Oct 2, 2009
Plenty of big names on the market
WPS opened its version of free agency on Wednesday and while there appears to be plenty of impact names on the open market, everything has been pretty quiet since the opening of the market.
Granted, it took the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL years before their offseasons became just as important as the regular season but you would think with the number of well-known stars out there, something would have happened by now.
For those of you who haven’t checked out the list, some of the big names on the market include Han Duan, Cristiane, Formiga, Daniela, Carli Lloyd, Leslie Osborne, Aly Wagner and Heather Mitts. Apparently Chicago is hoping to bring back Cristiane, but other than that, things have been pretty quiet.
The makeup of the current roster suggests there are about five full roster spots open at this point and I would hope the team would choose to fill those spots between free agency and the draft, and not necessarily through tryouts (although Kristin DeDycker was a great tryout pickup last year).
Given that, I would imagine the team hopes to fill one of those roster spots with either Lene Mykjaland or Louisa Necib, given that the team retained both of their rights again this season. Given the fact that Mykjaland almost came over last year and that Becky Sauerbrunn is playing with her Norwegian club right now, I would say it is more likely we see her.
So with four spots left, the topic becomes who should the Freedom go out and get? Should they go after one of the big USWNT names out on the market? Or should they make a couple of small moves to improve the depth of the squad? One other name I noticed was on the market is Christie Welsh, a former Freedom W-League player. Could there be a reunion with her in the near future?
If I am Jim Gabarra, I bring back Welsh, consider giving DeDycker a full roster spot and potentially look for a defender either in free agency or in the first round of the draft. With the addition of Mykjaland that could be going a little attacker heavy but with Ali Krieger hopefully coming back midseason, maybe the Freedom defense can hold out long enough for the cavalry to arrive.
The potential is there for a big move to be made, but as I look around the league I fear things are shaping up for the Freedom to have the quietest offseason of the league. Regardless, it will be fun to sit back and watch things unfold.
So now I open the floor up to you – who do you think the Freedom should sign this offseason? Vote in the poll or leave a comment.
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