Backline Chat: NWSL 2019 Reflections

Posted on October 16, 2019December 31, 2019 by Backline Soccer

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome everyone to our NWSL wrap-up chat. It’s been awhile since we’ve all talked. It’s good to be back. This week we want to discuss the conclusion to the NWSL regular season. Where we are now, and where things will go from here.

To kick things off, what have been everyone’s favorite moments of the 2019 season?

Allison Cary (@findingallison): Toni Pressley coming back this past weekend and getting the captain’s armband

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): It would be mean to say Jill Ellis’ last game in charge of the team so I am going to say Balcer having the year she has and being really a wonderful pro level player out the gate.

Allison Cary: Also the Spirit’s games at Audi Field. I was at the first one against the Pride and it was a really special experience.

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): For sure Toni coming back from cancer, but I think an honorable mention to Syd also coming back this year.

Charles Olney: The Pressley moment was a great one. And as Luis notes, there are some similar notes with Sydney Leroux coming back after her pregnancy.

I have also loved seeing some of the big crowds, especially for teams that have often struggled for an audience, like Washington and Sky Blue.

Luis Hernandez: It’s a credit to the fitness coach and support staff for the Pride.

Charles Olney: Less inspirational than some of these moments, but I also enjoyed some of the blitzkrieg performances we’ve seen this year. The full North Carolina thrashing of Portland. Those rapid-fire three goals from Reign against Orlando. Chicago at times. It’s fun to see teams truly clicking.

RJ Allen: Honestly seeing Sam Kerr find another gear and managing 18 goals in a World Cup year was pretty great.

Charles Olney: Okay, getting a little bit more into the weeds, what were some big surprises this year? Teams who over or underperformed? Players?

Allison Cary: Even in a World Cup year, I was surprised at just how bad some of the performances from the Pride were. Particularly their top players. Like I didn’t expect the team as a whole to be great but I expected more out of some of the bigger named players.

Charles Olney: I was pretty down on the Pride coming into the season, but I was still surprised. They were much worse than even the low-range expectation

RJ Allen: I think the Sky Blue FC saga was surprising. Starting the year like they did, going through a few sets of coaching and coming out as a team that wasn’t just dropping 3 points every week.

Luis Hernandez: My biggest surprise was the overachieving Sky Blue once the team fired Denise Reddy. I wasn’t expecting them to perform how they did.

Charles Olney: Sky Blue was definitely the reverse image of Orlando. I expected them to be better than 2018 but still pretty awful. But after they fired Reddy, they were genuinely competitive. Combine that with changes at the top of the system and Sky Blue no longer feels like the unwanted stepchild of the league. Which is great news.

RJ Allen: Coaching in the NWSL seems to be a very different job than coaching in a lot of other contexts.

Charles Olney: For individual surprises, did anyone see Kristen Hamilton having this season? RJ already mentioned Balcer. Midge Purce would be another one along those lines.

RJ Allen: I don’t think even Hamilton thought she would have this season.

Luis Hernandez: Nope. She certainly made the most of her opportunities.

Charles Olney: I was delighted to see Tori Huster transition seamlessly into being a fullback. That’s certainly not one I expected.

RJ Allen: I thought Andi Sullivan also had a pretty solid season for a player who 2 years ago looked like a lock for France 2019 for the USWNT and then very much didn’t look like that player.

Luis Hernandez: I also want to say that I didn’t expect this season to be Heather O’Reilly’s last year. I get it, but in my mind she was going to play forever.

RJ Allen: I didn’t expect O’Reilly to be the starting right back for the favorite to win the title. But here we are.

Luis Hernandez: What a way to go out. She’s the reason I’ll be rooting for the Courage. Besides, who doesn’t love an underdog story…

Charles Olney: On the negative side, I wouldn’t quite call it a ‘surprise’ but I was disappointed that Houston wasn’t able to take a step forward. Especially during the World Cup break. That felt like a team with some potential to consolidate on some gains from 2018, but it never happened.

RJ Allen: Houston feels like the boy called “It” of the NWSL.

Allison Cary: They seem stuck in that limbo of not quite in the bottom tier but not quite good enough. And they’ve been stuck in that for at least the last two seasons.

Charles Olney: Really, every season except their first. Points per game for the last five years: 1.2, 1.1, 1, 1.3, 1.1. They’re nothing if not consistent!

Luis Hernandez: Houston gives Orlando hope.

RJ Allen: Can we talk for a moment about Vlatko and the magic he has been able to pull this year in Washington state? The Reign had a starting XI level of players on the IR this year and he managed to get them to the playoffs.

Luis Hernandez: It seems like every move Reign pulled off worked out. I’m ready for the coach of the year to go put a roster together for the USWNT.

RJ Allen: The problem with that is he doesn’t get free reign to do that. He can’t just drop an unfit Alex Morgan for example.

Charles Olney: If nothing else, Vlatko in the job will test a lot of the hypotheses we’ve developed over the past five years about who precisely is responsible for various policies and choices.

RJ Allen: Vlatko seems to be willing to admit when he is wrong too. Which is a huge thing in his favor.

Charles Olney: Alright, let’s talk playoffs. In the first match, it’s the North Carolina Courage taking on Reign FC. The Courage should finally get their home semifinal. Does anyone think the Reign can pull this one out? What do you think will be the key matchups?

Allison Cary: Anything can happen in the playoffs.

Luis Hernandez: I credit his leadership when he had a big absence from the locker room. I think the only thing that didn’t happen as much as I wanted to see was a better year from Shea Groom

RJ Allen: I am going to give the Reign a solid 33.3% chance of coming away with a win. Murphy has been great. Yanez will be back from her one game sit down. I think if anyone can figure out how to get to Riley, it’s Vlatko.

Allison Cary: Agreed. Like I still think the Courage will win, but I’m certainly not counting the Reign out.

RJ Allen: But Lynn Williams and Crystal Dunn and Jess McDonald and Sam Mewis and I could go on. The Courage are stacked.

Luis Hernandez: I really want to see a different group of teams in the final. I just don’t see how NC drops this match at home.

Charles Olney: The big question for me is whether Rapinoe is actually back. She seemed to be giving it maybe 60% effort in their final game this weekend. But she has shown flashes of her top level. If she can put in a full 90, she has every chance to give O’Reilly a nightmare of a game.

Luis Hernandez: Reign have back to back weeks where they are traveling across the country.

Charles Olney: Absent that, it’s hard to see where Reign’s goals would come from. But you could still see a very tight 0-0 or 1-0 win if North Carolina can’t convert on their chances.

RJ Allen: The Courage love to play almost a two back with how high the outside backs get up. That can burn them. It’s rare but it happens.

Luis Hernandez: There are so many factors. The Courage will shoot like three times as much as the Reign; so as long as they convert they’ll win.

Charles Olney: Yanez and Long are probably the key players here. If they can support the backline, they may be able to force Carolina into taking a lot of mediocre shots from distance. I trust Murphy to handle those.

Luis Hernandez: Really all I want is a good game from both matches and not have to worry the ref is going to screw something up where there’s a meltdown on Twitter.

Charles Olney: Moving onto the second semifinal: Chicago-Portland. Chicago will be trying to prevent a fifth consecutive exit in the semifinal. How do you like their chances? And what are the key matchups?

RJ Allen: I do not want another North Carolina vs Portland final. And North Carolina is pretty likely to win. So sorry Portland.

Allison Cary: This is gonna be a good game.

RJ Allen: Sam Kerr vs AD Franch and the Emilys is going to be huge. Kerr has a habit of not always showing up in games that matter.

Luis Hernandez: Which team has less momentum: the one that hasn’t played in what, three weeks, or the team that hasn’t looked great and not scored in a couple of matches?

Charles Olney: If it’s about momentum, it’s all for Chicago. They finished the season on a high and then got a nice break. Portland finished the season stumbling over the line.

RJ Allen: And Portland has been flat out bad lately. Utah broke them.

Luis Hernandez: I want the Red Stars to win. I’ve seen all the buzz on social media to get a packed house.

Charles Olney: You’re right about Kerr often not managing to produce to her normal levels in the big games. I tend to think that’s coincidental more than a real flaw in her game. But it would certainly be nice to get some definitive evidence on that point. A hat trick in a big game would be thrilling to see.

Luis Hernandez: Rory Dames needs to win this game or GTFO of Chicago.

Luis Hernandez: Like the team should fire him.

RJ Allen: I don’t see why Chicago should fire him at all.

Luis Hernandez: because he can’t get the team over the hump

RJ Allen: He is getting his team to the playoffs more times in a row than any other coach. He can’t help things like in 2017 Christen Press couldn’t score a goal to save her life.

Luis Hernandez: I want him to win.

Charles Olney: This is the best Chicago has ever played, and a fulfillment of the plan they have been talking about for two years. I’ve been somewhat critical of him in the past, but I’m a big fan of what he’s done this year. One result this weekend, either direction, shouldn’t wipe that away.

RJ Allen: He is also the best drafter in the NWSL.

Luis Hernandez: All I’m saying is that if we are going to credit Vlatko for all his success in the post season that we need to shine a light on Dames constantly crashing out in the big game

RJ Allen: It’s not like he gets blown out of these games. I feel like getting your team to the post season almost every year is his job. Anything more is gravy.

Charles Olney: The big question for me in this game is the battle of the midfields. Chicago didn’t drop a single point after moving Ertz to the backline but, as I commented when they made the switch, it’s an approach that improves the midfield in terms of its ability to keep possession but potentially weakens it defensively. This will be their first test against a playoff team to see whether it can withstand the sort of pressure that Portland can apply.

RJ Allen: I think a lot of this game is going to come down to the health of some of the Red Stars.

Charles Olney: Portland closed out the season playing effectively a 4-6-0. It didn’t really work that well, but you could imagine something like that causing a lot of trouble for Chicago by constantly putting players into tough decisions about who and where to mark.

RJ Allen: The Chicago midfield has taken a beating in terms of not having their best players always able to go 90. I worry if this is a long 0-0 or 1-1 game Chicago just won’t have the ability to go 90 or 120 minutes.

Charles Olney: Brian and Colaprico are probably the most positionally astute central midfield combo in the league, but this setup puts a lot of pressure on them to both defend and attack. Could be a real inflection point.

RJ Allen: Portland has Heath and Sinclair; they haven’t been great, but a set piece or a PK is not something you want to mess around with either on.

Charles Olney: Another place where that multi-week break could be important. If Chicago comes out fully healthy, that’s a huge advantage. But if they come out rusty, very different story.

RJ Allen: Both sides have very solid goalkeepers. I doubt a dinky goal is going to win it. Both sides are going to have to really put it out there to get a score.

Luis Hernandez: Just because Portland has kind of limped into the post season, there’s no way to discount them. I do like Chicago here. I think the Red Stars backline is stronger. The midfield is more even than I expected and the front line for Chicago has the edge. I think I’d be surprised if they were too rusty.

RJ Allen: The problem with Portland isn’t just they limped in. It’s how truly bad they look doing it. They look like a team in 7th or something.

Charles Olney: It does feel like the weakest Portland has been in quite a while. But it’s also hard to bet against that team. A vintage performance from Horan and Heath could easily tip the balance.

RJ Allen: If Horan is healthy.

Luis Hernandez: If Chicago does look poor, people will be critical on the league scheduling at the end of the year.

Charles Olney: Okay, we’ve already sort of discussed this, but what matchup for the final would people most like to see?

RJ Allen: Red Stars vs North Carolina.

Charles Olney: I’ll stick with the obvious one and also say North Carolina v. Chicago. The two best teams over the season, who match up really well against each other. And a chance for Sam Kerr to finally show what she’s got in the final.

Luis Hernandez: I would like to see Chicago vs Reign, but I’m expecting the Courage hosting the Red Stars at the final

RJ Allen: North Carolina playing at home vs the Red Stars I think is the best case for the league. Sam Kerr vs Lynn Williams. Two great defenses. A ton of marketable stars. And just different enough that people won’t be annoyed like another North Carolina vs Portland game.

Luis Hernandez: It may be the last game for Kerr in NWSL. That bums me out.

RJ Allen: Until Kerr posts it, I don’t buy her going away from the NWSL and W-League.

Charles Olney: Before we close out, let’s talk about the big end-of-year awards. RJ and I already wrote up our picks (in which we actually agreed right down the line):

MVP: Sam Kerr
Defender: Casey Short
Goalkeeper: Kailen Sheridan
Rookie: Bethany Balcer
Coach: Vlatko the Wizard

Luis, do you want to weigh in?

Luis Hernandez: Well, sure.

Charles Olney: And you are contractually obligated to disagree with us. Make your case!

Luis Hernandez: MVP: Sam Kerr – Yet another Golden Boot for her even when she left for the World Cup. Came back and continued to push the Red Stars to wins.

Defender: Casey Short – Personally, I’m favoring a player that’s been here the full year. Yeah, maybe she didn’t start on the right foot, but she got better as the season went on. Plus two goals, one a game winner in Orlando. I think she deserves it.

Goalkeeper: Aubrey Bledsoe – I think Bledsoe is so consistent that she gets overlooked. Nine clean sheets.

Rookie: Bethany Balcer – I think everyone had Balcer’s name penned in for this award and I wanted to pick someone else but I’m talking myself on Balcer. She had the better year. Goals get awards.

Coach: Vlatko. He managed to stitch a team together where others more than likely would have fallen short.

RJ Allen: One final thought before we go: can we all agree the NWSL needs more awards?

Charles Olney: I actually disagree. The NWSL already suffers from award inflation with all the player of the week/month, goals/saves of the week, etc.

RJ Allen: Newcomer of the Year, 12th Player of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year. Give me all the awards.

I want there to be an NWSL awards dinner like Orlando does.

Charles Olney: Okay, that does sound fun.

RJ Allen: See, I knew you’d come around. Sonnett and Kling can host.

Backline Chat: The World Cup Is Here!

Posted on June 6, 2019 by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Hello, and welcome to our pre-World Cup Backline chat. Given time zones, this is probably the last of these I’ll be able to do for a while, but I’m excited to get some conversation in before the big event kicks off.

But, before we jump into the international talk, let’s cover the NWSL, since that gives us some actual results to work with. So, to open things up: everyone who had the Washington Spirit in first place at the World Cup break, raise your hand.

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): No one saw this coming. At all.

Charles Olney: I will admit that I have missed both of their recent victories, so I’m not in a good position to comment, but it sure seems like it hasn’t been a fluke. They really are playing very well.

Creating a lot of discomfort for those of us who are still angry about the lack of response to the abuse allegations from the offseason, which RJ discussed very compellingly in a recent piece.

RJ Allen: The league has to do something when it comes to Burke or that will become the media narrative around this team. Honestly part of the reason they haven’t is they are so under staffed. Which is just horrible.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): Yeah. But I agree that any success they have will be overshadowed by this until the NWSL and the Washington Spirit take some substantial action.

Charles Olney: I would love to be able to focus on the players, who deserve a lot of credit. And I’d love to be able to have a normal conversation about what Burke has brought as a coach (whatever it is, it seems to be working), but it’s hard to dig into either with all that floating over.

RJ Allen: It’s very ‘other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?’

Charles Olney: That said, does anyone have any insight into how they’ve turned things around? Is this just them waking up from a dream and forgetting all about 2018, and this is where they ‘should’ always have been given all the young talent they stockpiled?

RJ Allen: I think having so many young, hungry players who are willing to seemingly run through walls for each other really helps. They remind me a bit of the old Western New York Flash team in 2016.

Charles Olney: It certainly seems to help that Andi Sullivan is finally back playing really well. But there’s also a cohesion to the whole team that goes beyond any one player. I’ll absolutely be curious to see if they can sustain it. The WNY comparison is a great one. That team was also maybe a year ahead of schedule, but they didn’t care about timelines.

RJ Allen: Ashley Hatch looks really solid this year as well. And her having a big year is key.

Allison Cary: Yeah, Hatch has been a standout. And of course having Bledsoe in goal is a big help too.

Charles Olney: Elsewhere in the league, I feel like I’m getting some whiplash. Chicago looked like they were going to dominate the break, now they’re in crisis. Utah was flying high and now is stumbling badly. Houston and Seattle keep throwing away points…or maybe finding points. North Carolina look mortal. Is this just what we should expect for the whole break?

Allison Cary: It’s all chaos. Welcome to the NWSL.

RJ Allen: You know who are good soccer players? Christen Press and Sam Kerr. You know are away from their club teams right now? Christen Press and Sam Kerr. Oversimplification, yes. But when you pull so many starters out it is just brutal.

Allison Cary: But then isn’t it brutal for their opponents too?

RJ Allen: Some teams have lost bigger pieces and some teams have stepped up. We see it every World Cup and Olympic year. Some teams have deeper benches.

Charles Olney: At the moment, Portland feels like the exception. On paper, Chicago looked far stronger this weekend, but Portland just blew them away in the opening half hour and then held on nicely for the win. Was that just finally being back home in a great atmosphere? Are they set for a reversion to the mean, too? Or do they have something special?

RJ Allen: I think playing in Portland after such a long time not being able to was a huge boost, yes. But Purce and Charley were really fantastic that match.

Charles Olney: My gut says that with lower overall quality, there is just more room for wacky results and we shouldn’t read too much into anything. But maybe one team (Portland perhaps) just reels off five or six wins and opens up a huge lead.

RJ Allen: Right now chaos reigns.

Charles Olney: It certainly has been exciting seeing some of these marginal players get a chance and REALLY take advantage of it.

RJ Allen: Bethany Balcer, Rookie of the Year.

Allison Cary: Amen.

Charles Olney: DiBiasi, though! And Sam Staab!

Allison Cary: Yeah, DiBiasi was also a standout to me.

RJ Allen: They will be nominated, for sure.

Charles Olney: After a very down year for rookies in 2018, it’s been great seeing new faces doing so well this year.

Alright, what about the other side of the table. We’ve got seven teams within six points of each other at the top, and then two teams that have COMBINED for three points through fifteen games. Is there any hope at all?

Allison Cary: Nope.

RJ Allen: Nope.

Charles Olney: We’re missing Luis, our resident Orlando optimist, but I’m pretty sure he would say…”nope”

Allison Cary: Orlando hasn’t shown any signs of life. Sky Blue has had better flashes, but…

RJ Allen: I don’t know what you do with Orlando. They were bad ever when they had their full team.

Allison Cary: Yeah. I think there’s some deeper stuff going on there.

Charles Olney: One conclusion that could be drawn is that Tom Sermanni actually did a lot to hold them together as much as he did. Alternatively, he let things get so out of hand that they were unfixable even after they got someone new?

RJ Allen: I understand that you have to give Marc Skinner time but the team is just not playing well under him. Orlando once bet the farm on Morgan and there is a very real chance she nopes out when LAFC comes in and they will have nothing.

Charles Olney: But it’s weird how quickly Orlando went from having a solid roster that people insisted on calling a top-tier roster to having a mediocre roster that people think is pure garbage. Because, it’s not great, but it’s also not THAT bad.

RJ Allen: The roster is playing THAT bad though. The players themselves are mostly NWSL level.

Charles Olney: But they really did over-leverage themselves based on Morgan and Marta, and that’s really coming back to bite them now. There’s no denying that.

Allison Cary: There are a decent amount of international and national team players on that team. But no one was performing even before everyone left for the WC.

RJ Allen: And they aren’t getting butts in seats either. Which is why I think they did it partly in the first place.

Charles Olney: In conclusion: I hope they turn it around somehow. but ‘turn it around’ is relative. I just want them and Sky Blue to start pulling closer to the pack.

Charles Olney: Okay, let’s turn our attention to the World Cup, which is starting this week. It’s a huge event, obviously, and there’s a million pieces to unpack. But what are your top level thoughts about the tournament as a whole?

RJ Allen: I really hope it’s fun. The women’s game just needs a really fun world event where some wild shit happens and a lot of great goals are scored.

Allison Cary: Agreed.

Charles Olney: I think that this tournament has a chance to be a genuine turning point in a way that we’ve never quite seen. But I’m not going to demand that it be a revolution in order to call it a success. As you say, it will definitely be fun, and that will be enough even if that’s ‘all’ we get.

Allison Cary: It definitely feels special. It feels like the tournament we’re gonna look back on and say “that was it.”

RJ Allen: It feels like it may be 1999 but for more than just the US.

Allison Cary: That would be magical. I want all the new teams to do as well as possible, especially teams like Jamaica and Chile and Argentina. It will mean so much to even be able to go back with goals, even more if they can get a win or two.

Charles Olney: I got a chance to talk with Kieran Thievam for the podcast this week, and that’s the comparison he made. 1999 was a big deal here, but not really anywhere else. But this could be that tournament for five or six teams.

RJ Allen: I think having it in France helps. It’s close together with other countries who can reasonably just decide to show up. I understand not always having it in Europe but logistically it is really nice.

Charles Olney: Definitely. I was looking at the Dutch group schedule, for example, and they’ve got two games in the northeast of France. That’s just a 3-4 hour train ride from the Netherlands. I bet there is a LOT of orange in the crowd for those. And there’s potential there for a lot of teams. The English traveling contingent is going to be big. And if this is a breakthrough tournament for, say, Italy and Spain, there’s a LOT of folks nearby who might decide on a whim to make a trip.

RJ Allen: I love the idea of the Aussies hosting it in 2023 but it would be a travel struggle moving place to place and just getting there. Being able to just decide to go to a game the day of, tickets not withstanding, is amazing.

Charles Olney: One slightly negative thing is that there doesn’t seem to have been much marketing in France itself, which means there will probably be a major difference between games. Some with 50,000, others with 5000. That feels like a missed opportunity.

RJ Allen: It does. You would think they would want the money that having games with 50,000 people bring in if nothing else. But hey sexism is real.

Charles Olney: Alright, dialing in a little bit on the games themselves, who are we pulling for, outside of the obvious?

RJ Allen: I would like Scotland to win some games and get to the knocks outs. Please and thank you.

Charles Olney: I’m definitely on Team Jamaica, and if RJ doesn’t mind the company, I’ll join her on the Scotland bandwagon

Allison Cary: Yep, those were the two teams I was gonna mention.

RJ Allen: I would like Sarah Bouhaddi to do well and have a good World Cup.

Allison Cary: Please.

RJ Allen: I am invested in her journey.

Allison Cary: Me too, not necessarily by choice.

RJ Allen: I do not know why I enjoy her so much. She is everything that I dislike usually about goalkeepers but we stan who we stan. And yes, Charles, please join me on the Scotland bandwagon.

Allison Cary: I, too, am on the Scotland bandwagon. My sister goes to school there. That’s my connection.

Charles Olney: I’m also really excited to see Thailand. They’re maybe the most isolated of all the teams, with virtually no one that plays outside of Thailand. And they had a pretty easy road to get here. So they might get blown away. But the few times I’ve seen them, they’re one of those teams that manages to frustrate the opposition without completely backing into a shell. I really hope they find a result or two.

RJ Allen: If Scotland beats England I may have to move to Scotland like Allison is going to move to France if they win.

Allison Cary: Europe here we come!

RJ Allen: I am really excited to see Canada too. I want them to have one more least real shot at a title for Sinclair.

Allison Cary: I would love to see Thailand do well. I think it could mean a lot not just to them, but to that region.

Charles Olney: Some of the other bigger teams that I’d really like to see do well: France – because it would be incredible for the home nation to finally overcome their problems with the big games, Spain – because they’re ready to join the ranks of the very top nations in the world, and Australia – because Sam Kerr.

I mean, I love a lot of things about Australia, and would be thrilled to see them do well in any case. But after watching Marta spend a career as the best in the world with no trophies to show for it, I don’t want Kerr to go through the same.

Same logic applies for Canada and Sinclair.

RJ Allen: France vs Australia would be a fun match. Not for Allison, but still.

Allison Cary: I’m really hoping this is France’s year. But… I’ve cheered for teams that choke my whole life and it’s a hard thing to break out of. I’m starting to believe they could really win this thing and that’s just setting me up for complete and utter disappointment.

Charles Olney: One thing I’ve noticed is that most of the teams I’m pulling for are very likely to face the US: Thailand, Spain, and France. So I guess that sets me up for happiness no matter what happens?

Allison Cary: That’s soccer.

Charles Olney: Yep. The reality is that ALL these teams are interesting and fun, and there really aren’t any bad choices. But let’s try to quantify that: which team would you LEAST like to see win?

Allison Cary: Norway winning would be… complicated. But there are a lot of players I like on that team, so it might be worth it.

Charles Olney: That was my answer, too.

Charles Olney: They’ve also already won one, even if it was quite a while ago, in a very different game. But yeah, I’d be hard-pressed to be sad about that group of players winning it.

RJ Allen: Germany. I am petty.

Charles Olney: I am absolutely here for RJ’s pettiness re: Germany. But I would love to see them win. That team is wonderful.

Allison Cary: I have mixed feelings about England. I shouldn’t, it will be massive for that country if they do well. But the way they handled Mark Sampson and the Eni Aluko thing— and I mean the players, not the FA— rubbed me the wrong way.

RJ Allen: The problem is you can say that about almost any federation. Every federation, the smaller ones more than most, have huge issues. So I try not to count that against the players/coach if it’s changed.

Allison Cary: Well, but like I said I’m not talking about the FA side. I’m talking about individual comments from players.

RJ Allen: But I don’t deny I get why you feel like that.

Charles Olney: Okay, so it’s foolish to make predictions, but we’re all fools, so let’s make some predictions. I think we’re all on record already with some of these, but we can knock them out quickly.

First: who wins the tournament?

RJ Allen: France

Allison Cary: Do I say France? I don’t know what to say.

Charles Olney: You have to pick! It’s France for me, too.

Allison Cary: Damn it. I guess I’m committing. This definitely means they’ll choke.

RJ Allen: Or as Kim McCauley said, whoever wins the US vs France game.

Allison Cary: That’s a fair prediction.

Charles Olney: Okay, #2: golden ball and golden boot winner. I think Miedema wins the golden boot, and Henry wins the golden ball.

Allison Cary: Miedema for boot.

RJ Allen: Sam Kerr for Golden Boot, Amandine Henry for Golden Ball.

Allison Cary: I’ll go with Henry for Golden Ball.

Charles Olney: We all think very similarly, it turns out. We need more conflict here! Let’s try this one: who is the most surprising team in the semifinals.

RJ Allen: Canada.

Allison Cary: England.

Charles Olney: I’ll go Canada as well. But if it’s someone really wacky, I’ll take whoever finishes second in Group A (I’d bet on Norway, but SK or Nigeria could do it).

Charles Olney: Next: how many minutes do Morgan Brian, Ali Krieger, Ashlynn Harris, and Adi Franch play combined?

RJ Allen: I could see Brain or Krieger get time in the first two games so 47.

Allison Cary: I’m gonna go a bit higher and say 60. Taking risks.

Charles Olney: I think there’s a real chance that it’s zero, but just for the sake of differentiation, I’ll take the over on those. Maybe 90.

RJ Allen: Does Julie Ertz play more than 30 minutes at centerback by the end of the US’s time in the World Cup?

Allison Cary: Follow up— does Tobin play right back?

Charles Olney: Oh, that’s a good one. I think yes, and not for any particularly obvious reason, either. I think no on Heath at right back, unless it’s for like two minutes while they’re warming up a sub.

RJ Allen: I think at some point we see Tobin Heath slotted back. If she “plays” or not is another question.

RJ Allen: I think Ellis will want Mews in without taking anyone out. So Ertz will drop back sometimes.

Allison Cary: Yeah, that’s a good reason. I was kind of with Charles on the “yes but for no real reason.”

RJ Allen: Does Christen Press play in more than 3 games?

Charles Olney: Yes. I think she probably goes unused in one group stage game but plays in most or all of the rest.

Allison Cary: No.

Charles Olney: Leading goal-scorer for the US?

RJ Allen: Tobin Heath. I think she is doing things with the ball right now that are cheat mode.

Charles Olney: Morgan is the obvious answer, and probably is right, but given how weird these things can sometimes go, it genuinely could be someone really wild like Lloyd or something.

Allison Cary: Morgan. I’m gonna stick with predictable.

RJ Allen: In 2015 it was “we need a bitch, get Kelley”, who is the bitch in 2019?

Allison Cary: I definitely don’t know how to answer that question.

Charles Olney: I feel like that’s not the vibe of this team. For better and for worse.

RJ Allen: I think those are answers unto themselves.

Charles Olney: But they still have Kelley!

RJ Allen: They do. And she played like herself in New Jersey against Mexico. I think she and Becky Sauerbrunn are huge for the US. If they both don’t play 8/10 each game we’re in trouble.

Charles Olney: RJ and I already discussed this one on the podcast, but can rehash here: which US player(s) get suspended for yellow card accumulation?

RJ Allen: The Great Horan.

Allison Cary: Horan

RJ Allen: Or someone really funny like Rose Lavelle.

Charles Olney: If I remember correctly, we also mentioned Ertz and Heath as real possibilities.

RJ Allen: Heath called herself a psycho when she plays in a piece written by Richard Farley. And on the pitch, she is 100% right. She could get a few cards.

Allison Cary: I see Ertz as a solid possibility.

RJ Allen: I almost want it to be Becky Sauerbrunn but I also 100% do not want it to be Becky Sauerbrunn.

Allison Cary: I’m good with her getting suspended when the US plays France. Or her being suspended for that game, rather.

RJ Allen: Allison, I have a question for you. Would you rather see France win or Becky Sauerbrunn score a game winning goal?

Allison Cary: France win. They’re my TEAM. But I love Broon like all normal people do.

RJ Allen: All sane ones at least.

Charles Olney: Any final thoughts?

RJ Allen: Please @ Soccer Gods no ACL injuries, ok?

Allison Cary: One quick note: everyone should read the article by Shireen Ahmed in Time about the women who won’t be playing at the World Cup. It’s a must read.

Charles Olney: That is a great call. So, with that, let’s wrap up for the week. I hope everyone is excited for the World Cup, and will join along with all the coverage we’ll be providing over the course of the tournament. I’ll be posting something (almost) daily, and there should be plenty more coming from back home as well. It’s going to be a grand ride, and there will certainly be a lot to talk about along the way.

And don’t forget that the NWSL will be back on June 15 after a one-week break, so there will be plenty there to cover as well!

Backline Chat: We’ll See You in Court

Posted on May 9, 2019 by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome to this week’s Backline Soccer Chat. We’ve got some national team news to discuss, some NWSL games to cover, and even a few new NWSL signings to discuss. To kick things off, let’s start with the US Women’s National Team. The roster dropped a week ago, and we’ve all had some time to digest and reflect, so there’s no need to dwell too long here. But does anyone have any lingering thoughts?

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I’m upgrading McCall Zerboni not getting called up to a crime against humanity. That is all.

Charles Olney: I wrote a whole piece on that for SSFC, so I won’t say anything more except that I still don’t really get it. Particularly given the reporting which suggests that Ellis saw those final roster choices as all about managing ‘what if’ scenarios.

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): I’m not going to go as far as Allison about Zerboni but I can see her getting pulled into the squad for an injured player or someone who can’t be 90 minutes fit by the World Cup starting.

Charles Olney: That would not surprise me at all. We’re still weeks ago from the actual deadline, so there’s a lot that could change.

Allison Cary: Yeah, absolutely.

Charles Olney: Two other omissions which were by no means surprises, but which I still want to note: Lynn Williams has been one of the most prolific goal-scorers in the league for three seasons now, and provides a physical presence that seems like it could be useful. And Vanessa DiBernardo continues to improve, and is genuinely one of the great passers of her generation. I’m not saying they absolutely should have made it, but it bums me out that they weren’t even in the picture.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I wasn’t surprised that they weren’t included, but like you said, the fact that they weren’t even in the discussion is disappointing. Especially Williams.

Charles Olney: I hope they both still get a real chance at some point. It would make me sad if they continue to play this well and just never make it back on the radar.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t think most fans would say those are really omissions. I think you kind of have to watch the league as a whole unbiasedly. They weren’t even given much of a chance to get snubbed.

I think after this World Cup cycle you see the return of more younger players or maybe just not as veteran a team.

For example, I’m a big fan of Ohai but she won’t get a look until the end of the chapter for this current team.

Charles Olney: We might talk more about Casey Short when we get to the games this week, but it also shouldn’t go unmentioned that her absence might well end up being felt this summer.

Allison Cary: I feel bad for Short. I think the injury and youth took her out of the picture, but I’m not sure it should have.

Luis Hernandez: At least Short has time to make another World Cup. I do think she’s solid for the US on the left side.

Charles Olney: Alright, to wrap things up, hopefully we can agree that even if the 23 isn’t precisely what we might each have preferred, it’s still extremely loaded and the US are most likely the favorites to retain their title? Or, at a minimum co-favorites.

Allison Cary: It is a fantastic side. I think there are other really good sides too, but I wouldn’t bet against this US side.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t have the US as the top favorite but yes they will be favored. I would be less nervous if the defense were more solid.

Charles Olney: Alright, the other piece of news that arrived this week is that US Soccer has responded to the USWNT player’s gender discrimination complaint, basically by denying the validity of the accusations in most key respects. The players responded with a pretty terse ‘we’ll see you in court.’ Do you have any thoughts about where this is going?

Allison Cary: Personally, I’ve tried to sort out my feelings, but I keep coming back to the fact that I don’t know anywhere near enough about equal employment law.

Charles Olney: As I said on Twitter, I’m not a lawyer but I am law adjacent, and my sense is that US Soccer has a decent legal argument but even if they might expect to win the case if it went to trial, they’ll take a beating in public opinion. So I still expect this to get settled out of court.

But I’m less sure about that now than I was yesterday.

Luis Hernandez: I’m not a lawyer, but I think US Soccer is going to have a bit of an uphill climb.

Allison Cary: If the team is playing for the court of public opinion, I think they’re doing well. What I keep coming back to legally is, do they have a burden of proof to show this is solely based on gender? Because that seems like a high bar to meet for anyone.

Luis Hernandez: I do think the players have more of an argument on some of the basics, but USSF has corrected most of what they can. Should be interesting to see how it plays out

Charles Olney: It is a pretty high bar. Certainly, organizations are allowed to treat groups differently based on a wide variety of things. That the USMNT and USWNT are (obviously) gender-segregated doesn’t necessarily mean every decision to treat them different is therefore gender-based. On the other hand, some of the public statement that US Soccer has made on these issues are pretty damning.

One final thought: obviously it shouldn’t matter legally, but I also wonder whether the results in France might shade things one way or the other.

Allison Cary: I think it will, unfortunately. I don’t think it should.

Charles Olney: Okay, enough of the national team. Let’s talk some NWSL. We had four games and two goals this weekend. So my first question is just: should we expect more of the same until the national teamers get back? Or was this just a fluke?

Luis Hernandez: I kind of think this question can be a bit unfair to the players from other nations still here. Certainly, the goal scorers this season so far have mostly been USWNT players, but I think there’s still some offense around the league

Allison Cary: We lost some of the top goal scorers but there is plenty of good offense left. We might see a drop in number of goals, but I don’t think it will be this sparse every week.

Charles Olney: Obviously there are a ton of good attackers still around. But there’s also no denying that virtually all of the top attacking performances this season have come from US national team players. I’m certain that others will step up at some point, but I wonder if that might still be a difference between now and four years ago: that defenses are more solid and less vulnerable to losing top players.

Luis Hernandez: Yuki and Sinclair have three goals, and Sam Kerr only has two.I think it’s just been fluky.

Allison Cary: I don’t think NC not scoring is going to be the norm.

Luis Hernandez: Most teams are deeper now and the league hopefully won’t see a major drop in talent and ability overall.

Charles Olney: So digging in a little bit more specifically, any thoughts from the individual games? My feeling is that we saw a lot of teams in holding patterns, without all that much clear evidence of whether to expect changes. Utah got three points (again), without necessarily dominating (again). North Carolina dominated (as usual) but couldn’t get their shots on target (except even more so). The Reign played okay but couldn’t score.

Orlando continue to struggle, without necessarily ever looking terrible. Sky Blue still don’t look great, but have managed points against the two finalists from last season.

Allison Cary: I want so badly to believe Utah is as good as their record reflects. And they did good without Sauerbrunn and Press, but they’re gonna lose many more players. Not sure if they’ll be able to sustain it. And like you said, as it is, they’re not dominating.

Charles Olney: I feel like we’ve mostly seen results that could either be indicators of big changes, or just indicators that things will mostly stay the same. And it’s really hard to tell which is which.

Allison Cary: Pretty much summed it up there, Charles.

Charles Olney: I would certainly be surprised if Utah keep winning every game. The real question is whether they drop off to a normal playoff contender pace, or whether they fall back to where they were last year. I’m more convinced by them now than I was a month ago, certainly, and those points are already in the bank, so…

Allison Cary: Yeah, it’s a good thing they’re racking in points now.

Charles Olney: I saw someone point out that Orlando right now is basically where Houston was last year after five games – manager who is new to the league, really struggling to put things together, major risk of being cut adrift. And then Houston righted the ship and started reeling off results. I’m not PREDICTING that will happen with Orlando, but it’s at least a potentially positive analogy.

Allison Cary: Orlando needs anything even potentially positive right now.

Luis Hernandez: I think this weekend was mostly what the teams this season will be. Maybe most teams outside of Orlando get another couple of games under their belt before we can say, “yeah, that’s who that team is for the season.”

I think we’re about to enter a phase in the league where teams are going to add some reinforcements from overseas like we saw with Sky Blue or expect from Orlando.

Charles Olney: Speaking of reinforcements, thoughts on the two additions that were just announced: Gina Lewandowski to Sky Blue and Casey Murphy to the Reign? I’m a big fan of both moves.

Allison Cary: Yeah, me too. Solid additions ahead of the WC.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t think that’s the best spot for Murphy long-term but I don’t hate the move. I wasn’t surprised by the Lewandowski move at all. I knew she was going to play in the US from what I had seen. Plus the only NWSL team she follows on her social media is Sky Blue. Yeah, I went there.

Charles Olney: Lewandowski was, I think, somewhat unfairly cut out of the national team picture due to being overseas. At this point, she’s almost certainly dropped off to the point where that’s no longer true. But even a below-peak Lewandowski could be huge for a team like Sky Blue that just needs some defensive continuity to build off.

Luis Hernandez: I agree with you Charles. She deserved more time in the national team picture, but I think you can also say that for Ella Masar, who is retiring to go into coaching.

Charles Olney: I agree that Reign is maybe not the ideal landing spot for Murphy. From all I’ve seen (admittedly not enough to really be sure), she’s good enough to be a regular starter in the league, whether during the World Cup or not. So I’d rather see her go to a team where she could expect to start right from the beginning. But as Claire Watkins was pointing out, this may really be about protecting themselves from expansion next year. Certainly no harm in building depth.

Alright, looking forward, we’ve got another four NWSL matchups this weekend. Sky Blue and Washington will meet up for the second time in a month, Utah will take on Houston, Orlando will face Portland (another repeat), and Chicago will play NC (see above). So, any thoughts of any of those matchups?

And also, what’s up with the lack of new opponents?!

Allison Cary: Yeah, lots of repeats.

Luis Hernandez: Frankly I think it sucks that we have so many rematches when teams like Orlando haven’t played Sky Blue or Washington.

I would like to wait a bit more to see replays between teams.

Allison Cary: Since Sky Blue managed to get two draws against two of the stronger clubs in the league, I’m curious to see how they’ll do against Washington this time around.

Charles Olney: Sky Blue-Washington is definitely one to watch. Both teams will be desperate to genuinely turn a new leaf on their awful 2018s, and getting a win here would go a long way for each of them. Which means it’ll probably be a draw.

Allison Cary: Probably.

Charles Olney: Utah-Houston is another good test for two teams who want to show that they’ve taken a step forward from 2018. If either gets a win, that will go a long way to proving that they are serious challengers. If Utah can get 12 points in 4 games to start the season, they would certainly become favorites to make the playoffs. And if Houston can knock them off, they would actually pass them in the table (albeit with an extra game played).

Allison Cary: Yeah, that’s true on both points. Houston knocking off Utah could be a big boost for them in confidence and points, and Utah being undefeated in four can’t be shrugged off.

Luis Hernandez: Obviously travel for Portland might also be a factor than at the opening of the season.

Charles Olney: Yeah, Luis, that’s a good point. Portland’s neverending travel adventure has got to be a drag.

Allison Cary: I’m exhausted just looking at Portland’s schedule.

Charles Olney: We’ve also managed to avoid mentioning the game between North Carolina and Chicago. That one certainly isn’t a ‘must win’ for either team, but I think they’ll both REALLY want to get the three points after extremely disappointing results last weekend.

Luis Hernandez: The big takeaway from all the rematches is if the results from the first go-around continue or there’s a shift between these opponents.

Allison Cary: Very true. It seems like both teams keep bouncing back and forth between having a really good match and then a really frustrating one.

Charles Olney: I’ll be curious to see how Riley changes things up – or if he sticks with the same XI. I thought they were fine against Sky Blue, but nothing like the sort of dominance we’ve otherwise seen. Is that just the absence of Dunn and Mewis? I expected they would handle the loss of Dahlkemper fine, but Kurtz had a rough game.

Luis Hernandez: Across all the games this weekend, I get a “must watch” vibe, but it’s also partly because they are replays.

Charles Olney: Any general thoughts before we wrap things up?

Allison Cary: Utah and NC doing Star Wars merch was cool and teams should be doing more stuff like that.

Also I hope Utah’s attendance stays high.

Charles Olney: Yeah! It didn’t really look like they had that many in the stadium, but even if some of those were ticket-sales-not-butts-in-seats, that’s still a HUGE number. They definitely don’t seem to be suffering a sophomore slump attendance-wise, which is really nice.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I really think women’s soccer could be massive in Salt Lake. I really want them to prove me right.

Charles Olney: It sure would be great if they could announce a big year-end event there to get everyone excited. Maybe the weekend of October 26. Just a thought.

Luis Hernandez: lol

One final thing: I just want to point out here that we’re this far into the schedule and the league still has the 2018 rules and regulations posted and nothing in the roster rules reflect the changes that we see on the pitch

Charles Olney: Given the hiring situation at NWSL headquarters, it may be that way for a while, unfortunately.

Well, that’s a suitably depressing note to end on. Thanks for reading everyone. We’ll be back next week, and in the meantime, we hope you enjoy some thrilling soccer.

Backline Chat: Did You Know Hulu Has Live Games?

Posted on May 1, 2019 by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome to our Backline for week 3 of the NWSL season. The US National Team players will be leaving the league now for a few months So before saying goodbye to them for awhile, let’s discuss whose stock has risen or fallen the most based on the first three weeks.

Given that the coach is Jill Ellis, the most likely answer is probably ‘these games literally didn’t matter’ but let’s assume that they are paying attention and do care.

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): I think Christen Press has been playing really solid in the two matches for Utah and in her time on the pitch I’ve been impressed by Casey Short too.

Those two really stand out to me right now.

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): Jill Ellis treats NWSL as her own personal version of Whose Line Is It Anyways where the results don’t matter for her.

Charles Olney: I think we all assume that what happened in these few games will have little to no importance in who actually starts in June. But while Alex Morgan is the almost-guaranteed center forward, she’s probably had the worst start of any US striker.

Luis Hernandez: Can we just say that any USWNT player who wears purple at the club level is glad to be in red, white, and blue now?

Charles Olney: I think that’s fair, Luis.

RJ Allen: There are a few in red and blue that might be glad to hear out to the US camp too.

Charles Olney: Emily Sonnett has looked pretty shaky.

Luis Hernandez: Minor knock to Harris, Morgan is a pass first, shoot second striker, and well I don’t know what to say for Ali Krieger

Charles Olney: If we all agree that fullback and central midfield are two of the key possible locations where decisions were still getting made, I think I’d say Casey Short made a strong case for herself. And that Andi Sullivan and McCall Zerboni didn’t do anything to hurt her case, while Allie Long didn’t do anything to help.

Luis Hernandez: Accurate.

Charles Olney: Morgan Brian has played really well, in limited minutes. Given what was reported last month, I definitely don’t think that will matter. But if there’s a surprise later this week, that’s probably why.

Luis Hernandez: I would consider Jane Campbell based on her performance with PKs.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I think all of the US keepers have looked a little shaky to start the NWSL season.

RJ Allen: I don’t think it matters how good or bad the backup goalkeepers are at PKs. They will not play.

RJ Allen: Ellis is never going to sub Naeher for PKs.

Luis Hernandez: Ellis isn’t going to make a late match sub with PKs looming?

RJ Allen: There is no chance of that.

Charles Olney: I would be shocked if she made that move. Doesn’t feel like an Ellis thing.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I agree.

Charles Olney: And it’s not like Campbell had demonstrated exceptional skills. These were mostly just terrible penalties. Still takes work to save them, but I’d hesitate to read anything predictive into it.

RJ Allen: In a fair world Barnhart goes as the third goalkeeper but that ship is so far out to sea you can’t see it anymore.

Charles Olney: I guess I’d also say that players like Heath and Dunn and Sauerbrunn continue to be very very good. There’s not really any room to raise their stock, but they’ve been excellent.

RJ Allen: Dunn is the hardest of those three. Because her role for the US and her role for North Carolina are so disconnected. Ellis just doesn’t want Dunn in the attack and that’s where she’s most useful.

Charles Olney: It’s bizarre that the best (or second-best, given Sam Kerr) attacking player in the league will be playing fullback, but…here we are.

Luis Hernandez: I wish Horan and Pinoe hadn’t miss so much league time.

RJ Allen: That seems to have been not totally in their control. Seems to be Ellis wanting them to once they had knocks.

Luis Hernandez: I get it. Protect them in bubble wrap but still. There’s something to be said about playing to stay in form.

Charles Olney: Sure, but it’s a month and a half before the tournament starts. Any form from April will be long gone by then either way.

RJ Allen: They are going into a camp that is 2 weeks longer than it should be. I doubt one game for club is going to change much.

Charles Olney: *Jinx

RJ Allen: I’ll buy you a Coke.

Charles Olney: Alright, turning the question around slightly. We’ve talked about the players who will be leaving. But what about the teams that will have to operate without them? Who is going to be hurt the most by the departure of the national teamers? Who will be helped the most, relatively?

Luis Hernandez: I think it helps Sky Blue and Houston.

Allison Cary: I think it hurts Chicago and Portland.

RJ Allen: Orlando, Chicago, Portland and North Carolina feel the most impacted based on the first few weeks when you take the National Teamers out.

Luis Hernandez: Hurts everyone else but the Courage keep winning

Charles Olney: Chicago seems like the biggest question mark. I actually think they may come out of this far stronger than you’d expect, simply because they have 3-4 bubble players, all of whom are likely to stay.

It’s certainly a question is whether they can restructure the attack to deal with the absence of Sam Kerr (that’s a big absence!), but with DiBernardo, Colaprico, Brian, Nagasato, Johnson, etc. they’ve got a lot of quality.

RJ Allen: Dames is a coach who can tinker pretty well. And shovel. He is a good with a shovel.

Charles Olney: I saw some speculation this weekend that the Reign might actually benefit from losing Taylor. I don’t subscribe to the point of view that Taylor is a liability, by any means, but it will at least force them to think about different ways to set up, which could be helpful.

RJ Allen: I’m worried about the Reign just in general.

Allison Cary: Whatever they’re doing now, it’s not working.

Luis Hernandez: Taylor right now is absolutely not a liability for the Reign. I know teams like Orlando focused on her.

Charles Olney: We haven’t mentioned Utah. Obviously, they’re going to take a hit to the backline, and will lose the only player who has created a goal for them so far. But otherwise, they may be alright?

Allison Cary: I think Utah will be okay.

RJ Allen: I think they end up staying in that 2 or 3 spot. I’ve been thinking a lot lately because of my work with RSL Soapbox and they have some good depth in places. Having Laddish back may be huge.

Charles Olney: I think the last two years took a tiny bit of the shine off the Laura Harvey hype train, but this year will be the real test. As you say, they’ve got a lot of good pieces, and I feel pretty good about her ability to get it all clicking.

RJ Allen: Not having Kim Little on your team makes your team not as good.

Luis Hernandez: I think the time without national team players is going to allow the Dash to climb into the playoff race.

RJ Allen: I do not know if I believe that. I would like to, but Canadians and Daly are a huge part of that team.

Charles Olney: Alright, that’s a nice way to transition into the discussion of this weekend’s games. Because I’m curious what people thought about the Houston-North Carolina match. To me, it was evidence that Clarkson might still have a ways to go before he quite settles in. But I could make an alternative case that he wanted to give his team a shot to really go for it, and they’ll build off the lessons they learned. Thoughts?

RJ Allen: Playing North Carolina is hard.

Charles Olney: It is indeed. And that’s potentially an argument for the second option. If you figure that you’re probably going to lose no matter what, why not give it a shot.

But I also think it’s basically suicidal to leave yourself that open to North Carolina and not to really adjust during the game, as things started to break down.

They had a really good start. But after the opening 15 or 20 minutes, that games was only going one way.

Allison Cary: I admittedly didn’t get to watch it, but based on that and how they looked in their win of Sky Blue, I think they’re on shaky ground.

Luis Hernandez: I get that for sure, but going forward Ohai and Huerta can be a real difference. Nairn is a bit inconsistent for me. Losing to the Courage. There’s no shame in that. (edited)

RJ Allen: The first month of the season is basically preseason in terms of the play. I do think Houston can do well but it’s a long road.

Charles Olney: It felt a lot like many of the other new coaches, who struggle to get just quite how intense the league can be. But Clarkson also has a lot more familiarity with the team, so might be able to get over that hump quicker than some others.

Luis Hernandez: He should be able to get Houston properly adjusted to bounce back against Orlando.

Charles Olney: I don’t have much else to add about North Carolina. They’re ridiculously good. Crystal Dunn has been even better than her high standards. The fullbacks are excellent. The forwards are excellent. Zerboni and Mewis are absurd together. The center backs have been a little shakier than usual, but it doesn’t really matter.

So, moving onto some of the more contentious games, what about Orlando-Utah?

Luis Hernandez: Here we go.

RJ Allen: Orlando is a bad soccer team. They are not a well constructed roster and it shows. I think Skinner has interesting thoughts but that doesn’t always win games.

Allison Cary: I was amazed at the lack of urgency to score. It felt like Ubogagu was the only one who cared, and then they pulled her.

Charles Olney: They were better in this game than against North Carolina. Maybe on par with how they played the Reign. Which is to say: they’re nowhere close to a Breakers 2016 or Sky Blue 2018 situation. But they’re also nowhere close to the late-2017 Orlando Pride, which people expect them to be.

RJ Allen: Barnhart has the fountain of youth in her basement.

Charles Olney: She’s been so great. It’s been a real joy to watch her.

Luis Hernandez: She should let Marta have a drink. Because I haven’t seen much from Marta so far this year.

RJ Allen: Marta looks like she is starting to move past her prime. It is a sad fact Father Time is undefeated.

Charles Olney: There have been flashes, but it’s clear she’s declined. Which makes me very sad. It had to happen eventually, but I would have liked another couple years.

Allison Cary: Yeah, she’s hardly done anything this season.

Charles Olney: She’s still only 33, so it’s actually a little surprising that there’s no more in the tank. That said, she’s played a LOT of minutes over the years. And age hits people differently.

RJ Allen: I am interested to see how Kopmeyer plays this year.

Charles Olney: Yeah, she got the chance a week early with that late Harris scratch, and made a mess of the Press goal. But I think she’ll settle in well and have a good year.

Allison Cary: I think she got better throughout that game.

Luis Hernandez: Agreed. She should have handled the goal better though.

Charles Olney: That goal combined a bit of pure technical magic, with Press bringing the ball down as perfectly as a human could do it, with a pretty weak shot that only went in because of some of the worst goalkeeping you’re likely to see.

Allison Cary: That pretty much sums it up.

Luis Hernandez: Kop said postgame that it took a deflection

RJ Allen: It’s going to be a shame when Press plays like 200 minutes in the World Cup.

Charles Olney: Any other thoughts on that game, or can we talk about the snowpocalypse in Chicago?

RJ Allen: Why is their snow in the last weekend in April?

Allison Cary: I don’t understand how people live in cold places.

Luis Hernandez: Did they have an orange ball?

Charles Olney: They did!

Luis Hernandez: I’m actually shocked

Charles Olney: I’m glad they called it. Seems like they probably could have made the decision earlier. But it’s better than some previous late decision-making, so I’ll take it. As for the game, we’ve all already expressed our worries about the Reign. Any specific thoughts on the game?

RJ Allen: The Reign need Pinoe back and they will not have her for months.

Charles Olney: I suppose I should tilt against the windmills for a moment and point out that Nagasato actually had a pretty poor game, by her standards. She scored a goal on an open net, and provided an assist to Casey Short who was (I’ve done the calculations) more open than any other soccer player has ever been in human history. But otherwise, she was pretty off for a lot of the game. So obviously she was voted player of the week.

RJ Allen: To be fair, and I’ll take the blame, she was my number one this week.

Luis Hernandez: I didn’t think she should have won it

RJ Allen: She is a very fun player to watch and some of that masks when she has a bad game. So blame me.

Charles Olney: I prefer to blame the entire world.

Allison Cary: It’s more fun.

Luis Hernandez: As much of a fair system as goal and save of the week

Charles Olney: I guess the one other thing I’ll add about the game is that I actually thought it was a lot closer than the final scoreline, and I’m less worried about the Reign than many folks. The Short goal was a disaster, but Vlatko will fix the defensive positioning. And they need to get more creativity. But they weren’t really that bad.

Luis Hernandez: I’m not sure coaching is going to be enough for the Reign.

Charles Olney: Alright, the last game of the weekend was the 2-2 draw between Sky Blue and Portland. Good result for New Jersey? Bad result for Portland?

RJ Allen: My official professional break down of this game: lol

Allison Cary: Good result for Sky Blue, IMO. It was an important sign of life.

Charles Olney: I tweeted this yesterday, but the main thing I want to say is that we (and I definitely mean ‘we’ because I’m a big offender here) spend too much time complaining about the annoying aspects of the Carli Lloyd experience, and not nearly enough time marveling at what she can do.

Luis Hernandez: I think RJ nailed it by saying Carli Lloyd FC.

RJ Allen: Carli Lloyd in a vacuum is an amazing thing to behold.

Charles Olney: As RJ said, Father Time is undefeated, but Carli sure seems like she’s going to fight him to the very death. And probably give him a swift kick in the junk on the way out the door.

RJ Allen: She has looking in to hiring a hit man.

Charles Olney: From the Portland perspective, should they be worried about the defense leaking so many goals? Or will it get sorted out once Menges comes back?

RJ Allen: I think Menges helps but Sonnett is likely gone.

Luis Hernandez: As for Portland, I think it could be a preview of what’s to come this summer.

RJ Allen: I think the first game they play in the NNT (non national teamers) era is going to be very important mentally.

Allison Cary: Yeah, it’s… not good.

Charles Olney: I’m not too worried for them. But I think they’d be much happier to be going into that NNT era with a couple more points in the bag.

RJ Allen: All in all I think they make the playoffs but they aren’t as strong as the last two years.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I’m not worried about them falling off a cliff or anything.

Luis Hernandez: When is the first home game for the Thorns?

RJ Allen: September. (I’m kidding)

Charles Olney: Okay, taking a step back from the analysis of the action, can we talk about the product a little bit? We’ve seen a bunch of the national team players drop Hulu sponsorship videos, and we’ve seen a whole host of ridiculous gifs released by US soccer. Meanwhile, North Carolina is putting together a Star Wars event (in which they portray themselves as the dark side?). Houston had some puppies on the pitch. They now sell beer at Reign games. Any thoughts about any of those things?

RJ Allen: Did y’all know Hulu has live games? And some players are very bad at making ads they themselves have to write? And Becky is (naturally) very good?

Allison Cary: Selling beer and adding puppies are always good developments.

Charles Olney: Controversial!

Allison Cary: I’m willing to die on this hill.

RJ Allen: North Carolina knows who they are by making themselves the dark side. #Underdogs

Allison Cary: “Yeah, lets do a Star Wars event, only lets be the fascists”

Charles Olney: Yeah, the Courage leaning into being the Empire is pretty on point. But I endorse it. Know yourself.

Allison Cary: The Spirit are doing a Star Wars night too, although what exactly that entails I’m not sure.

RJ Allen: The Spirit are Squibs.

RJ Allen: I know, I know mixing fandoms.

Luis Hernandez: I appreciate how well Orlando is embracing the new supporter group. Huge improvement over last year.

Charles Olney: For the most part, I’m not the audience for this kind of stuff. I don’t care about special theme nights (other than pride nights – more pride nights please!) or goofy announcements. But even grumpy old me can see how much fun some of these things are.

Charles Olney: One other final thought before we finish up: I just wanted to throw out there how much I enjoyed getting Jen Cooper, Poppy Miller, and Dan Lauletta on the broadcasts.

RJ Allen: Yes. It was nice to have some different voices this week. And stats. So many good stats.

I’m excited for the end of the week when we can finally have the USWNT roster and the endless speculation can be done.

Luis Hernandez: I’m glad for a Friday night match and only one Sunday match. Now we need a staggered start on Saturday to be perfect.

RJ Allen: Yeah the league has done a lot of starting games at the same time this year.

Luis Hernandez: And that’s just annoying

Allison Cary: Agreed.

Charles Olney: I know they have to worry mostly about what’s the best time for maximizing attendance and when they can use the stadium, and honestly that should be the priority. But I certainly appreciate when games are staggered.

RJ Allen: Also good work on the league and Chicago to get that game on air and not make it closed door.

Charles Olney: True. In previous years that has often not been the case.

Alright, that’s a wrap for this week. Thanks to everyone for joining us. Now go and enjoy all those preposterous USWNT gifs!

Backline Chat: Welcome to the 2019 NWSL season

Posted on April 12, 2019 by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome to the Backline Soccer NWSL opening weekend chat. This week, we’ll go through team-by-team and offer our thoughts, questions, and (if we’re brave) some predictions.

We’ll be going straight down the 2018 table, so that means starting off with the North Carolina Courage. Coming off one of the all-time great club seasons in the history of the sport, will they be able to maintain their form and establish a true dynasty? Or will they slip a bit?

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): After such a dominant performance, I think the only thing that can happen is for them to slip a bit. They are still the top team in the league. No doubt with be at the top of the table by season’s end but with the World Cup I just don’t see the same level of dominance.

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): North Carolina is going to go back to back in the shield race. They are just so good and so committed to Riley’s system. Plus Lynn Williams is going to have so much fun with backup defenders.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): Yeah, North Carolina will dominate again. No doubt, they’re just too good.

Charles Olney: The one big question for them does seem to be in the spine. There’s a real chance they lose both central defenders and both holding midfielders for several months, with Dahlkemper, Erceg, Mewis, and Zerboni all pretty likely to be gone. That is the heart of the team, and their solid performances have often helped keep everyone else afloat.

Becky Schoenecker (@Beckster20): I think they’ll obviously have the same issues as a lot of the teams will with losing players, but I feel like their depth will be fine and give the opportunity for other players to step up – which I think they will.

Charles Olney: While we’re on the subject, insert my obligatory comment that Lynn Williams feels like someone who really ought to be going to France. More to the benefit of North Carolina that she’s not, but it is a little odd.

RJ Allen: Lynn Willams is behind Morgan and Press. How many of that type of player do you need on the NT?

Becky Schoenecker: With all of Ellis’s ‘experimenting’ I feel like Lynn hasn’t gotten enough opportunities to play that she should have. I can’t say she should be going to France because RJ is right with Morgan and Press, but I feel like she didn’t get a good enough chance to make her case.

Charles Olney: So, the consensus seems to be that Carolina isn’t going to be hit any harder than anyone else by the internationals leaving, and should probably still be considered heavy favorites to finish in first again. Until something actually goes wrong, I think that’s probably the best bet.

What about the Portland Thorns, who finished in a distant second last year, and who will also be missing many crucial players? Do we see them as real contenders or is the gap still pretty large?

Becky Schoenecker: I think the gap is still pretty large for them and that they’ll be the team to struggle the most without their star players.

Charles Olney: I do really wonder who is going to help them build attacks, with virtually their entire midfield gone for several months. And they’ll also probably lose their keeper, who will likely not play a single minute in France but will still be gone the whole time. But even at full strength, I’m still not completely sold on the Thorns. If Sinclair is even a little bit slower, if Horan drops back to merely Great as opposed to MVP-level, this starts to feel like a roster that can’t quite hang with the very best.

RJ Allen: Portland feels like the team that is still that solid second pick for the best team in the league even if when their national teamers are gone they’re going to drop to maybe fifth or sixth.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I’d agree with that. They’ll definitely be hit hard by international absences, but they’re still my pick to finish second or third this year.

Charles Olney: I don’t necessarily disagree – I still have them as a pretty clear playoff team – but they strike me as the team in the league with the most potential to drop off significantly.

RJ Allen: In 2015 the same issue happened, didn’t it?

Charles Olney: Yeah. I think this team is better than the 2015 team. But so are a lot of the other teams in the league. So if they slip up, there’s a lot more room for others to pounce.

RJ Allen: I do wonder how Parsons will handle it from the coaching side. Out of the top coaches in the league I do wonder about his adjustment abilities.

Luis Hernandez: Of all the playoffs teams, I have the least faith in Portland. I don’t think they will be able to overcome the absences due to the World Cup. In fact, I’m calling it now. The Thorns miss the playoffs.

Charles Olney: In third place last year were the Seattle Reign. With their move to Tacoma, it’s now just Reign FC. But do we expect Vlatko Andonovski to keep his team in the playoff spots?

RJ Allen: Losing Rapinoe is tough. One player who does so much when she’s on the field and in a lot of ways is the soul of that attack.

Charles Olney: They definitely seemed to lose a step last year when Rapinoe was out. But I do think that with more time to prepare they might be better set up to handle her loss.

Becky Schoenecker: I think they still have the talent to do so, and with having Betos while Williams is gone will be great for them over break.

Charles Olney: I’m a big Shea Groom fan, as everyone knows, but I think she can perform as a sort of cut-rate version of Rapinoe, which might help them keep the momentum through the summer.

Goals will be tough over the World Cup period, but this is a team that could definitely set up to play some tight games and nick a goal here and there. I like their depleted roster better than Portland’s, certainly.

Becky Schoenecker: I also think Spencer has been getting better every season and she’s capable of getting in behind d’s and scoring.

Luis Hernandez: Last year, I felt the fate of the Reign was dependent on Rapinoe. I think Vlatko has had the time to plan ahead and will be able to weather the storm of World Cup absences. I’m looking forward to seeing Groom back in a system that will use her talents effectively.

RJ Allen: Having some older players in this context does help. Lu Barnes shouldn’t be a defender that breaks down in touch matches the way some rookies may.

Charles Olney: There’s a lot of still-young talent in this squad that hasn’t quite been able to make it stick. Players like Morgan Andrews, Christen Westphal, Darian Jenkins, etc. If they can get good performances out of those depth players, along with solid veteran shifts from the players RJ mentioned, they should be okay. But that’s also a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes.’ It’s not hard to see the team just struggling to put it all together and getting beat by teams with more contained approaches.

RJ Allen: They are a solid team but a lot of their horse power comes from players that will be gone. They are a bit like cake without frosting. Good but not what they can be.

Charles Olney: Our final playoff team from 2018 was the Chicago Red Stars. They’re on a long streak of making the playoffs, and a long streak of losing their first playoff game. Do you see either of those streaks as likely to end this year?

RJ Allen: I think it very much depends on the World Cup. If Kerr gets hot during it, comes back and stays hot, I think that could push them over. If she doesn’t have a great World Cup she very well might come back a bit dejected.

Becky Schoenecker: I think their playoff streak ends.

Charles Olney: Bold pick!

To me, this looks like the team with the best chance to knock the Courage out of first place. There is a huge amount of talent in the squad, and if they can play like they did in the final 6-8 weeks of 2018, they will be truly formidable. If not…well, Becky might be right.

RJ Allen: I think in 2-3 years, yeah. But I don’t see it for 2019.

Luis Hernandez: Well the Red Stars will make the playoffs again. At least that’s what I think. The key for Chicago to see is how well the team seems to be coached.

Charles Olney: I don’t want our conversation on every team to fixate too much on the internationals leaving, but Chicago is potentially very well placed, with a TON of players who are clearly among the very best non-NT players in the pool. They could potentially run out a midfield of DiBernardo, Colaprico, Brian, and Stanton all summer. That could wreck some teams. That’s very similar to 2015, when Chicago were fantastic during the WC. Less so otherwise.

RJ Allen: I don’t think Morgan Brian matters if she plays like she has been. I think her run of being a top midfielder is all but over. Sadly.

Charles Olney: Brian was excellent in the back half of 2018. If she can’t get on the field, that’s one thing. But she was a big part of why Chicago was playing so well at the end of the season.

RJ Allen: I disagree but I do hope she does well.

Becky Schoenecker: I’m sticking to my sinking ship prediction and saying Houston takes a playoff spot over Chicago. I think aside from North Carolina the last spots are going to be really tight. I agree with Luis that Thorns might see themselves out as well. So there’s a prediction: I don’t think both Chicago and Portland make it.

Charles Olney: Alright, so now we should move into the even more difficult part: figuring out which of the teams who missed out on the playoffs last year might take over one or more of these spots. So, in 5th place last year was the Utah Royals. Will they improve on that performance?

The big question here is seemingly whether Laura Harvey will be able to get her team clicking a bit more after a full season in the job.

RJ Allen: Harvey is always better year two than year old at pretty much all of her coaching jobs. I do think letting Gorry go and brining in Vero is going to help the midfield a lot. And while they will miss a boat load of time Sauerbrunn and Corsie are the best centerback pairing in the league IMO.

Charles Olney: The secondary question is probably whether Amy Rodriguez just needed some time to play herself back into form, and could return as a league-leading striker. If so, this could be a dangerous team.

Luis Hernandez: I have less faith in Utah than I did last year. I don’t think they build the roster well for this year. This is a rare off year for Harvey. I just think the team will run out of gas and not be able to make up ground. They finish 6th in the standings

RJ Allen: I think we’ll know in that first 3 to 5 game window. Harvey has done it before and I don’t doubt she could again. I don’t know though. I think how the midfield flows will say a lot. O’Hara being healthy or not changes a ton for the attack or the 3.5 back they play as well.

Charles Olney: I agree about Vero being a good move. We’ll have to see how it works out – she’s not as young as she once was – but that’s the sort of player they really needed. Another underrated possibility here is Mandy Laddish, who hasn’t played in what feels like a decade, but who is apparently healthy and ready to go. She could be a huge difference-maker in that midfield.

RJ Allen: Mandy Laddish is a player, if after 2 years and two hip surgeries, can come back could be a huge win for the team.

lol Jinx.

Charles Olney: Doniak is another one there. Great player who is effectively a new addition.

You know, the more we talk about this team, the more I’m convincing myself that they’re a serious playoff contender.

RJ Allen: Press, if she can connect with Vero and her and ARod can form a working relationship, could be a real game changer. When Press is on she is as deadly as any NWSL striker in league history. But they have to do a much better job with her in 2019 than 2018.

Charles Olney: So another popular pick for a potential playoff contender is the Houston Dash. They surprised everyone last year by sticking around the playoff race until the final week and ultimately finishing in a close 6th place – after a preseason consensus that they were among the worst in the league. Will they be able to follow up on that breakout, or will they revert back to form a bit?

RJ Allen: I think they are a compelling team that will end up in 5th at the end of the year and have a real shot at the top 4 in 2020.

Charles Olney: The Dash feel to me like the team with the highest variance in the league. I could see them crushing the opposition all summer, when they have almost a full strength squad, and staying strong to finish in 3rd. Or I could see them wilting and stumbling along to another meek 7th or 8th place finish. Or anything in between.

As with several of these contending teams, they have a new coach, so it will certainly be a big question whether he is able to put his stamp on things.

Charles Olney: The biggest question with Houston has to be the defense. They managed to get by last year with an iffy backline, and without much muscle in the central midfield. Can they keep that up, or will teams finally start to pick apart off the weak spots?

Luis Hernandez: I’m super high on Houston. This is the year the Dash make the playoffs. They seem to have all the pieces in place to be successful. Add to that they aren’t losing hardly anyone to the World Cup. They will be fine.

RJ Allen: Amber Brooks and Kristie Mewis is who that team lives and dies by IMO long term. If those two have great years while everyone is away, they have a real shot.

Charles Olney: I think that’s probably true, RJ. Though you might could say the same about Kealia Ohai and Sofia Huerta. Which maybe demonstrates that Houston has some real flexibility and depth, for the first time in their history.

Luis Hernandez: I understand the defensive concerns with Houston but really it can’t be as bad as it was last year. That in itself is an improvement. I think the back line will be able to figure it out in front of Campbell.

Charles Olney: So, with all apologies to the Spirit and Sky Blue, the final team that seems to be treated as a real playoff contender is last year’s 7th place finishers: the Orlando Pride. After a powerful finish to 2017, they seemed to be primed for a strong season last year, but it never really clicked. Which one is the real Pride?

Charles Olney: As a modest skeptic about them last year, who was never all that surprised that they finished where they did, I haven’t seen anything from this offseason to suggest they will be that much better this time around.

Still, the attacking talent there is outrageous so you certainly can’t count them out.

Luis Hernandez: I was pained to see Sermanni go, but I understood the reason why that had to happen. I’ve seen so much positive from the team now with a GM and new coach. I just think that it’s too soon for those plants to bear fruit. Coach Skinner is installing a very complex system and with the international players coming in and out, I don’t think they’ll be able to make it work consistently this year. There’s a lot to be hopeful in Orlando but they are just going to need more time.

Charles Olney: Everything I’ve heard about Skinner suggests that we’ll be talking about him with some of the top coaches in the league eventually. But it’s probably true that this team needs to take a year to reset before they can really get going.

Alright, we are running low on time, so does anyone have any thoughts about the two hard-luck teams of last year? Surely both will be better. In Washington’s case, because there’s far too much talent in that system to justify finishing as poorly as they did. And in Sky Blue’s case because it’s almost literally impossible to do worse. But how much will they improve? Enough to catch any of the seven ahead of them?

Luis Hernandez: The two worst teams in the league still have a long way to go. The thing about both those teams is they have more what ifs than the rest. We can already sense the wheels fell off the wagon for Sky Blue or are close to that. Washington has a bit better talent, but I have serious coaching concerns

Charles Olney: The little I saw of Washington in the preseason suggests they’re on a more coherent track. And they’re building heavily around Andi Sullivan, which might be what it takes to get a great season from her. If so, they could actually be quite solid in the midfield and attack. But…the defense is really going to be an issue.

Luis Hernandez: If either team has the players lose faith in the coach , things will get worse. The hot seat is more on Sky Blue though since the club fired Tony Novo. The team named Alyse LaHue as interim general manager so to me if the team is bad and a new GM comes in then why not bring in a new coach that the new GM can pick.

Bottom line for me is that Sky Blue and Washington will remain the two teams at the bottom of the table.

RJ Allen: I worry that these two teams are both a year away from not being teams anymore. And that is a lot of pressure to put on a bunch of young players who have a lot of things to worry about overall.

Alright, we are out of time, so will have to hold off any further thoughts on Sky Blue and Washington until next week. Fortunately, they’re playing each other to kick things off, so that should give us a much clearer sense about what sort of improvements they have (or have not) made.

Thanks for reading. And enjoy the return of the NWSL this weekend!

Backline Chat: Becca Moros, Just for the GIFs

Posted on March 20, 2019 by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome to our Backline Soccer slack chat for the week. It’s been a long cold winter, but the NWSL is finally on its way back, and we are excited to get back into the swing of things.

We’re going to start things off with the preseason. We’ve had some roster trimming already, but most teams still have a lot to do before they’re down to fighting weight. What have you seen so far that looks interesting? Any teams that look poised for big things?

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): Houston’s new head coach James Clarkson releasing players he knew he wouldn’t want early to give them a chance to go to another team instead of keeping them for practice is something that stood out to me. It’s a small thing but it shows a shift.

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): I’m surprised by the recent addition of Caitlin Farrell in Orlando. I didn’t expect her here, and a talent like her should make the competition for starting striker when the national team players are in France something to watch.

Charles Olney: Yeah, the Houston thing seemed like a nice move. Let people know where they actually stand; don’t just keep them around for the sake of keeping them around. As you say, it’s a small thing but it’s at least a signal that Clarkson might be on the right track.

Luis Hernandez: I was a little bummed to see Nickolette Driesse gone in NC. I had hoped she would find a way to stick with an NWSL team. Hopefully, she finds a team overseas.

Charles Olney: In theory, I like what they’re trying to do up at Washington. They still don’t really have any defenders, but at least from these opening games, it seems like there might be some more coherence to how they set up.

From reports, Sullivan has been working as a deep-lying playmaker with Huster doing the tackling in front of her. That has a lot of potential, and might be important for getting Sullivan back on track.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I like the sound of that.

RJ Allen: It’s really hard with so little of the information to see in person. Some times preseason games are live tweeted but until we see some real soccer being played it’s hard for me to judge much of it.

Charles Olney: Luis, for Orlando, what are your thoughts about their midfield (or lack thereof)? On the most recent roster, they have a total of three (3) midfielders who aren’t college draftees or non-roster invitees. I know they’ve gotten by without much of a midfield for a couple years now, but…are they really going to keep this up?

Luis Hernandez: I think the Pride are deeper at midfield than how it’s listed on the roster. Camila is listed as a forward for example. I also really liked what I saw when Abby Elinsky was on the pitch for the team. I think there are two things to consider, 1) Dani Weatherholt is the veteran on the team who needs to step up, 2) Coach Marc Skinner’s message that he’s focused on developing the players he has to work with.

Charles Olney: It will certainly be interesting to see how they set up. Skinner has a good track record, and I’ll be curious to see what he does with the team.

Luis Hernandez: He mentions his time in Birmingham City where he had a starting goalkeeper who was 17 and he believes will eventually get time with the Lionesses in the future.

Charles Olney: I was a big Sermanni fan, and thought he managed to make an unbalanced roster work pretty well in 2017, but it didn’t seem like he had any great answers last year. And Elinsky is a nice point for Orlando. I wrote a piece about replacement level players, and Elinsky is a great example of someone who probably isn’t (at the moment) good enough to start regularly, but who can still add a lot of value by plugging gaps. And if you’ve got someone willing to work, there’s always potential to grow.

Luis Hernandez: The Pride will definitely have a new playing style which I’m curious how well it will work out.

Kat Farris (@farrisphotos): Labbe is back in NWSL with North Carolina.

Allison Cary: Yeah, happy to see Labbe back. And curious to see what role she plays in North Carolina.

Charles Olney: Any other thoughts about rosters? There hasn’t been much movement this offseason, but Washington has picked up some Australians. Dagny is back in Portland. Houston signed Sophie Schmidt recently. Anything that jumps to mind as potentially significant?

RJ Allen: I am very interested to see if Sky Blue has a defense this year with the move they made with Washington.

Luis Hernandez: The only announced preseason match with the Courage will be more measuring stick than anything else.

Charles Olney: Yeah, Sky Blue has to be one of the biggest question marks.

RJ Allen: I do not believe 538 is near the mark on how many points Sky Blue will have but I think they end up with more than in 2018.

Charles Olney: Looking at the roster, they’re actually not that bad in theory. But how will the group play together? How much are players willing to invest? Can they find a way to band together to solve problems when they pop up?

Allison Cary: Looking at the roster, they didn’t look that bad last year.

Charles Olney: Exactly.

RJ Allen: Allison is correct.

Charles Olney: I could easily see them hanging right there with the pack all season. They won’t lose almost anyone to the World Cup. And if the team spirit is high, they could scrounge plenty of points here and there. But if things start out bad, it’s easy to see everyone just hanging their heads and waiting for the axe to fall.

Allison Cary: Especially if things don’t change with the off-the-field situation. Or at least, don’t change enough.

Kat Farris: I had to reread that. I was having flashbacks of 2018 Pride

Luis Hernandez: I think the early part of the schedule favors Sky Blue and they could get a favorable result. I’m not going to bet the farm on a win just yet.

RJ Allen: I am a little surprise we’re not seeing more movement. Trades aren’t the most common thing in the NWSL but they happen more than they have this off season.

Allison Cary: Yeah, it’s been really quiet.

Charles Olney: Do you think it has something to do with it being a World Cup year? Maybe everyone is more focused on bolstering their ranks and not as worried about topline moves?

Luis Hernandez: Okay, RJ has a point, but I would say that traditional sellers like Orlando have started to switch things up and are holding assets more. Maybe GMs in the league are preparing for beyond 2019 with *whispers* expansion…

Kat Farris: Are national allocations official yet?

RJ Allen: Yes. They have been out for a few weeks.

Charles Olney: Speaking of which, what do people think about the allocations?

RJ Allen: Overall I wonder why the number is so low. They are able to have 4 or 5 more players allocated than they have. Which in a World Cup year you’d think you’d want those few players who might make the roster to already be on the payroll.

Luis Hernandez: There are limited allocations, I don’t know how many are called out in the CBA, but maybe the federation needs to be selective.

RJ Allen: They have a range they can pick from and from what I read they went with the minimum.

Luis Hernandez: I wonder how the lawsuit will eventually impact the CBA or future CBA negotiations

Charles Olney: And of those selected, it’s certainly hard to explain why Allie Long, for example, is still allocated and Davidson is not…assuming that you’re looking purely at value to the national team. But it’s pretty clear they’re looking at things beyond that. The question is whether that’s okay.

Luis Hernandez: I think Davidson needs to prove more to Ellis that she deserves it. Jane Campbell for example got allocated early without showing much

RJ Allen: It is odd that Morgan Brian is and Davidson isn’t, Long being another. But maybe Ellis is less sold on Davidson to the World Cup than we all think?

Kat Farris: It always amazes me how much of soccer revolves around not soccer

Luis Hernandez: I think it’s more contractual. That’s all I can think of which would explain it.

Kat Farris: Maybe they’re waiting to see a few more games from Tierna since coming back from injury?

Charles Olney: It seems pretty obvious to me that allocations are treated like a sinecure, where you have to really justify ‘taking one away,’ while a young player like Davidson can be effectively required to leave college early and then still not be granted an allocation.

Luis Hernandez: I really think the answer may be more simple than we realize. Like A-Rod being allocated for as long as she was.

RJ Allen: A-Rod had to be because she was on maternity leave. She couldn’t have it taken away during that window.

Luis Hernandez: Right. Maybe this is also a contractual allocation. Like maybe in the CBA there’s a provision for team veterans to have an extra allocation year before getting dropped

Charles Olney: It’s also weird that allocation decisions happen in December but aren’t announced until the spring and then don’t really ‘take effect’ until the start of the season in April. All of which is to say: the allocation system is terrible.

But, of course, the allocation system will be around a while longer, since it was bargained in the recent CBA. Which takes us nicely to our next topic…

What is going on with the US National Team and US Soccer?

RJ Allen: The difficulties the USWNT and USSF are having really do highlight the issues with the two very different systems the MNT and WNT work under.

The problem is neither party can control the reasons the two systems are so different. Which makes cases like this that much harder.

Luis Hernandez: RJ hit the nail right on the head.

Charles Olney: I think that’s an important point. It’s pretty clear to me that the system is not working well, and that US Soccer has some obligation to do more than they are currently doing. But it’s also clear that there’s not really a simple solution. Given the different dynamics, any treatment is necessarily going to look very different across the two teams.

RJ Allen: But why things like meal pay and flights are different is just USSF being cheap on the women’s side. On top of being plain stupid when it comes to marketing and things like kits.

Luis Hernandez: If player compensation was exactly the same between the men and women, there would be serious impacts in the league.

Allison Cary: Yeah, there are some things that are related to the different contracts/systems and some things that I think that USSF just thinks they can get away with.

Charles Olney: Exactly. US Soccer does actually have some decent arguments in a few places. But it’s incredibly hard to take their side overall when they’re so obviously failing to meet minimal standards in the places where it would be really easy to do so.

Luis Hernandez: I like that USSF now uses charter planes to move the USWNT like they do for the men. I dislike that USSF doesn’t think a women’s open cup is worth having. I had to get that in.

Charles Olney: RJ, can you develop that point about the kits a little more? It’s blown up a bit on twitter in the last 24 hours, but is worth digging into since it’s such a good demonstration.

RJ Allen: US Soccer’s issue is they are just flat out bad at some things. Right now if you go to their website you can’t buy a women’s kit. And men’s kits are not able to have three stars.

They are leaving a ton of money on the table by holding the kits back until May for the women and not allowing men’s cut kits to have three stars at all.

Charles Olney: I bought one of the three star kits a couple years ago when they were available. But if I remember correctly it took them almost a year after the 2015 tournament to actually make them. And now they’re unavailable again.

Allison Cary: I was just talking to a male friend earlier this week who wants to buy a three-star kit and is just waiting for them to come out.

RJ Allen: I do not understand the argument I’ve seen made that it will “confuse” people to see a men’s cut jersey with three stars. Of all the arguments to pick, that is the dumbest.

Luis Hernandez: I’m more than happy to correct anyone that would confuse a men’s three star kit if they thought that was for the men’s team

Allison Cary: I didn’t even know that argument existed and that is the worst.

Luis Hernandez: Not to give the federation any breaks, but is that also on Nike?

RJ Allen: Nike has not had this issue with other countries though, Luis.

Charles Olney: My understanding is that Nike is the one making the choices about what to make available. But my understanding is also that huge organizations like US Soccer has the ability to discuss marketing strategy with Nike. Basically, if they genuinely cared about getting their product out, it would be out.

Luis Hernandez: The kit supplier should know better when it’s the like of Nike. I’m assuming they want to make money selling WNT gear.

RJ Allen: They are assuming there is no market or a market not worth investing in. And then saying “see there is nothing here” to not have to do more work in growing that market. For an org that loves money, both Nike and USSF, I do not understand the choices in kits or marketing.

Allison Cary: Sexism over money? It’s like the sexism is so embedded that, as RJ said, they’re convinced they won’t sell without any proof that’s true. Like you could be making money but your sexism is preventing you from being logical.

Charles Olney: Which really brings us around the core of the problem with all of these arguments about equality, market demand, revenue, and so forth. When you have institutions that are uninterested or unwilling in putting in the work to grow, develop, and sell a product, that product is obviously going to struggle more than if you have an enthusiastic actor trying to get everyone involved. With so many of these conversations, we’re talking about years, decades, of neglect. Which makes it impossible to assess what ‘really’ should be going on.

We saw 60,000 turn up for a women’s soccer match in Spain this weekend. We’ve seen huge numbers in Mexico. We’ve seen some of the big European countries selling out their pre-World Cup matches. Those are all great signs. But they’re also a reminder that there is potentially a LOT of demand, but demand which doesn’t have clear avenues for expression a lot of the time.

Allison Cary: I know a lot of people who are soccer fans. They watch men’s soccer because it is accessible, and they would support women’s soccer, but they feel it is such a struggle to get access.

Luis Hernandez: But are we underestimating the popularity of soccer in other parts of the world. I find a lot of people across the board that still have a hangup on watch/supporting a sport because it’s played by women

Allison Cary: I’m by no means trying to say those people don’t exist, I just think that we shouldn’t assume everyone is like that. When I was in England, there were plenty of old, white men who watched the Chelsea women’s games. And I spoke to more who said they would watch the matches if they were on TV or go to games if they were played at the same stadium as the men.

Luis Hernandez: There should be more fans of sports that watch/support the game regardless of the gender of the players.

Allison Cary: I also met people who automatically dismissed women’s soccer simply because it was played by women, so I’m not trying to say everyone would watch it if it were available, but it would matter.

Kat Farris: You can’t sell a product only the dedicated few know exists and expect to increase your market/grow the game

Charles Olney: I think that it’s absolutely true that there are a lot of soccer fans who aren’t realistically available for women’s soccer marketing. They have expectations and aren’t interested in changing them. But it’s also true that the worldwide soccer audience is unbelievably large, and you don’t need to persuade everyone. Just getting the people on the margins, who might be willing to take a look, could go a long way.

And of course social expectations do change, even for people who seem dyed-in-the-wool. I say this as someone with family in Atlanta who cared 0.00% about soccer until a couple years ago and NEVER would have thought it was possible that they’d follow the sport.

Luis Hernandez: I was going to say something on a lack of a league TV deal, but I didn’t want to go off the rails.

Charles Olney: A topic for another week, for sure.

Alright, let’s take a little time to get back to things on the pitch before we close up for the week.

Since we last chatted, the US completed the SheBelieves Cup. It didn’t go well. But it also wasn’t a disaster. How is everyone feeling about the team at this point?

RJ Allen: I do not for the life of me understand why Sam Mewis is not starting every game.

Charles Olney: I’ve been a mild skeptic in the “Mewis would fix everything” debates. But even so, I completely agree. I don’t think she’d fix everything, but she sure would help.

RJ Allen: I think Dunn is a great player but she has been made into a pure attacker and her defending during a World Cup scares me. Ellis has to find another outside back and hope O’Hara stays healthy.

Allison Cary: I completely agree on the Dunn point.

Luis Hernandez: I’m not a believer in Rose being a starter when we have the roster at full strength. I would rather see Mewis, Ertz and Horan.

RJ Allen: I do wonder overall why the USWNT pool of outside backs is as weak as I think we’ve ever seen it.

Charles Olney: It is weird. I feel like two years ago we were marveling at all the young exciting fullbacks who were coming up. And they’ve pretty much all flamed out.

RJ Allen: Honestly if Kristie Mewis hadn’t gotten hurt, I wouldn’t have minded her getting a look.

Charles Olney: I suppose it’s also worth noting that we’d arguably be having a different conversation if Hinkle had decided that she was okay wearing a pride jersey.

Luis Hernandez: Accurate.

Allison Cary: Yep.

RJ Allen: Hinkle showed herself not to be someone the team could depend on. That is the biggest USWNT sin.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t feel good that Short didn’t get playing time.

Charles Olney: With Short, I have to imagine there’s something about how she’s doing in training. Because it’s such an obvious HUGE problem right now, and based on her form of a year or so ago, it seems obvious that she should be getting some time. But she did miss a lot of time last year, and I’m not sure she ever really got back to her peak for Chicago. So maybe she just has genuinely lost a step and it’s been obvious in training?

RJ Allen: I do still wish the US would call up the eligible outside backs on each team and just give them a go. Honestly just try everyone and see who sticks. Becca Moros just for the gifs.

Luis Hernandez: I think club play is going to favor more for those bubble roster players and perhaps we’ll see someone surprise us and make the jump to the national team.

Charles Olney: [Whispers]: Sofia Huerta?

RJ Allen: Charles. Don’t be mean. Houston doesn’t even play her as an outside back.

Charles Olney: I mean, she still can’t really defend, but…what evidence do we have that Ellis cares about that? Is all I’m saying.

RJ Allen: Honestly have HAO play outside back. At least she would be good for team chemistry.

Charles Olney: I detect no lies there.

RJ Allen: One last thing I want to throw out there is the fact that the US Soccer Hall of Fame vote is going to happen soon. And there are some USWNT players up for possible selection.

Luis Hernandez: Excellent point RJ.

RJ Allen: Look, Boxx, Chalupny, Holiday, Sawa, Markgraf and Wambach should get in, in a landslide. But they likely won’t other than Wambach.

Luis Hernandez: I wouldn’t be repping Orlando right, if I also didn’t mention Tiffany Roberts who now coaches at UCF. She’s on the ballot in the Veteran category

Charles Olney: The US Soccer Hall of Fame is a weird institution, covering the men (a not very successful group of players compared to the rest of the world), the women (the best group of players in the world), and foreign players who have had a big impact here. It’s just kind of hard to even comprehend how you can jam all those together in a coherent way.

Allison Cary: Very true.

Charles Olney: Like, Amy LePeilbet was one probably top 20 at her position in the whole world, right? But she’s like 12th on this list for women who deserve induction. Compare to someone like Carlos Bocanegra, who was one of the KEY players for the US men over a full decade, and one of our most successful players in a top European league. But…at his best, he was a useful player for a mediocre Fulham team.

I also saw someone pointing out that when/if Markgraf gets inducted, the entire starting XI for the 99ers will be inducted. Which seems bizarre. How can the whole team be in the Hall of Fame? Except, of course they’re all in. They’re all ridiculously good!

RJ Allen: It is not enough to have been great during your years of international and domestic play if you’re on the women’s side. The women have five current forwards that would make the hall of fame for nearly every other country in the world. It’s not enough to have simply defined your position internationally during your time on the national team, you have to be the best to have ever played it.

Either the standard for the men seeking induction needs to be raised to meet the level of Hamm and Overbeck and the rest of the supremely talented women who have made it into the Hall or the standard for the women needs to come back down to earth.

Charles Olney: To be honest, I don’t really see it getting worked out. I think it will just continue to stumble along like a drunken sailor, getting enough of the big decisions right for people to continue talking about it, but not enough right to be a fully credible institution.

And with that, we will close things out for today. Thanks for reading everyone. And as always, let us know if you have any topics you’d like to hear us discuss in future weeks!

Backline Chat: Welcome to a World Cup Year

Posted on January 25, 2019 by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Hello, and welcome to our first Slack Chat of 2019. I hope everyone had a good new year, and is excited for a big year. To kick things off, I thought we should start with some fun stuff before turning to some of the more depressing elements in recent news. So…it’s a World Cup year! What is everyone most excited for in 2019?

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): I really am looking forward to watching the first time teams in the World Cup.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I’m excited to see Scotland and I’m excited to see if France can keep playing quality football.

RJ Allen: Kim Little on the world’s stage? Yes, please.

Allison Cary: My sister is going to school in Scotland so it’s particularly exciting for this to be going on while she’s there.We’re hoping to catch a game in France.

Charles Olney: My honest answer is simply that I’m excited for the incredible opportunity to be in Europe this summer, which means I’ll be able to see a bunch of the World Cup in person. And I’m obviously excited for the chance to see the US make a deep run. But in terms of storylines, I think there’s just so much potential. Could France finally win a title? Could England or Australia take that next step? Could some of these new rising powers like Spain and Italy make the leap into the inner circle? Can some of the new teams put their mark on the tournament.

RJ Allen: I have a lot of questions about the World Cup but you’re right, there are some really amazing storylines.

Allison Cary: So much potential.

Charles Olney: I’d love to see the US win, but I have to admit that a new winner would probably make for a more interesting tournament.

RJ Allen: US, Norway, Germany, and Japan are the only winners. It would be nice to see another name added to the list.

Allison Cary: If France wins, per a previous slackchat, I’m obligated to move to France. I’m not opposed to that lol.

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): I’m looking forward to the matches and if New Zealand can get out of the group. Plus how the NWSL will handle absences.

Charles Olney: If it were to be a first-time winner, who do people think is most likely? France is probably the obvious pick, especially given their recent victory over the US, but are people still high on some of the other big teams?

RJ Allen: I would have guessed Australia two weeks ago.

Allison Cary: I would say Australia but I’m not sure with the latest coaching drama.

RJ Allen: Now? I don’t know. France or maybe England? I’d love to see Canada get one for Sinc.

Allison Cary: England maybe? I’m not sure if they’re ready to go all the way.

RJ Allen: I really would like a team other than the US to win. I think it’s better for soccer world wide if other teams can take down the US now and again.

Allison Cary: I agree with RJ.

Charles Olney: I was looking over the betting odds this morning, and put up a tweet. I have to say that the odds look a little off to me, but I’m curious if others think so.

Implied probability of winning the World Cup, according to betting odds.

Looks like there's a lot of value in the betting markets, TBH. pic.twitter.com/wNWA3ONtoR
— Charles Olney (@olneyce) January 24, 2019

RJ Allen: I do not think these betting books know Germany’s state of affairs right now.

Charles Olney: I still think the German team has a lot of potential, but yeah, I certainly don’t think recent evidence suggests they belong in a tier with the US and France.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I’m also not that confident in Japan.

RJ Allen: This is, to me at least, proof that while betting markets are not great now, they might drive some change. The house wants to keep their money. So they are going to need some better stats and better people predicting these things. They might drive that area.

Charles Olney: I think it’s interesting that Spain is right up there. I really enjoyed watching them against the US this week, but I felt like they were still a little under the radar. I wonder whether some of that is people transposing their judgments about the quality of the men’s team.

RJ Allen: Brazil being so high might be the same thing.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I think Spain could make a decent run, but I don’t see them going all the way. They looked better than expected against the US, but not quite there yet.

RJ Allen: Can we all agree if North Carolina was in the World Cup (at full roster) they would be on the top 5 in the list?

Charles Olney: Definitely. I was actually thinking about them and Lyon and how they’d fare if they attended the World Cup. And I think it’s a good sign for the game in general that we’re getting close to the point where the very highest level of soccer is at the club level rather than the international level. We’re not quite there yet, but the tipping point might be coming soon.

Charles Olney: Okay, so turning the attention toward the US in particular, I’m curious if anyone has any broader thoughts about the recent friendlies. Anything to worry about there, or just a normal way to kick off the year?

Luis Hernandez: No worries for the first two matches after months being off for me.

RJ Allen: I think a lot of the worry about the games are going to end up not being founded. They have been off for a few months, it’s their pre season, a lot of players aren’t playing or have been hurt. If they look like this in May I will worry. But right now, no.

Allison Cary: I’m not worried about the U.S. Maybe it’s just me, but I learned more about the U.S. opponents in these two friendlies than I did the U.S.

Luis Hernandez: I enjoyed how Spain moved the ball. Didn’t know they were skilled to do that for their team.

RJ Allen: I agree with Allison. I think we learned a lot about France.

RJ Allen: We had no real answer for Henry. And while Horan should be able to match her, this game she very much did not.

Charles Olney: One impression I got from talking with the French players and coaches at that game: it mattered to them. A lot. They really wanted to lay down a marker, and it showed in the performance. That’s a great sign for a team that’s often struggled a bit to handle the pressure. I think they’re ready this time.

RJ Allen: That to me is a big deal. France doesn’t seem to really fear the US, at least in that match.

Allison Cary: Yeah, which caught my eye. France seemed really ready to prove that they belonged in that top tier.

Charles Olney: The US may still end up beating them in the quarterfinals, and we may end up talking about yet another France team that underperformed. But right now, I feel as confident about France as I ever have.

Allison Cary: They weren’t intimidated. They played their game. If they do that in June… they’re dangerous.

RJ Allen: Also, can we talk about the packaging of the games themselves for a moment? They were not really featured games. They weren’t cash cows. They were in Europe. The game against Spain was in the middle of a day. That feels big for the US in general.

Charles Olney: Yeah, that’s a great point. The US has often treated friendlies more as opportunities to make money than anything else. And they arguably still have a few of those coming up later in the spring. But on the whole, this seems like a team that’s keeping their eyes on the prize. And that’s a good thing.

Charles Olney: So, that’s a lot of positives. But I do want to focus our attention on two other stories that have been dominating the news lately, which are less encouraging. One is the confusing and troubling story surrounding the coaching change at Australia. The other is the persistent moving disaster that is Sky Blue FC. Let’s start local and discuss the unfortunate team in New Jersey.

RJ, you had some reporting that just came out about events there. And we’ve had a couple other stories recently about the continuing problems. At this point I almost don’t know where to start.

RJ Allen: So I have had a lot of conversations in the last few months with people that are no longer with Sky Blue. About a week about I spoke to someone still much more connected.

As I think you and I have spoken about on the 123rd Minute, Reddy had largely escaped conversation. And this person made it clear that is a mistake.

Charles Olney: I almost feel like we spent so much time in 2018 talking about the problems at the management level that we all really wanted to construct a narrative where the coach and the players were innocent victims just trying to survive in a cruel world. But your reporting makes it seem like Reddy maybe should have come in for a lot more criticism at the time. It was certainly strange to see a team that honestly had a lot of talented players do SO wretchedly bad week in and week out. And it was peculiar how the coach never really seemed to come in for the kind of criticism we’d expect.

RJ Allen: The information I have really does paint a picture of someone who sucked in as much power as they were able, due in large part of the issues in management, and had a hard time using that for the benefit of the players.

Charles Olney: It does strike me as a situation where it would be incredibly hard to succeed. So it’s possible that in more favorable conditions, Reddy might have sailed along just fine. So I certainly hope that none of this ends up taking away attention from the major problems at the top. But it’s definitely important to look at all parts of the picture.

On that note, as we are talking here it’s been two weeks since the draft. There, Tony Novo promised significant news on progress would come ‘within 30 days.’ Is anyone holding out hope that we’ll actually see something meaningful there?

Allison Cary: Nope.

Charles Olney: And if not, do we think Sky Blue is going to actually make it to the end of the season with enough players to fill a starting XI every game?

RJ Allen: No.

Allison Cary: No.

RJ Allen: They might have enough players because as we all know people dream of playing pro. There are enough ex NCAA players in New Jersey to fill in an XI. Look at Sky Blue’s roster in the past. They have always counted on local players. More than most.

Charles Olney: I do still hold out a little bit of hope that the remaining players manage to band together and fight this out, like you’d see in a classic sports movie where the underdogs find a way to show everyone their spirit. And there IS still a decent amount of talent theoretically on that roster. But as each week goes on, I find it harder and harder to be positive.

RJ Allen: My question is though, what does that buy? If they win games, what does that buy other than some cover to keep the team going? It might make the players a bit happier but all it does it prolong the fate that is written on the walls.

Allison Cary: Yeah, perpetuating a bad system isn’t necessarily good. Unfortunately, Sky Blue struggling along could do more harm than good.

RJ Allen: And I admit I am a bit pessimistic about all of this. But still.

Charles Olney: At this point, I think the best case scenario is a modestly positive year, which will allow everyone to feel good about moving on during the next offseason when they’re pushed out of the league…or when someone who will make real changes comes in to buy them out. But I agree: doing just well enough to survive without making any real changes might be even worse than ‘raze the ground and then salt the earth after.’

Charles Olney: Alright, so another troubling story: Alen Stajcic, the coach of Australia, was let go under the cloud of a recent report describing ‘toxic’ conditions on the team. It’s a very strange story with quite a lot of it hidden from view. I’m curious if anyone has any clear thoughts about what it all means.

RJ Allen: I think the federation has handled this horribly. Even if he was released with 100% cause, the federation makes it look like a hit job in a way that makes them look worse.

Charles Olney: Can’t argue with that. It does seem like, based on the information they seem to have, firing him was the right call. But the manner in which it’s been done has been very rough.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I don’t feel like I have enough of the story to make a clear judgment. But it’s been weird.

Charles Olney: Which doesn’t really do any favors to anyone.

RJ Allen: Players seem caught off guard too. Which is never a great look.

Allison Cary: Yeah, their statements haven’t been a position reflection on the federation.

Charles Olney: Which makes me wonder about those players who contributed statements about the toxic environment. Are they just hanging back in silence, feeling like they were hung out to dry by this process? Are they feeling pressure to say positive things now, because that same toxic environment is lingering, as many of the players who liked Stajcic have said positive things?

It would be particularly cruel to make it even harder for players to be honest and clear about how they’ve been treated because the Federation doesn’t want to air their own dirty laundry.

RJ Allen: Without the details of what a “toxic environment” is, I’m not sure what to think. Does it mean not welcoming newer players or players without the pro polish to them? Does it mean abuse? Without details it’s left up to us to put name to it. Which is never good.

Allison Cary: Yeah, especially considering the England scandal is still fresh in a lot of people’s minds, it’s not hard to assume the worst.

Charles Olney: There have been some more details in some of the media reports that have come out after. Things like abusive comments, body shaming, harassment that’s unrelated to on-field performance. All of which does sound like a really negative culture. But none of those are official statements, so we still have to wonder. And yes, I totally agree with Allison that the context of the Mark Sampson affair absolutely can’t be forgotten.

RJ Allen: Seeing more senior players supporting Stajcic just makes it more difficult for everyone. Having Kerr and LDV and so on look like they are blind sided is going to make a lot of the fans question this all. Plus an assistant quit in protest.

Charles Olney: Alright, I think we’ll probably have more to say on this subject as we potentially get more information. But for now, why don’t we turn back to some more positives, and discuss the NWSL. We have the draft, and some trades to mull over. And I’m curious what y’all think about where teams stand going into 2019. Who has made progress? Anyone who looks like a good bet to break into the top 4? Anyone who made the playoffs last year that you think is in danger of dropping out?

Bearing in mind that this will be a strange year, where many of the top teams will be losing huge portions of their roster for half of the season or more. Is there anyone that will be relatively unharmed by the World Cup that looks poised to take advantage of that opportunity?

RJ Allen: North Carolina is going to win the league by > 9 points. NTers or no. That team will win on the underdog story all their “best” players are gone.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I agree.

RJ Allen: I think Chicago has a really good shot this year. Seattle with Groom will be fun too. And now that we’re in this part of the season I can’t wait for the Laura Harvey mega trade.

Allison Cary: Yeah, I like Utah.

Charles Olney: That’s definitely the thing that’s most been missing this offseason.

Allison Cary: Definitely.

Charles Olney: I’m personally very torn on Houston. I think there’s a decent chance that they suffer a bit of regression to the mean this year, dropping down a bit simply because they probably overperformed their talent a bit last year. On the other hand, they’ll have a roster that’s comparatively less hit by the World Cup. And maybe they actually take a step forward. If so, they could actually even sneak into a playoff spot. I’d certainly love to see a new team make the playoffs – whether Houston or Utah. It’s always good for a new set of fans to have a playoff team to support.

RJ Allen: If Daly is there all year, and I don’t think she will be, and Mewis the Elder is back, they have a really good shot.

Charles Olney: Anyone have any thoughts about Washington? Their new coach seems to think very highly of himself. Anyone believe that he’ll be able to back it up?

Allison Cary: Not really. I just haven’t seen anything promising.

RJ Allen: I think that he is going to have some :fire: quotes from post games.

Charles Olney: I’d like to believe they have a plan. But…it’s a little hard to see how it’s supposed to work. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for them, I guess.

Alright, any final thoughts on the world of women’s soccer before we wrap up for the day? Any other stories that have piqued your interest?

RJ Allen: I am so glad we got to see soccer from the US. I missed it.

Allison Cary: The Afghan women’s national team story has gone a little quiet. It’s hard not to feel pessimistic there, but I think it’s important to just mention it.

RJ Allen: I agree.

Charles Olney: Absolutely. There’s just so much depressing news out there. It can feel overwhelming trying to keep up with it all.

Allison Cary: Absolutely.

Charles Olney: That’s kind of a grim note to finish on, but I think that’s alright. There’s plenty to be excited about too, of course, but it’s important to always remember how much work there still is to do.

Alright, thanks everyone for participating, and thanks to the folks out there for reading. We’ve got a big year coming up and are excited to get to share it with you.

Backline Chat: Goodbye Go90, Hello Mexico, and the Tournament of Nations

Posted on August 1, 2018 by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Hi everyone, and welcome to the Backline Soccer chat. Today we’re going to spend some time talking about international soccer, particularly the Tournament of Nations. But first, can we all pour one out for go90, which is officially shuffling off the stage today? Will anyone be lamenting its departure?

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): Do we know how the NWSL is handling who will be calling games? Because I can’t remember hearing about that.

Charles Olney: We can hope that they haven’t found anyone and we’ll just get crowd noise.

Becky Schoenecker(@Beckster20): That’s a pretty great take.

RJ Allen: Jon Lipsitz would do it really cheap, NWSL.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I haven’t had to use the app in the last year, since I’ve been in the UK. But I can’t say I’ve seen anyone who is sad to see it go.

Charles Olney: I actually hope that they return to local broadcasters. I’ve been a pretty big critic of that approach in the past, but the more that I’ve soured on the current system, the more I’ve wondered if I was too harsh on the old approach. It would be nice to get some more perspective on the differences.

RJ Allen: I am a fan of local baseball broadcasters and that’s a lot of the feeling I got from the best of the local broadcasters from the NWSL in years past. So I’d be happy with that return.

Becky Schoenecker: Having announcers who are actually at the games is a huge positive if they’re able to swing it.

Allison Cary: It works well in other sports. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for the NWSL.

RJ Allen: Some crews were not good. But there were some that were really fun. #BringBackAnnSchatz

Luis Hernandez: I guess I’ll take the opposite side here. I remember the broadcast team the Pride used year one. It wasn’t great. They sometimes didn’t know the player names or mispronounced them worse than the go90 team

Charles Olney: All that said, my guess is that they’ll retain the services of the same broadcasters we’ve been getting, since the actual production company is a separate institution, which was only sending the feed to go90.

RJ Allen: Way to be a downer, Charles.

Charles Olney: But in typical NWSL fashion, they probably won’t tell us anything one way or the other until 2 minutes before the games return.

RJ Allen: Likely you’re right though. But maybe next year we can either get the games on ESPN+ or another way where it’s more consistent.

Luis Hernandez: I like some of the broadcasters now. I just wish I had more of a tie with them as they called the game.

RJ Allen: Also on site would help. So much.

Luis Hernandez: Instead it’s like “who are you and why do I care about you calling the game?” I mean knowing Dan or Jen being the person who called games means something to me because I care/respect their opinions during the match.

Charles Olney: Alright, while we’re on the subject of the NWSL, I’ve got two other things I want to get some quick thoughts about. First: Sky Blue and Chicago had to cancel their game this weekend. Thoughts on that? Is this another example of the Mickey Mouse operation that Sky Blue is running, or just an unfortunate thing that will happen when you’re running a league on a small budget?

RJ Allen: I think it is showing that a lot of teams do not think long term ahead. Teams flay out less than 24 hours before a match in some cases which isn’t ideal for the players bodies. And when something goes wrong there isn’t enough time to sort it out either.

Luis Hernandez: It’s hard to be critical of an operation when the cause is weather, but part of me still kind of thinks that it was due to a Sky Blue screw up that just happened to be connected to the weather.

RJ Allen: Yes, was it bad luck. Sure. But bad luck keeps happening to them too.

Allison Cary: Yeah, it seems like it could have been avoided with better planning.

Luis Hernandez:Orlando learned about travel in the league the first year and now they give themselves two days in Portland and Seattle. What is Sky Blue’s excuse?

RJ Allen: The flights are cheaper. They take whatever flight is cheapest.

Luis Hernandez:The most recent West Coast swing saw the team stay out on the road instead of flying back to Florida. I assumed other teams did the same thing. Or did Sky Blue not have a west coast swing?

RJ Allen: They may have but this was a one off in terms of travel.

Charles Olney: Second NWSL-adjacent question: North Carolina just won the ICC, after winning matches against PSG and Lyon. How big a deal is this? I’ll start by noting that I literally did not know what ICC actually stood for, and just had to look it up. It’s the International Champions Cup. Not the International Criminal Court.

RJ Allen: I think it’s a 6/10. Yes, Lyon hasn’t played as a unit since May but their starts have played for NT since and it’s not like they are inexperienced players.

I really think it matters no matter if it is their preseason or not.

Allison Cary: I think beating Lyon is a statement. People often say Lyon is the best club in the world (myself included). Beating the best club in the world when you have players on NT duty? That’s impressive.

Luis Hernandez: I think it’s a huge deal that won’t get treated as such because those other teams are in preseason while the Courage are in midseason shape

If the script had been flipped I know the narrative would have been “Of course N.C. losses to OL, what did you expect?”

RJ Allen: I would also like to point out it wasn’t like every Courage player was in mid season form as a starter. Neil Morris has a great chart in one of his pieces that showed that a lot of the players hadn’t played or played much this year.

Charles Olney: I’d probably put it at a 5/10. It’s a preseason game, and it’s hard to overstate how unimportant results are in preseason games. But it’s still a cool result. And perhaps more important, I think it demonstrates just how seriously the North Carolina team buys into their message. To play that intensely, and to achieve that result, with a half-strength team shows just how committed they really are.

As we’ve discussed before, I would LOVE to see a full strength NC and Lyon facing off. This wasn’t that, but it was still cool.

Luis Hernandez: If anything I credit Paul Riley and this makes him a lock to me as coach of the year

RJ Allen: I would also like to point out it would be hard for these teams to both be at full power and play each other with how their seasons go. Possible, maybe but it would be at a very random or difficult time. It’s partly why I have issues with a club world cup.

Charles Olney: In the long term, I think a club world cup would be interesting and potentially could be taken more seriously than it ever could on the men’s side. The problem for the men is that all the best teams in the world play in Europe, so it’s a redundant event. But on the women’s side, there are GREAT teams that would otherwise never play. But I agree the logistics are tough.

Luis Hernandez: I’d rather see an Open Cup in the US before a club World Cup. Club World Cup is just a few steps below to me on priorities

RJ Allen: Oh lord. Pro teams should not play amateur teams.

Charles Olney: That’s an interesting topic, which we should cover soon here. But for now, let’s turn to the main topic at the moment: international soccer. In particular, the Tournament of Nations. I saw some folks saying that the US and Australia match this weekend was a potential preview of next year’s World Cup final. Do people agree that these are maybe the top two teams in the world right now?

RJ Allen: I think it could very well be a knock out game. But unless FIFA starts seeding teams better the Aussies and the US could play in the opening round for all we know.

Allison Cary: I think Australia and the US are two of the best teams in the world right now. But I agree with RJ’s point about seeding.

RJ Allen: I do think the Aussies are much higher than their 8th place FIFA ranking though. They have a lot of great players who work well together. And they were missing their starting outside back in this match.

Charles Olney: Personally, I don’t think it would be fair to set the US and Australia on a separate tier from some of the other competitors. But I wouldn’t argue if you wanted to call them 1A and 1B, with teams like England, France, etc. falling just a hair below them.

Allison Cary: For the record, I’m not saying they’re *the* best. But like RJ said, I think the Aussies are higher than 8th. I put them in a pretty elite class.

Charles Olney: For Australia, I think it was impressive how well the played in a game where Sam Kerr was very quiet. It can be tempting to think of them as primarily a vehicle for Kerr, but they absolutely aren’t. It’s a solid team from top to bottom.

RJ Allen: I was at the games in CT. There was a much, much different feeling watching the game between the US and Australia than there was for Japan and Brazil. The pace, what the players were doing, the way they were connecting and defending each other. All of it was just on another level for US v AUS.

Charles Olney: That’s a great point, RJ. And it provides some evidence that the Tournament of Nations matters, even if it’s fundamentally an imaginary, constructed event. By pitting these teams against each other twice in 12 months, it created an opportunity for a real rivalry.

Luis Hernandez: The main takeaway I get from ToN is that the USWNT has lost its mystique and intimidation factor. Other teams don’t fear the US anymore

RJ Allen: I don’t think that’s a bad thing though.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t think it is either. It should drive to make the team and players better.

Charles Olney: Regarding intimidation, when did the US really have that, though? Certainly not in the Olympics. Last World Cup? Didn’t feel like it. Before that? I’d maybe say that these games have been more about Australia showing that they’re ready to take on anyone.

RJ Allen: Maybe 2012?

I do think there is a pretty healthy respect between the teams in terms of knowing they have to go all out. You saw players working all 90+ minutes in a way the US rarely has to. The US doesn’t have to play 90 against many teams and the Aussies have quickly become one they do. And that is great to see.

Charles Olney: Agreed.

Luis Hernandez: I agree with RJ on this one too.

Charles Olney: Any other thoughts people have about the ToN? How is the US playing? Standouts or stars?

RJ Allen: Zerboni changed the way the US played when she came on. From the way Sauerbrunn lined up behind her to the way the midfield pushed up. I could see the change the second she came on in how players played.

Luis Hernandez: I thought Davidson bounced back nicely from her SheBelieves performance

Allison Cary: I’m really disappointed that Jill Ellis is only starting Naeher. I’d particularly love to see Franch get some playing time.

Luis Hernandez: And I’m here for Dunn on the back line.

RJ Allen: I am not. She got beat, a lot. In a lot of spots the camera might not have picked up. Seeing it was rough.

Luis Hernandez: With the level of talent of the team, I want all our good players on the pitch as we can, if it makes sense. I don’t think Press has had much of a ToN

Charles Olney: My lukewarm big picture take is that the US setup is basically working as intended, and while I don’t think it’s the best possible usage of the available talent, it’s a fairly user-proof, which is a nice feature. So while I’m not thrilled with their approach, I also am finding it a lot harder to get truly worked up about tactics and things. The US hasn’t lost in a year, playing all of the world’s best teams, and that’s not a total coincidence.

In particular, I’m ready to mostly stop complaining about the lack of buildup through the middle. That’s just not how this team is going to play, and while I wish they would do something different, it’s probably time to stop tilting at that windmill.

Luis Hernandez: It’s hard to screw up a 4-3-3

RJ Allen: I do think people get way, way, way too worked up about the “US being in a downfall and OMG everything is horrible”. They are playing well enough to beat pretty much every team in the top 10 or at least draw.

This is not the 2015 team and I’d really like to see people accept that.

Allison Cary: I think there is a section of US fans that want them to always be dominant, and that doesn’t really work well with the evolving nature of the sport. We want other countries to invest more and other teams to be better. Teams like Australia challenging the US is a good thing for women’s soccer. But it might mean the US not winning every game they play (although as RJ pointed out, they’re still winning most games).

Charles Olney: Okay, any final thoughts on individuals players, positive or negative?

RJ Allen: I think the US has to move on from the “Becky Sauerbrunn will always save us” mentality because frankly she can’t anymore. She is still very much an 8.5/10 player. But she isn’t 9.5/10 anymore.

Charles Olney: I think that’s fair. She remains a fantastic player, and the US is much worse-off when she can’t play. But she isn’t unbeatable. It’s strange that after so long with the defense being the team’s main strength, it’s become a significant weakness in 2018.

RJ Allen: Not having O’Hara hurt them more than I expected. As Sauerbrunn said in the video they did together, O’Hara’s energy can change a match.

Charles Olney: Alright, final topic: the rest of CONCACAF. Last night Mexico and Costa Rica played, in a likely matchup of two teams that will be vying for an automatic WC bid in a few months. Did people get a chance to watch it? Thoughts on either team?

RJ Allen: I’m glad teams in the same range are playing each other. I think it is a much better test for them than either playing the US and getting beaten 5-0.

Charles Olney: I’ve been impressed with the progress of the Mexican team. As you say, they can’t really hang with the US, but I thought they played well in those April friendlies. And it looks like the trajectory is continuing to move in a positive direction. I wonder if the success of Liga MX Femenil might have a role to play in that?

Luis Hernandez: I didn’t watch it but I followed it on Twitter.

RJ Allen: I hope they open Liga MX Femenil up to anyone able to play for Mexico next season.

Charles Olney: I’m particularly excited because one half of the group stage for WC qualifying will be happening down in my neck of the woods. They haven’t officially announced locations apart from the US and Canada, but I’m hoping that Mexico ends up in that pod. I’d love to get a chance to see them live a few more times. (edited)

RJ Allen: It would make sense for them to put Mexico in that group.

Luis Hernandez: I thought it was great for Mexico. As I tweeted the other day, I think the Mexican federation had to do something since it wasn’t getting a ROI for NWSL

Luis Hernandez: I could see the change the second she came on in how players played. Creating Liga MX Femenil is a result of it and it’s improved he Mexican squad by leaps and bounds.

RJ Allen: I rather Mexico improve their league than send players into the NWSL and not. I think having Liga MX Femenil and the NWSL both in North America is better for soccer overall. And maybe one day open it up to players outside of Mexico.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t think Mexico has peaked yet either

RJ Allen: Mexico is 25 right now. I think by 2023 they could get near 15 or 14 if they keep investing.

Allison Cary: It’s definitely getting football fans in Mexico excited. At least female football fans.

Luis Hernandez: I think it’s just fans overall. This is what happens when both the men and women sides can use the same team crest

Luis Hernandez: Which I think would be a huge marketing win if teams in NWSL could do that

RJ Allen: I do not like that idea at all, whatsoever. They are not Orlando City Women. They are the Orlando Pride. They are not the Portland Timbers Women. They are the Portland Thorns. And so on. (edited)

Luis Hernandez: Doesn’t seem to hurt attendance in Mexico

Charles Olney: As with many things, I can see the arguments on both sides. I think in an environment where soccer teams already have huge, dedicated audiences, tapping in can be very helpful. The US doesn’t really have that, and charting out an independent identity seems to make a lot more sense. But I also completely get the concern about being designated as a secondary team making it hard to get out from the under that shadow.

Luis Hernandez: And you get clearly identifiable rivals. If you had Seattle Sounders women vs Portland Timbers women I think the crowd would be even bigger

RJ Allen: No. Fuck no. Hell no. All day, every day, no.

Allison Cary: I can’t get past the idea that Charles mentioned. The women will always be seen as secondary if they don’t have their own identity.

Luis Hernandez: You’re against LA Galaxy Orange County Women’s?

RJ Allen: I am out if the league starts doing that. I’ll go cover cornhole or something on ESPN.

Luis Hernandez: I’m just saying it’s a crest thing (representing the club) regardless of gender of the team

RJ Allen: Why on earth shouldn’t a different team have their own crest? Are fans not smart enough to understand they are under the same umbrella?

Luis Hernandez: In English football, I support the Blackburn Rovers. So I have a built-in interest in Rovers women’s side

RJ Allen: And if they were the Blackburn Bluejays how would that change the interest?

Luis Hernandez: Same club, different teams

RJ Allen: I don’t understand why they can’t have their own name and crest but under the same umbrella and that is the same.

Luis Hernandez: It would be easier for me to follow a women’s side at the top flight so I can track it better. I just have a natural interest for Blackburn.

RJ Allen: If your problem is people can’t remember the names of the women’s clubs then I can’t help you.

Luis Hernandez: That’s not it. It’s about the crest.

RJ Allen: They are not second-class citizens. They do not need to default to the men’s crest.

Luis Hernandez: But you’re missing my point, it isn’t a men’s crest to me at all. Just a club crest. I am not putting gender on a team symbol. Does that make sense?

Charles Olney: I think I’m on Team RJ here, but I think it’s to some extent a product of different naming conventions. In the US nicknames are part of the name, full stop. In Europe, they’re often informal or virtually nonexistent.

Allison Cary: In the UK, if I’m talking about Chelsea Women, they are absolutely seen as secondary. And up until recently they were still “Chelsea Ladies.” That might be able to change if clubs took the initiative, but so far they haven’t. And they have much bigger brand power than MLS. I don’t see how it would benefit a US women’s team to have a unified crest with a men’s side, all I can see is the NWSL becoming even more of an afterthought than it already is.

Luis Hernandez: I get what you are saying Allison and I don’t think you’re wrong at all. But I also see it work in Mexico and as far as I know France so maybe it can happen.

Allison Cary: I don’t think it really works well in France. I went to the Lyon-PSG match in Lyon in the city’s main stadium and attendance was pretty awful. And that was supposed to be one of their biggest games of the year.

RJ Allen: Just because something works in one market, doesn’t mean it works everywhere. See Portland.

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