Vic

[ 1 ]  Mark  Sampson's "ebola" joke, if true, is unfunny and racially insensitive.
[ 2 ]  That said, can there be racism when there are two people of colour on the current England squad? I'd be curious to know what Demi Stokes and  Nikita Parris  have to say on this matter  without fear of FA reprisal.  They  could be the difference in either confirming or refuting Aluko's charges/claims. If all the England players of colour were treated badly by Sampson then charges of racism become  more convincing. But if Stokes and Parris  say ,in full honesty, that they had no problems ( or minor problems ) with Sampson then charges of racism collapse.
[  3  ]  PFA support for Aluko
:https://thepfa.com/thepfa/latestnews/article/2017/8/22/statement-pfa-support-for-eni-aluko
[ 4 ] Off Topic ( the Jessie Fleming stay in school or play abroad discussion ) :
Just throwing this out there   but  Eni Aluko is an example of a player who got a meaningful education ( a law degree ) on the side,  while being a starter for both  club(s) and country.
 
 

Aluko accuses Sampson of racial discrimination.  http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41007444

I watched the Canada/Ireland game last night, and have to say that we came close to not winning that game.  We seemed better technically, but had little skill in penetrating the Irish defense.  Time after time we hoofed a long ball into the top of the box, where the tall Irish backs would head it back out again to safety.  It seemed that only number 8 on our team (can't remember her name) was consistently dangerous in attacking the box with the ball.  I hope our team can come up with some fresh ideas for attacking in the coming games.

2017 FISU in Taipei kicks off.
MEN:  Uruguay 2-0 Canada 
Canada went down to 10 men on a second yellow at 49' when it was 0-0 and gave up a goal in the 80'.  Then the Canadian goalkeeper took a straight red at the 89' and Uruguay added another at the 90'.  53% possession against Uruguay playing short for that long is pretty impressive.
The men play Japan tomorrow.  Japan beat Malaysia 2-0 in their opener, outshooting them 16-2.
WOMEN: Canada 1-0 Ireland
The women had similar 53% possession and outshot the Irish 15-8.  Who else but Joelle Gosselin scored in the 64'.  
Next up for the women is Mexico on Tuesday,  Mexico played Ireland to a scoreless draw in their opener with 65% possession, outshooting them 18-0.

I am sorry to hear that, and did hesitate to post.
The lawyer in me does have to say that crimes of moral turpitude is not really a matter of perspective in common law, and sometimes well defined - murder, kidnaping, robbery, and aggravated assaults etc. Our society does not like but basically accepts drunk driving - shameful as it is - if we didn't accept it, drunk drivers would go to jail for a first offence. They don't (notice no one has even mentioned that as a possible outcome for Cyle!). Or even a second offence. We only don't accept it when the unfortunate happens and someones is badly injured or killed. Even there, the sentences are relatively light. This is not to downplay, but just the facts.
 
Edit: Case in point, bail was set at $500. Pathetic.

The Return of Litterbox, the telepathic alien fly;
Litterbox;
"Long time no see!"
Cheeta;
"Geezus! Shit, man.  You scared the Hell out of me!"
Litterbox;
"You knew I was coming.  Sent you a text weeks ago."
Cheeta;
"Yeah, yeah.  Forgot.  Lost track of time but I'll be honest with you.  With all the shootings going on down south wasn't sure you could cross the border.  But glad to see you old friend."
Litterbox;
"I'm a fly.  From an alien world.  Crossing international borders on Earth is a joke.  Now getting to Winnipeg from Florida with these little wings?  I don't think so.  Hitched a ride on a jet this AM."
Cheeta;
"Forgot you were down there.  Hey!   You hear Cyle Larin got busted on a DUI in Florida?!."
Litterbox;
"Hear it?  I was there.  But listen, you want the dirt on Trump and his flunkies or what?  This is some next level shit.."
Cheeta;
"YOU WHERE THERE?"
Litterbox;
"sigh....Really?  You know we were just out clubbing. Sharing some time with the ladies and got a bit careless.  No harm done thankfully but yeah, sure, CL messed up.  Going to have to take his lumps and learn his lesson.  But listen, this Trump shit is inter-stellar.  And it's all set to go KA-BOOM.  I'm telling you, you're not going to ....."
Cheeta;
...
Litterbox:
"I should have know."
 
  
 
Larin;
"Evening officer!."
Copper;
"Evening, sir.  Do you realize you were driving the wrong way down the street?"
Larin;
"Hoo!  Really?  Certainly explains all those ASSHOLES swerving around me!"
Copper;
"I just want to mention at this point that you are a person of colour and I haven't pointed my sidearm at you yet during this after sunset traffic stop."
Larin;
"' 'ppreciate that!  Hmm.  Must be the BMW.  But, uh...this red dot flashing into my eye?"
Copper;
" Oh, that's my partner by the cruiser.  CHUCK!  IT'S OK.  HE AIN'T LOCAL.  GOT SOME SORT OF QUEER YANKEE ACCENT!"
Larin;
"Canadian.  Canadian accent."
Copper:
*snicker*  "That a fact?  Didn't realize you folks drive on the left side of the road up there?  Doesn't matter if you do or don't I'm still going to have to write you up for driving the wrong way down the street.  Oh.  And sir, in the future you're going to want to put open liquor bottles in the trunk of your car.  Doesn't matter if that vodka bottle is mostly empty it's against the law here in Florida to have open liquor on your lap while driving.  What brings you to Florida, sir?"
Larin;
"Me?  I'm down here playing soccer.  Pro-soccer.  That's how I make my living."
Copper;
"Yeah?"
Larin;
"Yes, sir."
Copper;
"Suppose..supposing you're a STAR STRIKER or something."
Larin;
" Yes, sir.  Best they got if I say so myself.."
Copper;
"...
"So let me see if I got this straight.  You're a Canadian, playing professional soccer in these United States and you are your teams star striker?  Is that right?"
Larin;
"Bingo."
Copper;
"Boy, GET YOUR DRUNK ASS OUT OF THAT CAR!"
 
 
 
  
 
 

Hope you can get to some of the matches.  A lot of fun looking for the next phenom.
Notts County women went under last week:
"I was extremely concerned that to operate Notts County Ladies for the current season was going to cost us approximately £500,000 - a figure principally made up of player and coaching salaries... our total projected incoming revenue from attendances and sponsorship was £28,000."
Unless you are a philanthropic saint with deep pockets or a true believer in the plight and making the world a better place for female footballers, there is a harsh reality that goes with being an early adopter in running leading edge programs.

Hope you can get to some of the matches.  A lot of fun looking for the next phenom.
Notts County women went under last week:
"I was extremely concerned that to operate Notts County Ladies for the current season was going to cost us approximately £500,000 - a figure principally made up of player and coaching salaries... our total projected incoming revenue from attendances and sponsorship was £28,000."
Unless you are a philanthropic saint with deep pockets or a true believer in the plight and making the world a better place for female footballers, there is a harsh reality that goes with being an early adopter in running leading edge programs.

Australia wants a gold medal for 2020 and a 2023 World Cup win. They want the W-League to be the #1 in the world. How? 60@60 strategy.
Targets contracting 60 Australian players on a minimum of A$60k for the next four years.The addition of a 10th W-League team; introduction of a minimum $11,500 W-League salary and an increased FFA dividend from $50,000 to $175,000 per club.
 
http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/matildas-target-a-gold-medal-at-tokyo-olympics-as-part-of-ambitious-plan-to-overhaul-game/news-story/a96d7b3be6753ddf5df61375d868d1c9

Our national system has officially pushed players to the NCAA for decades.  The system was created when the women's game in Europe was 18 shirts and a bag of balls.  That's not the case any longer as has been mentioned.
I didn't read his comments as questioning her or in any way unsupportive.  I read them as " gee it's a shame we don't have a better solution for them".  More of a comment on the system than the case.
Sounds to me like he's just sniffing for avenues to help players like her and our programs at the same time.

Wonderful player.
Again, there are university-age girls making six figures a year in Europe.  Say for example Ada Hegerberg - voted best player in Europe, Norway's sportsperson of the year, big Puma sponsorship, Champions League win.  Really unfortunate she couldn't sit in a class on Economics and play against San Diego State.  Sucks to instead have to play Wolfsburg in the Champions final and score your team's only goal of the game and again in the shootout.
Do what you want.  If you want to be a doctor more than anything, go to school.  If you like both medicine and soccer, go to school and play soccer.  If you want to be a great player more than anything, go to Europe.  Education has no finish line.  We're an affordable social democracy and a million Canadians do it every year, of all ages.  It's not use it or lose it like a playing career.  You can also do it part-time while you play.
There is no broad stroke, everyone is different.

Playing in a environment with mature and talented women like Camille Abily will help develop her professionalism.
Imagine a training session with Alex Morgan, Ada Hegerberg, Saki Kumagai, Dzsenifer Marozsan, Caroline Seger, Pauline Bremer, etc.  You have to give it to Lyon for their financial commitment to assembling an arsenal like that.

Playing in a environment with mature and talented women like Camille Abily will help develop her professionalism.
Imagine a training session with Alex Morgan, Ada Hegerberg, Saki Kumagai, Dzsenifer Marozsan, Caroline Seger, Pauline Bremer, etc.  You have to give it to Lyon for their financial commitment to assembling an arsenal like that.

Playing in a environment with mature and talented women like Camille Abily will help develop her professionalism.
Imagine a training session with Alex Morgan, Ada Hegerberg, Saki Kumagai, Dzsenifer Marozsan, Caroline Seger, Pauline Bremer, etc.  You have to give it to Lyon for their financial commitment to assembling an arsenal like that.

Alex Morgan joins Hegerberg up top for Lyon on a temporary loan. A nice shot across the bow to those with Champions League aspirations.
There is an extremely well put together UEFA embedded video of Ada Hegerberg's goals in that link above.  Worth the click and launch it full screen.
 

Fleming made the choice that works for her and Godspeed to her.  People do what they like.  She wants to be the best player in the world and an oceanographer (or engineer or whatever).  Go for it.
What I'm saying is if you want to be the best player in the world, if that's your dream, similarly - go for it.  Don't let your geographic options and/or social norms limit you. If you're also interested in some form of higher education another option is like Horan to do it on the side or after your career.
The decision isn't black or white.  Despite the opinions here there is no right or wrong.  It's contextual to every player.
The global women's game has progressed to the point women are starting to have to make the same decisions men in this country have had to make for decades.  The development system here is limited compared to abroad.  Stay or go becomes a valid question the best young players will have to start to consider.


Women want, expect and even demand equality in the game.  In return, they should be expected to approach the game with equal professionalism.  I have no problem posing them questions like this.


Continue with this?  Woah cowboy.  You lit the fire by quoting a 6-figure number and claiming people should not go to Europe.  I disagreed with the black/white comment for the reasons above and said "The decision is of course qualitative to the player in question" and mentioned Horan.
You posted at length, again, misleadingly about her finances and I corrected you.  And mentioned that like med school is better for doctors than playing soccer, playing soccer is better for soccer players than studying medicine.

European Women's Champions League.
Slavia Prague knocked out Brondby (semi finalist last year) which is a huge shock.  The Czech Republic women's football league is average at best, with only two competitive clubs - Slavia and Sparta.

Is there someone better?  The better avenue would be hiring someone to be responsible for the management and development of the women's game in the country.  We bundle that with coaching the team and they are two very, very different things.

Even Pellerud stepped down after the Cup.  As did Roger Reijners in the Netherlands.  Assistant Roger Finjord took over Norway and the Dutch hired third-tier Lisse men's coach Arjan va der Laan.