I actually like this move. When I watched the CNT she was one of the players I always thought was really good. Of course I also thought she was much younger too. I didn’t realize she has been around so long. I think that improving the talent pool on any club should always be the goal. Of course there are money and team dynamic concerns as well. If she can honestly beat Weaver out for the position then so be it. That’s the nature of sports. I’m sure Weaver welcomes the challenge.
My favorite attribute of Leon is her feistiness. She will mix it up with anyone and I have often felt like the Thorns could use a little of that with Heath gone. She's also hard to push around. I can envision corner kicks where Izzy pops out from behind Leon to get a clear header.
Whether this is a good deal depends entirely on what we paid for her. If it was some minimal amount, then it's definitely a good deal. If we had to pay out a bunch of our funds from the Yazmeen Ryan trade, it's not a good deal. We should be saving that for (a) keeping Smith for the long run, (b) keeping Smith for the long run, (c) keeping Smith for the long run, and (d) acquiring a really good player in a position of need (backup winger is one of these), preferably one who will be here during the World Cup.
Interesting XI; Norris anticipating the midweek Cup tie, I think. Reyes for Kuikka, Rocky-Moultrie-Coffey in midfield, Weaver-Vasconcelos-Smith up top.
Taylor Vincent of the Equalizer and I had a chance to speak with Head Coach Mike Norris after training today.
https://twitter.com/tayvincent6
Be sure to check out his preview for tomorrow's game, Leon addition, and more on her Twitter.
I actually like this move. When I watched the CNT she was one of the players I always thought was really good. Of course I also thought she was much younger too. I didn’t realize she has been around so long. I think that improving the talent pool on any club should always be the goal. Of course there are money and team dynamic concerns as well. If she can honestly beat Weaver out for the position then so be it. That’s the nature of sports. I’m sure Weaver welcomes the challenge.
My favorite attribute of Leon is her feistiness. She will mix it up with anyone and I have often felt like the Thorns could use a little of that with Heath gone. She's also hard to push around. I can envision corner kicks where Izzy pops out from behind Leon to get a clear header.
This seems like a deal to benefit the Canadian national team more than the Thorns. It's fishy.
Well she has some fun goals in her reel, I'll say that:
https://twitter.com/ThornsFC/status/1646566629294374913
I'm fine with this loan for the short term, but I sure hope we can sign a quality player or two for the World Cup period.
Whether this is a good deal depends entirely on what we paid for her. If it was some minimal amount, then it's definitely a good deal. If we had to pay out a bunch of our funds from the Yazmeen Ryan trade, it's not a good deal. We should be saving that for (a) keeping Smith for the long run, (b) keeping Smith for the long run, (c) keeping Smith for the long run, and (d) acquiring a really good player in a position of need (backup winger is one of these), preferably one who will be here during the World Cup.
https://twitter.com/tayvincent6/status/1646607354237157377?s=20
Any chance her permits are processed by tomorrow?
WSL regular season wraps up in May so, anybody <i>else</i> from Man U want to play some ball in the States this summer? {cough} Russo {cough}
https://twitter.com/JasonDCsoccer/status/1646569530708332544?s=20
On another note :(
She is only here until June 30th of this year, at least for now. It is almost a direct copy of Beckie. Similar goal assist credits.
Will be gone for the world cup, we seem to know this as the loan (for now at least) only goes until the end of June this year.
We get depth to play 15-75 minutes a game to fight for playing time with Izzy, Weaver etc.
It is fine stop gap replacement.
No match thread?
Interesting XI; Norris anticipating the midweek Cup tie, I think. Reyes for Kuikka, Rocky-Moultrie-Coffey in midfield, Weaver-Vasconcelos-Smith up top.
Portland Thorns vs Houston Dash
Providence Park (10:30PM ET)
REF: Alexandra Billeter
AR1: Chris Canales
AR2: Tiffini Turpin
4TH: Aidan Velasco
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
AVAR: Chantal Boudreau
Will the Thorns play her in support of Canada or will they first play Vasconcelos and other forwards? This feels off to me, nothing against Leon.