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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 10, 2015 8:06:02 GMT -5
Priceless quote from Iceland coach about USWNT www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/usa-disappoint-with-goalless-draw-against-iceland-at-the-algarve-cup-030915“Maybe he’s unhappy because his team is at the bottom of the group." -- U.S. women's head coach Jill Ellis, reacting to observations by Iceland coach Frey Alexandersson that he'd be "unhappy" if he coached a team as talented as the USA and it resorted mostly to long balls. The USA and Iceland played to a 0-0 tie at the Algarve Cup. “We forced them to play the long ball since after watching their first two games, we saw that when they get under pressure they tend to resort to the long ball. I don’t understand it because they can play the ball on the grass. I would expect a team 20 seeds (ahead of us in the world rankings) would trash us.’’ |
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Post by zizou on Mar 10, 2015 8:35:15 GMT -5
This is the last thing I am going to say about the USWNT until a new regime is in place. Lineups are ridiculous, formation is ridiculous, strategy is ridiculous (if there is one). Sermanni was hired ostensibly to bring USWNT out of the dark ages. I went to a few matches under his tenure, and thought they were making some progress. I thought Pia had advanced them quite a bit actually. I am guessing she saw the inflexibility of the USWNT players and decided enough was enough. But this current iteration of players does not want to advance. That is quite clear. They have been brought up to play a certain way, and their stars will not change.
After watching the U17 WNT play I have some hope for the future, but I have no hope for this team. They are finished. Problems scoring against freaking Iceland has been far from the only warning sign. They are predictable. They are easy to defend. It is almost dumb luck when they score against a quality side now. Anyone see Germany play yesterday? Made me chuckle thinking of the USWNT staying with them, and Germany have a number of important players injured. USWNT play in a fashion that guarantees their players will be worn down by 70 minutes. They are not 23 any more. They won't get 6 subs in the World Cup. Even if they did Ellis wouldn't know how to use them. Like I have said before, I understand these are great great players and their coach probably has forgotten more soccer than I will ever know, but this is not the standard. Pia and Sermanni would always talk about the incredible fighting spirit of the USWNT players. It was almost always the first thing out of their mouths when describing the team. Anyone also remember that? I used to think it was a badge of honor. Now I wonder if it was code for something more sinister, and we are seeing the ramifications right now.
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Post by soccerfan30 on Mar 10, 2015 10:23:36 GMT -5
The players have more power than the coach, that's the problem. Ellis is a players coach (take that for what it's worth) and caters to the vets. Remember that women's soccer doesn't pay much relative to other sports, so the players want to stay in the team as long as possible to keep themselves relevant.
I posted an article on here a while back how some vets (read Wambach) were believed to have been instrumental in the firing of Semana and Ellis was their "hand picked" successor.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Mar 10, 2015 10:24:01 GMT -5
I couldn't believe how positive John Harkes & Tony Meola were on counter attack last night about the team and Jill. they liked the experimenting and praised Brian. Its really odd.
even if the inmates are running the asylum, why is their style of play (lack of style of play) so bad, and the coaching decisions being made are almost worse. Lori Chalupny at center mid on this team is a joke.
by the way, never realized o'reilly got her first cap on the national team when she was 16, in high school.
no way that ever happens again!
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Post by rifle on Mar 10, 2015 12:35:32 GMT -5
Fortunately, there is a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo in this country... as a 3rd generation of lifelong soccer players hits the field. A big problem is the fact that the domestic soccer "media" is more like the PR department. Dissenting voices are quickly silenced, but hopefully that'll change.
On the national level, men's soccer is always ten years away. Sadly, women's soccer, is ten years AGO.
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Post by lovethegame on Mar 10, 2015 19:19:27 GMT -5
I, too, saw progress with Sermani. The ball was being moved on the ground, and there was much less long ball. The US is in the Algarve final, but the best team we played was 10th in the world (I believe). Each time we see "success" without looking at who and how they played, many continue to believe we are still the best team in the world. I hope I'm wrong. I want to see the WNT do well in the World Cup, but every game I see I am unsure as to how they get there. It's not the long ball with Alex Morgan trying to get behind the defense or a kick in the hope that Abby will get her head on it. I just keep hoping I'm wrong.
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