Chelsea just crashed out of the Champions League. The 2nd game of the 2-legged semifinal vs Barcelona was tied at 1-1 when Kadeisha Buchanan on Chelsea got a second yellow. I haven't seen the play, just read about it, but Chelsea fans are saying it was soft. Barça then dominated the ball even more than they had been and earned a penalty (again, Chelsea fans say it was soft) to win the tie 2-1.
I guess that means Emma Hayes will turn her attention to the USWNT a couple weeks earlier than if they had made the UCL final.
Sinc starting is to help Fleming get comfortable out there, so there's another effect of the Fleming addition.
At this point, my preference would be to push Beckie out wide and have Soph playing centrally where she belongs, and use Sinclair as a 20-30 minute sub, not a 60-minute starter.
Also, somehow, soon, we have to rip off the bandage and put Fleming and Moultrie back out there again and let them figure it out. Either Moultrie needs to be part of the future here, not Fleming's sub for 20-25 minutes, or we need to think of moving on.
Last thought: Orlando were dreadful awful at the start of the 2023 season, but look at them now. A turnaround doesn't have to take forever, but it has to be done earnestly.
The real Moultrie/Fleming lineup question exists because Hina is (rightly) getting one of the eight roles: As long as Hina is in the midfield, only one of Fleming or Moultrie is going to start barring a formation change or one of them getting shunted to the wing.
(Also, they DID bench Beckie (Fleming’s best friend and fellow Canadian) to get Sinclair in the lineup so I’m pretttty confident starting Sinc was totally unrelated. We all know they love giving Sinc random starts)
I don't think it was unrelated. I think it was classic "steadying hand" stuff. Fleming had Sinc in front of her for Canada from the time she was 16, right? I'm just hoping that she will get more comfortable, and others with her, and we can find a way to get back to the transition we really need to make. BTW, I can't fault Sinclair at all -- good game from her last week, and she gave us the first lead we've had all season.
UPDATE: So much for the theory it was unrelated and a random start. Sinc is starting again today. This is about helping Fleming acclimate.
Tough game coming up, but I think the Thorns can get the win. The key will be containing Swanson, and finding a way to break down the defense. Its funny, because this game might actually benefit Sinclair due to the style of play. She won't have to track back and defend as much, and still has the ability to find the right spots to be in on offense. I would much rather see either Moultre or Beckie in her place, but I could actually see Sinclair being effective in this game.
Problem is, the "best" of Sinclair is generally pretty close to the worst of whoever's spot she's taking. Also, if Sinc starts, Soph has to spend a lot of her time out wide which is a net negative.
PLUS Chicago will sit for long periods, but when they do kick, they kick fast. I'd rather have someone who can get back and mark Penelope Hocking in transition.
But did you see Chawinga burn by her towards the end? I’ve never seen anyone make Gordon look slow and she just burned by her like she was standing still! Wild.
She has a sister that plays for PSG and they both play for the Malawi national team. Which I don't think plays in the World Cup or Olympics ever. So the Chawinga sisters are internationals that you don't lose for big international tournaments.
Yeah I’m kinda surprised she wasn’t traded to Utah before the window closed. It’s kind of a matter of time now when the window opens back up. Utah really need a 9, and the Spirit could prob get a really good draft pick and money for her.
When you picked them to be in the top four I was thinking What! But now I have even more respect for your soccer nous than I did before, and that was a lot. Somebody needs to beat KC.
Chelsea just crashed out of the Champions League. The 2nd game of the 2-legged semifinal vs Barcelona was tied at 1-1 when Kadeisha Buchanan on Chelsea got a second yellow. I haven't seen the play, just read about it, but Chelsea fans are saying it was soft. Barça then dominated the ball even more than they had been and earned a penalty (again, Chelsea fans say it was soft) to win the tie 2-1.
I guess that means Emma Hayes will turn her attention to the USWNT a couple weeks earlier than if they had made the UCL final.
Yaaay! It's all working out for the US for a change.
(sarcasm mode off now)
Sinc starting is to help Fleming get comfortable out there, so there's another effect of the Fleming addition.
At this point, my preference would be to push Beckie out wide and have Soph playing centrally where she belongs, and use Sinclair as a 20-30 minute sub, not a 60-minute starter.
Also, somehow, soon, we have to rip off the bandage and put Fleming and Moultrie back out there again and let them figure it out. Either Moultrie needs to be part of the future here, not Fleming's sub for 20-25 minutes, or we need to think of moving on.
Last thought: Orlando were dreadful awful at the start of the 2023 season, but look at them now. A turnaround doesn't have to take forever, but it has to be done earnestly.
The real Moultrie/Fleming lineup question exists because Hina is (rightly) getting one of the eight roles: As long as Hina is in the midfield, only one of Fleming or Moultrie is going to start barring a formation change or one of them getting shunted to the wing.
(Also, they DID bench Beckie (Fleming’s best friend and fellow Canadian) to get Sinclair in the lineup so I’m pretttty confident starting Sinc was totally unrelated. We all know they love giving Sinc random starts)
I don't think it was unrelated. I think it was classic "steadying hand" stuff. Fleming had Sinc in front of her for Canada from the time she was 16, right? I'm just hoping that she will get more comfortable, and others with her, and we can find a way to get back to the transition we really need to make. BTW, I can't fault Sinclair at all -- good game from her last week, and she gave us the first lead we've had all season.
UPDATE: So much for the theory it was unrelated and a random start. Sinc is starting again today. This is about helping Fleming acclimate.
I just hope Coach, the Younger is not superstitious and decides he MUST NOT change anything from last week's win, say, the starting lineup.
It is possible to have Sinc available as a sub? An example that just now occurred to me.
Also, how does Spirit not equalize up 11 to 10 at home with elebenty-thousand stoppage time minutes at their disposal?
Spirit played almost the whole 11 minutes of stoppage time as if they had only seconds to score - desperately. They also seemed gassed.
Sung to ABBA...
You are the diving queen
Number two on the Spirit team
Diving queen
Hear the gift from the referee ....oh yeah
You can dash. You can dive
Getting the calls all the time
Ooh, see that girl. Fall down scene
Digging the diving queen
❤️
Tough game coming up, but I think the Thorns can get the win. The key will be containing Swanson, and finding a way to break down the defense. Its funny, because this game might actually benefit Sinclair due to the style of play. She won't have to track back and defend as much, and still has the ability to find the right spots to be in on offense. I would much rather see either Moultre or Beckie in her place, but I could actually see Sinclair being effective in this game.
Problem is, the "best" of Sinclair is generally pretty close to the worst of whoever's spot she's taking. Also, if Sinc starts, Soph has to spend a lot of her time out wide which is a net negative.
PLUS Chicago will sit for long periods, but when they do kick, they kick fast. I'd rather have someone who can get back and mark Penelope Hocking in transition.
Tomorrow it's supp to be almost 80 in Bridgeview...they gotta give her a pass lol.
Emslie picking up where she left off.
When do we predict Alvarado will get first minutes?
Vanessa DiBernardo just hitting screamers in LA rn lol
Sarah Gorden's defense on Chawinga tonight should earn her an auto USWNT call-up imo
But did you see Chawinga burn by her towards the end? I’ve never seen anyone make Gordon look slow and she just burned by her like she was standing still! Wild.
Chawinga’s so much faster than anyone else in the league it’s almost not fair. Never seen anything like it. She also never gets tired lol
She has a sister that plays for PSG and they both play for the Malawi national team. Which I don't think plays in the World Cup or Olympics ever. So the Chawinga sisters are internationals that you don't lose for big international tournaments.
https://x.com/WashSpirit/status/1783995506823196841
Yeahhh Ashley Hatch is done here methinks.
And then she scores. Poor keeping really.
Was an inch, maybe centimeter from equalizing when her screamer punished the crossbar.
Still one of the quickest shooting triggers in the league.
Yeah I’m kinda surprised she wasn’t traded to Utah before the window closed. It’s kind of a matter of time now when the window opens back up. Utah really need a 9, and the Spirit could prob get a really good draft pick and money for her.
Well, Moorehouse just gave her a free goal so maybe that gets her going lol
I'm behind shhhhhhh lol. I'm only at 52' and Banda just scored. :0
Hot damn Orlando on the counter, I love this team.
When you picked them to be in the top four I was thinking What! But now I have even more respect for your soccer nous than I did before, and that was a lot. Somebody needs to beat KC.
Now 1-1 at halftime