World Cup

ClementeFanOh · #1 08-07-2023, 05:54 PM

Hi Melissa- yes indeed, and I think she merited that card. Some cool matchups
coming. Trent King

PS- think Andonovski regrets not keeping Ashley Hatch??

robinsonmantle · #2 08-07-2023, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClementeFanOh

Hi Melissa- yes indeed, and I think she merited that card. Some cool matchups
coming. Trent King

PS- think Andonovski regrets not keeping Ashley Hatch??

I think the ESPN article nailed many points including not playing the right players and not taking the right roster.

I�d be very surprised if he was back.

Team USA needs some rebuilding and depth.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/...-injuries-more

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Peter_Spaeth · #3 08-07-2023, 06:34 PM

A lot of hindsight and revisionism in that article. Before the tournament here's what ESPN said about the "one dimensional" Smith, who they ranked the third best player.

Leading a generational shift within the U.S. women's national team is Sophia Smith, the young forward who will likely score the bulk of the USWNT's goals. As a striker in club play and primarily a winger for the U.S., Smith's strength is in her confidence and audacity to go at goal. She's not afraid to take on defenders, and she's emerged as a ruthlessly incisive finisher as she has come into form for this World Cup. As she heads to New Zealand, she puts pause on a club season where she is the NWSL's Golden Boot leader with 10 goals in 13 games.

When your one dimension is scoring goals, perhaps that isn't a valid criticism in a sport where a couple of goals usually wins a game?

And yes, we could have the same discussion more or less about Cristiano Ronaldo.

ClementeFanOh · #4 08-07-2023, 07:00 PM

Peter- the problem with Smith is that she essentially has zero credibility as
an international goal scorer. The article mentions "audacity" and
"confidence", rather than actual productivity- hence, my earlier comment
about Ashley Hatch or Lynn Willaims over Alex Morgan, Smith etc (Hatch in
her prime at 28 yoa and with 19 intl appearances, and over 100 NWSL
appearances with nearly 40 goals). This points up the problem, it very much
appears Andonovski relied on reputation/glitz/past performance (Morgan,
Rapinoe) rather than prudent choices. Obviously, he couldn't control the
injuries to Swanson and Macario, which were devastating. He could control
who he played, however, and it was clear immediately that Morgan was
absent. In truth, had the team not possessed a generational defense, they
would have lost 2 of 3 in group. Makes me wonder if Andonovski was hands
on or off for the defense, similar to how some college football coaches pick a
side (offense or defense) and leave the "other" side to the other staff
members. Speculation of course, but boy the defense and the offense were
strikingly different from one another, like they were coached by different
folks. Trent King

Peter_Spaeth · #5 08-07-2023, 07:15 PM

Does the game suddenly become something else because it is "international"? IMO you cannot not play a scorer of the caliber of Sophia Smith. I am not arguing about Alex Morgan or with the general proposition that better personnel decisions could have been made although some of that it seems to me is hindsight.

ClementeFanOh · #6 08-07-2023, 08:01 PM

Peter- Of course it becomes something else because it's international! That's
the test, to see how your players stack up against the best of other nations.
US has enjoyed a run of success, but there have been signs for years that
the rest of the world (at least several nations) are sustained, real threats. In
this WCup alone, I have watched Netherlands, Sweden, England, Japan and
even Portugal display clearly better spatial understanding of gameplay than
the US- and I'm sure I'm forgetting teams. The US team had to adapt or fail,
not merely show up and roll the ball out there and win due to better talent,
and it failed in spectacular fashion. Put differently, it now appears that the
mantra "we have better talent" is false. It might be prudent for fans to
hold off on declaring players as "prodigies" until they prove it.

Regarding Smith, I certainly didn't say "don't play her". It is the manager's
job to recognize ineffective play. Your remark about hindsight doesn't apply,
the manager HAD to have seen what we were seeing, and it's their job to
adjust. It looks very, very much to me like the tail was wagging the dog on
this squad, as if the staff were afraid to pull the trigger on certain players.
Rapinoe versus Sweden is a perfect example. In a 4 minute span, she fluffed
2 corners and was dispossessed (as I recall), then fluffed a PK horribly as
the cherry on top. "Not good, Bob!" She should NOT have seen the field.

I'll end by saying I'm hoping the US organization learns from this and
adapts. I doubt the other good teams will simply rest on their laurels.

Trent King

Peter_Spaeth · #7 08-07-2023, 08:06 PM

Trent to be clear I didn't say or mean to imply it was ALL hindsight, although I think that still applies to some of the more subtle criticisms now being made. I don't disagree that when a player is obviously playing very poorly with little likelihood of redemption, one should not defer to their stature with a game on the line. But you can easily imagine if the game had gone differently, had some sub missed the key kick in OT, the same press would be bitching about taking out the great veteran Rapinoe. Sometimes you can't win.

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