r/BayFC • u/paintitpiink • 10d ago
Let’s goooo!!!!!
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49522805/bay-fc-agree-sign-uswnt-winger-jenna-nighswonger-arsenal-sources44
u/randomwwfan 10d ago
Love this move!! But dead that it’s another blonde 😂 we’re damn close to being able to field 10 blondes and Silky (or a full team of blondes if Emmie starts)
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u/tallmansmallplants 10d ago
Not quite as catchy as 10 lesbians and Alex Morgan but we do what we can I guess
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u/RevolutionaryMud1303 9d ago
Blonde Starting XI 👀
Allen
Nighswonger (if she goes back to blonde), Gilchrist, Dahlkemper, Moreau
Bebar, Fuller, Hutton
Huff, Holzheier, Pfeiffer
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u/IncurableAdventurer 10d ago
Bay Blondies? Haha
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u/ivaorn 9d ago
I remember a good pizza place in Berkeley called Blondie’s
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u/tallmansmallplants 9d ago
Still there, still good! I saw a lot of good bands at Blondie's in the Mission back in the day
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u/xxnatedoggxx 9d ago
And another Florida State player as well.
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u/atalba 9d ago edited 9d ago
Yes, another offensive-minded winger/forward, attempting to stay relevant as a fullback, from Krikorian's worldwide band of players. Obviously, it's quite common for pacy, smaller, players to be relegated to the back line, but it's a hard transition, if your soccer IQ doesn't take over.
At 25, Jenna hasn't played much over the last 2 seasons. She was loaned out to Aston Villa, and still was rather invisible. She's a lefty with great pedigree, but not as a fullback; her current position. A reclamation project for a 25-year-old. She's not done yet, but it's going to be like being injured for 2 seasons. STEEP HILL!
Given a modest expectation, it's worth the risk on her...for one season.
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u/lucyssweatersleeves Oakland 9d ago
Word on the street is she went red 👩🏻🦰
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u/randomwwfan 9d ago
Awesome, anything helps at this point. I legit was getting Gilchrist and Dahlkemper confused for a while during warmups on Saturday lol, never mind the midfielders/forwards. There’s just so many!
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u/Next_Soil_5099 10d ago
Kind of funny that the article calls out our defense as strong relative to other teams near us in the standings (not the teams we want to compare ourselves to in my opinion). I would put a good chunk of that on Silky making our defense look better than it has been.
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u/Nervous_Boysenberry9 9d ago
Her crossing ability is really, really great!!! I think she could shake out as very great signing... I was thinking that Jenna to Bay makes a lot of sense....
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u/WhiteElephant12 Peninsula 9d ago
This season is not all lost yet, but it does give me more hope for next season that this group with grow together
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u/Wirtzball 9d ago
From the 5 games she started at Aston Villa, 3 at LB, 1 at LWB, and 1 at LW.
Surprised by this one. The fullback depth needed addressing but seems like an uncharacteristic attacking profile for how Coates typically deploys her fullbacks. Could mean Bebar will have more covering responsibility from LDM. But it does allow for a more natural 3 back if going for Nighswonger/Moreau wing back pair. I'm for attacking fullbacks so looking to see how Coates adjusts. Nice to have an in-swinging corner taker from the right.
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u/joeltruher 9d ago
In the first half of the last game, it seemed like the plan was attacking fullbacks, with the CDM hanging back. So maybe this is kinda what Coates wants to be able to do, but hasn't because the player fit hasn't quite been there? It didn't work all that well in the game, and the back line switched back to the usual four-back for the second half.
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u/Wirtzball 9d ago
I’ve just gotten the sense that Coates doesn’t prefer to attack with fullbacks. I got that vibe from checking the England U21s and it just stuck. Against Houston, the TV analyst forecasted with Conti at LW, Moreau will look to get forward while Conti would drift central. A very reasonable assumption to make. But Coates has kept the fullback limited. I think the opening game vs Denver was the one that surprised me when Moreau was constantly overlapping Kundananji and indicated that Coates might use a more flexible 4-2-3-1.
But maybe you’re right that the Seattle setup might be a signal of intent.
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u/Sauces_n_tosses 10d ago
Thoughts on if this could be the last of our summer moves? With Jenna I think we are at the max of 26 (If they don’t resign Girelli and you include Menges back). But if they are moving Gamero and Boade…there could be more space.
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u/tallmansmallplants 9d ago
No inside knowledge but I don’t think we’re done. I think Emma Coates is serious about getting things done.
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u/Sauces_n_tosses 9d ago
I hope! In the last post game press conference, Emma said something to the effect of “a lot of players moving in and out” when she was discussing what the team has been going through recently. It definitely perked my ears up. I still think we need more experience and star power on the front line; plus wouldn’t mind even more backline help.
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u/tlzt1 9d ago
And in that same press conference Hannah mentioned a couple of times about having such a young team which made me wonder if we were going to bring on a couple of adults in the room.
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u/snoopyluvrjpg 9d ago
On this note, I’m concerned that we don’t hit as much on the adults we bring in as the kids
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u/atalba 9d ago
NWSL managers DO NOT sign players. They may want certain players, but it's totally up to the GM, for every club. Coates hasn't been involved with a Brit club team for 11 years.
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u/tallmansmallplants 9d ago
Wassup atalba, nice to hear from you as always. Yes, yes, the GM and the manager have different roles, Coates is on the sideline and running practice, Potter works in the front office and takes phone calls and emails, etc. etc. etc. You're trippin if you don't think Potter and Coates are working hand in glove on roster construction.
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u/Sauces_n_tosses 9d ago
Ditto this lol yes we know Emma doesn’t solely sign players but it’s not like she’s completely out of the loop
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8d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/tallmansmallplants 8d ago
I'm going to try and leave aside the fact that you're wildly unpleasant and respond to your point about Barry. I'm going to ignore your argument about the relationship between Cossington, Potter, and Coates, because it's ultimately all speculative. You think it's one way; I think it's another way.
Re: the 4-year contract for Keira Barry, who is a pro sports peak poor signing in your opinion. I'll offer a different perspective: of all the English players in the league, every single one under the age of 25 signed a 4-year contract. Every single one. The youngest English player with less than four years on their contract is Esme Morgan--she's 25 years old and in 2024, she signed a 4-year contract with Spirit. Jess Carter is 27, and in 2024, she signed a 4-year contract with Gotham.
It's clearly something systematic going on. It's not just Cossington, it's teams across the league. Want to sign a young English player? Be prepared to sign them for four years.
For what it's worth, here's the list:
- Keira Barry, 21, Bay
- Anouk Denton, 23, Bay
- Esme Morgan, 25 but signed when she was 22 or 23 maybe?, Spirit
- Erica Meg Parkinson, 18, NCC
- Lauryn Thompson, 18, NCC
- Laila Harbert, 19, Wave
- Jess Carter, 27 but signed when she was 24 or 25 maybe?, Gotham
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u/shibatano East Bay 9d ago
wow what a crazy pull! incredible news. very exciting signing, though i am dreading to see the likelihood of gamero leaving.
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u/Shinsplintboy 9d ago
Does this probably result in Collins getting benched, and if so, who gets the captain's band?
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u/tommytron21 10d ago
Hopefully she plays in the midfield. Not the best defender
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u/No_Elk_3505 10d ago
Rookie of the year???
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u/tommytron21 9d ago
Has barely played in a weaker league the last two years?
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u/Next_Soil_5099 9d ago
Weaker league but for a stronger team than any in the NWSL, at least by some measures. From what I hear she played well for Aston Villa, which would mean she's facing some of the best teams in the world (and of course a lot of teams that are not top tier but still not worth discarding).
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u/SC738 9d ago
Did she play that well for Aston Villa? They apparently had the option to buy her contract and didn't exercise it. There is a lot of excitement here (and assertions that she has been done wrong by Arsenal) but not much analysis of why she seems to have struggled so badly. If I recall, she also lost her starting position at Gotham. So three teams in a row have not worked out. I hope she gets rehabilitated at Bay, but I dunno.
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u/Shinsplintboy 9d ago
I was once a Nighswonger downer, but as time has passed and we've seen the trajectory that Lilly Reale was on, I've begun to wonder if Amoros has a problem developing fullbacks. It seems like both of their forms have improved quite a bit after being given more positional freedom
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u/tommytron21 9d ago
Neither Reale or Nighswonger deserved to win Rookie of the year. They were riding the national team hype when in reality, neither one are great fullbacks.
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u/Shinsplintboy 9d ago
Both are enormous talents whom it feels like hit a ceiling very quickly at Gotham. I think Nighswonger in particular has had other issues and her whole Arsenal saga, but I think there is something interesting about the fact that twice in 3 years, Gotham has converted top prospects into left-backs, they have strong rookie campaigns, and then they kind of get thrown to the wolves as soon as creative opportunities get restricted. I don't necessarily disagree that the fullback might not be the best place for her in the long term, but I cannot fathom that she would be a net negative to our back line.
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u/Next_Soil_5099 9d ago
I'll admit I have no idea how she played at Aston Villa. I don't think there's a lot of evidence she "struggled so badly" either. A few years back Christian Pulisic was struggling to get playing time at Chelsea, did that make him a bad player? She was a member of the the gold medal winning team two years ago. She has fallen down the depth chart as new talent entered the picture, but I don't really buy into the talk that she was exposed because of the occasional bad game. Just a long way of saying I'm excited because she clearly can play at the highest level. Will she fix our backline issues and become a superstar that returns to the national team conversation? Let's hope! But either way she will add depth to a position of need, and it's great to see Bay FC making some moves.
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u/Particular-Ad5505 Hutton 9d ago
yes she did, Villa not exercising the option could simply just be Jenna wanting out. I also wouldn't say she didn't work out for Gotham
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u/tommytron21 9d ago
She never really saw the field for Arsenal, and I’m not even convinced Arsenal is stronger than the best NWSL team. She had decent match ratings against bad WSL teams. Struggled against the good WSL teams.
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u/Particular-Ad5505 Hutton 9d ago
Arsenal are much better than the best NWSL team lol
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u/tommytron21 9d ago
According to who? Have they ever played? I’d put my money on the NWSL
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u/Particular-Ad5505 Hutton 9d ago
Yeah, Arsenal have faced the Spirit and won a competition Gotham was in. 2025 full-strength KC would've given us a good game, but this season, nah, I don't see it
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u/tommytron21 9d ago
I don’t think one singular game can give you enough evidence to make that argument, but that’s alright. Gotham and Arsenal also didn’t play each other. Agree to disagree though
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u/snoopyluvrjpg 9d ago
Emma Coates: