What is the problem with Canada?

nervous Americans ... haha

 

Arfield is a 30-year-old playing for Rangers. I have some idea who he is. You're so goddamn dismissive when everyone here can just read an entire player's career online. It's not hard, and you certainly don't seem intelligent for always suggesting that counter-arguments to your inscessant sunshine-pumping are out of ignorance.

He was an SPL player until Falkirk got relegated in 2010. Then he spent 2 years in League One with Huddersfield, and one year in the Championship with them before being sent to Championship Burnley in 2013/14. In 2014/15, Burnley were relegated, he spent another year in the Championship, and then 2 more years in the EPL. A calf strain kept him out of some games, as did squad rotation (https://www.transfermarkt.us/scott-...17&verein=&liga=&wettbewerb=&pos=&trainer_id=). So he left Burnley to play more... and is now a 30-year-old at Rangers. Nobody else except you would claim with a straight face that any Celtic or Rangers player is a top player in the region. Yikes.

I'm truly curious on where you think I'm downplaying him? He's in LigaMX, he's young, and he's gotten almost no time because he's been injured. IF he were such a can't-miss prospect, he would've/should've gone to Man City/Barca. You can't just say "Here's a Barcelona/Man City target", and base your hype on that, while ignoring the fact that he actually played in LigaNOS and will play in LigaMX. It'd be like me saying that Steffen's good because he's a Man City player, or Miazga's good because he's a Chelsea player (with an appearance for them to boot). Steffen's not playing there (just like how Eustaquio isn't there), and Miazga was loaned out multiple times, making him actually an Eredivisie/Ligue 1/Championship player.

I'm sure that must've been hard for you.

So, someone who is a huge part of a "match with anyone in CONCACAF" midfield is about to be replaced by...? Whom? Please, enlighten me about a Ligue 2 guy or maybe another Bulgarian league player.

Sure man, he's good enough for "Europe". Maybe Real Madrid? How about Bayern Munich? Why not? "Europe"' is a big place, and someone who got plucked from 3rd tier Spain (I wonder why you didn't mention that?) must be a can't miss, generational talent. I've watched Montreal, he doesn't stand out there, and nobody has bought him. You can think whatever you want about his abilities, I'll just be content with the fact that he's still at Montreal, indicating he's still an MLS guy.

His highest level was 2 appearances in the 2.Bundesliga, otherwise the Spanish 3rd. I'm confident that my assessment of his ceiling is correct. He doesn't look like a great MLS player with Montreal, he didn't look good against Guyana.

I could've sworn Hoilett played some wingback back at QPR when we had some Jamaican posters claiming that Jamaica was about to get Hoilett, Sterling, and a host of other dual-nats to play for them, hence my suggestion. I've seen his highlights, but obviously there's not much reason for me to watch Cardiff. Guess he's just a wide midfielder/winger.

Maybe, but fanciful projections are par for the course with you. If I said that Chandler Hoffman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler_Hoffman) was going to "climb the ladder", it'd be silly, right? With guys like David, Cavellini, etc, who cares what a 30-year-old SPL reject does? Like I said, attacking is Canada's deepest position group, with.

No, but when something happens to a player with super-obvious parallels, on the same team, 2 years apart...? Once again, you disregard an obvious, cogent point, and counter with an insult.

Could you please point to me saying anything about overall Canadian competitiveness in my post? You can certainly find posts of mine on the subject in this thread, but not much in the last 10-ish pages, and not in the post you quoted.

I took issue with another poster's assessment of a position group. You decided to respond with a long breakdown, punctuated by arrogance and insults, and now we're here.

 

Then you don't know him. Looking at stats and watching the player in action is world of difference.

Man City and Barca saw talent in him, I'm validating your point that getting in the starting XI of those teams is among the hardest things to accomplish in football. Sure some would jump the chance to wear the badge, others want to start and play at a high level while playing somewhere that fits them at the price they want. Cruz Azul offered the total package in his opinion, good for him.

I acknowledge that he has played in LigaNOS and reasons why people are very excited about him is that it's a very good competitive league.

You come across like anything that isn't the top 5 league is just meh... I could be wrong.

Not following MLS? Nah, EPL was an easy alternative. You don't know that I've been a hardcore fan from 2010 to 2014 while being a fan of Montreal since 2007 but 2 leagues not playing Canadians makes it an easy pick...

There's a reason why MLS struggle to penetrate the Canadian market (Garber own admission when he said the league needs to be more relevant in Canada)

Why do you care?
This convo went from optimism for the Canadian program for this cycle to "who's going to replace Osorio" and the Canadian midfield is still bad.

Mark-Anthony Kaye was played out of position but he's younger with a higher ceiling than Osorio and can easily claim the spot from Osorio. As of today for this cycle, Scott Arfield takes Osorio's place as a starter.

Next cycle? Too soon to tell but more talent are on their way

Again, you have this mentality that anything outside the top 5 league is meh... I'm questioning your knowledge of other leagues. Not an insult, just an observation

So a guy from Liga 3, arrives in MLS and claims the DM from the get go with MLS.com and analysts praising him as a rising star, what does that say about MLS level vs none-Euro top leagues? Or is it about the player actually being better than you give him credit for after his solid performance at the last GC opening eyes both in Spain and Montreal?

He had offers from Liga 2 and lower tier La Liga when he chose to come home. (More money, more minutes and well...home). But hey, those clubs have a poor eye for talent.

Just quit now... Your assessment is way too simplistic. So James Vardy being in England 7th tier at age 24 to EPL champion with Leicester at age 30 says what to you? Yeah and I can name you other great players who came from divisions lower than his...your point being???

He can but he's best where he is, that's why Herdman won't play him out of position.

There's nothing insulting into pointing out that you're being simplistic about that way of thinking. I don't know the US player you were talking about but you don't know Millar either nor watched him play, nor know anything about his time with the first team. I don't expect you too but at least I say "too soon to tell", maybe yes, maybe no while you speak in absolute like a Canadian team being able to compete is as impossible as the US winning a world Cup.

Our midfield can compete, that was his point before you crap on it with no facts and little knowledge of it but your perception

Arrogance? Your posts reeks of it but hey, you can't see it but that's ok, carry on

 

Can't watch every player all the time. And if you're going to use appeals-to-authority on Piette (why you're choosing to die on that molehill is beyond me), I can just-as-easily point out the fact of his dropping down to the SPL as he's gotten older. Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey didn't drop down to MLS to get better. Arfield's not doing that at Rangers.

You'd be wrong. My general POV is, if they're playing in Europe, it should ideally be either a league that's very good at development (e.g Netherlands), or a high-level league (e.g Big 4). I don't think LigaMX is much more than MLS-level, and I don't think that either is close to a Top 4 league. So, I'd consider the move to Cruz Azul a lateral one from LigaNOS, a great development league in Europe.

No, I meant admitting that you'd gotten the timeline wrong, and that my assessment of his "breakout" was correct must've been hard...

Why would you initiate conversation with me if you didn't care? I voiced an opinion on another post, you could just ignore it. I made not-unreasonable observations about the Canadian midfield player pool within the context of the top CONCACAF midfields, and you jump down my throat about it. Obviously, you seem to care at least a little, and now I'm locked into this with you.

Almost your entire posting history is bottled up in this thread, an odd thread about Canadian soccer inside of an American soccer forum on an American soccer board. If you wanted to go and post with people who are going to drink your kool-aid, you could just go to The Voyageurs.org.

No, I just notice when someone lies by omission to make their point stronger. Like, "Hey, I played at Bayern!"... "In the Bezirksliga!". I'd love to see some of those offers, by the way. A cursory google search came up with nothing, unlike the Colombian Osorio interest. If Piette ends up working out, you can certainly crow, but he's at the tipping point for most players between becoming an MLS lifer and playing at a high level in Europe.

MLS isn't a good league. It's useful for the youngest players, that's it. That's why someone like Kenny Saief can come in out of the cold and boss FC Cincinnati. That matters. I'm not going to, for example, jump for joy when Gedion Zelalem starts getting minutes, a kid who's had a very similar career path, so there's no reason for me to sing the praises of an MLS CDM on a pretty poor Montreal team.

Vardy was in the 7th tier. Kante was in the 3rd tier, and Jay DeMerit played in the 9th tier of English soccer. What makes Piette different is that he doesn't look great on Montreal. Tyler Adams, looked great. Davies, looked great. Manotas, looks great. Kaku, looks great. Piette... Who? If you're talented, you stand out in MLS, and Piette doesn't. I can certainly say that I see him when MTL play my Quakes, and it's not good if he can't stand out against my dumpter-fire team.

I was not being simplistic, which was why I responded to a single sentence with a multi-paragraph response that, aside from being incorrect about Junior Hoilett's normal position, was my opinion mixed with factual statements. You decided to respond to it. The player I'm talking about is Brooks Lennon, a winger/forward for RSL that played there for Liverpool before being loaned-then-transfered to RSL as a RB. The fact that I've said multiple times to you that you're welcome to your opinion is seemingly not enough, but you have not convinced me that my opinions are incorrect.

lol. You couldn't even get through a single response without accusing me of getting something wrong that I objectively got correct. And when I preface my opinions with indisputable facts (e.g Arfield plays for Rangers and is 30 years old), apparently that's "no facts". If I had said that Canada is Barcelona, and that Scott Arfield is an 18-year-old forward on Real Madrid who looks suspiciously like Vinicius Jr, would I have been posting facts then?

The irony here is outstanding.

 

Promise to make it short and to the point... He's not Pogba, but Arfield is an elite midfielder in this region.

All time Burnley XI?
https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/football-news/tough-decisions-select-burnleys-time-15793749

Arfield move to Rangers (childhood favorite club) and EPL clubs wanting him
https://www.thestar.com/sports/socc...igns-four-year-deal-with-glasgow-rangers.html

Who is Scott Arfield
https://www.heraldscotland.com/spor...en-gerrards-first-signing-as-rangers-manager/

Your opinion, which I respect, but others deserves the other side of the argument and what actual experts say about him

Wake me up when MLS wins the damn trophy then we'll talk. Can't pick and choose which results fits your narrative. They got spank by Mexico this year...again.

Admitting that I'm wrong is easy, you should try it sometimes

To inform others, not necessarily to convince you. You're obviously convince the midfield can't compete in this region, not trying to convince you of that.

Just funny that you use the "which league they play matter" argument yet dismissing that other CONCACAF nations with midfielders from their own national leagues or average-lower Euro leagues were able to compete in this region and make it farther than the USMNT. Where are the T&T C team midfielders playing again?

But somehow, Canada's midfield absolutely cannot compete whatsoever and saying otherwise is utterly unrealistic... Sure man...whatever you say

Voyageurs.org is fantastic and loaded with information. You might learn a thing or 2. I bring some knowledge of Canada here (you do have leagues in our cities) and documenting CPL progress, which is historical. You don't like it but many more do just like when we have Americans do the same in reverse.

I lie by omission...what does that make you who claims to know players by googling their stats without having actually seen them play?

Regarding Piette, see below

I'm not asking you to sing praise for Piette. I don't care that you like him or not. But for the national team, he's been a beast. Last GC is where his play was noticed the most by both Montreal and clubs from La Liga (No not the top ones).

He's good at the type of game he plays, details below.

MLS isn't a good league... you need to pass on the memo to some on this board who talks about it like the next EPL.

Also, you're being inconsistent here. You claimed MLS isn't that far off from Liga MX but at the same time, it's a lateral move from LigaNOS. Let me know when you've figure that part out because, the gap is very much present and MLS isn't nearly close to LigaNOS. Winning CCL would be a start...until then, they don't pass Europa qualifiers in my book, which LigaNOS do + Champions League

Sportsnet
https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/canadian-samuel-piette-starring-montreal-impacts-iron-man/

Journal de Montreal
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/03/19/garde-souligne-la-performance-de-piette

"What I like is that it did not penalize his defensive efficiency because he recovered 21 balls, which is simply huge."

Garde recalled that the defensive midfielder position was a bit ungrateful.

"I like statistics in football, I like players who score goals, players who make passes and those who stops them in front of goal because it is very important. I also like to highlight those who are not spoiled by statistics."

-Remi Garde, former manager of Aston Villa & Lyon.

MLS (they should stop praising this below average guy)
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...ive-samuel-piette-could-be-next-montreal-star

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...ken-reigns-midfield-rising-star?autoplay=true

I respect your opinion but this is for the benefit of others who deserves to see the other side of the argument on Piette.

 

It's everybody's favorite game show, where the rules are made up and the leagues don't matter!

Where were you in the Hex, troll? Beating Caribbean minnows makes you look so good, you've climbed right up into 79th place, nestled with Belarus and Iraq. Yay! World beaters! The Barcelona of CONCACAF! Where did the Hondurans play when they smashed you 8-1? You really want to play that game?

You could look up at the top of the page, and notice that it's not a Canadian forum that you're in, but an American one, dedicated to the discussion of things related to the USMNT. Not dedicated to stroking the egos of Canadian MNT fans.

Back to the sweet, sweet ignore list you go.

 

Watching Arena trolling "Eurosnobs", bitching about the wet pitch on TV while coming up short against the 93rd overall?

Troll? Insults after I utterly exposed how little you actually know about the Canadian program and while trying to pass yourself as an expert. You can't even correctly gauge LigaNOS, Liga MX and other leagues correctly and make made stuff just to drive your point that Canada midfield can't compete...

FIFA Rankings? Are you serious? US being 25th overall was eliminated by the 93rd (C team) overall while a bunch of nation higher than the US went to the World Cup while your team stayed home watching the 76th (Panama) go instead. Don't be this simplistic, it does you no favor.

We beat who we were supposed to beat no more no less. No one's bragging about that.

You certainly are a man of extremes.

We got smashed by their A team at a time we had not enough good international talent and TFC was the only pro team in the country at the time with no league of our own. That loss was needed since it triggered a complete revamp of the CSA (firing of incompetent, arrival of Montagliani addressing all the points I listed above).

I'll let actual expert do the talking, they aren't proving me right, I simply agree with them...try some humility

Hey, not everything is about you. Just ignore it instead of coming into this thread and doing what you accuse me of doing "trolling" by posting uninformed crap about stuff you have no clue about and act butt-hurt when exposed while misleading others wanting to get information

 

The #CANMNT @atibahutchinson signed a new 1 year contract with @BesiktasEnglish and is rumored, as player Assistant coach! https://t.co/MD7LC0MS6c

— Canucks Abroad (@Canucks_Abroad) March 27, 2019

 

Cornelius is a promising CB cor Canada, just need to be consistent in his game as he was average against French Guiana. Davies isn't a surprise

Your #CNL Qualifiers Team of the Tournament! pic.twitter.com/HntZVGRNtR

— Concacaf Nations League (@CNationsLeague) March 27, 2019

 

This will be very interesting

Canada draws USA and Cuba for Concacaf Nations League A

🇨🇦 v 🇺🇸🇨🇺#CANMNT 🍁 #TheDreamStartsNow https://t.co/wYSQNf62zi pic.twitter.com/BVZRX5nZ5L

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) March 28, 2019

 

For the Concacaf Nations League, the USA will be playing against Cuba and Canada, so the US will get to see just how good or bad Canada is.

 

This thread is going to get very interesting over the next few months.

Can't wait.

My initial honest opinion? We advance easily into the semis. Not because Canada or Cuba are bad but they have no fans here in the USA so we don't have to worry about where to play them. We will have a very good chance of creating a USA atmosphere in the stands which will go a long way in scoring a lot of goals at home.
Then just play for no worse than draws on the road.

 

At least Canada will have a normal field to play on and not a mud pit like many of the Caribbean countries do. Of course, who knows with Cuba....

 

I saw their main stadium...pitch won't be great but I can't blame them, they have more important things to spend on

 

We're debating where to play both Cuba and the US.

I'm of the opinion that Cuba should be in Toronto. The USMNT should be in either Halifax (less convenient access not many seats available to Americans) or Montreal (likely to be the most hostile crowd to the US)

 

1st draft of the squad that Herdman could use

Cuba
(Offense oriented for Goal differential)

--------------Cavallini---------David

Hoillett---------‐-------------------------Davies
-------------Arfield----------Osorio
‐---------------------Eustaquio

Adekugbe--------James--------Godinho

-----------------------Borjan

USA
(More balanced)

------------------------Cavallini---------------

--------------------------David-------------------
Hoillett------------------------------------Davies
--------------------------Arfield-----------

---‐--------------------Eustaquio---------------

Adekugbe----------------------------------Godinho
---------------------James----Henry------------

----------------------------Borjan

Bench:
Larin, Millar, Tabla, Osorio, Kaye, Piette, Cornelius, Crepeau, Thomas, Wotherspoon, Zachary Brault Guillard

 

Excellent news
Canadian Victor Montagliani re-elected as CONCACAF president
https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/canadian-victor-montagliani-re-elected-concacaf-president/

 

Marc Dos Santos denied it in an interview this week. I would also be surprised that Larin would agree to it before knowing that all his European options have expired.

 

Harsh words from Brad Friedel

Brad Friedel isn’t sold on MLS’ mentality. pic.twitter.com/A9B6prsVN3

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 29, 2019

Part of the CPL objective is to work closely with the National team to integrate a new soccer philosophy and culture at all levels.

CPL Pro-Rel is a component of that which the commissioner touched on this morning. It makes all the games matters and the league plans on having pro/rel playoffs to accentuate that point.

You see that when watching the Sunderland documentary on Netflix when the club was relegated to League One. You could see how devastated and angry the whole city was and how excruciating was the pressure on the players.

Part of that culture shift is putting those players in such situations where they have no choice but to excel under similar excruciating pressure. That can only help the next generation of players arriving at the senior level to excel for the National team

 

The CPL Kit Reveal. 04.04.19.

➡️ https://t.co/1c6nR8PC14 | #CanPL pic.twitter.com/2bc2jRzesu

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) March 29, 2019

 

2 Goals for Cavallini

#DerbyPoblano Al minuto 17, Lucas Cavallini anota para aumentar la diferencia

Marcador
Lobos 0-2 Puebla pic.twitter.com/0hL72KMIdj

— Ángulo7 Noticias (@angulosiete) March 31, 2019

#DerbyPoblano Al minuto 72, Lucas Cavallini remata de cabeza dentro del área para poner el marcador 4-0 a favor de @ClubPueblaMX pic.twitter.com/RRLLSfV7f9

— Ángulo7 Noticias (@angulosiete) March 31, 2019

 

It’s being reported in Turkey that Larin has rejected the Whitecaps offer to return to MLS. #VWFC #WhitecapsFC #MLShttps://t.co/gR9AbWXhm6

— 𝕲𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘𝕮𝖎𝖙𝖞 (@GlassCityFC) March 31, 2019

 

The Canadian Premier league continues it's work to fix and improve the Canadian pyramid. WIth it's recent acquisition of Ontario's D3, League 1 Ontario, the CPL is at work to fully integrate the league within its own operation

Mining For Gold ⛏️🎥
All League1 Ontario Men's Matches To Receive CPL Video Performance Analysis In 2019
Story ✍️: https://t.co/f0vMbxjn34#futureisverybright pic.twitter.com/r4JO2O9eIs

— League1 Ontario, Men’s Division 🇨🇦 (@L1OMens) April 1, 2019