2021-22-23-24 News Thread
- Thread starter jeffbear
- Start date
Ed H in Pasadena
Well-known member
So we're going to comment on international matches here? How about women's football (NWSL and WSL)?
Just wondering...
Just wondering...
Other than international tournaments, we've generally discussed the women's game here. And yes, I'm aware that your Reds whomped my Villans yesterday :0)
Since you reminded me ... NWSL is down to the last round of regular season games this coming weekend and it's virtually all to play for. Only two teams have clinched (Portland and San Diego) and only two teams have been eliminated (Chicago and KC). Squeaky.
Since you reminded me ... NWSL is down to the last round of regular season games this coming weekend and it's virtually all to play for. Only two teams have clinched (Portland and San Diego) and only two teams have been eliminated (Chicago and KC). Squeaky.
Eden Hazard announced his retirement today. He had been a free agent, after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with Real Madrid in June, with 1 year remaining. He only featured in 76 matches across all competitions in his 4 years in Madrid, scoring 7 goals.
Ed H in Pasadena
Well-known member
Watched the match on Paramount +. Villans actually played pretty well, though they seemed to tire just before Liverpool scored their second.
Happy for the good start but let's see if they can keep it up
Far be it from me to care whether or not City are making smart choices, but this seems particularly stupid, yes? What on earth does Rooney have on his managing resume to indicate that he has any chance of success? His teams don't score and subsequently don't win ... as his career winning percentage will attest.
Hey now, he won 28.2% of his matches at Derby. And was worse than that at DC United, including finishing DFL in the Eastern Conference last year.
More VAR drama, this time in Euro qualifying as Scotland had a goal disallowed against Spain for what appears to be the merest hint of goaltender interference. Scotland needed a point to qualify and instead of being up 1-0, they gave up two goals pretty quickly after the VAR decision to delay their joy. Look, I'm biased, but that was horsecrap, and you can add it to the growing mountain of horsecrap that VAR has produced in Europe.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67096229
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67096229
VinatieriDefinesClutch
Active member
Wish I could see it. Maybe one day soccer will have the realization that all american sports had that allowing clips online is good for the sport. I feel like the NBA was the first to do it and it was one of the big things that helped spike popularity and then the other american sports all followed suit.
It's decision day in NWSL today ... all of the games are on Paramount+ and kick off at 5PM eastern. Again, only 2 teams have clinched and both are in it for the Shield. Only 2 teams are eliminated and they do not play each other. That means 6 matches kicking off at the same time with serious consequences all around. That's astonishingly rare.
And chaos ensued. The Thorns came in at the top of the table, already in the playoffs, with a chance at the Supporter’s Shield. But they went down meekly to Angel City, which needed a win and help to get in the playiffs. They got the help and will go in as the 5 seed, with the NC Courage beating the Washington Spirit to knock them out of a playoff spot. The Spirit lost Trinity Rodman to a straight red card in the 23rd minute and that was that. With the Thorns losing, the San Diego Wave needed a win to top the table, and they got it, 2-0 over Louisville.
Sophia Smith won the Golden Boot despite missing a big chunk of the season.
So the playoffs shake out like this
10/20 OL Reign v. Angel City. Winner plays San Diego on 11/5
10/22 NC Courage v. NJ/NY Gotham. Winner plays Portland on 11/5
11/11 NWSL Championship at San Diego
The red card for Rodman ... woof. What a stupid, selfish thing to do just because you're upset that you didn't get a marginal call yourself. Absolute folly from a player who is just too good to keep doing that kind of thing. Also, bit of advice. Don't try to chest up Denise O'Sullivan again. She might be a midget but I absolutely guarantee she'd kick your ass. BTW, that Spirit team has a roster problem and now that their ownership and management situation has stabilized they've got some difficult decisions. They've got a ton of attacking talent, a great keeper and maybe the best ball distributing CB in the league but they can't maintain results for a very simple reason ... they lack emotional maturity and squad depth. Most of their best players are honestly just ticking time bombs. Staab, Rodman, Hatch and Sullivan barely have an inch of fuse between the four of them and this is not the first huge game where one of them has cost their side with rash behavior. They also have a bit of an Orlando in 2018 problem in that all their money is tied up in 5 or 6 players. If they want to get more consistent results, something's gotta give.
Otherwise, the league wanted chaos and they got it. Hopefully they have the sense to keep this sort of decision day mosh pit as an annual tradition. It won't always be THIS bonkers, but it'll always be at least a little bonkers. And that makes for great TV.
Otherwise, the league wanted chaos and they got it. Hopefully they have the sense to keep this sort of decision day mosh pit as an annual tradition. It won't always be THIS bonkers, but it'll always be at least a little bonkers. And that makes for great TV.
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I don’t know that they’ll ever have another season where that many teams are in play for playoffs/Shield but they should absolutely do it every year. The Premier League does it on the last day of their season, the Champions League has all Group Stage matches start at the same time. And, while I didn’t watch it, the Red Zone approach on CBS Sports Network is worth keeping too. We’ll see what their next media partners do with it.
The current size and parity of the league made this one special, for sure. But yeah, this should be a no-brainer to keep carrying forward. If nothing else, attendance was off the scale good across all venues. Also, it was helpful that NWSL's final weekend aligned with a fall men's international break ... when there's not generally a lot of important matches ... and during the opening weeks of the Euro women's leagues. There was little competition with anything of major importance*.
*not that I wasn't celebrating Scotland clinching qualification for the Euros, of course.
*not that I wasn't celebrating Scotland clinching qualification for the Euros, of course.
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USMNT wrapped up the senior call up window with a split. They got outclassed by Germany 3-1 over the weekend and then hammered Ghana 4-0 last night. Gio Reyna was back and played a huge role in the Ghana win, Pulisic had a strong window and Berhalter worked a few fresh faces into the mix. All in all, a successful window more or less. Brhalter is still terrified to play the US' best shape against better opposition, but hey ... leopards don't change their spots. At least he finally pulled out the 4-2-3-1 against Ghana.