Rikke is generally “Ree-Kuh” and Sevecke is typically “Seh-vih-Kuh.” Danish is weird tho cause there are often multiple way to pronounce- It sounds like she’s saying “Ray-kuh See-vih-kuh” in the pronunciation guide to me so I’ll go with that lol.
Doing a little more research, looks like she’s a slightly more significant signing than i thought at first glance, and thus may have a larger role next year:
- Started all four WC games, 3 at RB and one at CB. So, the positive is that she’s a full international, the negative is that she’s another player gone during international breaks.
- Started 45 games for Everton from ages 20-23. That’s a whole lot of experience for a 23 year old defender.
- Has that RB/CB positional flexibility that Natu is supposed to have.
So...as you and others have mentioned, does this indicate something larger (i.e anticipated loss of Menges or Becky) or is she just a nice depth piece? My guess is the latter, but who knows. Regardless, we now have four healthy competent CBs going into the stretch run, which is nice.
(Also, the Thorns press release says she was born in 1996.....which is definitely not true if she's 23)
So her last club (Everton) was the “best of the worst” for GA; 36. That’s not BHA (63GA) but it’s twenty more than the legitimate contenders like MC who shipped 15-16.
No idea what role she played there, but hopefully she’s at least decent (international? Should be!) and will provide some value; given Brunn’s age and free agency, Menges’ fragility, and Hubly’s form I’d consider this a worthwhile addition.
Headed goals. Now who'd want to add that to the toolkit? Good to see a highlights tape.
"Rickey, go mark Kornieck!"
ETA, since we don't know if Becky will play next year it seems she could either be a slot-filler should that happen, or if Becky stays then competition for Hubly's slot. I'd ponder Menges but that's too many moving parts for my small brain.
On paper, she’s exactly what the Thorns needed in the long term. Good job KK . I suppose the team could have limped thru this season and waited til after expansion, but maybe the signing means the team knows something more about the CB’s for next year, or Sauerbruuns injury, than we do.
I think her contract with Everton ended with the 2022/2023 season, so waiting a few months to sign her would mean she may have signed for another team instead of waiting 4 or 5 months without a team and so around December and if the Thorns aimed to sign a quality international player would have to pay a transfer fee. This may also point that there may be plans for negotiating trades with the Expansion teams in exchange for roster protection.
Unfortunately Sauerbrunn may be retiring, so is good to get a quality and experienced replacement for her or as a safeguard in case another injury, plus Menges also risk of getting injured again, We have no idea if Kuikka may continue with the team, her contract if I'm not wrong finish this year, so hopefully they are in talks to renovate it.
Yeah, my first thought was…why now? And then, what does this mean for our current CB’s (or Kuikka.) Menges and Sauerbrunn are free agents, but I highly doubt they’d go elsewhere. Moreso, either could retire and I wouldn’t be surprised. With how Menges has improved since her injury, that would be a bummer. I also thought this could signal that Hubly may not be protected in the expansion draft and has the possibility to get picked up elsewhere. The contract for the rest of 2023 (with an option) is pretty weird. Rikke is currently with Denmark int’l team and is still waiting for be allowed to even play here. By the time she gets integrated there could only be 1 or 2 regular season games left, and even then that’s not a lot of time to get properly integrated. Are we basing picking up her option for ‘24 off of a couple games? Are we not confident in her enough to at least sign her for 2024? Couldn’t find much, but apparently her contract just wasn’t picked back up by Everton? Wonder why we wouldn’t just sign her after the expansion draft, when she’d be another person to now protect?
Love that she’s 5’11. Hope she’s a CB solution and not a FB solution. I’ve gotta go watch some clips!
Weird timing could possibly be related to the league discovery list? Maybe the team knew/feared another team was going to pounce if the Thorns didn’t sign her within their opportunity window? Else, yeah, weird timing bc she’s unlikely to help much until next year anyhow
This was my source, but IDK if there were other complications. A metric tonne of expired contracts and "loan returns" happened on Jan 7. "Here's your winger and oh yes, your lawnmower and 13mm box end wrench."
My guess is that she had some options in Europe and wasn’t sure where she was going to play....the WSL hasn’t even started yet.
Clarke used the words “glorified trial” on twitter, but it’s pretty clear from her profile and from Norris’ quotes that she’ll be around next year. Starting caliber European internationals don’t really go on trial. I think the timing indicates they want the depth for the last few games/playoffs tho....which is a good thing.
The option is the weird part- Does the deadline of the 21st not apply to her? If it doesn’t, when would they have to trigger it? How does that work for the expansion draft? Would her rights be eligible to be selected if they didn’t have to trigger the option until 2024? There’s got to be a reason the contract is structured that way.
I’m not overly concerned about the expansion draft- if a player/team really wants to keep someone, they usually figure out a way to make it happen. That said, it does require some sort of asset exchange to make it happen...so they must either really value her presence for the rest of the season or be worried that she would have gone elsewhere in the interim.
Everton's manager said he thought she'd end up with a Champions League team--I seem to recall her being linked with Roma. Maybe that didn't come about, maybe the Thorns offered a lot more money that's lying around post Horan transfer.
She was linked with Real Madrid as well. I think eventually they decided to pursue Bjorn, though. It's nice that we didn't have to pay any sort of transfer fee for her...
Menges is not a free agent. She is under contract through 2024 with an option for 2025. The club announced it mid-summer 2022 along with Hubly's contract.
Had a little bit of time this evening, so I did a little amateur scouting on Sevecke: I watched the WC game she played at CB and the Everton vs. City match. My main takeaways:
- She’s very much a ball-playing CB. Likes to get her head up and find a pass. Good at breaking lines when pressed.
- She played as the central CB in Everton’s 3-back. Excellent at finding out balls and directing the back line.
- Reads the game very well. Has a Menges-like ability to read where passes are going and intercept.
- Not very physical- Had a lot of trouble with Bunny Shaw’s strength and speed in the City game.
- Not super strong aerially despite her height (tho she did score against City!)
- Def a natural CB. Didn't do much at all at RB for Denmark.
Her FB Ref profile matches the eye-test. Relative to other CBs, she’s clearly strongest in the on-ball areas (passes attempted, completion percentage, progressive passes etc) and weakest in the more physical elements (tackles won, aerials won, blocks). Here is her FB Ref page along with Hubly, Menges, and Becky (It won't let me post the overlapping comparison, but you can do that yourself if so inclined).
I think she’s better than Hubly and profiles well on the ball which they really miss when Sauerbrunn is absent. I think it’s not the worst idea using her as cover for Becky plus it gives Norris some flexibility. And means no more Nally.
Yeah I wonder if they watched Hubly and Nally spray errant passes all over the place and panic when pressed while Becky was out and said “alright no more of this” lol
I'll give her a pass on having difficulty with Bunny Shaw.
FBRef lists Bunny as same size as Sevecke (5'10.5", 152 lbs) but I've also seen Bunny listed as 5'11" or 6'0" and as much as 172lbs (on ESPN).
So, Sevecke is probably giving up an inch or so (not a big deal) and at least 20 pounds (a big deal), and Bunny is absolutely a physical load in her style of play.
We don't have too many 6'0" 172lbs forwards with strength and pace in the NWSL. For example, Trinity Rodman lists as 5'7" 128lbs.
Oh definitely- Bunny’s a tough matchup for anyone. I meant that more as a caution for people who might expect her to be a big, physical, strong-in-the-air, ball-winning CB like Millie Bright, Erceg, or Buchanan just because she’s 5’11, when that’s not really her game.
Also, remember Hina's first few games? I thought she was going to get totally flattened in the NWSL. And she totally holds her own now. So it seems like to at least some degree, physically is a mindset that can be learned.
Betfort is about that size, and faster. I don't think she has the heft though. Korniek v. Shaw would be fun to watch. Korniek is not quick but she's fast over 50 yards.
SO....today is the 21st, meaning that today is the last day to take options on upcoming free-agents. It’s also (I assume) the last day where the Thorns are the only team who can discuss contracts with upcoming free-agents currently under contract.
Portland has three free-agents (Sinc, Menges, Dunn), and one player with a club option for 2024 (Moultrie). So, starting tomorrow, free agents can begin negotiations with other teams, meaning that without an extension announcement TODAY, those three become free agents. It doesn’t seem like any announcements are forthcoming, so it looks like we’re heading towards a few months of Dunn (and Menges) speculation.
We also haven’t heard that the club is picking up Moultrie’s option yet, but I think that has happened after the season in the past for players that aren’t FA-eligible. I’d hope they’d extend her too, but we’ll see.
I think Becky is a free agent as well (I thought she was last season when she re-signed here for another year?) Also....how is Kling not a free agent yet?
Because Crys and Sinc are with their national teams, it's either been done already or it hasn't. Hoping for an announcement from the Thorns today regarding Crystal, but not holding my breath...
Spotrac is only showing those three...but you’re right, idk why Becky wouldn’t be one. It’s infuriating that the NWSL’s list of free agents from last year hasn’t been updated from LAST FALL!
Reminder that the deadline is about filing paperwork with the league, not about announcing anything. It's quite possible that extensions or options are done and the team has delayed the announcements.
I think Menges is signed through 2024 with an option for 2025? That happened last summer about a month before the rainbow shoelaces situation came out.
Becky is definitely a free agent. Kling is signed through 2023 with an option, so hopefully they exercised that one, otherwise she's a free agent. You'd think those two and Sinc would be 1 year situations.
Tegan McGrady has a 1 year option and otherwise is a free agent. She's been too injured here to do much, but maybe could be good value to send to Bay FC if the whole FA/expansion situation ever gets clarified. Same with Vasconcelos (1 yr option or a FA), but with Utah.
I'm scared Moultrie will go overseas now that she's 18.
Sportrac's list is pretty wrong across the league. I've been working off the KeeperNotes lists which are usually accurate.
Yup, ignore Spotrac I guess. Too bad, because they’re excellent with other sports.
Looks like you’re right re: Menges- She is signed through 2024, so not a FA. Kling does have an option for next year and would be free agency eligible, so that’s the one we’d have to hear about relatively shortly if she’s extending (which I imagine she will).
McGrady shouldn’t be eligible for FA yet, because she doesn’t have the required service time, correct? I can’t imagine she’d stay regardless. Moultrie has the team option, so I find it unlikely that she’ll leave....idk what her incentive is to go overseas. She won’t get time for any big team and she’ll have more eyeballs on her if she stays.
The FA requirement is five years rostered with an NWSL team. McGrady was drafted in 2019, with the Spirit for 3 years (2019-2021), then the Wave (2022), then Portland (2022-3).
With Moultrie, it's more that some of what she's said in interviews reminds me of Horan. I agree that she'd get less playing time at a Lyon, PSG or the top of the WSL. But maybe the romantic illusion of European football is too strong.
How do you read this? Of course it’s definitely good she’s here another season, but does this indicate either a) the club isn’t interested in a long-term contract b) Liv isn’t interested in a long-term contract, or, c) could be either, but might mean the club wants to wait another season before they renegotiate a more expensive contract??
Or, I guess could be d) the club is about to be sold and that could complicate intention from either side or e) no use negotiating a long-term contract if we’re gonna send her to Utah for expansion purposes.
Lol. Again, happy she’s gonna be here but wondering why only the option taken…
I'd assume it's mostly (c) with a bit of (d) thrown in. Club is likely to be in a different financial situation next off-season. Possibility of Sinclair and Sauerbrunn retiring is much higher by off-season 2024-5, which will open up cap space to offer something better. And if the option wasn't exercised, it allows her as a restricted free agent to shop for a better deal against whatever contract Thorns offer, so potential of losing her for nothing goes up anyway.
I'm going with hesitation on her part WRT the new owners, perhaps secondarily with forthcoming league expansion (so much expansion). Her path seems very carefully scripted by the family as a whole.
Just glad to see what the next edition of Liv has to offer. She's a blast to watch and is on par with much of the league, skillwise, while getting stronger and faster.
I wouldn’t read into it too much, though I’d say with confidence that it’s not (e).
My best guess is that we’re not going to see any major extensions until after the sale, so triggering the option is the easiest path forward for both parties. It’s also possible (d) they want her to prove it: she’s been mostly very good, but they might want to see a little more....and on her side, she probably wants to show she’s worth a bigger extension than what she’d get right now.
Fwiw, Louisville and Seattle didn’t extend Kgatlana and Huitema when their extensions were picked up.
About Huitema, I think she has been overhyped, she has not shown to be a really great player. The "best" she has done since joining Shittle was the 2 "assists" for both Thorns goals the last match.
So, Sinc, Becky, and Kling all stay unless they retire.
McGrady is probably allowed to try free agency, unless signed in order to use in the expansion draft. However, Vasco has a mutual option, which I assume means that either side can choose to exercise it.
Which leaves Dunn. I assume she's going to look elsewhere
My guess would be that there has been a flurry of extensions, options exercised, and maybe other roster moves, and that the team will announce these one at a time, in order to get an item in the news regularly. It just seems like basic marketing not to dump all your news at once. (Unless, of course, you don't want attention.) Every time the Thorns appear in the news, people who might be considering season tickets will be jogged.
I would generally agree, but it would be strange to have players on the league free agent list if they’ve already signed. Typically those types of announcements would be released prior to a deadline.
Same listing, more info. Interesting that Chicago has all these FAs and new ownership coming in. Swanson, Davidson, Krueger, Boyd, Matthews, Roccaro, Nagasato, Sharples, St Georges are all unrestricted, and Stevens is restricted. 10 is a lot!
Okay smart soccer people, ya'll said we needed to sign a defender. How are we feeling?
(By total random coincidence I just special ordered a new bass guitar from Denmark this morning!)
Is it the Rikke Sevecke model?
The model is the Wingman, so totally the wrong position.
Thanks for the pronunciation guide, but even after listening to it a few times I still can't pronounce her first name. It think it's RAYkuh SEV-I-kuh?
I'm excited to hear the PP announcer say her name.
Rikke is generally “Ree-Kuh” and Sevecke is typically “Seh-vih-Kuh.” Danish is weird tho cause there are often multiple way to pronounce- It sounds like she’s saying “Ray-kuh See-vih-kuh” in the pronunciation guide to me so I’ll go with that lol.
Thinking this is preparation for a retirement or a loss of player in expansion...
Yeah I'm expecting to lose McGrady and/or Sauerbrunn.
Doing a little more research, looks like she’s a slightly more significant signing than i thought at first glance, and thus may have a larger role next year:
- Started all four WC games, 3 at RB and one at CB. So, the positive is that she’s a full international, the negative is that she’s another player gone during international breaks.
- Started 45 games for Everton from ages 20-23. That’s a whole lot of experience for a 23 year old defender.
- Has that RB/CB positional flexibility that Natu is supposed to have.
So...as you and others have mentioned, does this indicate something larger (i.e anticipated loss of Menges or Becky) or is she just a nice depth piece? My guess is the latter, but who knows. Regardless, we now have four healthy competent CBs going into the stretch run, which is nice.
(Also, the Thorns press release says she was born in 1996.....which is definitely not true if she's 23)
Freakishly tall for a FB…
As someone who lived in Denmark for a while, I can attest to the fact that Danish women are indeed generally very tall.
I don’t know if 5’11 is *that* tall, but it is definitely is a unusual for a FB. Hopefully that means she’ll play mostly CB for us.
She and Betfort are now the twin towers on the field, with only Bix being taller on the whole squad.
Hello Wendie Renard! Hello Abby Erceg!
Right! She has set piece weapon written all over her. Wendie Renard and Abby Erceg are good examples of CB's that are good at headers.
See above: her club form suggests about 2 goals/season, so, yeah, Abby Erceg.
FBRef has her born in 1996 too: June 15, 1996 (Age: 27-097d) in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark
Ah, that makes more sense then. A little more experience, less youth.
Wikipedia says she’s 27
Like the height (5’11”)
So her last club (Everton) was the “best of the worst” for GA; 36. That’s not BHA (63GA) but it’s twenty more than the legitimate contenders like MC who shipped 15-16.
No idea what role she played there, but hopefully she’s at least decent (international? Should be!) and will provide some value; given Brunn’s age and free agency, Menges’ fragility, and Hubly’s form I’d consider this a worthwhile addition.
Headed goals. Now who'd want to add that to the toolkit? Good to see a highlights tape.
"Rickey, go mark Kornieck!"
ETA, since we don't know if Becky will play next year it seems she could either be a slot-filler should that happen, or if Becky stays then competition for Hubly's slot. I'd ponder Menges but that's too many moving parts for my small brain.
I think that's absolutely right. This is insurance in case we face Champipple in the playoffs.
Her stat sheet has her with 10 goals over 98 professional games, so about 2 a season. Sounds like she’s similar to Hubly as a scorer.
International goals are about one per 8 matches, so maybe a skosh more projecting that to a 22/24 game season…
On paper, she’s exactly what the Thorns needed in the long term. Good job KK . I suppose the team could have limped thru this season and waited til after expansion, but maybe the signing means the team knows something more about the CB’s for next year, or Sauerbruuns injury, than we do.
I think her contract with Everton ended with the 2022/2023 season, so waiting a few months to sign her would mean she may have signed for another team instead of waiting 4 or 5 months without a team and so around December and if the Thorns aimed to sign a quality international player would have to pay a transfer fee. This may also point that there may be plans for negotiating trades with the Expansion teams in exchange for roster protection.
Unfortunately Sauerbrunn may be retiring, so is good to get a quality and experienced replacement for her or as a safeguard in case another injury, plus Menges also risk of getting injured again, We have no idea if Kuikka may continue with the team, her contract if I'm not wrong finish this year, so hopefully they are in talks to renovate it.
Yeah, my first thought was…why now? And then, what does this mean for our current CB’s (or Kuikka.) Menges and Sauerbrunn are free agents, but I highly doubt they’d go elsewhere. Moreso, either could retire and I wouldn’t be surprised. With how Menges has improved since her injury, that would be a bummer. I also thought this could signal that Hubly may not be protected in the expansion draft and has the possibility to get picked up elsewhere. The contract for the rest of 2023 (with an option) is pretty weird. Rikke is currently with Denmark int’l team and is still waiting for be allowed to even play here. By the time she gets integrated there could only be 1 or 2 regular season games left, and even then that’s not a lot of time to get properly integrated. Are we basing picking up her option for ‘24 off of a couple games? Are we not confident in her enough to at least sign her for 2024? Couldn’t find much, but apparently her contract just wasn’t picked back up by Everton? Wonder why we wouldn’t just sign her after the expansion draft, when she’d be another person to now protect?
Love that she’s 5’11. Hope she’s a CB solution and not a FB solution. I’ve gotta go watch some clips!
Weird timing could possibly be related to the league discovery list? Maybe the team knew/feared another team was going to pounce if the Thorns didn’t sign her within their opportunity window? Else, yeah, weird timing bc she’s unlikely to help much until next year anyhow
Everton transfer list shows her contract expired back in January. Wonder what she's been doing other than playing for her country's team?
Her contract didn't expire until the end of June.
This was my source, but IDK if there were other complications. A metric tonne of expired contracts and "loan returns" happened on Jan 7. "Here's your winger and oh yes, your lawnmower and 13mm box end wrench."
https://www.evertonfc.com/teams/transfers
The date was written in DD/MM/YYYY form. 1/7/2023 is July 1, 2023
Weirdos!
Certainly explains the seeming lack of chron-sorting.
My guess is that she had some options in Europe and wasn’t sure where she was going to play....the WSL hasn’t even started yet.
Clarke used the words “glorified trial” on twitter, but it’s pretty clear from her profile and from Norris’ quotes that she’ll be around next year. Starting caliber European internationals don’t really go on trial. I think the timing indicates they want the depth for the last few games/playoffs tho....which is a good thing.
The option is the weird part- Does the deadline of the 21st not apply to her? If it doesn’t, when would they have to trigger it? How does that work for the expansion draft? Would her rights be eligible to be selected if they didn’t have to trigger the option until 2024? There’s got to be a reason the contract is structured that way.
I’m not overly concerned about the expansion draft- if a player/team really wants to keep someone, they usually figure out a way to make it happen. That said, it does require some sort of asset exchange to make it happen...so they must either really value her presence for the rest of the season or be worried that she would have gone elsewhere in the interim.
Everton's manager said he thought she'd end up with a Champions League team--I seem to recall her being linked with Roma. Maybe that didn't come about, maybe the Thorns offered a lot more money that's lying around post Horan transfer.
She was linked with Real Madrid as well. I think eventually they decided to pursue Bjorn, though. It's nice that we didn't have to pay any sort of transfer fee for her...
Menges is not a free agent. She is under contract through 2024 with an option for 2025. The club announced it mid-summer 2022 along with Hubly's contract.
What are the chances that she's been hearing Thorns stories for a while? Dr. Nadim, ya know.
Good point and certainly has gleaned intel from Nadim on both the Thorns and PDX. Plus she can coach her on swearing in English and Canuckian.
And many, many, many other languages...
We love you, Dr Nadim!
I figured that as well. At the least, would chat with Dr. Nadim about what it's like to play here.
Had a little bit of time this evening, so I did a little amateur scouting on Sevecke: I watched the WC game she played at CB and the Everton vs. City match. My main takeaways:
- She’s very much a ball-playing CB. Likes to get her head up and find a pass. Good at breaking lines when pressed.
- She played as the central CB in Everton’s 3-back. Excellent at finding out balls and directing the back line.
- Reads the game very well. Has a Menges-like ability to read where passes are going and intercept.
- Not very physical- Had a lot of trouble with Bunny Shaw’s strength and speed in the City game.
- Not super strong aerially despite her height (tho she did score against City!)
- Def a natural CB. Didn't do much at all at RB for Denmark.
Her FB Ref profile matches the eye-test. Relative to other CBs, she’s clearly strongest in the on-ball areas (passes attempted, completion percentage, progressive passes etc) and weakest in the more physical elements (tackles won, aerials won, blocks). Here is her FB Ref page along with Hubly, Menges, and Becky (It won't let me post the overlapping comparison, but you can do that yourself if so inclined).
https://fbref.com/en/players/2fff97d6/Rikke-Seveckev
https://fbref.com/en/players/bc03c54d/Kelli-Hubly
https://fbref.com/en/players/acbf23b6/Emily-Menges
https://fbref.com/en/players/d2612e86/Becky-Sauerbrunn
I think she’s better than Hubly and profiles well on the ball which they really miss when Sauerbrunn is absent. I think it’s not the worst idea using her as cover for Becky plus it gives Norris some flexibility. And means no more Nally.
Yeah I wonder if they watched Hubly and Nally spray errant passes all over the place and panic when pressed while Becky was out and said “alright no more of this” lol
I'll give her a pass on having difficulty with Bunny Shaw.
FBRef lists Bunny as same size as Sevecke (5'10.5", 152 lbs) but I've also seen Bunny listed as 5'11" or 6'0" and as much as 172lbs (on ESPN).
So, Sevecke is probably giving up an inch or so (not a big deal) and at least 20 pounds (a big deal), and Bunny is absolutely a physical load in her style of play.
We don't have too many 6'0" 172lbs forwards with strength and pace in the NWSL. For example, Trinity Rodman lists as 5'7" 128lbs.
Oh definitely- Bunny’s a tough matchup for anyone. I meant that more as a caution for people who might expect her to be a big, physical, strong-in-the-air, ball-winning CB like Millie Bright, Erceg, or Buchanan just because she’s 5’11, when that’s not really her game.
Also, remember Hina's first few games? I thought she was going to get totally flattened in the NWSL. And she totally holds her own now. So it seems like to at least some degree, physically is a mindset that can be learned.
The internet is wild...Trinity's height is listed anywhere from 5'6" to 5'10" on multiple websites lol. Spirit website says 5'8".
Betfort is about that size, and faster. I don't think she has the heft though. Korniek v. Shaw would be fun to watch. Korniek is not quick but she's fast over 50 yards.
SO....today is the 21st, meaning that today is the last day to take options on upcoming free-agents. It’s also (I assume) the last day where the Thorns are the only team who can discuss contracts with upcoming free-agents currently under contract.
Portland has three free-agents (Sinc, Menges, Dunn), and one player with a club option for 2024 (Moultrie). So, starting tomorrow, free agents can begin negotiations with other teams, meaning that without an extension announcement TODAY, those three become free agents. It doesn’t seem like any announcements are forthcoming, so it looks like we’re heading towards a few months of Dunn (and Menges) speculation.
We also haven’t heard that the club is picking up Moultrie’s option yet, but I think that has happened after the season in the past for players that aren’t FA-eligible. I’d hope they’d extend her too, but we’ll see.
NWSL competition calendar: https://www.nwslsoccer.com/documents/2023/3/20/Exhibit_B_Competition_Calendar_2023.pdf
I think Becky is a free agent as well (I thought she was last season when she re-signed here for another year?) Also....how is Kling not a free agent yet?
Because Crys and Sinc are with their national teams, it's either been done already or it hasn't. Hoping for an announcement from the Thorns today regarding Crystal, but not holding my breath...
Spotrac is only showing those three...but you’re right, idk why Becky wouldn’t be one. It’s infuriating that the NWSL’s list of free agents from last year hasn’t been updated from LAST FALL!
Reminder that the deadline is about filing paperwork with the league, not about announcing anything. It's quite possible that extensions or options are done and the team has delayed the announcements.
I think Menges is signed through 2024 with an option for 2025? That happened last summer about a month before the rainbow shoelaces situation came out.
Becky is definitely a free agent. Kling is signed through 2023 with an option, so hopefully they exercised that one, otherwise she's a free agent. You'd think those two and Sinc would be 1 year situations.
Tegan McGrady has a 1 year option and otherwise is a free agent. She's been too injured here to do much, but maybe could be good value to send to Bay FC if the whole FA/expansion situation ever gets clarified. Same with Vasconcelos (1 yr option or a FA), but with Utah.
I'm scared Moultrie will go overseas now that she's 18.
Sportrac's list is pretty wrong across the league. I've been working off the KeeperNotes lists which are usually accurate.
Yup, ignore Spotrac I guess. Too bad, because they’re excellent with other sports.
Looks like you’re right re: Menges- She is signed through 2024, so not a FA. Kling does have an option for next year and would be free agency eligible, so that’s the one we’d have to hear about relatively shortly if she’s extending (which I imagine she will).
McGrady shouldn’t be eligible for FA yet, because she doesn’t have the required service time, correct? I can’t imagine she’d stay regardless. Moultrie has the team option, so I find it unlikely that she’ll leave....idk what her incentive is to go overseas. She won’t get time for any big team and she’ll have more eyeballs on her if she stays.
The FA requirement is five years rostered with an NWSL team. McGrady was drafted in 2019, with the Spirit for 3 years (2019-2021), then the Wave (2022), then Portland (2022-3).
With Moultrie, it's more that some of what she's said in interviews reminds me of Horan. I agree that she'd get less playing time at a Lyon, PSG or the top of the WSL. But maybe the romantic illusion of European football is too strong.
https://x.com/ThornsFC/status/1705251421694869772?s=20
First domino falls!
That's good news. Looking forward to seeing the next stage in her development.
How do you read this? Of course it’s definitely good she’s here another season, but does this indicate either a) the club isn’t interested in a long-term contract b) Liv isn’t interested in a long-term contract, or, c) could be either, but might mean the club wants to wait another season before they renegotiate a more expensive contract??
Or, I guess could be d) the club is about to be sold and that could complicate intention from either side or e) no use negotiating a long-term contract if we’re gonna send her to Utah for expansion purposes.
Lol. Again, happy she’s gonna be here but wondering why only the option taken…
I'd assume it's mostly (c) with a bit of (d) thrown in. Club is likely to be in a different financial situation next off-season. Possibility of Sinclair and Sauerbrunn retiring is much higher by off-season 2024-5, which will open up cap space to offer something better. And if the option wasn't exercised, it allows her as a restricted free agent to shop for a better deal against whatever contract Thorns offer, so potential of losing her for nothing goes up anyway.
I'm going with hesitation on her part WRT the new owners, perhaps secondarily with forthcoming league expansion (so much expansion). Her path seems very carefully scripted by the family as a whole.
Just glad to see what the next edition of Liv has to offer. She's a blast to watch and is on par with much of the league, skillwise, while getting stronger and faster.
I wouldn’t read into it too much, though I’d say with confidence that it’s not (e).
My best guess is that we’re not going to see any major extensions until after the sale, so triggering the option is the easiest path forward for both parties. It’s also possible (d) they want her to prove it: she’s been mostly very good, but they might want to see a little more....and on her side, she probably wants to show she’s worth a bigger extension than what she’d get right now.
Fwiw, Louisville and Seattle didn’t extend Kgatlana and Huitema when their extensions were picked up.
About Huitema, I think she has been overhyped, she has not shown to be a really great player. The "best" she has done since joining Shittle was the 2 "assists" for both Thorns goals the last match.
https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/2024-nwsl-free-agents
FINALLYY
Unrestricted: Dunn, Kling, Becky, Sinc, McGrady, Vasconcelos (option)
Restricted: Kuikka, Porter
So, presumably no Dunn (or Becky) extension.
So, Sinc, Becky, and Kling all stay unless they retire.
McGrady is probably allowed to try free agency, unless signed in order to use in the expansion draft. However, Vasco has a mutual option, which I assume means that either side can choose to exercise it.
Which leaves Dunn. I assume she's going to look elsewhere
Anybody on that list interest you?
Of those I think are attainable, Emina Ekic, Kiki Pickett, Kayla Sharples, Ella Stevens, Dani Weatherholt, Cari Roccaro, and Addiysn Merrick.
Of those probably unattainable: Would kill for Sarah Gorden.
My guess would be that there has been a flurry of extensions, options exercised, and maybe other roster moves, and that the team will announce these one at a time, in order to get an item in the news regularly. It just seems like basic marketing not to dump all your news at once. (Unless, of course, you don't want attention.) Every time the Thorns appear in the news, people who might be considering season tickets will be jogged.
I would generally agree, but it would be strange to have players on the league free agent list if they’ve already signed. Typically those types of announcements would be released prior to a deadline.
True, but ... The NWSL works in mysterious ways.
https://equalizersoccer.com/2023/09/22/nwsl-2023-24-free-agents-list/
Same listing, more info. Interesting that Chicago has all these FAs and new ownership coming in. Swanson, Davidson, Krueger, Boyd, Matthews, Roccaro, Nagasato, Sharples, St Georges are all unrestricted, and Stevens is restricted. 10 is a lot!
Any truth to the rumor that "Sevecke" is how the Danes pronounce and spell ceviche?