From the Thorns Reddit post about our newest German.
"Hey, Freiburg fan here. Since I don't watch the NWSL, I can't really make a good prediction if she can succeed with you guys. But I can tell you a bit about what made her a great player for us.
First of all, this is a HUGE blow to our team. She is easily a top 3 player for us. I'd say calendar year 2023 she was probably the best player in the squad, losing her will make an already up and down season even rougher. I expected her to leave us at some point in the future, and someone out of the Bundesliga top 3 (Bayern, Wolfsburg, Frankfurt) would have picked her up for sure - although I don't know if she would have started for Wolfsburg or Bayern right away.
Her stats are a bit all over the place, which is easily explainable by a huge strength of hers: Her versatility. Even though she was mainly a left back, we also played her as a winger and a RB, had her take a lot of set pieces when our captain was out, and basically figured out the defense around her. She was central in our build up, has good vision and a good ability to carry the ball upfield. Sometimes she's a bit too ambitious with her passing, but her bad completion stats don't really tell the full story. Often she's just trying to create when nothing else is working for us.
She came a LONG way physically as well. She used to be quite thin for a defender, now she's a lot stronger and quite good in the air as well. However, I do think that very quick or very physical opponents could be a pretty big challenge for her, especially since the Bundesliga is on average a tad less athletic as other big leagues, as far as I can tell. In general I think her abilities as a pure defender is what she needs to develop most in the next few years.
Last but not least, she's also an incredibly positive person. Rare to find a clip from a practice session, an interview or a social media thing where she isn't smiling or laughing, all her teammates also seem to love her. (Although there definitely is a switch when she's on the field)
I really hope she can succeed with you guys!
But just to be clear: She hasn't yet really struggled against those type of players, I just meant like "She's untested there".
Because the only clubs that really have those extremely fast players here are also clubs we'll have to play defensively, so she never had to, like, defend a high line against them."
That's reassuring - thanks for filling us in on this player.
Whenever I've seen the lower-table teams in the European leagues there always seems to be a question about the actual quality. Sounds like if this player is the "top three/best player" on Freiberg regardless of where they are on the table that's a lot more comforting.
But...as always...the real question this season isn't the roster. We had a strong roster in 2023 and got knocked out of the Shield and in the semi.
So...
1) It sounds like this player will be a perfectly fine addition to the roster, and
Very cool to have a scouting report from a Freiburg fan! Aligns pretty well with her profile and it makes sense that her pure defensive traits are those that need the most improving given how diverse her technical skillset appears to be.
(I was also very impressed by the atmosphere at Freiburg in the games I've seen played there!)
What a great post! To hear from a fan of her last team. She really sounds like a great add and a very versatile player.
As Thorns fans we have been traumatized by Natu trying to play on the left and Reyes struggles on the right. I only watched her play against Bayern and that was on the left. But his post makes me feel more comfortable.
There is always a conversion risk that you have to consider. Caitlin Foord should have theoretically been a very good player in the NWSL and wasn’t for the Thorns. When the Thorns brought Hina Sugita, she wasn’t as highly regard as Jun Endo. I think she’s out performed her in this league. Looking forward to those first few games to see how they are adjusting. I’m excited about seeing what Fleming, Muller, and Obaze bring to the table.
Minor complaint about our roster on the Thorns website
1. Can you classify our internationals? Assuming it’s Fleming, Obaze, Muller, Sugita, and one open slot.
2. I also don’t see our NRI’s we potentially signed like Mallie McKenzie listed. I know the most highly regarded one was gone in a flash last year
Think Foord suffered from basically not playing in her right position and then taking a massive loss of confidence that coincided with Australia doing poorly at the 2019 World Cup.
It should make all of us appreciate how fungible Sugita’s skill set is. Everytime I see Foord on a top 100 list, it makes me think this league is better than it is getting credit for
Her skill set is utilized better. Like yes she's good at holding the ball up as a 9, but she's also very good at carrying. She's never going to be a big scorer but she's good at those secondary runs and she's a good combination player.
Exactly. She's great alongside a Kerr or a Miedema. But try to turn her into a Sophia Smith on her own? Not gonna happen. And that's fine. There are few players at any given time, worldwide, who can carry that kind of load, no matter how much talent you have around them.
It’s also kind of cool to see Hayley Raso get some love as she is in Guardian’s top 100 list. Was disappointed to see Sugita fall out, but Endo is in it and based on league play, Sugita has outplayed Endo and I’d argue it hasn’t been particularly close in the impact they’ve had
100%. I stuck around at the 2019 Thorns open training at Providence Park and watched Parsons conduct a 1:1 striker's workout with Foord.
Parsons played very light positional defense -- as in, he was simply between Foord and the goal -- and there was no one in goal.
I don't think Foord put 25% of her shots on frame, let alone in the back of the net, let alone placing the ball with any precision. As Crash Davis put it in Bull Durham, she couldn't hit water if she fell out of a boat.
Everybody can have a bad day, but this was something different. It was (1) being asked to do things not then in her skill-set and (2) suffering from a crisis of confidence.
Am reminded of Hina's response to what has surprised her most about NWSL play and while I expected physicality, she replied "the speed."
I look forward to our German experiment. Sounds as though position flexibility might be her cheat code, and I won't be surprised if we have a few of those, "When did she get that far upfield?" moments. Her goal and assist #s come from somewhere.
Also, taking set pieces will be critical for anybody replacing Kling on the pitch. Sam shouldn't have to do them all.
I know, broken record, but…the key to setpieces is training. Having plays that the squad has rehearsed so there’s a method. In all the years I’ve watched the team I’ve often wondered how hard the various coaches trained on these. Parsons definitely did - Sonnett and Horan were his dead ball targets, Kling his server. Lately I haven’t seen that degree of organization. Not sure if it’s me, or the squad, but seems less rehearsed.
So like everything else; it’s coaching and training that takes the individual skills and makes them effective.
I know we've had plenty of threads on which to discuss the signing since the news broke last week, but as a decade-plus Jessie Fleming fan who's wanted her in a Thorns jersey since she left UCLA, I will once again reiterate just how absolutely over the moon I am that we're going to get to watch her play in PDX for 3+ years.
Stylistically, I'm not sure there's really a player like her in the league. Her center of gravity is so low that her style is both a little jitterbug-y and extremely smooth at the same time. She excels most on the half turn because her head is always up and scanning- This is a particularly big deal because one of our biggest issues last season was that we didn't have anyone who was really good on the turn in the midfield, so balls into feet were either turned over or played back where they came. If you watch any Jessie Fleming game tape or even just highlight vids, you're going to see a whole lot of her picking up the ball in midfield, turning, gliding by a defender, and either finding space or playing a ball in behind to a forward runner. She doesn't have the raw strength of Rocky (who does, really), but she fights like hell- She has a lot more physicality to her game than Moultrie does, for instance. She'll be able to turn and possess like Rocky did, but she has an extra gear that Rocky lacks.
On paper, Coffey-Fleming-Moultrie is the best midfield in the league. The only real potential flaw is that they don't have a true ball-winner, but Sam and Fleming both have enough bite to their games that this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Most importantly, all three of them are so naturally cerebral and technically adept that if Norris has even an ounce of competency to him -- and maybe even if he doesn't-- we're going to see some realllly pretty soccer once you bring the Weaver-Smith-Hina combo into the mix.
(Last thing I'll say is that Fleming --> Soph through balls are about to be a damn movie. Both Smith and Weaver will absolutely *eat* this year on balls in behind)
I'm not expecting to see it every week (I think there will be days where Hina or Sinc start as the third midfielder), but if it's not the three we see 75% of the time he should be fired on the spot.
I wouldn't, because you'll be disappointed. Sinc and Beckie are both gonna start some games, which means Hina and Moultrie will not start every match.
I still feel pretty good that since it's such an obvious midfield three that we'll see it a majority of the time, but I've said that before and been wrong.
I definitely think there'll be the urge to play Coffey/Fleming/Sinc sometimes for Canada/nostalgia reasons and I'm trying to prepare myself ahead of time lol. Maybe throw Beckie in there also. It'll be malpractice to play Sinc/Beckie over Moultrie/Hina, though....I don't want to see Sinc starting any games. I don't even think she should be coming in at the 60 min mark....give her 20 mins or less to close out a game at this point. This is what happens when you wait 3 years too many to retire, unfortunately...even if someone in the midfield needs rest or has an injury, Hina should be the first to move into the midfield, with Beckie coming in at RW. Sinc should be the last sub choice, not the first...but I know everyone here already knows and (mostly) feels that way also.
Moultrie is in her contract year, though, and they HAVE to play her otherwise they're gonna lose her. Right or wrong, two seasons ago she was frustrated about not getting time, and she still didn't get that last season either. I do think she'd look elsewhere when her contract is up if they give Sinc many of her minutes this year (prob overseas)...and I wouldn't blame her.
My guess (and hope) is that this is the year Sinc gets her starts cut and her minutes shortened in general, but she absolutely will get a few. It's just going to happen. I don't necessarily think ~Canada reasons~ will be why, but our lack of depth and the fact most teams don't just play the same 11 in every match will give her opportunities. I agree that we'll probably see some games where Beckie starts on the wing and either Hina or Moultrie come off the bench.
Re: Moultrie: This may sound harsh given she's still only 18, but I want --and the team needs-- to see more from her this year. I understand she might not have gotten quite the amount of time she wanted, but she did play nearly 1100 minutes last season (which is more than Sinc) and was too often invisible for large stretches, which really contributed to our lack of control in midfield. I know she has it in her, but she needs to show that she can really put her mark on games consistently, not just show the occasional flashes of brilliance. The team lost Moultrie's main competition in free agency and didn't replace her- It's her spot to win.
The NWSL could institute a league-wide rule that any two teams playing each other who have 3+ internationals on their roster hailing from the same country MUST play those players against each other in that match.
So, that way we get Canadian Thorns vs. Brazilian Pride, and Canadian Thorns vs. Welsh Reign. There are probably a few other clubs who have stocked up on internationals from a specific country.
Alternatively, a team can have 12 players on the pitch anytime they play with 3+ internationals from the same country.
Call it "The Hanson Brothers Rule."
I'm only sorta serious here, but I'm also only sorta kidding. =)
Not me eyeing that first home game and begging Gotham to bring that high line, but also, BEGGING Mike Norris to actually realize he can take advantage of it!!! If he doesn't use that midfield, man...
Omg if they play like they did in the final.....a blind bat would tell his three technically brilliant midfielders and world class striker to take advantage of that line!
(Fortunately, I think even if he doesn't, the midfielders are all intelligent enough to see it themselves lol)
Have the most time in watching her at UCLA--more than w/ Canada, way more than Chelsea--and in Pac 12 she was playing at a different level than most others. This was also a time Pac 12 was utterly SCARY versus the other conferences. I won't comment on her toiling under Amanda Cromwell there, and she won't be addressing it, either.
Okay, so. Here’s my impressions from the meet-and-greet tonight.
General; good crowd at The Soop, and the hosts worked their butts off. Hint; get the kimchi if you order gimbap. Tonight’s was daikon-kimchi, very tasty!
The FO party arrived late, presumably because the presser ran over. Other than minor grumbling, everyone was fine.
Leblanc introduced the Bhathals with her usual enthusiasm. Lisa and Alex Bhathal said all the right things. The elder Bhathals were present to keep tabs on the young’uns and their checkbook. Got very much a family-business feel.
After the intro the FO party split up to work the room. This included several younger/minority-owner types. The field management was repped by Vytas and Mike Norris. Office staff included several ticket reps, Karina, and the Director of Scouting (apologize; between the noise and my artillery-damaged hearing I missed his name.
So my big questions were;
Right back? NOT Reyes. Not Obaze. Looking at Muller, but also not locked in. Is an overall squad-level roster goal, which includes;
Another signing? Yes. Definitely in the works. No names.
Scouting? Sounds like there’s an actual structure - met the DoS, sounds like much of the boots-on-the-ground is being done by 1) third parties - agents and services like Statsbomb, and 2) informal player/coach networks. Admitted working harder to get more penetration in Europe. Meant to ask about Asia, but got cut off.
I admit to wilting when meeting Norris; wanted to ask “what did you learn from 2023” but couldn’t get up in his face like that. Just wished him good luck.
Funny but otherwise unremarkable; looooong chat with Vytas. He is just what you’d think - forthright, a bit of a yob, funny, opinionated. One thing we agreed on; the Krieger hit on Smith in the semi was VARable at least. He was adamant that it was a RC/DOGSO. Got kinda hot about it.
Fun event. I feel a bit better about the direction of the club. We’ll see what happens on the pitch, mind. As my drill sergeant used to say; early days. LOTS of time for things to go wrong.
Vytas has huge soccer bro energy. If you didn’t know he’d played professionally you’d peg him as a journeyman operating engineer who played some rec league and is a huge Hertha Berlin fan with over 500 posts on the fansite. He’s just fun to talk soccer with.
Sounds great! As you say, plenty of time to go wrong, but they seem to be aware of the importance of, at the very least, *appearing* like they want to be good stewards. Actions will speak louder than press conference written statements, however.
1. So...if the RB ain't Reyes, ain't Obaze, and they don't have firm plans for it to be Muller.....not sure who that leaves other than Kling. I guess that would imply they are looking at a RB signing? I don't love the idea of a right back by committee.
2a. Is the DoS new? Never heard of anyone with that position.
2b. I think using 3rd party scouting tools and databases is pretty standard even at the very biggest clubs- That aligns with what the Athletic article from earlier in January pointed out.
3. There's not one person on this blog who would have had the guts to ask that to Norris to his face lol (and that's probably for the best tbh).
4. I forget where I landed on the Krieger-Smith DOGSO at the time (pretty sure I was more on the "not" side), but I do love that Vytas got hot about it.
I think they ARE leaning towards Muller at RB, but the mystery signing might be playing into that.
I asked Le Blanc, saying specifically that I didn't see anyone in the organizational chart and she immediately introduced me. I'm really irritated I didn't ask his name after I missed it the first time. And, yeah, the third-party/agent-rolodex scheme sounds pretty standard.
I concluded that the call on the Krieger foul was correct, but, yeah, Vytas was fun to chat about it. We agreed that being able to swap opinions - even "wrong" ones - was a huge part of the fun of sport.
Honestly I think it’s time to move Kling to the bench and look at Reyes as the starting LB. Would that they could convince Sinc to keep her company there…
It would make sense if they saw either Reyes or Müller as the answer at RB. But I agree, there's a chance they see Müller as someone who can develop into a winger long term and play more of a utility role as she develops. Her best traits are very clearly attacking-oriented.
They literally have three FBs on the roster. They need another one. I’d assumed it would be a depth player, but they may have someone bigger in mind. I’d be stunned if Muller wasn’t a FB. Curious if there is a bigger name, older FB available
I had thought Gwinn from Bayern Munich before the Muller signing, but I didn’t that that was feasible
I agree they could use another depth FB, I’m just saying that they now have players capable of starting. I’d rather bring in another CB or a backup six if you’re making me pick.
I think we could be getting 2 more, with Gabby's SEI and all. That first comment by Mike about how many were still coming was made (I'm assuming) before Gabby's injury. I would hope they've jumped into the market now to look for a backup 6. I said this elsewhere though...domestically could be difficult. Which teams have 3 DM's on their roster or one they'd be willing to give up (and then have to fill the position themselves potentially)? But also, what international would wanna come overseas to sit most of the time (Sam plays A LOT)? Tough to know the best way to go about that...
Also, I was really busy when the Muller announcement came out so I couldn't jump into the chat about her....but I looked at her stats and then at Frieburg and it kinda feels like another Obaze-type signing? Young, not a sure starter. Her attacking numbers looked good, but I'm still quite concerned with her defensive capabilities. Defense is really what we struggled with last year, and I'm not sure this takes care of any of that...an attacking fullback from a historically mid-table Bundesliga isn't quite what I'd hoped for for a starter....but I'd love to be proved wrong! Her pass accuracy was pretty terrible also (I think in the mid-to-high 60s?), but I don't have a lot of context as to why....I haven't been able to watch any of her film/games yet. Is it because she tries some really nice passes? Is she just really sloppy? If she's gonna be all attack and little defense, we already have a Janine Beckie for that lol...I'd love your opinion! I'm still skeptical that we've lost more defensive power with Menges and Kuikka out than we've replaced, and I'm nervous for two very young and mostly inexperienced fullbacks with Hubly and Broon in the middle. Still seems shaky, and as you noted elsewhere, I still would like a starting caliber (or at least back-up CB.)
Great, now I'm stressing about RB again. But between Beckie and Muller, I'd say we have RW covered. Will need a backup 6 now with Provenzano out for the year unless the rookie can step up. Seems like we might also need a backup CB. And a backup at the 8 and maybe a vet backup keeper? How many roster spots do we have haha.
I mean we have the position covered in terms of numbers, it's just not clear who they intend to play there lol
Definitely need a backup 6 and ideally another CB. Wouldn't mind if the last signing was a high level CB, but I don't really think that's the path they're going down.
With Provenzano and Bixby likely on the SEI their spots open up. If we sign all 5 of our draft picks we are at 23 players and have spots for 3 more spots available but are above the league required 22 players. With Sugita, Obaze and Müller we have used 3 of our 5 international slots. I don't think we have traded away any of our intl spots yet, so should still have 2 if we want to use them.
Did they happen to mention anything about how they're gonna go about filling out the FO and the types of hires they'd make? If they're gonna be keeping KK and Norris around, even in the short-term, I think it's crucial they have some soccer brains and actual professionals in the room. I have wondered if the Bhathals are going into this thinking that KK and Norris ARE the big soccer brains (because they don't come from the soccer world), just because they see 2nd place and a legacy of winning but don't have any actual nuance about how last season was an underperformance...
Also, this may be a niche question but I'm curious if they'll have a plan to have any local investors jump on with them...they announced their first investor at the press conference (Anup Popat; from Detroit) which made me curious about how they're gonna go about that. It would be fantastic if they could get Mel Strong's group on board. They had a few really strong local community members a part of that group, and would align well with the players and the majority of supporters.
I’m unsure of how close the Valeris are to the Portland soccer infrastructure anymore.
I thought Diego might return after retirement, but he doesn’t seem to have been very visible since then. I used to see him and Connie at Thorns games fairly often. Lately? Not so much (as in, not…)
I’d like that, too, for sentimental reasons. But it seems like kind of a long shot now…
I follow him on social media and he does seem to spend a fair amount of time in Portland. He just did a new partnership/promotion with Portland Gear. Phuoc also said he was there at the presser last night!
I’m glad he (and presumably his family) are still here; I don’t follow the socials so it’s the physical appearances that I look for. As I said, he’s been less visible at Thorns games. He doesn’t turn up at the Stand Together events at Children’s Book Bank anymore AFAIK. But sounds like he IS around. So maybe?
1) No, but not surprising given both LeBlanc and Norris were in the room. Hardly likely that the subject would come up. At the time everyone seemed very palsy-walsy.
2) I’m generally skeptical of the value of “minority owners”. It seems like a “shuddup and gimme your money” deal. So I’m not sure if the local community is queuing up to buy a piece or if the Bhathals feel the need to reach out to them.?Not saying they won’t over time…but now, especially, is not the time. I think the local businesses need to get a better feel for the new owners first.
Re: the Strong group it’s hard for me to get a sense of who was included in the “Strong is Weak” alliance. Paulson was, but I get the feeling that he didn’t have to work hard to get the league in with him. Given that the Bhathals would probably have to lobby the league office and ownership hard to bring Strong back in.
I don’t get a feeling that the Bhathals are that interested or a reason why Strong & Co. would be excited about a “shuddup and gimme your money” minority stake.
Re: The Horan quote, because it's sparked quite the debate here there and everywhere:
She's not objectively wrong. American fans have been around the game less and are therefore ON AVERAGE less knowledgeable about the rules of the game, analyzing play, etc to the point where I find myself cringing when I hear fans next to me at Thorns games get excited about a play that was clearly offside or yell at the ref for an obviously correct decision. It may be true that the average WSL fan may be slightly more knowledgeable about soccer simply because it's a ubiquitous sport in Europe, whereas it's still relatively niche in the States...though less and less so as the NWSL grows. That's a function of soccer still being in its relative infancy in the U.S, and to her credit, Horan states that in the actual quote. The Athletic click-baited everyone with the pull-quote in their tweet.
Here's the thing I'm frustrated about: She doesn't *need* to say anything at all. By consistently trashing American soccer culture (and her own mother!) without any nuance, she sounds like a college student who just got back from study abroad in Paris and is yammering about how "Europe does everything better." The average European fan may know more about the game, but the idea that there's all these educated Lyon fans sitting in the stands analyzing tactics whereas all NWSL fans are like "cool sports kick bro!" is just objectively false. The unspoken truth about her experience is that Thorns games, for instance, have more uneducated fans BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE FANS IN GENERAL!
Lastly, the average fan anywhere with any sport isn't very knowledgeable about the game. That's why they're the *average fan*. It's the same with the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, Premier League, or any other sports league. No sport has stadiums full of nerds who are experts on the game, and that's fine.
So Lindsey: Please just stop talking about this. No one cares, you're damaging your own reputation and that of American soccer, and it's just pretentious as all hell.
Don't need to say too much here, because I think you did a phenomenal job explaining why she should just let it go, but it's also important to say: "who cares about how knowledgable the average fan is?" I also cringe at a lot of what I hear at Thorns matches (and around the office). Most of it is what I call Favorite Player Can Do No Wrong Syndrome. It's pretty normal for casual fans to approach professional sports that way, btw. Some of those fans grow their understanding (like me) and some don't. There should be space for everyone and shame for nobody, no matter what their level of knowledge is. Come cheer this team on and we're gonna be buds.
Exactly- I wrote pretty much exactly that same sentiment somewhere in the thread below. I admit I can be pretentious about soccer and its various intricacies and do cringe a tad when people are uninformed, but I ultimately couldn't care less why people choose to come to games, watch on TV, or what their level of knowledge is....and neither should Lindsey. It has little to no impact on the success of the sport and anyone who wants to watch should watch. Casual fans are how any sport grows.
I'd guess she's spent enough time in France that being pretentious and condescending is becoming second nature to her, as easy as conversing in French?
But in all seriousness yeah, my favorite analysis for the NFL is getting into the nitty-gritty X's and O's breakdowns because football coaching and strategies are insanely complex and detailed, every play is like a chess match! Then the vast majority of NFL media coverage is rando meatheads yelling about grit, who wanted a win more, and blithely repeating the names of star players with no indication about what makes them great. Sports journalism is dumb because that's what sells, sports fans are dumb because that's what they buy into and understand, it's all stupid and annoying and ridiculous. I can't imagine being on the receiving end, so I get Horan's frustration, but I wholly agree she's listening way too much to the white noise of most sports coverage, the only expectations should be for your fans to be excited for you and call it there.
She's also on the very far far far end of soccer nerd-dom, in a good way. She's lived and breathed it for what, 25 years now? I'm glad for her that she made it to Lyon, because that was what she initially wanted to do, way back when she was a teen.
I will say that players often are not nerds about tactics and the intricacies of the game, they just want to be talked about with accuracy and respect. I think that's more where Horan's complaints come from, justified or not. Given who she is, I'm sure she does have a level of interest in the nerd stuff, but I'm not sure that's the motivation for her constant complaining.
(Relatedly, that's currently a huge divide in the NBA/NFL where there are ton of current and former players who can't stand excessive tactical discussion and analytics because they think the people that use them are nerds who were never good enough to play themselves)
True. One of the best thing to come out of the analytics is the admission that when we talk about long-distance shooting, it's probably best to talk about it in terms of "shooting luck."
Feels good to hear "Our goal is to be the best soccer team in the world. Period. #1. To get there, we will invest in in the team, the fan experience, the community, and do everything we can to help the NWSL grow and the Thorns grow as a global brand."
Community stuff and fan service is great and very important, but if we're to keep Soph and players like her around it needs to be very clear that being the best is the goal.
Strong words from Beckie in particular on how impressed they've been with ownership so far. Says the players have met with the Bhathals *three times* already since the start of camp.....not bad! Combined with Becky's enthusiasm......I'm feeling pretty optimistic!
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised also. I'd love to know what the first to weeks of preseason has looked like so far...Phuoc? New material for an article? :) Especially curious since we see so many clubs heading to warmer weather, out of the country, beaches, etc...and we're just toiling in Portland February lol. It does make more sense though, with the press conference and new owners getting to know the team for them to stay local. Sounds like they've been well-taken care of, though!
Everyone sounds genuinely excited, which I love purely from the standpoint of "they deserve the hell out of this." I wish the Bhathals would've gotten into a bit more specifics about their vision (or KK, or Mike who declined to speak lol) rather than the flowery "we're gonna be #1!", but I can be patient and wait for those pieces to become clearer...which I think will become a lot more obvious with the hires that they start making.
We definitely have had a lovely 4 days or so, but that's not usually the case and likely won't be for the rest of their preseason haha. I was initially concerned that they were kinda doing the least of all clubs for preseason, but I totally understand the short timeline the Bhathals had and the want to chat with the players and the community (though they could've done this weeks ago and still sent the gals elsewhere for preseason.) Regardless, Beckie sounded overjoyed at the care they've gotten in the first couple weeks, so I'll retract my initial gripe. :)
I do hope they play more than one game in preseason, though, and am still bummed we don't get any games at PP...
Also a very good reminder that there are things going on that we won't always be aware of, and that change takes time. Two weeks ago, everyone was complaining about the lack of movement with all the "they have no plan," "Why haven't they signed anyone after two weeks on the job," "why aren't they in Portland yet," "why haven't they fired KK/Norris yet" etc. etc.
Things like those preseason tournaments are scheduled months in advance, and simply weren't going to happen under Paulson. Combined with, as you say, the importance of being in PDX to get acquainted with the club, it makes sense to me.
Yeah, it was a good check for me to try to be a little more patient....but I do think some of the sporting moves have still been questionable (but a lot of that is based on what I know that KK has bungled.) Still though, speculative complaining about signings or non-signings or tactics or whatever it may be is kinda the point of these message boards lol...but I do try to temper my impatience. Having players really excited is huge for me...that was step 1.
Here are a few snippets from Sophia from some of the local news articles I read about the presser:
(from the first article):
....For the last two weeks, Thorns players have been in preseason practice. In an interview, Sophia Smith said that there is definitely a "new energy" around the club.
"I mean this club is known for winning but it's a new energy of winners ... but just good people overall and the Bhathal family are great people first and foremost," Smith said. "So to add them to this family and for them to kind of take charge and create the change we know this clubs needs and needs desperately ... We're excited for them to kind of to get that started."
(from the second article):
...The Thorns have won three NWSL titles in 2013, 2017, and 2022. The brother-sister duo said they want the Thorns to be the best club in the world. Thorns forward Sophia Smith said she had a good feeling about the Bhathal Family from the very beginning.
“I think that’s the most important thing for us right now we really just want good people to represent us,” Smith said. “Even in the first few weeks of preseason, we’ve already seen a change in a lot of things and the overall energy feels lighter.”
The format was so chaotic it was almost impossible to do a live comment. But I did get to talk to a fair number of the FO. I’ll try and summarize what I heard.
Fleming has been a favorite of mine since I first saw her play for Canada at 15. I'm really looking forward to getting to see her regularly and watching her thread through balls past the defense for our forwards to gobble up. And I won't object to the occasional banger of her own.
Fleming and Coffey both have soccer intelligence to burn. They'll figure out not only how not to get in each other's way, but how to play to each other's strengths. They're both versatile players, but I see Fleming in a more attacking role, more of an 8, with Coffey locking down the 6.
I still want to see more defensive depth, but this roster is looking like they might play some very pretty (and winning) soccer.
Rocky and Sam worked really well together and I see Fleming as a faster version of Rocky. Rocky was a strong and hard to disposes player. Jessie seems to be not quite as strong, but still very tough and hard to disposes, but what she gives up in strength she more than makes up in more speed. Sam, Liv, Hina and Sinc are not super fast, so this player adds some needed speed to the midfield.
Biggest offseason since 2020 when we made the decision to give up a national quality player in Sonnett and a first plus player rights for Smith. Then used the unknown of allocation value to fleece Rory Dames in securing Morgan Weaver. It changed the trajectory of the team. Can you imagine where we’d be if we didn’t do that deal? It was opportunism at its best.
Bring in Fleming to replace Dunn and making room for Moultie by trading away a stalwart like Rodriguez is big. Choosing to move on from Kuikka and Menges to get younger with Muller and Obaze seems like is probably the biggest swing of the offseason in terms of risk/reward. If it’s a home run, it changes the trajectory of the defense. If it’s not, it could be the biggest gap on the team.
The Fleming and Moultrie moves, IMO, should be net positives for the future. The key is I hope it gets Sophia excited about the future with the team, because that’s the one key sales job the new ownership needs to do.
Besides the Granny Gang -- Sinclair, Sauerbruun, and Klingenberg -- our oldest players going into the 2024 season are Hubly (turns 30 in August), Beckie (turning 30 this season), and Hina (just turned 27).
Weaver turns 27 in October, Fleming turns 26 in March, Hogan will be 26 in May.
Most of the rest of the roster is between 21-25 years old.
That's an incredible pivot from a veteran/aging team.
I’m of 0 for 99 on my guesses for next signing at this point. I’d like to see Allie Long brought in as a veteran backup. When ABell brought it up, I didn’t see it, but I do now
Kind of concerned about Sinc being the #1 backup among midfielders. I had said Desiree Scott, but it looks like she signed with KC
Seems to be a lot riding on Katoa - Wade. Obviously don’t need a starter, but a veteran presence to spell some players as needed would be useful.
One of these days Liv will no longer be the youngest Thorn--she gets to vote this year!
After a year+ of "transition" and inaction, it's gratifying to see pieces falling into place and not just make-do pieces but rather, building blocks. This, as much as anything, give me belief that the Sophs and Sams and Morgans and Hinas will stay, and happily so.
I think it's gonna be 100% dependent on the coaching staff. I think the team looks like it has enough to compete. If they don't and the players think it is because the gameplans suck, they are probably gonna be out right quick.
That lineup looks good and when you pencil in Muller (M&M) and consider subs of Liinnehan, Obaze, Sinclair, and Beckie that is straight up good. Yes GK is the only ? but a new GK coach is coming and Hogan is a good PK stopper. I am really excited by the promise of this season. Go Thorns!
In my book we still don't have a right back and that is a problem. Reyes on the right is adequate but not good. Center back is also thin as hell. We're one Becky losing a step at age 39 short of starting Hubly and a rookie. At GK, we have untested talent, but at least we are three deep and can try stuff. Backline is *thin* and our depth is Kling, who is probably my favorite Thorn of all time, but is also going to be one year older.
The reality is next year is about getting Reyes consistent minutes and having her develop. She has a couple of bonheaded decisions on the right side and I think that’s clouding people’s judgment on her capability of playing there. The more playing time. The higher the comfort level.
From my perspective, this removes the insurance policy that is Kling if she makes a few gaffes (overrunning the ball leading to turnovers and a bad pass come to mind). The way that Reyes gets better is consistent playing time and I think she has enough talent where that is warranted.
It also allows Kling to be the insurance policy to Muller who is going to have a bigger adjustment to the league and removed the itch to replace Reyes every time she makes an error. I’d hate for Norris to use Kling with Reyes like he is using Sinc with Moultrie. Inconsistency expected from a young player leads to young player not starting
In an ideal situation, Kling is more mentor and sub than key player at this point
Lol, actually I was referring to Obaze as a rookie. I guess I don't know how much I rate the Danish and Swedish leagues over the top of the NCAA. I totally forgot that we actually drafted as CB-ish player.
Another right-footed LB who can play in midfield or on the wing, they certainly have a type! I imagine this answers the Obaze and Reyes positional questions too.
Somewhere in between Natu and Obaze. She's 23 and has played a lot of games in a competitive league for quite a while, so I'd bet they view her as ready to start which pretty firmly puts Obaze on the bench to start the season imo (unless they think she's ready to start over Hubly). My Frauen Bundesliga knowledge is limited, but I've seen her play a few times against Wolfsburg and Bayern and she's definitely a technical, attacking-minded FB. You can't tell everything from an FBref profile, but..... this is pretty, pretty good: https://fbref.com/en/players/5650c52c/Marie-Muller
Moreso, KK/Norris are showing real consistency -- for better or worse-- in the type of player they're bringing in, specifically defensively with Obaze and Muller. Namely, young, versatile, and more technical than your traditional NWSL defender. Combined with the Fleming signing, Liv presumably getting more time, Coffey's strength being on the more technical side of the 6 position, and the Hina/Smith/Weaver triumvirate, Norris clearly wants this team to be able to play pretty soccer...which is interesting cause I certainly wouldn't call him Pep Guardiola from a tactical ingenuity standpoint lol
(Also worth mentioning that Muller is a young, talented, non-Canadian in a decent league. Curious as to the scouting process that led them to identify her as a priority)
Thorns have her listed as a midfielder on their active roster as well. It was fun to read the announcement of adding a defender and seeing her listed as a midfielder on the roster.
It is. She's very much an attacking FB though (as those comps imply), so it looks like we're in for another year of lots of goals at both ends. Good player though: Good passer, good crosser, lots of interceptions.
Only watched her 3-4 times, but DAMN this is an impressive spider-chart for a left back.
I would think that is the most likely scenario, but they could also shift Muller to that side because she is also right-footed (and played a little right wing for Freiburg it looks like).
Bayern and Wolfsburg in the cup final are two of the games I watched her play this year. She definitely shows some stuff, especially in the Bayern game. There's a run of play starting at about 18:40 in the video where she really pops.
The part of the article that really irked me was LH calling into question the professionalism of various NWSL players in those pre-game photos. I also vividly remember LH and Sonnet photobombing post-game interviews, and a number of examples still exist online. Two things: I remember at the time that it seemed Ann Schatz just barely tolerated their antics, and that Lindsey liked a Twitter reply of mine when I suggested she would find a way to crash her own post-game interviews at some point. The example I recall most clearly was Sonnet miming the casting of a fishing line and pretending to reel in Horan, who jumped awkwardly about the pitch-curious in retrospect, given her knee problems and complaints about playing on the PP turf. I find this all grating, self-righteous and hypocritical, but then she's hardly Sam Coffey (IMO the best interview in the USWNT pool. You know she's from a family of journalists when you read or listen to one of her interviews-one deep breath and out comes an always thoughtful and articulate reply).
I did cringe when Karina called Jessica Berman “Jennifer Berman” and mayor Wheeler is also, uh, interesting to listen to lol, but overall nice to hear from the players as well as the Bhathals!
Wheeler always comes across to me as a sock puppet for the Business Alliance people, so I’ll be curious how he is about a gang on new rich people coming into his patch. Given the City still owns the Civic building he is some kind of stakeholder.
I think Wheeler is pretty checked out at this point. With Gonzalez, Mapps, and Ryan on the city council and trying to out right wing each other for the upcoming election, he doesn't really need to do anything himself or deal with the headaches to get the Business Alliance/People for Portland people what they want.
He is definitely more grating to listen to than I remember lol...
Regardless, because the City still owns the stadium as you say, I think it's good that the two parties have already met and are becoming acquainted. I really had hoped they'd develop a relationship with the City independent of Merritt Paulson.
I just left. Let me get home and I’ll give you my impressions. Generally, tho? I feel better. Good answers to questions about scouting, rosters, and overall ownership.
From the Thorns Reddit post about our newest German.
"Hey, Freiburg fan here. Since I don't watch the NWSL, I can't really make a good prediction if she can succeed with you guys. But I can tell you a bit about what made her a great player for us.
First of all, this is a HUGE blow to our team. She is easily a top 3 player for us. I'd say calendar year 2023 she was probably the best player in the squad, losing her will make an already up and down season even rougher. I expected her to leave us at some point in the future, and someone out of the Bundesliga top 3 (Bayern, Wolfsburg, Frankfurt) would have picked her up for sure - although I don't know if she would have started for Wolfsburg or Bayern right away.
Her stats are a bit all over the place, which is easily explainable by a huge strength of hers: Her versatility. Even though she was mainly a left back, we also played her as a winger and a RB, had her take a lot of set pieces when our captain was out, and basically figured out the defense around her. She was central in our build up, has good vision and a good ability to carry the ball upfield. Sometimes she's a bit too ambitious with her passing, but her bad completion stats don't really tell the full story. Often she's just trying to create when nothing else is working for us.
She came a LONG way physically as well. She used to be quite thin for a defender, now she's a lot stronger and quite good in the air as well. However, I do think that very quick or very physical opponents could be a pretty big challenge for her, especially since the Bundesliga is on average a tad less athletic as other big leagues, as far as I can tell. In general I think her abilities as a pure defender is what she needs to develop most in the next few years.
Last but not least, she's also an incredibly positive person. Rare to find a clip from a practice session, an interview or a social media thing where she isn't smiling or laughing, all her teammates also seem to love her. (Although there definitely is a switch when she's on the field)
I really hope she can succeed with you guys!
But just to be clear: She hasn't yet really struggled against those type of players, I just meant like "She's untested there".
Because the only clubs that really have those extremely fast players here are also clubs we'll have to play defensively, so she never had to, like, defend a high line against them."
That's reassuring - thanks for filling us in on this player.
Whenever I've seen the lower-table teams in the European leagues there always seems to be a question about the actual quality. Sounds like if this player is the "top three/best player" on Freiberg regardless of where they are on the table that's a lot more comforting.
But...as always...the real question this season isn't the roster. We had a strong roster in 2023 and got knocked out of the Shield and in the semi.
So...
1) It sounds like this player will be a perfectly fine addition to the roster, and
2) we'll see what the gaffer does with it.
Very cool to have a scouting report from a Freiburg fan! Aligns pretty well with her profile and it makes sense that her pure defensive traits are those that need the most improving given how diverse her technical skillset appears to be.
(I was also very impressed by the atmosphere at Freiburg in the games I've seen played there!)
What a great post! To hear from a fan of her last team. She really sounds like a great add and a very versatile player.
As Thorns fans we have been traumatized by Natu trying to play on the left and Reyes struggles on the right. I only watched her play against Bayern and that was on the left. But his post makes me feel more comfortable.
There is always a conversion risk that you have to consider. Caitlin Foord should have theoretically been a very good player in the NWSL and wasn’t for the Thorns. When the Thorns brought Hina Sugita, she wasn’t as highly regard as Jun Endo. I think she’s out performed her in this league. Looking forward to those first few games to see how they are adjusting. I’m excited about seeing what Fleming, Muller, and Obaze bring to the table.
Minor complaint about our roster on the Thorns website
1. Can you classify our internationals? Assuming it’s Fleming, Obaze, Muller, Sugita, and one open slot.
2. I also don’t see our NRI’s we potentially signed like Mallie McKenzie listed. I know the most highly regarded one was gone in a flash last year
Think Foord suffered from basically not playing in her right position and then taking a massive loss of confidence that coincided with Australia doing poorly at the 2019 World Cup.
It should make all of us appreciate how fungible Sugita’s skill set is. Everytime I see Foord on a top 100 list, it makes me think this league is better than it is getting credit for
Seems to be a key cog in Arsenal's squad now.
Her skill set is utilized better. Like yes she's good at holding the ball up as a 9, but she's also very good at carrying. She's never going to be a big scorer but she's good at those secondary runs and she's a good combination player.
Exactly. She's great alongside a Kerr or a Miedema. But try to turn her into a Sophia Smith on her own? Not gonna happen. And that's fine. There are few players at any given time, worldwide, who can carry that kind of load, no matter how much talent you have around them.
It’s also kind of cool to see Hayley Raso get some love as she is in Guardian’s top 100 list. Was disappointed to see Sugita fall out, but Endo is in it and based on league play, Sugita has outplayed Endo and I’d argue it hasn’t been particularly close in the impact they’ve had
100%. I stuck around at the 2019 Thorns open training at Providence Park and watched Parsons conduct a 1:1 striker's workout with Foord.
Parsons played very light positional defense -- as in, he was simply between Foord and the goal -- and there was no one in goal.
I don't think Foord put 25% of her shots on frame, let alone in the back of the net, let alone placing the ball with any precision. As Crash Davis put it in Bull Durham, she couldn't hit water if she fell out of a boat.
Everybody can have a bad day, but this was something different. It was (1) being asked to do things not then in her skill-set and (2) suffering from a crisis of confidence.
Welcome detailed insights.
Am reminded of Hina's response to what has surprised her most about NWSL play and while I expected physicality, she replied "the speed."
I look forward to our German experiment. Sounds as though position flexibility might be her cheat code, and I won't be surprised if we have a few of those, "When did she get that far upfield?" moments. Her goal and assist #s come from somewhere.
Also, taking set pieces will be critical for anybody replacing Kling on the pitch. Sam shouldn't have to do them all.
I know, broken record, but…the key to setpieces is training. Having plays that the squad has rehearsed so there’s a method. In all the years I’ve watched the team I’ve often wondered how hard the various coaches trained on these. Parsons definitely did - Sonnett and Horan were his dead ball targets, Kling his server. Lately I haven’t seen that degree of organization. Not sure if it’s me, or the squad, but seems less rehearsed.
So like everything else; it’s coaching and training that takes the individual skills and makes them effective.
Agree and will also piggyback on your evaluation of the throw-in game. So much hesitation, so few positive outcomes. We could fix that.
Just curious … where do you think Norris spends most of his time in training?
No idea. His squad was so at end last season I never did get a good feel for what his vision was if he had one.
I know we've had plenty of threads on which to discuss the signing since the news broke last week, but as a decade-plus Jessie Fleming fan who's wanted her in a Thorns jersey since she left UCLA, I will once again reiterate just how absolutely over the moon I am that we're going to get to watch her play in PDX for 3+ years.
Stylistically, I'm not sure there's really a player like her in the league. Her center of gravity is so low that her style is both a little jitterbug-y and extremely smooth at the same time. She excels most on the half turn because her head is always up and scanning- This is a particularly big deal because one of our biggest issues last season was that we didn't have anyone who was really good on the turn in the midfield, so balls into feet were either turned over or played back where they came. If you watch any Jessie Fleming game tape or even just highlight vids, you're going to see a whole lot of her picking up the ball in midfield, turning, gliding by a defender, and either finding space or playing a ball in behind to a forward runner. She doesn't have the raw strength of Rocky (who does, really), but she fights like hell- She has a lot more physicality to her game than Moultrie does, for instance. She'll be able to turn and possess like Rocky did, but she has an extra gear that Rocky lacks.
On paper, Coffey-Fleming-Moultrie is the best midfield in the league. The only real potential flaw is that they don't have a true ball-winner, but Sam and Fleming both have enough bite to their games that this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Most importantly, all three of them are so naturally cerebral and technically adept that if Norris has even an ounce of competency to him -- and maybe even if he doesn't-- we're going to see some realllly pretty soccer once you bring the Weaver-Smith-Hina combo into the mix.
(Last thing I'll say is that Fleming --> Soph through balls are about to be a damn movie. Both Smith and Weaver will absolutely *eat* this year on balls in behind)
Fingers crossed that we'll actually *see* a Coffey-Fleming-Moultrie midfield starting regularly.
I'm not expecting to see it every week (I think there will be days where Hina or Sinc start as the third midfielder), but if it's not the three we see 75% of the time he should be fired on the spot.
I’m expecting it every week barring health. No reason to not play Sugira on the wing especially now
I wouldn't, because you'll be disappointed. Sinc and Beckie are both gonna start some games, which means Hina and Moultrie will not start every match.
I still feel pretty good that since it's such an obvious midfield three that we'll see it a majority of the time, but I've said that before and been wrong.
I definitely think there'll be the urge to play Coffey/Fleming/Sinc sometimes for Canada/nostalgia reasons and I'm trying to prepare myself ahead of time lol. Maybe throw Beckie in there also. It'll be malpractice to play Sinc/Beckie over Moultrie/Hina, though....I don't want to see Sinc starting any games. I don't even think she should be coming in at the 60 min mark....give her 20 mins or less to close out a game at this point. This is what happens when you wait 3 years too many to retire, unfortunately...even if someone in the midfield needs rest or has an injury, Hina should be the first to move into the midfield, with Beckie coming in at RW. Sinc should be the last sub choice, not the first...but I know everyone here already knows and (mostly) feels that way also.
Moultrie is in her contract year, though, and they HAVE to play her otherwise they're gonna lose her. Right or wrong, two seasons ago she was frustrated about not getting time, and she still didn't get that last season either. I do think she'd look elsewhere when her contract is up if they give Sinc many of her minutes this year (prob overseas)...and I wouldn't blame her.
My guess (and hope) is that this is the year Sinc gets her starts cut and her minutes shortened in general, but she absolutely will get a few. It's just going to happen. I don't necessarily think ~Canada reasons~ will be why, but our lack of depth and the fact most teams don't just play the same 11 in every match will give her opportunities. I agree that we'll probably see some games where Beckie starts on the wing and either Hina or Moultrie come off the bench.
Re: Moultrie: This may sound harsh given she's still only 18, but I want --and the team needs-- to see more from her this year. I understand she might not have gotten quite the amount of time she wanted, but she did play nearly 1100 minutes last season (which is more than Sinc) and was too often invisible for large stretches, which really contributed to our lack of control in midfield. I know she has it in her, but she needs to show that she can really put her mark on games consistently, not just show the occasional flashes of brilliance. The team lost Moultrie's main competition in free agency and didn't replace her- It's her spot to win.
I’m hoping that Sinclair is used as a sub and I expect that injuries will be driving the decisions of spot starts.
Plus, Beckie is starting some at RB :)
Here's a thought:
The NWSL could institute a league-wide rule that any two teams playing each other who have 3+ internationals on their roster hailing from the same country MUST play those players against each other in that match.
So, that way we get Canadian Thorns vs. Brazilian Pride, and Canadian Thorns vs. Welsh Reign. There are probably a few other clubs who have stocked up on internationals from a specific country.
Alternatively, a team can have 12 players on the pitch anytime they play with 3+ internationals from the same country.
Call it "The Hanson Brothers Rule."
I'm only sorta serious here, but I'm also only sorta kidding. =)
Not me eyeing that first home game and begging Gotham to bring that high line, but also, BEGGING Mike Norris to actually realize he can take advantage of it!!! If he doesn't use that midfield, man...
Omg if they play like they did in the final.....a blind bat would tell his three technically brilliant midfielders and world class striker to take advantage of that line!
(Fortunately, I think even if he doesn't, the midfielders are all intelligent enough to see it themselves lol)
Yeah, they'd def need to go rogue a la USWNT v. Sweden lol....
That’s a lot to ask strangers who’ve been playing together for six weeks if they’re not getting direction from the skipper. All’s I’m sayin’…
What a set of players for Liv to learn from! I'd add Sinclair to that bunch (in terms of being an awesome person to learn from for Liv)
Have the most time in watching her at UCLA--more than w/ Canada, way more than Chelsea--and in Pac 12 she was playing at a different level than most others. This was also a time Pac 12 was utterly SCARY versus the other conferences. I won't comment on her toiling under Amanda Cromwell there, and she won't be addressing it, either.
I see nothing but upside from this move.
Okay, so. Here’s my impressions from the meet-and-greet tonight.
General; good crowd at The Soop, and the hosts worked their butts off. Hint; get the kimchi if you order gimbap. Tonight’s was daikon-kimchi, very tasty!
The FO party arrived late, presumably because the presser ran over. Other than minor grumbling, everyone was fine.
Leblanc introduced the Bhathals with her usual enthusiasm. Lisa and Alex Bhathal said all the right things. The elder Bhathals were present to keep tabs on the young’uns and their checkbook. Got very much a family-business feel.
After the intro the FO party split up to work the room. This included several younger/minority-owner types. The field management was repped by Vytas and Mike Norris. Office staff included several ticket reps, Karina, and the Director of Scouting (apologize; between the noise and my artillery-damaged hearing I missed his name.
So my big questions were;
Right back? NOT Reyes. Not Obaze. Looking at Muller, but also not locked in. Is an overall squad-level roster goal, which includes;
Another signing? Yes. Definitely in the works. No names.
Scouting? Sounds like there’s an actual structure - met the DoS, sounds like much of the boots-on-the-ground is being done by 1) third parties - agents and services like Statsbomb, and 2) informal player/coach networks. Admitted working harder to get more penetration in Europe. Meant to ask about Asia, but got cut off.
I admit to wilting when meeting Norris; wanted to ask “what did you learn from 2023” but couldn’t get up in his face like that. Just wished him good luck.
Funny but otherwise unremarkable; looooong chat with Vytas. He is just what you’d think - forthright, a bit of a yob, funny, opinionated. One thing we agreed on; the Krieger hit on Smith in the semi was VARable at least. He was adamant that it was a RC/DOGSO. Got kinda hot about it.
Fun event. I feel a bit better about the direction of the club. We’ll see what happens on the pitch, mind. As my drill sergeant used to say; early days. LOTS of time for things to go wrong.
TIL what "yob" means and that it is also the name of a doom metal band from Eugene.
Vytas has huge soccer bro energy. If you didn’t know he’d played professionally you’d peg him as a journeyman operating engineer who played some rec league and is a huge Hertha Berlin fan with over 500 posts on the fansite. He’s just fun to talk soccer with.
Sounds great! As you say, plenty of time to go wrong, but they seem to be aware of the importance of, at the very least, *appearing* like they want to be good stewards. Actions will speak louder than press conference written statements, however.
1. So...if the RB ain't Reyes, ain't Obaze, and they don't have firm plans for it to be Muller.....not sure who that leaves other than Kling. I guess that would imply they are looking at a RB signing? I don't love the idea of a right back by committee.
2a. Is the DoS new? Never heard of anyone with that position.
2b. I think using 3rd party scouting tools and databases is pretty standard even at the very biggest clubs- That aligns with what the Athletic article from earlier in January pointed out.
3. There's not one person on this blog who would have had the guts to ask that to Norris to his face lol (and that's probably for the best tbh).
4. I forget where I landed on the Krieger-Smith DOGSO at the time (pretty sure I was more on the "not" side), but I do love that Vytas got hot about it.
I think they ARE leaning towards Muller at RB, but the mystery signing might be playing into that.
I asked Le Blanc, saying specifically that I didn't see anyone in the organizational chart and she immediately introduced me. I'm really irritated I didn't ask his name after I missed it the first time. And, yeah, the third-party/agent-rolodex scheme sounds pretty standard.
I concluded that the call on the Krieger foul was correct, but, yeah, Vytas was fun to chat about it. We agreed that being able to swap opinions - even "wrong" ones - was a huge part of the fun of sport.
Mike Smith
That’s it. Worked in the Santa Clara and UO systems as well as professionally. Thanks for the correction.
He was involved in the Obaze signing. Assume he was also involved in the Muller signing (sorry, no umlats this morning).
(sorry, no umlats this morning).
Aaaand, that's a five-qüatloo fine to the Mason jar end of season party fund.
From the video I’ve seen Müller is very wingery and I wonder if that’s what they’re thinking here longer term.
Because it makes no sense to have her and Reyes, who they gave a new long term deal to not long ago, as a rotation left back.
Honestly I think it’s time to move Kling to the bench and look at Reyes as the starting LB. Would that they could convince Sinc to keep her company there…
It would make sense if they saw either Reyes or Müller as the answer at RB. But I agree, there's a chance they see Müller as someone who can develop into a winger long term and play more of a utility role as she develops. Her best traits are very clearly attacking-oriented.
They literally have three FBs on the roster. They need another one. I’d assumed it would be a depth player, but they may have someone bigger in mind. I’d be stunned if Muller wasn’t a FB. Curious if there is a bigger name, older FB available
I had thought Gwinn from Bayern Munich before the Muller signing, but I didn’t that that was feasible
I agree they could use another depth FB, I’m just saying that they now have players capable of starting. I’d rather bring in another CB or a backup six if you’re making me pick.
I think we could be getting 2 more, with Gabby's SEI and all. That first comment by Mike about how many were still coming was made (I'm assuming) before Gabby's injury. I would hope they've jumped into the market now to look for a backup 6. I said this elsewhere though...domestically could be difficult. Which teams have 3 DM's on their roster or one they'd be willing to give up (and then have to fill the position themselves potentially)? But also, what international would wanna come overseas to sit most of the time (Sam plays A LOT)? Tough to know the best way to go about that...
Also, I was really busy when the Muller announcement came out so I couldn't jump into the chat about her....but I looked at her stats and then at Frieburg and it kinda feels like another Obaze-type signing? Young, not a sure starter. Her attacking numbers looked good, but I'm still quite concerned with her defensive capabilities. Defense is really what we struggled with last year, and I'm not sure this takes care of any of that...an attacking fullback from a historically mid-table Bundesliga isn't quite what I'd hoped for for a starter....but I'd love to be proved wrong! Her pass accuracy was pretty terrible also (I think in the mid-to-high 60s?), but I don't have a lot of context as to why....I haven't been able to watch any of her film/games yet. Is it because she tries some really nice passes? Is she just really sloppy? If she's gonna be all attack and little defense, we already have a Janine Beckie for that lol...I'd love your opinion! I'm still skeptical that we've lost more defensive power with Menges and Kuikka out than we've replaced, and I'm nervous for two very young and mostly inexperienced fullbacks with Hubly and Broon in the middle. Still seems shaky, and as you noted elsewhere, I still would like a starting caliber (or at least back-up CB.)
It basically is choose whom you want to bring in with an international slot.
Sauerbrunn , Obaze, Nally
Hubly, Obaze, Kaufusi
Maybe bring in an Amber Brooks who can be a backup 6 and insurance policy CB?
Curious to see whom they are talking about.
Great, now I'm stressing about RB again. But between Beckie and Muller, I'd say we have RW covered. Will need a backup 6 now with Provenzano out for the year unless the rookie can step up. Seems like we might also need a backup CB. And a backup at the 8 and maybe a vet backup keeper? How many roster spots do we have haha.
I mean we have the position covered in terms of numbers, it's just not clear who they intend to play there lol
Definitely need a backup 6 and ideally another CB. Wouldn't mind if the last signing was a high level CB, but I don't really think that's the path they're going down.
Just kidding, but get Sonnett from Gotham. Can play CB and now can play the 6! Problem solved!
With Provenzano and Bixby likely on the SEI their spots open up. If we sign all 5 of our draft picks we are at 23 players and have spots for 3 more spots available but are above the league required 22 players. With Sugita, Obaze and Müller we have used 3 of our 5 international slots. I don't think we have traded away any of our intl spots yet, so should still have 2 if we want to use them.
What about Fleming?
Did they happen to mention anything about how they're gonna go about filling out the FO and the types of hires they'd make? If they're gonna be keeping KK and Norris around, even in the short-term, I think it's crucial they have some soccer brains and actual professionals in the room. I have wondered if the Bhathals are going into this thinking that KK and Norris ARE the big soccer brains (because they don't come from the soccer world), just because they see 2nd place and a legacy of winning but don't have any actual nuance about how last season was an underperformance...
Also, this may be a niche question but I'm curious if they'll have a plan to have any local investors jump on with them...they announced their first investor at the press conference (Anup Popat; from Detroit) which made me curious about how they're gonna go about that. It would be fantastic if they could get Mel Strong's group on board. They had a few really strong local community members a part of that group, and would align well with the players and the majority of supporters.
I really hope they do take on some local investors. I've long wanted Diego Valeri to be involved with the Thorns in some capacity.
That would be wonderful, and I've thought the same (re: Valeri.) According to Phuoc's newest article, he was there at the presser last night!
I’m unsure of how close the Valeris are to the Portland soccer infrastructure anymore.
I thought Diego might return after retirement, but he doesn’t seem to have been very visible since then. I used to see him and Connie at Thorns games fairly often. Lately? Not so much (as in, not…)
I’d like that, too, for sentimental reasons. But it seems like kind of a long shot now…
I follow him on social media and he does seem to spend a fair amount of time in Portland. He just did a new partnership/promotion with Portland Gear. Phuoc also said he was there at the presser last night!
I’m glad he (and presumably his family) are still here; I don’t follow the socials so it’s the physical appearances that I look for. As I said, he’s been less visible at Thorns games. He doesn’t turn up at the Stand Together events at Children’s Book Bank anymore AFAIK. But sounds like he IS around. So maybe?
So, in order:
1) No, but not surprising given both LeBlanc and Norris were in the room. Hardly likely that the subject would come up. At the time everyone seemed very palsy-walsy.
2) I’m generally skeptical of the value of “minority owners”. It seems like a “shuddup and gimme your money” deal. So I’m not sure if the local community is queuing up to buy a piece or if the Bhathals feel the need to reach out to them.?Not saying they won’t over time…but now, especially, is not the time. I think the local businesses need to get a better feel for the new owners first.
Re: the Strong group it’s hard for me to get a sense of who was included in the “Strong is Weak” alliance. Paulson was, but I get the feeling that he didn’t have to work hard to get the league in with him. Given that the Bhathals would probably have to lobby the league office and ownership hard to bring Strong back in.
I don’t get a feeling that the Bhathals are that interested or a reason why Strong & Co. would be excited about a “shuddup and gimme your money” minority stake.
I think that deal’s as dead as the dodo.
Re: The Horan quote, because it's sparked quite the debate here there and everywhere:
She's not objectively wrong. American fans have been around the game less and are therefore ON AVERAGE less knowledgeable about the rules of the game, analyzing play, etc to the point where I find myself cringing when I hear fans next to me at Thorns games get excited about a play that was clearly offside or yell at the ref for an obviously correct decision. It may be true that the average WSL fan may be slightly more knowledgeable about soccer simply because it's a ubiquitous sport in Europe, whereas it's still relatively niche in the States...though less and less so as the NWSL grows. That's a function of soccer still being in its relative infancy in the U.S, and to her credit, Horan states that in the actual quote. The Athletic click-baited everyone with the pull-quote in their tweet.
Here's the thing I'm frustrated about: She doesn't *need* to say anything at all. By consistently trashing American soccer culture (and her own mother!) without any nuance, she sounds like a college student who just got back from study abroad in Paris and is yammering about how "Europe does everything better." The average European fan may know more about the game, but the idea that there's all these educated Lyon fans sitting in the stands analyzing tactics whereas all NWSL fans are like "cool sports kick bro!" is just objectively false. The unspoken truth about her experience is that Thorns games, for instance, have more uneducated fans BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE FANS IN GENERAL!
Lastly, the average fan anywhere with any sport isn't very knowledgeable about the game. That's why they're the *average fan*. It's the same with the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, Premier League, or any other sports league. No sport has stadiums full of nerds who are experts on the game, and that's fine.
So Lindsey: Please just stop talking about this. No one cares, you're damaging your own reputation and that of American soccer, and it's just pretentious as all hell.
Don't need to say too much here, because I think you did a phenomenal job explaining why she should just let it go, but it's also important to say: "who cares about how knowledgable the average fan is?" I also cringe at a lot of what I hear at Thorns matches (and around the office). Most of it is what I call Favorite Player Can Do No Wrong Syndrome. It's pretty normal for casual fans to approach professional sports that way, btw. Some of those fans grow their understanding (like me) and some don't. There should be space for everyone and shame for nobody, no matter what their level of knowledge is. Come cheer this team on and we're gonna be buds.
Exactly- I wrote pretty much exactly that same sentiment somewhere in the thread below. I admit I can be pretentious about soccer and its various intricacies and do cringe a tad when people are uninformed, but I ultimately couldn't care less why people choose to come to games, watch on TV, or what their level of knowledge is....and neither should Lindsey. It has little to no impact on the success of the sport and anyone who wants to watch should watch. Casual fans are how any sport grows.
I'd guess she's spent enough time in France that being pretentious and condescending is becoming second nature to her, as easy as conversing in French?
But in all seriousness yeah, my favorite analysis for the NFL is getting into the nitty-gritty X's and O's breakdowns because football coaching and strategies are insanely complex and detailed, every play is like a chess match! Then the vast majority of NFL media coverage is rando meatheads yelling about grit, who wanted a win more, and blithely repeating the names of star players with no indication about what makes them great. Sports journalism is dumb because that's what sells, sports fans are dumb because that's what they buy into and understand, it's all stupid and annoying and ridiculous. I can't imagine being on the receiving end, so I get Horan's frustration, but I wholly agree she's listening way too much to the white noise of most sports coverage, the only expectations should be for your fans to be excited for you and call it there.
She's also on the very far far far end of soccer nerd-dom, in a good way. She's lived and breathed it for what, 25 years now? I'm glad for her that she made it to Lyon, because that was what she initially wanted to do, way back when she was a teen.
I will say that players often are not nerds about tactics and the intricacies of the game, they just want to be talked about with accuracy and respect. I think that's more where Horan's complaints come from, justified or not. Given who she is, I'm sure she does have a level of interest in the nerd stuff, but I'm not sure that's the motivation for her constant complaining.
(Relatedly, that's currently a huge divide in the NBA/NFL where there are ton of current and former players who can't stand excessive tactical discussion and analytics because they think the people that use them are nerds who were never good enough to play themselves)
True. One of the best thing to come out of the analytics is the admission that when we talk about long-distance shooting, it's probably best to talk about it in terms of "shooting luck."
https://x.com/ThornsFC/status/1754718410058191090?s=20
Feels good to hear "Our goal is to be the best soccer team in the world. Period. #1. To get there, we will invest in in the team, the fan experience, the community, and do everything we can to help the NWSL grow and the Thorns grow as a global brand."
Community stuff and fan service is great and very important, but if we're to keep Soph and players like her around it needs to be very clear that being the best is the goal.
https://x.com/Phuocerman/status/1754724012113141786?s=20
Strong words from Beckie in particular on how impressed they've been with ownership so far. Says the players have met with the Bhathals *three times* already since the start of camp.....not bad! Combined with Becky's enthusiasm......I'm feeling pretty optimistic!
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised also. I'd love to know what the first to weeks of preseason has looked like so far...Phuoc? New material for an article? :) Especially curious since we see so many clubs heading to warmer weather, out of the country, beaches, etc...and we're just toiling in Portland February lol. It does make more sense though, with the press conference and new owners getting to know the team for them to stay local. Sounds like they've been well-taken care of, though!
Everyone sounds genuinely excited, which I love purely from the standpoint of "they deserve the hell out of this." I wish the Bhathals would've gotten into a bit more specifics about their vision (or KK, or Mike who declined to speak lol) rather than the flowery "we're gonna be #1!", but I can be patient and wait for those pieces to become clearer...which I think will become a lot more obvious with the hires that they start making.
And Portland February has actually been pretty nice so far.
We definitely have had a lovely 4 days or so, but that's not usually the case and likely won't be for the rest of their preseason haha. I was initially concerned that they were kinda doing the least of all clubs for preseason, but I totally understand the short timeline the Bhathals had and the want to chat with the players and the community (though they could've done this weeks ago and still sent the gals elsewhere for preseason.) Regardless, Beckie sounded overjoyed at the care they've gotten in the first couple weeks, so I'll retract my initial gripe. :)
I do hope they play more than one game in preseason, though, and am still bummed we don't get any games at PP...
Also a very good reminder that there are things going on that we won't always be aware of, and that change takes time. Two weeks ago, everyone was complaining about the lack of movement with all the "they have no plan," "Why haven't they signed anyone after two weeks on the job," "why aren't they in Portland yet," "why haven't they fired KK/Norris yet" etc. etc.
Things like those preseason tournaments are scheduled months in advance, and simply weren't going to happen under Paulson. Combined with, as you say, the importance of being in PDX to get acquainted with the club, it makes sense to me.
Yeah, it was a good check for me to try to be a little more patient....but I do think some of the sporting moves have still been questionable (but a lot of that is based on what I know that KK has bungled.) Still though, speculative complaining about signings or non-signings or tactics or whatever it may be is kinda the point of these message boards lol...but I do try to temper my impatience. Having players really excited is huge for me...that was step 1.
Here are a few snippets from Sophia from some of the local news articles I read about the presser:
(from the first article):
....For the last two weeks, Thorns players have been in preseason practice. In an interview, Sophia Smith said that there is definitely a "new energy" around the club.
"I mean this club is known for winning but it's a new energy of winners ... but just good people overall and the Bhathal family are great people first and foremost," Smith said. "So to add them to this family and for them to kind of take charge and create the change we know this clubs needs and needs desperately ... We're excited for them to kind of to get that started."
(from the second article):
...The Thorns have won three NWSL titles in 2013, 2017, and 2022. The brother-sister duo said they want the Thorns to be the best club in the world. Thorns forward Sophia Smith said she had a good feeling about the Bhathal Family from the very beginning.
“I think that’s the most important thing for us right now we really just want good people to represent us,” Smith said. “Even in the first few weeks of preseason, we’ve already seen a change in a lot of things and the overall energy feels lighter.”
https://x.com/SportsGuyJeremy/status/1754652553420357965?s=20
Innnnteresting!
"There will be a family member here at every game."
"But moOM, I have to clean my room!"
"You get on that plane RIGHT NOW mister, and get to that match, or I'll give you something else to clean."
FDChief, you gonna live comment section the happy hour or what?
The format was so chaotic it was almost impossible to do a live comment. But I did get to talk to a fair number of the FO. I’ll try and summarize what I heard.
Fleming has been a favorite of mine since I first saw her play for Canada at 15. I'm really looking forward to getting to see her regularly and watching her thread through balls past the defense for our forwards to gobble up. And I won't object to the occasional banger of her own.
Do you think Fleming's skills and Coffey's skills will complement each other, or are they likely to both be doing the same things?
Fleming and Coffey both have soccer intelligence to burn. They'll figure out not only how not to get in each other's way, but how to play to each other's strengths. They're both versatile players, but I see Fleming in a more attacking role, more of an 8, with Coffey locking down the 6.
I still want to see more defensive depth, but this roster is looking like they might play some very pretty (and winning) soccer.
Rocky and Sam worked really well together and I see Fleming as a faster version of Rocky. Rocky was a strong and hard to disposes player. Jessie seems to be not quite as strong, but still very tough and hard to disposes, but what she gives up in strength she more than makes up in more speed. Sam, Liv, Hina and Sinc are not super fast, so this player adds some needed speed to the midfield.
https://x.com/StumptownFooty/status/1754647635070427515?s=20
18 year old Liv as volunteer team ambassador, I like it!
Biggest offseason since 2020 when we made the decision to give up a national quality player in Sonnett and a first plus player rights for Smith. Then used the unknown of allocation value to fleece Rory Dames in securing Morgan Weaver. It changed the trajectory of the team. Can you imagine where we’d be if we didn’t do that deal? It was opportunism at its best.
Bring in Fleming to replace Dunn and making room for Moultie by trading away a stalwart like Rodriguez is big. Choosing to move on from Kuikka and Menges to get younger with Muller and Obaze seems like is probably the biggest swing of the offseason in terms of risk/reward. If it’s a home run, it changes the trajectory of the defense. If it’s not, it could be the biggest gap on the team.
The Fleming and Moultrie moves, IMO, should be net positives for the future. The key is I hope it gets Sophia excited about the future with the team, because that’s the one key sales job the new ownership needs to do.
Besides the Granny Gang -- Sinclair, Sauerbruun, and Klingenberg -- our oldest players going into the 2024 season are Hubly (turns 30 in August), Beckie (turning 30 this season), and Hina (just turned 27).
Weaver turns 27 in October, Fleming turns 26 in March, Hogan will be 26 in May.
Most of the rest of the roster is between 21-25 years old.
That's an incredible pivot from a veteran/aging team.
Janine Beckie is also 29 and will turn 30 in August.
Cheers. Will correct.
I’m of 0 for 99 on my guesses for next signing at this point. I’d like to see Allie Long brought in as a veteran backup. When ABell brought it up, I didn’t see it, but I do now
Kind of concerned about Sinc being the #1 backup among midfielders. I had said Desiree Scott, but it looks like she signed with KC
Seems to be a lot riding on Katoa - Wade. Obviously don’t need a starter, but a veteran presence to spell some players as needed would be useful.
One of these days Liv will no longer be the youngest Thorn--she gets to vote this year!
After a year+ of "transition" and inaction, it's gratifying to see pieces falling into place and not just make-do pieces but rather, building blocks. This, as much as anything, give me belief that the Sophs and Sams and Morgans and Hinas will stay, and happily so.
LFG
I think it's gonna be 100% dependent on the coaching staff. I think the team looks like it has enough to compete. If they don't and the players think it is because the gameplans suck, they are probably gonna be out right quick.
Yes, and to add a thought, it will also depend how much/how little Soph et al buy into the Horan/Hayes campaign.
I think that's right.... and that's where we might see Sarah "The Dirty" Lowdon come in as interim and get things going in the right direction.
When I look at this lineup, am I crazy for thinking the biggest remaining question mark is GK?
https://twitter.com/RyanTClarke/status/1752729284018577837/photo/1
That lineup looks good and when you pencil in Muller (M&M) and consider subs of Liinnehan, Obaze, Sinclair, and Beckie that is straight up good. Yes GK is the only ? but a new GK coach is coming and Hogan is a good PK stopper. I am really excited by the promise of this season. Go Thorns!
In my book we still don't have a right back and that is a problem. Reyes on the right is adequate but not good. Center back is also thin as hell. We're one Becky losing a step at age 39 short of starting Hubly and a rookie. At GK, we have untested talent, but at least we are three deep and can try stuff. Backline is *thin* and our depth is Kling, who is probably my favorite Thorn of all time, but is also going to be one year older.
The reality is next year is about getting Reyes consistent minutes and having her develop. She has a couple of bonheaded decisions on the right side and I think that’s clouding people’s judgment on her capability of playing there. The more playing time. The higher the comfort level.
From my perspective, this removes the insurance policy that is Kling if she makes a few gaffes (overrunning the ball leading to turnovers and a bad pass come to mind). The way that Reyes gets better is consistent playing time and I think she has enough talent where that is warranted.
It also allows Kling to be the insurance policy to Muller who is going to have a bigger adjustment to the league and removed the itch to replace Reyes every time she makes an error. I’d hate for Norris to use Kling with Reyes like he is using Sinc with Moultrie. Inconsistency expected from a young player leads to young player not starting
In an ideal situation, Kling is more mentor and sub than key player at this point
At CB we do also have Obaze, who has a good bit of experience
Lol, actually I was referring to Obaze as a rookie. I guess I don't know how much I rate the Danish and Swedish leagues over the top of the NCAA. I totally forgot that we actually drafted as CB-ish player.
https://x.com/ThornsFC/status/1753465662872457532?s=20
Oh shit, out of nowhere!
Another right-footed LB who can play in midfield or on the wing, they certainly have a type! I imagine this answers the Obaze and Reyes positional questions too.
Does this fulfill the PTFC Ümlaut requirement?
Is it true that to make an Ümlaut you have to break a few eggs?
The ham says "ja."
Nö we can älways use möre ümlaüts here
I don’t really know anything about her? Is this a viable starter/replacement on the Natu level (even if a LB)? Or is it more Obaze “young potential”?
Thank gourd for a fullback though, finally.
Somewhere in between Natu and Obaze. She's 23 and has played a lot of games in a competitive league for quite a while, so I'd bet they view her as ready to start which pretty firmly puts Obaze on the bench to start the season imo (unless they think she's ready to start over Hubly). My Frauen Bundesliga knowledge is limited, but I've seen her play a few times against Wolfsburg and Bayern and she's definitely a technical, attacking-minded FB. You can't tell everything from an FBref profile, but..... this is pretty, pretty good: https://fbref.com/en/players/5650c52c/Marie-Muller
Moreso, KK/Norris are showing real consistency -- for better or worse-- in the type of player they're bringing in, specifically defensively with Obaze and Muller. Namely, young, versatile, and more technical than your traditional NWSL defender. Combined with the Fleming signing, Liv presumably getting more time, Coffey's strength being on the more technical side of the 6 position, and the Hina/Smith/Weaver triumvirate, Norris clearly wants this team to be able to play pretty soccer...which is interesting cause I certainly wouldn't call him Pep Guardiola from a tactical ingenuity standpoint lol
(Also worth mentioning that Muller is a young, talented, non-Canadian in a decent league. Curious as to the scouting process that led them to identify her as a priority)
Interesting (but probably meaningless) that Freiburg lists her as a midfielder. Presumably she's a conversion.
I'm also curious about the scouting process. Or did her agent just decide to shop her in the NWSL?
Anyway, I'm excited to get a look at her and hope she's actually ready to play.
Thorns have her listed as a midfielder on their active roster as well. It was fun to read the announcement of adding a defender and seeing her listed as a midfielder on the roster.
That would seem to answer it, yes.
FBRef lists her comps as including Nighswonger, Carmona, Huerta, and Charles.
If true, that's a nice get.
It is. She's very much an attacking FB though (as those comps imply), so it looks like we're in for another year of lots of goals at both ends. Good player though: Good passer, good crosser, lots of interceptions.
Only watched her 3-4 times, but DAMN this is an impressive spider-chart for a left back.
https://fbref.com/en/players/5650c52c/Marie-Muller
She must have the green light to bring the ball upfield, given 14 goals and eight assists. Have we had that since Ellie C?
So, that says to me we're moving Reyes to RB.
I would think that is the most likely scenario, but they could also shift Muller to that side because she is also right-footed (and played a little right wing for Freiburg it looks like).
This is better than I expected. Going to be curious to see how it all plays out. And now there is one to go.
Freiburg-Bayern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdN9FywcFao
Freiburg-Duisburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZokXzQv0cI
Freiburg-Wolfsburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9irBQfz12_A
Bayern and Wolfsburg in the cup final are two of the games I watched her play this year. She definitely shows some stuff, especially in the Bayern game. There's a run of play starting at about 18:40 in the video where she really pops.
The part of the article that really irked me was LH calling into question the professionalism of various NWSL players in those pre-game photos. I also vividly remember LH and Sonnet photobombing post-game interviews, and a number of examples still exist online. Two things: I remember at the time that it seemed Ann Schatz just barely tolerated their antics, and that Lindsey liked a Twitter reply of mine when I suggested she would find a way to crash her own post-game interviews at some point. The example I recall most clearly was Sonnet miming the casting of a fishing line and pretending to reel in Horan, who jumped awkwardly about the pitch-curious in retrospect, given her knee problems and complaints about playing on the PP turf. I find this all grating, self-righteous and hypocritical, but then she's hardly Sam Coffey (IMO the best interview in the USWNT pool. You know she's from a family of journalists when you read or listen to one of her interviews-one deep breath and out comes an always thoughtful and articulate reply).
If anyone wants to see the whole press conference, it’s here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/-gVkfuD1ruY?si=Ts57XlorBXQivbur
I did cringe when Karina called Jessica Berman “Jennifer Berman” and mayor Wheeler is also, uh, interesting to listen to lol, but overall nice to hear from the players as well as the Bhathals!
Wheeler always comes across to me as a sock puppet for the Business Alliance people, so I’ll be curious how he is about a gang on new rich people coming into his patch. Given the City still owns the Civic building he is some kind of stakeholder.
I think Wheeler is pretty checked out at this point. With Gonzalez, Mapps, and Ryan on the city council and trying to out right wing each other for the upcoming election, he doesn't really need to do anything himself or deal with the headaches to get the Business Alliance/People for Portland people what they want.
He is definitely more grating to listen to than I remember lol...
Regardless, because the City still owns the stadium as you say, I think it's good that the two parties have already met and are becoming acquainted. I really had hoped they'd develop a relationship with the City independent of Merritt Paulson.
Chief and Thorntree, and whoever else got invited, please give us the post-mortem.
I just left. Let me get home and I’ll give you my impressions. Generally, tho? I feel better. Good answers to questions about scouting, rosters, and overall ownership.