Greg Ryan cops to a lapse in judgment.
``My mistake was not leaving them more in a dual starting role from an earlier period of time,'' Ryan said Saturday. ``I think we needed two kinds of goal keepers in this World Cup.''
At least Ryan admits that he erred in not having Scurry ready or the team and Solo prepared for the possibility of such a move. However, it just seems to compound his mistake of calling for the switch. The bottom line is, Ryan DIDN'T have them in a dual starting role. Scurry didn't have the practice she needed, nor did the defense.
Given that Ryan realized that he hadn't had that preparation set up for Scurry, it's even more inexcusable that he decided to overlook that fact and start her anyway.
It's like me thinking, "Dang, I should have filled up the car with gas - it's empty now and I'm late." Then I try to drive to where I'm going anyway and blame the car and bad luck when it gives out on the road.
You don't correct an error by pretending it doesn't exist and that things will magically be fine anyway.
4 comments:
The bottom line is Ryan must be fired. He is a disgrace. He still doesn't accept responsibility.
And when I close my eyes, all I see is him on the sideline laughing and giggling when his team is getting their butts handed to them.
May Hope rise above this and get on with her life and shine, shine, shine.
That statement in that story is so ludicrous, I'm shaking my head trying to figure out what kind of coach would say that.
If you are the USWNT, two-time WWC champs, Olympic Gold medal holders, why would you have to change your goalkeepers based on your opponents? The U.S. should be the one saying "Here's what we've got. Bring it."
Why in a World Cup would you feel necessary to play two goalkeepers, especially if you are one of the favorites?
His mistake wasn't having them in a dual role because that's just silly. His mistake was that he ever considered changing the starting goalkeeper mid-stream.
And as far as his 51-game streak goes, that's about as impressive as Bruce Arena's record against CONCACAF nations.
That quote from Ryan is such a cop out. Just reading it makes me think less of the guy. It's very weak. Why is he still the coach of the team, btw? He should have been fried already.
I am so glad to hear these comments finally emerging. I missed the part where Ryan owns up to a mistake. But the very mistake he is owning up to illuminates his profound ignorance. He turned our amazing, brilliant, dedicated team into a "one note samba" that didn't stand a chance against the "samba queens" once he removed Solo from the box.
And to see Scurry out there was painful. She is a living inspiration to a generation of young goalkeepers. At the friendly game in Carson CA, their last game before leaving for China, she had not one minute of play time. After the game those who had not played practiced a little at the far end while the others gave interviews and signed autographs. I saw Brianna walking, shoulders slightly down, head down, toward where a gaggle of girls were yelling for Abby and Hope to sign their shirts and gloves. I started a chant...Scurry Scurry Scurry...the girls picked it up. Brianna responded immediately and sprinted over with a big smile and signed a gazillion shirts and gloves. We all felt it might be the last time we would see her up close and be able to say "we love you".
My daughter keeps goal and on big game days she wears her gloves and jersey bearing the autographs of Scurry and Solo. And that's how it will remain. Scurry AND Solo in our hearts.
But we hope to forget Mr. Ryan altogether, real soon.
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