Jump to content

  • Articles

    Manage articles
    Show all categories
    Guest

    Grading the predictions

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    It’s always fun to poke fun at bad pre-season predictions – especially when they are your own.
    The pre-season CSN consensus MLS picks below the jump.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK](Actual finish in brackets)

    SLC (3rd) +2
    LA (1st) -1
    NYRB (10th) +7
    Dallas (4th) +0
    Colorado (7th) +2
    Seattle (2nd) -4
    San Jose (14th) +7
    Kansas City (5th) -3
    Houston (6th) -3
    Toronto (16th) +6
    Philly (8th) -3
    Portland (12th) +0
    Columbus (9th) -3
    Vancouver (18th)+5
    Chicago (11th) -4
    DC United (13th) -2
    New England (17th) +0
    Chivas USA (15th) -2

    We’ll let others decide how good or bad our predictions were.
    Guest
    And so it goes...
    Another season and another attempt to justify the barely justifiable. TFC fails to make the playoffs for a record fifth straight year. It wasn’t really close this time. With just 33 points, it was the second worst season of the five – the virgin year was five prorated points worse. There were times when it was bleak. Very, bleak.
    And, we’ll get to that over the course of this week. CSN will break down the good, bad and ugly (and where to go from here) of the 2011 season in the coming days. Literally – the five part wrap-up series starts later today (Part I – What Went Right; Part II - What Went Wrong (Tuesday); Part III – What Went REALLY Wrong (Wednesday); Part IV – Report Card (Thursday); Part V – Where to go from here (Friday)).
    Now, however, it’s time to analyse one last game. I guess. The season kind of ended Tuesday. Saturday’s affair was more of a kick about. Both teams looked as if they had one eye on their watch and a suitcase packed in the dressing room. Intensity was not the game’s strong point. Defending appeared optional at times (although that could have been the skill on display. Keep in mind that New England was worse than TFC this year).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The crowd was there to give Joao Plata an ovation and to drink one last overpriced beer. They would have stuck around for the team’s thank you lap, but the 2:49 p.m. westbound Go Train wasn’t going to wait for them.
    Even the hardcore supporters were reluctant to get too caught up in the moment – there was no danger of a 2007-like pitch invasion. Although most see promise, they’ve been promised improvement before. Those that support Canada as well get another trip into the stadium as well, so it didn’t have the feel of a season finale. The season isn’t over until they board up the concessions at BMO – or something like that.
    Within that light it’s really impossible to make any judgements about the club based on its play on the day. Sure, similar issues that caused problems all year – inability to defend set-pieces, inability to, well, defend at all, etc – but in holding those up as AH-HAH! moments is pointless. We knew going into Saturday that they need to improve the back.
    We didn’t discover it in the 46th minute against New England.
    And that, really, is all there is to say about Saturday. As for the season on the whole...
    As stated, there is lots more to come on that.
    Guest
    The final week of Major League Soccer's 2011 regular season saw plenty of movement on the playoff table, as still-contending teams jostled for positioning and shuffled themselves around the ten available post-season spots.
    It also saw the prolific Dwayne De Rosario become the first ever Canadian Golden Boot winner, although his late-season heroics weren't enough to salvage his team's playoff chances.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Wednesday, October 19
    DC United 1-1 Portland Timbers
    The upstart Timbers traveled to the U.S. capital in search of a playoff berth in their inaugural MLS season. They traded goals with the hosts, although it seemed as though DC were snake-bitten as several late-game forays resulted in nothing more than heartbreaking near-goals.
    Nothing but a win would keep DC's chances alive, and a DeRo penalty kick gave the four-time MLS Cup champs life. The Washington side could not convert on their many chances, and an agonizing Joseph Ngwenya goal-line miss in the dying moments summed up the match for the hosts, as Portland stole the draw and kept their slim post-season dreams alive (but only for about 24 hours).
    Thursday, October 20
    New York Red Bulls 1-0 Philadelphia Union
    The two teams headed into this match with very different agendas. New York needed a result to cement their participation in the playoffs, while Philadelphia were looking to grab hold of the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
    Who would have predicted that storyline at the beginning of the season?
    The Red Bulls were without the suspended Thierry Henry, and thus looked to the makeshift strike partnership of Luke Rodgers and Dane Richards to provide the needed offensive thrust.
    Richards' insertion into the forward spot looked a genius move as the diminutive Jamaican put New York ahead just seven minutes into the match. From then on out, the Red Bulls' were the more dominant of the two sides, as Philly seemed listless and without answers up front.
    Saturday, October 22
    Toronto FC 2-2 New England Revolution
    Two teams with absolutely nothing to play for, Toronto and New England put on an enteraining -- if error-prone -- season finale for the sparse BMO Field crowd.
    Fresh off their huge Champions League win in the midweek, TFC looked listless and unmotivated in the early goings of the noon-hour fixture, but a good combination between Dutch attackers Danny Koevermans and Nick Soolsma saw the Reds go ahead. A New England goal in either half set the scene for a dramatic Koevermans equalizer reminiscent of TFC's inaugural season-ender.
    Vancouver Whitecaps 2-3 Colorado Rapids
    The Whitecaps needed a result to avoid "winning" the Wooden Spoon, and seemed to be in a good position to do so after going up in the 66th minute thanks to a well-placed Alain Rochat free kick (and a confused Matt Pickens, who allowed the ball to slip into the goal when he mistakenly thought it would skip harmlessly wide).
    The 'Caps kept the pressure up through Camilo Sanvezzo, who came close to doubling the Vancouver lead an a couple of occasions.
    Ultimately, defensive errors were again the Whitecaps' downfall, however. Jeff Larentowicz drove a 25-yard free kick through a poor Vancouver wall, then Wells Thompson's deflected shot secured Colorado's victory and ensured that Vancouver would finish in last place overall.
    DC United 0-1 Sporting Kansas City
    Kansas grabbed top spot in the East with a gritty win over a downtrodden DC side that hardly threatened their visitors until late in the first half.
    Despite having most of the pressure, it took KC until the 54th minute to take the lead, courtesy of a Matt Besler blast past DC 'keeper Bill Hamid. United were no pushovers, though, and the KC crossbar was all that kept DC forward Josh Wolff from scoring an injury time equalizer.
    Chicago Fire 3-2 Columbus Crew
    Chicago played the role of spolier to a tee, keeping Columbus out of the top three in the East and forcing the Crew to enter the playoffs as one of four wild card teams.
    In a wild, end-to-end match, the Fire built up a 2-0 lead thanks to defender Jalil Anibaba's first two MLS goals. The Crew clawed their way back into the match, scoring twice in a six minute span to pull level, but Chicago pulled out the dagger just a minute after Columbus had equalized, with Diego Chaves delivering the finishing blow in the 80th minute.
    Real Salt Lake 1-1 Portland Timbers
    A sell-out crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium bore witness to another average display from Real Salt Lake, who still haven't seemed to completely shake off the disappointment of losing the Champions League final in agonizing fashion back in April.
    Salt Lake jumped out into the lead in first half stoppage time, although they hardly looked dominant over a plucky Portland side that had just been eliminated from the post-season day earlier. Not to be outdone by their hosts, the Timbers waited until second hald stoppage the nab the leveller through defender Mamadou "Futty" Danso.
    Danso scored on a counterattack immediately after RSL had struck the Portland woodwork, providing a clear summation of Salt Lake's season thus far.
    Chivas USA 1-3 Seattle Sounders FC
    It seems so long ago that Chivas USA were considered the feel good story of 2011.
    Since a bright early-season start that saw none other than Nick Labrocca earn himself an All-Star nod, the Goats have been nothing short of awful. Seattle, on the other hand, have been the shining example of depth and good coaching, balancing league, cup (a third consecutive US Open Cup championship), and Champions League (qualified for the knockout stage early) with relative ease.
    It came as no surprise, then, that Seattle were far superior on this night. A laughable own goal by Andy Boyens, an Alvaro Fernandez golazo, and a Sammy Ochoa header all contributed to the bumper crop of offence for the men in rave green.
    Unfortunately for Seattle, the win came with a price, as playmaker Mauro Rosales was felled with a knee injury. Rosales had only just recent returned from a substantial layoff due to an injury to the same knee.
    For Chivas, a garbage time goal by on-loan Ecuadorean rookie Victor Estupinan -- who famously predicted that he would break the MLS single season scoring record this year en route to a 30-goal campaign -- gave the home fans their only real reason to cheer.
    The goal was Estupinan's first of the season, by the way.
    San Jose Earthquakes 4-2 FC Dallas
    It was "get the ball to Chris Wondolowski" night in San Jose, as the Earthquakes -- already eliminated from playoff contention -- looked to help their talisman to a second successive Golden Boot award.
    The 'Quakes jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead after just 38 minutes, as the hapless Texan side continued to look like a shell of the team that were considered favourites for the Supporter Shield just a few short months ago.
    Dallas salvaged some semblance of consolation with a pair of second half goals, but the performance as a whole was unconvincing, and the loss forces FCD to play an extra playoff match in the wild card round.
    As for Wondolowski, he did score, converting a penalty kick for San Jose's third of the game. But his inability to put away countless second-half chances kept him in a tie with De Rosario (at 16 goals each), with the Canadian getting the nod thanks to his much higher assist total.
    Sunday, October 23
    Houston Dynamo 3-1 Los Angeles Galaxy
    A reserve-laden LA Galaxy fell to the Houston Dynamo in the final game of the MLS regular season.
    LA boss Bruce Arena opted to sit out almost all of his regulars, apart from goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts (who needs playing time after missing much of the season with injuries), defenders Gregg Berhalter and AJ De La Garza, and forward Chad Barrett (who only played the final haslf hour).
    With Houston still fighting for playoff positioning, the result was predictable. The Dynamo found themselves up by three without much effort, easily securing the win and -- more importantly -- leapfrogging into second in the tightly-packed East to avoid the extra wild card playoff game.
    Los Angeles youngster Jack McBean, a highly-touted 16-year-old attacker from the Galaxy academy system, scored the visitors' only goal thanks to a nice run and pass by Barrett.
    MLS Wrap appears every Monday during the Major League Soccer season.
    Rudi Schuller contributes Toronto FC, MLS, and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams, and has contributed to Goal.com and other soccer media. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest
    For the first two-decades-plus that I covered soccer in Canada (1989-2010) I could have easily told you what was blocking any part of the beautiful game – leagues, players, teams, national teams, and our current topic: the training and development of soccer coaches – from ever getting better here.
    Take your pick, folks:
    - An ineffective CSA
    - A smothering, self-serving “old boys” network
    - Political infighting among the provinces
    - Geography
    - Lack of money
    - Fly-by-night team owners
    - Wild, unattainable dreams
    - Funding wild, unattainable dreams
    - Ethnic infighting
    - Media apathy
    - A chronic, creeping lack of central vision or authority
    - Bureaucrats who made the game work for them, instead of working for the game
    Most of you can probably rhyme off another half-dozen things that could be on this list. But this particular dirty dozen covers most of it.
    But this is 2011, and a lot of things have changed.
    Check that – they’re in the middle of changing.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    CSA reform has pretty much routed the Old Boys, Isolated and ineffective, Dominic Maestracci is now CSA president in name only. Provincial influence on the CSA board is declining, and all presidential presidents will be gone soon. Geography can be mitigated through strong local youth leagues, and more money is arriving in the form of corporate sponsorship alliances with the CSA.
    Ownership is improving – although Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in Toronto doesn’t understand soccer, and Joey Saputo in Montreal isn’t exactly a steadying influence on a wildly impulsive and inconsistent MLS expansion team-to-be.
    Canadian soccer dreams are becoming less wild and more affordable. Ethnic strife is less of an issue. Big media is sending more reporters and writing more stories. General secretary Peter Montopoli has quadrupled the CSA’s effectiveness, and more and more self-serving bureaucrats are finding themselves on the outside looking – for something else to sponge off.
    What we still don’t know – yet – is what exactly is going to replace all of that. Will the reform blueprints produce real change? Will there ever be enough money? Who, precisely, is going to be running things come springtime?
    Until we know that, any honest assessment of what’s still in the way is risky.
    So let’s start with some general thoughts, from the soccer experts who were kind enough to contribute insights to this series.
    Jason de Vos – CBC commentator, former captain of Canada, technical director of Oakville Soccer Club:
    “People like to point the finger of blame at the CSA, saying they don’t do this and they don’t do that. But the truth of the matter is they were never set to make these changes that need to be made. The structure was wrong. The technical minds who understand the game, who have been involved in the game for a long time, who know that these changes need to happen, don’t have the power to make them happen. They have to be approved by people who are not necessarily trained in those areas of expertise. And that has to change.”
    Frank Yallop – Head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes, former head coach of Canada:
    “There’s just not enough jobs. There are only two MLS teams in Canada right now. For me, getting more coaches in the national program would be good, getting them more experience. Putting more money into the program would help pay more coaches. I think it’s just money. Look at the United States and what they did. Once they decided to really go for it, I think they did a good job of doing that.”
    Ray Clark – Director of player and coach development for the CSA:
    “I think one of the major, major issues we have now – and I’ve seen it first-hand myself because I have young kids and I’ve been through house-league programs – is that clubs have to develop, within their own structures, support mechanisms for those coaches out there who are working at the grassroots level. It’s not enough to have one technical director responsible for a club of three, four, five, six-thousand kids.”
    Charlie Cuzzetto – President, British Columbia Soccer Association:
    “I think we have to take a co-ordinated approach. Each of us, in our provinces, probably wants to do the best for our provinces. If we look at the national picture, I think we need some strong technical leadership to say ‘This is what we want. This is what we think should happen.’ Right now, a lot of people have a lot of really good ideas. We need to co-ordinate all that into one structure – our plan for the next number of years. Really, it’s not the provinces that develop players. It’s the clubs and the teams. If we can provide them with a lot of tools and some guidance, I think we’re going to go a long way.”
    Alex Chiet – Chief technical officer, Ontario Soccer Association:
    “I think we can only take a glass-half-full approach. The things that we’re talking about, the things that we’re working on, will help create more professional paid positions in the game – maybe not at the international level, but within a development level. Yes, you need professional elite coaches, but you also need different coaches at each development level. We need to raise the standards and expectations – and qualifications – of people that are working with the players of the future.”
    Ron Davidson – Canadian Soccer League coach of the year for 2010, ex-Hamilton Croatia:
    “Coach education needs to increase. If there’s only one course here, and coaches don’t have the ability to make it on those certain dates, then they have to wait another year. And a year gone past without any further development is a year lost. So definitely the CSA and OSA need to increase the coach education that is available to coaches. And also look at other systems around the world that are working, and maybe send some coaches to those systems, to monitor how they’re doing things, and develop that program within our own country.”
    And then there’s Nick Dasovic, last seen as interim head coach of Toronto FC to close out the 2010 MLS season.
    Smart, dedicated, experienced, talented and ambitious, Dasovic in 2011 is a cautionary tale for soccer coaches across Canada. His story is where all the limitations, short-comings and weaknesses of the Canadian soccer set-up intersect.
    So let’s dive in:
    Dasovic served as a player-coach in his final go-round with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He was later Dale Mitchell’s assistant with Canada, and coached a severly undermanned Canadian U-23 team that very nearly qualified for the Olympics. He holds a UEFA-A coaching licence, and is studying for his UEFA-Pro licence – the highest qualification in the game. He was dropped by Toronto FC after Dutchman Aron Winter took over the team prior to the 2011 season.
    “Everybody keeps asking me what can we do? What about Canadian coaches?” Dasovic says. “I think the bottom line is: the people you have to ask are the people who make the decisions. The people who run Toronto FC, Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton. I grew up in this country. It’s funny because I was born here, and my parents came from Croatia. When I grew up, I wasn’t a ‘Canadian.’ I was a Croatian-Canadian, because that’s the way it was where I grew up in East Vancouver. I had to become ‘Canadian’ by actually leaving the country and going to play soccer in Croatia out there. It’s kind of a backward system.”
    In the wake of his departure from Toronto FC, many though Dasovic had a great chance to catch on with the coaching staff of the Montreal Impact, preparing to make their MLS debut next summer.
    It was not to be.
    “I was never, ever contacted by them, which is the disappointing part. I had a history there. We won the first-ever A-League championship there, and I was part of that team. I’ve got strong ties to the whole Impact organization. I thought at least a phone call would be kind of interesting, but nothing ever came of it. That’s just the way it goes.”
    That decision has raised eyebrows – and ire – across the Canadian soccer spectrum.
    “I was really disappointed that Nick wasn’t given an opportunity,” Jason de Vos says. “There are some that argue that he doesn’t have top-flight coaching experience, so he shouldn’t get the job of Toronto FC head coach, or he should be considered for the Montreal Impact job. But my argument is, if you don’t have experience, where are you going to get it? If no one’s ever going to give you a chance, how are you ever going to know?”
    Over at the CSA, Ray Clark was visibly annoyed.
    “I don’t want to point fingers at anybody, but I am disappointed that Canadian professional clubs are looking outside Canada when there are people in Canada with experience who need to be given an opportunity. That has to change – because that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.”
    “Someone like Nick, you can argue that he’s got more coaching experience than Aron Winter,” de Vos continues. “Despite all the turmoil that was going on behind the scenes at Toronto FC, I still think he did a very credible job of steadying the ship and trying to keep things moving in the right direction. If a guy like that’s not going to get a chance, who is? Someone like Colin Miller, who’s the assistant coach out in Vancouver: if he’s not going to get a chance, who is? These guys have played at the highest level, they have experience as coaches. If you’re not going to give them a chance to be a head coach, and bring a philosophy and a style of play to a team like Toronto or Vancouver or Montreal, who else is going to do it?”
    Dasovic, himself, has no ill words for Toronto FC. But as the young father of a young family, he now faces the uncomfortable prospect that any future he has as a soccer coach almost certainly lies overseas – the same dilemma that forced him to go abroad as a young player.
    “I went to Croatia and ended up signing for Dinamo Zagreb, one of the most storied clubs in Croatia,” he recalls. “Then I get called into the Canada team. And I think – unfortunately for me – my life is going full-circle where it looks like, to get a coaching job, I’ll have to leave the country again.”
    Next – in Part IV – where do we go from here?
    Onward!
    Also in this series:
    Part I -- How did this happen?
    Part II -- House-league nation
    Guest
    A big, bald target man named Danny thumps home an equalizer at a frosty BMO Field, giving Toronto FC a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution in the Reds' season finale. But despite a troubled start to the season that eliminated any hint of a playoff run, TFC fans are still looking ahead to next season with a sense of optimism.
    That could have been written today, or on Oct. 20, 2007. In either case, it wouldn't be particularly well written, but it would adequately get across the "the more things change, the more things stay the same" motif. For five years, TFC has been largely sold to the masses as an abstract concept: Not trophies, or wins, or goals -- but passion, dedication... hope.
    The team's original messianic hope-peddler, Mo Johnston, was ultimately outed as a snake oil salesman. But as Aron Winter addressed the post-game media scrum for the final time in 2011, there was a palpable sense of belief that despite yet another year of non-playoff soccer, there is a chance the squad would yet recapture the excitement and civic relevance that surrounded it in those halcyon days of 2007.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Most telling in Winter's post-match remarks was his unwillingness to identify the high and low points of the 2011 campaign. He'd earlier reiterated that Toronto had just witnessed a rebuilding year (the city is accustomed to those) and stressed that there are changes yet to be made in the off-season. What changes? Again, he wouldn't say. But based on his mid-season wheeling-and-dealing this year, it's safe to say that he wouldn't make such pronouncements lightly.
    Now, surely there won't be any off-season deal-swinging with as profound an impact as the acquisition of designated player pair Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans, who now form the on-field and spiritual backbone of the franchise. Surrounded as they are by a personnel core who range in talent from "passable" to "electric", it seems there's no particular need for the traditional wholesale roster turnover that ol' MoJo made a habit of.
    The most pressing concern would likely be to sort out the contract situations of young standouts Joao Plata and Richard Eckersley, both currently on loan (from LDU Quito and Burnley, respectively). A central defender is commonly cited as likely being atop Winter's wish list, but with the presence and organizational prowess of Frings, the makeshift tandem of Andy Iro and Ty Harden has usually looked capable. And let's not forget, Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams still find themselves on TFC's roster, though their futures are uncertain.
    There are holes to fill. Winter will endeavour to fill them. But it's no secret that the relatively-stable roster of the season's second half acquitted themselves reasonably well (remarkably well, by general TFC standards).
    Now, Winter did admit that his team looked "flat" against the Revs, after pouring their hearts and souls into a once-in-a-half-decade performance against FC Dallas on Tuesday. But they withstood an early bombardment of shots, took the lead and gave the south end something to celebrate late in the second half. Naturally, this being TFC, the last few minutes at BMO Field were nervy, the threat of an opposition winner always looming large.
    But unlike 2007, or 2008, or 2009, or 2010, or large parts of 2011, the goal never came. The result held up. That, maybe, is one crucial change from previous years. Fans needn't clinch their sphincters quite as hard anymore, knowing that a late-game collapse isn't as inevitable as it once was. Perhaps that faith comes from a renewed faith in the team -- or, more specifically, the man putting the team together.
    With Winter and co. came the concept of "total football", a phrase that has come full circle, to an extent, this year. First used frantically and ubiquitously to hearken a supposedly revolutionary approach for an MLS side, then bitterly and derisively as the revolving roster door began spinning and wins dried up, it now once again may hold some sense of promise, as fans have seen glimpses of how a fit, organized and invested squad (assembled by Winter) can play.
    While the playoffs eluded TFC once again, the selling points have now become more tangible than abstract. Gone (hopefully) are the internal feuds that were supposedly ripping the franchise apart. Gone is the monkey from Toronto's back over having never beaten its erstwhile rival, the Columbus Crew. And added to the trophy case are another Canadian Championship and a Trillium Cup (insert dismissive snickering here).
    No one can deny the squad in 2011 was -- and in the upcoming off-season, will continue to be -- a work in progress. But the days of throwing anything at the wall (or on the pitch, as it were) to see what sticks appear to be gone as well. Winter has been forthright with media and fans. He's given deserving Academy graduates an honest opportunity to earn first-team roles, and two (Ashtone Morgan and Matt Stinson) have done so, with Doneil Henry seemingly on the fringe of a breakthrough as well. He's torn Toronto FC to shreds so that it may be put together again to his liking, and so far, the prognosis looks good.
    Next up for Toronto FC is a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal in March. Surely, between now and then, Winter will be asked about his thoughts on the team's chances in the tie, or their chances of advancing, or their chances of finally making the MLS playoffs. Chances are, he'll provide a sly response. He'll talk about long-term building. He'll talk about putting together solid performances and building on-field connections that will, ultimately, produce results.
    Perhaps he's also peddling snake oil. Perhaps some new Danny will be scoring a late equalizer at the end of another lost season in 2016, before a sparse and disinterested crowd on Toronto's lakeshore. And perhaps any end-of-year optimism is borne exclusively of the extended afterglow of that truly remarkable midweek performance in Dallas.
    Regardless, there will be no calls for the coach's head this off-season. Nor for the GM's. Nor for a drastic roster overhaul. Tweaks will be debated, and indeed made. Adjustments will be contemplated. Formations mused about.
    But the words "Toronto FC" won't be automatically tinged with a pervasive sense of apocalyptic worry and fatalism. They will, instead, be bandied around by fans the way Toronto fans do when they talk about their team: With self-effacement bordering on embarrassment, but underwritten by a flickering yet indefatigable sense that this, finally, could be the year.
    Indeed, in Toronto, the more things change...
    Guest
    While Vancouver will be entering tonight's game playing for pride, their opponents will be trying to tie up all their loose ends as they head back into the playoffs. Fans will wait with baited breath to see if Homegrown Prospect Phil Davies will finally get a run out before the season ends. And maybe, just maybe, the Caps finish the season winning their last 3 games at BC Place.
    Colorado are an interesting lot to look at on paper. They are incredibly dangerous on set pieces and struggle to score from open play (Reminiscent of last years Whitecaps???). They are especially deadly on corners though. Sanna Nyassi will tend to take all the corner kicks and most free kicks in the oppositions half. The Gambian international has found the heads of Jeff Larentewicz, Drew Moor, and Caleb Folan for goals as of late. Nyassi is the most electric player on the field for Colorado and it is a real shame to think that he could have been a Whitecap. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    As of late The Rapids have been making a habit of turning things up a notch around the 70th minute of most of their matches. Head Coach Gary Smith tends to make an offensive sub shortly after the hour mark if he can. If Nyassi is lining up the ball for a corner anywhere between the 68th and 73rd minute hold your breath, close your eyes, cross your fingers, pray to whatever God you do, because it could be bad news for the Blue and White.
    Do not come in to today's game expecting a barn burner. Colorado are quite sound defensively. With Tyronne Marshall and Marvell Wynne anchoring their back line they are both strong and fast. Though athletically gifted, positionally they are able to be beaten. They play a very high offside trap and will be caught flat footed by a ball hungry attacker. Shea Salinas or Nizar Khalfan good easily disrupt the Rapids back line as they will look to retain possession for as much of the game as possible.
    Thank God Season One is Done!
    Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Colorado Rapids
    BC Place Stadium, Vancouver BC
    4pm Kickoff
    Watch on Sportsnet One
    Listen on Team 1040
    Guest
    EMBARGOED, just started it
    So, can a coast-to-coast Canadian soccer league work?
    A group led by former national team player Jim Easton is currently in the process of figuring that out -- more specifically, they're determining whether a Division II league (same level as NASL) in this country is viable.
    If you want to read their findings, you'll have to wait a few months. Until then, spoiler alert: Geography would be the major potential deal-breaker. Investors would need to be found. Venues would need to be built. But lots of people here like the game so yeah, maybe, possibly, it could work.
    Now, realistically, unless a dozen soccer-crazed Canadian benefactors emerge from obscurity overnight, there will be no true coast-to-coast Canadian league in the foreseeable future. But, there very well could be a coalition of regional conferences that crown a national champion. And when you drill down into it, there are a few ways (some more wacky than others) that it could look.
    First off, let's figure out who exactly could be included in the league. Some of these cities have existing teams at various levels, some don't. Some have pre-existing usable stadiums, some don't. Some have local investors who've previously shown an interest in soccer, some don't. But for the sake of argument (and since this is all hypothetical musing anyway), let's say that those issues could be addressed, somehow. Magically.
    Here are 16 markets I'd toss into the mix:
    Victoria, B.C.
    Abbotsford, B.C.
    Edmonton, Alb.
    Calgary, Alb.
    Regina, Sask.
    Saskatoon, Sask.
    Winnipeg, Man.
    Thunder Bay, Ont.
    Ottawa, Ont.
    Hamilton, Ont.
    Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.
    Mississauga, Ont.
    Quebec City, Que.
    Moncton, N.B.
    Halifax, N.S.
    St. John's, N.L.
    Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal intentionally excluded, given their MLS sides (don't ask me what would happen to their Academy teams; for these purposes, we'll forget they exist.) FC Edmonton would make the jump from the NASL to the Canadian league. Many of the other cities already have teams in the PDL or other semi-pro leagues; they wouldn't necessarily make the jump, but they do demonstrate some local interest in the game.
    Now, as already said, travel costs would make a true national league untenable. So here are three ways the league could function and determine its champion:
    Alignment #1: The two-conference model
    Similar to Major League Baseball prior to the introduction of inter-league play, the teams in each conference would only play each other during the regular season.
    West conference: Victoria, Abbotsford, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay
    East conference: Ottawa, Mississauga, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Quebec City, Moncton, Halifax, St. John's
    With each team playing each other team three times (with the team getting the two home dates drawn randomly in year one, then flipped in year two, and so on), that's a reasonable 21-game season. Top four teams in each conference make the conference playoffs, which build to an inter-conference championship that could be a one-off game, hosted by the better regular-season finisher, or a two-leg affair.
    Pros: Easy to understand, decent variety of competition, reasonable length of season
    Cons: Travel costs could be prohibitive for smaller markets
    Alignment #2: The four-conference model
    Here's where things get a bit goofy, so bear with me (or don't; your choice, really). To minimize the massive travel expense for smaller teams, split the 16 sides into four hyper-regional conferences (divisions, really):
    West: Victoria, Abbotsford, Calgary, Edmonton
    Central: Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay
    Ontario: Ottawa, Mississauga, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo
    East: Quebec City, Moncton, Halifax, St. John's
    The division-naming would be an inexact science (yes, I know Thunder Bay is in Ontario) and the repetition of competition could be troublesome. Playing each division opponent five times would produce a 15-game regular season.
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by author Simon Kuper to talk about his new book Soccer Men and tell stories about some of the biggest stars in North America and the world.
    We'll also pretend to take the New England v Toronto game serious but instead end up talking about what happened to the Reserve League. We'll talk about FC Edmonton serious push for a new stadium and seriously look at possible CCL match-ups.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/26739/oct212011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Follow us on Twitter for updates on guests and shows
    Guest

    2012 Re-entry draft details

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    We're not normally in the habit of publishing press releases, but there isn't a lot to say about the re-entry draft. In 2010 there were a total of 13 players selected in the draft. In total those players played 157 games and scored 18 goals in 2011.
    DC United probably did the best. The club found two regular contributors in Joseph Ngwenya and Josh Wolff.
    Detaiils of the 2012 draft below the jump:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]From MLS -
    Guest
    The Vancouver Whitecaps will play their match this Saturday against the Colorado Rapids as planned.
    The union representing workers at BC Place issued a strike notice earlier this week but it seems the Whitecaps' final league match won't be impacted.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Here's the official statement from their website:
    Guest
    A funny thing happened at the office yesterday. A colleague of mine at the Score who writes a popular and well-written blog about baseball decided to Fisk an article written by a baseball columnist for a popular Toronto-based newspaper (just Google it and spare me having to name-drop).
    A “Twitter battle” ensued, with the offended columnist tweeting about “modern sports media who can't do, so they attempt to chop up work of others. Lazy.” This is the lingering battle cry among many in print sports media—that newspaper sportswriters uncover stories while bloggers rip off their “hard work.”
    I read these Tweets with some amusement. I wrote about this before for A More Splendid Life, but it bears repeating here. I believe it’s important in today’s sports media culture to make a distinction between sports journalists and sports writers, rather than newspaper columnists and bloggers.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Sports journalists spend much of their day out of the office (or home) in search of a story. They make phonecalls, they work their sources, they uncover behind the scenes information you won’t read about anywhere else. It’s hard work and often requires the resources of a big media organization (although not always; see CSN’s Ben Knight). And being a sports journalist doesn’t just mean “having press access”; often so-called sports “journalists” go through the motions reacting to player quotes and making the most pedestrian of conclusions, convincing themselves they’re doing hard work rather than taking advantage of the privileges granted by their title (in the soccer world, access isn't as much of an issue here for bloggers anyway).
    Sports writers on the other hand use their story-telling ability and expertise to try and develop a sports narrative, or make a cogent argument—the Globe and Mail’s Stephen Brunt is a good example. They normally dedicate the bulk of their time and resources (or at least they should) for the quality of their prose, rather than breaking the next huge story.
    That said, an excellent sports writer can often also be an excellent sports journalist. Ideally, there should be some measure of overlap between the two. The point I’m trying to make here is that the notion that someone who writes a 750 word column on a sports subject using exactly the same fundamental resources available to any member of the sentient public, is not by virtue of being published in a newspaper automatically a sports journalist. You are what you do, not who you write for. You no longer get a pass for writing crap because it goes to press.
    Which brings me back to my colleague.
    Bloggers are no longer “amateurs”; many in the Canadian soccer scene now work for the man, doing largely the same kind of work they did before, only a lot more of it. Which is why the idea they’re lazy is laughable in the extreme. My colleague here files up to 2000 words a day, all them researched to a tee (bloggers are instantly accountable to the public for their work via comments sections, whereas columnists are accountable via Twitter). In addition, he also appears on podcasts and video discussion segments where he takes questions for the public.
    And, working for a major media organization, he often enjoys the same media priveleges as his newspaper colleagues. All of this is to say that what matters now is not newspaper versus blog—it’s bad versus good. It seems many in overseas media understand the distinction. I think here particularly of the Guardian and the Independent’s football coverage. The standard for writing for these is reflected in talent, not career connections. Hence the last few years have seen former bloggers join the writing staff for both papers. The Guardian in particular acknowledges the writing quality outside their own walls. In fact, the line between blogger and MSM “proper” journalist is quickly fading as more bloggers freelance for mainstream publications, usually attached to television, like Fox Soccer and ESPN Soccernet.
    All this means that if you’re a sports writer or sports journalist now, you are judged on quality alone. This is not a bad thing, and is a pretty good foundation on which the publishing industry can build in search of a way to make real money from digital print.
    Richard Whittall's column appears every Thursday. His work can be read daily on the Footy Blog at the Score.
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by Sportsnet.ca's John Molinaro to take a look back on Toronto's year, discuss their overall performance in the CCL and look at who deserves to be protected in the expansion draft.
    We'll also talk about where this qualification ranks among (admittedly few) great moments, ask the question BMO or Rogers Centre and look at who the Caps might leave unprotected next month and who Montreal might be after.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/26707/oct202011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Follow us on Twitter to get updates on guests and shows
    Guest
    As small as professional soccer in Canada is, the amateur game is vast.
    Local clubs are everywhere – a sprawling, competitive business which makes money in tiny towns and mega-metropolises alike.
    Where professional coaches struggle to find any jobs at all, pretty much any parent of any young player can find himself prowling the sidelines, coaching his or her local youth team.
    It leads to inconsistency. Experts say it’s undermining all of Canada’s national teams.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Hundreds of thousands of players, most lacking the interest or ability to play competitively – all funding a huge share of the Canadian Soccer Association and all its programs with their annual fees.
    We are – and have always been – a house-league nation.
    And what happens there affects every footballing ambition this country’s ever had.
    “We don’t do a good enough job in this country of teaching players the fundamental skills required to be successful in the game at the highest level,” says Jason de Vos, former captain of Canada and Ipswich Town, now technical director at Oakville, the largest youth soccer club in North America.
    “It’s not about focusing all of our resources on just the very few elite players. It’s about giving everyone the basic foundation. It’s like building a house. You don’t build a house on nothing. You build it on a foundation.”
    “The game in Canada is very much recreational,” adds Rays Clark, CSA director of player and coaching development.
    “Because of that, it’s a house league-driven type of approach. And invariably – and I don’t mean any disrespect to the people coaching there – it’s mainly parent coaches, and I have to say it’s mainly people who don’t really know the game of soccer very well. And house leagues rely on it, because there’s not enough people to be able to coach these teams.”
    After Canada’s early elimination from this year’s women’s World Cup, de Vos sounded a profound warning: the lack of clear, focused coaching at the youth level is badly damaging Canada on the international stage.
    “Would you send your child to a school where none of the teachers had any qualifications?” he asks. “Right away, the answer’s ‘No.’ Well, would you send you child to a school where there’s no curriculum? Right away, ‘No.’ Well why do we do it in soccer, then? We allow ourselves to be put into a club where there’s no curriculum, there’s no development pathway, there’s no certification of the coaches, there’s no oversight into the teachings that they’re bringing to their players, who are the students of the game.”
    After many long years of ineffectual stewardship, the CSA is now bringing in a sweeping blueprint for long-term player development (LTPD). Called Wellness to World Cup, it aims to identify what young players need to learn at every age, and instructs their coaches how to help them, regardless of previous coaching experience.
    “We’ve got this huge base of participation, which we’ve got to do a much better job of educating and training,” says Alex Chiet, newly appointed chief technical officer of the Ontario Soccer Association. “If we can get that right – which is going to be hard work – there’s some really positive signs that we’re moving in the right direction.”
    Direction! That’s another big issue. Youth rep leagues are highly results-driven. In the most extreme cases, coaches stack their teams, and go looking for weak opposition to trounce. This is inefficient, some experts say.
    “We have a multitude of problems in Canada,” de Vos warns. “One of the biggest is our focus on winning over all else. We force kids to be successful too early. We put them in a competitive environment where their future opportunities are determined by the outcome of the game. Not on their ability to execute the fundamentals of the game, which will lead them to success five or ten years down the road, but whether or not they can win a game when they’re ten years old.”
    De Vos is calling for an end to promotion and relegation in Canadian youth soccer. He’s far from alone.
    “You don’t need promotion and relegation,” Says Ron Davidson, Canadian Soccer League coach of the year with Hamilton Croatia in 2010.
    “There’s too much emphasis here on the kids winning, and coaches stacking their teams, and then they fall out with the club and go to another club, and take all those players with them. That’s not developing the game. That’s a selfish decision for the coach. Kids don’t learn by winning 10-0.”
    For de Vos, there needs to be a fundamental emphasis – on fun.
    “To me, the measure of success is – first and foremost – can we teach that child to fall in love with the game, and play the game for the rest of their life?” he argues. “If we can teach them to fall in love with the game, there’s a very good chance they’re going to put in the hours needed to become successful in the game. The ten-thousand hour rule applies to anything. If you want to be an expert, if you want to be a top-level athlete, if you want to be a concert pianist, if you want to be a musician, if you want to learn multiple languages, you’ve got to be able to put in the hours needed to master those skills. You’re only going to do that if you love what you’re doing.”
    “Coaches need guidance,” Ray Clark of the CSA says. “How can we rely on people who have no background in the game and no coaching experience to deliver our program? We have to provide support along the way – physical support, financial support of course. That’s why I think the emphasis has to be on clubs now to step forward and say ‘We need to support these guys, because they have the bulk of the players.’”
    Under de Vos, Oakville Soccer Club just made a major hiring of new coaches. It’s a huge financial commitment to boosting training and fun for young players. And it’s one de Vos says clubs much smaller than Oakville can also commit to.
    “It’s a question of how you allocate your resources, and what you want to put them to,” he insists. “In a club of four- or five-hundred kids, they’ve got a very significant budget, and they have the resources to be able to hire someone. Maybe not on a full-time basis, but they can certainly hire someone part-time to train their coaches and deliver the curriculum for them, and put in place programs for those kids to teach them how to play the game.”
    Ron Davidson agrees.
    “In soccer, the ultimate goal for your club should be to develop the player. You’ve had a player in your system that goes to the next level, and let’s say in Southern Ontario the next level is to play for Toronto FC. If you’ve got a 15-year-old who is an excellent prospect, why keep him? Your club is not going to go under if you lose five, six, ten players in a season. That player should be going to the next step – to TFC or to Europe or the U.K., and the ultimate goal is to play for your country.”
    When you put it all together – LTPD, new standards for coaching, new emphasis on competitiveness and love of the game, it adds up to a bold attempt to unify the youngest players in your local house league with a bigger, bolder vision for pro soccer and international success. And better, more effective coaching is crucial.
    It’s not that amateur coaches are responsible for winning pro games. But a more unified, focused approach at each crucial stage in youth development can’t help but produce more – and better – elite players down the road.
    “Just because it’s a recreational game doesn’t mean it can’t have a professional structure,” de Vos concludes. “And the reality is soccer is a recreational game around the world. The amount of players that go on and play at a professional level is miniscule compared to the number that play the game for fun and recreation. The notion that we shouldn’t be a professionally run organization, or we shouldn’t have a professional structure because it’s largely recreational, in my opinion, is wrong.”
    Which leads us – fans, players, aspiring coaches alike – to a deeper, more fundamental question:
    What, exactly, is standing in our way? That’s Part III – coming next Monday.
    Onward!
    Also in this series:
    Part I -- How did this happen?
    Guest

    Making an Impact at the Expansion Draft

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    MLS released details of the 2012 Expansion Draft. The Montreal Impact will select 10 players off the rosters of the other 18 teams on Nov. 23.
    Each team will protect 11 players. Generation adidas and homegrown players are exempt.
    What 11 players would you protect if you were Toronto or Vancouver? My choices for Toronto are below the jump.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Joao Plata
    Danny Koevermans
    Milos Kocic
    Ryan Johnson
    Torsten Frings
    Stefan Frei
    Terry Dunfield
    Julian de Guzman
    Adrian Cann
    Eric Avila
    The only name left off that might cause concern is Richard Eckersley. However, his loan status likely means that Montreal would stay away.
    Guest

    Happy faces

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    I wouldn't normally post stuff like this but Toronto doesn't get many moments like last night.
    Keaton Robbins, who writes for Waking the Red (follow him on Twitter) captured a few of them and sent them into us.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    Got to feel for the guy who showed up to a bar with the intention of doing some work. He was fired this morning for not filing those quarterlies on time.

    Those who know the finger pointer know the exact words that were coming out of his mouth at this point.

    Pretty representative of how the night descended into madness

    That moment where you realize your team can't possibly concede three goals in 5 minutes
×
×
  • Create New...