Greg Ryan Has a Much Bigger Mouth Than Hope Solo

Greg Ryan needs to go. Benching Hope in favor of Brianna in this situation is akin to Benching Tom Brady for the AFC Championhip game in favor of a backup who had been successful in the past but had rarely played the last few years, say Kurt Warner. I can't fathom how he could make the decison without something else being in play. The problem is also it isn't his only stupid decision in the tourney, it's the biggest but it doesn't stand alone. How about playing Lilly and Wambach 25 more minutes against England after we get a 3-0 lead.

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The truth is simple. The Brizillians were the better team that day you could see that even on television. The US was a step or even two steps too slow and their practice of not possessing and going over the top just wasnt the answer at all.

Second, yes I do think it was a mistake to change goalies, but the thought process was valid, it happens in other sports all the time (That being personnell match ups). I think the coach misunderstood the importance of team dynamics. Hope Solo deserved to play on that alone. But that change in goal was not why the Brizilians scored
4 goals. first:

Gaol One - An own goal, that is something that you dont expect and probably would have happened to either goalie.

Goal Two - If I am not mistaken Marta went one on three and beat three US defenders (with all of the traffic happening right in front of the goal)then scored not sure that one can be blamed completely on the goalie, it was agreat shot and in scurry's defense even then she almost got to it. That would have been a hard one to stop even for Hope Solo.

Goal three - I believe this was the Gristian break away....... now a forward is running wide open down the middle without being contested and is in front of the goal one on one with the goalie, I think you can say that any goalies chance is about 1 to 10 in that scenario.

Fourth Goal - Again Marta beat two defenders and ended up right in front of goal with a non contested shot.

You can say anything you want about the whole situation in goal and what the coach said about the brazillian team etc... But clearly the US was out played by the better team that day. Its sports, it happens, no excuses, we got beat. It is not unpresidented it happened in the world cup of baseball, it happened in basketball, and it happens in other sports.

As far as the goalie change, did it make a difference, my opinion yes it did, but very little and it was mental not physical or tactical. And at that level I am not sure that should happen. Was Solo wrong for throwing the coach under the bus, again my opinion, YES ABSOLUTLY, the good teams that are truly together, keep that stuff in house and like family may bicker with each other but never hang the dirty laundry outside the house.

Some lessons soccer can learn from the other sports.
1. Chemistry means something
2. The best team is not always the ones with the best athletes
3. Just becasue you can play one position doesn't mean you can play all of them
4. Defensive identity (need I say more) sometimes a pure defender is needed and not just a converted forward or midfielder (yes you have a special few who can do it Chastain comes to mind) but defense in any sport is a concious decision, and specific skill set, and a mindset.
5. All sports games are beautiful when you have the right mix of skill, determination, and heart on the field/court/pitch/ whatever you want to call it.

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Greg Ryan probably does need to move on in favor of a coach who will integrate a more creative offensive style and utilize quicker players. It is time for US Soccer to modernize its approach to the game.

Hope Solo is a cancer and should never wear the US National Team colors again. A National Team is one place where everyone must put their ego aside. Attacking a teammate (who helped pave the way for players like her) and/or a coach is unforgivable in such a setting. Besides, there are plenty of quality goalkeepers who could do as well as she has done (though doubtful any would do as well as the deluded Owens/Sprewell wannabe thinks should could have done).

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I know next to nothing about Soccer, but no coach in their right mind, regardless the sport, benches a player that is ON FIRE (zero goals in nearly 300 minutes!!!) for a "favorable matchup" (which apparently wasn't all that favorable). This may be a little extreme, but it's like The Simpsons episode when Mr. Burns pinch hits for Daryl Strawberry with Homer because he wants to play the lefty-righty pitcher-hitter matchup, despite Strawberry's "9 home runs" that day! Yes, Springfield still won that game, but strategically the decision bordered insanity.

Bottom line, the goalie switch defied logic. Replacing a young, athletic goaltender that's on a hot streak with a past-her-prime goaltender who, from what I've read, has very little experience with the current players, not only kills team chemisty, but can cool off the hot player. Greg Ryan, a man who I had never heard of before this story, should be fired immediately. His termination should result solely from this single decision that proved he's not much of a coach.

I want to say that there should be no ill will toward Scurry, who simply went out there when asked and did her job. She doesn't decide who starts, all she can do is follow her (incompetent) coaches orders.

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Hope Solo did nothing wrong. Greg Ryan should be called on the carpet and fired! He should be fired before the next match. His decisions have been nothing but aweful.He has now torn the team apart and I don't think this will be fixed until he is gone and a new team is formed. FIRE RYAN NOW !!!!

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Coach Ryan made a decision he probably regrets, but make no mistake-GOD himself could not have prevented 3 of those 4 goals. Hope Solo is no better than Scurry in goal so she needs to grow up and deal with it. Marta and Brazil were on fire so give them the credit. Period.

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The U.S. lost because Brasil's team was simply better. The U.S. woman did not have the 1 v. 1 ball skills and overall team speed to compete. To throw the coach or goalie "under the bus" isn't fair. The U.S. lost this game a long time ago by not developing their players ball skills. The U.S. woman looked slow and unskilled this World Cup. The U.S. Soccer Federation and coaches are responsible for the failure of the U.S. team to advance any further in this World Cup.

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Hope following her coaches example of talking too much? I wonder if Greg Ryan jumped off the Bridge of the Americas would Hope follow him? The coach made a miskate benching his goalkeeper plain and simple the saying goes "Might as well die with your boots on."

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Ryan and Solo both need to go. Ryan is out of his league, and Solo is an egomaniac.

Having said that, the U.S. women's team, regardless of funding, will continue to deteriorate until their players compete in top professional competition -- in order to be the best, you have to play the best. Period.

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the us women team had no chance against brazil you could have put scurry and solo in goal and they would still lose brazil was too fast and skillful for the usa team as for solo comments she was way out of line in team sports you win as a team and lose as a team she let her ego get the best of her if scurry was goog enough to make the team she was good enough to start end of story

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first, what professional coach that uses a goalkeeper would ever bench a keeper after 3 straight shutouts in a world championship situation...Solo, in explaining why she should have started should have realized that in fully explaining she threw Surry under the bus...was she right, probably...but the heat of the moment got away from her....team dynamic...I'm not in the clubhouse, but I suspect, the girls like Scurry better and that influence the c oach to start her... the US team has tried to go to long high passes into the box to tall players, great against the shrimp from Korea, Japan, Mexico and others...but against The Germans or Brazil, no....
the US team greatest sucess came skilled players that tore apart other team, passed and knocked it home.... and Foudy's comment's about Solo, absolutely proved to me the bitternes of not being in the "click" on a team, her comment about Scurry's honors over the years, shows exactly what Solo was trying to say..that was history.,, not the present....Solo is odd person out and scapegoat....this team's inner clickiness and bad coaching is the problem...

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Greg Ryan made an awful decision. You can't help but wonder if the outcome would have been...well different. Solo is an egomaniac, but who would not want your starters to have an ego. I think that Greg wanted to be the center of attention and it came back to bite him and cost him his job. So long Greg- we hardly knew ya.

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Greg Ryan is WEAK. You have a goalie that has been unbeatable for over 300 minutes, and you bench her for a "name". Let's take a look at another coaches decision.....
Drew Bledsoe gets healthy and the Patriots keep Tom Brady as a starter. hmmmmmmmmm.......
You stick with the hot hand. A starting position is EARNED and if you get injured you lose your status as starter.
Weak decision to bench Solo. Even a weaker decision to kick her off the team.
At the TOP level of competition, politics should not play into your deicision making. Sure, in high school if the parents buy the team new uniforms, their kid is a start no matter what the skill level. And in college you play the kids that have full rides and get good grades, but this is the highest level of competions for this sport. YOU PLAY THE BEST PLAYERS. Ryan is a joke. Go back to coaching high school where you can play favorites and anger a town instead of a nation. Soccer has little support in this nation as it is.
As for Solo, I aplaud her for having ther guts to speak out. Too many times when athletes are benched due to politics, they do not say anything.
AND TO TOP IT OFF....... Ryan says that there is young talent at the goalie position that is coming up. That is laughable. No disrespect to the younger talent, but you will only play if the "name" is injured.
So I have read the others posts on this site and some of you have a good point about the fact that the brazilian team was a better team. But have you thought about the fact that a little doubt was placed into the players heads when the goalie that got them to wher thy were was bench for another goalie coming back from injury?
Brazil was/is a better team. Big Deal. three words for you.... Miracle on Ice. 84 Olympic Ice Hockey team. Can an inferior team beat a superior team? Yes, but if you mess with their confidence, NO. Solo was a stopper. Scurry was unsure of herself, and so were her teammates.
BAD DECISION, but who really cares. Let's not forget that this is women's soccer and no one will remeber who Ryan or Solo is in a month.

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The coach made a really stupid decision. The decision is so stupid it makes you ask WHY?? Is there something else going on here?? Then he throws her off the team for reacting???and threatens her future???? Is there something else going on here??? MICKEY MOUSE CLUB coach. Hey guy this isn't grammar school. Is there something else going on here???????? Brazil won ,they played better.They don't have a better goalie. They have a better coach.

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Greg Ryan needs to be fired. Now.

Greg Ryan chose to NOT PLAY BRIANA SCURRY FOR 3 MONTHS, he gave her zero minutes of play time this world cup, leaving her completely rusty.

Greg Ryan THEN chooses to bench Hope Solo, and put in a slow as molasses, rusty, uncommunicative Briana Scurry...this was a disservice to Bri, Hope, the team, and the supporters of US Women's soccer.

Greg Ryan THEN chose to deflect all criticism of his bone-headed decisions by FOCUSING THE WHOLE CONVERSATION ON A ONE SENTENCE STATEMENT BY HOPE SOLO. He is not a coach, nor a leader. He is a coward who is trying to keep his job.

Now, Greg Ryan has chosen to CONTINUE TO CREATE DIVISIVENESS by kicking Solo off the team, and holding ANOTHER press confernce about "his feelings" and "his need for reconciliation".

Greg Ryan is beyond stupid; he is selfishly malicious in his choice to continue to damage the US Women's Soccer program by attempting to permananently damage the relationships between the players, and between the public and the team, by his desire to exacerbate ANY STORY THAT ISN"T ABOUT HIS BONE-HEADED SUBSTITUTION decision.

Fire this ultr-loser. Now. Before he sets the program back more than the 5 years he's already done.

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If you want to express your opinion about Greg Ryan to the people who run US Women's Soccer, here are their email addresses:
jak@ussoccerfoundation.org
maa@ussoccerfoundation.org
nde@ussoccerfoundation.org
cef@ussoccerfoundation.org
bsh@ussoccerfoundation.org
dah@ussoccerfoundation.org
djh@ussoccerfoundation.org
rgk@ussoccerfoundation.org
slp@ussoccerfoundation.org
per@ussoccerfoundation.org
wcs@ussoccerfoundation.org
mts@ussoccerfoundation.org
dmt@ussoccerfoundation.org

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Actually, Soccer Player, I got those addresses after you posted them at the San Jose Mercury News site and they came in handy; to voice my support for benching and terminating that egomaniac, Hope Hey I Only Go Solo. The issue here isn't Greg Ryan. Seems the Norway game confirmed that. The issue is the immature, nasty Ms. Solo. Seems the national team confirmed that. Greg Ryan knew Hope Solo was much too immature against a team like Brazil and went with someone with a proven track record. We can debate the merit of that decision until the next World Cup. What isn't debatable is Ms. Solo's response to a routine matter in sports: coaching decisions. Her response was unforgivable and revealed the core of her true self: needy. Hope Solo was not widely recruited on the west coast because her temper tantrums and divaness were already widely known here. Jerry Smith at Santa Clara was willing to take a chance on her but when she found out that she would only be getting a partial scholarship, just like all the other freshmen at Santa Clara, she went with the only other team who was interested in her: Washington. And they were mediocre enough to give her a full ride. Hope can drive her comments on her myspace page up to 2400 or whatever but the truth remains she pitched another giant fit and this time, the whole world was watching. Sucks to be you, Hope!

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7. Actually, Soccer Player, I got those addresses after you posted them at the San Jose Mercury News site and they came in handy; to voice my support for benching and terminating that egomaniac, Hope Hey I Only Go Solo. The issue here isn't Greg Ryan. Seems the Norway game confirmed that. The issue is the immature, nasty Ms. Solo. Seems the national team confirmed that. Greg Ryan knew Hope Solo was much too immature against a team like Brazil and went with someone with a proven track record. We can debate the merit of that decision until the next World Cup. What isn't debatable is Ms. Solo's response to a routine matter in sports: coaching decisions. Her response was unforgivable and revealed the core of her true self: needy. Hope Solo was not widely recruited on the west coast because her temper tantrums and divaness were already widely known here. Jerry Smith at Santa Clara was willing to take a chance on her but when she found out that she would only be getting a partial scholarship, just like all the other freshmen at Santa Clara, she went with the only other team who was interested in her: Washington. And they were mediocre enough to give her a full ride. Hope can drive her comments on her myspace page up to 2400 or whatever but the truth remains she pitched another giant fit and this time, the whole world was watching. Sucks to be you, Hop

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Wrong! I have to agree with those fellas who say American understanding of football is still questionable.

You need to ask for your coach's head not that of an immature girl.

Its patently ridiculous for a Football coach to remove a goalkeeper in the semi-finals of a worldCup. Goodness, statistics don't count in football. Like someone said on ESPN, this isn't the NBA or NFL or even Tennis, where you count things like unforced errors and all that crap!

Your primary assets for a goalkeeper are : sharp reflex, skill, concentration & above all, match fitness. Solo had this more than Bri and should have played. That Ryan was switching goalkeeper @ the semi's just goes to confirm how worried he was, for the game, and how technically inept.

Americans need to take an understudy on how football is played!

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I agree with Soccer Player's comments 110%. Greg Ryan's horrible, horrible decision led to the worst loss in Women's US Soccer history. Not only did the decision lead to team chaos and a loss, it also must have made Solo feel like a total moron. Having played flawlessly, she finds herself sitting on the bench for no apparant reason in the semi finals of the World Cup. How pissed would you be?? I would have said a lot worse than Solo did - she simply stated the truth. And now, as Soccer Player said, the coach focuses all the attention on this poor goalie who just lost her father and was bench for no reason at all in the most important game of her life.

Ryan started this entire mess and the only way to ending is by ending him. FIRE this moron.

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Ryan made a huge mistake. You never pull a hot player in an important playoff. Solo might have her issues but she earned her position and deserved to keep it. That was the biggest game in Solo's life, No matter how she reacted Ryan should have expected it to be a distraction and distractions are death in important matches.

Several have said that the US would have lost to Brazil anyway which may be right. Nobody with any common sense or athletic expierence can say Ryan made the right decision by not starting Solo.

His press releases should have included him admitting that he made a mistake, even if he maintains that Solo should have kept her mouth shut.

Solo probably should have declined comment at least until after the WC was over.

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