Long Balls spent the past week on vacation, but it was far from a relaxing one. We've been nervously trying to get our thoughts away from the upcoming, sort-of preliminary round of World Cup qualifying that by any reasonable measure should be a light stroll for the Canadian mens' national team, what with its group containing a couple of Caribbean resorts-cum-nations and an island who's defining question involves whether or not to become the 51st U.S. state.
But given Long Ball's long history of bottling things when they appear almost unbottleable, it shouldn't come as a big surprise that we're projecting similar insecurities onto our beloved Canada team.
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Maybe then the fact that Junior Hoilett flubbed a penalty on the weekend against Everton should be taken as a good omen - not for the Canada team itself of course, because he continues to reject calls to play for it - but for indications he is equally nervous about his native country's seemingly can't-miss group as we are.
As for players preparing to take the field against St. Lucia on Friday evening, Kevin McKenna takes performance honours this week after coming on as a late sub against Hamburg to score an 88th minute winner. It appears that the goal came as a result of a keeper error more than anything else, but Canada supporters will hope McKenna operates in a similarly clinical fashion over the next few days.
The burly defender has played 180 minutes on three appearances over the first four games of the Bundesliga season.
Middling news from the Championship. David Edgar is enjoying something called "playing time" this year with Burnley, as he has already collected two starts in the first three matches of the season as opposed to three all of last year. Great to see a Canadian getting minutes but it's a tad regretful that he plays in the centre of defence rather than on the right side of it, considering Canada desperately lacks depth in that position.
Yes, the rightback position. Jaime Peters has yet to see the bench with Ipswich Town this young season, what with him being kept blindfolded at a remote location until being mercifully released for international duty this week. Yes, his career at Ipswich seems to be on a depressingly downward trajectory, so the fact he wasn't shipped out of Ipswich ahead of today's transfer deadline - as various Internet sites of varying credibility were suggesting - is truly disappointing.
Simeon Jackson knew life in the Premier League wasn't going to be easy. One substitute appearance for six minutes is all he has to show for Norwich's first three matches of the season. For the match against Chelsea on the weekend, Norwich manager Paul Lambert instead went with Steve Morison as his attacking sub, and it appears that he and Chris Martin are the two main obstacles keeping Jackson from the pitch.
Last-minute Canada callup Marcus Haber is off to a decent start in Scotland, with four appearances and 224 minutes in the first five matches for St. Johnstone.
He wasn't called for the upcoming Canada matches, but frontline plodder, tall-man and sometime scorer Rob Friend signed with 2.Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt. The Coles Notes on this move? While Canada theoretically loses out on having a striker playing in the German first division it was unlikely that he was going to see much of the field with Hertha Berlin this season. At least Friend will get minutes in the second division. Whether that helps him actually score goals for Canada, well that's a different story.
Correction: This article originally said Kevin McKenna headed in the winner against Hamburg.