It’s not a pleasant subject and it’s not fun to write about.

But as we approach Week 7 of WPS, there are two teams that seem to be locking themselves in the basement of the WPS standings. In six games, the Chicago Red Stars have one win and one draw, while the Atlanta Beat have zero wins and one draw. The Red Stars have scored three goals to Atlanta’s two while Atlanta has conceded nine to Chicago’s six.

Both teams are probably better than their record shows. But if the woes continue, the question has to be asked:

Who will be the first sacked manager of the 2010 WPS season?

Atlanta’s Head Coach Gareth O’Sullivan just hasn’t had it come together for his team so far. This despite having the potential bounce of a swanky new stadium. The Atlanta Beat is a team composed of some of the best role players in 2009. And it shows. Unlike the Philadelphia Independence, Atlanta chose to shy away from picking the big names with experience and instead went for the unsung, position player with youth. The team’s average age is just 25 after all. McCall Zerboni, Leigh Ann Robinson, Johanna Rasmussen, Sophia Mundy, Kia McNeill and Angie Kerr are all fine players but can you really build a team around any of them?

The Beat traded away their first round draft pick in the Los Angeles Dispersal Draft to Saint Louis for the services of Angie Kerr and Kia McNeill. Interestingly they traded away the pick that could have gotten them exactly the player they now need in Shannon Boxx. A central midfielder who can dictate play, distribute clean passes into her forwards, help stabilize the midfield and offer some much-needed leadership. Or Lori Lindsey who was up for either Atlanta or Philadelphia in the Expansion Draft after the Freedom chose not to protect her. Can Tobin Heath develop into that kind of player? Sure and they were certainly counting on her to be that much-needed star but sadly it’s been dimmed by an ankle injury.

Bad luck has definitely played a part in Atlanta’s lack of success but as the awful cliché goes, you need to make your own luck in this game. Ramona Bachmann is going to be a star one day but putting the fate of your team on the back of a 19 year-old is a little much (insert bad joke about Bachmann’s chronic back problems here). Now Coach O’Sullivan has the added task of keeping his team motivated despite the poor run of results. How patient will the Beat organization be until they start demanding top-class results for a top-class stadium?

Chicago, on the other hand, is definitely a good team with some very good players and what some consider to be the best front office in the league. It’s difficult to imagine what exactly is the team’s bug-a-boo as to why they’ve only managed one win so far. But the team has two millstones: an inability to score goals and a mental fragility.

If it wasn’t for accidentally landing Casey Nogueria (who was suddenly available after the Sol folded), Chicago would just have one goal scorer this season in Cristiane. That’s a problem. And while this is perhaps out of Coach Emma Hayes’ direct control (unless you count subbing out your top goal scorer for a defender after going 10 women down in the 25’), the other is not. The Red Stars have serious difficulty in fighting back once they’ve gone down a goal. They’ve only done it once this year while and have failed to do so the other four times. This lack of self-belief and lack of a Plan B must be traced back to the manager.

This is a Chicago team that Emma Hayes has constructed with her own hands according to her own image. Again, this isn’t a poor team. It’s just far underperforming for the talent that it has in its ranks. And if the team continues its streak of mediocrity (that kind of began last year), questions need to be raised over the sanctity of Hayes’ project.

There has yet to be a straight sacking of a manager in WPS. Ian Sawyers was put on ‘indefinite suspension’ after six games and no wins with Sky Blue FC. Perhaps that was brought on by a combination of internal and performance-related issues. But changes were made in New Jersey at this time last year. And look how well that turned out for them.

On the other hand, it took Saint Louis four games before they could find a win last year. But the organization remained patient with Jorge Barcellos and then after that the team proceeded to take an outstanding 34 points out of a possible 48.

Can the tide turn so hard for either Atlanta or Chicago? They’ll certainly be hoping so. If not, a league built on parity will have two seriously weak links.

Check out the run-in for both teams over the next five games. It’s not going to get easy for either side, particularly Atlanta. They also happen to be playing each other twice! Oh silly fate, always turning up at opportune moments

Atlanta:

May 29 Home to Saint Louis Athletica

June 6 Away to Chicago

June 12 Away to Saint Louis

June 19 Home to Chicago

June 23 Home to Philadelphia

Chicago:

May 29 Home to FC Gold Pride

June 6 Home to Atlanta

June 12 Away to Washington

June 19 Away to Atlanta

June 25 Away to Boston

I have a dollar that says Gareth O’Sullivan won’t be around much longer after the All-Star Game June 30. What do you think?

View Original Post at allwhitekit.wordpress.com

• Filed Under:  
• Soccer, Sports, WPS

• Tags:
• WPS
• Chicago Red Stars
• Atlanta Beat

This post is related to the following ongoing stories:

• 2010 WPS Season