#William Ladd Skinner

[anthonyvcrivello]

Reaching into the video vault. Initial mock trailer for “Alien Hunter” with #jamesspader directed by #ronkrauss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbC-VRSk0jo

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Manchester United Women 0-0 Aston Villa Women

SKINNERRRRRRRR.

Three wins to open United's WSL campaign, followed by three draws against plucky Brighton, the better Arsenal, and now the lowly Villa. Come on, dude.

In the absence of the injured Lisa Naalsund, Skinner opted away from the steady but unimaginative midfield pairing of Naalsund and Janssen and went to Clinton and Janssen, with Toone in CAM. The BBC had this as a 4-4-1-1 formation, which maybe it was but maybe not. Malard and Bizet at LM/RM or LW/RW? I wonder what's more likely.

The stats concur with what the video footage below says: United were lucky not to lose. Poor in possession, sub-par passing accuracy, and as such very few chances created.

Phallon Tullis-Joyce made some good saves and continued her good start to the season and kept United in the match. She made mistakes in some of her passing though, as did Maya Le Tissier and Celin Bizet. Ella Toone had some good attempts on goal, and Melvine Malard looked lively and spearheaded a lot of United's best attacking play. Bizet was solid in that regard too, but Geyse currently looks the better option; lively and direct, difficult to handle. It might be rotation time, see if that fires United up to start banging in goals.

Now, here's what annoyed me, and my points are directed to manager Marc Skinner:

Janssen is a CB first, and a DM second. She should be LCB over Millie Turner. She's almost as tall, perfectly strong for the role, and has much better ball control. If you want a DM, use Hayley Ladd ffs.

You also have Simi Awujo just waiting, if you don't trust Ladd / want to force her out (which if true is stupid)

You have the excellent Hinata Miyazawa and an average Ella Toone (based on present form). Whether that's the positional tinkering to rotate her and Grace, or related to her bereavement, or just a poor patch of form - bench her. Rest her. Rotate her out.

5 substitutes available and we use just 4. Emma Watson could have added something to midfield and we take Terland off and go big for Rach Williams.

4-4-2 isn't bad, but it's more defensive, and we're at home to a struggling side.

FREE HAYLEY LADD.

So yeah, boring game that pissed off players, fans, and pundits alike. The only ONLY solace is now it has people looking at Marc Skinner's performance just like they did with Jonas. About time.

Next up: Leicester City away next Sunday, 3pm kick off.

[rashfordxbruno]

Our lineup against Chelsea

Williams over Malard is crazyyyyy!!! And how is Ladd not starting as our DM. Fuck this, never wanted Skinner out so bad in my life.

[tooneysunited]

Williams brought the one thing today that almost no other United player on the pitch could bring. The experience to remain calm and not get frustrated. Toone, russo, zelem and even ladd were hitting pot shots that were right at defenders because their frustration wouldn't let them look for the better opportunity's. They hit every chance the got instead of doing what williams done and take a second, changing the angle and having a go. But the fact that our other players couldn't hold their nerve as time went on is worrying!

yep this is spot on. i'm glad rachel came on and did that but we shouldn't need her too. the composure we showed all season just wasn't there today, we should've been 3-0 up at half time tbh. which was incredibly frustrating and hopefully a one time thing. but ngl i'm worried about how this team is gonna deal when we get under real pressure. we needed a win to create a gap and played like shit. got lucky today but we won't always be. skinner's subs also incredibly late, idk how vilde didn't come in today. tooney was piss poor. i feel really sorry for players like her and leon.

[tkmedia]

NHL Expansion Draft 2021: Full list of players available for Seattle Kraken

The NHL announced the protected lists for the 30 teams involved in the NHL Expansion Draft. (Vegas is exempt.) With the names of those protected come the guys who could be snatched up by the Seattle Kraken. There are a number of big names that have everyone trying to figure out just what general manager Ron Francis will do. Will he take Canadiens netminder, and future Hall of Famer, Carey Price and his hefty cap hit? Is Vladimir Tarasenko the sniper he needs or is his health a big question mark? There's also a number of guys who would fit in nicely but are free agents and the chances of signing them are not high (i.e. Alex Ovechkin).  EXPANSION DRAFT: Date, time, rules & more for Seattle Kraken team selectionRegardless of what Francis, coach Dave Hakstrol and Co. end up doing, there's a good chance the Kraken will be a playoff contender in just their first season. For now, let the intrigue and the guessing WWRFD (that's: what will Ron Francis do?) begin. Here's a look at every player they can pick.

List of players made available by all 30 NHL teams

Anaheim DucksAndrew Agozzino (F) David Backes (F) Sam Carrick (F) Chase De Leo (F) Ryan Getzlaf (F) Derek Grant (F) Danton Heinen (F) Adam Henrique (F) Vinni Lettieri (F) Sonny Milano (F) Andrew Poturalski (F) Carter Rowney (F) Nick Sorensen (F) Alexander Volkov (F) Trevor Carrick (D) Haydn Fleury (D) Brendan Guhle (D) Jacob Larsson (D) Josh Mahura (D) Kevin Shattenkirk (D) Andy Welinski (D) Ryan Miller (G) Anthony Stolarz (G)Arizona CoyotesDerick Brassard (F) Michael Bunting (F) Brayden Burke (F) Michael Chaput (F) Hudson Fasching (F) Christian Fischer (F) Frederik Gauthier (F) John Hayden (F) Dryden Hunt (F) Andrew Ladd (F) Lane Pederson (F) Tyler Pitlick (F) Blake Speers (F) Tyler Steenbergen (F) Jason Demers (D) Cam Dineen (D) Alex Goligoski (D) Jordan Gross (D) Niklas Hjalmarsson (D) Ilya Lyubushkin (D) Dysin Mayo (D) Aaron Ness (D) Jordan Oesterle (D) Vili Saarijarvi (D) Josef Korenar (G) Marek Langhamer (G) Antti Raanta (G)Boston BruinsAnton Blidh (F) Paul Carey (F) Peter Cehlarik (F) Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (F) Taylor Hall (F) Cameron Hughes (F) Ondrej Kase (F) Alex Khokhlachev (F) Joona Koppanen (F) David Krejci (F) Karson Kuhlman (F) Sean Kuraly (F) Curtis Lazar (F) Greg McKegg (F) Nick Ritchie (F) Zach Senyshyn (F) Chris Wagner (F) Linus Arnesson (D) Connor Clifton (D) Steven Kampfer (D) Jeremy Lauzon (D) Kevan Miller (D) John Moore (D) Mike Reilly (D) Jarred Tinordi (D) Jakub Zboril (D) Callum Booth (G) Jaroslav Halak (G) Tuukka Rask (G)Buffalo SabresDrake Caggiula (F) Jean-Sebastien Dea (F) Cody Eakin (F) Steven Fogarty (F) Zemgus Girgensons (F) Andrew Oglevie (F) Kyle Okposo (F) Tobias Rieder (F) Riley Sheahan (F) Jeff Skinner (F) C.J. Smith (F) Will Borgen (D) Brandon Davidson (D) Matt Irwin (D) Jake McCabe (D) Colin Miller (D) Casey Nelson (D) Michael Houser (G) Carter Hutton (G) Dustin Tokarski (G)Calgary FlamesByron Froese (F) Glenn Gawdin (F) Justin Kirkland (F) Josh Leivo (F) Milan Lucic (F) Joakim Nordstrom (F) Matthew Phillips (F) Zac Rinaldo (F) Brett Ritchie (F) Buddy Robinson (F) Derek Ryan (F) Dominik Simon (F) Mark Giordano (D) Oliver Kylington (D) Nikita Nesterov (D) Alexander Petrovic (D) Michael Stone (D) Louis Domingue (G) Tyler Parsons (G)Carolina HurricanesMorgan Geekie (F) Steven Lorentz (F) Jordan Martinook (F) Max McCormick (F) Brock McGinn (F) Nino Niederreiter (F) Cedric Paquette (F) Sheldon Rempal (F) Drew Shore (F) Spencer Smallman (F) Jake Bean (D) Jake Gardiner (D) Eric Gelinas (D) Jani Hakanpaa (D) Dougie Hamilton (D) Maxime Lajoie (D) Roland McKeown (D) Joakim Ryan (D) David Warsofsky (D) Antoine Bibeau (G) Jeremy Helvig (G) Petr Mrazek (G) James Reimer (G) Dylan Wells (G)Chicago BlackhawksRyan Carpenter (F) Brett Connolly (F) Josh Dickinson (F) Adam Gaudette (F) Vinnie Hinostroza (F) Brandon Pirri (F) John Quenneville (F) Zack Smith (F) Calvin de Haan (D) Anton Lindholm (D) Nikita Zadorov (D) Collin Delia (G) Malcolm Subban (G)Colorado AvalancheTravis Barron (F) Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (F) Matt Calvert (F) J.T. Compher (F) Joonas Donskoi (F) Sheldon Dries (F) Vladislav Kamenev (F) Gabriel Landeskog (F) Ty Lewis (F) Jayson Megna (F) Liam O'Brien (F) Brandon Saad (F) Miikka Salomaki (F) Kiefer Sherwood (F) Carl Soderberg (F) T.J. Tynan (F) Mike Vecchione (F) Kyle Burroughs (D) Dennis Gilbert (D) Erik Johnson (D) Jacob MacDonald (D) Patrik Nemeth (D) Dan Renouf (D) Devan Dubnyk (G) Jonas Johansson (G) Hunter Miska (G)Columbus Blue JacketsZac Dalpe (F) Max Domi (F) Nathan Gerbe (F) Mikhail Grigorenko (F) Ryan MacInnis (F) Stefan Matteau (F) Cliff Pu (F) Kole Sherwood (F) Kevin Stenlund (F) Calvin Thurkauf (F) Daniel Zaar (F) Gavin Bayreuther (D) Gabriel Carlsson (D) Adam Clendening (D) Michael Del Zotto (D) Scott Harrington (D) Dean Kukan (D) Cameron Johnson (G)Dallas StarsNick Caamano (F) Andrew Cogliano (F) Blake Comeau (F) Justin Dowling (F) Tanner Kero (F) Joel L'Esperance (F) Adam Mascherin (F) Matej Stransky (F) Taylor Fedun (D) Ben Gleason (D) Joel Hanley (D) Niklas Hansson (D) Julius Honka (D) Jamie Oleksiak (D) Mark Pysyk (D) Andrej Sekera (D) Sami Vatanen (D) Ben Bishop (G) Landon Bow (G) Colton Point (G)Detroit Red WingsRiley Barber (F) Kyle Criscuolo (F) Turner Elson (F) Valtteri Filppula (F) Sam Gagner (F) Luke Glendening (F) Darren Helm (F) Taro Hirose (F) Vladislav Namestnikov (F) Frans Nielsen (F) Bobby Ryan (F) Evgeny Svechnikov (F) Dominic Turgeon (F) Hayden Verbeek (F) Alex Biega (D) Dennis Cholowski (D) Danny DeKeyser (D) Christian Djoos (D) Joe Hicketts (D) Dylan McIlrath (D) Marc Staal (D) Troy Stecher (D) Jonathan Bernier (G) Kevin Boyle (G) Kaden Fulcher (G) Calvin Pickard (G)EXPANSION DRAFT: Full list of players protected by all 30 teamsEdmonton OilersTyler Benson (F) Alex Chiasson (F) Adam Cracknell (F) Tyler Ennis (F) Joseph Gambardella (F) Seth Griffith (F) Dominik Kahun (F) Jujhar Khaira (F) Cooper Marody (F) James Neal (F) Alan Quine (F) Patrick Russell (F) Devin Shore (F) Anton Slepyshev (F) Kyle Turris (F) Bogdan Yakimov (F) Tyson Barrie (D) Oscar Klefbom (D) Slater Koekkoek (D) Dmitry Kulikov (D) William Lagesson (D) Adam Larsson (D) Kris Russell (D) Mikko Koskinen (G) Mike Smith (G) Alex Stalock (G)DUNCAN KEITH: Oilers add three-time Stanley Cup championFlorida PanthersNoel Acciari (F) Patrick Bajkov (F) Juho Lammikko (F) Ryan Lomberg (F) Brad Morrison (F) Aleksi Saarela (F) Frank Vatrano (F) Lucas Wallmark (F) Alex Wennberg (F) Scott Wilson (F) Lucas Carlsson (D) Kevin Connauton (D) Tommy Cross (D) Radko Gudas (D) Noah Juulsen (D) Brady Keeper (D) Brandon Montour (D) Markus Nutivaara (D) Ethan Prow (D) Anton Stralman (D) Philippe Desrosiers (G) Chris Driedger (G) Sam Montembeault (G)Los Angeles KingsAndreas Athanasiou (F) Michael Eyssimont (F) Martin Frk (F) Carl Grundstrom (F) Bokondji Imama (F) Brendan Lemieux (F) Blake Lizotte (F) Matt Luff (F) Drake Rymsha (F) Austin Wagner (F) Mark Alt (D) Daniel Brickley (D) Kale Clague (D) Olli Maatta (D) Kurtis MacDermid (D) Jacob Moverare (D) Austin Strand (D) Christian Wolanin (D) Troy Grosenick (G) Jonathan Quick (G)Minnesota WildWilliam Bitten (F) Nick Bjugstad (F) Nick Bonino (F) Joseph Cramarossa (F) Gabriel Dumont (F) Marcus Johansson (F) Luke Johnson (F) Victor Rask (F) Kyle Rau (F) Mason Shaw (F) Dmitry Sokolov (F) Matt Bartkowski (D) Louie Belpedio (D) Ian Cole (D) Brad Hunt (D) Ian McCoshen (D) Brennan Menell (D) Dakota Mermis (D) Carson Soucy (D) Andrew Hammond (G) Kaapo Kahkonen (G)Montreal CanadiensBrandon Baddock (F) Joseph Blandisi (F) Paul Byron (F) Phillip Danault (F) Laurent Dauphin (F) Jonathan Drouin (F) Michael Frolik (F) Charles Hudon (F) Corey Perry (F) Michael Pezzetta (F) Eric Staal (F) Tomas Tatar (F) Lukas Vejdemo (F) Jordan Weal (F) Cale Fleury (D) Erik Gustafsson (D) Brett Kulak (D) Jon Merrill (D) Gustav Olofsson (D) Xavier Ouellet (D) Shea Weber (D) Charlie Lindgren (G) Michael McNiven (G) Carey Price (G)Nashville PredatorsMichael Carcone (F) Nick Cousins (F) Matt Duchene (F) Mikael Granlund (F) Rocco Grimaldi (F) Erik Haula (F) Calle Jarnkrok (F) Ryan Johansen (F) Sean Malone (F) Michael McCarron (F) Rem Pitlick (F) Anthony Richard (F) Brad Richardson (F) Colton Sissons (F) Yakov Trenin (F) Frederic Allard (D) Matt Benning (D) Mark Borowiecki (D) Erik Gudbranson (D) Ben Harpur (D) Josh Healey (D) Tyler Lewington (D) Connor Ingram (G) Kasimir Kaskisuo (G) Pekka Rinne (G)New Jersey DevilsNathan Bastian (F) Christoph Bertschy (F) Brandon Gignac (F) A.J. Greer (F) Andreas Johnsson (F) Ivan Khomutov (F) Nicholas Merkley (F) Brett Seney (F) Ben Street (F) Marian Studenic (F) Will Butcher (D) Connor Carrick (D) Josh Jacobs (D) Ryan Murray (D) David Quenneville (D) Colby Sissons (D) P.K. Subban (D) Matt Tennyson (D) Colton White (D) Evan Cormier (G) Aaron Dell (G) Scott Wedgewood (G)New York IslandersJosh Bailey (F) Cole Bardreau (F) Kieffer Bellows (F) Casey Cizikas (F) Austin Czarnik (F) Michael Dal Colle (F) Jordan Eberle (F) Tanner Fritz (F) Joshua Ho-Sang (F) Ross Johnston (F) Otto Koivula (F) Leo Komarov (F) Kyle Palmieri (F) Richard Panik (F) Dmytro Timashov (F) Travis Zajac (F) Sebastian Aho (D) Braydon Coburn (D) Andy Greene (D) Thomas Hickey (D) Mitchell Vande Sompel (D) Parker Wotherspoon (D) Ken Appleby (G) Cory Schneider (G)New York RangersColin Blackwell (F) Jonny Brodzinski (F) Phillip Di Giuseppe (F) Gabriel Fontaine (F) Julien Gauthier (F) Tim Gettinger (F) Barclay Goodrow (F) Anthony Greco (F) Ty Ronning (F) Anthony Bitetto (D) Brandon Crawley (D) Tony DeAngelo (D) Nick DeSimone (D) Mason Geertsen (D) Jack Johnson (D) Darren Raddysh (D) Brendan Smith (D) Keith Kinkaid (G)EXPANSION DRAFT FRENZY: Ryan Ellis, Jared McCann, Barclay Goodrow among players swapped before trade freezeOttawa SenatorsAvailable Vitaly Abramov (F) Michael Amadio (F) Artem Anisimov (F) J.C. Beaudin (F) Clark Bishop (F) Evgenii Dadonov (F) Jonathan Davidsson (F) Ryan Dzingel (F) Micheal Haley (F) Jack Kopacka (F) Zachary Magwood (F) Matthew Peca (F) Logan Shaw (F) Derek Stepan (F) Chris Tierney (F) Josh Brown (D) Cody Goloubef (D) Mikael Wikstrand (D) Joey Daccord (G) Anton Forsberg (G) Marcus Hogberg (G) Matt Murray (G)Philadelphia FlyersAndy Andreoff (F) Connor Bunnaman (F) David Kase (F) Pascal Laberge (F) Samuel Morin (F) German Rubtsov (F) Carsen Twarynski (F) James van Riemsdyk (F) Jakub Voracek (F) Mikhail Vorobyev (F) Chris Bigras (D) Justin Braun (D) Shayne Gostisbehere (D) Robert Hagg (D) Derrick Pouliot (D) Nate Prosser (D) Tyler Wotherspoon (D) Brian Elliott (G) Alex Lyon (G) Felix Sandstrom (G)Pittsburgh PenguinsPontus Aberg (F) Anthony Angello (F) Zach Aston-Reese (F) Josh Currie (F) Frederick Gaudreau (F) Mark Jankowski (F) Sam Lafferty (F) Sam Miletic (F) Evan Rodrigues (F) Colton Sceviour (F) Brandon Tanev (F) Jason Zucker (F) Cody Ceci (D) Kevin Czuczman (D) Mark Friedman (D) Jesper Lindgren (D) Andrey Pedan (D) Marcus Pettersson (D) Juuso Riikola (D) Chad Ruhwedel (D) Yannick Weber (D) Casey DeSmith (G) Maxime Lagace (G)San Jose SharksRyan Donato (F) Kurtis Gabriel (F) Dylan Gambrell (F) Jayden Halbgewachs (F) Maxim Letunov (F) Patrick Marleau (F) Matt Nieto (F) Marcus Sorensen (F) Alexander True (F) Christian Jaros (D) Nicolas Meloche (D) Jacob Middleton (D) Greg Pateryn (D) Radim Simek (D) Martin Jones (G)St. Louis BluesSam Anas (F) Sammy Blais (F) Tyler Bozak (F) Kyle Clifford (F) Jacob de la Rose (F) Mike Hoffman (F) Tanner Kaspick (F) Mackenzie MacEachern (F) Curtis McKenzie (F) Austin Poganski (F) Zach Sanford (F) Jaden Schwartz (F) Nolan Stevens (F) Vladimir Tarasenko (F) Nathan Walker (F) Robert Bortuzzo (D) Vince Dunn (D) Petteri Lindbohm (D) Niko Mikkola (D) Mitch Reinke (D) Steven Santini (D) Marco Scandella (D) Jake Walman (D) Evan Fitzpatrick (G) Jon Gillies (G) Ville Husso (G)Tampa Bay LightningAlex Barre-Boulet (F) Blake Coleman (F) Ross Colton (F) Yanni Gourde (F) Tyler Johnson (F) Mathieu Joseph (F) Boris Katchouk (F) Alex Killorn (F) Pat Maroon (F) Boo Nieves (F) Ondrej Palat (F) Taylor Raddysh (F) Gemel Smith (F) Otto Somppi (F) Mitchell Stephens (F) Daniel Walcott (F) Luke Witkowski (F) Andreas Borgman (D) Fredrik Claesson (D) Sean Day (D) Cal Foote (D) Brian Lashoff (D) Dominik Masin (D) Jan Rutta (D) David Savard (D) Luke Schenn (D) Ben Thomas (D) Christopher Gibson (G) Spencer Martin (G) Curtis McElhinney (G)MORE: Maroon fourth player to win three straight Stanley Cups with two different teamsToronto Maple LeafsAvailable Kenny Agostino (F) Joey Anderson (F) Adam Brooks (F) Pierre Engvall (F) Nick Foligno (F) Alex Galchenyuk (F) Zach Hyman (F) Alexander Kerfoot (F) Kalle Kossila (F) Denis Malgin (F) Jared McCann (F) Riley Nash (F) Stefan Noesen (F) Nic Petan (F) Scott Sabourin (F) Wayne Simmonds (F) Jason Spezza (F) Antti Suomela (F) Joe Thornton (F) Zach Bogosian (D) Travis Dermott (D) Ben Hutton (D) Martin Marincin (D) Calle Rosen (D) Frederik Andersen (G) Michael Hutchinson (G) David Rittich (G)Vancouver CanucksSven Baertschi (F) Justin Bailey (F) Jay Beagle (F) Travis Boyd (F) Loui Eriksson (F) Jonah Gadjovich (F) Tyler Graovac (F) Jayce Hawryluk (F) Matthew Highmore (F) Lukas Jasek (F) Kole Lind (F) Zack MacEwen (F) Petrus Palmu (F) Antoine Roussel (F) Brandon Sutter (F) Jimmy Vesey (F) Jake Virtanen (F) Madison Bowey (D) Guillaume Brisebois (D) Jalen Chatfield (D) Alexander Edler (D) Travis Hamonic (D) Brogan Rafferty (D) Ashton Sautner (D) Josh Teves (D) Braden Holtby (G)Washington CapitalsDaniel Carr (F) Nic Dowd (F) Shane Gersich (F) Carl Hagelin (F) Garnet Hathaway (F) Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (F) Alex Ovechkin (F) Garrett Pilon (F) Brian Pinho (F) Michael Raffl (F) Michael Sgarbossa (F) Conor Sheary (F) Zdeno Chara (D) Brenden Dillon (D) Nick Jensen (D) Lucas Johansen (D) Michal Kempny (D) Paul LaDue (D) Cameron Schilling (D) Justin Schultz (D) Craig Anderson (G) Pheonix Copley (G) Zach Fucale (G) Vitek Vanecek (G)Winnipeg JetsMason Appleton (F) Marko Dano (F) Jansen Harkins (F) Trevor Lewis (F) Skyler McKenzie (F) Mathieu Perreault (F) Paul Stastny (F) CJ Suess (F) Nate Thompson (F) Dominic Toninato (F) Nathan Beaulieu (D) Jordie Benn (D) Dylan DeMelo (D) Derek Forbort (D) Luke Green (D) Sami Niku (D) Nelson Nogier (D) Tucker Poolman (D) Mikhail Berdin (G) Laurent Brossoit (G) Eric Comrie (G) Cole Kehler (G) Read the full article

[fawsldaily]

Season Preview: Birmingham

womenscompetitions.thefa.com

Manager Marta Tejedor will be the first to tell you that Blues face the coming season as a different unit than the one that finished fourth last year.

Tejedor helped the midlands outfit to a record points haul after replacing Marc Skinner in January but might struggle to replicate the form that made the possible in the absence of some star names.

World Cup bronze boot winner Ellen White has joined the ranks of Manchester City along with centre-back Aoife Mannion while Hayley Ladd has moved to Manchester United.

White scored more league goals for Blues than any other player last season despite missing more than half of their games while Charlie Wellings and Emma Follis have also departed meaning Tejedor will have to look elsewhere for goals this term.

The good news at Damson Park is that England midfielder Lucy Staniforth remains a Birmingham player and new recruits such as Brianna Visalli and Abbi Grant will be eager to prove their worth.

2018-19 stats watch:

Finish: 4th

Top scorer: Ellen White (6)

Biggest victory: 3-0 (at home to West Ham)

Heaviest defeat: 1-3 (away at Arsenal)

Key Ins/Outs:

Ins: Adrienne Jordan, Lucy Whipp, Rebecca Holloway, Brianna Visalli, Abbi Grant

Outs: Paige Williams, Shania Hayles, Lucy Quinn, Aoife Mannion, Marisa Ewers, Hayley Ladd, Charlie Wellings, Meaghan Sargeant, Ellen White, Emma Follis

Player to watch: Lucy Staniforth

The former Sunderland captain perhaps didn’t get as much playing time as she would have hoped for during the World Cup but there is doubt about her quality.

Her performances last season for Blues have made her a permanent fixture in Phil Neville’s England plans and will no doubt form the linchpin of Tejedor’s plans this season.

If she can contribute goals alongside fellow midfielder Chloe Arthur then that might relieve some of the pressure on the striker that comes in.

What they said:

Kerys Harrop

“We have had a few changes this season and you can’t blame a few of the players for moving on because they had better offers. What I have realised over the last few seasons is that that is going to happen because there is more money and interest in our game now. We now have to move on because we have new players coming too and I can’t wait to see what they can bring to our team. As the captain I have a role to settle the team down because we have just rode the storm of a new manager coming and now it feels like we need to ride another one. With the sponsorship we have received it is going to be a massive year for us as players and I think it is time for us to step up and make a good impression on the fans too.”

Chloe Arthur

“Last season was difficult, because Marta Tejedor came in towards the end, so she didn’t really change much about the way we played. It’s going to be different this season because she wants to bring in new ideas, but that’s a good thing because we are almost like a brand-new team. We need a manager to get us going. I say this every year but on a personal level, I definitely want to score more goals. I’ve not scored as many goals as I would have liked to so far, but I think performance-wise I am growing as a player and will only continue to improve. If you don’t score goals, you don’t get noticed as much, even if you do lots of hard work behind the scenes, so I want to show what I’m made of.”

[thrashermaxey]

Lining Up: Gourde’s Hot Start, Getzlaf Underappreciated, and More – November 13

  In this week’s installment, we take a look at one hot line and one cold line. The temperature of these lines was determined using Dobber’s Line Production Tool to compare even-strength production over the past 10 games. I compiled a list of the highest scoring line for each team at even strength. Here’s the list…

  #

Team

Line

Points

1

Buffalo

Jeff Skinner – Jack Eichel – Jason Pominville

30

2

Islanders

Anders Lee – Brock Nelson – Josh Bailey

20

3

Colorado

Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

19

4

Tampa Bay

Yanni Gourde – Brayden Point – Tyler Johnson

14

5

Montreal

Tomas Tatar – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

13

6

New Jersery

Taylor Hall – Nico Hischier – Kyle Palmieri

13

7

Pittsburgh

Carl Hagelin – Evgeni Malkin – Phil Kessel

12

8

Winnipeg

Nikolaj Ehlers – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler

12

9

Nashville

Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Viktor Arvidsson

11

10

Columbus

Artemi Panarin – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Cam Atkinson

11

11

Philadelphia

Claude Giroux – Sean Couturier – Travis Konecny

11

12

Ottawa

Ryan Dzingel – Matt Duchene – Mark Stone

11

13

Carolina

Micheal Ferland – Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Teravainen

10

14

Calgary

Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik

10

15

Florida

Mike Hoffman – Aleksander Barkov – Evgenii Dadonov

10

16

Washington

Alex Ovechkin – Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie

10

17

San Jose

Tomas Hertl – Logan Couture – Timo Meier

9

18

Edmonton

Alex Chiasson – Leon Draisaitl – Tobas Rieder

9

19

Vegas

William Carrier – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Ryan Reaves

9

20

Arizona

Brendan Perlini – Derek Stepan – Christian Fischer

9

21

St. Louis

David Perron – Ryan O’Reilly – Zach Sanford

9

22

Minnesota

Jason Zucker – Eric Staal – Mikael Granlund

9

23

Boston

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak

8

24

Chicago

Brandon Saad – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane

8

25

Toronto

Zach Hyman – John Tavares – Mitchell Marner

7

26

Vancouver

Loui Eriksson – Elias Pettersson – Nikolay Goldobin

7

27

Rangers

Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Mats Zuccarello

6

28

Anaheim

Pontus Aberg – Ryan Getzlaf – Rickard Rakell

5

29

Los Angeles

Tyler Toffoli – Jeff Carter – Ilya Kovalchuk

5

30

Detroit

Michael Rasmussen – Jacob De La Rose – Gustav Nyquist

5

31

Dallas

Valeri Nichushkin – Tyler Seguin – Devin Shore

3

                                                                      Yanni Gourde – Brayden Point – Tyler Johnson

At any point in the season, if you ask me who Tampa’s top scoring line is, I’ll go with the safe answer of the Kucherov-Stamkos line. But that answer doesn’t seem so safe anymore, as Gourde and Point continue to prove that their success last season was no fluke. 

Yanni Gourde has been fantastic this season, with 17 points in 17 games. While I don’t think he’ll maintain a point-per-game pace throughout the season, I believe he can replicate last year’s 64-point total. His ice-time is up a minute and a half from last season, so maybe there’s potential for 70?

Brayden Point is one of the most talented players on a truly talented team in Tampa. Try saying that five times fast.  Already with 19 points in 17 games, I’m gonna go ahead and make a ‘bold’ prediction that Point finishes second in team scoring – behind only Nikita Kucherov. The 22-year-old definitely has the tools to be a point-per-game player in the NHL, but maybe 70-75 points is a more realistic expectation this season.

I don’t think Tyler Johnson will ever replicate his magic from 2014-2015 – during which he tallied 72 points in 77 games – but I do believe he’s a solid 55-point player with value in deeper leagues.

Considering they’ve been one of the hottest lines over the past 10 games, it’s no surprise that Gourde, Point, and Johnson have comfortably out-chanced their opponents (62 scoring chances for vs. 48 against). Unlike a lot of high-scoring lines that are mostly deployed in the offensive zone, this trio has an offensive zone faceoff percentage of just 39.68%. Since they’re relied upon at both ends of the ice, it seems logical that they don’t get separated once they hit that inevitable cold stretch.

As I was searching for highlights for this line, I typed ‘Point Gourde scores’ into YouTube. I want you to say, ‘point gourde scores’ out loud. Tell me that doesn’t sound like Steve Carell as Gru from Despicable Me, calling a basketball game (point guard haha). I’ll see myself out…

    Pontus Aberg – Ryan Getzlaf – Rickard Rakell

During the past couple of seasons, a lot of Ducks have been sitting. But injuries aren’t the only reason Anaheim has struggled this season, off to a 7-8-3 start (2-6-2 in their last 10). I’m not sure if they’d have a single win without spectacular goaltending from John Gibson and Ryan Miller. They’ve been an extremely boring team to watch, and I hardly ever feel like their offense is threatening to score.

I know I spent the entirety of the above paragraph dumping on the Ducks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find fantasy value in Anaheim. Maybe I’m out of touch with prevailing hockey opinions, but I feel like nobody realizes just how good Ryan Getzlaf is. While everyone (myself included) complains about how many shots the team gives up, Getzlaf has quietly put up 11 points in 12 games. I’m such a huge fan of guys like Getzlaf and Rakell because they are the most offensively gifted players on a team with a great off-day schedule. While most teams play on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays during the week, you’ll rarely have to sit your Ducks, as 63% (highest in the league) of their games are played on Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Sunday. Now is a great time to buy low on Rickard Rakell, who I believe will improve on his current 54-point pace.

In terms of scoring chances, the Aberg-Getzlaf-Rakell line has allowed as many as they have generated. As I mentioned, the Ducks allow like a million shots a game, so it’s refreshing to see that this trio has a 55.68 Corsi for %. Pontus Aberg has been impressive for stretches this year, with five goals in 12 games. I don’t see him being someone you hold onto for the whole season, but he’s proven he can score every now and then. He definitely hasn’t secured a spot on the top line just yet.

    Notable Line Changes

Follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza for the latest line combinations and injury updates!

  Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Josh Bailey (Source)

Brock Nelson moves to a line with Jordan Eberle and Andrew Ladd.

  Drake Caggiula – Connor McDavid – Leon Draisaitl (Source)

Interesting to see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins away from McDavid. Draisaitl has proven he can perform without McDavid, but we’re well aware of the magic they can create together.

  Nick Schmaltz – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane (Source)

Don’t know how long this will last, but this hurts DeBrincat’s value in the short term as he is moved down to the third line (I type this as he scores against the Hurricanes). The Blackhawks are currently on an eight-game losing streak. So I expect the lines to be shuffled a bit more before they find a winning combination.

  Jeff Skinner – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart (Source)

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Well, apparently Sabres’ coach Phil Housley doesn’t subscribe to that logic as he breaks up the hottest line in the league. Obviously, this is great news for Reinhart owners and awful news for Pominville owners. Sam Reinhart is still available in 57% of leagues, and should make a great addition to your roster.

  Nikolay Goldobin – Elias Pettersson – Jake Virtanen (Source)

Shotgun Jake on the top line with rookie sensation Elias Pettersson! Virtanen – the sixth overall pick of the 2014 draft – already has seven goals in 19 games.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/nhl-line-combinations/lining-up-gourdes-hot-start-getzlaf-underappreciated-and-more-november-13/

[365footballorg-blog]

Man City comeback win ends Blues' 100% start in WSL - highlights & report

Media playback is not supported on this device

Manchester City staged a spirited second-half comeback from 2-0 down to end Birmingham City’s 100% winning start in the Women’s Super League.

Blues led with a bizarre own goal as Abbie McManus’ 50-yard backpass caught out visiting goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck.

Meaghan Sergeant’s header made it 2-0 after half-time.

Caroline Weir’s deflected effort and Nikita Parris’ low finish drew Man City level before Tessa Wullaert’s deflected strike completed the turnaround.

Relive Manchester City’s victory over Birmingham[1]

The victory came just four days after Manchester City’s early exit from the Women’s Champions League at the hands of Spanish title holders Atletico Madrid.

And, when 2-0 down after 49 minutes, Nick Cushing’s side had appeared set to add to their disappointing week.

But their three goals in the space of 19 minutes stunned an otherwise impressive Birmingham, who had won all of their previous three league games this term by a 1-0 margin.

Having started the day level with Arsenal – and with the Gunners not playing on Sunday – a draw would have sent the hosts top of the table, and they nearly equalised late on when Lucy Staniforth struck the post.

But the visitors, who also hit the woodwork themselves with Weir’s curling second-half free-kick and had seen Parris’ close-range effort cleared off the line by Staniforth in the first half, were thrilled as their dramatic second win of the WSL campaign kept up their unbeaten start.

Birmingham City boss Marc Skinner:

“I’m disappointed in the result obviously, but more the performance. We need to be more mature in controlling the game once you’re up in it. That’s something we’ll definitely work on.

“I have very, very high standards and I still don’t think we met them. Even though we went 2-0 up, it was a fortunate goal.

“I want to win things. It’s my nature. We’re competitive and we’re ambitious. This will hurt, but it’ll make us stronger for the next game.”

Manchester City boss Nick Cushing:

“I have never questioned the spirit of the team. Today it doesn’t surprise me that, once we had the performance and we had the control of the game, we would create opportunities. It’s a good win in the end.

“There’s been a bit of illness, so the squad is light, but we’ve built a squad this year that is probably the most balanced we’ve had.

“That means when you do get a mini [injury] crisis, you can rely on the other players and maybe just shift the system a little bit. The team that went out today showed what a good team we are.”

Line-ups[2]

Match Stats[3]

Live Text[4]

Line-ups

B'ham City Women

30Berger

3Sargeant

25Mannion

6Harrop

2Williams

13EwersSubstituted forHaylesat 82'minutes

4Ladd

37Staniforth

7Arthur

8MaylingSubstituted forQuinnat 67'minutes

14FollisSubstituted forWellingsat 45'minutes

Substitutes

11Quinn

15Wellings

18Scofield

21Hayles

23Scott

Man City Women

26Roebuck

4Bonner

6Houghton

5Beattie

23McManus

8Scott

24WalshBooked at 52mins

19Weir

25Wullaert

17ParrisSubstituted forEmslieat 67'minutes

12Stanway

Substitutes

1Bardsley

2Jans

22Emslie

Attendance:

824

Match Stats

Home TeamB'ham City WomenAway TeamMan City Women

Possession

Home40%

Away60%

Shots

Home9

Away17

Shots on Target

Home5

Away9

Corners

Home1

Away4

Fouls

Home5

Away12

Live Text

Posted at

Match ends, Birmingham City Women 2, Manchester City Women 3.

Full Time

Posted at 90'+4'

Second Half ends, Birmingham City Women 2, Manchester City Women 3.

Posted at 90'+3'

Offside, Birmingham City Women. Kerys Harrop tries a through ball, but Shania Hayles is caught offside.

Posted at 90'+3'

Offside, Manchester City Women. Caroline Weir tries a through ball, but Claire Emslie is caught offside.

Posted at 90'+1'

Attempt missed. Hayley Ladd (Birmingham City Women) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Aoife Mannion.

Posted at 88'

Offside, Birmingham City Women. Kerys Harrop tries a through ball, but Shania Hayles is caught offside.

Posted at 88'

Foul by Georgia Stanway (Manchester City Women).

Posted at 88'

Kerys Harrop (Birmingham City Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 88'

Attempt saved. Charlie Wellings (Birmingham City Women) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Hayley Ladd.

Posted at 85'

Attempt saved. Caroline Weir (Manchester City Women) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Jill Scott.

Substitution

Posted at 82'

Substitution, Birmingham City Women. Shania Hayles replaces Marisa Ewers.

Posted at 82'

Hand ball by Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City Women).

Posted at 80'

Offside, Manchester City Women. Georgia Stanway tries a through ball, but Claire Emslie is caught offside.

Posted at 80'

Attempt missed. Georgia Stanway (Manchester City Women) left footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the left.

Posted at 78'

Foul by Gemma Bonner (Manchester City Women).

Posted at 78'

Charlie Wellings (Birmingham City Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 77'

Caroline Weir (Manchester City Women) hits the right post with a left footed shot from outside the box from a direct free kick.

Posted at 76'

Georgia Stanway (Manchester City Women) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 76'

Foul by Chloe Arthur (Birmingham City Women).

Posted at 75'

Attempt saved. Georgia Stanway (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Claire Emslie.

Posted at 74'

Attempt saved. Hayley Ladd (Birmingham City Women) right footed shot from long range on the left is saved in the centre of the goal.

Posted at 74'

Foul by Jennifer Beattie (Manchester City Women).

Posted at 74'

Charlie Wellings (Birmingham City Women) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Goal!

Posted at 73'

Goal! Birmingham City Women 2, Manchester City Women 3. Tessa Wullaert (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from outside the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Claire Emslie.

Posted at 71'

Attempt blocked. Keira Walsh (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jill Scott.

Posted at 69'

Offside, Manchester City Women. Caroline Weir tries a through ball, but Claire Emslie is caught offside.

Posted at 68'

Offside, Manchester City Women. Caroline Weir tries a through ball, but Georgia Stanway is caught offside.

Posted at 67'

Georgia Stanway (Manchester City Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 67'

Foul by Marisa Ewers (Birmingham City Women).

Substitution

Posted at 67'

Substitution, Birmingham City Women. Lucy Quinn replaces Sarah Mayling.

Substitution

Posted at 67'

Substitution, Manchester City Women. Claire Emslie replaces Nikita Parris.

Goal!

Posted at 65'

Goal! Birmingham City Women 2, Manchester City Women 2. Nikita Parris (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Caroline Weir.

Posted at 63'

Attempt saved. Tessa Wullaert (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Nikita Parris.

Posted at 62'

Foul by Keira Walsh (Manchester City Women).

Posted at 62'

Hayley Ladd (Birmingham City Women) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 60'

Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Aoife Mannion.

Posted at 60'

Attempt blocked. Nikita Parris (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Gemma Bonner.

Posted at 58'

Offside, Manchester City Women. Georgia Stanway tries a through ball, but Caroline Weir is caught offside.

Posted at 57'

Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Meaghan Sargeant.

Posted at 55'

Foul by Keira Walsh (Manchester City Women).

Show more updates

goal

References

^ Relive Manchester City’s victory over Birmingham (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Line-ups (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Match Stats (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Live Text (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

Man City comeback win ends Blues' 100% start in WSL – highlights & report was originally published on 365 Football

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Manchester United Women 1-1 Arsenal Women

Well done, Skinner. You woke Arsenal back up. For fuck sake.

Arsenal with Jonas were shit. Arsenal post-Jonas have looked a little lost. You always step up against bigger opposition due to the fear of getting humbled, but Arsenal looked really sharp today.

Their passing was better, more inventive, of greater accuracy. Their movement was sharper, their duelling was better timed and more productive.

Their diligence and quality was rewarded with a goal by no other than ex-United forward Alessia Russo, with a cute finish that surprised Phallon Tullis-Joyce to give Arsenal the lead in the 63rd minute.

PTJ did have a very good game though, as did Maya Le Tissier and Millie Turner at CB. Gabby George and Aoife Mannion were solid enough, but United did look better with sub Jayde Riviere on.

Janssen was assured as ever in CDM, whilst Lisa Naalsund was a little off-the-boil today. Simi Awujo was an upgrade at half time when Naalsund went off injured, but it begged the question why no start when Arsenal are known for being a little more athletic and pressing than United. The same can be said for the usage or lack of re: Hayley Ladd - another solid DM.

United's issue was in attack though. Celin Bizet looked sharp and had a lot of the ball, but that made her an obvious double-up target and limited her impact. Grace Clinton was wasteful in CAM but also keenly pressed, and Ella Toone ineffective at LW.

A second-half positional swap for the two didn't achieve a lot, but the subs of Malard for Toone, Geyse for Bizet, and Williams for Terland did. Good decisions. Skinner isn't entirely useless, and Malard/Geyse were exceptional from when they came on. Very active, driving at Arsenal with intent... it was nice to see the fear flipped.

The problem is that things like Malard on the left... they're obvious. She's far more comfortable on the left, like the injured Leah Galton, than Toone/Clinton. This comfort makes a player a threat, and that makes Arsenal respect the player and press them. That buys others time and space. Clinton and Bizet are in great form, yet today they looked tame.

Based on the Arsenal press, it was incredibly stupid not to utilise Hinata Miyazawa also. Personally I'd have started her over Tooney, who I feel has been okay but not great, and given her recent bereavement... I get wanting to play and to keep busy, but form comes first. Miyazawa has looked great whenever she has featured this season. We cannot waste her like Irene Guerrero, and she's INCREDIBLY PRESS-RESISTANT. Handy versus notorious pressers Arsenal...

All of the above also limited the impact of Elisabeth Terland too, but luckily we have the guile of Rachel Williams on the bench, and the central preference of Melvine Malard that helps her be a double threat from LW and going beyond Rach.

Speaking of Millie, she won both the Player of the Match award for her stoic defending and was given a commemorative shirt for her 150th United appearance - seen here with partner Lisa Naalsund and the rest of her family.

Both teams will feel hard done by with just a point, but oh well. Better than a defeat.

Next up is a lovely 6:45pm SUNDAY fixture against Aston Villa at the LSV. A very winnable game, but wtf is that timing? Ew.

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Everton Women 0-2 Manchester United Women

Another league cup game, another league cup win.

Where to begin on this one. It was a better game than the Leicester match, with a rotated team. I don't know Everton well enough to know how much they rotated - but they certainly weren't as resilient as the Foxes.

A goalmouth scramble in the 15th minute saw United take the lead, with a claim from Melvine Malard for the last touch but an official ruling of an own goal by Everton keeper Courtney Brosnan.

Brosnan struggled with aerial threats for large parts of the game, which is inevitable versus Williams and Malard up top, but for all that she grew into the match... you don't stop Maya Le Tissier hitting an absolute thunderfuck shot into the top bins. LORDY was that a hit.

Literally like watching prime Scholesy, just absolutely boshed high and in the corner.

With the men's side, we've queried people buckling under pressure when being made captain, or falling short of duties. For Maya, it seems like the missing piece of the puzzle. She has been sensational so far this season.

United were on the whole a lot more dangerous in this game than last, with 16 shots and 7 on target - far less hit & hope than vs Leicester City. Possession was also heavily in United's favour - 65/35 respectively. Passing accuracy... I would have liked to have seen. I think United have been wasteful with the double DM picks, so to see a deeper Miyazawa and Emma Watson in CAM... it would have been nice to see how we fared. Is the dog-leg 10-8-6 triad better than two 6s and a 10 for the passing and possession? Is Skinner too cautious, or right to respect opponents whilst using overlapping full backs?

Debuts for Emma Watson and LB Jess Simpson (pictured above in a Saf/Leah sandwich) were nice touches, and well deserved. Both have suffered with injury, as have Leah and Anna Sandberg. A start for Hayley Ladd was also welcome. All played pretty well too - Watson is more CAM than RW where she drifted late on, but maybe it was the knock to the leg she took that hindered that comfort. Otherwise all were solid in their respective duties.

I would have liked to have seen Lucy Newell get some minutes however; she wasn't on the bench, but did Dominque Janssen need more time when we subbed the likes of Geyse to rest them? Contradictory behaviour. Dom is reliable but it would have been a good test of young talent, and Lucy has shone with both England and with West Bromwich Albion Women - her childhood team whose academy she rose through. Use her or loan her. Don't alienate her. We run the risk of losing Grace Clinton as is, and she was a similar hot prospect youth signing who, with loans, excelled. Minutes matter.

Next up for United is that hard, overdue tie away at Chelsea on Sunday - noon kickoff. We cannot afford to lose if we're serious about bagging a European spot. We have to fight for something.

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Manchester United Women 0-6 Chelsea Women

Livid would be an understatement.

Like the final at Wembley, I went to this game. I was excited to be at Old Trafford.

Unlike the final at Wembley, we didn't show up. It was tepid at best and offensive at worst.

United were outclassed to the point that Chelsea took their boot off our neck. They stopped trying as hard in the second half and STILL scored two. 6-0 was a modest result. It was a shameful defeat and it could and should have been a lot worse.

We can point to invidual errors and failings; Mary Earps needs to learn to claim a cross, Millie Turner and Hannah Blundell were repeatedly bullied off the ball, Katie Zelem was too slow and Lisa Naalsund too ponderous on the ball. But that's the game - very rarely does everyone play well all the time.

There is one individual at fault beyond all else though: Mark Skinner. The man handed a contract extension after the FA Cup win. What a mistake that might prove to be eh...

United played a high line at home versus CHELSEA. There's a reason Chelsea and City are the top two in the league and clear of the rest of us; they're faster, stronger, and more technically able. They are better footballers. It's okay to say it. It's also fair to say that United HAVE GOOD PLAYERS. We're not a crap team by any means, but we have strengths and weaknesses and a mediocre blogger like myself on Tumblr can see that against a faster team, you don't push up unless you're supremely confident in your possession game. We're good, but not that good. So, instead, you low block the fuck out of them and play to the counter. You can even hit them with through-ball passing pattern transitions rather than long balls over the top if you're worried about looking cheap, christ on a bike.

You and I can blame our players for mistakes, and we should (in a fair manner - lets not be toxic now) but you can't be mad at Hannah or Millie for getting outpaced by Mayra Ramírez and Catarina Macario. You just can't. It's obvious on paper way before the match.

Hayley Ladd was instrumental at CDM in our clutch win against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final. If we lose that, Chelsea definitely beat Spurs and that's another trophy for Emma Hayes. Yay. It begs the question though - why did she not start? It's the end of the season and she's been used sparingly, especially in comparison to Katie Zelem. I like Zels and she's a good set piece specialist too, but her and Lisa in that central pairing was as much use as me and my dad would have been out there. Completely ineffective.

In contrast, I thought we looked a lot better with Hinata Miyazawa on. We also had Irene Guerrero on the bench unused. What? We could have started Hinata, Irene, Hayley for fresh legs and a good balance in midfield and then sub on Tooney late on for a bit of a madness. Similarly for Rach Williams; she was good and is super reliable, but why was she on and asked to press high and hard? Wtf?

We should have sat deep and ran at Chelsea. Lucia, Melvine, Nikita, Geyse... pick three of that four and go nuts. But no, Mark Skinner has to stick with the same old same old, and that's why United got the same old same old result against Chelsea: defeat. Only this wasn't a defeat. It was a mauling. A humbling.

I'll save the drama with Grace Clinton and other former players for another post, but there's plenty of issue with Skinner from players let alone fans, which is also indicative of a problem in womens football about culture, standards, and behaviour.

Rant over. To end on positives: Lucia Garcia and Rach Williams put in a good shift and showed up. Strong, spirited players whose heads didn't drop. Fair play to the pair of them. Also kudos to Fran Kirby getting a dream send-off. Top player.

I'll miss Rach when she retires, and I hope that's not this summer. I also hope Lucia stays beyond this summer. I'd like a Garcia shirt to go with Toone and Galton.

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Manchester United Women 1-3 Manchester City Women

A spectacle of a derby for the two Manchester sides at Old Trafford, but the Blue Moon shone down on the Theatre of Dreams as Mark Skinner came undone at the hands of opposite number Gareth Taylor.

On the face of the scoreline United got slapped up, but if we look at the statistics it's not quite so damning...

All in all, pretty similar right? Exactly, and therein lies the problem. United were, on paper, a good match for City. How then did United lose, and so badly, after taking an early lead through a solid Katie Zelem penalty into the bottom left corner?

In truth, United lost the battle in all three areas of the pitch.

Up front, United were not getting the shots away. They were not clinical enough. Geyse has had a slow start to life at United and is starting to find her shooting boots, but adapting to the English climate isn't the easiest thing - especially in a league that's more physical than the Primera División. Malard is doing well for goals but gets put out wide to accommodate Geyse, which then benches Lucia Garcia who is a proper winger that likes to take people on. Nikita Parris is also in good goal form so took LW, with Leah Galton playing LB. It's not bad, and all players are getting game time, but United looked best this season with a front three of Galton-Malard-Garcia; a hard working, tenacious front line that's not afraid to have a shot.

Fara Williams and Eartha Pond's podcast 'Boots, Balls and Bras' touched upon a combined United/City XI ahead of the derby. They picked City's midfield in its entirety. They just are slightly better, for all we love who we've got. It was also a surprise not to see Hayley Ladd picked for a double hold alongside Katie Zelem, instead opting for Lisa Naalsund. Not a bad player at all, just City's strong centre and the influence of Pep's full back overload tactic suggested United might need to bide their time for a mistake and break. City themselves were patient and played a passing game designed to bait United out and breach the lines, and that worked despite less possession.

The final and main critique is of the defence. United's backline isn't bad but it's making the same mistakes with slow passing, poor positioning, and disjointed movement. That's not game over against lower table opposition but against big rivals and top sides it'll be punished. City CF Bunny Shaw is arguably the best forward in the league right now (Sam Kerr is 30...) and she did score against us, and looked formidable throughout. On another day it might have been a hat-trick.

As All For United said, City had a player sent off. They were down to 10 and United looked toothless in response. Fatigue or mentality could have played a part in the lack of a reaction, but that's on the manager to encourage players and use them tactically to get the best out of body and mind.

The result sees City leapfrog United into third place in the WSL. There's no shame in admitting that overall, Manchester City's team are better than ours (for now). They have more engaged ownership and active funds. They've played at the Etihad more than we have at Old Trafford so they have more big stadium experience. The issue is that with the sale of Ona Batlle and injury to Gabby George suddenly United's backline is shaky - and it's being exposed.

The best teams have the best defences. United's isn't bad; player for player they're a good bunch, and form has been improving generally from them. The issues are the depth in quality is lacking, so much so that Leah Galton started at LB, and there's work to be done on the training ground. United's slow passing around the backline can be worked on. You can coach players into quicker passing and better positioning to receive passes.

Next up in the league is Bristol City, away at Ashton Gate. This one's another I've the time and money to go to so I'll try and bag a few photos, but before that is Conti Cup action against Liverpool - time to bounce back.

[unitedbydevils]

Match Review: Aston Villa Women 1-2 Manchester United Women

The Womens Super League (WSL) season has finally begun, after a delayed start with a summer World Cup, but it got off to a flier for Mark Skinner's side with a scrappy win away at Aston Villa.

With a record WSL crowd for Villa Park of just over 12,500, the atmosphere was lively - and I did my part from the away end to help cheer on the Reds too.

United looked comfortable in possession in the first half but, like yesterday's men's game vs Palace, ultimately toothless. In contrast, Villa were a compact, disciplined unit. They moved well as a team and in a highly synchronised unison. This kept United out and allowed Villa - in particularly Rachel Daly - to threaten on the counter.

The second half saw more risk and energy from United as the rain fell on Birmingham, but the game took until the 74th minute to come to life. Ex-United winger Kirsty Hanson was sent off for a high foot, studs up challenge on Hayley Ladd, and United began to gamble.

This gave a sharper Villa a chance and England international Daly snapped it up, slotting past compatriot Mary Earps at her near post. United rallied and began to hold possession with much more assurance, and the hard work of Lucia Garcia paid off with a goal for the Spaniard just five minutes later.

Substitute Rachel Williams - no stranger to Birmingham having had two spells with the Blues - came on for the debutant Geyse da Silva Ferreira in the 66th minute and it was the veteran who clinched victory in stoppage time with a header in the 92nd minute. The nod wasn't that powerful and seemed to go past Van Domselaar in slow motion, and gave United a deserved three points to start the season.

Villa will feel hard done to given that they played a good game and showed excellent tactical discipline and coordination. Manager Carla Ward spoke to the BBC about the need for full time referees and assistants, rather than the current part-time system. Ward might have been alluding to some 'dark arts' mischief from United's star centre-back Maya Le Tissier (no relation) who body checked Ebony Salmon just outside the box and in front of the referee it appeared. Villa fans were outraged and demanding a red card, whilst United fans played the action down. The middle ground is that it was off-the-ball shithousery and deserved a yellow. It didn't stop a goal opportunity but it was unsporting and deliberate.

That said, Villa also had several occasions of play acting and feigning clips to the calves or ankles. Nothing as blatant as Maya's foul but food for thought.

We end though with Player of the Match Lucia Garcia. After running hard the whole 90 and getting a goal, she gave a rare interview to the BBC and whoops 😂

A United performance we can be proud of though. Up the reds.

[rashfordxbruno]

United players + manager nominated for monthly WSL awards (January 2023)

• Ona Batlle (Player of the Month)

• Hayley Ladd (Player of the Month)

• Kirsty Hanson (on loan to Aston Villa) (Player of the Month)

• Marc Skinner (Manager of the Month)

• Rachel Williams vs Reading (Goal of the Month)

Well deserved, Reds! 🔴

[tooneysunited]

What other former Birmingham players are available for United to sign this summer?

think it’s just williams. maybe chloe arthur and kerys harrop? not sure.

looking at this squad list we are brum 2018 2.0. ladd, mannion, staniforth, skinner and now maybe williams. baggaley also played for brum under skinner the year before 😂

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Sitting on your hands; Kovalchuk; Voynov; Fleury, a Sharks dark horse and more (June 11)

Ramblings: Sitting on your hands; Kovalchuk; Voynov; Fleury, a Sharks dark horse and more (June 11)

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The NHL Draft is in just 11 short days. We have the 100 most fantasy-relevant players profiled in my 12th Annual Fantasy Prospects Report (buy it here), along with 350 prospects who are already in NHL organizations. You can see sample pages from this document right here if you’re at all hesitant.

I just updated this FPR today. It now has a completed Mock Draft that Peter Harling did, and he factored in a shocking trade that he’s predicting will happen to shake things up a bit. I’ve never had a Mock Draft in the FPR that did that before, so if it comes to pass he’ll look like a genius.

Among the player profiles I added – Patrik Rybar, Detroit’s newest goaltender in their system. That one was easily the most requested. I added six others, including a very intriguing prospect for San Jose that I’ll dig into below.

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Ilya Kovalchuk was in Los Angeles to meet with the Kings and then he was reportedly set to meet with the San Jose Sharks. I really thought the Rangers had him unofficially signed already, but guess I was wrong. I like the Kings as a fit here but the Sharks? This is a team that I think has done a great job transitioning from a bunch of grandpas to bringing in new blood. Filtering out Patrick Marleau and rolling back the ice time of Paul Martin and Joel Ward, while at the same time bringing in Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc, and adding Evander Kane (let’s not get into the contract – that’s another topic!). Adding Ilya Kovalchuk is a positive for any team…but maybe not this one. The Sharks should be focusing on defensemen, I really like the forward corps they’ve put together now and there are a couple of prospects I like who could slot in there a year or two from now.

My favorite team for Kovalchuk is the Islanders. I like this fit for both sides. As bad as this team was last season, we can all agree (?) that they were worse than expected. Worse than on paper – and that’s not even factoring in Mathew Barzal as a sudden superstar. If Tavares signs, it helps the decision. Imagine:

Anders Lee – John Tavares – Josh Bailey

Ilya Kovalchuk – Mat Barzal – Jordan Eberle

Andrew Ladd – Brock Nelson – Anthony Beauvillier

With Josh Ho-Sang ready to make the jump, and Ryan Pulock ready to seize the PP reins. Add in a new coach and this team is a dark horse. But it starts with Kovalchuk. I know you may have some reservations about Loophole Lou actually getting Kovalchuk back, but according to Lighthouse Hockey, Kovalchuk has a lot of respect for Lamoriello and is appreciative of how hard Lou worked in order to free him up to return to Russia.

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I just won my two keeper league playoff pools. In both cases, I won the playoff pools last year as well. Prior to that, I had never won both pools at the same time – this is 28 and 18 years in the making!

In the 28-year league I had a pretty good midseason draft I’d say. My two picks? Eeli Tolvanen and Kovalchuk. So those two get added to a team that finished fourth in the regular season and first in the postseason. Tolvanen won’t help this year, but what a great asset to have.

In the 18-year league, the owner of Kovalchuk never dropped him.

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Small sidebar – This Kovalchuk owner is one of those owners who tends to sit on his hands and not make any big moves. You know the type: afraid of failure, loyal to his guys. Can be frustrating to deal with because often hours of back-and-forth discussion turns into nothing. The GM is decent at the draft table, and he had very early success (winning in Year 4 I think). Doing things his way, he will often be in contention and at least win a bit of money. He’ll do little tweak deals – someone’s dropsy for a late-round pick, and maybe the dropsy pans out. Once per year he’ll do a mid-sized deal with his buddy to help one of them get third or fourth in the standings. But otherwise, he stands pat, even letting players erode on his team – Daniel Alfredsson, Jeff Skinner, Mike Cammalleri, etc. And for a while there – Claude Giroux, though he has a new lease on life with Giroux now. These are all players he could have moved for a nice package, but never did. I’m horrified at the thought of a player retiring on my team and I couldn’t trade him first! Wasted asset!

But what has really kept this GM afloat is that we have this rule where each year we can “sign” a 24-year-old player (or older) who is a free agent in our league. We can do it whenever, so it’s a balance of patience and timing as you don’t want to use it up in October and yet you don’t want to lose the guy to someone else. I’ve never gotten anyone great – over the years Matt Moulson, M-E Vlasic, Aaron Dell, that type. It’s a deep league of 15 teams and 36 players each so pickings are slim. But he grabbed the two best free agents in our history: Devan Dubnyk just before he was traded to Minnesota…and William Karlsson. Wow. It is luck like that that will do little to encourage him to trade. Why trade when you can grab a superstar for nothing? And now he has Kovalchuk and Valeri Nichushkin returning (yes, he kept Nichushkin too!). Why trade, indeed!

A good guy and intelligent hockey man (if he’s reading this!), don’t get me wrong. But I stand by what I say: if your keeper league is established, then you won’t win unless you make a couple of middling-to-big trades each year. Because if 10 other GMs are doing that, then of course some of their trades are bound to pay off and those are the GMs who win. The conservative method, in a deep league, will keep you in the middle of the standings. But we're supposed to be in it to win it.

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Marc-Andre Fleury is entering the last season of his contract and starting July 1 he is eligible to sign an extension. Word is that he hopes to finish up his career with Vegas so perhaps a long-term deal is on the way? If I’m Vegas I’m looking at a six-year deal at most, with the understanding that the last two years could possibly be as a backup and mentor if his skills erode. But this is professional sports, complete with agents. So it will wind up being an eight-year albatross I’m sure.

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A few days ago the San Jose Sharks signed the leading scorer of the Finnish Liiga Antti Suomela. The undrafted Suomela came from out of nowhere in 2016-17 when he scored 45 points in 58 games as a second-year player. Last season he proved it was no fluke when he picked up 60 points in 59 games to lead all players. The Sharks had signed another high-scoring 24-year-old late bloomer named Joonas Donskoi two years ago, and Suomela’s numbers exceed Donskoi’s. Donskoi stepped right into the lineup and posted 36 points as an NHL rookie, so could Suomela do the same but better? One drawback I noticed was that Suomela’s numbers seriously dropped off in the postseason, so if he stumbles under pressure he’s not going to make the team out of training camp. So therein lies the risk. Otherwise I really like him.

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Slava Voynov, who was banned from entering the USA, can now get his visa and return. Or rather – on July 2nd, so I’m guessing NHL teams (if they reinstate him) have to wait until then before offering him a contract. There is a picture on Twitter of him with his wife – the same wife who he abused (though his wife repeatedly said she fell). So they’re still together, he’s rich, and teams are in on his services. I’m done with any commentary about the morals here. I’ll stick to fantasy hockey. He is a very talented defenseman with a lot of offensive upside. Wherever he signs he’s almost certain to top 40 points this year because at 28 he’s in his prime. Even 50 isn’t far-fetched. He had 60 points in 87 games over the last two years for the highly-talented SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

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Toby Enstrom informed the Jets that he won’t be re-signing with them this offseason. But that just frees up ice time for talents like Josh Morrissey.

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Interesting tidbit: NBC Sports reported that Jay Beagle is the first player in hockey history to win a championship with the ECHL, AHL, and NHL. So there you go.

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See you next week

      from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-sitting-on-your-hands-kovalchuk-voynov-fleury-a-sharks-dark-horse-and-more-june-11/