Long term: bench Macca. Give Harvey, Immuthun, and Lyles some minutes.
Today: press was great early in second half but went away from it way too fast. Defense sat back too much. Macca needs to step to the ball. We drew a lot of fouls on the dribble early but eased off, need those set pieces.
If not for Macca that’s a comfortable 3 points. Not a dominant day, passes going astray, too much space at times. Press dominated play but only lasted 15 minutes. Still, that game should have been 2-0 or at least 2-1.
Easy save if Macca takes one step towards the ball instead of staying planted and slow diving late. Pathetic reaction time. But yes, too much space.
My players of the match:
1) Messner - clean sheet, great saves, intercepting crosses (permanent starter?!?)
2) Tordin - goal and assist
3) Fleming - relentless work rate
4) Wilson - everywhere in solo attack, took a lot of time off the clock
5) the crowd - insane energy that fueled the team
The freeze frame shown here is a split second before the ball is caught. The pitch was dropping away very fast and when you go frame by frame on the footage at the moment the ball crosses the plate it's in the bottom edge of the strike zone. It was a strike.
Taking a day off to enjoy the smaller things in life - Cosmo is now 3 weeks old and I occasionally get sleep!
My guess...Massively overpaid for the 'big name' Macca who has performed exactly according to her metrics, but not the 'big name' label. Her underperformance has cost two GK coaches their job already, and no club will save us from the bloated contract that just cost us from signing Hutton.
Zero pressing intensity by the regulars, also quite casual on the ball. Hope that was by design - as in take it easy, build fitness, etc. Laboa still looks years away. Castellanos is not a MF at all - can't hold or press- Mimi also struggled. Unless Harvey is ready now we're desperate for a 6.
I was hopeful the new manager would see what everyone else had seen, and FBRef (RIP) confirmed, that the better option was Bixby. Devastating news. GK, and a 6 should be the priority. Would love a world class CB, but if the new manager would bump JP to 1st I think she can become world class.
That would be nice, but they'll have to put a stop to burning our international slots on unproven players. Of Bogare, Alidou, Loboa, Obaze, Dufour, Muller, Flemming, Macca, and Daiane I personally only like what three bring. If all are healthy and return from loans in the summer that's 9 in 8 slots.
WTF are we going to do about this? Many were already dying, now it’s straight up execution. Gov is complicit and doing nothing. Foreigners are preparing boycotts. What about us? Need a lot more than two No Kings days, and one city protesting. Get organized and on the streets, by the millions.
What a 2nd half! Mendoza's 4th down TD is Indiana's biggest play in program history. Really enjoyed that game.
This buy a championship myth is really getting old. Ducks were 10th out of 12 programs in the playoff on program budget, dead last of the power four programs and significantly behind the top seven spenders. They do more with less.
Well under market value. Girma at 1.1m, Shaw 1.25m, Geyoro/Smith/Thompson at 1.3m. Before add-ons Coffee requires 1.2-1.4m. Shaw is an inconsistent creator, had 6 goal contributions in '25, Coffee also had 6 but from a holding mid, adds ball recovery, retention, consistency, and leadership. Bad deal
I started an NWSL save and rage quit after a short bit. Numerous league rules are implemented incorrectly and the player ratings are atrociously far off.
I am enjoying a LLM England men's 8th tier youth only save. It's flawed, but it's still FM.
With the departures of Daiane, Torpey and Payne the average quality in defense is much better, all six defenders can play, and we're up to three international slots; very good business IMO. Clearly need a collegiate FB signing, and top international CB to round out the defense.
16+3. 10 conference champions, 9 at large. 6 lowest ranked champs in play-in round then travel to top 3 seeds. Schools host till semis.
There was an explanation. With BYU out of the picture after their loss, ND and Miami were compared head-to-head. Similar in almost every factor the key factor that dropped them was Miami beat ND 27-24. Head-to-head record decided this.
That's wild. Cool scenario that's played out, one that you'd never expect.
Abysmal move. She's the only player that could operate in tight spaces & link defense to attack. Benching her this month already derailed our attack, now it's DOA. Thorns are 7 matches in a row out XG'd, each change of Rob's made it worse. Now Rob + Agoos have broken it all.
Harbert is closer to ready than Laboa. It'll be a year or more before Laboa's ready if tonight is where her skill level is at. 1st & 3rd goals on Macca but Gale refuses to sit her. Tonight had a shift in formation, but everything else remained the same, need more than one style. #BAONPDX
Penalties that disrupt a legit scoring chance should be taken from the spot. Any other infraction in the box (i.e. a trip with back to goal just inside) should be a direct from the center edge of the 18. A PK but triple the distance.
Watching her highlights, Loboa reminds me a lot of Ludmila. A taller and stocky player that still manages to have good pace. Is feisty. My concern is how she tries to bait refs into calls, personally I hate to win that way even if lots of players do it and have success in it.
The most obvious change is in goal. Bixby plays - we win; Macca - we lose. To me it's clear; we play a high line but not a lot of pace at the back. Most chances of late are on the counter. Difference in the keepers is Bixby sweeps, Macca holds her line.
Pretty sure that means Moultrie and Daiane collided face to face in training while going for a header.
Let's go Brighton!
Pop 13 to 37 in just a few months is wild.
Btw, I didn't see the note till I looked for it. But it's there.
WOW! I have a ways to go yet before achieving this. Great performance!
I missed the new investors news. Figured someone would bail them out at some point.
I'm probably wrong, but I thought they're cash strapped & it had nothing to do with caps. They spent insane amounts for years without enough revenue to back it up. That's why they mortgaged years ahead for now, knowing that the only way to get out of it was drastically increase revenue by winning.