Well, here we are. I just looked at the lineup. Ottawa is motivated like this is a big deal. I think this is one of those nights where the NASL club could win. The Caps are dressing a very weak lineup and Ottawa is jacked up.
Well, based on that starting lineup and the subsequent results, we know very clearly what Robinson thinks of this tournament and it's reward (CCL which he also doesn't give a shit about). If you were still buying Robinson's bull after last year, please think again. Why not just admit "MLS is all in for us, the other tournaments are reserve squads and we don't care if we win or lose as they are squad development matches". I can at least accept the honesty on that.
you nailed this one- i dont know whether to be disgusted with our lack of committment to the game or just laugh it off THE MYSTERY how is it that reserve USL young developing players who have had a lot of training and teaching at the expense of the whitecap owners can perform sooooooo dismally, soooooo dispassionately?? it seemed more like a scrimmage game to most of them- i would send most of them to the showers AND THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE many of these whitecap reserve players are to supposed to be training to be full-time professionals- could their lack of passion and committment to the game be attributed to the knowledge that even the whitecap coaching staff and FO do not take the amway cup seriously?? some of them are supposed to be out future first string players- i dont think so- up to this point of 5 years of the whitecaps academy/USL Pro development, the program has been a bust- not 1 player has made any dent in becoming a starter HATS OFF to the ottawa fury who played with passion and committment and to the over 9 000 fans who came to the game THE QUESTION are these some of the best young canadian soccer players?? if it is, then canada still has a longgggg road to being a soccer nation and making a WC
the more i think about what i saw last night- and last year- it would best if the whitecaps went with their USL team in these type of special tournaments- when they start with a mish-mash of USL and first string squad players, there is little to no chemistry/unity- very disjointed play, like an amateur side playing rec soccer- as we all know, frequently playing as a unit can make an impact far bigger than its individual talent- really- did first string players such as teibert, hurtado, mezquida, tornaghi, aird and then the subs, rivero and manneh, make any significant impact and contribution to the game last night?? i think old fan has it right- play your USL team who have played together often and mostly canadian- i think the performances would be much better- can it be any worse?? PS whatever has happened to debyi flores?? he was signed- ridiculously IMO- to a 5 year contract and it seems he has 'fallen off the soccer cliff'! if mezquida, manneh, hurtado, parker, seiler and rivero play- all noncanadians- in the amway games, then where is debyi (unless he is injured)? use the amway as a developmental set of games for canadian players
Debyi Flores is not even USL material in my opinion.... The problem here is Robinson takes a couple MLS guys, some bench guys, WFC2 guys, and academy guys, throws them into a match with some people out of position, no practices together.. .and boom, this is the Canadian Championship. Then the CCL games will get the same garbage treatment. So, here is what I propose... Caps announce a new direction for the Canadian Championships.... It is used for development of Canadian players. They make the full 18 with Canadians only... whomever is on the MLS squad starts, the rest come from WFC2 and Academy. And run with it. You are now honest with the fans and the expectations are leveled out. Now, as a fan, I will want to see the game to enjoy watching our developing players without hanging onto the results. Now, that will anger core supporters because this is a meaningful trophy. However, under this plan we would still win it sometimes because you have a more cohesive team on the pitch. The current model disgraces the trophy, serves up garbage like Wednesday night, and also puts pressure on the MLS schedule (which is why we get the shit we got on wednesday). Do it the way I propose, take the heat from a few supporters, be honest with the fans, and run with it. Heck, you could even put the games out at UBC and make a nice festival out of it celebrating the Canadian game. I think this would be a much cleaner and more integrity based way of doing this. Over a 10 year span I would bet we win it about as much as we have the last 10 years. I don;t think this model is "throwing in the towel" like some would say. They already are throwing in the towel on it so why not do this with some meaning behind it.
well- i think you are closer to the truth than some would want to admit will your idea fly?? NOPE! the sham lineups and the sham games will continue- BTW- do the whitecaps even have 18 canadian players?? there will be an announced attendance at the return match next week which will include the over 15 000 STHS- will it be accurate to actual bums in the seats?? i for one will not be going, so if you do go, tell me the real number IN the stadium
even if the whitecaps win the amway tournament- as they did in 2015 and played seattle in the next round- i will not attend the game- the bc place game vs seattle had 10 reserve Cap players and seattle had 9 reserve players- a terrible game to watch- less than NASL or USL Pro MLS teams should not take the goodwill of supporters casually and 'piss' them off with such a lack of respect for the amway and CONCACAF qualifying games
If you go MLS, USL, and a handful of prospects they can make 18 Canadians for this tournament. I just think it would make it more honest effort, be real with the fans, and actually make it more interesting. What they are doing now is just pissing people off. However, if they use my idea and win a game, people will be delighted and excited about the future of the club. The initial whining from supporters will not be any worse than what is happening now, and you re build it with a fresher idea. Now, I don't know the rules and if they can even do this. They may have to have a certain number of MLS contracted players in the gameday 18, I don't know. I just think it is the best way to deal with this tournament. Pissing everyone off each time we have one of these games is just bad for business. My idea protects the MLS season and refreshes it into something more interesting. And it would be a very happy and positive story when a year came around where the all canadian roster won the thing (and it would happen sometimes.... a more cohesive team against patchwork TO and MTL would pull off an upset from time to time). This garbage we get now is just sad. More of it will be coming when the CCL games come a long. Pretending they want to win this just makes the club look bad. My idea solves that.
I would use your idea ONLY for the amway cup; then the team has to go on into the next round playing their best team, play to win- if a professional soccer player cant play 2 games in 1 week, then something is wrong- I get tired of that excuse- hell I am 70 and I can play my demanding sports (badminton, pickleball, biking, etc) 4-5 x each week and I don't even get paid!!
Not sure the connection you are trying to make.... my idea is all the way for the entire tournament......... if you hybrid it then you start to get a mess that we have now... some years will be a disgrace and I don't think that is productive. over a 10 year period my model could certainly get decent results (we one 2 in the last decade so it can't get any worse); and it would be honest with everyone and protect the MLS schedule.
the connection is that coaches will often rotate a squad because he doesnt believe that professional athletes can play effectively 2x in a week- hence we end up with an amateur looking, passionless, disconnected squad in the whitecaps game vs ottawa- the amway cup and CONCACAF has become a way for coaches to rest their first string players and play a sham squad- if the owners and coaches dont take the games seriously, why should the players and fans?? until the owners and coaches see these tournaments as important, we will continue to see disappointing scrimmage games and loses to the mexicans when a MLS does go into the group stage and finals of representing CONCACAF i think your idea has more integrity and merit
This game last week was weird though because there was not an MLS game on the weekend after it was played. There was no reason to rest anyone and he could have at least played his 4 MLS Canadians and then his best with the rest of the starting 11. It looks like we will get a top squad tonight (no mLS game this weekend either) as they are chasing a 3 - 0 victory. These games were specifically scheduled for this time frame because the Caps had TWENTY DAYS in between MLS contests. Which is why, I was so appalled at last week. So, if Robinson cares so little about this trophy that he dresses that kind of lineup last week when there is no fixture congestion, tells me we need a better approach as this is just nonsense. Honestly, the Caps are good enough to pull 3 - 0 tonight .HOWEVER, Ottawa deserves it for taking this seriously and the Caps do not. Although, I would suspect Robinson will be just happy to not have CCL games to deal with next year and will not be too sad if we go down tonight. He will, of course, tell us how important this is and still maintain he wants to be a guy who is always honest with the fans. Too much Martin Rennie in him at times.
you called it- a 3-0 win!! GAME ANALYSIS: 1. WITH A LITTLE LUCK- ottawa had several chances to get a goal and luckily our goalie came through 2. GOING ON 15- the youngster, davies really looked poised, mature beyond his soccer years, skillful and dynamic- IMO, he has a brighter future than manneh- Phillipe looks ready to be in the starting 18- but is that a good idea?? 3. MOTM- IMO, rivero was the best whitecap- energetic, got a goal and an assist, linked up well with his teammates, and looks like maybe- JUST A SOFT MAYBE- he has turned the corner and is able to be the goal scorer that reflects his $900 000 US salary - mezquida, tornaghi and morales were also impactful players 4. WHEW!!- it looks like tornaghi can be a suitable replacement goalie should ousted get injured 5. HE SHOULD BE- mezquida should be in the starting lineup- he makes a BIG difference for the attack... and rivero's effectiveness 6. HOW LONG??- for techera to find the back of the net; it means he will actually have to go into the box area, show some courage and stop pissing around with the ball in order to get his left foot articulated to hit the ball 7. DID I SEE- morales going down with a leg injury near the end of the game?? he is playing MUCH better than 2015, but i still have my reservations 8. TOO MUCH- our defence is still giving away too much and for a variety of reasons, we are having an on-going problem keeping chances to a minimum- really, last night, the Fury should have had a goal or 2 and won the series 9. THE REF- really needs lessons and insight on letting the advantage play on- several times, he stopped the play for minor fouls and the team lost the advantage going ahead- he has tunnel vision and cant see the forest for the trees 10. THE BIG QUESTION- should i take the time of a long commute, pay the $$$ and attend the next home game vs TFC, knowing that each team might not field their best 11?? it would burn my arse if the coaches had a gentleman's agreement- whisper, whisper- and started a lot of USL Pro players and i have to watch a game of amateur 'soccer', like i did in 2015 vs seattle- with the first game at BMO, that might be a USL Pro game and the bc place game will be mostly first team players- for the integrity of the game and to be fair to all supporters, both teams should play their best 11 in BOTH games 11. COURAGE AND INSTINCT- congrats to coach robinson for starting 15 year old phillipe davies- and davies did not disappoint - will he be the first truly significant young player developed by the whitecaps?? 12. THE LOST OPPORTUNITY- when a young player like davies plays so much soccer, will his legs and knees wear out (like it sadly did for kara lang) and be on the sidelines at an early age? use extreme caution as his body is still developing
hot potato So, you have posted elsewhere that guys should be able to play more games..... yet you make a point that 15 yr old Davis playing 2 CC matches are a concern he will burn himself out? Lang was a different case because she was not only playing for a club, she was also full time for TWO national teams (senior and u19/20) for several years which is unusual. And the women's national programs played more games because they don't have the club commitments of the men nor the competition so they get more years on the senior team. I know what you are getting at... don't over play him because he is a prospect. And that is sound advice. However, he is just playing WFC2 and if he continues to get national youth callups it is only a few games a year.