Fiorentina seventh with a team full of internationals, Janogy & Severini among them, & fun players like Catena. They battered Roma at one point. And they could finish bottom half...So it's fair to say Serie A lacks the upper-end quality but a close distance between best and rest, almost NWSL level
Interesting from Yash. I've enjoyed catching up on Serie A recently and this makes a lot of sense. Roma are top but not convincing in a lot of games. Not much between them and Inter/Juve. Then you can chuck a blanket over fourth to eighth, and a fairly intense 3-4 team battle to avoid relegation
I think Dickey is the best #analysis
"Our good friend Blair Newman had an...intriguing little moment" haha. That will be my epitaph
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I like the idea of a 4-3-3 à la Juventus men's mid-90s with Del Piero Vialli Ravanelli up top. Portland can keep their zonal defence, compact the centre, and have three strikers ready to counter with. It's basically their performance vs Seattle but with Wilson alongside Tordin and Turner
My latest for @equalizersoccer.bsky.social focuses on how Portland could get the best out of three quality strikers: Sophia Wilson, Reilyn Turner and Pietra Tordin.
equalizersoccer.com/2026/04/08/t...
Minutes of defending per tackle (using Fotmob data):
Boston (1.8)
Utah (1.8)
Washington (1.9)
San Diego (2.0)
Seattle (2.0)
Houston (2.3)
Bay FC (2.3)
Angel City (2.4)
Gotham (2.4)
North Carolina (2.5)
Kansas City (2.7)
Orlando (2.7)
Portland (2.8)
Denver (2.9)
Louisville (2.9)
Chicago (3.1) ⬅️⬅️⬅️
We keep seeing Chicago players sprinting towards the ball and that's usually due to a teammate being beaten 1v1. It's a defensive chain reaction. Off-ball movements, rotations are well covered as ways of overloading, but the 1v1 is a simple, effective way. Take out a defender, cause chaos
Piggybacking off of Lesley's post here, and not singling out any player because I think it's a collective issue. Winning/losing 1v1s is a way to create an overload & Chicago don't seem to win many tackles. Angel City game was glaring in that sense & I don't think it's gotten much better since
Maybe the NWSL will be the making of her? @socratescousin.bsky.social
That will be Bay's Keira Barry called into the England squad...
My first thoughts watching her for their U23s: "I was very impressed by Keira Barry, an outside right who played with positivity and aggression, always looking to take on and produce a good cross."
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
bsky.app/profile/seco...
Yup, nightmare fuel for all left-backs...Sonis plays well just about anywhere either flank but I like her further up because she has the final action
Agree with you 100%. There a few times where Denver were easily able to drop someone back, overload in midfield, layoff, then release Sonis into acres on the right flank because no way is anyone following her all the way
You did very well to edit what was seemingly a 23-hour recording into two hours of podcast...I enjoyed chatting with you and @socratescousin.bsky.social possibly too much 😀
Deadloch!!! One of my fave shows recently
Naeher is Sjogren's sacrifice to the football gods, yet they still have to wonder why he is clearly instructing his team to play through the centre of midfield at all times when they could easily have Staab ping it long to a forward and not give it away in a dangerous area of the field all the time
When I first started watching they had Kerr supplied by Nagasato. Ertz, Krueger, Davidson, Gorden, Lind to do the defending, DiBernardo, Colaprico in the middle...just good players everywhere. How they got from there to here actually seems like a very strong effort in how not to do it
It's v hard to stay goal-side of Dali, especially if you can't get a high press on. If San Diego are allowed to work ball around the back line, it gives Dali time to move and find space. Olivieri would then try to mark from in front, but it's difficult with Dali because she just doesn't stand still
Boston marked up all over the field. Boom or bust defensive style that can really highlight any one-on-one weaknesses. Dali was so often the key to the game for San Diego, running off the shoulder of Olivieri, who was caught ball-watching a few times.
The B Team is back after a week off, with special guest @secondball.bsky.social! We go over a whole lotta content from each team, so give it a listen and follow us on Spotify, and as always, let us know what you think of the show or what you want us to talk about next!
Kerr Kossler combo...how does it work?
It's beginning to look like you know ball, as they say
"The Houston Dash... are a serious, competitive force for the first time in a while." 👀
@secondball.bsky.social details the resurgence of the Dash, thanks to coach Fabrice Gautrat and new additions like Leah Klenke, Kat Rader and Linda Ullmark.
equalizersoccer.com/2026/04/01/t...
Exactly my thoughts re: lack of cohesion. They're a new team, plus I think it's worth pointing out, one with almost complete lack of NWSL experience within the squad and also within the leading staff. And when teams are a bit disorganised, a bit reactive...they can also be a bit late to the ball
There's an art to nudging/bumping the attacker, which body part, timing it, location...that good defenders master (dark arts) and not so good ones don't (rushing in like the bus in Speed)...what do you reckon though, am I missing something in the Boston case or being harsh?
Boston are an aggressive team & that's fine in this league...we've all watched Amoros' Gotham...But the way they - e.g- targeted Dudley was beyond obvious...so I think it's laughable for them to complain about not being allowed to be physical. Patao said it herself "we have to be smarter"...
I don't really know what the referees are supposed to do. As fans I think we've all been crying out for more protection for players because in the past we've felt they've been too lenient. I know I've felt like that. If refs are now perhaps being stricter...I don't really have a problem with that
