Well, my bold prediction is Davies retires as Canada's all time leading goal scorer. He only has to get to 22 and I think he will be over 10 by the time he is 21/22. We are blessed to have him and his family in Canada. This is why immigration is a key to why Canada is such a great country. I commend his parents for teaching him the honor and integrity to commit to Canada instead of having the attitude of waiting to see what country he gets moved to for club football and trying to crack their "better" national team. Canada gave them an opportunity to leave a refugee camp and it is great he hs part of our great country. He has fine parents and they should be a poster family for why we should have immigration in Canada. Thank you for joining our National Men's Team Alphonso Davies!!
well said, old fan!! now if montreal 18 year old, tabla, buys into the CMNT, then things really look rosy IMO- tabla ranks up there- almost there-with davies
Wow we are likely to get out of the group stage here. The team looks really good under the new coach. I was not a big fan of sacking Floro because I think we have to start committing 2 cycles to a coach instead of all this "one and done" pattern we have had since Holger. But, I am loving what I see so far. Carl needs to take some lessons on what they are doing with Davies on the national team. Assuming Alphonso gets into a big club in the next couple of years, I can see him developing into a top 25 player in the world. I know that may sound batshit crazy to a lot of people. But ,he just has an absurd about of tools and mind for a guy who is only 16. I think it is his mindset and ability to make decisions, be aggressive, see the game, and keep his composure that impresses me the most. I can certainly see him being a full time starter in his early 20s with a huge club playing with world class players.
WHAT WAS I MOST IMPRESSED WITH DAVIES VS COSTA RICA?? glad you asked in the opening few minutes, alphonso got the ball on the far left, did a deft sway to bypass 1 CR player, drove easily past another 3 CR players, left another in his wake- YES he does create waves as he runs past opponents- and then he sliced the ball between 2 CR players like a hot knife going through butter- all those moves in 20 seconds tells you all you need to know about his ability simply scintillating he has rocket wheels- in 2-3 paces he turns on his after-burner and blows by opponents as he did on his 1st goal vs FG- reminds me of pavel bure of the canucks- THE KID HAS ROCKET FEET he could be the SUPERSTAR player that canada has never had... and he scores goals too- i wonder how many euro scouts are watching this unfold- davies is better at this point than raheem stirling of the EPL because of his strength on the ball and his defensive capabilities
Davies should be around in Vancouver yet for at least another couple of years because (as I understand it) he has to be 18 before he could be traded abroad. That will be fun for you Whitecaps fans. Even then, if he continues as he has, I wonder if the Whitecaps would be tempted to make him a DP and keep him.
would i love to see davies sign a DP contract and stay with the Caps- ABSOLUTELY DO I WANT IT TO HAPPEN- no-alphonso deserves to go the big stage of top euro soccer- only then can we really gauge his ability- and it will help the CMN team- to be a superstar, he needs to be on the superstar stage- 18 will come soon enough and the Caps stand to make millions (probably some will be shared with FC edmonton)- + 10 mill is a possibility after watching his performance at the Gold Cup
^ You're right that he will develop more in Europe, assuming (which I think is a safe assumption in his case) that he can catch on at a high enough level. Despite rapid improvements, MLS is probably a decade away from the time where there will be a serious argument about whether top level prospects are better off staying in MLS or going to Europe. I say this because when people hear "Going to Europe" they tend to envision a starting spot on a top level team. The truth, however, is that most guys who go to Europe don't end up starting for Barcelona or Man U (or whoever). So at what point will MLS be as good for their development as they are likely to actually get in Europe? Not now, however, for the top guys.
I should also add that Davies himself might be interested in staying (regardless of the development debate) if Vancouver was willing to offer him enough so that they could have a Canadian star on their team. He would certainly be a ticket seller.
He has potential to be a top 25 player in the world (I know, some would laugh at me saying that). He won't get to that level playing for the Caps or MLS. I think he should be sold after 2018 season to a club in England to develop. He can always return to MLS as a DP in his mid 20s or something for a huge contract and some funny money from Garber for Canadian DPs. i would love to see him here, but my goal is for him to be the best performer ever for our national team and to realize his full potential; he won't get that staying with the Caps ( especially with the coaching and system they have in place now). He needs to be playing with an entire roster of world class players. Not in MLS with 2 upper level DPs and a bunch of plumbers due to the salary cap issues.
CANADA VS JAMAICA- JULY 20- 1-2 LOSS 1. POTM- undoubtedly it was junior hoilett- his dribbling, pace and intrusive cuts into jamaica's box area were terrific- i have never seen him play so well!! but alas, the middle strikers were not able to punish the jamaicans 2. What happened??- was it fatique, illness or the playing stage, but davies was largely unresponsive- his usual driving penetrations from previous games were virtually non-existent- he seemed almost hesitant to run at the jamaican defenders and i am not sure why- but heh, he still had a terrific gold cup and we all have much to look forward to PS upon his return to the whitecaps, i suggest that davies has a couple of weeks of rest and light exercise 3. Pace, Pace, Pace-when playing jamaica, its all about their pace and speed- control that and you win the game; but the pace did matter against a slower defense and MF and we struggled to keep up and contain them the good news is that with former canadian teams, we always had solid defense, but lacked soccer prowess- now its the reverse- we have significant talent to frighten teams with and over the next 4 years, we should get better- we need a faster defense and another significant MF player to replace the aging atiba hutchinson- getting the terrific 18 year old, ballou-tabla- now playing for montreal- to commit to canada would be HUGE- he could be another alphonso davies impact player 4. Love, Love, Love- gotta love this team that truly has a shot at becoming a significant CONCACAF team 5. Keep your pecker up (my mom's favorite saying)- this team finally gives all of the canadian soccer lovers hope and we have a terrific head coach- we may have lost to jamaica, but we didnt loose the tournament
I saw a fun attacking team with young players and a willingness to let them play and create chances. I really am liking Zambrano and what kind of playing style he is building towards. Arfield was impressive to me and I can see how much a regular EPL player can do at this level. Getting him and Holliet into the program were Floro's best achievements. 2022 qualifying will have a lot of excitement once it gets under way in a couple of years. It is going to be hard to deal with 2 years of friendlies!
i am hoping that over the next year that zambrano and his staff will scour the world for high-quality players that would be willing to put on the red and white, much like floro did with arfield (the best canadian player at the Gold Cup) and hoilett and cavellini (a workhorse, but not sure he has the scoring touch)- there has to be other hidden gems with some heritage ties to canada- we certainly need 2 new CBs, younger and speedier, and a #10 MF to complement arfield and the much-improved piette (the second best player at the Gold Cup), along with davies who i think might have had a slight injury or was ill in the last game vs jamaica add those 3 pieces and play lots of high-quality friendlies over the next 2 years and we can move to the next level, just behind mexico and the usa for WC 2022 qualifying