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    Guest
    We're joined once again by Ingrid Green of Play3rSport.com, who -- in Part 1 of this epic interview -- takes us through the Women's World Cup so far, providing her thoughts on the top players, the top games, and whether or not expanding the field to 24 teams is a good idea (her answer may surprise you).
    On Tuesday, we'll be releasing Part 2, in which Ingrid talks about Canada's performance at Germany 2011, what went wrong, what needs to come next in Canadian soccer, what the future holds for Carolina Morace and whether or not a women's national league is viable (once again, her answer may surprise you).
    Podcast: Women's World Cup overview -- Part 1 (mp3)
    Subscribe to Some Canadian Guys Talking About Soccer on iTunes
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by CBC's John Molinaro to talk about who Toronto FC will be bringing in (and possibly sending out) when the transfer window opens, what actually happened to Nana Attakora and how long Winter and Co. get a free pass for.
    We'll also talk about the Whitecaps DP rumours, if Tom Soehn will last the year at Vancouver and what will become of GolTV.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
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    Guest
    CSN has learned that MLSE is in negotiations with Rogers to get GolTV moved to basic cable, which would dramatically increase that channel’s reach in the GTA. Currently, GolTV is a digital only channel and viewers must pay about $7 a month to purchase the tier it is on (in some places you can get GolTV by itself for around $2 a month).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Interestingly, it might be Toronto’s seemingly insatiable appetite for its hard luck hockey team that gets the deal done. Rogers is desperate to re-gain the Leafs radio rights for its flagship station the FAN 590. Currently, AM 640 holds the rights, which last one more season. However, there are persistent rumours that AM 640 might be looking to sell the last year of the rights.
    That’s where GolTV comes in. Rogers would want to extend the rights to beyond the duration of the AM 640 contract, so the negotiations would have to include MLSE. As it stands now, MLSE can simply wait the year out and put the rights up to a general auction. However, it’s being suggested that MLSE would be willing to bypass an auction and only negotiate with Rogers if the cable company was willing to make the GolTV switch.
    MLSE has been criticised for moving several of TFC’s games to GolTV. It’s suggested that the fans are being “forced” to by the channel to access the team.
    There will be 21 games broadcasted on GolTV in 2011.
    Guest
    Editor's note: In the wake of the Canadian Women's collapse at the World Cup and the discussion that has ensued on how to fix our game from the grassroots up, Canadian Soccer News has been accepting guest columns from influential members of our community. Last week, the owner of Milltown FC, Dino Rossi spoke about why the CSA needed to face the cold hard truth. This week, we were approached by the CEO of Oakville Soccer, Paul Varian, to address some of those talking points and to outline what they're doing to make a difference. This is his take on what needs to be done.
    By: Paul Varian
    With Canada’s women’s national team back home from the World Cup far earlier than expected or desired, the post mortem is well underway in the online chat rooms around Canadian soccer.
    Of course, the role of the amateur soccer club has rightly been thrown into the debate. What is the role of a youth club in building a competitive national team program? It seems sensible for the largest club in the country, Oakville Soccer Club, to weigh in on this. So here I go.
    This week, our Technical Director Jason deVos wrote a blog for CBC cutting to the heart of the matter. In it, he argues that the failure of the current set of national team players is due primarily to a flawed youth soccer system.
    He’s dead right. To create a winning national team we have to start focusing on the most important years of a player’s development - the formative years of age 8 to 12. It's time to face up to the truth and start teaching our kids the game properly, at ages when they need to learn it most. And the key agents to deliver this have to be youth soccer clubs.
    Of course, doing this won't be easy.
    Part of the problem is that winning commonly defines success in youth soccer. It's easier for parents to understand than the technicalities of long term player development. So clubs tend to just let the kids play to win rather than risk upsetting parents who, for the large part, fund the club game in this country.
    But we can’t go on like this. We have to start developing players the right way, and at the right age. I know it’ll take a while to produce results on the national stage. But there really is no quick fix. We have to start at the bottom and do it right. And we have to start now.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    This week, Oakville Soccer Club released its new Techincal Development Plan. It’s been quietly crafted by Jason deVos over the last six months and the club finally unveiled it this week.
    Crucially, the plan puts the development of the player at the centre of everything the club does. It focuses technical investment at core age groups when kids can be best developed. There’s no mention of winning or losing. There are no targets around trophies or cups. Rankings mean nothing to the club. Instead, the plan intrinsically adopts Long Term Player Development principles and focuses on where the club’s technical development should be – youth soccer.
    Central to the plan are ambitious targets in coach development. We're aiming to make the club the top centre of excellence for coach development in the country by 2015. And with the resources the club will be committing to this important area, expect this goal to be reached. It starts this summer with the recruitment of team of 16 professional head coaches for each age group, from U11 to U18. The further addition of a full-time Coach Development Manager to join deVos and his team of full time staff and contract coaches will mean Oakville Soccer Club will have a strong faculty of over 25 full time, part time or contract professional coaches.
    Through this group of professionals, we’ll develop and support the club's 900+ volunteer coaches like never before. With better base level coaching standards, we'll ensure that every player that comes through our system is taught the fundamentals of the game, and properly assessed and developed. Not every kid coming out of Oakville will be a great player. But they will all have the chance to be technically proficient in the fundamentals of the game.
    And here’s the kicker. We ideally want our best players to leave. That’s right. We want all our players to advance to be the best they can be. And we know this means the best of them will graduate up and out of our programs. Some will move into academies at professional clubs such as Toronto FC. Others may become part of the youth national team program at the National Training Centre and go on to represent Canada. And others may win scholarships to universities in Canada and the United States and progress their soccer development that way. Players leaving the club in this way is actually the name of the game for us.
    Some clubs see players leaving as a threat or failure on their part. But to us, it defines success. If we're passing our best players on to bigger and better things, we're doing our job.
    Is our plan perfect? Probably not. Are there going to be challenges implementing it? Without doubt. Does that mean we shouldn't take the task on because it’s so daunting? Absolutely not. We're fully aware that this is a long road. Our goal is to have at least four Oakville players competing for Canada at the World Cups of 2019 and 2022. We know this is a long term project.
    But we’re starting. And we'd rather not be alone.

    So anyone in authority in the Canadian soccer club community who is reading this, I speak to you now. I urge you to join us. The time for talking is over. The time for action is now. The system can't change without you taking a bold leap with us.
    Start by committing yourself to getting our national teams to the World Cup, as we have in our new Strategic Plan. Yeah, I know. How can a club be responsible for qualifying national teams to the World Cup? I get that no club can do that on their own. But neither can the CSA, you know. We all have to take responsibility for this goal. And if clubs don't take it seriously, who will?
    Analyze your club's role in soccer development. Simplify it. Channel your resources into your core activities. Partner with others for everything else. It's working wonders for us.
    Show leadership in your Boardroom and have the courage to cast parochialism aside. Put your players' development ahead of your club's trophy cabinet. You'll be amazed how quickly it'll start to fill up anyway, if you do. Understand that doing the right thing doesn’t mean all your players will leave.
    Coaches, know your role as educators. Be bold enough to embrace it. Join us in putting the player first, not the result. Speak to parents. They may not be as technically knowledgeable about the game as you, but don't resent them for that. They have a right to ask questions - they only want what’s best for their son or daughter. And when you explain how what you are doing will help the overall development of their child, you’d be surprised how they will support you.
    And finally, a call to everyone - let’s get behind our governing bodies. Parking every problem in the system at the door of Place de Soccer in Ottawa or at the Soccer Centre in Vaughan is not reasonable, nor productive. No, the CSA and OSA are not perfect. They need to be accountable too. But their job isn’t as easy as it may seem. Fighting with them and working against them clearly isn't working. Let's see what happens if we work with them, for a change.
    ___
    Paul Varian is the Chief Administrative Officer of Oakville Soccer in Canada, the largest soccer club in North America. He was previously President & CEO of Sport BC in the period building up to and during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and was Chief Executive of the Irish (Field) Hockey Association from 2004 to 2007.
    Guest
    Nevio Pizzolitto and the Montreal Impact have requested a hearing with the CSA disciplinary committee to address the accusations of an alleged spitting incident involving a Vancouver Whitecaps fan.
    Pizzolitto did not attend his original hearing and did not send a representative in his place, which lead to the CSA issuing him a $1,000 and suspending him indefinitely pending a new hearing.
    The new hearing has been called for Monday at 9:30 am
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Canadian Soccer News will update more at that time.
    Guest
    Canadian rugby and cricket officials were in a state of panic on Friday upon learning CBC executives have held preliminary talks about expanding the network's soccer and hockey "Day in Canada" coverage to include their sports.
    Saturday marks the 5th annual CBC "Soccer Day in Canada," which will focus on the "inspirational stories" related to the game in this country, ignoring the fact that Canada's international record would embarrass any nation on Earth except for perhaps South Sudan.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    "Noooo thanks. Nope, we're doing just fine with the nearly non-existent media coverage we have now," laughed Cricket Canada general-secretary Ravi Hazare nervously. "Sure, we're an obscure sport, but at least we still make our World Cup. Last thing we need is an ignorant public duped into thinking that because cricket participation is growing the sport is in wonderful shape. We're happy to remain a desperate underdog until we figure out a better idea, thanks."
    Canada Rugby president Tim Faldwell echoed those sentiments, also pointing to Canada's participation in rugby's World Cup.
    "We have limited resources for rugby in Canada, definitely," Faldwell said. "But that also means less money for top officials to squander while carrying on with a contemptuous disregard for the success of our senior mens' and womens' teams."
    CBC started its "Soccer Day" in a well-intended attempt to copy the success of its annual "Hockey Day" programming. However, according to rugby and cricket officials, the crucial difference is that Canadians actually play hockey well.
    The same officials said Canada's senior soccer sides appear to have become worse since the advent of Soccer Day.
    "Yeah, the CBC does fantastic numbers for the soccer World Cup every four years," admitted Hazare. "But then again, the average Canadian sports fan believes the World Cup is only open to countries from Europe and South America, so nobody bats an eye when we don't qualify for it. I'll be damned if cricket's going down that road."
    "Soccer Day" will consist broadly of two Womens' World Cup quarterfinal matches, neither containing the Canadian team, interspersed with endless images of boys and girls laughing and randomly chasing various soccer balls around various fields, learning incorrect and irreversible habits that ensure should they ever overcome the astounding odds stacked against them and one day represent Canada in a FIFA-sanctioned soccer tournament they are unlikely to either complete or receive even one pass, nevermind muster a shot on goal. "Soccer Day" is also mandated to repeat at least 17 times an hour that more Canadian kids play soccer than hockey.
    "All Canadians talk about is the *Canadian* tough-guy style, but they have no skills, no ball control," typed Canadian soccer critic Miro Klement, whose comments somehow appeared in this article without being solicited.
    "Yeah, more Canadians play soccer than hockey," he ranted in advance of Soccer Day. "But more Canadians walk than play hockey, and when was last time Canada won a racewalking medal at the Olympics??"
    Canadian cricket and rugby officials are planning a summit to brainstorm ways to stop the nation's public broadcaster from reinforcing stereotypes about their sports that only serve to prevent them from developing on any kind of serious level in this country.
    "Perhaps they could simply broadcast a "Republic of Doyle" marathon instead?" Hazare said optimistically.
    Guest

    The start of silly season

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    John Molinaro, who is not the type to publish rumours without substance, is reporting that former Impact defender Kevin Hatchi is in the final stages of making a move to TFC.
    The club, however, was pretty blunt. There was no gray area in Paul Mariner’s response.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Ok, then.
    As stated, Molinaro is not a print rumours type of reporter. I trust that his sources are solid. So, either a normally straight source is feeding Molinaro a line, or Paul Mariner is OK with outright lying – there is no subtly in that response.
    It’s unclear whether it’s worth worrying about anyway. Although Hatchi seems solid enough there are some red flags. Notably, he’s played for nine different clubs since 2001.
    He was also released by the Impact less than half a season after joining the club. Normally clubs throw out platitudes when they release a player, thanking them and wishing them the best of luck moving forward as they kick them out of town. However, Nick De Santis was a little more candid.
    That doesn’t sound promising.
    Then again, TFC is in pretty bad shape at the back right now and it seems like it’s an attitude issue rather than a talent one. It’s unclear whether Toronto can be too picky right now.
    I don’t think they’ll have to make the decision though. This one feels like an agent planting a seed.
    Guest
    It can’t be done.
    Those are the four most damaging words in Canadian soccer. You hear them all the time –
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]

    We need a national D2 league. It can’t be done
    We need a uniform long-term player development strategy. It can’t be done
    We need at least one professional women’s team. It can’t be done
    We need to get the men back to the World Cup finals It can’t be done

    That last one might be true until we ban those four words from our vocabulary. For too long in Canada we’ve been blinded by the obstacles. No one talks about how we can do things, rather we debate about which of our failings is most responsible for our lack of success.
    If Scarlett Johansson were to show up in a Canadian soccer fan’s driveway – naked – driving a brand new blue Ferrari that she was giving you as a gesture of her love, the Canadian fan would likely demand to know why the car wasn’t red. Maybe Ms. Johansson and Italian sports cars aren’t your thing, but the point is that we Canucks can be a negative bunch.
    So, when talking about the changes that need to be made to the game in order to see it advanced, I no longer want to hear about the reasons why it can’t work. I’ve heard them. I understand them. I appreciate the challenges are significant and it’s possible that we might not be able to overcome all of them. I’ve never understood why that should prevent us from trying though.
    A couple nights ago I engaged in a Twitter discussion with a couple well known supporters of the Canadian women’s team. The topic moved towards Carolina Morace’s statement that the country needed a pro women’s league to get to the next level. One of the people I was talking to called that idea “lunacy.” It was all can’t, can’t, can’t.
    Clearly, creating a pro women’s league would be a challenge. Clearly. But, why in hell should we not at least try. Why should we shut down conversation about it – and every other challenge facing this sport -- because it might be hard?
    Because “it can’t be done?”
    Enough. It’s time to think about what can be done and to let the cynics wallow in their own misery. And, if we try and fail, then so be it.
    Guest
    What's the best way to get over a 5-0 drubbing?
    How about taking a skeleton squad and playing a conference rival three days later, in the type of sweltering heat that would make Sepp Blatter think about turning the traditional two 45 minute halves into three shorter periods of play?
    And do it all in a venue that has been far less than kind to your side over the years.
    That's what faces Toronto FC on the heels of their thorough dismantling at the hands of the New York Red Bulls, as the Reds immediately headed south to take on Houston in their cauldron of a stadium. One school of thought is that the best way to get over a poor result is to play again as soon as possible, ostensibly to erase the bad taste that could linger far longer than it should.
    I'm not convinced that that is the case, at least in this circumstance.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    For one, TFC are still as bruised and battered as they were in the midweek, except now their depleted crew has an extra 90 minutes of running around and a flight across a time zone to add to the list of things working against them. Three days will not physically heal much, although perhaps Alan Gordon will be ready to make a cameo on Saturday rather than watching from the bench.
    So what we're in for is another blooding of the B squad, a rudderless bunch that have had their confidence thoroughly shattered and with no real reason to believe that things will be different in Texas. That said, it likely won't be as bad as their visit to Red Bull Arena.
    The Dynamo are not the team they were in the mid-00's, and they are certainly not the armed-to-the-teeth Red Bulls looking to make an example of whatever poor schlubs happen to be lined up against them. In fact, Houston are -- in the standings, at least -- not all that much different than Toronto.
    They've won only once since April, and have looked incredibly vulnerable at home since the opening month of the season. What they haven't done is allowed teams to blow them out like the Reds have, keeping the score close in most of their matches in 2011, while hoping for a moment of brilliance from set piece extraordinaire Brad Davis to rescue a point or three.
    With temperatures likely to be in the mid 40's with humidity factored in, Houston's reliance on Davis' dead ball skills and the physicality of forwards Will Bruin and Brian Ching will come to the forefront. Toronto's 4-3-3 system, with heavy insistence on high-pressure, does not at all seem fit for the sauna-like conditions that'll be lingering at time of kick-off, and yet it's very likely that TFC will stubbornly line up that way regardless.
    With that in mind, it's almost paramount for a guy like Gordon to feature in the match, as his height and crash-bang style will at least present a different dimension to a system that can be pretty predictable otherwise.
    Possession of the ball will be paramount as players tire under the Texas sun, and Toronto will once again be missing Julian de Guzman in the middle of the park as he rests a never-ending knee injury. With JDG out and Torsten Frings unavailable until the next match, the brunt of the workload in the centre will fall to Nathan Sturgis and Mikael Yourassowski, a pairing that got overrun in the midweek.
    Both players will be auditioning for spots, as returning players and the newcomers will undoubtedly rank higher in the pecking order by the time the team plays its next match. They can overcome their bad outing and give Aron Winter a positive memory for the eleven day break following Saturday's match, or they can throw out another stinker and seal their fates as nothing more than backups and trade bait. It's really up to them.
    For the team as a whole, the goal is clear. Get through 90 more minutes, then regroup during an extended mid-season break that should allow some wounds to heal and allow the new players to gain fitness. It's imperative for the team's psyche, heading into the new period of "hope", that they don't lay an egg in Houston like they did in New Jersey.
    Will the players on hand be able to keep things respectable?

    Houston Dynamo v. Toronto FC
    Saturday, July 9, 2011. 8:30pm EDT.
    Robertson Stadium. Houston, TX.
    Watch: GolTV Canada, MLS MatchDay Live
    Listen: FAN590.com

    Rudi Schuller occasionally contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest
    Today, we're joined by the OSA coach of the year in 2009 and the CSL coach of the year in 2010, Ron Davidson, to continue the conversation about the problems with coaching in this country. We explore the differences between coaching youth and professionals and look at why Canada isn't producing more high level coaches.
    We'll also breakdown Toronto FC's disaster in New York, look at what to expect out of Houston and address the rumours that Canadian Women's National team head coach Carolina Morace is considering quitting.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
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    Guest
    Tracking Canadian footballers in Europe during the summer months is generally a lonely furrow to plough. But considering the recent performances of Canada's various national teams at various tournaments, checking up on some of the players not normally associated with said teams can actually bestow a sense of tranquility. Focusing the mind's eye away from images of players literally tripping over the ball in the French penalty area to the offbeat names of Scandinavian football clubs, like Jippo, Odd Grenland and Honka.
    And at a time when Canada supporters are yearning for the faintest hope to latch onto, why not grasp desperately at Riley O'Neill?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Some readers may already know the name. (Some definitely do, because Long Balls is ripping much of this information directly from the Voyageurs online forum.) But to the uninitiated, O'Neill is a 26-year-old striker from Vancouver who has appeared for both the Canadian U17 and U20 teams while attending the University of Kentucky.
    A broken neck suffered in 2002 derailed his playing career somewhat, although according to Wikipedia he "rejoined the national team the following season." Despite the extremely limited amount of information available online regarding that incident, Long Balls will go ahead and describe it as "pretty fucking impressive," since a broken neck tends to derail a person's ability to walk, nevermind his soccer career.
    After toiling for a few seasons in the lower German divisions, Riley currently finds himself with the Finnish club team MyPa, which astute readers will recognize as the former home of another Canadian striker, Tosaint Ricketts.
    O'Neill has played 170 minutes in six substitute appearances for MyPa thus far in the young Finnish season. A fan blog had the following to say about his role in the match against JJK Jyväskylä on Monday. (With translating help from Google and the Canadian supporters forum.)
    And there it is. In a week where Canada supporters are engulfed in much needed soul-searching regarding the state of the game in this country, someone deep in the Finnish countryside emerged on the Internet to suddenly inform everyone that a forgotten and uncapped member of our national-team eligible player pool is in fact a "top class striker." I'll be darned.
    As an old friend once assured Long Balls that "the world turns on hope." Now, that's not to say that for long-and-still suffering Canada fans the world should suddenly turn on Riley O'Neill, but after a month in which almost everything that could go wrong did, you take the small bits of happy where and when you find them.
    Guest

    Passing the buck

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    The Canadian Women’s National Team, previously ranked sixth in the world by FIFA, has officially finished dead last at the Women’s World Cup.
    With that kind of failure comes questions. And they’ve been coming at a dizzying pace the last week. Who is to blame? How did this happen? Was it Carolina Morace’s fault? The players? Or is the CSA bogeyman once again to blame? Of course, there is never one answer and, in all truth, the problem lays much deeper than any simple blame will tell - but that doesn’t stop the questions from coming.
    It’s never easy for anyone to face that kind of scrutiny, especially when the expectations were placed so high. So, today, it’s not surprising to see the player’s deflecting the blame in this Radio Canada story.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    As they tell it, they needed more preparation, they needed more support and they just plainly needed to be better.
    “Maybe we needed to play a few more matches in order to have the physical ability to last 90 minutes," suggested Marie-Eve Nault to Radio Canada.
    Maybe they did need more. But, according to these FIFA statistics, between Jan. 1, 2009 and June 25, 2011, Canada had equal, if not more opportunity for preparation than any of the top contenders.
    USA WNT: 37
    GER WNT: 29
    BRA WNT: 18
    JPN WNT: 29
    SWE WNT: 41
    FRA WNT: 35
    CAN WNT: 38
    Only Sweden played more matches. When was the last time Canada played more than the USA, let alone six of the top seven teams? So, it can’t be that. Melissa Tancredi pointed the finger at the age-old scapegoat - the CSA - while nobly defending her coaches.
    "We need better support from our federation. "Our coaches are not to blame," insisted Tancredi
    Maybe they did need more. But, in all my years of following national team football, I don’t recall a single period where any national team – men’s or women’s – was given more time abroad by our federation to get ready as a group. Since Jan. 1 2011, together as a team, the national women’s squad spent 114 days training overseas. That’s out of a possible 168.
    January 13-26 in China
    February 12-22 in Italy
    February 23-March 10 in Cyprus
    March 23-April 20 in Italy
    May 1st until June 17 in Italy until when they traveled to Germany
    I don’t have the exact figures spent, but I suspect sending an entire team overseas for that amount of time is a fair chunk of change and a major commitment from a federation. So, it’s not that either.
    Rhian Wilkinson’s assessment seems like an honest undertaking of responsibility.
    “We showed that we have a lot of work to do in order to be the best in the world,” said Wilkinson.
    And this last quote is as blunt as it comes.
    “We need to find players capable of playing at the international level. If someone knows where those players are, I am ready to listen”
    That’s Morace’s. Her assessment of her team. They need better players. Period. I don’t want this article to come across like I’m picking on the women’s performance, or blaming them exclusively. There are a lot of factors that go into failure. And if you believe Jason DeVos, this is something that is a symptom of something much more systemic - something larger than the loss, the coach or the CSA.
    The wounds may still be fresh, but the narrative that is born out of this period, when people are still assessing the blame, will be what dominates the story for the next four years.
    Passing the buck now and blaming the ever-present boogeyman isn’t the solution.
    Taking your medicine and looking in the mirror might be. For all involved.
    Guest
    Author’s note:
    Any serious examination of the structure of Canadian soccer in the 21st century has to check in with the head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes, Frank Yallop.
    With two MLS championship rings, this former coach of the Canadian men’s national soccer team is pretty much the only top-level title-winning head coach out there who also happens to hold Canadian citizenship.
    Born in England and raised in Vancouver, Yallop made 316 appearances for Ipswich Town, and 88 for the defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny of MLS.
    In a wide-ranging interview with Canadian Soccer News today, Yallop stressed the need for immediate change – and the patience to let the rebuild take eight or twelve years, if that’s what proves to be necessary.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    ---
    CSN: Can you go back in time and give us a list of your various coaching certifications, and what countries you did them in?
    FY: My first coaching badge I got was in England, it was the FA preliminary coaching badge. I was about 26 at that point; that would be a while ago. And then I got the B and A licences from the USSF here in the States.
    CSN: This was all tied in with your playing career, I take it, and you didn’t do any actual coaching certification in Canada?
    FY: I did not, no.
    CSN: I know that, as a former head coach of the Canadian national team, you are well-versed in what is going on here. I’m wondering if you have any initial thoughts on where coaching development stands in Canada, and what needs to change?
    FY: It’s a hard question, because the answer is not just one paragraph or answer from anybody. My big thing is if we want to take this game seriously in Canada, we have to start to do that at the CSA level, at the provincial level and the professional level. Because I felt it was more of a pastime for the provinces in the national program. It wasn’t the priority. It was on the back burner the whole time. The men’s program was never really supported by the provincial level, because their job is to run their province, and not to run the national team. I think we have to break away. I think we have to have a complete separation of the national team and the provinces. Not in funding, just in principle and the way we look at stuff. Different experts will build the program, and tell the provinces how much money they need. An extra five dollars a kid is not going to hurt anybody. But it makes a huge difference to the national program.
    CSN: I’ve talked to quite a few people at quite a few levels before I got in touch with you. There’s a strong feeling that because we have so few professional clubs in Canada, and so many of our young soccer players are in a pay-to-play situation, that it’s very difficult for a coach – even the most gifted coach – to give talented kids the kind of straightness and discipline needed to develop them as players without the parents complaining:“Hey, I’m paying for this and my kid’s not having any fun.”
    FY: Good point! You said it all! I think, to be honest though, it’s getting better. We have four full-time Canadian professional clubs, and with Montreal next season we’ll have three in Major League Soccer. I think any young soccer player that’s good should aspire to be in those clubs. And I think that once their academies get going – really get going – in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver ... they’ve done a lovely job so far, but it’s about attracting all the best players into residency programs with the clubs. I think that will really, really help.
    CSN: There’s also been a criticism – and I’m hearing this from multiple directions – that the Canadian coaching certification program concentrates too much on nutrition and fitness, and not enough on man-management and tactics.
    FY: Well, I didn’t take it, so I don’t even know. But it wouldn’t surprise me. We need to revamp a lot of stuff, and the quicker we do it, the better it will become. I said all along that I had a great supporter in [CSA vice-president] Victor Montagliani. He’s a big supporter of what I was trying to do, and of the men’s national program. But you kind of bang your head against the wall sometimes, you know? He’s tried his best to really change things for the better. All we’re trying to do is make this game better in our country. It’s not a personal thing; it’s not a power struggle – at all. What’s best for Canadian soccer, and what’s going to drive the program forward? That’s the thing you’ve got to really look at – the big picture. How do we get to the World Cup? You’re competing with the U.S., Honduras, Mexico and all these teams that seem to be better than us right now.
    CSN: In the wake of the women’s World Cup, Jason de Vos came out very strongly with the opinion that however well our players were coached, there are serious deficiencies in the way they’re being developed. I realize that the players who played for you when you were coach of the Canadian men’s team had different developmental routes than the women do, but did you see signs of that – places where players just hadn’t received the technical soundness they required in the very critical years of their late childhood and early teens?
    FY: I did, yeah. But I still think that happens a little bit in the U.S. as well. The top elite players, in the top teams in the world – we can’t try to be like them because it would take a hundred years to be like Spain. But if you look at the development of the U.S. – what they did and how they got better – they got better in a hurry. They got a professional league going, they made the 1990 World Cup – we’re only talking a little over 20 years, and they’ve come leaps and bounds from where they were. Canada was around the type of calibre of the U.S. then, and now we’re quite a ways behind. I think it’s not so much the development of players. It’s having that dream of playing professional soccer, and making sure you really get the provinces on-board, and all our elite players get pushed on to the national program. Obviously, it’s a participation sport. We all understand that. But don’t ever stop good young players from being the best they can be. The national program is all about developing not just ball skills and effort, but giving them a chance to be really good professional players.
    CSN: Do you think the fact that Canadian MLS teams are chronically struggling at this higher level – Toronto FC missing the playoffs four straight years and getting waxed 5-0 in New York last night; Vancouver starting the day today with the worst record in MLS – is slowing the ability of young players to look at those teams as examples of something they want to aspire to?
    FY: I don’t think so. This league’s tough. Anybody says any different, they don’t really know what they’re talking about. It’s not easy to win in MLS. I know that Toronto in year four would have liked to have done better – of course – but they’ve made some changes. For whatever reason, it’s not easy, and they’ve not seemed to get to grips getting a ton of good results yet. But if you’re a young kid, you want to play for a team in your country – Toronto, Vancouver and obviously Montreal coming in. But it’s not easy. Vancouver in year one? From a outsider, the league looks like you can get a few wins and you’ll be fine and make the playoffs. But when you get into the grind of this season, and what it takes to be a good team in MLS, it’s difficult. We made the playoffs last year, but it was a grind. Every time I’ve made the playoffs, it hasn’t been easy. I expect Toronto and Vancouver to grow. Salt Lake took six, seven years to get good. They didn’t make the playoffs for years, and all of a sudden, they’re pretty good.
    CSN: They’re actually quite wonderful now. I love watching them play.
    FY: Yeah, they’re a very good side – one of the better teams in our league. But it took a while. It’s not a quick fix, and you can’t expect it to be. Any young player in Canada should want to play for a team in their country.
    CSN: So, given the crucialness of player development, how crucial is coaching development? And I guess the side question to that is: if you were a young coach in Canada now, with ambitions of a professional career, how would you go about finding some way to move yourself out of the amateur game and into the pros?
    FY: 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. Again, 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.
    CSN: With Stephen Hart now concentrating full-time on Canada’s upcoming World Cup qualifying run, the Canadian Soccer Association finds itself without a technical director these days. I’m wondering how much of an impediment you think that is, and what kind of person should be found to fill that role?
    FY: Start from scratch, and see what everybody needs. Have a blank slate, and just say “what’s it going to take to really be an elite soccer country – at every level in our region?" We can’t just say we’ll get a technical director and he’s going to change everything. That doesn’t happen. He needs the support of every person that’s involved in soccer in the country. Not at the non-competitive level, but definitely at the competitive level. The top provincial teams, the national program – we should be all in the same vein of thought of what we’re trying to achieve. There should be a clear vision of what we’re trying to do. And if it’s Year 12 that we’re going to get there, set a goal! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Right now, we just do it year-to-year, and the budget changes, and the women’s program in the World Cup cuts into a certain amount of the men’s program, and all the rest of that. I just think everything should be sorted out in an eight-to-twelve-year plan of what we want to do.
    CSN: I know you’re viewing this from a bit of a distance, but there has been a lot of movement towards reform in the CSA and its structure. It looks as though the Old Boy’s Network is not in the level of command it used to be, and that’s the direction we’re actually moving. Are you encouraged by any of this, or do you think it’s more of the same?
    FY: No, I’m encouraged! It wasn’t a movement, it was really just a look at the state of the union, to find out what was going on. Let’s ask some questions. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s about people that care about the game in our country. I’m passionate about it as well. I think that what we don’t want is just to have the same thing go one for the next twenty years, and in our lifetime we don’t see a change. It’s brave that these people are stepping up and trying to make a difference. I think it’s great. I think it needs to change, and hopefully we really start to see our program flourish.
    CSN: Would you ever want to be coach of the Canadian national team again?
    FY: Yes! I enjoyed my time. I just got frustrated with ... all the things we just talked about! I had an opportunity to move, and I took it. I don’t like to quit on things, but I felt I was at a bit of a dead end at that point with the job. Yeah, I definitely – one day – wouldn’t mind coaching the Canadian team again.
    CSN: Thank you very much for your time today, and good luck with the Earthquakes.
    FY: Thanks, Ben. Appreciate it!
    Also in this series:
    - Canadian coaching: a new CSN investigation
    - Some preliminaries
    - Rafael Carbajal's vision

    Guest
    Jeff Cunningham tied the all-time record for career goals with his late winner against Vancouver tonight. It was the 133 of his career, tying him with Jamie Moreno.
    Coincidentally, the goal also made Cunningham the all-time leading scorer for the Columbus Crew. Although Cunningham has played the longest and his best soccer for the Crew, he’s also made stops in Colorado, Salt Lake, Dallas and, of course, Toronto.
    In contrast, Moreno spent all but 11 MLS games as a member of DC United. As such, Moreno seems to be far more appreciated and respected than Cunningham, who can be an enigma.
    Despite that, messages of congratulations for Cunningham were sent out seconds after he scored the goal tonight. Fans in the cities that Cunningham played were particularly happy to see him rewarded for a long and productive career. Cunningham will likely be appreciated more in retirement than he is now.
    There was one notable group that remained silent while others reached out, however. Although his reputation is growing across the league, his name remains a swear word in Toronto. It seems unlikely that many of TFC’s faithful will be signing the page of congratulations.
    Is that petty? Of course it is, but it’s also understandable. Cunningham was terrible in Toronto. Only six of the 133 came for TFC.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    There might be something deeper to TFC’s fans refusal to forgive Cunningham than simple lack of production though. In some ways Cunningham represents a particular type of player that has always rubbed the people of T.O. the wrong way.
    Cunningham very much appeared to be the “reluctant American.” The reluctant American of Toronto sports is exactly what the name sounds like – an American player that seems to not want to play in Canada. Considering that four of Toronto’s five major sports teams play in leagues that are primarily based in the US, the reluctant American is a common villain.
    It’s likely that some players get unfairly labelled a reluctant American – Canadians can be a little defensive when it comes to people that don’t express delight and awe at Our Home and Native Land. However, the phenomenon is real. There are American players that don’t want to be here in all four leagues, including MLS. And the issue is not only about hurt feelings.
    Keeping the focus on MLS, any successful team requires a solid, if unheralded, group of “worker bee” players that fill needed roles economically. By necessity, those players are domestics. There aren’t enough Canadians able and willing to play in MLS to meet the Canadian team’s needs here. So, they need Americans to move north and play.
    So, if you consider that there are a percentage of worker bee Americans that simply do not want to play in Canada (often for legitimate and understandable reasons – their spouses can’t work, for instance) that reduces the available player pool to the Canadian teams and puts them at a disadvantage. How much of a disadvantage is debatable, but if you agree that there are reluctant Americans out there, then simple math dictates it.
    Although most fans won’t think of it in such terms, they do instinctively understand that it’s a problem that only affects their teams. It’s unfair, they believe, and they take it out on the player himself because it’s also a little bit personal – what’s wrong with our country, why do you think you’re better than us, etc.
    Bringing it back to Cunningham, it was clear from the get-go that he was not all that happy with being in Toronto. He did not go out of his way to make the clichéd and pandering “i love it here” statements that are needed. He never embraced the fans and he seemed to have a pout on his face 24/7.
    In other words he was the textbook reluctant American. Any patience the fans might have had with his lack of production went out the window. He never had a chance.
    In Cunningham’s case he didn’t help himself either. It was pretty clear that he was mailing it in towards the end of his time in Toronto and not playing with full intensity is a sin that fans of all nationalities have little time for. By the time he was run out of town you would have been hard pressed to find a less liked player.
    Those bad feelings remain today where Cunningham is not the soon to be all-time leading MLS scorer, but rather the wanker that missed a two-foot sitter and gave Montreal the Voyageurs Cup in 2008.
    Guest

    Sober Second Thoughts: What it is

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Look, it is what it is. When you lose 5-0 there aren’t many different ways to break it down. You can either suggest that the effort wasn’t there, or the talent isn’t. Although, I’m sure there are some that want to suggest the former was at play tonight it’s not really the case.
    Right now the team is nowhere near as talented as New York. That doesn’t mean they will lose 5-0 every time they play the Red Bulls, but it does mean that the potential for ugly nights are always there. We’ve seen that play out more than once this year.
    There is little point in pointing out anything positive about the team tonight. Few would hear it. Fewer would care. About all you can do is be logical and remember that a team is never as bad as its worst nights. There will be better days ahead for this club – even some this year.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    At the start of the year, CSN picked TFC to finish 10th in MLS. In the days since, that prediction has been used as a criticism by those inclined to challenge the site’s legitimacy. Putting aside the fool’s game that is pre-season predictions and the fact that the biggest publications in the world are often terribly wrong in their picks, it’s worthwhile to repeat the thinking of that pick now. What was said was that the key for TFC’s season would come in the summer transfer window. With cap space to spare and a half-season for Aron Winter and company to fully evaluate things, TFC has the potential to vastly improve over those four weeks.
    Last week’s DP signings were evidence of that potential. Note that word – potential. We don’t know if Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans can turn things around, but we must recognize the commitment demonstrated by the club to spend the money to find out. More is needed, but there is time to find it.
    Realistically, 10th place and the playoff spot it represents is a big ask regardless of what happens over the window. The club would likely need to finish with between 43 and 47 points. It has 18 now and has a lot of road games to go. If TFC can get to those numbers then the second half of the season will be quite exciting for Reds fans and they will go into the playoffs playing as well as anyone.
    The CCL thankfully offers a distraction, but a failure to make the playoffs will be viewed negatively by many. That’s fine and understandable. TFC has been far below par over its four and a half seasons. Frustration is reasonable. It’s even positive as it shows that people still care.
    As stated the problem tonight was a talent problem – as in there isn’t enough of it. The second half of the season needs to be about addressing that gap and making sure that the 5-0 nights are no longer a possibility. If the Reds can do that (but only do just that) it won’t be a satisfying season, but it will represent growth.
    In short, TFC needs to get better and get better for the long haul. It will be difficult for the fan to wrap their head around such a vague goal, but the club can’t let itself be too bothered by a few angry voices. Let the sales staff worry about fan retention. If they start winning it won’t be a difficult job.
    Emotionally, the best way to approach the last half of 2011 is to look at it 90 minutes at a time. The sport can surprise and thrill you at unexpected times, so open your mind to the possibility of that. Every game represents possibility. It’s not likely they’ll play their way back, but it isn’t impossible either.
    It can’t get any worse and we don’t say that to dwell on the negative.
    It just is what it is.
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