Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a theme in soccer that persists because it is one of the last bastions of sport where lesser athletes can still be successful. This is historically why it has been popular with dweebs and NAF's, and they are among the folks wailing about the desecration of the beautiful game and the need for the magical development elixir. That is changing however. The sport is becoming more and more dominated by better athletes, although the sport still does require more skill and intellect than most.

And exactly how much stronger and faster do you expect the typical women’s soccer player to be over the coming decade? There is no way to coach it. There is also a real cap of muscle that can be added to a soccer player before the benefits are lost.

Most advancements are in regards to injury prevention, nutrition and overall playing longevity.

Skill, technique and tactics are the place to focus on in youth soccer, not size, speed and wins.

Anonymous wrote:There is a theme in soccer that persists because it is one of the last bastions of sport where lesser athletes can still be successful. This is historically why it has been popular with dweebs and NAF's, and they are among the folks wailing about the desecration of the beautiful game and the need for the magical development elixir. That is changing however. The sport is becoming more and more dominated by better athletes, although the sport still does require more skill and intellect than most.

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Anonymous wrote:I like Lynn Williams. She blows past defenders but needs to finish once she does. She had a breakaway today and somehow managed not to get a shot off. Works hard off the ball, too.

In other news, Crystal Dunn stole Mayor Lori Lightfoot's hairdo.

Speed is the only reason why Williams is on the team. You can tell she relied on speed completely throughout her youth and never spent time developing her skills.

Her speed is incredible and it’s what’s gotten her the accolades in the NWSL. Her speed and drive help her create so many chances that it doesn’t matter so much that her on-frame shots are at a woefully low percentage. That matters far more once the level steps up in international play and you get fewer shots. The US players who are doing well are the ones who have the technical skills in addition to the speed and physicality. Horan, Dunn, Press, and Lavelle were standouts so far. Lloyd and Rapinoe not so much. Morgan was getting mugged. And I thought Ertz wasn’t as on this past week as she’s been in the past.

Agreed. Williams is fast but not while dribbling compared to Press, Lavell, & Dunn. It seems Morgan got some of her speed back and definitely a lot more aggressive compared to the Canada game. It should help once S. Mewis and T. Heath comes back. Aside from a few of the USWNT players that played in Europe, most of these players haven’t played much due to COVID.

Morgan did not get “speed” back. Brazil was a better match up for her ie the players she went against were slower. The US’s back line is shaky at best. When they face technical players who move the ball a lot of opportunities are presented. Most of the US based players just do not see that type of soccer. Canada and Brazil should have scored but choked.

And yet they still won.

+1. The same was said before the 2019 Women’s World Cup too.

And yet the margins are getting tighter and tighter. Not a great trend for USWNT.

This isn't a bad trend. US players are fantastic, but the international players are getting better. I much prefer this as it will push the US team to be better. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed (wo)man is king(queen). I much rather no one is blind and the entirety of women soccer elevate in their skills and this is the direction USWNT and the rest of the world is moving towards.

The trend is towards parity. But the concern is that we are not evolving to stay ahead of the curve. These boards are proof of that entitlement. The mouth breathers just scream ATHLETES! As if America has some predisposed gene pool advantage. We are admittedly crap at developing skill and IQ. Rose Lavelle should be the norm for a country of our size not the standout. She is a great player but she isn’t exactly Marta either.

We are also using a amateur system as our nation development model. And a very expensive amateur system at that. Socioeconomic barriers are the biggest hurdle to fully exploiting our player pool versus a professional academy system in Europe that just wants the absolute best players regardless of income.

And let’s not forget, most of us on this board are older than the Women’s World Cup. The tournament is young, as well as its adoption. It is pretty early in the game to be so complacent. Anyone who follows sports knows that all great runs end and things can go sideways very fast.

We will be the greatest or one of the greatest women’s soccer programs in the world in the next 2 lifetimes. Breathe

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Lynn Williams. She blows past defenders but needs to finish once she does. She had a breakaway today and somehow managed not to get a shot off. Works hard off the ball, too.

In other news, Crystal Dunn stole Mayor Lori Lightfoot's hairdo.

Speed is the only reason why Williams is on the team. You can tell she relied on speed completely throughout her youth and never spent time developing her skills.

Her speed is incredible and it’s what’s gotten her the accolades in the NWSL. Her speed and drive help her create so many chances that it doesn’t matter so much that her on-frame shots are at a woefully low percentage. That matters far more once the level steps up in international play and you get fewer shots. The US players who are doing well are the ones who have the technical skills in addition to the speed and physicality. Horan, Dunn, Press, and Lavelle were standouts so far. Lloyd and Rapinoe not so much. Morgan was getting mugged. And I thought Ertz wasn’t as on this past week as she’s been in the past.

Agreed. Williams is fast but not while dribbling compared to Press, Lavell, & Dunn. It seems Morgan got some of her speed back and definitely a lot more aggressive compared to the Canada game. It should help once S. Mewis and T. Heath comes back. Aside from a few of the USWNT players that played in Europe, most of these players haven’t played much due to COVID.

Morgan did not get “speed” back. Brazil was a better match up for her ie the players she went against were slower. The US’s back line is shaky at best. When they face technical players who move the ball a lot of opportunities are presented. Most of the US based players just do not see that type of soccer. Canada and Brazil should have scored but choked.

And yet they still won.

+1. The same was said before the 2019 Women’s World Cup too.

And yet the margins are getting tighter and tighter. Not a great trend for USWNT.

This isn't a bad trend. US players are fantastic, but the international players are getting better. I much prefer this as it will push the US team to be better. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed (wo)man is king(queen). I much rather no one is blind and the entirety of women soccer elevate in their skills and this is the direction USWNT and the rest of the world is moving towards.

The trend is towards parity. But the concern is that we are not evolving to stay ahead of the curve. These boards are proof of that entitlement. The mouth breathers just scream ATHLETES! As if America has some predisposed gene pool advantage. We are admittedly crap at developing skill and IQ. Rose Lavelle should be the norm for a country of our size not the standout. She is a great player but she isn’t exactly Marta either.

We are also using a amateur system as our nation development model. And a very expensive amateur system at that. Socioeconomic barriers are the biggest hurdle to fully exploiting our player pool versus a professional academy system in Europe that just wants the absolute best players regardless of income.

And let’s not forget, most of us on this board are older than the Women’s World Cup. The tournament is young, as well as its adoption. It is pretty early in the game to be so complacent. Anyone who follows sports knows that all great runs end and things can go sideways very fast.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Lynn Williams. She blows past defenders but needs to finish once she does. She had a breakaway today and somehow managed not to get a shot off. Works hard off the ball, too.

In other news, Crystal Dunn stole Mayor Lori Lightfoot's hairdo.

Speed is the only reason why Williams is on the team. You can tell she relied on speed completely throughout her youth and never spent time developing her skills.

Her speed is incredible and it’s what’s gotten her the accolades in the NWSL. Her speed and drive help her create so many chances that it doesn’t matter so much that her on-frame shots are at a woefully low percentage. That matters far more once the level steps up in international play and you get fewer shots. The US players who are doing well are the ones who have the technical skills in addition to the speed and physicality. Horan, Dunn, Press, and Lavelle were standouts so far. Lloyd and Rapinoe not so much. Morgan was getting mugged. And I thought Ertz wasn’t as on this past week as she’s been in the past.

Agreed. Williams is fast but not while dribbling compared to Press, Lavell, & Dunn. It seems Morgan got some of her speed back and definitely a lot more aggressive compared to the Canada game. It should help once S. Mewis and T. Heath comes back. Aside from a few of the USWNT players that played in Europe, most of these players haven’t played much due to COVID.

Morgan did not get “speed” back. Brazil was a better match up for her ie the players she went against were slower. The US’s back line is shaky at best. When they face technical players who move the ball a lot of opportunities are presented. Most of the US based players just do not see that type of soccer. Canada and Brazil should have scored but choked.

And yet they still won.

+1. The same was said before the 2019 Women’s World Cup too.

And yet the margins are getting tighter and tighter. Not a great trend for USWNT.

This isn't a bad trend. US players are fantastic, but the international players are getting better. I much prefer this as it will push the US team to be better. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed (wo)man is king(queen). I much rather no one is blind and the entirety of women soccer elevate in their skills and this is the direction USWNT and the rest of the world is moving towards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m glad other people see Williams in the same light as I do. USWNT is wasting time and need to move on. Sonnet needs to go as well.

It would be much better to put in Sophia Smith in instead of Williams. Don’t know what happened to Sonnet in the Brazilian game as she didn’t look/play the same as she previously played.

Williams works hard but she is a one trick pony. Can only run straight in and can't really full a skilled defender. She has elements of being great but really need to improve on her technical skills. She has time to garner more experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m glad other people see Williams in the same light as I do. USWNT is wasting time and need to move on. Sonnet needs to go as well.

It would be much better to put in Sophia Smith in instead of Williams. Don’t know what happened to Sonnet in the Brazilian game as she didn’t look/play the same as she previously played.

Smith was a complete zero against Brazil and looked like she did not belong on the field. Yeah, yeah, she’s young, talented and should be given some chances to show what she can do. But based on her showing against Brazil, I’d rather see Mallory Pugh or some of the other young forwards - Imani Dorsey or Ashley Sanchez — given those same opportunities. Pugh at least has shown she can score goals against top international competition for the senior team.

Let’s be honest, none of those younger players should be playing over Macario. Unlike Smith, Macario has already shown she belongs on the field, even if some of her performances - like against Canada - were not great.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like Lynn Williams. She blows past defenders but needs to finish once she does. She had a breakaway today and somehow managed not to get a shot off. Works hard off the ball, too.

In other news, Crystal Dunn stole Mayor Lori Lightfoot's hairdo.

Speed is the only reason why Williams is on the team. You can tell she relied on speed completely throughout her youth and never spent time developing her skills.

Her speed is incredible and it’s what’s gotten her the accolades in the NWSL. Her speed and drive help her create so many chances that it doesn’t matter so much that her on-frame shots are at a woefully low percentage. That matters far more once the level steps up in international play and you get fewer shots. The US players who are doing well are the ones who have the technical skills in addition to the speed and physicality. Horan, Dunn, Press, and Lavelle were standouts so far. Lloyd and Rapinoe not so much. Morgan was getting mugged. And I thought Ertz wasn’t as on this past week as she’s been in the past.

Agreed. Williams is fast but not while dribbling compared to Press, Lavell, & Dunn. It seems Morgan got some of her speed back and definitely a lot more aggressive compared to the Canada game. It should help once S. Mewis and T. Heath comes back. Aside from a few of the USWNT players that played in Europe, most of these players haven’t played much due to COVID.

Morgan did not get “speed” back. Brazil was a better match up for her ie the players she went against were slower. The US’s back line is shaky at best. When they face technical players who move the ball a lot of opportunities are presented. Most of the US based players just do not see that type of soccer. Canada and Brazil should have scored but choked.

And yet they still won.

+1. The same was said before the 2019 Women’s World Cup too.

And yet the margins are getting tighter and tighter. Not a great trend for USWNT.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m glad other people see Williams in the same light as I do. USWNT is wasting time and need to move on. Sonnet needs to go as well.

It would be much better to put in Sophia Smith in instead of Williams. Don’t know what happened to Sonnet in the Brazilian game as she didn’t look/play the same as she previously played.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m glad other people see Williams in the same light as I do. USWNT is wasting time and need to move on. Sonnet needs to go as well.

It would be much better to put in Sophia Smith in instead of Williams. Don’t know what happened to Sonnet in the Brazilian game as she didn’t look/play the same as she previously played.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Morgan v Brazil good
V Canada awful
Needs to be consistently good

She’s slowly getting back into shape. Gave birth, played in England, then she got COVID.

Anonymous wrote:To be sustainable, the NWSL needs ticket sales. Winning the World Cup helped a lot. But it still boils down to ticket sales. There are a lot more celebrity investors now. C. Clinton and one of the Bush daughter are now part owners of the W. Spirits. I understand there are more entertainers that are investing as well. I think what NWSL teams need to do is partner with all local youth soccer clubs in creative ways for club training, discounted tickets, more access to players/coaches, etc. Maybe even doing a youth showcase game (scrimmage) before a NWSL game between two local highest ranked teams. I don’t know if or what will work to improve ticket sales, but they have to do something different to get seats in the stands.