U 17 Women's World Cup

[MakeAPlay]

Thanks BDO but he is not picking on my kid. He happens to like her very much. He is just a UCLA homer - actually a whatever team his kid is playing on homer, but especially a UCLA homer! I'm just a bit more of a pragmatist and tend to look at things for what they really are.

I would never pick on his kid she is a sweetheart and a friend of my player. I disagree about you being a pragmatist in this instance. Let's talk after you put the passing meter on a UCLA game and an 'SC game. Time will tell. Especially when it comes to Fleming. There isn't a player in the country as technical as her except maybe Sullivan.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Wow, what a way to be insulting rather than having a civil discourse. Care to explain how my observations are false or that I "do not know what I'm talking about"? Secondly, I don't personally know Pulgita nor would I make any discouraging comments about his DD. Thirdly, I don't have any present opinions other than tremendous love for the program as a UCLA alumnus. I just don't have rose-colored glasses when observing all their sports programs.

Say what you will but how many games have you watched this year? I have seen all of them including the scrimmage and almost every 'SC game too. If that insults you then please refrain from directing statements towards me because I can really be offensive if you would like.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Two Germans from NC State in the top 25 of your list, the Maryland kid isn't listed until 36. I guess Cali isn't so clueless.

The number 30 player should be in the top 20, though.

Those NC state players are overrated like a lot of this list. #20 shouldn't be on the list. She got taken apart on Sunday and was subbed out for a walk on that isn't even on this list. #44 player barely played this weekend and didn't even touch the ball on Sunday. If you think TDS is backing Cali up buddy then go ahead and continue with the circle jerk.

 

[MakeAPlay]

You sure do love the me against the world. Morgan outplayed Sullivan and she will outplay Flemming. Do you really think I don't watch the games? And come on, don't quote a TDS article. We all know they are a POS.

So you are telling me you have watched more than one or two UCLA games? If you think Morgan Andrews is better than either of them then who is the homer here? How did she do against Emma Fletcher who was dominated by Fleming? I can't wait for Nov 4th. I am going to sit next to you and thoroughly enjoy every minute of it. I like you a lot so we will have to agree to disagree and let the Pac 12 awards and postseason standings tell the tale.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Two Germans from NC State in the top 25 of your list, the Maryland kid isn't listed until 36. I guess Cali isn't so clueless.

The number 30 player should be in the top 20, though.

The number 30 player is a great player and I agree should be higher up the list as with several others. Again this list is a joke. Lots of players too high or too low. Too many players on small conference teams with weak schedules. It's easy to look good against weak teams. To be honest once you get below the top 20-30 teams the play and talent level drops off considerably. The conference coaches will settle it all.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Our player selection sucks. One of the Ghanian U17 players, that beat the US is a Californian and plays for Placer United. She is committed to Cal for their 2018 class so apparently Neil McGuire and his staff didn't miss her. How the heck did our YNT staff miss her? As has been said before a good coach could have selected a team of players not chosen by the YNT staff and beaten the US team and advanced further. This is truly a monumental breakdown that no amount of money invested is going to change if the people running the system and doing the identifying aren't changed. Good luck to the U20's but my guess is they are DOA not due to a lack of talent but due to a lack of that other key ingredient to a winning recipe.

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-player-profile/abena-aidoo/pid-76949/tab-articles

She wasn't even an unknown as she made the Region IV all tournament team. Just a monumental miss..

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club...ar-teams-announced-for-odp-region-iv_aid35773

 

[Sheriff Joe]

Our player selection sucks. One of the Ghanian U17 players, that beat the US is a Californian and plays for Placer United. She is committed to Cal for their 2018 class so apparently Neil McGuire and his staff didn't miss her. How the heck did our YNT staff miss her? As has been said before a good coach could have selected a team of players not chosen by the YNT staff and beaten the US team and advanced further. This is truly a monumental breakdown that no amount of money invested is going to change if the people running the system and doing the identifying aren't changed. Good luck to the U20's but my guess is they are DOA not due to a lack of talent but due to a lack of that other key ingredient to a winning recipe.

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-player-profile/abena-aidoo/pid-76949/tab-articles

She wasn't even an unknown as she made the Region IV all tournament team. Just a monumental miss..

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club...ar-teams-announced-for-odp-region-iv_aid35773

Wow, you think you know everything about soccer, even more that the national scouts/coaches.

 

[socalkdg]

Not sure I want to comment here with some of the arguing going on. But what the hey.

1 - I actually thought the US lost to Japan on the defensive side. Actually thought the US could have had 3-4 goals in this game, 2 goals should usually be enough to win. US seemed to lose their players they were guarding, didn't like zone on the corners, just didn't match up vs Japan. Maybe the wrong type of player at defense.

2 - I thought Sanchez was the best player on the US team.

3 - Fleming is an amazing player. Won't compare her to anyone else since I haven't seen many of the others mentioned.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Not sure I want to comment here with some of the arguing going on. But what the hey.

1 - I actually thought the US lost to Japan on the defensive side. Actually thought the US could have had 3-4 goals in this game, 2 goals should usually be enough to win. US seemed to lose their players they were guarding, didn't like zone on the corners, just didn't match up vs Japan. Maybe the wrong type of player at defense.

2 - I thought Sanchez was the best player on the US team.

3 - Fleming is an amazing player. Won't compare her to anyone else since I haven't seen many of the others mentioned.

Alright a soccer discussion. Let's take it point by point.

1. I agree that a lot of the problems were defensive but let's not forget that the team essentially played kickball, bypassing the midfield and trying to either boot it to Sanchez or Kuhlman or take it down the wings and try to whip in a cross. I'm not even sure if Pinto touched the ball in the second half against Japan.

2. Sanchez was outstanding but Ivory was the best player in my opinion. She was composed and stopped at least 3 more 1v1 scoring opportunities against Japan alone.

3. Fleming is the real deal. I won't get into what other's do or don't see since I respect different opinions than my own. She is like a scalpel whereas many elite midfielders are like a machete. There is no player in college that does what she does technically in tight spaces. Next year when she has Pugh and Sanchez to thread the ball to she will break the school assist record (13) you heard it here first.

 

[NoGoal]

Our player selection sucks. One of the Ghanian U17 players, that beat the US is a Californian and plays for Placer United. She is committed to Cal for their 2018 class so apparently Neil McGuire and his staff didn't miss her. How the heck did our YNT staff miss her? As has been said before a good coach could have selected a team of players not chosen by the YNT staff and beaten the US team and advanced further. This is truly a monumental breakdown that no amount of money invested is going to change if the people running the system and doing the identifying aren't changed. Good luck to the U20's but my guess is they are DOA not due to a lack of talent but due to a lack of that other key ingredient to a winning recipe.

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-player-profile/abena-aidoo/pid-76949/tab-articles

She wasn't even an unknown as she made the Region IV all tournament team. Just a monumental miss..

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club...ar-teams-announced-for-odp-region-iv_aid35773

Dam, YNT coaches and scouts missed her! Yet, the ODP scouts didn't. Try figuring that one out.

Be careful make, posters might start calling you a stalker, lol

 

[NoGoal]

Not sure I want to comment here with some of the arguing going on. But what the hey.

1 - I actually thought the US lost to Japan on the defensive side. Actually thought the US could have had 3-4 goals in this game, 2 goals should usually be enough to win. US seemed to lose their players they were guarding, didn't like zone on the corners, just didn't match up vs Japan. Maybe the wrong type of player at defense.

2 - I thought Sanchez was the best player on the US team.

3 - Fleming is an amazing player. Won't compare her to anyone else since I haven't seen many of the others mentioned.

YNT coaches love to convert offensive players into defenders. I know of a talented 5'8" fast, good touch, and athletic ctr defender committed to USC, who was in the YNT U17 player pool. For some reason, BJ didn't select her....she would have been an anchor for the team.

 

[espola]

YNT coaches love to convert offensive players into defenders. I know of a talented 5'8" fast, good touch, and athletic ctr defender committed to USC, who was in the YNT U17 player pool. For some reason, BJ didn't select her....she would have been an anchor for the team.

Since select-team coaches recruit from stat sheets, the defenders often get overlooked. About the only stat defenders typically lead in is playing time and size. Then it becomes an exercise for the coach to find a fast forward who has the right attitude to be a defender.

 

[MessiFTW]

Be careful make, posters might start calling you a stalker, lol

The "S" is not for stalker.

 

[outside!]

Since select-team coaches recruit from stat sheets, the defenders often get overlooked. About the only stat defenders typically lead in is playing time and size. Then it becomes an exercise for the coach to find a fast forward who has the right attitude to be a defender.

I agree. Unfortunately being a good forward does not necessarily make one a good defender. The skill of being able to stick a foot in a just the right time to disrupt a skilled dribbler without fouling them is an art that many good dribbling forwards do not have. Some of it comes with experience at the position and some of it is just inborn. Forwards that are not born with that skill and have less experience at defense will have trouble as defenders in high level games.

My take on the US GU17 WNT was that there was very little team chemistry and team play.

 

[socalkdg]

Just watched the Japan / Korea final. Japan, even though they lost(penalty kicks), seemed to be the better team. One problem they seemed to have was getting any type of power on their shots. An interesting note USA was the only team that was able to score on Japan the whole tournament.

 

[gkrent]

My take on the US GU17 WNT was that there was very little team chemistry and team play.

And there never will be chemistry if the coaches continue to encourage the "competitive" (read: hostile) environment between the players in that age group.

 

[goldentoe]

I agree. Unfortunately being a good forward does not necessarily make one a good defender. The skill of being able to stick a foot in a just the right time to disrupt a skilled dribbler without fouling them is an art that many good dribbling forwards do not have. Some of it comes with experience at the position and some of it is just inborn. Forwards that are not born with that skill and have less experience at defense will have trouble as defenders in high level games.

My take on the US GU17 WNT was that there was very little team chemistry and team play.

Against Japan our CBs whacked the ball down field without a plan 10 times in the first 10 minutes. 10 unforced turnovers of possession in the first 10 minutes of the match! Japan seemed to know early we had no ability to hold positive possession. Also the midfielders chosen for this event struggled keeping the ball close with their backs to the defender. The score could have been 6-8 to 2.

 

[NoGoal]

Against Japan our CBs whacked the ball down field without a plan 10 times in the first 10 minutes. 10 unforced turnovers of possession in the first 10 minutes of the match! Japan seemed to know early we had no ability to hold positive possession. Also the midfielders chosen for this event struggled keeping the ball close with their backs to the defender. The score could have been 6-8 to 2.

Don't place the blame on the players. If that was the strategy then the blame is on BJ Snow.

 

[goldentoe]

Don't place the blame on the players. If that was the strategy then the blame is on BJ Snow.

I'm just reporting what I saw........I'm not blaming anyone. I root for US soccer, but I have less interest in the U17s becoming successful in World Cup play than I do the Dodgers making it to the World Series.

So, I'm not sure, are you saying "that" was the strategy or "if that was the strategy"? If it wasn't, the players are to blame, and the coach is to blame for letting it happened repeatedly.

 

[meaningless]

And there never will be chemistry if the coaches continue to encourage the "competitive" (read: hostile) environment between the players in that age group.

The coaching staff brought in over 100 players for evaluation in determining the U17 WC roster. They cut players last minute who had been in the program for years and brought on players completely new to the team. They created an "every player for themselves" mindset and absolutely created a hostile enviroment! As a player, you can't just show up in Jordan and turn that off. The roster was mismanaged, the team played poorly, and after a 2nd failed U17 WC, significant change needs to come.