A month and a half ago I griped about Stephen Hart's scatter-gun approach to team selection, or rather, the scatter-gun approach that any Canada manager must adopt.
But with another friendly come and gone and the minutes from it tallied, I grudgingly now admit that there is something resembling a core of regular Canada players gelling at a glacial pace.
We will see these players on display at the Gold Cup in two months. Here is the good, the satisfactory but still a source of mild apprehension, and the so obviously worrying that those responsible should not be sleeping on a regular basis.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
The Good
Goal
Suddenly Canada's situation between the posts is no longer terrifying. If either Lars Hirschfeld or Milan Borjan get injured for a lengthy spell over the next two years we might hear some bums squeak, but after Borjan popped up last year and turned in two decent performances, Canada has a tandem it can ride through World Cup qualification. How many other Milan Borjans are out there who could play in Canada's outfield? Which when taken literally is kind of a creepy question.
Leftback
With Mike Klukowski's return and the continuing good form of Marcel de Jong in Germany, Canada looks solidly set at leftback.
Centre of the pitch
With Atiba Hutchinson at the forward point of a three-man central midfield (against Belarus he played further back), whose base would be two of either Julian de Guzman, Will Johnson, Pedro Pacheco or even de Jong, Canada is well-stocked through the middle. And in order to head off any furious comments, when I say "well-stocked" I'm speaking relative to the other middling countries in Concacaf. None of these boys would play for Barcelona.
An interesting case is Terry Dunfield, now getting regular minutes with Vancouver. An imaginary, slightly-better-in-all-aspects version of Terry Dunfied would make a perfect foil for Julian de Guzman in the defensive midfield roles, but for the moment Canada can only count on the actual Terry Dunfield. I love his enthusiasm, but I fear he will decapitate a Honduran and somehow get the entire Canadian starting 11 sent off.
Josh Simpson
While Hart may not have perfected where in the last-third Josh Simpson should play, his mere existence warrants mention in "The Good" category. Talented, eager for Canada to succeed and enjoying a breakout scoring season with his Turkish club, Simpson is a lock in Canada's starting XI.
The Satisfactory But Still A Source Of Mild Apprehension
Middle of the pitch
The two men who make up the centre of Canada's defence, the lower chunk of the spine of the team, will consist of some combination of Kevin McKenna, Andre Hainault, Adam Straith, Dejan Jakovic and David Edgar. Only Jakovic really gives me the comforting sense of rock-like sturdiness you want from a central defender. McKenna is an obvious choice to do just that, but he is aging and has just recovered from an injury-plagued season. And while it's hardly fair to judge Hainault based on some blunders made against Argentina last May, I'm going to judge him based on some blunders made against Argentina last May. Plus he may be required elsewhere. (Hint, further right). Edgar and Straith are too young, and don't play enough with their clubs.
The So Obviously Worrying That Those Responsible Should Not Be Sleeping On A Regular Basis
Two-thirds of the forward line
Simeon Jackson is as much a lock under Stephen Hart as Josh Simpson or Atiba Hutchinson. He's appeared in nine of Canada's last 10 friendlies for a total of 621 minutes, and has scored one goal, which even he admits he wasn't actually trying to do on that occasion. Rob Friend has been on the field for 446 minutes over those same 10 matches, many of them at the same time as Jackson's, and has scored no goals. That's not an impressive return from two guys occupying two of the three forward positions in Hart's 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 or whatever it is.
Rightback
Where to start? How about at the fact we don't seem to have one. And while that is technically not true, it is accurate to say we don't have someone who plays this position with their club. (Commenters, correct me?) The solution for the Belarus match was Nik Ledgerwood, but he generally plays in midfield. Maybe Jaime Peters will look elsewhere in the offseason and find a club that actually plays him, but what if this theoretical club sticks him where he belongs in midfield too? Hart could always throw Hainault, Attakora or Edgar in there, but that just seems like a heart-wrenching goal on some sweaty Central American pitch waiting to be conceded.