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Post by rifle on Feb 3, 2024 0:31:03 GMT -5
The good news is RYSA is being taken over a big and nice club from Gwinnett! Good changes are to come. Kalonji?
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Post by rifle on Feb 3, 2024 0:26:14 GMT -5
What was the USWNT Team Captain thinking? Just when it seemed like they would just get back to soccer look at the comments from Horan. I definitely am done. Sounds like she is thinking it’s time to get back to work. Good interview IMO. Good insight into new mindsets. I find it silly that people are still trying to pluck controversy from player words. The team’s recent problems were between the lines. Players and manager. Hopefully the new manager will find the recipe and raise the standard higher than ever. Can we please drop the milquetoast “one woman’s opinion makes the team bad” mindset?
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Post by rifle on Feb 1, 2024 13:28:59 GMT -5
I think you are already at the point where the coach can’t handle his commitments to the team and second job. Have you considered getting the manager to discuss the concerns with the coach? That would be a good first step. You should also go to the Director of Coaching to ensure the concerns get more visibility. I recommend addressing the situation now so it doesn’t get worse. Plus, if things go south this will give the club ample time to find a replacement. Raise your hand if you want to be TM? The TM role is a huge pain in the back side without having to be the aggregator of grievances. And… This is why clubs have a DOC. Talk to them.
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Post by rifle on Jan 25, 2024 13:47:23 GMT -5
Sign him up for basketball in the winter.
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Post by rifle on Jan 22, 2024 17:59:01 GMT -5
B team with 11 players making their international debuts. It could have gone either way and with Slovenia’s compact defense it was hard for the men to create chances once they got behind. However, the USMNT is frankly not very impressive without their proven playmakers. Once you get past Pulisic, McKennie, Weah, Serginio Dest, the level of playmakers goes way down. Especially, at outside back and wide areas of the field with not having Dest out there. NOT GOOD. I have never been a fan of Shaq Moore. Dejuan Jones (I think ?) sent the ball way over the box in a 3 v 2 situation. Kamungo (winger) loss the ball on a 1v1 in the top of the defensive 3rd resulting in the Slovenia goal. One thing I've noticed about American players who are only trained here domestically, is their inability to be creative when in the final/attacking third. You tend to see strikers only striking the ball. What I mean is sometimes there are defenders in front of their pathway to the goal, yet they "strike" the ball in the hopes that it will magically go through the defenders. It is something that has always intrigued me. Not sure if it's the youth system or the inability of coaches to rectify since it's already engrained. You will notice that the missing playmakers you mentioned: Pulisic, McKennie, Weah, Serginio, etc. Everyone one of them, had a stint outside the country during the pivotal developmental youth years. So when they are on the ball, they do things to create the space needed to strike the ball with a higher percentage of finding the back of the net. Sometimes a step-over, a juke to the left or right can move a defender or goalie and increase your chances of success. A classic example of this locally, is Jackson Conway (who btw just signed this week with the Charleston Battery). He was exposed when he went on loan to Phoenix Rising, which is why he was sent packing back to the ATL... That is a really interesting observation. Totally agree.. it seems like domestic players couldn't unlock a safe with the combination tattooed on (our) hand. I certainly don’t expect every USMNT player to be able to turn like Martin Odegaard. But I damn sure wish they wouldn’t ALL think the last option (passing backwards for safety) is the only option. Do you suppose it has to do with youth soccer parents screaming “not in the middle!!” LOL. And lastly - regarding JC. My son played against his Cobb FC teams way back at U11-U12 and they had some friends in common. The one thing that dazzled my son at that early age was JC being legendary for kicking the ball SO HARD that he once broke a kid’s arm……
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Post by rifle on Jan 18, 2024 22:11:15 GMT -5
The really awful part is if any of this weekend’s tournaments could push back just a week, it’ll be in the upper 60’s and maybe low 70’s. Truth… Crazy GA weather! I refereed two adult women’s 7v7 games last Sunday morning. It was 27 degrees for the first kickoff but around 36 and sunny by the end. It wasn’t near as bad as I was anticipating. I shed a layer after every half and took the gloves off after the first five minutes. Ten degrees colder would be worse but dress right and you’ll probably be fine. I still remember the pain of getting hit in the bare thigh with a soccer ball in a 20-something degree game when I was about eleven years old. That sucked.
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Post by rifle on Jan 13, 2024 12:59:09 GMT -5
Found this on Bigsoccer I think some ‘withdrawals’ post-draft were anticipated.
"New for this year, the SuperDraft was expanded to include college players who are collegiate sophomores and above, Generation Adidas players, any former college player who departed college with remaining eligibility since the conclusion of the college season approximately one (1) year prior to the SuperDraft, and other players specifically made available by the League.
Drafted players with collegiate eligibility remaining can opt to return to school in the fall. Any drafted player who opts to return to college in the fall of 2024 or turns professional will not be draft-eligible in the future."www.bigsoccer.com/threads/akron-zips-2024.2129053/Sorry for the off topic rabbit hole. Back to the thread…
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Post by rifle on Jan 12, 2024 20:56:47 GMT -5
Are they able to make more with NIL's than they would in MLS? No idea but apparently it wouldn’t be very hard to earn more than a MLS rookie contract pays. Clearly they see that being drafted is actually just a tryout and they know that some who do manage to sign a MLS contract are trapped in a league determined to pay them next to nothing. It’s kinda sad that “one more shot at a college championship” is preferable to (hoping to) sign with MLS. If it was just one I would wonder but two players from the same team? I only follow Akron because I grew up fifteen minutes away. Are any other men’s college players doing the same?
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Post by rifle on Jan 12, 2024 13:22:37 GMT -5
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Post by rifle on Jan 11, 2024 12:16:56 GMT -5
Prediction: Miami will finish the regular season in 4th. Those old dudes will break. Gressel was always exhausted by minute 60. If he is the only one able to run, it’ll exacerbate his problem. He isn’t really young anymore either. Congrats to him for getting another championship though. Hah! LOL. You’re on. Your prediction certainly was true this past season as the Messi injury destroyed Miami’s MLS playoff hopes. Hopefully, they’re smart and can mix in more minutes with some of the younger talent they have and rest their superstars. Youngsters can benefit from the experience, maturity, and professionalism of these guys, like Benjamin Cremaschi did this past year. Time will tell. I’m firmly in the Messi is the GOAT camp. But he is old and concentrating all the money on a quarter of the starting eleven is the biggest reason MLS just sucks.
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Post by rifle on Jan 11, 2024 12:13:13 GMT -5
Thank you Rifle. Nobody caught that rule to this point . . . the team will be most appreciative. I'm forwarding your points to team/club and hopefully they will be able to apply enough pressure to make people come to their senses and do the correct thing. I will let you know how this ridiculous thing plays out. NPL is the governing body of SAPL and SAPL is a division / league under them. I'm sure you know, but NPL is also under US Club Soccer. I perceive US Club as the org that never should have been.. If the federation had any balls. But since US Club stormed the castle, the big clubs write and rewrite the rules however they can benefit themselves.
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Post by rifle on Jan 11, 2024 6:28:08 GMT -5
First - I am really sorry this happened. It sounds truly shizatty.. and the “Director’s discretion” thing is a total cop out. These leagues have been around long enough to foresee this specific situation and write a rule about it.
But “club soccer gonna club soccer”. If it doesn’t hurt their P&L statement they won’t make the effort.
Second - never heard of SAPL and the (above) linked rules appear to be for NPL. If those leagues operate under the same rules.. keep reading. If the rules I am about to cite are not applicable - let me know and I will delete this.
The paragraph you keep quoting (#3.5) is about rescheduled games. Not voluntary forfeits. (*It also references paragraph 3.4 which is unrelated so it also appears to be a rule written by an org that doesn’t care enough to proof read).
Since it’s an issue of points and the director already rendered a decision based on the forfeits paragraph.. I think you are SOL.
However.. if you are going to continue to try and extract blood from a rock based on the rule book - this is where you might have a better opportunity for relief:
3.2.2 Play-Offs and Finals Commitment. All clubs participating in the NPL are required to complete all scheduled competitions for which they are scheduled or for which they qualify in the post-season, including without limitation participation in post-season play-offs and the NPL Finals. US Club Soccer reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to allow limited exemptions for individual participating clubs due to exceptional circumstances , as solely determined by US Club Soccer.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any club that does not participate in all required competitions [/], and that does not receive an exemption from US Club Soccer, may face sanctions from US Club Soccer, including without limitation, forfeiture of points, ineligibility for post-season play for the relevant team or the entire club, or immediate removal from the NPL
I would think that “undesire to drive X hours for one inconsequential game” is not an exceptional circumstance. I would also be *shocked* if the directors are buddies. I suspect they called and confirmed the outcome before deciding to skip the inconvenience.
It sucks. If YOUR club really cares, they would be threatening to pull all their teams from the league going forward. But they won’t because next year they have a new incoming batch of willing suckers to pay them.
Again - I am sorry you are going through this. I like the saying “If you can’t get out of it.. get INTO it!” So I hope the girls choose to harness their frustration and put on a clinic with their showcase game(s). It’s about all you can do.
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Post by rifle on Jan 10, 2024 22:50:39 GMT -5
Participate in an odd big d*** contest.. you just might look like one.
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Post by rifle on Jan 10, 2024 22:49:27 GMT -5
Inter Miami added Julian Gressel the other day. They are building a super team … Messi, Busquets, Alba, Suarez, Gressel = domination. Hopefully, this leads to an arms war and pushes the MLS salary cap envelopes. Prediction: Miami will finish the regular season in 4th. Those old dudes will break. Gressel was always exhausted by minute 60. If he is the only one able to run, it’ll exacerbate his problem. He isn’t really young anymore either. Congrats to him for getting another championship though.
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Post by rifle on Jan 10, 2024 12:03:32 GMT -5
Good job calling out his bad comment... but then you added your own attack on other areas. Thumbs down on that one. not sure what you intended to quote Edit: ok I went and found it. I stand by my statement that OH is more racist than GA. I lived there 25 years and now have been here for 14. Lots of other states in between. I’ll take the thumbs down if you disagree.
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Post by rifle on Jan 9, 2024 11:18:00 GMT -5
Parents want someone to look down on and they don't like their kid being moved between teams. nailed it
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Post by rifle on Jan 6, 2024 18:25:26 GMT -5
The person that wrote it probably deleted it.
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Post by rifle on Jan 1, 2024 14:33:24 GMT -5
Schedule your vacation for July!
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Post by rifle on Dec 29, 2023 17:10:15 GMT -5
People say Bundesliga, LaLiga, EPL suck because the same teams always win. At least they have whole teams of good players not parity seeking rules that conspire to pay players poorly. A closed league that crushes all others is just crappy.
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Post by rifle on Dec 28, 2023 14:30:46 GMT -5
MLS is somehow letting Inter Miami sign a dream team with Messi, Suarez, Busquets, etc despite the salary cap and single entity structure. So somehow, it seams, they could potentially incorporate a transfer fee, trading system as well for D2, D3, etc Could. But they won’t. The league was founded with a written statement saying they would grow and add P/R in alignment with FIFA regs. But then they decided they wanted to lose* money and keep the league closed, and run it like NFL instead. *I wonder if they still claim to be losing money.. Or is that just when MLS negotiates with the players union?
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Post by rifle on Dec 25, 2023 12:45:56 GMT -5
The cost of youth sports has become absurd. When kids hear a parent say the cost is a lot… and they aren’t having fun.. they’re smart enough to do parents a favor and quit.
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Post by rifle on Dec 25, 2023 12:30:23 GMT -5
The Roswell parks turf fields are always open and there are frequent pickup games out there dawn to dusk.
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Post by rifle on Dec 25, 2023 12:29:06 GMT -5
Merry Christmas.
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Post by rifle on Dec 22, 2023 14:58:48 GMT -5
Thirty six year old Luis Suarez will smoke MLS defenders.
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Post by rifle on Dec 22, 2023 8:16:57 GMT -5
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Post by rifle on Dec 21, 2023 22:05:44 GMT -5
My issue with MLS is the play just isn't very good. It's hard to get excited by a game when the action is boring compared to other leagues. And THAT…. Is the problem. MLS mimics other pro sports that are built for running ads during the game.. but fans get a league that prioritizes crappy salaries and parity. The sad truth is.. it stops being fun to watch the middle school team when your kid hits ninth grade.
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Post by rifle on Dec 21, 2023 17:04:40 GMT -5
My suggestion is that a single EPL club be in both America and Canada. These would be professional academies run as their own entity / business. If you did this instantly MLS would become a 2nd tier league + all of America/Canada would be watching a single team. What happens when the American or Canadian “EPL” team gets relegated? Play in the Championship? The team would disband at that point according to MLS logic.
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Post by rifle on Dec 21, 2023 11:54:18 GMT -5
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Post by rifle on Dec 20, 2023 14:32:29 GMT -5
I am not sure why I am laughing so hard at US Soccer giving MLS the Heisman 😆😂😆😂😆 The double tallman 🖕🏼🖕🏼. I didn’t think they’d have the fortitude.
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Post by rifle on Dec 20, 2023 10:48:08 GMT -5
I apologize for crapping on the super draft (like all things MLS). Big congrats to any player having the talent to be drafted. I wish we would see more of the league comprised of home grown and draftees rather than seeing teams take a flyer and spend big on guys like Zeke Barco.
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