(Reposted because I accidentally posted in the wrong place)
A question about using substack: Is there a way to highlight new comments, ones that I haven't seen yet? New top-level comments will show up at the beginning (or end, depending on how they're sorted) so they're not a problem, but new replies to other people's comments will show up elsewhere and be hard to find without reading through every previous, existing comment. Reading through them all is fine for, say, 10 comments, but not for 100.
I'm hoping there's a way to do this, too. Some of our discussions get really big in terms of post volume, and a quick way to find new stuff is pretty critical. In gamer terms, a big "quality of life" issue...
A way to mitigate the problem as a reader is to use your browser's search facility to look for "hr ago". That should lead you to only comments and replies from the current day. Still not nearly as convenient as SB Nation, but it helps.
If there's no way to do this, a workaround would be to respond in a new comment, with a reference to the comment being replied to. Very clumsy; I hope someone has a better suggestion.
The Matildas were without Foord today. They made the most of their chances.
Just saw that Swanson -- she'll always be Pugh to me -- has already had surgery. I'm no knee specialist, but I don't think they cut if it's a partial tear with a 3-to-6 week recovery time. Poor kiddo. Poor Vlatko.
Is there a way to organize this a little better for those of us only looking for Thorns content? It's a bit of a deterrent when I come here now and it's hard to find the few Thorns things amongst all of the Timbers content....
I know this new website is a WIP for everyone (and thank you!), but also wanted to toss out that it would be nice to update the STF logo to be a little more Thorns-inclusive? It's only Timbers colors and still only has the axe logo. Please consider updating this to make visiting this site feel a little more equitable and inclusive for the Thorns/Thorns fans that come to this site...and again, thank you all for your work!!
I mean, we have like 7 Thorns playing on int'l duty! Would be nice to have all of that info in one place and a thread to discuss the int'l window and those players who are playing...
Plus, the new home, wonderful though it is, doesn't have a way of embedding Simpsons videos and GIFs. Such as "Old Man Yells at Cloud," as I am doing now.
Thought I’d do a little research to see just how historic Smith’s start to her career has been in comparison to Sam Kerr, undisputed best NWSL striker ever….and yeah, she’s on track to be arguably the single best player this league has ever seen:
Minutes: SS- 3049, SK- 9963
Games: SS- 41, SK- 119
Goals: SS- 25, SK- 77
Assists: SS- 5, SK- 19
Goals/90: SS- 0.74, SK- 0.70
G+A/90: SS- 0.88, SK- 0.86
I don’t think Soph will stick around in NWSL long enough to get to the record, but she’s on pace to get there within 3 seasons. If she does stay in the league, it’s more than possible that she will become the most prolific NWSL goal scorer of all time *by the time she turns 25*. That’s insane!
Not to mention the single-season goals record, held by Kerr with 18. At Smith's current scoring rate of 2.0 goals/game, she would equal that by game 9! That scoring rate is unsustainable, but it's possible she could reach the record despite missing a bunch of games for the World Cup. Pray for no injuries.
Certainly possible- Some of my skepticism is just prepping myself for disappointment tbh.
Having said that, if the Thorns win the shield and/or another title and she gets another MVP, it could be a "what else is there for me to do here" situation.....especially if she keeps getting ignored for the euro-centric world awards awards. I'd say she plays out her contract here and then it's anybody's guess.
My hope is that the league continues to grow to a point where we can offer her something competitive in the way of salary. Of course, if a super-rich Euro club really wanted to splash out on her (which they may very well do), there's no way we'll be able to compete, since there are no salary caps over there. I don't think playing in Europe would do anything to advance her skills, so the draw would have to be a combination of money and the allure of Champions League.
Even playing for, say, an OL or a Man City, it will always be difficult for a non-European player to compete for those awards; the bias is enormous. I mean, when Sam Kerr was clearly the best player in the world and playing over there, the only recognition she got to that effect was the Best International Women's Soccer Player ESPY...an _American_ award.
I don’t really think the allure of Europe would be salary for her- It would be testing herself in a new environment and showing everyone she can do it there as well, including in the champions league against the best players in the world.
I tend to agree that the domestic level isn’t higher than it it here -- certainly not in terms of competitiveness-- though I have no idea what the players think. It certainly isn’t a good thing to lose your best players overseas, so I hope for NWSL’s sake the league gets to a point where the relative appeal of Europe is minimal.
For the NWSL to remain one of the elite domestic leagues, it's going to HAVE to find a way to be at least reasonably salary-competitive. With the recent steep growth curve, we might be able to do that. I also think the Euro women's sides are being seen as more self-sufficient, given the growth over there. That might lessen the tendency of some clubs with obscenely rich men's sides to skew the player market so badly...although that sort of thing is deeply rooted in Euro football culture (yes, a Man City fan just said that...I know, I know...)
The WE League in Japan is struggling to retain players, but it doesn't yet have the financial base the NWSL does: it's only existed for a couple seasons as a newly-created first division, and represents the first time a women's league has been fully professional there. It's bleeding players to Europe and the US, particularly with the success Japan's youth national sides have been having (and their senior team has been shining, too).
If my plans hold and I'm living in Japan by Autumn, the NWSL won't be my "home league" any more! But I'll probably be in Sapporo, where there's no WE League team, either. Obviously I'll still support Thorns FC and am also an ardent Tokyo Verdy Beleza supporter, but my local women's side will be Norddea Hokkaido...a third division team. That actually sounds like a lot of fun!
On a macro level, yes absolutely. I’m actually very optimistic that the NWSL will be able to get to a *reasonable* level of financial competitiveness, tho I’m not sure if the ownership models we see entering the league, though ultimately a great thing for NWSL, will be able to provide the top-end salaries that a Chelsea or Lyon can.
The other interesting piece of this is internal- Whether the lower tier teams keep up with the top spenders, from a talent level, a marketing and fan support level, and an infrastructure level. Kassouf goes into some detail on the latest Equalizer pod (really interesting discussion imo) on his concerns in the near term- Are owners of these teams (Orlando, NCC, Chicago, Gotham etc) going to be willing to meet the elevated expectations of players? Why would a top player want to go play in Cary, NC with low-tier training faculties when they could go play in LA? Are we going to see relocation? Are all the new expansion teams going to be equally invested? There’s a ton of really interesting questions to be answered.
The priority needs to be creating a league where the best American players want to stay. It’s really important that the next Macario/Smith/Girma/Thompson feels that the NWSL can meet their demands, both financially, facility-wise, and on-field. Because of the delayed growth of woso in Europe, NWSL isn’t starting from quite the place of weakness that MLS did relative to the competition. Now it really needs to make sure it doesn’t fall behind as woso gets bigger and bigger in Europe.
For real! You're too nice Phuoc! Your power rankings are like 1-10: These teams are great. 11: This team has everything that it needs to be great but has had some bad luck. 12: This team is Orlando. Lol... Thanks for putting this together!
2. San Diego. They look good. We are slightly scared of them.
3-11. Not enough data to know if the problems are real or just week 2 issues.
12. Orlando. There is enough data. This team is bad.
Jokes aside the high attendance in a certain markets is great to see. Really hope some of the others can put some effort into marketing. Though the weather in a few markets sure didn't help this weekend.
I do think part of the problem is that MLS is continuing and NWSL is on break, but it's also funny that Thorns are unrepresented here because the Thorns discussions were far more fulsome on the ol' STF.
We could, of course, just hijack any story on SBNation's AllforXI. After all, they're not eliminating all WoSo content.
No way Le Sommer doesn't go to Seattle if she were to even come to the NWSL for good. I don't know when her contract is up, though. Mandy's is up in the summer.
Honestly, until we have our sale go through and major changes are made, I don't see any big names coming our way. Portland's rep has been severely damaged over the last two years imo, and until we start getting some good PR for a good while, I don't see that changing. It's one thing to already be a part of the team now, but from the outside the place looks like a dumpster fire (because it has been.)
Can't believe she wouldn't be playing for France this summer. But if that doesn't happen,
why the hell would she want to play for ACFC instead of returning to Portland? I know, been there, done that, but she was bummed that she got hurt during the WICC. Also, doesn't it seem slightly odd that if she doesn't come to Portland she goes to ACFC instead of OL Reign? Is Los Angeles just that enticing? Do you really want to spend your summer alongside McCaskill?
I mean, as much as it bums me out, I can think of many reasons why she’d want to go to ACFC over Portland:
1. Yes, LA is that enticing. I wouldn’t live there in a million years, but pro athletes love it and ACFC has done a mostly fantastic marketing job. This would be ACFC’s first real LAFC-esque move if it happens.
2. I’m sure she has fond memories of Portland, but it’s still a tad chaotic here- I’m sure a new project appeals to her.
3. ACFC has a clear need for her- As crazy as it might sound given her pedigree, I don’t want her taking Coffey’s spot!
4. Ive mentioned this previously (tho I have no evidence of this being the case) but I don’t think Portland is even looking at these superstar signings anymore. Idk if it’s loss of relative cache or willingness to spend, but we haven’t seen big money signings for a looong time. Could change with new ownership.
Yeah, all of this. Players like nice weather, a big city, and a beach. Esp aging players...same reason why old folks go to Florida for retirement lol. I'm from LA, and I would never move back, but I get the draw for a French player. She'll definitely be going to the WC, though, so she likely wouldn't be there until end of season.
Despite results over 2 games, Portland is still an absolute dumpster fire org. The only thing that surprises me with this news is that I was sure Julie Ertz would be going to AC. No way you have Ertz and Henry on the roster and have one on the bench, so maybe it means Ertz is heading to San Diego. Either way, whichever team either of those two go to, the current 6 will be headed for sub minutes instead. I wouldn't like to see that happen to Sam, so I'm ok that money isn't being spent to get her to Portland. Save the money for a good upcoming CB, or a right winger. I'd also take a Cat Macario (her contract is up in the summer also, I believe.)
Yeah, I don't think anything happens until ownership changes. But, when ownership changes we will probably see a large deal or two. Not sure where on the pitch, but just in terms of making a splash.
Honestly, I think it’s more about the other options available in NWSL (ACFC/SD/KC) that weren’t available when the Thorns were at their peak appeal than players actively avoiding the Thorns and their mess (tho the chaos doesn’t help). Thorns players seem relatively happy compared to some other places- Even KC is having some pretty major issues.
Kassouf made a really astute comment to this point on last week’s pod: The Thorns were the model NWSL franchise for so long simply because they had the fan support and shared MLS infrastructure. Not saying MP didn’t spend money, but every international player and young domestic star wanted to come to Portland. The bar is higher now- Players rightfully expect a higher infrastructure level, which includes their own training facilities, branding, lifestyle, etc.
Anyhoo- we’ll see if the Thorns get back into the high level international player sweepstakes once the new ownership arrives- I anticipate the SoCal pull will imitate MLS and that ACFC will continue to have by far the greatest appeal to foreign players- doesn’t mean other teams can’t attract high level talent, but the Thorns are going to have to work hard to stay at the top.
I agree with all of that, yeah. I don't think the Portland draw for big names will happen anytime soon, but I do think it'll return if new ownership does things right.
Also, I read somewhere that the Seahawks have met with Soph's boyfriend recently (he's a football player who has declared for the NFL draft happening very soon...) Really would love to see him go to Seattle for selfish reasons! I think (again) if new ownership has big plans, they could entice Soph to stick around a lot longer if her longtime boyfriend is playing in Seattle. Soph could be a player magnet on her own because she would be so fun to play on a team with.
Unfortunately, I agree with you on all counts. Still, I'm shocked that she would not be going to Australia and New Zealand instead. It does also make me wonder what Ertz's future might be.
So, do we think she's coming to ACFC as a permanent signing? Man oh man.
That gives guidance about what's happening with Ertz -- i.e., not ACFC.
Speaking of ACFC and their injury woes... Charley suffered a ruptured ACL on Cosme's hard tackle during that Orlando-ACFC shitshow. Cosme got ball but was still called for the foul.
You know, the more I think about this, the more it pisses me off.
If Mandy's willing to come to NWSL again, you'd have to think Portland would have a shot at her.... and probably also bringing home Horan. But what does it mean that we're not talking directly with Horan, rather with OL and Horan's agent, and that Mandy is heading to ACFC?
If we could bring in Mandy that would allow Coffey to play a different role than the 6. Not that she's not a great 6, and it's wonderful how she's developed as a 6 here, but she might also be suited to another midfield position.... as she was for her entire life prior to last year.
I don't know how long we'll be able to hold onto Sugita, Sinc will retire someday, Rocky can't be thrilled about getting 20 minutes a match, Dunn looks to be settling in here but there's still the Soubrier thing, and we're going to lose SOMEBODY good in the upcoming double-expansion process. I've already suggested that Utah should try to swing a deal for Moultrie.
Having Mandy come here would be a relief, too, insofar as we will eventually lose veteran leadership along the backline.
But more than anything, we're in a holding pattern here because the franchise is still for sale. So, when opportunity comes knocking, we can't take advantage of it. And that pisses me off.
I was horrified to witness Mallory Swanson's gruesome injury on Saturday. I felt like the whole game was pretty rough, and I hope tomorrow's official will keep a tighter rein on the physicality. Swanson's tendon rupture almost certainly rules her out for the World Cup, which has got to be disappointing for all woso fans, but especially of course for her. (Recovery time for a torn patellar tendon is 4-6 months.) I'm wishing the very best for her, but counting on her for the WC doesn't seem realistic.
I'm guessing the front line will now include Lynn Williams up top along with Smith and Morgan, although we may see more of Trinity Rodman as well. Sophia will face both an opportunity and a challenge, and I look forward to seeing her rise to meet it. I just hope we get her back in good shape.
I don't want to close without mentioning how delighted I was to see Sinead Farrelly on the field again. She was a favorite of mine when she played here, and I really admire her courage in going public about Riley's abuse. I feared she wouldn't recover from his viciousness, so it's just wonderful to see her playing and smiling.
Yeah, I was thinking about how Soph and Becky both played full games, and really hoped they got limited minutes tonight. That game was entirely too rough for my liking, and we have a home game vs a tough Houston on Friday! We're gonna need our best players back.....and Rocky and Natu have both played two full games in Europe and will likely return pretty beat. Hina at least only came in for sub minutes today after playing a pretty full game a few days ago.
It is *beyond me* why Morgan and Soph (and Horan to a lesser extent) are playing tonight. I get they’ll play in NWSL where there’s also injury risk, but it just seems so unnecessary after what happened to Mal
Yeah I’m sure that’s it, I’m just not sure what the value is at this point- It’s a weird starting 11 for today’s game anyways: O’Hara and Huerta starting, Thompson over Rodman, Sanchez over the injured Lavelle.
I thought the same, like I'm afraid to even watch. Ireland was just brutal unnecessarily. Why make Soph play two full heavy (super physical) games?! It's not like she's not getting plenty of playing time for club....ugh, I just hope she's A) not injured and B) plays a short shift because we need her in 3 days pleeaaaase. Becky too! Give her the half because it's her night, but then please, she already played a full game. Ooof.
Poor Alyssa Thompson omg, I hope they don't break her.
Cook's moonshot: I issue a lot of criticism her way for defensive derps but Alana's shot/cross last night was just what the team needed. Lindsey did just enough to divert the keeper's attention that she didn't get proper contact on the ball. (Conversely, she JUST prevented Becky's goal on the set piece.)
Sans Pugh-Swanson, the US now has some attacking issues. Thompson is not the answer, so who?
Ertz looked far better than I expected and she pulled some really good minutes in the second half. Her communications are as impactful as her physical play.
Don’t be surprised if Thompson *is* the answer. She’s been mostly excellent for ACFC and is the closest approximation of Swanson’s skillset in the pool. Now, she’s not the answer in terms of replicating Mal’s impact and production....but no one is. Vlatko seems to prefer her over Rodman and I wouldn’t be shocked at all if she’s the starting left winger come June. Wing depth isn’t the problem imo, though missing a singular talent like Swanson certainly hurts.
Has anyone figured out Substack Notes, or what "Restack" means or is? Do either of these offer any possibilities for us to more easily have the kind of conversation we're looking for?
I don't know about different outlets for chatter, but Rose City Review provides some Thorns content too. Phuoc and Melina are still listed on their masthead, as are previous SBNation STF writers Leo and Jaiden, but I don't think Phuoc and Melina have written anything Thorns or NWSL-focused over there since the new STF launched here. It does look like they have written some Timbers content for Rose City Review.
I've been absent for a week or two mostly because 2 folks retired where I work and I've had to take on a ton of additional work. This was the first week of that, so it's been pretty hectic for me and I haven't even been able to think about soccer! But, I think I'm finding a groove, and will try to be more present here...
Lol. It's complicated. I work in higher education and there's been a hiring freeze for a while now because *waves hands* all of this over the last two years. So, short term, no! Long term...boy I hope so. Things will fall apart on an institutional level if they leave me to be the only person doing what I'm doing...but, my boss thinks that's what needs to happen to get around the hiring freeze because she knows we're screwed. Big LOL.
Need a Simpsons gif here, alas, I don't know how to do that here lol. Siiiiggghh
Hey Phuoc, quick question. I noticed that Melina and you are, or at least have been, writing content over on Rose City Review too. Not to get all Inside Baseball here, but why not just do one venture where Melina and you, the other RCR contributors (Leo and Jaiden), and Sam, Wilder, and Alex from STF join forces?
Kang bought the Lyon women’s team. The group that still owns the men’s team owns the Reign. Messy, and there’s still definitely potential for a conflict of interest imo
In terms of the relationship between Lyon and NWSL, it sure as hell seems like it just flipped from Seattle to DC. Gonna be interesting!
(Reposted because I accidentally posted in the wrong place)
A question about using substack: Is there a way to highlight new comments, ones that I haven't seen yet? New top-level comments will show up at the beginning (or end, depending on how they're sorted) so they're not a problem, but new replies to other people's comments will show up elsewhere and be hard to find without reading through every previous, existing comment. Reading through them all is fine for, say, 10 comments, but not for 100.
I'm hoping there's a way to do this, too. Some of our discussions get really big in terms of post volume, and a quick way to find new stuff is pretty critical. In gamer terms, a big "quality of life" issue...
A way to mitigate the problem as a reader is to use your browser's search facility to look for "hr ago". That should lead you to only comments and replies from the current day. Still not nearly as convenient as SB Nation, but it helps.
If there's no way to do this, a workaround would be to respond in a new comment, with a reference to the comment being replied to. Very clumsy; I hope someone has a better suggestion.
Today in International Friendlies...
Australia knocked off England 2-0, with goals from Kerr and Grant. The Lionesses outshot the Matildas 14-5 but came up empty.
France are leading Canada 2-1 late. Huitema scored.
Brazil defeated Germany 1-2. NWSL newcomer Ary Borges scored.
Sweden and Norway drew 3-3.
Several pounds of soccer right there. No, I don't think in kilos. Matildas knocking off the Lionesses bodes well for this summer.
Arsenal Women will be hosting Wolfsburg and have sold 36k tickets already. Good for the game, seeing attendance like that.
https://twitter.com/ArsenalWFC/status/1645793163280551936?cxt=HHwWgMDU8bCKhNctAAAA
The Matildas were without Foord today. They made the most of their chances.
Just saw that Swanson -- she'll always be Pugh to me -- has already had surgery. I'm no knee specialist, but I don't think they cut if it's a partial tear with a 3-to-6 week recovery time. Poor kiddo. Poor Vlatko.
Is there a way to organize this a little better for those of us only looking for Thorns content? It's a bit of a deterrent when I come here now and it's hard to find the few Thorns things amongst all of the Timbers content....
I know this new website is a WIP for everyone (and thank you!), but also wanted to toss out that it would be nice to update the STF logo to be a little more Thorns-inclusive? It's only Timbers colors and still only has the axe logo. Please consider updating this to make visiting this site feel a little more equitable and inclusive for the Thorns/Thorns fans that come to this site...and again, thank you all for your work!!
Agreed. I think it's kind of a rough start because it's been 2 weeks between Thorns matches and no news to drive us here, but...
One thing might be to have a way, right at the very top, to click on THORNS or TIMBERS and go to that content.
I mean, we have like 7 Thorns playing on int'l duty! Would be nice to have all of that info in one place and a thread to discuss the int'l window and those players who are playing...
Plus, the new home, wonderful though it is, doesn't have a way of embedding Simpsons videos and GIFs. Such as "Old Man Yells at Cloud," as I am doing now.
Especially given Substack’s comment format and organization is... not ideal to say the least lol
Thought I’d do a little research to see just how historic Smith’s start to her career has been in comparison to Sam Kerr, undisputed best NWSL striker ever….and yeah, she’s on track to be arguably the single best player this league has ever seen:
Minutes: SS- 3049, SK- 9963
Games: SS- 41, SK- 119
Goals: SS- 25, SK- 77
Assists: SS- 5, SK- 19
Goals/90: SS- 0.74, SK- 0.70
G+A/90: SS- 0.88, SK- 0.86
I don’t think Soph will stick around in NWSL long enough to get to the record, but she’s on pace to get there within 3 seasons. If she does stay in the league, it’s more than possible that she will become the most prolific NWSL goal scorer of all time *by the time she turns 25*. That’s insane!
Not to mention the single-season goals record, held by Kerr with 18. At Smith's current scoring rate of 2.0 goals/game, she would equal that by game 9! That scoring rate is unsustainable, but it's possible she could reach the record despite missing a bunch of games for the World Cup. Pray for no injuries.
I think it's quite possible Soph sticks around until she's 25 before she goes elsewhere. There's no rush from her perspective.
Certainly possible- Some of my skepticism is just prepping myself for disappointment tbh.
Having said that, if the Thorns win the shield and/or another title and she gets another MVP, it could be a "what else is there for me to do here" situation.....especially if she keeps getting ignored for the euro-centric world awards awards. I'd say she plays out her contract here and then it's anybody's guess.
My hope is that the league continues to grow to a point where we can offer her something competitive in the way of salary. Of course, if a super-rich Euro club really wanted to splash out on her (which they may very well do), there's no way we'll be able to compete, since there are no salary caps over there. I don't think playing in Europe would do anything to advance her skills, so the draw would have to be a combination of money and the allure of Champions League.
Even playing for, say, an OL or a Man City, it will always be difficult for a non-European player to compete for those awards; the bias is enormous. I mean, when Sam Kerr was clearly the best player in the world and playing over there, the only recognition she got to that effect was the Best International Women's Soccer Player ESPY...an _American_ award.
I don’t really think the allure of Europe would be salary for her- It would be testing herself in a new environment and showing everyone she can do it there as well, including in the champions league against the best players in the world.
I tend to agree that the domestic level isn’t higher than it it here -- certainly not in terms of competitiveness-- though I have no idea what the players think. It certainly isn’t a good thing to lose your best players overseas, so I hope for NWSL’s sake the league gets to a point where the relative appeal of Europe is minimal.
For the NWSL to remain one of the elite domestic leagues, it's going to HAVE to find a way to be at least reasonably salary-competitive. With the recent steep growth curve, we might be able to do that. I also think the Euro women's sides are being seen as more self-sufficient, given the growth over there. That might lessen the tendency of some clubs with obscenely rich men's sides to skew the player market so badly...although that sort of thing is deeply rooted in Euro football culture (yes, a Man City fan just said that...I know, I know...)
The WE League in Japan is struggling to retain players, but it doesn't yet have the financial base the NWSL does: it's only existed for a couple seasons as a newly-created first division, and represents the first time a women's league has been fully professional there. It's bleeding players to Europe and the US, particularly with the success Japan's youth national sides have been having (and their senior team has been shining, too).
If my plans hold and I'm living in Japan by Autumn, the NWSL won't be my "home league" any more! But I'll probably be in Sapporo, where there's no WE League team, either. Obviously I'll still support Thorns FC and am also an ardent Tokyo Verdy Beleza supporter, but my local women's side will be Norddea Hokkaido...a third division team. That actually sounds like a lot of fun!
On a macro level, yes absolutely. I’m actually very optimistic that the NWSL will be able to get to a *reasonable* level of financial competitiveness, tho I’m not sure if the ownership models we see entering the league, though ultimately a great thing for NWSL, will be able to provide the top-end salaries that a Chelsea or Lyon can.
The other interesting piece of this is internal- Whether the lower tier teams keep up with the top spenders, from a talent level, a marketing and fan support level, and an infrastructure level. Kassouf goes into some detail on the latest Equalizer pod (really interesting discussion imo) on his concerns in the near term- Are owners of these teams (Orlando, NCC, Chicago, Gotham etc) going to be willing to meet the elevated expectations of players? Why would a top player want to go play in Cary, NC with low-tier training faculties when they could go play in LA? Are we going to see relocation? Are all the new expansion teams going to be equally invested? There’s a ton of really interesting questions to be answered.
The priority needs to be creating a league where the best American players want to stay. It’s really important that the next Macario/Smith/Girma/Thompson feels that the NWSL can meet their demands, both financially, facility-wise, and on-field. Because of the delayed growth of woso in Europe, NWSL isn’t starting from quite the place of weakness that MLS did relative to the competition. Now it really needs to make sure it doesn’t fall behind as woso gets bigger and bigger in Europe.
What has been the reason for Eugénie Le Sommer to be playing for Lyon for 13 years for Alexia Putellas to continue playing for Barcelona for 11 years?
They have already won everything they could with those clubs and still continue playing for them.
"Congrats on the attendance record." lmaoo dying
It was not suppose to come off bad. Whoops! Was genuinely trying to compliment them :)
Haha I think you should lean into it! Go full beat-writer Soph
For real! You're too nice Phuoc! Your power rankings are like 1-10: These teams are great. 11: This team has everything that it needs to be great but has had some bad luck. 12: This team is Orlando. Lol... Thanks for putting this together!
1. Thorns. We love them. They look great.
2. San Diego. They look good. We are slightly scared of them.
3-11. Not enough data to know if the problems are real or just week 2 issues.
12. Orlando. There is enough data. This team is bad.
Jokes aside the high attendance in a certain markets is great to see. Really hope some of the others can put some effort into marketing. Though the weather in a few markets sure didn't help this weekend.
I'd like more Thorns and less Timbers. Maybe a totally separate Thorns (and NWSL/WNT) room
Please! All I see is Timbers content and Timbers branding on the logo. I know it's old, but would love an update.
I do think part of the problem is that MLS is continuing and NWSL is on break, but it's also funny that Thorns are unrepresented here because the Thorns discussions were far more fulsome on the ol' STF.
We could, of course, just hijack any story on SBNation's AllforXI. After all, they're not eliminating all WoSo content.
https://twitter.com/amandaezaza/status/1645716884900151296?s=20
Fuuuuckk
Mandy--nooooo! Say it ain't so.
Is a Le Sommer move in play? She'd be a nice consolation prize, also a striker, filling an obvious need.
Here's another striker, being given a tryout.
https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1645793930456473604?cxt=HHwWiIDR5YS3hNctAAAA
No way Le Sommer doesn't go to Seattle if she were to even come to the NWSL for good. I don't know when her contract is up, though. Mandy's is up in the summer.
Honestly, until we have our sale go through and major changes are made, I don't see any big names coming our way. Portland's rep has been severely damaged over the last two years imo, and until we start getting some good PR for a good while, I don't see that changing. It's one thing to already be a part of the team now, but from the outside the place looks like a dumpster fire (because it has been.)
Can't believe she wouldn't be playing for France this summer. But if that doesn't happen,
why the hell would she want to play for ACFC instead of returning to Portland? I know, been there, done that, but she was bummed that she got hurt during the WICC. Also, doesn't it seem slightly odd that if she doesn't come to Portland she goes to ACFC instead of OL Reign? Is Los Angeles just that enticing? Do you really want to spend your summer alongside McCaskill?
I mean, as much as it bums me out, I can think of many reasons why she’d want to go to ACFC over Portland:
1. Yes, LA is that enticing. I wouldn’t live there in a million years, but pro athletes love it and ACFC has done a mostly fantastic marketing job. This would be ACFC’s first real LAFC-esque move if it happens.
2. I’m sure she has fond memories of Portland, but it’s still a tad chaotic here- I’m sure a new project appeals to her.
3. ACFC has a clear need for her- As crazy as it might sound given her pedigree, I don’t want her taking Coffey’s spot!
4. Ive mentioned this previously (tho I have no evidence of this being the case) but I don’t think Portland is even looking at these superstar signings anymore. Idk if it’s loss of relative cache or willingness to spend, but we haven’t seen big money signings for a looong time. Could change with new ownership.
Yeah, all of this. Players like nice weather, a big city, and a beach. Esp aging players...same reason why old folks go to Florida for retirement lol. I'm from LA, and I would never move back, but I get the draw for a French player. She'll definitely be going to the WC, though, so she likely wouldn't be there until end of season.
Despite results over 2 games, Portland is still an absolute dumpster fire org. The only thing that surprises me with this news is that I was sure Julie Ertz would be going to AC. No way you have Ertz and Henry on the roster and have one on the bench, so maybe it means Ertz is heading to San Diego. Either way, whichever team either of those two go to, the current 6 will be headed for sub minutes instead. I wouldn't like to see that happen to Sam, so I'm ok that money isn't being spent to get her to Portland. Save the money for a good upcoming CB, or a right winger. I'd also take a Cat Macario (her contract is up in the summer also, I believe.)
Yeah, I don't think anything happens until ownership changes. But, when ownership changes we will probably see a large deal or two. Not sure where on the pitch, but just in terms of making a splash.
Agreed. A flexing, of sorts. They'll want to get their first big signing right, for sure.
Honestly, I think it’s more about the other options available in NWSL (ACFC/SD/KC) that weren’t available when the Thorns were at their peak appeal than players actively avoiding the Thorns and their mess (tho the chaos doesn’t help). Thorns players seem relatively happy compared to some other places- Even KC is having some pretty major issues.
Kassouf made a really astute comment to this point on last week’s pod: The Thorns were the model NWSL franchise for so long simply because they had the fan support and shared MLS infrastructure. Not saying MP didn’t spend money, but every international player and young domestic star wanted to come to Portland. The bar is higher now- Players rightfully expect a higher infrastructure level, which includes their own training facilities, branding, lifestyle, etc.
Anyhoo- we’ll see if the Thorns get back into the high level international player sweepstakes once the new ownership arrives- I anticipate the SoCal pull will imitate MLS and that ACFC will continue to have by far the greatest appeal to foreign players- doesn’t mean other teams can’t attract high level talent, but the Thorns are going to have to work hard to stay at the top.
I agree with all of that, yeah. I don't think the Portland draw for big names will happen anytime soon, but I do think it'll return if new ownership does things right.
Also, I read somewhere that the Seahawks have met with Soph's boyfriend recently (he's a football player who has declared for the NFL draft happening very soon...) Really would love to see him go to Seattle for selfish reasons! I think (again) if new ownership has big plans, they could entice Soph to stick around a lot longer if her longtime boyfriend is playing in Seattle. Soph could be a player magnet on her own because she would be so fun to play on a team with.
We don’t want to fly to close to the sun tho- what if she’s like “get me to Seattle” lolol
Yep, that was our competitive advantage -- spectacular place to play, great fan support, and MLS infrastructure without the overhead.
Unfortunately, I agree with you on all counts. Still, I'm shocked that she would not be going to Australia and New Zealand instead. It does also make me wonder what Ertz's future might be.
Oh I think she will be going to the WC, summer is just when her contract with Lyon expires.
So, do we think she's coming to ACFC as a permanent signing? Man oh man.
That gives guidance about what's happening with Ertz -- i.e., not ACFC.
Speaking of ACFC and their injury woes... Charley suffered a ruptured ACL on Cosme's hard tackle during that Orlando-ACFC shitshow. Cosme got ball but was still called for the foul.
You know, the more I think about this, the more it pisses me off.
If Mandy's willing to come to NWSL again, you'd have to think Portland would have a shot at her.... and probably also bringing home Horan. But what does it mean that we're not talking directly with Horan, rather with OL and Horan's agent, and that Mandy is heading to ACFC?
If we could bring in Mandy that would allow Coffey to play a different role than the 6. Not that she's not a great 6, and it's wonderful how she's developed as a 6 here, but she might also be suited to another midfield position.... as she was for her entire life prior to last year.
I don't know how long we'll be able to hold onto Sugita, Sinc will retire someday, Rocky can't be thrilled about getting 20 minutes a match, Dunn looks to be settling in here but there's still the Soubrier thing, and we're going to lose SOMEBODY good in the upcoming double-expansion process. I've already suggested that Utah should try to swing a deal for Moultrie.
Having Mandy come here would be a relief, too, insofar as we will eventually lose veteran leadership along the backline.
But more than anything, we're in a holding pattern here because the franchise is still for sale. So, when opportunity comes knocking, we can't take advantage of it. And that pisses me off.
I love Charley, that news makes me so sad for her. She's such a good person, I just wanna see her succeed!
I was horrified to witness Mallory Swanson's gruesome injury on Saturday. I felt like the whole game was pretty rough, and I hope tomorrow's official will keep a tighter rein on the physicality. Swanson's tendon rupture almost certainly rules her out for the World Cup, which has got to be disappointing for all woso fans, but especially of course for her. (Recovery time for a torn patellar tendon is 4-6 months.) I'm wishing the very best for her, but counting on her for the WC doesn't seem realistic.
I'm guessing the front line will now include Lynn Williams up top along with Smith and Morgan, although we may see more of Trinity Rodman as well. Sophia will face both an opportunity and a challenge, and I look forward to seeing her rise to meet it. I just hope we get her back in good shape.
I don't want to close without mentioning how delighted I was to see Sinead Farrelly on the field again. She was a favorite of mine when she played here, and I really admire her courage in going public about Riley's abuse. I feared she wouldn't recover from his viciousness, so it's just wonderful to see her playing and smiling.
Yeah, I was thinking about how Soph and Becky both played full games, and really hoped they got limited minutes tonight. That game was entirely too rough for my liking, and we have a home game vs a tough Houston on Friday! We're gonna need our best players back.....and Rocky and Natu have both played two full games in Europe and will likely return pretty beat. Hina at least only came in for sub minutes today after playing a pretty full game a few days ago.
It is *beyond me* why Morgan and Soph (and Horan to a lesser extent) are playing tonight. I get they’ll play in NWSL where there’s also injury risk, but it just seems so unnecessary after what happened to Mal
So they can be injured, of course!
Seriously, I think perhaps it's so Vlatko can take a look at how some of the other players work with them.
Yeah I’m sure that’s it, I’m just not sure what the value is at this point- It’s a weird starting 11 for today’s game anyways: O’Hara and Huerta starting, Thompson over Rodman, Sanchez over the injured Lavelle.
I thought the same, like I'm afraid to even watch. Ireland was just brutal unnecessarily. Why make Soph play two full heavy (super physical) games?! It's not like she's not getting plenty of playing time for club....ugh, I just hope she's A) not injured and B) plays a short shift because we need her in 3 days pleeaaaase. Becky too! Give her the half because it's her night, but then please, she already played a full game. Ooof.
Poor Alyssa Thompson omg, I hope they don't break her.
475k watched Thorns defenestrate Current on broadcast CBS--a new regular season record. Maybe show even more matches there?
https://twitter.com/NWSL/status/1643635193180299266?cxt=HHwWhIC93f7frs8tAAAA
Cook's moonshot: I issue a lot of criticism her way for defensive derps but Alana's shot/cross last night was just what the team needed. Lindsey did just enough to divert the keeper's attention that she didn't get proper contact on the ball. (Conversely, she JUST prevented Becky's goal on the set piece.)
Sans Pugh-Swanson, the US now has some attacking issues. Thompson is not the answer, so who?
Ertz looked far better than I expected and she pulled some really good minutes in the second half. Her communications are as impactful as her physical play.
Don’t be surprised if Thompson *is* the answer. She’s been mostly excellent for ACFC and is the closest approximation of Swanson’s skillset in the pool. Now, she’s not the answer in terms of replicating Mal’s impact and production....but no one is. Vlatko seems to prefer her over Rodman and I wouldn’t be shocked at all if she’s the starting left winger come June. Wing depth isn’t the problem imo, though missing a singular talent like Swanson certainly hurts.
https://twitter.com/thrace/status/1646181776493015042?s=20
Holy shit Kang with the power play!
Has anyone figured out Substack Notes, or what "Restack" means or is? Do either of these offer any possibilities for us to more easily have the kind of conversation we're looking for?
Folks know about the Golazo Network?
Free, 24-hour streaming via CBSSports.com, available on Paramount+, PlutoTV, and the CBSSports mobile app.
https://www.cbssports.com/promotions/cbs-sports-golazo-network-how-to-watch-the-first-of-its-kind-24-hour-soccer-network-launching-april-11/
Are people using different outlets for Thorns chatter? Pretty quiet on here
I don't know about different outlets for chatter, but Rose City Review provides some Thorns content too. Phuoc and Melina are still listed on their masthead, as are previous SBNation STF writers Leo and Jaiden, but I don't think Phuoc and Melina have written anything Thorns or NWSL-focused over there since the new STF launched here. It does look like they have written some Timbers content for Rose City Review.
I've been absent for a week or two mostly because 2 folks retired where I work and I've had to take on a ton of additional work. This was the first week of that, so it's been pretty hectic for me and I haven't even been able to think about soccer! But, I think I'm finding a groove, and will try to be more present here...
Will they replace the retirees or just pile more on your plate?
Lol. It's complicated. I work in higher education and there's been a hiring freeze for a while now because *waves hands* all of this over the last two years. So, short term, no! Long term...boy I hope so. Things will fall apart on an institutional level if they leave me to be the only person doing what I'm doing...but, my boss thinks that's what needs to happen to get around the hiring freeze because she knows we're screwed. Big LOL.
Need a Simpsons gif here, alas, I don't know how to do that here lol. Siiiiggghh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Gqq_0rxeE
It's not as direct, but it's still good...
Haha, it's not that dire yet but I swear to god if I start seeing a duck around the office....
Hey Phuoc, quick question. I noticed that Melina and you are, or at least have been, writing content over on Rose City Review too. Not to get all Inside Baseball here, but why not just do one venture where Melina and you, the other RCR contributors (Leo and Jaiden), and Sam, Wilder, and Alex from STF join forces?
According to L'Equipe, Michele Kang is buying 52% of OL Feminin. Does this mean that the Spirit will be the new foster home of OL ringers?
Or for that matter, Spirit become majority owners of Reign FC? My brain just tripped a circuit breaker.
Kang bought the Lyon women’s team. The group that still owns the men’s team owns the Reign. Messy, and there’s still definitely potential for a conflict of interest imo
In terms of the relationship between Lyon and NWSL, it sure as hell seems like it just flipped from Seattle to DC. Gonna be interesting!