Cugalabanza Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 The US women play a smarter version of what the US men play: Fitness and long balls. Not that great to watch with the exception of a few players. They have been spoiled for years just dumping it in to Wambach and now must play better because Wambach is done. I'm hoping the team changes their philosophy soon. The US will always be one of the best teams because of their athleticism and the strength of the NCAA but as dominant as they are, they could be so much better. The best women's teams to watch are Germany and Japan. They play excellent soccer (Japan particularly). 3.3 million watched the US women's opener. 3.9 watched Stanley Cup game 3 at the same time. Great news for soccer fans! I've watched the USA women quite a bit, including most of their friendlies. They do occasionally play very good "total football." I sometimes question coach Jill Ellis in that she doesn't always get the most out of their talent. They have so many good offensive minded players, that sometimes it feels like they play without a gameplan and there is not a good flow. It's been a while since Alex Morgan has been at her best. I hope she regains that form soon though because when she's on, their attack is much more potent. She adds vision and creativity and helps them attack from all angles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon in Pasadena Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 The best women's teams to watch are Germany and Japan. They play excellent soccer (Japan particularly). Yeah, Nadeshiko Japan is who we root for in my family. I'm headed there (Japan) tomorrow, so it should be fun to watch with everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Wow, the USA men's team just beat Germany in Germany 2-1 a few days after beating Netherlands 4-3 in Netherlands, coming from behind in both! Great performances. I'm hugely impressed by this team right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I've watched the USA women quite a bit, including most of their friendlies. They do occasionally play very good "total football." I sometimes question coach Jill Ellis in that she doesn't always get the most out of their talent. They have so many good offensive minded players, that sometimes it feels like they play without a gameplan and there is not a good flow. It's been a while since Alex Morgan has been at her best. I hope she regains that form soon though because when she's on, their attack is much more potent. She adds vision and creativity and helps them attack from all angles. Despite her being in a commercial a minute, Morgan has been hurt much of the last 2 years. Each injury has been different so hopefully it was just a series of flukes but definitely cause for future concern. And yes, they miss her on the attack. The USWNT has to talk a fine line between celebrity and team. The celeb component is what makes them such a growing brand in the US but it has empowered the players to have more of a voice in the team philosophy than they would have under a stronger coach. The vets got a manager fired and even the last manager Pia Sundhage, who the players seem to have genuinely liked, has had criticism about how the inmates run the asylum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryPinC Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 The US women play a smarter version of what the US men play: Fitness and long balls. Not that great to watch with the exception of a few players. They have been spoiled for years just dumping it in to Wambach and now must play better because Wambach is done. I'm hoping the team changes their philosophy soon. The US will always be one of the best teams because of their athleticism and the strength of the NCAA but as dominant as they are, they could be so much better. The best women's teams to watch are Germany and Japan. They play excellent soccer (Japan particularly). 3.3 million watched the US women's opener. 3.9 watched Stanley Cup game 3 at the same time. Great news for soccer fans! I'll have to respectfully disagree with you because I don't see that on the field. The US men's team plays far better ball than the women's. Much more intelligence and working the ball up the field as a team. Do they still need to be better? Yes. But they've come a long ways and don't just play fitness and long balls anymore like the women. The US women can get away with it because a lot of the competition is still terrible, not so on the men's side. US women need to get a real coach. Thanks for the tip about Germany and Japan though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBillsForever Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Wow, the USA men's team just beat Germany in Germany 2-1 a few days after beating Netherlands 4-3 in Netherlands, coming from behind in both! Great performances. I'm hugely impressed by this team right now. I wouldn't put any stock into friendly match results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Canada vs New Zealand tonight Should be a great game. Canada's manager John Herdman is facing his former team that he managed for 6 years Tonight at 8:30PM EST CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 I wouldn't put any stock into friendly match results. Nonsense! USA and Germany must trade world rankings immediately. USA #1 Germany #27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 (edited) I'll have to respectfully disagree with you because I don't see that on the field. The US men's team plays far better ball than the women's. Much more intelligence and working the ball up the field as a team. Do they still need to be better? Yes. But they've come a long ways and don't just play fitness and long balls anymore like the women. The US women can get away with it because a lot of the competition is still terrible, not so on the men's side. US women need to get a real coach. Thanks for the tip about Germany and Japan though. The US men aggressive athletic soccer 100% The last world cup had that on display in every match. It's fun, gutsy, and allows them to play with high emotion...but it's not smart technical soccer. The US women play a variety of the same way. The biggest difference is that on the men's side, the opposition is higher quality so the US men tend to be aggressive as a counterattacking team where they let the other team give it their best shot and then counter. The Women are almost never in a defensive posture because the competition is lesser. Edited June 11, 2015 by Observer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 (edited) USA women play Sweden today at 7pm ET. This will be a tough one. Edited June 12, 2015 by Cugalabanza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 USA women play Sweden today at 7pm ET. This will be a tough one. Yeah, but even a tie essentially guarantees they go through. Sweden screwed themselves tying Nigeria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 On of our employees is headed to Montreal to see two games today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LB3 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 USA women play Sweden today at 7pm ET. This will be a tough one. I believe it starts at 8pm ET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cereal Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 USA women play Sweden today at 7pm ET. This will be a tough one. Game starts at 8pm ET, on Fox. TV coverage does start at 7pm. I believe it starts at 8pm ET. niiiiiiiiice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LB3 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Game starts at 8pm ET, on Fox. TV coverage does start at 7pm. niiiiiiiiice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 It was of Ecuador to completely collapse against the Swiss just in time to turn to USA-Sweden. Horrible collapse. Like watching Tony Romo in December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Even with the tie, the US is in good shape to advance. Not clinched yet but more than likely going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Didn’t strike me as outmuscled but they did zero through the middle and every time they had the ball outside (especially with Rapinoe), Sweden ran two people at the outside runner. Sweden played 8 deep so that is no surprise but given Sweden’s stance, the US should have had more possession. Tough game to watch when team bunkers in like that. Hopefully US will get back Morgan soon--their attack has been dull without her. Even though she wore the armband last night, I'd bench Lloyd in favor of Heath. Lloyd is a turnover machine. Holiday had one atrocious turnover last night but was otherwise merely OK but Lloyd was terrible. Entire midfield was poor except Rapinoe, who kept trying to go 1 v 3. Leroux actually looked really good when they dropped her back to mid. Starting midfield of Leroux, Holiday, Heath, and Rapinoe, with Morgan and Rodriguez up top. Change nothing on defense...although I thought Klingenberg was not good (except for her moment). Edited June 13, 2015 by Observer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryPinC Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) Didn’t strike me as outmuscled but they did zero through the middle and every time they had the ball outside (especially with Rapinoe), Sweden ran two people at the outside runner. Sweden played 8 deep so that is no surprise but given Sweden’s stance, the US should have had more possession. Tough game to watch when team bunkers in like that. Hopefully US will get back Morgan soon--their attack has been dull without her. Even though she wore the armband last night, I'd bench Lloyd in favor of Heath. Lloyd is a turnover machine. Holiday had one atrocious turnover last night but was otherwise merely OK but Lloyd was terrible. Entire midfield was poor except Rapinoe, who kept trying to go 1 v 3. Leroux actually looked really good when they dropped her back to mid. Starting midfield of Leroux, Holiday, Heath, and Rapinoe, with Morgan and Rodriguez up top. Change nothing on defense...although I thought Klingenberg was not good (except for her moment). Better team game last night and I agree with you except I thought Klingenberg was pretty solid for the most part. She had a tough matchup out there. Really disappointed with the coach(ing). Megan Bryan is playing scared and does not have the trust of her teammates, Abby Wambach shouldn't even be on the squad and honestly, if Morgan's over her injury, I'd take the opposite approach and let her start then pull her when she runs out of gas. Definitely no presence in the middle but they still need to spread out more and more movement off the ball when attacking. I'd also like to see Rapinoe in one of the center mid positions. She's got the most presence on the team with good vision and a lot of hustle. But a lot falls on the coach IMO for not having a more prepared team and a better lineup plan. Hopefully it'll come together in another game or two. Edited June 13, 2015 by GaryPinC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Definitely no presence in the middle but they still need to spread out more and more movement off the ball when attacking. I'd also like to see Rapinoe in one of the center mid positions. She's got the most presence on the team with good vision and a lot of hustle. Rapinoe is not a center mid any more than Hope Solo is a left back. That's crazytalk. Agree with the rest. The problem with Wambach being on the team is exactly the problem with the Women's team. They are navigting the line of letting the inmates (players) run the asylum. They need a coach to come in and lay waste to the concept of "star players."Klinsman has done this on the men's side, most notably benching Donavan. So far, Jill Ellis has not impressed. She has the best group of individual players in the world but I haven't seen her use them well in the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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