it up in practice and that's why Norris is giving her so many chances?) - unless she can turn it around, I really hope PTFC converts her into a big strong energetic CB to give the Korniecks of the league something to flinch about when they want to go up for a header...
Agreed re D'Aquila's skill set- during this last game i watched her tee'ing up crosses from the wing and was thinking, if she's not IN the boc, there's nobody there to get on the other end! Right now, it seems PTFC's best crosses are low hard shots into the center-mass of people in front of goal, with the hope that someone gets lucky bounce.
I think, in fairness to Norris, it's the lack of another wing option. Izzy's played every game so far; Betfort hasn't, but Izzy is a better fit to play out wide because she's got a decent touch and speed than Betfort.
"Players get hot and cold like all sports. It seems like in soccer to be a consistent scorer you need volume. The more shots the more goals. We certainly have the volume, they’ll start knocking them in. Happened last year too."
Spot on. Every single fan of every single team complains about the inability to finish. That's because we're just watching our team.
Tough game for the Thorns. Should have come out of it with at least a 0-0 tie, but being unlucky means losing 1-0. There were some positive things to see, starting with a much better Reyes out on the field. She showed decent defense and good control on the ball when going 1v1. However, she really needs to work on her passing, as it was quite poor. Leon also showed she belongs on the team, I thought she was quite good on offense and tracking back on defense. To be fair to Nally, I thought she did a decent job on defense if you take away the mistake. When a CB is invisible and the other team doesn't have many opportunities they are dong their job.
Others have said it, but the team needs to play faster. Hoping that Smith bails you out by playing hero ball isn't going to get the job done. We have some really good players, they just need to move the ball and attack the defense.
Not getting a result yesterday really means, unless ACFC plays spoiler against the other two, it's going to be an uphill battle to win the group.
I think it's also important to note, Weaver plays Smith's pace with ease and lots of players on the team have a lot of trouble matching that. Dunn matches their pace too which is why we have seen most of the scoring come from those 3 involvements.
Nally did play very well as did the backline. Really unfortunate as it should not of came down to that mistake, the team should of scored earlier.
Is it just me for thinking Sophia should of played the second 45 instead? Would of played the SDW with less energy.
Absolutely. But we are talking about minor quibbles about the rotation. If Smith hits that shot from point blank we are talking about a different game.
Specific to Reyes, a sequence where she was isolated on camera showed her doing some Tobinish juking past an opponent and working upfield, only to pass directly to another Wave player. I'm seeing the potential but she's not yet completely rounded. Anybody who watched Madril earlier in the evening saw a vastly different skillset.
She did show up a hellofa lot better player on that side, but playing at the back reveals flaws fast, which is why we don't see many 18YOs drafted to play defense.
Optimistic about Leon, still think Thorns have some needs to fill on this squad (needs that we're learning the current bench can't fill).
I think it's way too early to worry about Reyes as she didn't get to train in Bend and missed the majority of preseason. She is playing catch up and learning how fast the speed of play is according to Coach Mike, but he is super encouraged by the improvements. Looked way better from game 1 to game 2, if that is a sign of things to come, she'll be extremely solid in a few months or at least down the stretch.
Madril has been asked to do a lot and it's showing. Not having a stud veteran CB next to you has got to hurt too. If she had like a Sauerbrunn to learn from, I think we'd be talking different for sure.
Leon is such a wonderful fit, she mentioned in the presser that she still needs more time to gel with her teammates. She's excited to be here tho :)
Would like to see Izzy get some chances as a 9 next to Leon and Hina though late in games. We need more aerial threats if we are going to hit crosses.
Yep, I actually remember that play. My best guess right now is the game is too fast for Reyes, and she is thinking more than acting. It might take a little while, but I'm hopeful she will get there. I'm wondering if she should stay on the left behind Kling, and let Nally play as Kuikka's backup. There will still be plenty of minutes behind Kling and it might help her settle into the rotation.
That play was exciting and sets up many wonderful things to come. Instincts are already there and going to start executing those with ease with more game experience. She is learning from Natu, Kling, Becky, Kelli, and the rest of the backline. That'll speed up her development and comfort.
I don't really have anything to add to the final comments on the last post. In the two meaningful games so far this season the Thorns have taken 39 shots, put 14 on goal, have scored once on an xG of over 3 (1.11 for this one, 2.3 against Houston) and taken 1 point of 6 on offer.
One effect of this squad not playing quickly is that when pressed high it tends to give the ball away and become disorganized. Houston did that and SDW started pressing more tightly after the restart. The Thorns CAN play one-touch - look at the sweet sequence up the right flank on the 25th minute! - but they usually don't, and a smart coach and a talented team is going to use that to hammer them the way San Diego did from about 55-65'.
No finishing and the inability to play out of the press makes it hard to beat a decent opponent. The Orlandos? Sure. But if we're going to defend, we're going to have to solve those two issues.
And FFS let's see D'Aquila at the #9 against Louisville. Smith needs the rest and Betfort - sorry, girlfriend - ain't doin' it.
It's the "Batman's girlfriend" level of (not) finishing that's starting to alarm me. The rotated defense did just fine. They allowed the Wave a few opportunities, yet only conceded a fluky own-goal. But the offense isn't clicking. You knew this was coming, but I'll say it anyway: Hina needs to be the 10. Maybe that will speed the play on the attacking end.
Yeah, seeing her at RW kills me inside a little. She's an elite player, and an elite player can play any position decently....but none of her attributes scream "put her on the wing!" She's not super fast and/or athletic, and doesn't really have that crossing ability (especially on the right side)....it's her vision, her big soccer brain, her ability on/off the ball to connect passes, her technical ability that really allows her to shine in a central role.
Wish he would just try it...but he's had Sinc, Dunn, and Moultrie all playing the 10 so I just don't see her getting time anywhere else except stuck out on the RW. It usually turns into a 442 of sorts because she tends to tuck back into the midfield anyways, but still floats to the wing. Honestly, I'd rather have an actual winger there to exploit that space behind...but I don't want to see Hina on the bench.
Hina was really good at the end of the game when she shifted back to the mid-field. She seemed to be everywhere. I think most of us would like to see her and Dunn shift places. But I'll be honest, that is possibly the only real problem that Norris is showing in regards to the lineup. I may not agree with the specific times and player substitutions, but I see what he is doing and it makes sense.
The thing is I kept getting the nagging deja-by-all-over-again feeling last night and went and there it was, in the writeup of the Chicago game in preseason; I’m bitching that the Thorns slow play invited pressure and that the Thorns responded by coming apart under pressure, mishitting passes and turning the ball over. And in the U-23 game; lots of chances, no results and the defense derps to ship a crap goal.
So this isn’t a new thing; we’ve been seeing this since preseason. But Orlando and KC papered over the “slow-play-no-finishing” issues.
I’m not panicked either. This is a solid squad. But by not working on the weaknesses it invites an opponent who’s got the horses to get lucky like SDW…and a good opponent - like Seattle - to put the boot in.
I saw only the last 35 minutes of this one, in which Betfort didn't do anything of note besides lose the ball. Did she make any good plays earlier in the game? I was certainly surprised to see her up there again.
She’s a grinder; always working hard, but she lacks a striker’s instincts and her touch is pretty brutal. I’m not surprised because I get the sense that Norris really, really wants to make her his backup #9. But she doesn’t have it; she is what she is and we’re seeing the same things we saw last season. Not sure what Norris sees that makes him think otherwise…
Betfort definitely played with a lot of energy, and put a lot of pressure on the Wave when she was in there. She reminds me of Po but on offense. She can be a useful player for the team, but should probably be limited to the last 15 minutes of the game when we are chasing a goal.
I don't everything to look for in comparing GK's skills and potential, and we haven't seen Hogan against the league's best, but as just a fan? If i'm being honest, I'm less nervous when Thorns are defending deep with Hogan in goal.
Looking at the passing maps for the Thorns recently, there has been a major disconnect between the midfielders and forwards. I thought maybe it was just game specific, but I've seen it almost every game now (even the ones we've won), that I'm wondering now if this is a thing that is being coached....clearly it looks like the plan here is: fullbacks hoof it to Smith and hope for the best.
We've been way too heavily relying on our fullbacks to provide service to the forwards, which is problematic for several reasons that we've seen play out. We have a rookie fullback getting these minutes and she doesn't quite have the speed (or experience) to be able to know when to get up, or when to get back. I saw it happen with Kuikka the last couple games also...she was almost playing as a wingback, and, if there was a quick turnover, she was often caught waaaay too far up field. There would be a hole where she was supposed to be, and she was often seen sprinting to try to get back. We'll be punished for this from better teams. I've seen it with all the fullbacks now, and I hope it's something that's better balanced in the future.
We should be using the midfield FAR more than we have, and not rely just on fullbacks for service. If it's a function of opposition pressing us in midfield, we need to be sharper and quicker with passing. But, there is no connection from midfield to the F line. Porter and Rocky were pretty bad. Not sure what's up with Rocky...maybe her confidence has taken a hit since she's been benched much of the season. I also think she's not really a player who will change games on her own, but she definitely plays better when those around her are the starters. (Also am I crazy, or did Norris move her to the 6 late in the game?) I'm not really sure what coach is trying to do quite yet, but connection needs to be a lot better.
Honestly, you should be a coach. Your analyses are spot on, at least from what I see. You diagnose the problems well and and most often have really good solutions. Thanks for your posts! Also the arielle dror diagrams from Twitter are appreciated.
Amy Rodriquez will be the coach next year of the expansion Utah team. She has only been a player and an assistant college coach and admits to wondering if she deserves to be in that position. Yet men with lesser qualifications than ARod accept jobs that they are not as qualified as as she is. Last year there were a lot of people who questioned Rhian Wilkenson's qualifications. But after making some rookie errors I thought she did a great job. I hope some team gives Angela Salem a shot at coaching too.
Haha, I appreciate that! Just calllin' it how I sees it. I'm super analytical, and have two decades of experience playing myself...but don't think I could handle that sort of pressure cooker! So many issues seem so obvious to me though, it can't be that coach isn't seein' them as well. I think relationships and expectations complicate things...I sit from a more objective viewpoint where I can be candid about criticisms.
However, I do think the best coaches are the ones who can be honest with themselves about what they're seeing during gameday. I've seen Stoney and Harvey take players off who are performing poorly. So far with Norris, every league game we see scheduled subs at 60 and 75 mins...despite what's happening in the game. Harvey is also pretty ruthless with play time for rookies (or, even drafting rookies in the first place), and also cutting players if they can't hang...and you see what her depth now looks like because of it. She doesn't have any Betforts, Beckmans, Porters, or Provenzanos....every deep bench player on her roster is capable of playing competitively without huge derps, or, capable of making a difference. I don't think we have that, and we give up roster space and play time to players who obviously aren't developing year over year. Anyways, rant over there....
I think for sure there will be growing pains with ARod. She has 1 year of assistant coaching and now will be tasked with heading an expansion team? Whew. I think she has potential to be a good coach like anyone, but it takes experience, and I think this is a bit of a stretch for her. But, yeah, men are given the same platform to "try it out." I mean, Norris, our coach, had no head coach experience. He was a goalkeeper and set piece coach! I hope she can succeed, but I am dubious. It's gonna be a longer term development for that team imo...
Yes I get that you are in a more objective situation and can be candid. But I appreciate that your candid comments are perceptive and neither harsh or unfair. I find myself thinking "I hope the coaching staff is reading this comment." Actually there are quite a few very perceptive people who comment here and that is why I enjoy it.
As for ARod I would like to see her succeed. Thornado posted her tizzy fit with Sonnett in 20118, that was honestly really funny, but I would hope none of those anger management issues show up as a coach. Maybe she should hire Horan in case she goes nuclear to knock her on her butt.
I wish this was a Norris thing, but the Thorns have been doing this “pass-around-the-midfield-reeeeal-slow” thing since Parsons. I have no idea why. It’s never worked.
Because if those players don’t have a reliable one-touch-move-to-space training relationship with the forwards and each other you’ll get cut off and either turned back or dispossessed by a smart opponent.
I know I keep banging this drum, but it’s frustrating to read stuff like “Oh, Izzy’s (Sam/Insertnamehere) so good!” after watching the squad struggle to make connections forward.
Yes. All those players are good. If they don’t have a tactical plan that can consistently outwork and outsmart a good opponent that’s going to give us more of this: lots of “we were the better team!” and no results.
The thing about good players is that they can play that sort of fast one-touch ball. Ours do! But it’s the exception because I think that dink-dink-boot is how they train and where they default to.
If Coach Norris wants to change that, tho, he’s got to get the squad faster and fitter, and that’s gonna be tough on the grannies like Sinc and Kling and Brunn. The story is that Riley (spit!) lost the squad in ‘14 with his fitness training (among - ahem - other things…) because the veterans haaaaaated it.
I agree that the build-up emphasis needs to shift a little more centrally- We do focus a lot of the attack through the FBs.
I will say that I think there's two main reasons why this is:
1. We play a withdrawn 4-3-3 with two 8s and no 10, meaning there's not a player who's specific job it is to link the lines. I think that makes sense- I don't particularly want a 10 taking Soph's space.
2. Kling is a pretty unique player- She really plays more as a 4th midfielder because she's an inverted FB. It's not that we're blindly hitting crosses from the wing, it's that one of our FBs is very capable with the ball at her feet. One of the reasons it felt *so* direct on Wednesday was because we didn't have Sam, and Porter just isn't close to being the same caliber of playmaker. Totally agree with your comment on Kuikka- She doesn't quite have that skillset, so I'd like to see her stay back a little more and protect her CBs.
While I would like to see a little more action flow through the midfield, I don't know that I agree that this is an inherently flawed style of play- Part of the nature of having a superstar like Soph (and Weaver, to a lesser extent) is that you *want* to get them in space. I think that it's important to be able to play a different style when needed, but I don't really have a problem with the "get your best players in space" strategy, even if it results in turnovers (which, honestly, are sometimes Soph just trying to do too much).
What makes all the long balls from the back even more puzzling and ineffective is that Smith is frequently the only one down there with multiple defenders draped all over her. It’s no wonder she loses the ball so much in that situation.
Yeah, and her defense is kind of an abomination lol...so, if she loses the ball she doesn't really try to get it back. We have so many turnovers from that type of play specifically.
A bit off-topic for this thread, but discussed elsewhere because of the KC implosion. Ella Masar, whom I mentioned prior for quietly leaving KC Current and then not having good things to say about Potter in a podcast, had this to say yesterday..
Sorry to have folks have to click to go to a Twitter feed. It's unfortunate the tweets don't show up here as they did on the previous STF platform...if someone knows a better way of sharing these, please divulge!
What's odd is that although they obviously didn't overlap, Potter had been the HC at WSU for nearly a decade (2003-2011) and Minniss had spent 5 years there (2018-2022).
Honestly, I hope Potter was just fired for team performance. It would be refreshing if it were about results rather than malfeasance.
Looks like there are some issues with coach too relooking at this. I’m sure it’s coincidental that KC jettisoned Elyse Bennett too. Bennett and Minniss real good friends.
Good point! And Bennett had been at WSU 2016-2021.
The trade of Bennett came before the draft, though. The trade was Bennett and the #23 pick to Puget Sound WoSo Team for $150K. The trade was announced on Jan 11, the Debinha signing announced on Jan 9, and the Hanna Glas signing announced on Feb 7. Probably more than anything, they needed cash.
Must be a bunch of UW grads running that program!! It is kind of puzzling that Potter is so closely tied to the rise of the WSU WoSo program. I’m sure there is more to the story. There usually is
Their GM, Camille (Levin) Ashton, is a very-recently former player and player's agent. She went to Stanford, played in the WPS, the NWSL, the Damallsvenskan, the W-League, Serie A, and the Toppserien. When it comes to NWSL, she was with Sky Blue, Orlando, and Houston. She retired after the 2019 season. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Ashton
I have to say that so much of the NWSL really seems visionless, even a full decade later. Have things really changed so much when:
-3 franchises (of 12) are currently for sale
- Thanks to the largesse of a corporate partner, players who win the Challenge Cup get paid much more than players who win the Shield or the Championship?
- 2 new franchises are entering in 2024, meaning 5 expansion franchises since 2021 (6, if you count KC), yet several clubs are still struggling with terrible attendance
- the coach of last year's runner-up and a CoY finalist is suddenly fired for vague reasons, while having traveled with the team and less than 5 hours before a match, leaving the players caught completely off-guard (despite the GM's statement of having "a pulse on the locker room") and there's no further statement from the club even two days later. This also comes on the heels of allegations of the organization mistreating a draftee -- which is really a FO problem as much as it is a technical staff one -- and leaving Lynn Williams "shocked" and out-of-communication when KC traded her.
Asked directly if she had, or knew of any teammates who had, any negative interactions with Potter, LaBonta said: “No.”
“Not to my knowledge, no,” she continued. “I’ve done numerous interviews with Matt and about Matt, and Matt literally just did one for me. And we’re very truthful people. We had no knowledge that this was going to happen at all. We didn’t have any say in it. It was news to us and where the whole shock came from.”
CeCe Kizer was seated next to LaBonta. When asked if she felt the same, Kizer said she did.
Linehan's story says: " The language around leadership culture in the release is vague but suggests that Potter either lost the locker room with the players or his technical staff, or possibly both."
Meanwhile, Utah have already named their HC -- A-Rod! And, if she does things like this as a coach in today's NWSL, to anybody, she'll be fired immediately: https://twitter.com/i/status/1648817946343489536
I don’t want to make it sound like I’m throwing my hands in the air. This is a solid squad and I’m hopeful about this season (the Cup? Meh. It’d be nice, but eyes on the prize).
There are clear and obvious issues that have been visible literally since the first preseason kickoff:
1) the difficulty finishing if Smith isn’t doing magic or the opponents are well organized or it’s Wednesday. And
2) slow movement and passing, taking multiple touches and inviting a high press, then losing composure and possession under that pressure.
I’d add a third coaching-specific thing; slotting people in positions they don’t excel (Sugita at RW, Betfort at CF, D’Aquila at RW, Nally at FB…) to fit other people on the pitch.
With the talent here those are not insoluble problems. But they persist, and since it’s still early days now is a good time to figure out ways to solve them.
I’m hopeful Coach Norris and the squad can do that. I’d like to see some evidence that’s happening, tho. And sooner is better…
Color me unconvinced, at least so far. I’m willing to be surprised , but 1ppg isn’t too scary. But as Portland showed yesterday, we can find ways to lose in the most creative ways imaginable…
They had a lot of their higher caliber attacking players out last weekend, but agree their defense is much improved from last season...do you have any idea what their availability will be this weekend? You seem to be friendly with some of the Racing reporters, so thought maybe you might have some insight there :)
2) She's getting closer every week, has been working very hard to get back.
3) I do think Sincy starts Saturday, will probably play another 60 minutes. I'd like to see Olivia start again with Rocky probably only available for late sub duty.
I sense that I, who generally considers myself much more of a realist than an optimist, have somehow become this board's resident optimist! A few thoughts on the early season:
1. I've watched a LOT of non-Thorns NWSL this year. Relatedly, I've also watched a lot of ugly soccer. The Reign are the only team that can play with the same verve and fluidity the Thorns do, and they have a real striker problem. The Thorns have *8.6* xG through three league games with 3.6 against. The Reign have 4.7 for and 2.3 against, and the Wave have 4.4 for and 4.6 against. Now, part of that is definitely Orlando and KC, but it's very important that a few games of finishing issues does not equal a flawed system. Soccer balances out- It's frustrating when the luck doesn't go your way, but all the underlying metrics (and the eye test, at least for me) show that the Thorns are more than fine.
2. I like the way the team plays! It looks to me that that Norris looked at this squad and (correctly, imo) decided that they're well-suited for an up-tempo, pressing system that offensively relies on its many elite-level playmakers to make plays. The Thorns play nice stuff and have plenty of the ball, but they're not inherently a tiki-taka Barcelona-style possession team....because their best attackers are Sophia Smith, Morgan Weaver, and Crystal Dunn who are all best in space. That doesn't mean that they're fully reliant on those players to win 1v1s, but it is an important aspect of how the team plays.
3. Re: Wednesday: Now, I'd like to see some more data points, but the way they kept control of the game (with a ten minute blip), on the road without Soph on the field on Wednesday was actually more encouraging than not- It feels like last season they would have completely lost control. SD had ONE SoG the entire match.
4. So, the bad:
-- They can struggle to generate good chances against the best defenses, and when they don't have a ton of chances, the poor finishing becomes more of an issue.
-- The FBs are constantly stuck up field for a few reasons: They're talented attackers, and the press naturally pushes them higher to fill in the space. This leave the Thorns susceptible to quick counters and puts a lot of pressure on the CBs and the 6 to cover.
-- Norris needs to stop playing Betfort. She's not a good soccer player, straight up, and she's keeping a good soccer player (D'Aquila) from playing her natural position.
-- If Menges isn't able to stay healthy, I am concerned about CB depth. Nally also just isn't very good- We have plenty of evidence to back that up. We really can't afford to have Hubly suffer an injury of any type.
I think, rather than a question of optimism vs pessimism it’s a “how it started vs how it’s going” thing.
The club posted huge wins against bad teams (yes, that’s entirely where the gaudy xG comes from!) then put on a good show against two better opponents that exposed some tactical and player issues.
It’s clear that we’re not as good as we looked against KC and The Shame. But I agree that bad luck played a big part in 0.5ppg for Houston and SDW.
I hope that the coaching staff is looking hard at the issues; bad luck or not, I don’t see a reason to rely on luck turning or shots starting to go in. Tonight would be a great time to start to see some of those solutions.
I generally think I’m pretty optimistic regarding the Thorns too. Portland did exactly what they needed to do against the dregs. A good team wipes the floor with them. Check. I don’t think it’s unusual as the competition gets tougher, for teams to score less or get taken out of their game from time to time. The other team is trying to impose what they are trying to do also. The Thorns have to show that they will play direct. It’s one of their biggest strengths. Now, I do think they do it too much. With so many players draped all over Soph the their should be some space behind her for the midfielders to exploit.
It takes a Pele-grade single player to make that kind of difference, so no, probably not. But the Wave xG was 0.22; the chance of that OG happening if they played those same squads over and over is probably 1,000:1, so…scoreless draw 999 out of 1,000 times.
Idk if they win or not with Sam on the field, but it wouldn’t have hurt. They were the better team anyhow, SD just scored a somewhat fluky OG.
I think one of my takeaways was that they didn’t play particularly well but I still felt they should have won the game- Something that didn’t happen much last year.
Here's a question... Michelle Kang isn't content to own Washington Spirit. She's also trying to buy Big OL. Does this mean that Horan's going to play for Kang in Lyon?
Seems like it's a potential. If she stays at Lyon, and Kang's purchase happens sooner than later for Lyon's women's team...
Wondering how that would affect loans for other clubs in the same league as another team she owns (as you've noted with Horan)...seems messy and likely problematic.
Smith in with Girma out in the first half should (there's that word) have produced the desired result. Surprised Portland's chances kept on rising in the second half TBH.
Yeah, we should've been able to take advantage of a bunch of rookies starting on the SD side, but our midfield and F line were so disconnected and we biffed the chances we did get. We flatlined with the swap of Smith for Betfort. Got a little better at around 75 minutes when we made a bunch of subs and had Weaver and D'Aquila come on. Rocky played the 6 for like the last 20 minutes, which was...weird. Kuikka and Hubly played the whole game...not ideal when we have a game in two days.
Wow, that is pretty brutal. If the Thorns convert in the first half the game is very different. Also, the passing charts are really bad for SD. They attacked RR and didn't get much from it. Of course, the Thorns chart isn't that good either.
Honestly, San Diego's offense was considerably worse than ours in terms of chances, and neither side could finish (fluky own goals aren't "finishing"). Neither team looked good at all, perhaps unsurprising given the rotation.
I thought D’Aquila looked very good. I love her demeanor and posture on the field. She looks ready for more minutes. C’mon coach, get her more minutes!
This game was a vast improvement for Reyes but as mentioned several times, that passing. Ugh. If she’s going to play that high up passing has to get more accurate!
Leon. I like her. I remember watching a game in the She Believes and thinking, Wow! What a great, young player. Canada is lucky. Ha! Didn’t realize she has been around as long as she has. But I thought for that game at least she was the best player on the pitch. For that game
Man, Hina in the midfield just looked so good. We have to make this happen! C’mon coach!
The issues the Thorns are dealing with are not really new. They have had stretches of inconsistent finishing for a few years now. I don’t know if that’s really a Thorns thing or a soccer thing. Players get hot and cold like all sports. It seems like in soccer to be a consistent scorer you need volume. The more shots the more goals. We certainly have the volume, they’ll start knocking them in. Happened last year too. Right now we got some things to figure out, but we’re top of the table and dropped one meaningless game that had a wonky lineup and substitutions.
Izzy has "it"
If you talk to SCU coaches, fans, and staff they'll all say the same thing.
Honestly I thought her passing was quite sharp the first half, but seems like there was a dip from almost everyone in the second half. They went super direct towards the last 30 min of the game.
Hina as a hybrid winger already drops down to midfield the majority of the time, for this team it works even better as she's a good finisher too. Coach Mike did say he'd drop the team down to a 2 forward look sometimes too.
Definitely not just a Thorns thing, but a general soccer one. If our xG and shots continue to be where they are, we'll be fine. Right now seems like Crystal is our best finisher tho.
I see the "it" as well....and am baffled why, when she seems to be a great scoring option (esp in a way we DON'T have on the field) that she isn't given the minutes or proper role to do so. I see in her the correct instincts and skill that it takes to score goals, and I don't see that in half our rostered F's. That's what the CC games are for, good grief, let her play! Over the WC break, goals will have to come from her and Weaver...betting on Betfort to do it is unfair to everyone. She just doesn't have the skills so it's an unfair expectation for her...I don't blame D'Aquila for looking 'meh' when she's playing an out-of-position-winger to a player that isn't even a pro level forward. Would still, for once, like to see her A) either start with the rest of the starters, or, B) start at CF, with at least some support in midfield/on the wings.
The pieces are there, but I think coach is getting positioning wrong. Next to Rhian's constant rotation of partnerships, playing players out of their positions was the thing that drove me the most crazy about her coaching. We're seeing more consistency of partnerships with Norris (so far- besides the CC, obvs), but we're still trying to shove square pegs into round holes with players positionally....
Yeah I think I’d like to see beckman get a chance on the wings rather than playing Izzy out wide
And yes, I feel bad b/c i really love watching Betfort's energy on the field, but it's getting obvious she just doesn't have the ball skills to play forward (though, maybe she's tearing it up in practice and that's why Norris is giving her so many chances?) - unless she can turn it around, I really hope PTFC converts her into a big strong energetic CB to give the Korniecks of the league something to flinch about when they want to go up for a header...
Agreed re D'Aquila's skill set- during this last game i watched her tee'ing up crosses from the wing and was thinking, if she's not IN the boc, there's nobody there to get on the other end! Right now, it seems PTFC's best crosses are low hard shots into the center-mass of people in front of goal, with the hope that someone gets lucky bounce.
I think, in fairness to Norris, it's the lack of another wing option. Izzy's played every game so far; Betfort hasn't, but Izzy is a better fit to play out wide because she's got a decent touch and speed than Betfort.
"Players get hot and cold like all sports. It seems like in soccer to be a consistent scorer you need volume. The more shots the more goals. We certainly have the volume, they’ll start knocking them in. Happened last year too."
Spot on. Every single fan of every single team complains about the inability to finish. That's because we're just watching our team.
Tough game for the Thorns. Should have come out of it with at least a 0-0 tie, but being unlucky means losing 1-0. There were some positive things to see, starting with a much better Reyes out on the field. She showed decent defense and good control on the ball when going 1v1. However, she really needs to work on her passing, as it was quite poor. Leon also showed she belongs on the team, I thought she was quite good on offense and tracking back on defense. To be fair to Nally, I thought she did a decent job on defense if you take away the mistake. When a CB is invisible and the other team doesn't have many opportunities they are dong their job.
Others have said it, but the team needs to play faster. Hoping that Smith bails you out by playing hero ball isn't going to get the job done. We have some really good players, they just need to move the ball and attack the defense.
Not getting a result yesterday really means, unless ACFC plays spoiler against the other two, it's going to be an uphill battle to win the group.
I think it's also important to note, Weaver plays Smith's pace with ease and lots of players on the team have a lot of trouble matching that. Dunn matches their pace too which is why we have seen most of the scoring come from those 3 involvements.
Nally did play very well as did the backline. Really unfortunate as it should not of came down to that mistake, the team should of scored earlier.
Is it just me for thinking Sophia should of played the second 45 instead? Would of played the SDW with less energy.
I think we should've started D'Aquila in the 9 the first half, and brought Soph in the second half as her sub.
Yes!
Absolutely. But we are talking about minor quibbles about the rotation. If Smith hits that shot from point blank we are talking about a different game.
Specific to Reyes, a sequence where she was isolated on camera showed her doing some Tobinish juking past an opponent and working upfield, only to pass directly to another Wave player. I'm seeing the potential but she's not yet completely rounded. Anybody who watched Madril earlier in the evening saw a vastly different skillset.
She did show up a hellofa lot better player on that side, but playing at the back reveals flaws fast, which is why we don't see many 18YOs drafted to play defense.
Optimistic about Leon, still think Thorns have some needs to fill on this squad (needs that we're learning the current bench can't fill).
I think it's way too early to worry about Reyes as she didn't get to train in Bend and missed the majority of preseason. She is playing catch up and learning how fast the speed of play is according to Coach Mike, but he is super encouraged by the improvements. Looked way better from game 1 to game 2, if that is a sign of things to come, she'll be extremely solid in a few months or at least down the stretch.
Madril has been asked to do a lot and it's showing. Not having a stud veteran CB next to you has got to hurt too. If she had like a Sauerbrunn to learn from, I think we'd be talking different for sure.
Leon is such a wonderful fit, she mentioned in the presser that she still needs more time to gel with her teammates. She's excited to be here tho :)
Would like to see Izzy get some chances as a 9 next to Leon and Hina though late in games. We need more aerial threats if we are going to hit crosses.
Yep, I actually remember that play. My best guess right now is the game is too fast for Reyes, and she is thinking more than acting. It might take a little while, but I'm hopeful she will get there. I'm wondering if she should stay on the left behind Kling, and let Nally play as Kuikka's backup. There will still be plenty of minutes behind Kling and it might help her settle into the rotation.
That play was exciting and sets up many wonderful things to come. Instincts are already there and going to start executing those with ease with more game experience. She is learning from Natu, Kling, Becky, Kelli, and the rest of the backline. That'll speed up her development and comfort.
Think she just needs to simplify her game. The talent is there and will be there, just keep it simple for now.
I don't really have anything to add to the final comments on the last post. In the two meaningful games so far this season the Thorns have taken 39 shots, put 14 on goal, have scored once on an xG of over 3 (1.11 for this one, 2.3 against Houston) and taken 1 point of 6 on offer.
One effect of this squad not playing quickly is that when pressed high it tends to give the ball away and become disorganized. Houston did that and SDW started pressing more tightly after the restart. The Thorns CAN play one-touch - look at the sweet sequence up the right flank on the 25th minute! - but they usually don't, and a smart coach and a talented team is going to use that to hammer them the way San Diego did from about 55-65'.
No finishing and the inability to play out of the press makes it hard to beat a decent opponent. The Orlandos? Sure. But if we're going to defend, we're going to have to solve those two issues.
And FFS let's see D'Aquila at the #9 against Louisville. Smith needs the rest and Betfort - sorry, girlfriend - ain't doin' it.
It's the "Batman's girlfriend" level of (not) finishing that's starting to alarm me. The rotated defense did just fine. They allowed the Wave a few opportunities, yet only conceded a fluky own-goal. But the offense isn't clicking. You knew this was coming, but I'll say it anyway: Hina needs to be the 10. Maybe that will speed the play on the attacking end.
Yeah, seeing her at RW kills me inside a little. She's an elite player, and an elite player can play any position decently....but none of her attributes scream "put her on the wing!" She's not super fast and/or athletic, and doesn't really have that crossing ability (especially on the right side)....it's her vision, her big soccer brain, her ability on/off the ball to connect passes, her technical ability that really allows her to shine in a central role.
Wish he would just try it...but he's had Sinc, Dunn, and Moultrie all playing the 10 so I just don't see her getting time anywhere else except stuck out on the RW. It usually turns into a 442 of sorts because she tends to tuck back into the midfield anyways, but still floats to the wing. Honestly, I'd rather have an actual winger there to exploit that space behind...but I don't want to see Hina on the bench.
Hina was really good at the end of the game when she shifted back to the mid-field. She seemed to be everywhere. I think most of us would like to see her and Dunn shift places. But I'll be honest, that is possibly the only real problem that Norris is showing in regards to the lineup. I may not agree with the specific times and player substitutions, but I see what he is doing and it makes sense.
The thing is I kept getting the nagging deja-by-all-over-again feeling last night and went and there it was, in the writeup of the Chicago game in preseason; I’m bitching that the Thorns slow play invited pressure and that the Thorns responded by coming apart under pressure, mishitting passes and turning the ball over. And in the U-23 game; lots of chances, no results and the defense derps to ship a crap goal.
So this isn’t a new thing; we’ve been seeing this since preseason. But Orlando and KC papered over the “slow-play-no-finishing” issues.
I’m not panicked either. This is a solid squad. But by not working on the weaknesses it invites an opponent who’s got the horses to get lucky like SDW…and a good opponent - like Seattle - to put the boot in.
Time to get to work!
I saw only the last 35 minutes of this one, in which Betfort didn't do anything of note besides lose the ball. Did she make any good plays earlier in the game? I was certainly surprised to see her up there again.
She’s a grinder; always working hard, but she lacks a striker’s instincts and her touch is pretty brutal. I’m not surprised because I get the sense that Norris really, really wants to make her his backup #9. But she doesn’t have it; she is what she is and we’re seeing the same things we saw last season. Not sure what Norris sees that makes him think otherwise…
Betfort almost got to Sheridan a couple times. That was exciting for a nanosecond
Betfort definitely played with a lot of energy, and put a lot of pressure on the Wave when she was in there. She reminds me of Po but on offense. She can be a useful player for the team, but should probably be limited to the last 15 minutes of the game when we are chasing a goal.
She was ineffective. Had a great opportunity to score with her head but was nowhere near the frame with it.
I don't everything to look for in comparing GK's skills and potential, and we haven't seen Hogan against the league's best, but as just a fan? If i'm being honest, I'm less nervous when Thorns are defending deep with Hogan in goal.
Said the same thing on Wednesday, though I am also far from a goalkeeping expert
Looking at the passing maps for the Thorns recently, there has been a major disconnect between the midfielders and forwards. I thought maybe it was just game specific, but I've seen it almost every game now (even the ones we've won), that I'm wondering now if this is a thing that is being coached....clearly it looks like the plan here is: fullbacks hoof it to Smith and hope for the best.
https://twitter.com/arielle_dror/status/1649125591424315393/photo/2
We've been way too heavily relying on our fullbacks to provide service to the forwards, which is problematic for several reasons that we've seen play out. We have a rookie fullback getting these minutes and she doesn't quite have the speed (or experience) to be able to know when to get up, or when to get back. I saw it happen with Kuikka the last couple games also...she was almost playing as a wingback, and, if there was a quick turnover, she was often caught waaaay too far up field. There would be a hole where she was supposed to be, and she was often seen sprinting to try to get back. We'll be punished for this from better teams. I've seen it with all the fullbacks now, and I hope it's something that's better balanced in the future.
We should be using the midfield FAR more than we have, and not rely just on fullbacks for service. If it's a function of opposition pressing us in midfield, we need to be sharper and quicker with passing. But, there is no connection from midfield to the F line. Porter and Rocky were pretty bad. Not sure what's up with Rocky...maybe her confidence has taken a hit since she's been benched much of the season. I also think she's not really a player who will change games on her own, but she definitely plays better when those around her are the starters. (Also am I crazy, or did Norris move her to the 6 late in the game?) I'm not really sure what coach is trying to do quite yet, but connection needs to be a lot better.
Honestly, you should be a coach. Your analyses are spot on, at least from what I see. You diagnose the problems well and and most often have really good solutions. Thanks for your posts! Also the arielle dror diagrams from Twitter are appreciated.
Amy Rodriquez will be the coach next year of the expansion Utah team. She has only been a player and an assistant college coach and admits to wondering if she deserves to be in that position. Yet men with lesser qualifications than ARod accept jobs that they are not as qualified as as she is. Last year there were a lot of people who questioned Rhian Wilkenson's qualifications. But after making some rookie errors I thought she did a great job. I hope some team gives Angela Salem a shot at coaching too.
Haha, I appreciate that! Just calllin' it how I sees it. I'm super analytical, and have two decades of experience playing myself...but don't think I could handle that sort of pressure cooker! So many issues seem so obvious to me though, it can't be that coach isn't seein' them as well. I think relationships and expectations complicate things...I sit from a more objective viewpoint where I can be candid about criticisms.
However, I do think the best coaches are the ones who can be honest with themselves about what they're seeing during gameday. I've seen Stoney and Harvey take players off who are performing poorly. So far with Norris, every league game we see scheduled subs at 60 and 75 mins...despite what's happening in the game. Harvey is also pretty ruthless with play time for rookies (or, even drafting rookies in the first place), and also cutting players if they can't hang...and you see what her depth now looks like because of it. She doesn't have any Betforts, Beckmans, Porters, or Provenzanos....every deep bench player on her roster is capable of playing competitively without huge derps, or, capable of making a difference. I don't think we have that, and we give up roster space and play time to players who obviously aren't developing year over year. Anyways, rant over there....
I think for sure there will be growing pains with ARod. She has 1 year of assistant coaching and now will be tasked with heading an expansion team? Whew. I think she has potential to be a good coach like anyone, but it takes experience, and I think this is a bit of a stretch for her. But, yeah, men are given the same platform to "try it out." I mean, Norris, our coach, had no head coach experience. He was a goalkeeper and set piece coach! I hope she can succeed, but I am dubious. It's gonna be a longer term development for that team imo...
Yes I get that you are in a more objective situation and can be candid. But I appreciate that your candid comments are perceptive and neither harsh or unfair. I find myself thinking "I hope the coaching staff is reading this comment." Actually there are quite a few very perceptive people who comment here and that is why I enjoy it.
As for ARod I would like to see her succeed. Thornado posted her tizzy fit with Sonnett in 20118, that was honestly really funny, but I would hope none of those anger management issues show up as a coach. Maybe she should hire Horan in case she goes nuclear to knock her on her butt.
“See: ‘dink-dink-boot’”
I wish this was a Norris thing, but the Thorns have been doing this “pass-around-the-midfield-reeeeal-slow” thing since Parsons. I have no idea why. It’s never worked.
Why have a bunch of world class midfielders if you're just gonna bypass them?
Because if those players don’t have a reliable one-touch-move-to-space training relationship with the forwards and each other you’ll get cut off and either turned back or dispossessed by a smart opponent.
I know I keep banging this drum, but it’s frustrating to read stuff like “Oh, Izzy’s (Sam/Insertnamehere) so good!” after watching the squad struggle to make connections forward.
Yes. All those players are good. If they don’t have a tactical plan that can consistently outwork and outsmart a good opponent that’s going to give us more of this: lots of “we were the better team!” and no results.
The thing about good players is that they can play that sort of fast one-touch ball. Ours do! But it’s the exception because I think that dink-dink-boot is how they train and where they default to.
If Coach Norris wants to change that, tho, he’s got to get the squad faster and fitter, and that’s gonna be tough on the grannies like Sinc and Kling and Brunn. The story is that Riley (spit!) lost the squad in ‘14 with his fitness training (among - ahem - other things…) because the veterans haaaaaated it.
I agree that the build-up emphasis needs to shift a little more centrally- We do focus a lot of the attack through the FBs.
I will say that I think there's two main reasons why this is:
1. We play a withdrawn 4-3-3 with two 8s and no 10, meaning there's not a player who's specific job it is to link the lines. I think that makes sense- I don't particularly want a 10 taking Soph's space.
2. Kling is a pretty unique player- She really plays more as a 4th midfielder because she's an inverted FB. It's not that we're blindly hitting crosses from the wing, it's that one of our FBs is very capable with the ball at her feet. One of the reasons it felt *so* direct on Wednesday was because we didn't have Sam, and Porter just isn't close to being the same caliber of playmaker. Totally agree with your comment on Kuikka- She doesn't quite have that skillset, so I'd like to see her stay back a little more and protect her CBs.
While I would like to see a little more action flow through the midfield, I don't know that I agree that this is an inherently flawed style of play- Part of the nature of having a superstar like Soph (and Weaver, to a lesser extent) is that you *want* to get them in space. I think that it's important to be able to play a different style when needed, but I don't really have a problem with the "get your best players in space" strategy, even if it results in turnovers (which, honestly, are sometimes Soph just trying to do too much).
What makes all the long balls from the back even more puzzling and ineffective is that Smith is frequently the only one down there with multiple defenders draped all over her. It’s no wonder she loses the ball so much in that situation.
Yeah, and her defense is kind of an abomination lol...so, if she loses the ball she doesn't really try to get it back. We have so many turnovers from that type of play specifically.
A bit off-topic for this thread, but discussed elsewhere because of the KC implosion. Ella Masar, whom I mentioned prior for quietly leaving KC Current and then not having good things to say about Potter in a podcast, had this to say yesterday..
https://twitter.com/emasar3/status/1648885526106177536
Sorry to have folks have to click to go to a Twitter feed. It's unfortunate the tweets don't show up here as they did on the previous STF platform...if someone knows a better way of sharing these, please divulge!
Something seems to be off in that whole situation. There is also the whole situation with my girl Minniss too. Haven’t heard anything about her.
What's odd is that although they obviously didn't overlap, Potter had been the HC at WSU for nearly a decade (2003-2011) and Minniss had spent 5 years there (2018-2022).
Honestly, I hope Potter was just fired for team performance. It would be refreshing if it were about results rather than malfeasance.
I saw Minniss’ situation more as grievances against FO than issues with the coach. Although I can’t remember the full list.
Looks like there are some issues with coach too relooking at this. I’m sure it’s coincidental that KC jettisoned Elyse Bennett too. Bennett and Minniss real good friends.
Good point! And Bennett had been at WSU 2016-2021.
The trade of Bennett came before the draft, though. The trade was Bennett and the #23 pick to Puget Sound WoSo Team for $150K. The trade was announced on Jan 11, the Debinha signing announced on Jan 9, and the Hanna Glas signing announced on Feb 7. Probably more than anything, they needed cash.
Must be a bunch of UW grads running that program!! It is kind of puzzling that Potter is so closely tied to the rise of the WSU WoSo program. I’m sure there is more to the story. There usually is
Current have a very large staff. https://www.kansascitycurrent.com/team
Their GM, Camille (Levin) Ashton, is a very-recently former player and player's agent. She went to Stanford, played in the WPS, the NWSL, the Damallsvenskan, the W-League, Serie A, and the Toppserien. When it comes to NWSL, she was with Sky Blue, Orlando, and Houston. She retired after the 2019 season. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Ashton
I have to say that so much of the NWSL really seems visionless, even a full decade later. Have things really changed so much when:
-3 franchises (of 12) are currently for sale
- Thanks to the largesse of a corporate partner, players who win the Challenge Cup get paid much more than players who win the Shield or the Championship?
- 2 new franchises are entering in 2024, meaning 5 expansion franchises since 2021 (6, if you count KC), yet several clubs are still struggling with terrible attendance
- the coach of last year's runner-up and a CoY finalist is suddenly fired for vague reasons, while having traveled with the team and less than 5 hours before a match, leaving the players caught completely off-guard (despite the GM's statement of having "a pulse on the locker room") and there's no further statement from the club even two days later. This also comes on the heels of allegations of the organization mistreating a draftee -- which is really a FO problem as much as it is a technical staff one -- and leaving Lynn Williams "shocked" and out-of-communication when KC traded her.
I can't discount the Ella Masar stuff, but I also have to remember that KC's FO didn't exactly handle the Lynn Williams trade with the utmost professionalism. Read Williams's own words and quotes here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXhUulhiRH/ and https://justwomenssports.com/reads/lynn-williams-gotham-kansas-city-trade-shock-uswnt/
This in the Equalizer story:
Asked directly if she had, or knew of any teammates who had, any negative interactions with Potter, LaBonta said: “No.”
“Not to my knowledge, no,” she continued. “I’ve done numerous interviews with Matt and about Matt, and Matt literally just did one for me. And we’re very truthful people. We had no knowledge that this was going to happen at all. We didn’t have any say in it. It was news to us and where the whole shock came from.”
CeCe Kizer was seated next to LaBonta. When asked if she felt the same, Kizer said she did.
Linehan's story says: " The language around leadership culture in the release is vague but suggests that Potter either lost the locker room with the players or his technical staff, or possibly both."
Meanwhile, Utah have already named their HC -- A-Rod! And, if she does things like this as a coach in today's NWSL, to anybody, she'll be fired immediately: https://twitter.com/i/status/1648817946343489536
Here's the whole thing: https://twitter.com/i/status/1649097782832287744
Actually, yes; let me add this.
I don’t want to make it sound like I’m throwing my hands in the air. This is a solid squad and I’m hopeful about this season (the Cup? Meh. It’d be nice, but eyes on the prize).
There are clear and obvious issues that have been visible literally since the first preseason kickoff:
1) the difficulty finishing if Smith isn’t doing magic or the opponents are well organized or it’s Wednesday. And
2) slow movement and passing, taking multiple touches and inviting a high press, then losing composure and possession under that pressure.
I’d add a third coaching-specific thing; slotting people in positions they don’t excel (Sugita at RW, Betfort at CF, D’Aquila at RW, Nally at FB…) to fit other people on the pitch.
With the talent here those are not insoluble problems. But they persist, and since it’s still early days now is a good time to figure out ways to solve them.
I’m hopeful Coach Norris and the squad can do that. I’d like to see some evidence that’s happening, tho. And sooner is better…
Louisville has shown an improved defense and backline, going to be a very good test this Saturday.
Anyone else expecting Jaelin Howell to to go off one of these days? Just a matter of time, hope it's not against Thorns.
Color me unconvinced, at least so far. I’m willing to be surprised , but 1ppg isn’t too scary. But as Portland showed yesterday, we can find ways to lose in the most creative ways imaginable…
They had a lot of their higher caliber attacking players out last weekend, but agree their defense is much improved from last season...do you have any idea what their availability will be this weekend? You seem to be friendly with some of the Racing reporters, so thought maybe you might have some insight there :)
I’ll be at their training tmrw so will ask :)
We also have our pregame Twitter space on Saturday at 3:30 too
My thoughts:
(1) Hogan is good. Also, great to see 5/10 teams field their back-up keeper.
(2) I hope McGrady gets healthy soon. We could have used her last night, if only so Kuikka didn't play 90 minutes.
(3) Will this mean Sinclair doesn't start on Saturday?
1) 100%
2) She's getting closer every week, has been working very hard to get back.
3) I do think Sincy starts Saturday, will probably play another 60 minutes. I'd like to see Olivia start again with Rocky probably only available for late sub duty.
I sense that I, who generally considers myself much more of a realist than an optimist, have somehow become this board's resident optimist! A few thoughts on the early season:
1. I've watched a LOT of non-Thorns NWSL this year. Relatedly, I've also watched a lot of ugly soccer. The Reign are the only team that can play with the same verve and fluidity the Thorns do, and they have a real striker problem. The Thorns have *8.6* xG through three league games with 3.6 against. The Reign have 4.7 for and 2.3 against, and the Wave have 4.4 for and 4.6 against. Now, part of that is definitely Orlando and KC, but it's very important that a few games of finishing issues does not equal a flawed system. Soccer balances out- It's frustrating when the luck doesn't go your way, but all the underlying metrics (and the eye test, at least for me) show that the Thorns are more than fine.
2. I like the way the team plays! It looks to me that that Norris looked at this squad and (correctly, imo) decided that they're well-suited for an up-tempo, pressing system that offensively relies on its many elite-level playmakers to make plays. The Thorns play nice stuff and have plenty of the ball, but they're not inherently a tiki-taka Barcelona-style possession team....because their best attackers are Sophia Smith, Morgan Weaver, and Crystal Dunn who are all best in space. That doesn't mean that they're fully reliant on those players to win 1v1s, but it is an important aspect of how the team plays.
3. Re: Wednesday: Now, I'd like to see some more data points, but the way they kept control of the game (with a ten minute blip), on the road without Soph on the field on Wednesday was actually more encouraging than not- It feels like last season they would have completely lost control. SD had ONE SoG the entire match.
4. So, the bad:
-- They can struggle to generate good chances against the best defenses, and when they don't have a ton of chances, the poor finishing becomes more of an issue.
-- The FBs are constantly stuck up field for a few reasons: They're talented attackers, and the press naturally pushes them higher to fill in the space. This leave the Thorns susceptible to quick counters and puts a lot of pressure on the CBs and the 6 to cover.
-- Norris needs to stop playing Betfort. She's not a good soccer player, straight up, and she's keeping a good soccer player (D'Aquila) from playing her natural position.
-- If Menges isn't able to stay healthy, I am concerned about CB depth. Nally also just isn't very good- We have plenty of evidence to back that up. We really can't afford to have Hubly suffer an injury of any type.
I think, rather than a question of optimism vs pessimism it’s a “how it started vs how it’s going” thing.
The club posted huge wins against bad teams (yes, that’s entirely where the gaudy xG comes from!) then put on a good show against two better opponents that exposed some tactical and player issues.
It’s clear that we’re not as good as we looked against KC and The Shame. But I agree that bad luck played a big part in 0.5ppg for Houston and SDW.
I hope that the coaching staff is looking hard at the issues; bad luck or not, I don’t see a reason to rely on luck turning or shots starting to go in. Tonight would be a great time to start to see some of those solutions.
I generally think I’m pretty optimistic regarding the Thorns too. Portland did exactly what they needed to do against the dregs. A good team wipes the floor with them. Check. I don’t think it’s unusual as the competition gets tougher, for teams to score less or get taken out of their game from time to time. The other team is trying to impose what they are trying to do also. The Thorns have to show that they will play direct. It’s one of their biggest strengths. Now, I do think they do it too much. With so many players draped all over Soph the their should be some space behind her for the midfielders to exploit.
Does Portland lose vs. San Diego with Coffey on the field? Guessing no.
It takes a Pele-grade single player to make that kind of difference, so no, probably not. But the Wave xG was 0.22; the chance of that OG happening if they played those same squads over and over is probably 1,000:1, so…scoreless draw 999 out of 1,000 times.
Idk if they win or not with Sam on the field, but it wouldn’t have hurt. They were the better team anyhow, SD just scored a somewhat fluky OG.
I think one of my takeaways was that they didn’t play particularly well but I still felt they should have won the game- Something that didn’t happen much last year.
Here's a question... Michelle Kang isn't content to own Washington Spirit. She's also trying to buy Big OL. Does this mean that Horan's going to play for Kang in Lyon?
Seems like it's a potential. If she stays at Lyon, and Kang's purchase happens sooner than later for Lyon's women's team...
Wondering how that would affect loans for other clubs in the same league as another team she owns (as you've noted with Horan)...seems messy and likely problematic.
Can't believe we lost to this:
https://twitter.com/arielle_dror/status/1649125591424315393/photo/1
LOL Ouch
https://twitter.com/arielle_dror/status/1649125589209710592/photo/1
Ouch indeed.
Smith in with Girma out in the first half should (there's that word) have produced the desired result. Surprised Portland's chances kept on rising in the second half TBH.
Yeah, we should've been able to take advantage of a bunch of rookies starting on the SD side, but our midfield and F line were so disconnected and we biffed the chances we did get. We flatlined with the swap of Smith for Betfort. Got a little better at around 75 minutes when we made a bunch of subs and had Weaver and D'Aquila come on. Rocky played the 6 for like the last 20 minutes, which was...weird. Kuikka and Hubly played the whole game...not ideal when we have a game in two days.
Wow, that is pretty brutal. If the Thorns convert in the first half the game is very different. Also, the passing charts are really bad for SD. They attacked RR and didn't get much from it. Of course, the Thorns chart isn't that good either.
Honestly, San Diego's offense was considerably worse than ours in terms of chances, and neither side could finish (fluky own goals aren't "finishing"). Neither team looked good at all, perhaps unsurprising given the rotation.
Betfort irritates me up front, gives me Mal Weber vibes and I don’t want that.
Bella keeps busy.
https://twitter.com/melinae07/status/1647650762552492034