It doesn’t sit right with me that players are the first to go when the coaches have been terrible and unqualified for years. Mike Norris and Rob Gale have never been at the level that a HC should be and that should come at no surprise. None of those coaches have been able to develop a single player in their time. If they are going to clean house clean it all. No more Karina who has been the one orchestrating the mess , Mike Norris, and Rob Gale. It’s time.
Finished 6th in one of the most mediocre seasons. Rob should be gone by now. When you’re an owner you can make the can whenever. Vibes aren’t good enough when the other coaches have actual tactics. Rob got out coached by Donovan twice ffs.
Yeah, hard disagree with Sam that we didn't really learn anything about Gale in the 2024 season, especially immediately following the importance of putting players in the place to succeed. Gale was terrible at putting the right players in the right positions and playing to their strengths. We wasted the midfield all year and consistently put slow players who are not wingers on the wings, in a system that relies on wingers no less.
I'm no Gio stan, but implying that the Timbers had some super talented roster that overcame awful coaching to reach two finals and win a third is total crap lmao. Simply not how the real world works. He had his flaws, but he was a perfectly competent league average manager.
Point is, if Gale can get to "league average" it'll be a huge win for the Thorns. I don't really think he can.
Been thinking about Morgan and her springtime "45-day" injury, surgery, late-season return on limited minutes. She will be 12 months back this May(?) and not knowing details of what procedure she had, perhaps only just getting back into full Chaos Muppet form.
Glad to see her get the callup. And I'll be glad to see her back at PP. I hope she's recovered the explosiveness she had before the injury.
The "45 day injury" is just a roster rules category, not a prediction; they didn't want to write off the rest of her season with an SEI, and the alternative is 45 days.
Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 22/5), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 3/1), Ella Stevens (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 13/1), Morgan Weaver (Portland Thorns FC; 2/0), Lynn Williams (Seattle Reign FC; 75/21)
Williams, Sears, and Stevens are the most like Weaver. Stevens came in the same year as Smith and Weaver, but only last year has she really looked great. Sears looked really good in her three caps, and Williams is the most capped and goals; but if the 22/23 Weaver shows up she could make an impression on Hayes. What Morgan has special is an electric field personality. People love her, want her to succeed and she seems to come up big in tight games. I hope she does well. Like Williams, she is also a tenacious defender.
Hayes seems to be widening the group of players. Lots of new players getting a shot and she will also have a younger group practicing against this group.
Hayes is very clearly watching the NWSL closely (which, duh, but still). Stevens, Martin, McKeown, Haught, Sears, and Malonson are all NWSL nerd darlings lol
Ryan Williams, too! I've been talking about her for like 5 years now lol. Surprised that Sheehan didn't warrant a look. Also curious that Yaz Ryan isn't here...Also where is Claire Hutton???
Yeah don’t know how I missed Williams, def another fave.
I thought Ryan not being there is odd. Sheehan too, but less so just cause they have so many eights already. Hutton should definitely be involved with the first team but she might be part of the “futures” group released tomorrow.
Ohhh right, that makes sense. I forgot it was a two-parter. Curious how they separate the two....you'd think some of those youngsters like Sears, Anderson, Dickey, and Sentnor would be more part of a futures camp.
I expect Hutton will be a part of it, as you say...maybe Yaz too.
Well Hutton is much younger- Yaz and Dickey are 25, Sears and Anderson 23, and even Sentnor is 20. Hutton is still 18. I have no idea if that’s the reason, but it would make a little more sense.
Anyone know anything about Angelina Anderson, goalkeeper for Angel City? She too got called up and I don't remember ever hearing of her. She's behind Haračić at ACFC, so she hasn't gotten many games, but NWSL's website says she did play 3 games last year and 5 the year before. She conceded 6 and 4 goals respectively those years, but it's hard to tell the significance of those numbers given ACFC's tissue-paper defense.
I see multiple quotes from club reporters about their respective players who made this list....sure would be nice if we had a damn reporter would could ask questions about Weaver's inclusion.
Even if there was more reporters it’s like an open secret the thorns as a club aren’t very open. They aren’t very open towards reporters unless it’s bigger outlets unfortunately.
Phuoc, I appreciate you mentioning you’ll ask about the head coach situation (if Gale is still here and if we ever actually get a presser)…
I very much hope you’ll remind the GM/owners of Gale’s record (esp the last 6 months.) Since the beginning of June he’s been 4-3-9 (W-D-L)…that’s p damn bad! Mike Norris got fired for less. It’s imperative they get a more competent coach in here, especially if they are going for younger and less proven players…otherwise this team will always underperform.
Also, sorry, but just very much disagree we should be giving Gale a whole season again…he had a whole season minus like 4 games. I can’t think of a game last season where (even if we won), I thought the team looked super cohesive. You’ll lose Sam and Sophia if 2025 looks like 2024 (and 2023 in many ways.)
Have to agree unfortunately. If everything isn't going well by mid-summer maybe they will pull the trigger, but right now somebody up top is arguing that he didn't have a complete team and he had some legacy players like Sinclair, Hubly and Sauerbrunn that he needed to play on a depleted team. There is also the narrative that the players like him.
I am already disappointed with the way this off season has gone and now I am just hoping for the best from the coach we have, the team we have, and any new players they bring in. If the season is a mess Soph will be in Denver when her contract expires. Yeah I am going to hope he does well too; for the players sake!
I dunno, I remember a healthy Hinta sitting on the bench (!) and I remember Moultrie playing most/all of games at RW with a healthy Linnehan and later Turner on the bench (a reminder that Turner was our 2nd or 3rd leading scorer when we acquired her). Granted, KK totally f'ed up the roster with 6 GKs and 4 strikers, but still...
If somebody up top is making that argument, then that somebody up top needs to go, too.
this makes me sad, will have a tough time going into the season without a negative attitude but I am not a player. Hope he can prove me wrong if he doesn't so what!? Just means the potential last go around with some our best players ( S and C) will have been wasted on a inadequate prepared coach.
I do suspect that to be the case, but also preseason *can* start as late as Feb 5th…so if they announced a new GM tomorrow they technically could still have about a month lol.
yes the only way he gets fired at this stage is if the season starts like 2024 ended. The only chance he wasn't going to be the head coach was going to be if ownership had been proactive about the GM search and that unfortunately has not transpired.
Not that I was ever going to root for losses, but I think I'm just going to hope he does well at this point. Unless there's some big hire at GM coming in the next few weeks before camp, it's probably more detrimental to the team to do another Norris in four games than for him to squeak up to league average territory. Not a lot of trust that they'd get someone better anyhow until they show they can.
She wasn't used well here and she is a person I wanted to succeed. I hope this works out well for her. She can tap Kling and Sauerbrunn on what it is like to play in Sweden and what she should try to get from the experience.
I think it'll be a great life experience for her regardless! It's something I would've loved to do if woso really existed on a club level when I was in college.
Definitely living in another country is a great experience and even traveling to other countries broadens the mind. Unfortunately not enough Americans travel outside the USA.
So, anybody know anything about these folks, beyond the bare bones in the press release? I want to be excited about this, and I probably should be, but you know what they say about "once burned . . ."
The Mike Smith point is an interesting one. I think he's actually done a pretty good job with the players he's identified through scouting (Obaze, Muller, Payne) and the bargain hunting they've done in the NWSL (Spaanstra, Turner, Hiatt). Obviously not perfect with Dias in there as well, but no one is. Without knowing the intricacies of how this FO has operated from a who-does-what perspective, I'd argue that his is the only role that has been done relatively competently over the last few years. With a better coach, I think there's a good chance we'd be looking at the moves differently.
NOW, with that said: I don't think he has the connections or the experience required to go out and get stars or the cache and built up trust to keep our current ones. He absolutely should not and cannot be promoted if this is a serious ownership group.
My open issue isn’t with Mike Smith. It’s with what he represents about the Blahthal’s capabilities to bring in established winners to return this to a prominent global team.
If he is hired, the current owners do not appear to know how to recover from the Paulson missteps.
Smith may very well be a highly competent GM long term and seems like the best of internal options.
All the things you credit Smith with doing well seem like the hard parts of GMing! Stars? They kinda scout themselves! And it would seem that a big name coach and club would be more of a star player draw than the GM…
I’m not on one side or the other of this argument, but ISTM that you actually make a good case for Smith-for-GM!
Scouting isn't really the biggest part of GMing for me. That's why you have a scouting department within your technical staff. To me, the most important parts are the actual management parts: Roster construction (i.e translating the scouting info into best team fit and going out and getting the players), contract negotiation, and assembling a staff. But also, yeah: I do think the best GMs are able to attract stars by communicating their vision in person and I don't know that I trust Mike Smith to have enough cache to go out and fire Gale, find a good coach that wants to work with him, and then establish a culture where big names want to come here.
But doesn’t the ultimate on-field shape/vision belong to the coach? Seems like the GM needs that guidance to hunt and sign players. I can see it as a cooperative process, but it seems odd to picture the GM being the roster-visionary alone…
Yeah ideally the coach and the GM (and the entire technical staff) have a shared vision for the roster. Orlando is probably the best NWSL example. Unfortunately, that's not always the case!
If Mike Smith really *was* the best candidate and he was empowered to fire Gale and Norris, find his own coach, and build his own staff.....I suppose I'd be fine with it. Well-run organizations make internal hires that work out all the time. But, as you like to point out, there's no evidence that the Bhathals can tell who the best candidate is so it would really just appear to be a lazy "we can't do better" type hire.
I was looking through their recent replies and comments, and aside from being a pretty combative redditor, they seem to know folks on the team and/or profess to have other insights. Sounds like they might work in the org.
Some other things they’ve said: apparently we’re getting Jayden Shaw (actually said multiple times), Girma is going to Chelsea, Kling was done dirty by the club, the club actually spent millions (?) on Arnold and they “know this for a fact” (?????? Not possible lol), re:Girma going to Chelsea…says there’s lots of pressure from Hayes to do so and you’ll see Coffey do so in a year or two, Sophia Smith’s next home will be at the new Colorado team. I think that’s it lol….all over the place!
So…we’ll see lol.
If they’re correct about the GM, though, “being in town” implies it’s not an internal hire, which is good.
Agreed. Wasn't Arnold out of contract? There was no one to bid against for her services. And while I'm sure Hayes wants to see all her players continuing to grow, why and how would she punish the player she's called the best CB in the world (or the best she's ever seen) for playing in SD?
Yeah some of the stuff was nonsensical lol. I’m not saying I believe them. They also seem…mad. Lol. Just putting down what they said, though! They made a whole ass post about the GM “being in town” so I thought it was worth mentioning here…but after looking through the comments, well, you got what you got. Just putting all the info out there lol.
FWIW, if I was managing the USWNT and watched what KenBall was doing to my preferred #6 I'd be pushing her to find a new gig, too. Chel$ki, Barca, Westside Parks & Rec...any and all would provide better development. So not entirely off the wall.
But if the "new GM" is an internal hire yes, they're "in town", so this doesn't HAVE to be some big outside name if that's the implication.
Have they made any past prophecies that have proven true or false? The timing of the GM at least seems consistent with our other “inside” source… in fact it wouldn’t shock me if it was the same person.
TOTALLY disagree on coaching. The 2024 roster should have been top-four quality; that they weren't, and slid out of the quarterfinal, was utterly a Ken problem. The "team of lions led by a donkey" is a thing for a reason.
Given the notional strength of the 24 squad? I didn’t see why not. But so many good players like Fleming just never showed up or were underperforming…and Ken’s “tactics” seem like the common factor. Admittedly the Weaver and Sugita injuries hurt badly. But Ken knew his star striker needed help and never solved it. He knew Obaze was doing better than Hubly but did nothing. He agreed to yanking Hogan for Arnold.
Whether fourth or fifth or sixth…the club just looked off. And I can’t help but see that as 99% Ken.
the only two that definitively had better rosters than us was NY and DC. KC roster was not as good as ours they just a predator level player in Chawinga. Whenever I watch them play it is not unusual to see only three in the attack. Numbers are rarely in their favor just speed. Not exactly a great long term strategy not a very sophisticated one. Same style vLat played with the Nats and against wellnorganized teams ready to absorb and playing possession and allow numbers around the ball not a successful strategy. Why for me Gale sucks no higher level thought into how to organize def and off in response to different challenges.
I do think they'll add a RW at some point....whether that's the "star" we want or a 21 year old winger from the Swedish league probably depends on whether it's Mike Smith or new GM X doing the GMing. Active roster is only at 19, so I imagine we'll see two more international signings plus some backfill.
Regardless, it's a fun team without having to worry about Sinc and Izzy getting minutes. There's no longer a bunch of attackers on the roster that I am viscerally against getting minutes, so that will be a nice change of pace even if the coaching continues to suck. I am excited to see more of Turner and Linnehan, tho I am concerned Turner might shunt Soph out wide if she starts.
My guess is they leave Sophia in whatever position she wants to play and Turner or Linnehan adjust with Turner being the likely one IMO if they don’t sign someone
Part of me wonders if they try a 4-4-2 and bring in a legitimate 10 though I still believe that Hina can play the position effectively
Season with no Olympics and no WWC will be a change from recent years, despite the long summer break. Soph and Sam might have a little less wear and tear from Nats duties.
4-2-3-1 with our personnel seems more likely. Probably a 6/8 combo at the two over a double 6. Fleming at the 8 running box to box seems to fit her more then a holding six along Coffey. When we ran the double six with Racque it was suffocating, but we also at that time actually used possession and buildup to keep lines connected.
An employer can limit the number of work visas they are willing to sponsor. It is not a free process, both in fees charged and time spent filing the paperwork. Since the league is a single entity and the employer of the players they can cap how many they want to sponsor in a year and how they are willing to distribute them to different departments and/or locations in the USA. If they have a green card or citizenship and don't need a work visa they don't count against the cap. It isn't a no Mongolians (or other group) allowed policy. They are treating all people who need work visas the same.
There isn't enough money in play for someone to sue and get it overturned in the courts unlike the 18 year old age line. The 22 year old age line of the WNBA OR THE 19 year old age line of the NBA is on thing ice since the Moultrie case. I am a little surprised no one has filed but I guess the teams don't want to hire minors as players. There wasn't enough money to be made in the WNBA for Clark to sue her way in early.
If it did get over turned it would likely erase a formal cap but some sort of defacto cap in place, either through the CBA or other mechanism.
There are other leagues where players can work and make similar money, so unlike Moultrie who was barred from playing abroad at 15, there is little incentive to sue to force your way in. If they were still subsidizing USA/Canada players (and/or allowed Canada players without green cards) it would be a slam dunk case if anyone cared enough to file the complaint. Neither the players or the individual teams cared enough. They likely can work within the league to increase that number over time if they want.
Thanks for that insight. I hadn’t thought about the visa issue. I’m not convinced these restrictions would hold up anymore, not that it matters what I think. It just seems odd that a bunch of employers (if it’s the clubs employeeing their players instead of the league) could get together and agree to restrict the number of internationals each would hire. Then again, they can’t price fix but they can set salary caps. 🤷♂️. I hadn’t thought about this until I saw the club trading for an international roster spot.
Hmmm, your question just *answered* a question I've been mystified by for a long time: Why doesn't the NWSL treat Canadian players the same as US ones, and not require international slots for Canadian players? It would make sense to me to do that, since US and Canada soccer cultures are pretty similar, lots of Canadians play soccer in US colleges and on NWSL teams, it would make sense for NWSL to expand into Canada (well it would have before the Canadian league was announced), etc. But as you've pointed out, that would be discrimination (in favor of Canadian players) on the basis of national origin, and national origin is one of the "protected categories" in employment discrimination law. In short, it would be illegal. Mystery explained.
Maybe not something anyone wants to see, but I saw this post about head coaches in the NWSL and the licenses/ trainings each one has completed. Apparently Seb Hines is the example and the only coach in the league to have all the certifications, trainings, and licenses.
More interesting to me was that Rob Gale’s supposed completion/issue date of a lot of these trainings was end of November and end of December…so, AFTER the season was already over. 3 of them.
Not sure what that says about his time here, but if he thought he might not be coaching in the league in ‘25, would he really be doing all of these things? To me, this makes it seem like there is/was never a plan for replacement.
I coach youth soccer and you're supposed to do the Safesport trainings yearly. I imagine the level and oversight would be much more intense for pro coaches, so I'm pretty surprised (and concerned!) that there's a few that don't have them done, especially after the Yates report. Possible they added a bunch of new trainings since the report that coaches haven't gotten around to.
Anyhow, I don't think the timing is an indicator of anything planned (all coaches should have those trainings completed regardless of status)... buttt I do expect him to be the manager on opening day.
Well that’s good to know. To me it most certainly said that there was no intention to have him move on, even after a really rough 6 months.
Still, though, I’m guessing he stays because there simply isn’t enough time now. It’s gonna be super unfortunate if we just get an internal hire after all this time AND stick with Gale. At least if they made that (very dumb!) decision early there would’ve been more than enough time for a deep head coach search.
Per the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NWSL Players Association, the waiver wire has been eliminated. All player contracts are now guaranteed.
Beginning January 15, trade windows will be eliminated. Trades may occur at any time prior to roster freeze October 9th. All trades involving players require consent.
Preseason camps may begin no earlier than Wednesday, January 15 and no later than Wednesday, February 5.
The primary transfer window opens on Tuesday, January 28 and closes Monday, March 24.
The 2026 Free Agency period begins on Tuesday, July 1. All options for the 2026 season need to be exercised by June 30th 2025.
The secondary transfer window opens on Tuesday, July 1 and closes Monday, August 25.
Club scheduled friendlies from June 30th to July 25th as the league breaks for Euros/Copa America.
* The NWSL will begin each regular season weekend with Friday night matches on Prime Video.
* Each Saturday night that follows will include a double-header on Scripps-owned ION network, available over-the-air in 123 million homes.
* A package of regular season matches will air on the CBS Television Network and stream live on Paramount+, with additional matches airing across CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
* ESPN will air a package of matches across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes (Spanish). All NWSL matches on ESPN platforms and on ABC will stream live on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. The package also includes English, Spanish and Portuguese-language rights in Latin America.
* The remaining regular season matches will be available on NWSL+, the league’s domestic direct-to-consumer streaming platform.
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So to summarize, the English-language matches will be on (1) Prime Video, (2) ION, (3) CBS TV, (4) Paramount+, (5) CBS Sports, (6) CBS Sports Golazo, (7) ABC, (8) ESPN, (9) ESPN2, and (10) NWSL+.
Ten different places to get games, eight of which I would have to pay for (I think ION and NWSL+ are free). Except of course I'm only going to pay for a couple of them, as I did in 2024 when I just couldn't watch a bunch of Thorns games. NWSL, are you *trying* to make it hard to be a fan of the league?
When answering the league survey I hammered them on spraying televised matches across so many disparate platforms.
"Message received: we shall add more platforms; thank you for your interest in NWSL soccer."
Have never unlocked the mystery that is CBS Sports Network and despite paying good money for Paramount+, hardly any matches showed there other than in-season tournaments. Chasing the others down is a lesson in persistence.
ETA the Giant Voracious Mouse has acquired Fubo, which has a LOT of sports, including NCAA conferences and also ESPN+, which is generally paywalled even when you have regular ESPN and its offspring.
Have mergers ever not benefited the consumer? Really feeling the synergy.
Yeah, this crazy-quilt broadcast thing has been irritating far too long now. Wish they'd pick one or two platforms. It'd piss me off paying for Paramount Minus, but at least every week wouldn't be a frantic hunt for "where is the fucking game..???"
Any idea what it means to have transfer windows if "trades may occur at any time prior to roster freeze October 9th"? Are transfer windows relevant just to international transfers?
I thought Melina's comment re: Angerer was interesting, because I thought her work in 2023 was so bad that it contributed to her departure. Bixby was a hot mess that season, the worst starting keeper in the league, and Angerer 1) couldn't help her out and 2) had no alternative plan. So, yes, Angerer did a LOT of good work, but, no, she didn't get ALL her keepers right.
Yeah, the myth-making around Angerer has always been odd to me. Clearly a good keeper coach, not a miracle worker. Thorns haven't had a top-half of the league keeper since prime AD circa 2017.
Yeah she had a fine year in 2021 given she kinda came out of nowhere after Britt retired, but I do think it was a pretty overblown because the Thorns had an absolutely *elite* defense (seriously, 17 GA in 24 games on just 22 xGA is nuts) that season. Her PSxG-GA was 6th of 10, she had the second lowest saves/match, and her distribution was pretty poor by the numbers as well. Classic case of "keeper of shield winner and best defense gets the plaudits over better keepers who allowed more goals because their defense was worse."
Franch's 2018 GKotY was similar; Franch had a beast of a season behind a monster of a backline in 2017; we knew that, and she was well-rewarded with title and the Keeper of the Year crown for it.
The next two seasons Franch played behind a defense that posted roughly the same metrics as 2017; allowing roughly a shot on goal every 20 minutes and roughly one of every three shots was a shot on goal. In other words; over the past three seasons the defense in front of Franch didn’t change much
But Franch’s concession rate slipped fairly sharply over that time; from a goal every 108 minutes to a goal abut every hour, from a goal for every five shots on goal to almost one in every three, and from less than a goal per game to almost a goal-and-a-half.
Kailen Sheridan had massively better concession-to-xG numbers behind the worst defense in the league in Jersey in 2018.
Bixby herself credits Angerer with a lot of her growth and improvement. And apparently Bixby was dealing with the trauma of her father's suicide much (or all of the season).
No argument that Bixby was hammered by personal trauma in '23. That's where her GK coach steps in: "Hey, you need a break. How about Shelby goes in for a bit?" Instead Angerer let her twist in the wind. That was a shockingly poor decision, both for Bixby and the club.
So, yes, Angerer was a fine GK coach for years. No, she had a bad 2023 and I suspect that may have been a factor in her departure.
However, I don't agree that the GK coach should tell the GK what she needs to do. Instead, the coach asks the player what she feels about alternatives. In Bella's case, Bella said that practice and games were her "escape" from grieving, where taking a break would have not helped at all.
When my dad passed away from natural causes, I did as Bixby did. I kept busy knowing that there was plenty of time to where I'd not be able to do anything but grieve. Every year on my dad's birthday, I grieve and perform a ritual of my own design in his honor and memory.
The coach tells that player what to do about their skill. Not to order them to sit or stay home because what the coach -- who is not a license mental health clinician -- thinks. Who each of us grieves is unique to each of us.
And the evidence is that many professional athletes show up and perform at peak levels even immediately following the deaths of loved ones.
Were I the goal keeper that last person's guidance I would take would be Nadine Angerer's or any other coach pretending to be my shrink.
1) again, that is exactly what all coaches do. What is the selection of the XI, or the 18, but “telling them to sit”.
2) and in 23 Bixby’s skills were appalling. She was a mess. She hurt her team dropping points and losing games. Angerer’s JOB was to recognize that and either 1) help Bixby solve her issues, or, if she couldn’t 2) recommend an alternative (Hogan, in that case).
That’s not “therapy”. That’s coaching!
Now. That’s pretty cruel. But that’s the essence of any competition in teams; it’s not about you. It’s about the team. Angerer was supposed to do what was best for the team. If that was also good for Bixby? Great! But the team comes first. And in 23, that didn’t happen.
It doesn’t sit right with me that players are the first to go when the coaches have been terrible and unqualified for years. Mike Norris and Rob Gale have never been at the level that a HC should be and that should come at no surprise. None of those coaches have been able to develop a single player in their time. If they are going to clean house clean it all. No more Karina who has been the one orchestrating the mess , Mike Norris, and Rob Gale. It’s time.
Finished 6th in one of the most mediocre seasons. Rob should be gone by now. When you’re an owner you can make the can whenever. Vibes aren’t good enough when the other coaches have actual tactics. Rob got out coached by Donovan twice ffs.
Yeah, hard disagree with Sam that we didn't really learn anything about Gale in the 2024 season, especially immediately following the importance of putting players in the place to succeed. Gale was terrible at putting the right players in the right positions and playing to their strengths. We wasted the midfield all year and consistently put slow players who are not wingers on the wings, in a system that relies on wingers no less.
And he was absolutely terrible about self correcting and in game tactic changes.
he is the nwsl equivalent of gio. even stoney would be an upgrade
Weird comp, Gio made two MLS Cup finals and won the Covid tourney lol. If Gale does half of what Gio did with the Timbers I'll be shocked.
lol you know that wasn't from.brilliant coaching that was strictly based on having at what at the time was a decent roster.
I'm no Gio stan, but implying that the Timbers had some super talented roster that overcame awful coaching to reach two finals and win a third is total crap lmao. Simply not how the real world works. He had his flaws, but he was a perfectly competent league average manager.
Point is, if Gale can get to "league average" it'll be a huge win for the Thorns. I don't really think he can.
Yay! Weaver got a USWNT callup (along with Coffey)
https://x.com/AttackingThird/status/1876675414472700075
Been thinking about Morgan and her springtime "45-day" injury, surgery, late-season return on limited minutes. She will be 12 months back this May(?) and not knowing details of what procedure she had, perhaps only just getting back into full Chaos Muppet form.
Glad to see her get the callup. And I'll be glad to see her back at PP. I hope she's recovered the explosiveness she had before the injury.
The "45 day injury" is just a roster rules category, not a prediction; they didn't want to write off the rest of her season with an SEI, and the alternative is 45 days.
This is the forward group called in with Weaver.
Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 22/5), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 3/1), Ella Stevens (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 13/1), Morgan Weaver (Portland Thorns FC; 2/0), Lynn Williams (Seattle Reign FC; 75/21)
Williams, Sears, and Stevens are the most like Weaver. Stevens came in the same year as Smith and Weaver, but only last year has she really looked great. Sears looked really good in her three caps, and Williams is the most capped and goals; but if the 22/23 Weaver shows up she could make an impression on Hayes. What Morgan has special is an electric field personality. People love her, want her to succeed and she seems to come up big in tight games. I hope she does well. Like Williams, she is also a tenacious defender.
Hayes seems to be widening the group of players. Lots of new players getting a shot and she will also have a younger group practicing against this group.
Hayes is very clearly watching the NWSL closely (which, duh, but still). Stevens, Martin, McKeown, Haught, Sears, and Malonson are all NWSL nerd darlings lol
Ryan Williams, too! I've been talking about her for like 5 years now lol. Surprised that Sheehan didn't warrant a look. Also curious that Yaz Ryan isn't here...Also where is Claire Hutton???
Yeah don’t know how I missed Williams, def another fave.
I thought Ryan not being there is odd. Sheehan too, but less so just cause they have so many eights already. Hutton should definitely be involved with the first team but she might be part of the “futures” group released tomorrow.
Ohhh right, that makes sense. I forgot it was a two-parter. Curious how they separate the two....you'd think some of those youngsters like Sears, Anderson, Dickey, and Sentnor would be more part of a futures camp.
I expect Hutton will be a part of it, as you say...maybe Yaz too.
Well Hutton is much younger- Yaz and Dickey are 25, Sears and Anderson 23, and even Sentnor is 20. Hutton is still 18. I have no idea if that’s the reason, but it would make a little more sense.
Yeah I guess that’s right. Curious which college players she’ll bring in as well!
Anyone know anything about Angelina Anderson, goalkeeper for Angel City? She too got called up and I don't remember ever hearing of her. She's behind Haračić at ACFC, so she hasn't gotten many games, but NWSL's website says she did play 3 games last year and 5 the year before. She conceded 6 and 4 goals respectively those years, but it's hard to tell the significance of those numbers given ACFC's tissue-paper defense.
Yay that is fantastic she deserves it. Lots of competition at that position, but I think she is more confident than the last time she was called up.
I see multiple quotes from club reporters about their respective players who made this list....sure would be nice if we had a damn reporter would could ask questions about Weaver's inclusion.
Even if there was more reporters it’s like an open secret the thorns as a club aren’t very open. They aren’t very open towards reporters unless it’s bigger outlets unfortunately.
Awesome!
Phuoc, I appreciate you mentioning you’ll ask about the head coach situation (if Gale is still here and if we ever actually get a presser)…
I very much hope you’ll remind the GM/owners of Gale’s record (esp the last 6 months.) Since the beginning of June he’s been 4-3-9 (W-D-L)…that’s p damn bad! Mike Norris got fired for less. It’s imperative they get a more competent coach in here, especially if they are going for younger and less proven players…otherwise this team will always underperform.
Also, sorry, but just very much disagree we should be giving Gale a whole season again…he had a whole season minus like 4 games. I can’t think of a game last season where (even if we won), I thought the team looked super cohesive. You’ll lose Sam and Sophia if 2025 looks like 2024 (and 2023 in many ways.)
Sam, Sophia and a bunch of season ticket holders.
"If we get a presser" lol
Anyhow, Gale ain't going anywhere. It's too late at this point.
Have to agree unfortunately. If everything isn't going well by mid-summer maybe they will pull the trigger, but right now somebody up top is arguing that he didn't have a complete team and he had some legacy players like Sinclair, Hubly and Sauerbrunn that he needed to play on a depleted team. There is also the narrative that the players like him.
I am already disappointed with the way this off season has gone and now I am just hoping for the best from the coach we have, the team we have, and any new players they bring in. If the season is a mess Soph will be in Denver when her contract expires. Yeah I am going to hope he does well too; for the players sake!
I dunno, I remember a healthy Hinta sitting on the bench (!) and I remember Moultrie playing most/all of games at RW with a healthy Linnehan and later Turner on the bench (a reminder that Turner was our 2nd or 3rd leading scorer when we acquired her). Granted, KK totally f'ed up the roster with 6 GKs and 4 strikers, but still...
If somebody up top is making that argument, then that somebody up top needs to go, too.
this makes me sad, will have a tough time going into the season without a negative attitude but I am not a player. Hope he can prove me wrong if he doesn't so what!? Just means the potential last go around with some our best players ( S and C) will have been wasted on a inadequate prepared coach.
I do suspect that to be the case, but also preseason *can* start as late as Feb 5th…so if they announced a new GM tomorrow they technically could still have about a month lol.
yes the only way he gets fired at this stage is if the season starts like 2024 ended. The only chance he wasn't going to be the head coach was going to be if ownership had been proactive about the GM search and that unfortunately has not transpired.
Not that I was ever going to root for losses, but I think I'm just going to hope he does well at this point. Unless there's some big hire at GM coming in the next few weeks before camp, it's probably more detrimental to the team to do another Norris in four games than for him to squeak up to league average territory. Not a lot of trust that they'd get someone better anyhow until they show they can.
OT: Izzy D'Aquila has signed with some Swedish club. Hopefully she gets some better coaching to help her shine.
https://x.com/urljusblaaogon1/status/1876701285572915523
She wasn't used well here and she is a person I wanted to succeed. I hope this works out well for her. She can tap Kling and Sauerbrunn on what it is like to play in Sweden and what she should try to get from the experience.
I think it'll be a great life experience for her regardless! It's something I would've loved to do if woso really existed on a club level when I was in college.
Definitely living in another country is a great experience and even traveling to other countries broadens the mind. Unfortunately not enough Americans travel outside the USA.
Def agree. I went abroad for 3 months with a friend when I was 20 and just road the eurail and explored. Wonderful experience, overall.
Everyone, remember there is no time when it's too late to can a head coach.
Looks like it happened
https://www.thorns.com/news/portland-thorns-fc-annoucne-jeff-agoos-as-new-president-and-general-manager-of-soccer-operations-lucy-rushton-and-angus-mcnab-join-as-strategic-advisors
And the phrase "strategic advisors" in and of itself will ease that blood pressure spike of mine that was induced by months of incredulous despair.
So, anybody know anything about these folks, beyond the bare bones in the press release? I want to be excited about this, and I probably should be, but you know what they say about "once burned . . ."
At last!
The Mike Smith point is an interesting one. I think he's actually done a pretty good job with the players he's identified through scouting (Obaze, Muller, Payne) and the bargain hunting they've done in the NWSL (Spaanstra, Turner, Hiatt). Obviously not perfect with Dias in there as well, but no one is. Without knowing the intricacies of how this FO has operated from a who-does-what perspective, I'd argue that his is the only role that has been done relatively competently over the last few years. With a better coach, I think there's a good chance we'd be looking at the moves differently.
NOW, with that said: I don't think he has the connections or the experience required to go out and get stars or the cache and built up trust to keep our current ones. He absolutely should not and cannot be promoted if this is a serious ownership group.
My open issue isn’t with Mike Smith. It’s with what he represents about the Blahthal’s capabilities to bring in established winners to return this to a prominent global team.
If he is hired, the current owners do not appear to know how to recover from the Paulson missteps.
Smith may very well be a highly competent GM long term and seems like the best of internal options.
Yep. It's roughly the same issue I had with the idea of Parsons except much worse on the optics side.
(fwiw I'd now take Parsons happily lol)
Maybe they misunderstood the Yankees comparison? Maybe the objective was to become the Rochester Americans? It’s Yankee adjacent
So this just confuses me more.
All the things you credit Smith with doing well seem like the hard parts of GMing! Stars? They kinda scout themselves! And it would seem that a big name coach and club would be more of a star player draw than the GM…
I’m not on one side or the other of this argument, but ISTM that you actually make a good case for Smith-for-GM!
Scouting isn't really the biggest part of GMing for me. That's why you have a scouting department within your technical staff. To me, the most important parts are the actual management parts: Roster construction (i.e translating the scouting info into best team fit and going out and getting the players), contract negotiation, and assembling a staff. But also, yeah: I do think the best GMs are able to attract stars by communicating their vision in person and I don't know that I trust Mike Smith to have enough cache to go out and fire Gale, find a good coach that wants to work with him, and then establish a culture where big names want to come here.
But doesn’t the ultimate on-field shape/vision belong to the coach? Seems like the GM needs that guidance to hunt and sign players. I can see it as a cooperative process, but it seems odd to picture the GM being the roster-visionary alone…
Yeah ideally the coach and the GM (and the entire technical staff) have a shared vision for the roster. Orlando is probably the best NWSL example. Unfortunately, that's not always the case!
If Mike Smith really *was* the best candidate and he was empowered to fire Gale and Norris, find his own coach, and build his own staff.....I suppose I'd be fine with it. Well-run organizations make internal hires that work out all the time. But, as you like to point out, there's no evidence that the Bhathals can tell who the best candidate is so it would really just appear to be a lazy "we can't do better" type hire.
Okay, you make a case. Point accepted.
I hate to even say this, but it would NOT surprise me to see them move Smith into the GM office…
Hmmmm, according this this person on Reddit, “the new GM is in town”:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Thorns/comments/1hvgfcf/new_gm/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I was looking through their recent replies and comments, and aside from being a pretty combative redditor, they seem to know folks on the team and/or profess to have other insights. Sounds like they might work in the org.
Some other things they’ve said: apparently we’re getting Jayden Shaw (actually said multiple times), Girma is going to Chelsea, Kling was done dirty by the club, the club actually spent millions (?) on Arnold and they “know this for a fact” (?????? Not possible lol), re:Girma going to Chelsea…says there’s lots of pressure from Hayes to do so and you’ll see Coffey do so in a year or two, Sophia Smith’s next home will be at the new Colorado team. I think that’s it lol….all over the place!
So…we’ll see lol.
If they’re correct about the GM, though, “being in town” implies it’s not an internal hire, which is good.
There is no way the thorns spent millions on Arnold.
I think the idea of pressure applying to Girma is nonsense…what’s Hayes gonna do, not play her best center back?
Agreed. Wasn't Arnold out of contract? There was no one to bid against for her services. And while I'm sure Hayes wants to see all her players continuing to grow, why and how would she punish the player she's called the best CB in the world (or the best she's ever seen) for playing in SD?
Yeah some of the stuff was nonsensical lol. I’m not saying I believe them. They also seem…mad. Lol. Just putting down what they said, though! They made a whole ass post about the GM “being in town” so I thought it was worth mentioning here…but after looking through the comments, well, you got what you got. Just putting all the info out there lol.
They’re totally gonna announce it when I’m at my dentist appointment, aren’t they….
Only if your appointment is at the same time as mine. ;-0
Do you have a dermatology appointment this week also? Lol. It's the time of all the biannual appointments lol.
Watch us hire Kate Markgraf
FWIW, if I was managing the USWNT and watched what KenBall was doing to my preferred #6 I'd be pushing her to find a new gig, too. Chel$ki, Barca, Westside Parks & Rec...any and all would provide better development. So not entirely off the wall.
But if the "new GM" is an internal hire yes, they're "in town", so this doesn't HAVE to be some big outside name if that's the implication.
Most of it sounds like conjecture at best, but hopefully the GM is a hire we all can get behind. Haven’t had one of those for a while with this club
Inside sources are always interesting trying to identify between their opinion and viable news
Have they made any past prophecies that have proven true or false? The timing of the GM at least seems consistent with our other “inside” source… in fact it wouldn’t shock me if it was the same person.
Prophecies that have proven true:
A broken clock is right twice a day.
TOTALLY disagree on coaching. The 2024 roster should have been top-four quality; that they weren't, and slid out of the quarterfinal, was utterly a Ken problem. The "team of lions led by a donkey" is a thing for a reason.
Top 4 quality means as good as Orlando, Washington, KC, and Gotham. Not just in terms of play, but in terms of roster composition. Were we?
I think a competitive 5th is realistic. That we finished 6th almost by default, and a long step down from 5th, is a problem.
Given the notional strength of the 24 squad? I didn’t see why not. But so many good players like Fleming just never showed up or were underperforming…and Ken’s “tactics” seem like the common factor. Admittedly the Weaver and Sugita injuries hurt badly. But Ken knew his star striker needed help and never solved it. He knew Obaze was doing better than Hubly but did nothing. He agreed to yanking Hogan for Arnold.
Whether fourth or fifth or sixth…the club just looked off. And I can’t help but see that as 99% Ken.
the only two that definitively had better rosters than us was NY and DC. KC roster was not as good as ours they just a predator level player in Chawinga. Whenever I watch them play it is not unusual to see only three in the attack. Numbers are rarely in their favor just speed. Not exactly a great long term strategy not a very sophisticated one. Same style vLat played with the Nats and against wellnorganized teams ready to absorb and playing possession and allow numbers around the ball not a successful strategy. Why for me Gale sucks no higher level thought into how to organize def and off in response to different challenges.
No "leavings" of Rob Gale yet?!?!?
"Leavings of Rob Gale" sounds like an installation piece at your local Anarchist Gallery and Poetry Collective.
ROFL. Thank you for that.
Alright so since the GM front is dead silent, what's the opening day lineup look like?
I'd imagine Arnold-Muller/Obaze/Hiatt/Reyes-Coffey/Hina/Fleming-Weaver/Smith/????
I do think they'll add a RW at some point....whether that's the "star" we want or a 21 year old winger from the Swedish league probably depends on whether it's Mike Smith or new GM X doing the GMing. Active roster is only at 19, so I imagine we'll see two more international signings plus some backfill.
Regardless, it's a fun team without having to worry about Sinc and Izzy getting minutes. There's no longer a bunch of attackers on the roster that I am viscerally against getting minutes, so that will be a nice change of pace even if the coaching continues to suck. I am excited to see more of Turner and Linnehan, tho I am concerned Turner might shunt Soph out wide if she starts.
My guess is they leave Sophia in whatever position she wants to play and Turner or Linnehan adjust with Turner being the likely one IMO if they don’t sign someone
Part of me wonders if they try a 4-4-2 and bring in a legitimate 10 though I still believe that Hina can play the position effectively
Think it will be 4-3-2-1 because math.
Season with no Olympics and no WWC will be a change from recent years, despite the long summer break. Soph and Sam might have a little less wear and tear from Nats duties.
4-2-3-1 with our personnel seems more likely. Probably a 6/8 combo at the two over a double 6. Fleming at the 8 running box to box seems to fit her more then a holding six along Coffey. When we ran the double six with Racque it was suffocating, but we also at that time actually used possession and buildup to keep lines connected.
Curious: how is it not national origin discrimination to restrict the number of international players allowed on a roster?
An employer can limit the number of work visas they are willing to sponsor. It is not a free process, both in fees charged and time spent filing the paperwork. Since the league is a single entity and the employer of the players they can cap how many they want to sponsor in a year and how they are willing to distribute them to different departments and/or locations in the USA. If they have a green card or citizenship and don't need a work visa they don't count against the cap. It isn't a no Mongolians (or other group) allowed policy. They are treating all people who need work visas the same.
There isn't enough money in play for someone to sue and get it overturned in the courts unlike the 18 year old age line. The 22 year old age line of the WNBA OR THE 19 year old age line of the NBA is on thing ice since the Moultrie case. I am a little surprised no one has filed but I guess the teams don't want to hire minors as players. There wasn't enough money to be made in the WNBA for Clark to sue her way in early.
If it did get over turned it would likely erase a formal cap but some sort of defacto cap in place, either through the CBA or other mechanism.
There are other leagues where players can work and make similar money, so unlike Moultrie who was barred from playing abroad at 15, there is little incentive to sue to force your way in. If they were still subsidizing USA/Canada players (and/or allowed Canada players without green cards) it would be a slam dunk case if anyone cared enough to file the complaint. Neither the players or the individual teams cared enough. They likely can work within the league to increase that number over time if they want.
Thanks for that insight. I hadn’t thought about the visa issue. I’m not convinced these restrictions would hold up anymore, not that it matters what I think. It just seems odd that a bunch of employers (if it’s the clubs employeeing their players instead of the league) could get together and agree to restrict the number of internationals each would hire. Then again, they can’t price fix but they can set salary caps. 🤷♂️. I hadn’t thought about this until I saw the club trading for an international roster spot.
My guess: it doesn't disfavor players of any particular national origin.
Hmmm, your question just *answered* a question I've been mystified by for a long time: Why doesn't the NWSL treat Canadian players the same as US ones, and not require international slots for Canadian players? It would make sense to me to do that, since US and Canada soccer cultures are pretty similar, lots of Canadians play soccer in US colleges and on NWSL teams, it would make sense for NWSL to expand into Canada (well it would have before the Canadian league was announced), etc. But as you've pointed out, that would be discrimination (in favor of Canadian players) on the basis of national origin, and national origin is one of the "protected categories" in employment discrimination law. In short, it would be illegal. Mystery explained.
Well, I’m glad I could help!
Maybe not something anyone wants to see, but I saw this post about head coaches in the NWSL and the licenses/ trainings each one has completed. Apparently Seb Hines is the example and the only coach in the league to have all the certifications, trainings, and licenses.
More interesting to me was that Rob Gale’s supposed completion/issue date of a lot of these trainings was end of November and end of December…so, AFTER the season was already over. 3 of them.
Not sure what that says about his time here, but if he thought he might not be coaching in the league in ‘25, would he really be doing all of these things? To me, this makes it seem like there is/was never a plan for replacement.
Would love y’alls opinions. Here’s the tweet I saw (you can look at every coach if you scroll through the thread): https://x.com/nwsltoughconvos/status/1875744884734488598?s=46&t=e8Gx9bM3HEyE6UzYl-Lilw
I coach youth soccer and you're supposed to do the Safesport trainings yearly. I imagine the level and oversight would be much more intense for pro coaches, so I'm pretty surprised (and concerned!) that there's a few that don't have them done, especially after the Yates report. Possible they added a bunch of new trainings since the report that coaches haven't gotten around to.
Anyhow, I don't think the timing is an indicator of anything planned (all coaches should have those trainings completed regardless of status)... buttt I do expect him to be the manager on opening day.
Well that’s good to know. To me it most certainly said that there was no intention to have him move on, even after a really rough 6 months.
Still, though, I’m guessing he stays because there simply isn’t enough time now. It’s gonna be super unfortunate if we just get an internal hire after all this time AND stick with Gale. At least if they made that (very dumb!) decision early there would’ve been more than enough time for a deep head coach search.
I don't think I can stand any more KenBall. Seriously. Gardening season can't start soon enough!
Unrelated we have a shell of a schedule and a competition calendar.
Announcement of schedule footprint.
https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/national-women-s-soccer-league-announces-2025-schedule-footprint-competition-calendar
CC March 7
Season Start March 14
Playoff start Halloween
Final November 22nd.
Link to competition calendar
https://www.nwslsoccer.com/rules-and-policies
Highlights
Per the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the NWSL Players Association, the waiver wire has been eliminated. All player contracts are now guaranteed.
Beginning January 15, trade windows will be eliminated. Trades may occur at any time prior to roster freeze October 9th. All trades involving players require consent.
Preseason camps may begin no earlier than Wednesday, January 15 and no later than Wednesday, February 5.
The primary transfer window opens on Tuesday, January 28 and closes Monday, March 24.
The 2026 Free Agency period begins on Tuesday, July 1. All options for the 2026 season need to be exercised by June 30th 2025.
The secondary transfer window opens on Tuesday, July 1 and closes Monday, August 25.
Club scheduled friendlies from June 30th to July 25th as the league breaks for Euros/Copa America.
Also, this:
* The NWSL will begin each regular season weekend with Friday night matches on Prime Video.
* Each Saturday night that follows will include a double-header on Scripps-owned ION network, available over-the-air in 123 million homes.
* A package of regular season matches will air on the CBS Television Network and stream live on Paramount+, with additional matches airing across CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
* ESPN will air a package of matches across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes (Spanish). All NWSL matches on ESPN platforms and on ABC will stream live on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. The package also includes English, Spanish and Portuguese-language rights in Latin America.
* The remaining regular season matches will be available on NWSL+, the league’s domestic direct-to-consumer streaming platform.
--------------
So to summarize, the English-language matches will be on (1) Prime Video, (2) ION, (3) CBS TV, (4) Paramount+, (5) CBS Sports, (6) CBS Sports Golazo, (7) ABC, (8) ESPN, (9) ESPN2, and (10) NWSL+.
Ten different places to get games, eight of which I would have to pay for (I think ION and NWSL+ are free). Except of course I'm only going to pay for a couple of them, as I did in 2024 when I just couldn't watch a bunch of Thorns games. NWSL, are you *trying* to make it hard to be a fan of the league?
Probably also drives people to pirate stream sites which I have heard are really easy to access every game for free.
Shiver me timbers [heh] care to share any of that booty?
Sent you a DM.
When answering the league survey I hammered them on spraying televised matches across so many disparate platforms.
"Message received: we shall add more platforms; thank you for your interest in NWSL soccer."
Have never unlocked the mystery that is CBS Sports Network and despite paying good money for Paramount+, hardly any matches showed there other than in-season tournaments. Chasing the others down is a lesson in persistence.
ETA the Giant Voracious Mouse has acquired Fubo, which has a LOT of sports, including NCAA conferences and also ESPN+, which is generally paywalled even when you have regular ESPN and its offspring.
Have mergers ever not benefited the consumer? Really feeling the synergy.
Yeah, this crazy-quilt broadcast thing has been irritating far too long now. Wish they'd pick one or two platforms. It'd piss me off paying for Paramount Minus, but at least every week wouldn't be a frantic hunt for "where is the fucking game..???"
Any idea what it means to have transfer windows if "trades may occur at any time prior to roster freeze October 9th"? Are transfer windows relevant just to international transfers?
yes
I thought Melina's comment re: Angerer was interesting, because I thought her work in 2023 was so bad that it contributed to her departure. Bixby was a hot mess that season, the worst starting keeper in the league, and Angerer 1) couldn't help her out and 2) had no alternative plan. So, yes, Angerer did a LOT of good work, but, no, she didn't get ALL her keepers right.
Yeah, the myth-making around Angerer has always been odd to me. Clearly a good keeper coach, not a miracle worker. Thorns haven't had a top-half of the league keeper since prime AD circa 2017.
Bixby's 2021 was also pretty awesome. IIRC she was shortlisted for GK of the Year.
Yeah she had a fine year in 2021 given she kinda came out of nowhere after Britt retired, but I do think it was a pretty overblown because the Thorns had an absolutely *elite* defense (seriously, 17 GA in 24 games on just 22 xGA is nuts) that season. Her PSxG-GA was 6th of 10, she had the second lowest saves/match, and her distribution was pretty poor by the numbers as well. Classic case of "keeper of shield winner and best defense gets the plaudits over better keepers who allowed more goals because their defense was worse."
Franch's 2018 GKotY was similar; Franch had a beast of a season behind a monster of a backline in 2017; we knew that, and she was well-rewarded with title and the Keeper of the Year crown for it.
The next two seasons Franch played behind a defense that posted roughly the same metrics as 2017; allowing roughly a shot on goal every 20 minutes and roughly one of every three shots was a shot on goal. In other words; over the past three seasons the defense in front of Franch didn’t change much
But Franch’s concession rate slipped fairly sharply over that time; from a goal every 108 minutes to a goal abut every hour, from a goal for every five shots on goal to almost one in every three, and from less than a goal per game to almost a goal-and-a-half.
Kailen Sheridan had massively better concession-to-xG numbers behind the worst defense in the league in Jersey in 2018.
But her team finished dead last, so...
Eckerstrom was excellent as well, but…yeah. Solid body of work but the myth making is excessive.
Bixby herself credits Angerer with a lot of her growth and improvement. And apparently Bixby was dealing with the trauma of her father's suicide much (or all of the season).
No argument that Bixby was hammered by personal trauma in '23. That's where her GK coach steps in: "Hey, you need a break. How about Shelby goes in for a bit?" Instead Angerer let her twist in the wind. That was a shockingly poor decision, both for Bixby and the club.
So, yes, Angerer was a fine GK coach for years. No, she had a bad 2023 and I suspect that may have been a factor in her departure.
Personal trauma is a hormone-and-energy rollercoaster. Now add to that the likelihood of early stages of pregnancy.
However, I don't agree that the GK coach should tell the GK what she needs to do. Instead, the coach asks the player what she feels about alternatives. In Bella's case, Bella said that practice and games were her "escape" from grieving, where taking a break would have not helped at all.
When my dad passed away from natural causes, I did as Bixby did. I kept busy knowing that there was plenty of time to where I'd not be able to do anything but grieve. Every year on my dad's birthday, I grieve and perform a ritual of my own design in his honor and memory.
"...the GK coach should tell the GK what she needs to do."
That's. Literally. What. Coaches. Do.
Bixby wasn't there to help work through her grief. She was there to help the club win. If her struggle with grief was hurting her club, instead..?
That was, literally, Angerer's ENTIRE job; to go to Bixby, and Norris, and recommend Bixby sit for Hogan until Bixby could recover.
The coach tells that player what to do about their skill. Not to order them to sit or stay home because what the coach -- who is not a license mental health clinician -- thinks. Who each of us grieves is unique to each of us.
And the evidence is that many professional athletes show up and perform at peak levels even immediately following the deaths of loved ones.
Were I the goal keeper that last person's guidance I would take would be Nadine Angerer's or any other coach pretending to be my shrink.
1) again, that is exactly what all coaches do. What is the selection of the XI, or the 18, but “telling them to sit”.
2) and in 23 Bixby’s skills were appalling. She was a mess. She hurt her team dropping points and losing games. Angerer’s JOB was to recognize that and either 1) help Bixby solve her issues, or, if she couldn’t 2) recommend an alternative (Hogan, in that case).
That’s not “therapy”. That’s coaching!
Now. That’s pretty cruel. But that’s the essence of any competition in teams; it’s not about you. It’s about the team. Angerer was supposed to do what was best for the team. If that was also good for Bixby? Great! But the team comes first. And in 23, that didn’t happen.