2018 NWSL Season

[tc-in-bc]

[ 1 ]  Last week, on the Inverted Triangle Podcast, Paul Riley ,the head coach of the North Carolina Courage, said ( paraphrasing ) that it was a mutual decision between the CSA and Sabrina D'Angelo for her to skip the Algarve Cup and to remain with North Carolina to battle for the number one keeper spot. Quote ( 20.58 min) :

PODCAST:   Did D' Angelo not go away with the Canadian National Team in preseason intentionally?

PAUL RILEY:  Well I think the Canadians felt that if she was here , she could get the number one spot. And whether she went away that spot would have drifted away from her. So I think ,  I think it was a good move on Canada's behalf  to leave her here and let her fight for the number one spot -- and try and get them one spot   'Cause they want her in the line up, for them it's a big plus... 

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/Radio/audio/17436100/

[ 2 ] Anyway, Sabrina D'Angelo was the surprise starter against the  Portland Thorns in the NWSL opener on Saturday and she got a win and a clean sheet. 

[Rheo]

Interesting NWSL article from Four Four Two https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/ambition-independence-or-both-nwsl-owners-talk-future-fears-and-hopes

 

[rkomar]

Wow, that was some good journalism.  Excellent research and questions, and getting the right people to answer them.

The same problems apply up here, but with only 1/10th of the market.  My Canadian take-away is that we won't be able to build a similar league of our own, and that the only way to get to that level is to join the NWSL with affiliations to our MLS teams.

[Ansem]

43 minutes ago, rkomar said:

My Canadian take-away is that we won't be able to build a similar league of our own, and that the only way to get to that level is to join the NWSL with affiliations to our MLS teams.

How typically Canadian

[Vic]

There are plenty of opportunities to watch great high end men's soccer. People support women's soccer because of the connection. I'd rather watch Welland v. Trois Rivieres and Canadian women than a bunch of internationals playing for Toronto Fellas Club against Utah. We don't need T1 programs, they don't take us anywhere forward. They just transplant the same women we're already supporting. If we put a dime of federation money into anyone's T1 program, FIFA should come in and take the keys and shut the whole thing down.

[Patrick]

“Ticket revenue is necessary but not sufficient. The future of this league and the future of this team is on the commercial revenues, and it works that way in every major men’s sport, as well."

 

Uh huh.  And that's why I can't buy a jersey for most teams newer than the 2016/2017 season?  Or why, when I email a club asking about a jersey, I get no response?   Look at the league's shop:  https://www.nwslshop.com/en-us/Home/categories-jerseys/team/Boston-Breakers The Boston Breakers folded before the season started, the Western New York flash moved, and the newest teams aren't even listed.  There is a lot wrong with the NWSL and I don't see it getting better anytime soon.

[rkomar]

Anyone know what's going on with Rebecca Quinn in Washington?  She sat on the bench the last game, and wasn't even on the roster for the two previous games.  So far, she has only played 56 minutes of one game.  I'm not liking how little experience she's gaining there so far.

[carolynduthie]

2 hours ago, rkomar said:

Anyone know what's going on with Rebecca Quinn in Washington?  She sat on the bench the last game, and wasn't even on the roster for the two previous games.  So far, she has only played 56 minutes of one game.  I'm not liking how little experience she's gaining there so far.

She has a hip problem or something - she's been on the injury list every week since the first one, has progressed from straight up "out" for awhile to "questionable" for the last game. 

[rkomar]

Thanks!  I'm glad it's "just" an injury.  I guess I'm getting getting a sour view of the Spirit organization and expecting the worst.

[Symp_Res]

4 hours ago, rkomar said:

Thanks!  I'm glad it's "just" an injury.  I guess I'm getting getting a sour view of the Spirit organization and expecting the worst.

I watched her first game with the Spirit. She was very effective. About 3 or 4 nice little chip passes over the defenders to spring her teammates in behind.

Hope she recovers from what ever injuries she has and comes back strong, because she's a good one.

[rkomar]

Utah win their first game, and Matheson was part of both of their goals (brilliant second assist on the first, scored the second single-handed).  I'm really impressed with how well she can still play, and how much impact she has.   i wondered if she could come back from her last knee injury, and she's showing me yes.  Thanks to Laura Harvey for sticking with her.

[tc-in-bc]

Allysha Chapman traded from the North Carolina Courage  to the Houston Dash ( her second stint with the club ) . Though it's still early in the season , it was clear the Paul Riley favoured  Jaelene Hinkle at left back and Merritt Mathias at right back  -- both over Allysha Chapman ( who was only getting  limited minutes playing  as a midfielder ).

[tc-in-bc]

The Vancouver Whitecaps are not interested  in pursuing  an NWSL expansion franchise ( July 25, 2018 ) : 

Jonathan Tannenwald‏ @thegoalkeeper 2h2 hours ago

Whitecaps chief operating officer Rachel Lewis says point blank the team is not currently pursuing a NWSL expansion franchise.

Jonathan Tannenwald‏ @thegoalkeeper 2h2 hours ago

Whitecaps chief operating officer Rachel Lewis on the team not pursuing a NWSL expansion team: “It’s something we’re always looking at. It’s something that we’ve certainly looked at. But we just didn’t feel that it was the right opportunity for us right now.”

[Vic]

Hard to see fault in that. On the men's side D1 makes sense. On the women's D2 and D3 are far more in need. We have supported 20 women extremely well for over a decade. At a level of one of the best in the world.

What we're starving for is the well run league(s, programs, teams) that keep quality players in the game at a higher level for a decade (or longer!) after their youth careers end and identifies and signs quality youth players at 15-16 (so they develop in a better and more competitive environment).

Anyone in the country involved in anything like that is Mother Teresa. 

[Patrick]

On 7/25/2018 at 5:03 PM, tc-in-bc said:

The Vancouver Whitecaps are not interested  in pursuing  an NWSL expansion franchise ( July 25, 2018 ) : 

 

Disappointing but hardly surprising.  The NWSL is a complete mess right now, and you have to feel for the Canadians stuck in the hell hole that is SkyBlue.  Why would an MLS team want to spend money rescuing a dumpster fire like that?

https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/sports/2018/07/26/sky-blue-soccer-controversy/838208002/

[rkomar]

I didn't see anything in the article(s) about what the problem actually was in New Jersey, just that they are under scrutiny.  Are the players not getting paid, or something?

[Vic]

Craptastic management:

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/07/life_on_nj_pro_soccer_club_owned_by_gov_murphy_is_sad_and_bleak_players_allege.html

[rkomar]

Jim Gabarra is out as coach of the Washington Spirit with only a few games to go in the season.  I guess morale must be really bad to force this change, since it isn't going to make any difference in the standings.  This team is stacked with young talent, but they've been even worse than Sky Blue in their last dozen games or so.  I wonder if they shouldn't have kept some of those influential veterans who could have nurtured the young talent along?  I feel sorry for the young players, but not sorry for the organization.

[carolynduthie]

1 hour ago, rkomar said:

Jim Gabarra is out as coach of the Washington Spirit with only a few games to go in the season.  I guess morale must be really bad to force this change, since it isn't going to make any difference in the standings.  This team is stacked with young talent, but they've been even worse than Sky Blue in their last dozen games or so.  I wonder if they shouldn't have kept some of those influential veterans who could have nurtured the young talent along?  I feel sorry for the young players, but not sorry for the organization.

The popular opinion of people slightly more connected to the team seems to be that they decided to do this now (vs. wait until the end of the season) because they're playing sort of their 'marquee' game of the season at Audi Field this weekend (as opposed to their regular field in the suburbs in Maryland) and had barely sold any tickets and figured this would give the public the sense that they were at least trying to do something about the fact that the team is terrible. (Not that this necessarily will work, the team didn't like, suddenly get better, and the tickets are pretty expensive, but it's an idea.)

[rkomar]

The team isn't terrible, it's just playing terribly.  They _were_ terrible last year, when they decided to tear it down to tank the season.  In fact, their plan for rebuilding seemed to have gone swimmingly through the draft.  Somehow, their prize cigar exploded in their faces.  I don't really understand why it did; they shouldn't be playing this badly with the players they have.  Maybe it won't be hard to fix things with such a good pool of players, and the fans will come back quickly, but for now, I'm getting some satisfaction knowing that the organization's tank plan is running longer than expected.