tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79846692026-10-19T04:14:48.006-04:00Opinion, commentary, and humor on fantasy soccer (football). From people who should know... better.Neal Thurmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07585543708520268866noreply@blogger.comBlogger2281125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-31363377481815709002026-03-25T17:35:00.005-04:002026-03-25T17:46:50.116-04:00

Two weeks into the National Women’s Soccer League season, the early storylines are coming into focus—but not necessarily clarity. If anything, Matchday 2 reinforced just how unpredictable this league remains.Things We Learned:Chaos is already a defining theme, with red cards and wild swings shaping results across the league.Portland Thorns FC continue to set the pace—even winning under extreme

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-33937642924807106662026-03-19T20:53:47.790-04:002026-03-20T14:06:07.071-04:00

Ok. Let's do this. Let's look at my GW1 team and try to figure out which two (kidding myself that I'll limit it to two) transfers ahead of GW2. Week 1 Starting XI Pauline Peyraud-Magnin Benched by Denver Janine Sonis Started in midfield (yay!). Provided an assist (yay!). Sent off after 27 minutes to wipe out all of those fantasy points (boo!). Unavailable in week 2 (boo!). Gisele Thompson

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-67085626665496621732026-03-18T18:05:06.379-04:002026-03-18T18:05:06.380-04:00

📰 Match Reports & Club Coverage Orlando Pride — “They Said It” (Post-Match Reactions) https://www.orlandocitysc.com/news/they-said-it-seb-hines-barbra-banda-and-seven-castain-share-their-thoughts-following-draw-with-houston-dashPost-match quotes from Seb Hines, Barbra Banda, and others following Orlando’s draw with the Houston Dash. Orlando Pride — Match Report: Loss to Seattle Reign FC

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-24209037589186209982026-03-12T16:47:00.008-04:002026-03-19T20:54:15.323-04:00

On Bluesky the other day I asked, "Where are the NWSL previews? Other than @xowngoals.com is anyone guessing the final table or (more pressing to me) teams’ week one lineups?"I got some great responses, and of course now that the league is a day away from kicking off, the media machine has begun to churn. As it only makes sense — and as a long-time soccer blogger, it's what I do —to

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-26271513654873657112025-06-19T16:46:00.006-04:002025-06-19T16:46:38.710-04:00

The most boring thing in the world is someone else's fantasy team. But hey, you're already here so let me tell you about mine. I hate my team this week. I really do. I also hate that this is the last round before a month-long break. That means that if I do poorly, I stew on it for a month. I'm a fun person, honest! I just have certain failings as a human being. Focusing on the negative is one of

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-29592533228179523272025-06-18T19:05:00.012-04:002025-06-18T19:53:09.500-04:00

First no kings first. Last weekend was a whiplash of bright and dark spots in American life. Welcome to life under the current order. One of the hopeful moments was seeing the Angel City team kitted out in "Immigrant City" tshirts. See above. The team also put 10,000 shirts on seats for their home match against the Courage. Now you can buy one of the same shirts, with net proceeds going to

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-3419019348917409332025-06-11T16:30:00.006-04:002025-06-11T18:35:21.918-04:00

Here's a roundup of analyses and rankings from Week 11 of the 2025 NWSL season to inform your fantasy picks going forward. Featuring standout performances, tactical breakdowns, and more. 🕵️ Match Reviews NWSL Review | Matchweek 11 — Women's Football Talk Week 11 of the 2025 season produced yet more late chaos and VAR drama, with some important wins for Seattle Reign, Racing

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-61658525709505239602025-05-29T20:41:00.011-04:002025-05-29T20:54:56.624-04:00

Here's a roundup of analyses and rankings from Week 10 of the 2025 NWSL season, featuring standout performances, tactical breakdowns, and more: 🕵️ Match Reviews NWSL Review: Matchweek 10 – Women's Football Talk Victories for all the top four teams but defeats for Angel City and Seattle Reign, plus the winless runs go on for Utah Royals and Chicago Stars. This is our review of

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-65901024053115180482025-05-21T15:55:00.010-04:002025-05-21T17:47:30.620-04:00

🚑 Injury Watch: KC Current Debinha and Cook are out for at least the medium term. I'm not sure what "Temwa is getting evaluated as we speak to determine the significance of it." means, but I don't like the sound of it. 🔗 KC Current Injury Updates – All For XIKC Current head coach, Vlatko Andonovski, shares crucial injury updates with the media. 🔝 Power Rankings: KC

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-26245590804550385282025-05-16T17:57:00.003-04:002025-05-16T17:57:27.248-04:00

Week 9 is fast approaching, with four (!) matches tonight. After a week where I over-thought and mostly got it wrong (benching Chawinga, mostly) we're looking to bounce back quickly.My first thought was to get Sav Demelo in for Olivia Moultrie. I'm still needing to rid myself of Bats and Thorns after their week five double and before their week 10 blank. Demelo has come back from her injury

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-35736824339499916282025-05-15T17:30:00.007-04:002025-05-15T17:33:11.408-04:00

Get well soon, Savy! 🔝 Kansas City Current Reclaim the Throne All For XI breaks down the Week 8 Power Rankings, highlighting Kansas City's return to the top and a Brazilian-led goal fest featuring Debinha and company. Read more 🎯 Perry’s Tactical Brilliance Thorntown’s Perry Precision dives into the meticulous play and impact of one of the league's sharpest minds on and off the pitch. Check

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-36718621804264689132025-05-09T17:17:00.004-04:002025-05-09T17:17:40.060-04:00

Let's do this. Bullet point style!At this point, I've assembled a roster of the top players in the game. The problem is, I'm a match-up manager.To that point, I've promoted Kennedy Fuller (home against Utah tonight) over Temwa Chawinga. Chawinga's status is still unknown. I should have benched her last week for Avery Patterson. I got bailed out by Gabi Portilho's injury. So am I making

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-85006779765733359592025-05-07T19:17:00.004-04:002025-05-07T19:24:42.633-04:00

What we're reading: 2025 Fantasy NWSL: Answers from Round 7 Well, my head is still spinning! The NWSL continues to return to the levels of chaotic unpredictability we’ve seen and loved in non-expansion years, taking things up a notch in Round 7. In fact, I’d characterize three results among the most unexpected of the season: the Cascadia rivals both logged 1-0 victories over the two […] NWSL

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-6878209017816293102025-05-02T14:09:00.004-04:002025-05-02T14:10:52.632-04:00

Before we get into the meat of the post, can I complain for a minute? We're all friends here, right? Ok. Thanks.We all love ShePlays. Great game; great community. And we know it's free and volunteer run. And we respect that and appreciate all the work it takes to keep the game going. But...I'm pretty sure I've been the overall number one team for two weeks now. But, because of delays in the

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-31010241244566826962025-04-25T16:41:00.004-04:002025-04-25T16:44:29.197-04:00

"Lemon, it's only a Tuesday night NWSL game."NWSL, and United States sports more generally, can be hard. Like three away games, and thousands of miles of travel, in ten days hard. Let's agree not to talk about what happened to the Wave on one of these last season.Gotham had the honor this week, giving us the only scheduled double game-week of the fantasy season. I went big on Gotham, deciding

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-68797452011983584062025-04-23T12:39:00.003-04:002025-04-24T17:45:31.018-04:00

Lots of good information out there looking at the week that was in NWSL. Here's a roundup... which will surely be updated as everyone processes last night's Thorns/Bats match. Recaps NWSL Week 5 Recap- Gotham explode, SD thrash Louisville, and North Carolina continue to languish Matchweek Five NWSL Weekend Take-Off: Gotham takes flight, shorthanded Spirit survive Pride NWSL Team of the

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-78730828400245408592025-04-17T12:58:00.005-04:002025-04-17T12:59:32.119-04:00

First of all, a thank you to UCLA Bruins dot com for the perfect featured image for today's post. It's game week slash round 5. This is the one we've been building for. It's DOUBLE GAME WEEK TIME! Portland and Gotham will play each other in this round, in addition to Seattle and Angel City, respectively. This is because they will miss round 10 to, "contest the final of the CONCACAF W

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-44701335044285762372025-04-15T19:14:00.003-04:002025-04-16T12:01:02.026-04:00

Lots of good information out there looking at the week that was in NWSL. Here's a roundup. Recaps NWSL Week 4 Recap- Portland and Chicago show signs of life, Angel City stay hot, and Kansas City continue to roll NWSL Outliers: Matchday 4 NWSL Team of the Week: Gotha's Lilly Reale scores first pro goal, teen Trinity Armstrong debuts on San Diego 2025 nwsl week 4: xG race charts & g+ pass

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-15643375527310389902025-04-11T15:43:00.003-04:002025-04-11T15:44:27.245-04:00

I'm at a loss this week.That's great for blogging, right? Just what you want to read: I don't know what I'm doing. But bear with me. Maybe if we put the options down "on paper" it will help us all make sense of it.So, what are the parameters? We have a double gameweek next week with Portland and Gotham each playing twice.This week, however, Bay FC plays Chicago and it pays to play

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-19841708409081449782025-04-10T12:40:00.010-04:002025-04-10T15:12:22.869-04:00

With the International Break in the rear-view, it's time to focus on the upcoming weekend of NWSL matches. To do that, let's remind ourselves of what happened all those days ago. Back when the world was young, and no one was trying to crater the global economy with a new tariff regime. NWSL Review | Matchweek 3 2025 Fantasy NWSL: Answers from Round 3 NWSL Power Rankings: Kansas City

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-56049993073553036782025-03-27T14:44:00.002-04:002025-03-27T14:44:20.876-04:00

North Carolina Courage v Portland Thorns FC, 13 April 2024, Olivia Moultrie and Denise O'Sullivan, et al Well, the plan didn't work out; but the plan was fine.As I worked through in my week 2 post -- see, these things are for me; if you get benefit from them... Bonus! -- I brought in Jayden Perry for her week five double gameweek. Only to see her immediately benched for Sam Hiatt. That was

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-87328581668806423952025-03-20T15:02:00.007-04:002025-03-20T15:04:27.943-04:00

Fantasy managers celebrating Banda's points. (Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda (22) celebrates her goal against the Seattle Reign with teammates on the bench during the second half of an NWSL soccer match, Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Seattle. Orlando won 3-2. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)) Week One is in the books. I hope your team was full of points. Congrats to those who rostered ("owned" makes

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-83604547104618140722025-03-14T12:42:00.002-04:002025-03-14T12:43:22.257-04:00

 Final should be in quotation marks. Maybe it's final; maybe it's not. We'll get lineups 45 minutes before the games (and before the fantasy deadline) tonight so really anything could happen.But after a long series of increasingly outlandish tinkers -- Solorzano? Watt? Freeman? -- I've settled on the following team. Maybe. So, what's new?Giving up on McKeown. Again.I wrote before, "I never

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-43909190635605492982025-03-12T17:50:00.001-04:002025-03-12T17:50:19.371-04:00

I'm trying to collate a list of season previews -- team specific, league-wide, and player focused. I'll keep this updated as we head into the season on Friday. Or maybe I'll make daily posts. We'll see.ShePlays NWSL News https://blog.sheplays.com.au/category/nwsl/ Bayou City Soccer 2025 Position Group Preview https://www.bayoucitysoccer.net/dash American Soccer Analysis 2025 NWSL Previews

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7984669.post-76207489435568731842025-03-12T15:35:00.003-04:002025-03-12T16:59:29.411-04:00

Quick post, because I learned some things today that got me looking like my friend above. Abovine? Anyway.First, we learned Bia Zaneratto is not yet recovered from her foot injury. Sure is nice to know these sorts of things, isn't it? This is a problem because, after yesterday's draft update post, I made some changes to accommodate moving from Kundananji to Bia. Something about

Jeremy Spitzberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13306174630343638372noreply@blogger.com0