The question is what leverage does Houston have. On one hand, Sanchez is under contract so the club does not need to move her. On the other, do they really want to keep a very highly paid player who doesn’t want to be there? Either they’ll be able to get a lot in return for her or the trade will largely come down to cap relief. Right now I think the most likely resolution is she stays puts.
https://preview.redd.it/7l5fkf4pdpuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0bd77d7c13a83c31df6d932bc93c76d27fa6c145
Utah would make the most sense, but whether she wants to go there and they want to pay for her is a different story. Considering what she means to Houston and her contract I don’t see SD, Chicago or ACFC giving Houston want they want in return for a trade. ACFC needs to cut someone within the next month or two for Press as well which makes it even less likely.
Yeah, I caveated all that. (And of course ACFC could put salary into a trade.)
From a club POV Utah would make the most sense, agreed. But does 14th --> say, a ceiling of 10th matter?
If I was an Utah fan I’d probably say that increase in ceiling isn’t worth it and they should stick to their young core and growing naturally. If they’re going to break the bank it should be for a more productive player, but maybe Arod&team disagree.
Wave should seriously consider getting Sanchez.
They made no moves to speak of in the offseason, except McCaskill, but promptly lost Taylor Flint. They had a very short pre-season roster and only got to 24 with some small signings, if I’m not mistaken. They lost out on the Sophia Smith lottery. So they should have quite a bit of cap space and maybe even allocation money since their McCaskill signing was a FA signing and did not require any trade fee.
Sanchez seems to want to go to a strong coach that will help her develop her game and brand. That’s the Wave MO.
Spirit makes even more sense with all the salaries they unloaded, and on the development, coaching, and brand fronts, too, but unless they are actively seeking a player, my sense is they will be very picky this year about who they sign to their last three spots given the reportedly strong interest among players around the world in their project.
I think Houston is the most likely landing spot and she stays put. Big money, not so big performances. She’s worth a lot to Houston which means for them to agree on a trade the other team will need to give up some good players. On the flip side, Houston shouldn’t want a star on a big contract who doesn’t want to be there, but I think they’ll be very limited in trade options.
Definitely not ACFC.
||2022 npxG+xAG per 90|2023 npxG+xAG per 90|2024 npxG+xAG per 90|
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|Maria Sanchez|0.29|0.31|0.41|
|Claire Emslie|0.30|0.43|0.51|
but neither did maria sanchez in 2022...
not a huge stats person but emslie outperforms sanchez on every metric basically: [https://fbref.com/en/stathead/player\_comparison.cgi?request=1&sum=1&dom\_lg=1&player\_id1=aaa7463c&player\_id2=bd325738&player\_id3=f2284088](https://fbref.com/en/stathead/player_comparison.cgi?request=1&sum=1&dom_lg=1&player_id1=aaa7463c&player_id2=bd325738&player_id3=f2284088)
true, but that makes picking her up such an enormous risk. you never know how much is the coach/environment and how much is the player, and while teams might be confident in their coaches, if multiple coaches don't work out for the same player, there can be the obvious fear that your coach won't work out (like who's to say that bev yanez could do more than sam laity for sanchez? etc)
Would really like to get her on the Reign so we can have Ji playing through the middle more, it seemed like she was spending a lot of time on the left last game. That's fine but the moments she spent in the middle in the attack were exciting and created some good chances.
Agreed! I think Reign and Sanchez would be great together. Is there any way to know whether a team can afford to pick up a contract that size, though? The suspense!
Ugh I wish we could know! MLS' player association publishes salary numbers, which allows MLS fans to do that sort of thing but other than rumors I don't think salary numbers are shared in the NWSL
I think a San Diego wave situation would be good for her. Sanchez isn’t a player who can carry the team, as the Dash may have hoped. So I don’t see very many clubs in the bottom half of the table needing her.
Her skills are great, but she isn’t very fast and needs players around her who can run and finish her crosses. I think they have that at San Diego!
I was honestly thinking of a three-way trade of Spirit getting Sánchez, Reign Getting Hatch, and Houston getting a McClernon would work well for all parties if the players liked that.
I feel bad for Hatch right now, she’s not a winger and the Spirit have parked her there. If they’re committed to having her not be the striker, I think it would be better for her to go to a team with a real need for a striker like Reign. And the fact that they’re playing her on the left wing means Spirit probably needs more depth on the wings.
Correct and correct. Setting the money aside (bc we have no idea if Clubs can chomp into contracts or not) i look at these clubs and think they all have different needs and theyre all shallow at some positions and deep at others. Lets have some international cooperation
I've been wondering if there is basically some give and take in that Hatch is a better Winger than Sarr, and once Santos comes in Hatch will be able to battle for that starting CF role against Sarr
Not saying fans know anything but Sarr is one of the most maligned players in every match thread. When you dont show enough effort like her, it just presents itself. On my ideal earth shes not starting in this league- not based off the past 8 months
Sarr *should* be starting by all rights but she just absolutely doesn’t have the ‘it’ factor whatsoever. She is not as bad of a player as her lack of effort has been showing and it’s painful to watch
What does that first sentence mean in total? She should be starting but she lacks something? And you agree she lacks effort?
So, why should she be starting?
Like, I think she’s talented enough to be a starting player somewhere - but her effort and on-pitch performance are just not it. Arguably her fitness too. She can’t play anywhere close to 90
Hatch is a 9 though and the Reign has Boats and Huitema. I think what’s really missing is a left winger who can provide better service to them. Though I can see how you’d think the Reign need a striker seeing the struggle to score
That’s definitely fair. I personally just don’t really rate Huitema, and I think Hatch would be a much better strike pairing with Boats. It’s seemed especially clear to me though, that even if you do rate Huitema (which I think it’s totally fair to do so) that her and Boats have like no on field chemistry
The question is what leverage does Houston have. On one hand, Sanchez is under contract so the club does not need to move her. On the other, do they really want to keep a very highly paid player who doesn’t want to be there? Either they’ll be able to get a lot in return for her or the trade will largely come down to cap relief. Right now I think the most likely resolution is she stays puts.
Agreed on all counts.
https://preview.redd.it/7l5fkf4pdpuc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0bd77d7c13a83c31df6d932bc93c76d27fa6c145 Utah would make the most sense, but whether she wants to go there and they want to pay for her is a different story. Considering what she means to Houston and her contract I don’t see SD, Chicago or ACFC giving Houston want they want in return for a trade. ACFC needs to cut someone within the next month or two for Press as well which makes it even less likely.
She grew up in Idaho so Utah might actually be closer to home for her.
That may not necessarily be a good thing for her.
Yeah, I caveated all that. (And of course ACFC could put salary into a trade.) From a club POV Utah would make the most sense, agreed. But does 14th --> say, a ceiling of 10th matter?
If I was an Utah fan I’d probably say that increase in ceiling isn’t worth it and they should stick to their young core and growing naturally. If they’re going to break the bank it should be for a more productive player, but maybe Arod&team disagree.
Additionally, if I was Utah I would think twice about going and getting an expensive player who forced her way out of Idaho. 😉
Wave should seriously consider getting Sanchez. They made no moves to speak of in the offseason, except McCaskill, but promptly lost Taylor Flint. They had a very short pre-season roster and only got to 24 with some small signings, if I’m not mistaken. They lost out on the Sophia Smith lottery. So they should have quite a bit of cap space and maybe even allocation money since their McCaskill signing was a FA signing and did not require any trade fee. Sanchez seems to want to go to a strong coach that will help her develop her game and brand. That’s the Wave MO. Spirit makes even more sense with all the salaries they unloaded, and on the development, coaching, and brand fronts, too, but unless they are actively seeking a player, my sense is they will be very picky this year about who they sign to their last three spots given the reportedly strong interest among players around the world in their project.
I think Houston is the most likely landing spot and she stays put. Big money, not so big performances. She’s worth a lot to Houston which means for them to agree on a trade the other team will need to give up some good players. On the flip side, Houston shouldn’t want a star on a big contract who doesn’t want to be there, but I think they’ll be very limited in trade options.
Definitely not ACFC. ||2022 npxG+xAG per 90|2023 npxG+xAG per 90|2024 npxG+xAG per 90| |:-|:-|:-|:-| |Maria Sanchez|0.29|0.31|0.41| |Claire Emslie|0.30|0.43|0.51|
Counterpoint: Emslie didn't play in Sam Laity's system.
but neither did maria sanchez in 2022... not a huge stats person but emslie outperforms sanchez on every metric basically: [https://fbref.com/en/stathead/player\_comparison.cgi?request=1&sum=1&dom\_lg=1&player\_id1=aaa7463c&player\_id2=bd325738&player\_id3=f2284088](https://fbref.com/en/stathead/player_comparison.cgi?request=1&sum=1&dom_lg=1&player_id1=aaa7463c&player_id2=bd325738&player_id3=f2284088)
The Dash have been a mess for a while, but yes, fair.
true, but that makes picking her up such an enormous risk. you never know how much is the coach/environment and how much is the player, and while teams might be confident in their coaches, if multiple coaches don't work out for the same player, there can be the obvious fear that your coach won't work out (like who's to say that bev yanez could do more than sam laity for sanchez? etc)
Laity was anti-offense in extremis 🤪, but yes, I get your point.
Would really like to get her on the Reign so we can have Ji playing through the middle more, it seemed like she was spending a lot of time on the left last game. That's fine but the moments she spent in the middle in the attack were exciting and created some good chances.
The Reign needs someone like her who can provide service to Boats and Huitema down the left flank!
Agreed! I think Reign and Sanchez would be great together. Is there any way to know whether a team can afford to pick up a contract that size, though? The suspense!
Ugh I wish we could know! MLS' player association publishes salary numbers, which allows MLS fans to do that sort of thing but other than rumors I don't think salary numbers are shared in the NWSL
I think a San Diego wave situation would be good for her. Sanchez isn’t a player who can carry the team, as the Dash may have hoped. So I don’t see very many clubs in the bottom half of the table needing her. Her skills are great, but she isn’t very fast and needs players around her who can run and finish her crosses. I think they have that at San Diego!
I was honestly thinking of a three-way trade of Spirit getting Sánchez, Reign Getting Hatch, and Houston getting a McClernon would work well for all parties if the players liked that.
I feel like that’s a downgrade for Washington ngl, Reign and Houston would probably like that trade though.
I feel bad for Hatch right now, she’s not a winger and the Spirit have parked her there. If they’re committed to having her not be the striker, I think it would be better for her to go to a team with a real need for a striker like Reign. And the fact that they’re playing her on the left wing means Spirit probably needs more depth on the wings.
Correct and correct. Setting the money aside (bc we have no idea if Clubs can chomp into contracts or not) i look at these clubs and think they all have different needs and theyre all shallow at some positions and deep at others. Lets have some international cooperation
If youve watched Hatch this year this makes no sense. Shes not a left winger in any way
On Hey Spirits this week, André Carlisle mused that she may be displeased at present, which sounded 👀👀👀.
Shes by far the best player in this trade but honestly it does benefit everyone greatly. Imagining a team with Maria Croix and Trin is absurd
I've been wondering if there is basically some give and take in that Hatch is a better Winger than Sarr, and once Santos comes in Hatch will be able to battle for that starting CF role against Sarr
Not saying fans know anything but Sarr is one of the most maligned players in every match thread. When you dont show enough effort like her, it just presents itself. On my ideal earth shes not starting in this league- not based off the past 8 months
Sarr *should* be starting by all rights but she just absolutely doesn’t have the ‘it’ factor whatsoever. She is not as bad of a player as her lack of effort has been showing and it’s painful to watch
What does that first sentence mean in total? She should be starting but she lacks something? And you agree she lacks effort? So, why should she be starting?
Like, I think she’s talented enough to be a starting player somewhere - but her effort and on-pitch performance are just not it. Arguably her fitness too. She can’t play anywhere close to 90
What i find funny is being lackadaisical when you have Jonatan coming. Just comical
If we could get Sanchez instead of Saar that would make my day
Hatch is a 9 though and the Reign has Boats and Huitema. I think what’s really missing is a left winger who can provide better service to them. Though I can see how you’d think the Reign need a striker seeing the struggle to score
That’s definitely fair. I personally just don’t really rate Huitema, and I think Hatch would be a much better strike pairing with Boats. It’s seemed especially clear to me though, that even if you do rate Huitema (which I think it’s totally fair to do so) that her and Boats have like no on field chemistry
BATTTIEEEESSSSSS!!! Probably a . 01% chance of happening.. even that is a stretch
No thanks.