“It’s far too late”
Courtesy of the NWSL
Match Haiku
In a home, away,
The Reign profit from error.
A meager spring start.
“It’s far too late”
“Shoot You Down” - The Stone Roses, 1989
A rare goalkeeping error from Bloomer (turf field or no turf field) dug Racing into a hole from which they could not recover and it results in one point from three matches, which is evidently Racing’s worst start to a season ever (to be fair, they never come out of the gates “on fire”). The players who were available (much more on this throughout this post) gave a valiant effort and pulled back a consolation goal at the end, but Racing never felt like they were really in this match, to me at least. The Reign team and fans had to feel comfortable the entire time. Even the late goal didn’t really put any pressure on the Reign. Racing almost never seems to be on the other side of the coin in a match like this. I can count on one hand the number of “relaxing victories” that Racing has ever had.
My greatest fear this season is a long stretch where Sears is unavailable. We are on match 1 of ?. Let’s hope that it is a short absence. It’s hard to picture this team down both DeMelo and Sears and figure out where a consistent attacking threat comes from. I think White and McKeen showed good early indicators, but neither is near ready to put up the type of goals that this team needs to stay in matches. The triumvirate of O’Kane, Weber, and Hase will have to embrace their newly acquired veteran status and manufacture goals if this team is to keep its head above water. After a slow start in the opener, Fischer has shown some signs that she can be the main attacking threat, but she will have to deliver more consistently than Racing has ever demanded of her.
The patchwork defense is going to give up goals. That is a fact. The full-strength defense was going to give up goals too. Here is where so-called “flexibility” is a killer. I never bought into this whole “positionless” football thing. It is the luxury of deeply talented teams with intricate systems implemented over several seasons. That whole Ted Lasso Season 3 thing was a pure and dangerous fiction. In Racing’s case, this flexibility that keeps getting mentioned is merely putting talented players into spots where they are less effective, simply because there is no other recourse. It’s okay for a “Plan C” for a match, but as a “Plan A” or “Plan B”, it is dangerous.
Racing seems to be on “Plan F” about right now. It would be unfair to place blame on anyone or anything, but as people like to say: “it may not be your fault, but it is your problem.”
Post Match Moment of the Match
I believe that in the last few seasons no team has put out a less-than-20-player squad more often than Racing Louisville. I could definitely be wrong in this, and I am happy to digest evidence that changes this view. All that I can tell you is that I have asked Bev about it multiple times and have written about it multiple times. Racing signed a goalkeeper this week and had to put her on the bench with another keeper to get the squad size even up to 18, compared to the allowable 20. My point isn’t that 18 isn’t enough (several leagues limit the matchday squad to 18 and historically football squads were much smaller) but it just happens so often with Racing that you can’t continually chalk it up to bad luck. A least, I can’t. I have to believe that there is something systemic going on that makes this situation keep coming up.
I asked Bev about this, the best I could. I didn’t expect her to have a definitive answer, because if she did know what the issue was, I truly believe that she would fix it. She stated that the club consistently looks into things like this (not specifically during this post match media session) and I believe her. My recommendation as a professional problem solver would be to really sit down and frame and analyze the issue.
I did think, and Bev reiterated, that the players that were available performed admirably, for the most part. White and McKeen will ultimately benefit from the unexpected minutes, but they aren’t “ready for primetime” yet. Flint did a good job covering at center back, but her replacement, Hodge, cannot replicate Flint’s performances in defensive midfield and would probably be more effective higher up the pitch. What this team needs is its best players healthy and in their best positions to have a fighting chance at anything more than temporary success.
Why can’t we have nice things?
Since I am already in a mood, let me also complain about the level of quality of the NWSL broadcasts. I personally think it is rather embarrassing that a second-rate gridiron football league can put on a broadcast that is 3 times as visually pleasing and about 5 times more compelling than the NWSL can. For whatever you think about Lynn Family Stadium’s new tenant the Louisville Kings, if you watched the Fox broadcast, you had to be impressed. Lynn Family Stadium is a wonderful venue, but the Fox broadcast on Friday evening put an extra shine on it. The camera angles and enthusiasm of the announcers made the watch so entertaining, even when the football wasn’t. I know that money has everything to do with it, but the NWSL’s marquee presentation each week can’t hold a candle to what Fox can do for the UFL. I am not mad at anybody in particular, but I am still mad.
The other thing that is a barrier to the quality of NWSL broadcasts, in my opinion, is this maternalistic compulsion by announcers to not call out bad mistakes. Bloomer’s error on the first goal was atrocious. She would be the first one to own it and not make any excuses. I don’t understand the compulsion by announcers or fans to make excuses for her. It undermines the integrity of the broadcast, the league, the sport, and the player when we can’t be frank and open about poor play. If I were going to make a suggestion to the NWSL about how to improve the broadcast, I would say that you need more ex-players calling out current players on poor performances. I have seen Lianne Sanderson do this more consistently than anyone, which is one of the reasons that she is my favorite. Well that, and the fact that she is a dear, dear friend.*
*The level of friendship between the author and Ms. Sanderson may be grossly exaggerated to the extent of delusion.
TV Kit Rating
Seattle was wearing its primary kit from last season. Here is what I said when it first debuted:
“I think Seattle always does well on their kits. It’s a shame to see the Black Future Co-op Fund go, but a clean, sponsor-less kit from time to time is refreshing. The reborn Reign badge will always do the heavy lifting on the Seattle kits, but I like the pattern, and the shorts really set off the shirt. It’s a fine addition to the Reign kit history.”
They do have a kit sponsor now (Trupanion, which helps its customers keep down the cost of vet care for their furry children), but it is inobtrusive and is matched for color. 8/10
The Taylor Flint Honorary Yellow Card of the Match
Macey Hodge, who one day has a real shot of finding herself the namesake for this column, had a proper crunchy tackle in the 63rd minute. There was no malice in it, just a little over aggression and maybe a like bit of misfortune (the announcers tried to make excuses). Good on you, Macey. I foresee many returns to this space in the future.
Madchester Song to Make You Feel Better
There are a bunch of videos options to go with here, but the mimed TOTP performance is probably the best vibe.
“I can’t wait”
Hindsight is always helpful. I wish I had chosen this year’s framing structure to go with last season. I have so many bright and exciting framing devices ready for this year that I can’t wait to use. However, Racing has to be cooperative and win some matches. If the injury list stays as lengthy as it currently is for much longer, the hole to dig out of may be too deep. I stubbornly refuse to look at the table because early season tables are often full of lies. If they do hold truths, they do tend to be in the bottom portions. A fast start this season was never all that probable or that important based on the schedule and Racing’s traditional slow starts to the season. It has made the wiggle room virtually nil and now they really need points on the road in Houston on Friday. If they put out a similar squad, I don’t have the highest of hopes.
Racing has an availability problem, and the club needs to acknowledge it. Problems are ripe to be solved most efficiently when little to no time is spent on assigning blame or worrying about who takes credit for finding the solution. Define and diagnose is my advice. I have watched many team’s seasons be destroyed by injuries. The only way truly around it is to have better solutions when the injuries come. Racing as an organization probably doesn’t have the capacity for the simplest solution: buy your way out of it. This is really only a viable option for the most elite of organizations and even then, you have to both have the spending capacity and also be having a good season.
I wish I had a solution, but the only one that I can think of as a second best option is prevention. Something has to be the root cause of Racing’s consistent inability to field full squads. The roster at the start of the season seemed robust enough, but right now it seems painfully thin. Any idea around what may be causing it would be pure conjecture, and conjecture is the enemy of good problem solving. I am hoping a solution can be found soon or this season may be lost before it even really begins.
