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Thread: Back to the important stuff....

  1. #421
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    I think Press was a good start over Rapinoe. Rapinoe is one of the best players ever to wear the uniform. Press isn’t Rapinoe level, but she isn’t a huge fall off either.

    She’s got speed and will have a solid national team career.

    Lavelle’s injury was troubling, but Mewis and Horan are capable in the finals.

    We might have Lloyd and Morgan up front. England took cues from Spain and pushed Morgan around the whole match. The red card finally came out.

  2. #422
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    I don't like 4-3-3 at this level. I used it when I coached U14 but after that, at U19, high school, and college it was always a 4-4-2 or some slight variation of that. For whatever reasons, the 4-3-3 has returned to favor in women's soccer at the highest level. As a coach, my defense smothered 4-3-3's. It is so easy to mark-up.

    But, when England switched into a 4-3-3 in the 2nd half they gave the US defense fits. English fans, and their press, are highly critical of Coach Neviell for not employing that formation for the full 90 mins. So...there ya go!

    Now that I think about it, it could be because the 4-3-3 fell out of favor 25+ years ago at all competitive levels that today's coaches lack experience designing defenses against it. Might be like if Bama brought back the wishbone, what defensive coaches in college football today have ever faced that?

    For those not familiar with the game, you might think, big deal! not much difference between a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2, WRONG! There is a HUGE difference!

    For the record I have advocated a 4-4-2 for USWNT with Morgan and Press up top, and Rapinoe and Heath the outside mids. The middle two can be filled from a pool of: Mewis, Horan, Lavelle, Lloyd, depending on the opponent's strengths/weaknesses. I would move Ertz back to center back with Sauerbrunn and have O'Hara and Dunn as marking backs.

    One note: my inserting Dunn in as starting left back is a change. I was concerned about her, but she has really stepped up HUGE in the World Cup.

    Oh, and one more, kudos to Naeher in goal. Was not sold on her, but she too has stepped up. The PK save was a big moment, but her incredible save of Walsh's wicked shot was simply world class! That one, the Walsh shot, convinced me she is a legit keeper.

  3. #423
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Haiti got jobbed! That was no foul.

    Mexico has not looked very impressive. Very, very beatable! That's why I am picking Jamaica to win the Copa Oro this time, after two straight runner-up finishes.

    Say what!? Jamaica? Yeah, until our MLS squad can prove otherwise, I don't see us besting Jamaica. (maybe we'll actually step it up tonight...there's always that hope!)

  4. #424
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Why I question Ellis is she plays prevent d 5-4-1 late in the games.

    It’s gonna bite us in these close matches and was a world class save away from biting us vs England.

    Ellis has done it twice

  5. #425
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    US vs. The Netherlands/Holland/The Dutch for all the marbles on Sunday.

    The Orange don't have any superstars and they are VERY "European." By that I mean, they play the classic Euro style soccer. Possession, patience, all 11 players are equal, part of the machine. They do not make mistakes (I mean gaffes! big mistakes at the worst times), i.e. they don't beat themselves. They are solid.

    Well, it's easy to be an armchair QB, or an armchair "center mid," and be critical. If I were coaching the USWNT would I do exactly what Ellis has done, and probably will do on Sunday? Ah, no. Yet! as USWNT coach all she's done is lead her team to a record of 12-1-0* and to their second straight WC Final (2 for 2), in her two WC Finals Tourneys.

    If she wins again on Sunday...well, she'll have accomplished something remarkable.





    *That's 12 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses

  6. #426
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    USA 3 Jamaica 1

    Got Mexico in the final Sunday. Making that a heck of a day for US soccer fans.

  7. #427
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Peru beat Chile 3-0 in Copa. Most thought it was going to be the other way.

    That's what happens when you apply consistent pressure!

  8. #428
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Chile is ranked 16th and Peru 21st in the FIFA World Rankings. So, the two are pretty much equals. I didn't see the match, but have seen both play in the recent past. I agree, I would have thought Chile the better side.

    There are benefits to applying high pressure, and there are risks too. Apparently Chile was not able to flip it in their favor.

    Speaking of that, the US had Jamaica rocked back on their heels, up 2-0, and then "let 'em up off the mat" at the 55-min mark, by dropping back into a defensive mode and replacing Altidore with the do-nothing Zardes. Fortunately, now hanging on 2-1, Morris and Pulisic took the bull by the horns and attacked, making it 3-1.

  9. #429
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Rapinoe is now complaining the WWC Final has to share Sunday with the COPA Cup and Gold Cup finals. They are spaced out throughout the day, separated by several hours and carried on different networks. As a soccer fan, I love it! Rapinoe is not alone in complaining. Others connected to women's world soccer are lamenting the WC Final doesn't have its "own day" kind of like "Super Bowl Sunday."

    Sorry, can't get behind them on this. Most fans posting on the blog are blasting Rapinoe and the others for complaining.

    Then, there's the "equal pay" thingy. Yes, it is true, the women make less. But it's hard to feel sorry for the 23 members of the USWNT. The average salary for them between club and national team is $160,000. They will each get a $262,000 bonus for winning the World Cup, a little less if they finish as runners-up. They also earn stipends and "special bonuses" throughout the year(s). The average player on the roster, even the ones who never see the field, get a $3,000 bonus for every friendly they play for the USNWT, in addition to a set salary. They get appearance pay for shows and events, and of course, any of them can negotiate ad deals. The whole team was paid $12,500 each for a commercial on "Fair Play in Sports" and all they did was have video shot of one of their practices. Some of the players didn't even know they were being videoed and were surprised when the check arrived in the mail.

    Most, if not all, members of the 2019 USWNT team will gross $500K this year.

    My comparison, the USMNT will usually earn about $1.5 million each in a typical World Cup Finals year. Three times as much.

    But, world wide, which drives the economics of soccer, the women's game is barely a side show in terms of the business aspects.

  10. #430
    65's Top 10 Worthless Poster Blue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond reputeBlue Dawg has a reputation beyond repute
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    USWNT-England was viewed by 7 million. Pretty good.

    France-Croatia? 1 billion.

    Barely a sideshow? Compared to the men's game, the women's game is the guy hucking tickets outside the stadium.

    I still enjoy it! But it really gets my goat when people act like the sports are economic equals. They're not in the same universe.

  11. #431
    Progressive King of 2011 Dawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond reputeDawgpix has a reputation beyond repute Dawgpix's Avatar
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    Thumbs Up Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Coco Gauff just had a cup of tea at Wimbledon.

    3-6. 7-6 (comeback from 2-5). 7-5.

    15 years old.

    Today was her Centre Court debut (while womens #1 seed played on Court 1)

    My two new favorite people are her parents.

    Get on the Coco train for all the fun.

    PS- Coco vs. Herog could be the rivalry of the future.
    Louisiana Tech University
    Flagship of the University of Louisiana System

  12. #432
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Back to the important stuff...

    Sweden 2 England 1

    The Lionesses weren't into, especially early on. Sweden is solid. Also shows the US won a tough group.

    BIG DAY!

  13. #433
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    All this talk of this being the 7th game in 26 days...ridiculous! Poor ole snowflakes today! It's a whopping 88F and 40% humidity too, OMG! will they melt!?

    I played for the Tech Soccer Club Team and played every minute of 5 games on a single weekend, 450+ minutes in Pensacola, Florida, mid May with average temps of 95F and 80% humidity. I never left the field, played whistle to whistle 5 matches. One game Friday afternoon and two each on Saturday and Sunday....and then! I drove my car, with 4 team members in it, all the way back to Ruston that evening! Then, I was at my 8:00 class Monday morning.

    Does that make me some super hero or something? NOPE! makes me just run-of-the-mill for the times. It's what we did "back in the day." I was one of 15 players who made that trip, everyone getting plenty of playing time.

    Snowflakes...

  14. #434
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    I thought watching soccer was the most boring thing ever..... I was wrong.

  15. #435
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    Re: Back to the important stuff....

    Reading about Dawg80s college days is worse.

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