#we have ucl next season I expect to see them there in their ARSENAL jerseys w the lil ucl badge on it. thank you.

[maiteo]

rumors of reiss and rob leaving thrown in my face and I’m supposed to continue on with my day?

[uswnt5]

i’m back and boy do i have things to say. buckle up it’s a loooooong one

first off, an i cannot stress this enough, fuck Merritt Paulson. that’s it, that’s the tweet. thanks for coming to my ted talk.

don’t worry i’ll get to THAT. but first, not taking Brianna Visalli or Ally Prisock? dumb moves LV, but not the first of the night tbh. like not even one of them? Kizer is good, but a rookie with no experience at all? would love to know the train of thought on that one. unsurprised by Sky Blue and North Carolina (should’ve protected Merrick imo), good picks though. bit confused by Spirit, would’ve gone for Dougherty-Howard young but experienced, but they picked two rookies instead so we clearly aren’t valuing having any actual playing experience in LV. we only care about height for a 6’1 keeper but ok.

a rookie defender from the Reign and Michelle Betos. again so much better talent to take from Reign and you took a rookie who you *think* will come back from Sweden. she probably will but i would’ve taken someone in their mid 20s who had experience for you to build around and is already proven considering all the rookies you’ve already taken. and a keeper who just tore her acl?? idk when Betos will be ready but you now get to choose between a rookie keeper and an injured keeper when you could’ve taken Britt Eckerstrom and a different player from Reign (Rosie White, Jasmyn Spencer, Taylor Smith) . sidenote wonder who Reigns new international keeper will be now that they don’t have any lol.

Orlando. oof. not much to choose from i know, but like two Aussies? after the great Aussie nwsl exodus? i know Foord has a relationship with the coach, but she’s loving Arsenal and Lia Walti and i don’t think she’s planning on returning soon. Alanna Kennedy could also very well stay overseas especially if she doesn’t want to move, staying overseas looking more attractive in my opinion. wouldve looked at Pickett or Konya Plummer but it seems LV is pulling a Hail Mary and crossing their fingers about them coming back to the league (and other *side eye*). not to mention UK is closer to AUS and with them having the WC in 2023 i wouldn’t be surprised if that’s another reason they stayed in europe.

Press, unsurprising i think we all saw that coming. Utah just looks like it’s sinking and nobody is throwing a line out to help. willing to bet you don’t see Vero come back, maybe even Gunny with how things are going.

ok here we go. i will preface this by saying i have been a Thorns fan from the start, so this is devastating. my heart really does hurt, and seeing fans be so disgusted with the Thorns front office? deserved. i don’t think anyone really expected it to happen with the talent Portland left available. i mean considering LV’s entire team is rookies you’d think they would throw some experienced players in there, you know ones who will actually come play for you? Tobin not being a Thorn anymore just doesn’t seem real or right, and maybe that’s dramatic, but more than literally anyone else on that team, she IS Portland. this is a player who dedicated her entire career to helping build this club, and the way everything went down this year, dirty. having stated on multiple occasions (literally a month ago too) that Portland and the Thorns are her home, she had every intention of going back and playing there. now she won’t even get a proper sendoff? and Paulson is going to make statements that she’s irreplaceable? then get her back you dumb fucking idiot. i KNOW there is a long game here but Portland couldve waited for this exact thing to happen next year with LA, which it probably would’ve, and given a proper sendoff to the player who has been the heart of your team from its start. we’ll never know, but some back door deal could’ve and should’ve been made to leave her, especially with who else was available, but LV/Portland just uprooted a settled 30 year old life and i’m not ok with that. if they don’t at BARE minimum retire #17, oof, prepare for a riot.

i hope Tobin stays in Manchester until at least december 2021 and doesn’t report after the Olympics. i would even be down with a permanent move to the wsl as a fuck you to the nwsl. this draft reminded me of how disgusting it is that the NWSL does not give players autonomy of their own careers, jerking them around without any care for their feelings or lives. you cannot claim to be the best league in the world and then treat players this way. nobody can tell me Tobin is thrilled about this at the end of the day, even if she’ll get to play with Press, she just lost the home and team she spent years building and probably thought she’d end her career with that’s got to be devastating. furthermore, LV currently using the two of them as clickbait knowing the chances of them ever reporting there are about as likely as Donald Trump getting elected for a second bc ‘voter fraud’? fucking gross. Christy Holly was problematic af when he coached before, you think they want to go from Casey Stoney to that? absolutely fucking doubt it.

currently: really unhappy, very sad, also angry. thanks for reading and would love your thoughts and sorry for all the cursing

I love cursing, don’t ever apologize for that! I’m sorry you’re hurting, too. It’s awful to see it go down like this. The problem is, there really wasn’t another way. Crystal got her wish so essentially they had to give up Tobin. I think they were banking on putting enough talent out there to distract Louisville into taking other players but alas, it didn’t work.

I’ve said earlier but I’ll say again, this hurts, but at the end of the day, at least Tobin and Christen get to go through this experience together and it’s not one left having to deal with it while the other has a safety net. They are each others safety nets now and that’s a cool thing. 

When it comes down to it, I think them staying in Manchester until Dec 2021 is exactly what they’ll do. That’ll give them time to come back to the states for the holidays and settle into LA (if they get that move), get a house there, and start ramping up media for the inaugural season. Fans want it. I really do think it’ll happen. I mean, look at the Rebellion 99 watch parties that they already have for CP and she’s not even an LA player yet. They simple LOVE their hometown girl. 

T&C and the first overall pic in 2022 for Louisville exemption like @xowoso said seems pretty spot on to me. 

For now, lets all just take a breath and thank our lucky stars that they are playing in Manchester right now and not actually having to make a 2020 decision about agreeing to go to Louisville. Let’s see where this WSL season ends up and if they can get into UCL before we stress too much. They’re happy and thriving together and I think we should hold onto that for now. 

And if it makes you feel better, maybe sleep in your Tobin Thorns jersey tonight.