The Importance of Jr. Hoilett

[JamboAl]

I still think he can have an impact as a substitute.  And I also think he may be more effective in an open end to end game than something that stifles his ability to get wide and put in some really decent crosses.

[BearcatSA]

6 hours ago, kacbru said:

This is just ageism 😀.

Seriously - he has a skillset that no one else in our pool has, and he can still deliver.  I would want him as an option in the 23.

Well, as I have brought up on here before with the arguments for different individuals being included in the squad, who would you drop for him? 

 

 

[kacbru]

40 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Well, as I have brought up on here before with the arguments for different individuals being included in the squad, who would you drop for him? 

 

 

Going off the last roster - 1 of the 5 central strikers (e.g. 1 of Ugbo, Bair or Russel-Rowe), or 1 of the 6 central defenders (e.g. 1 of Bombito, Waterman, LDF)  Probably one of the strikers - as we have more flexibility there.  Not a hard decision in my mind - overkill to have three players picking up scraps from David and Larin.  Two will do just fine (with Millar, Shaff as other options if injuries are an issue).

[BearcatSA]

47 minutes ago, kacbru said:

Going off the last roster - 1 of the 5 central strikers (e.g. 1 of Ugbo, Bair or Russel-Rowe), or 1 of the 6 central defenders (e.g. 1 of Bombito, Waterman, LDF)  Probably one of the strikers - as we have more flexibility there.  Not a hard decision in my mind - overkill to have three players picking up scraps from David and Larin.  Two will do just fine (with Millar, Shaff as other options if injuries are an issue).

Yes, I thought the extra striker was a surprise in the last squad selection.  I don't see them going with five (but I hope in this tournament that the coaches don't delude themselves into the notion that David will be the starting third central midfielder with Eustaquio and Koné).  And I could also see a back three guy possibly get dropped.  So there ate certainly possibilities.  I think the likely guys to get sacrificed are the one or two prospect type ones, which in a way is kind of too bad.  But atbthe end of the day, it's about who gives us the best chance at results in this tourney, and if Hoillet is in-form, we should really consider having him.

 

[InglewoodJack]

16 hours ago, kacbru said:

This is just ageism 😀.

Seriously - he has a skillset that no one else in our pool has, and he can still deliver.  I would want him as an option in the 23.

It is, and to be honest if there’s one guy we “bring back out of retirement” for me, it’s Junior, but I think this really is just one game for him. If we want another offensive weapon and we want to switch out one of our many strikers, why not call up Tani Oluwaseyi? Having a big year for a good MLS team, scoring at around the same rate as Messi (goal every 75 mins), and probably a bigger factor for us in the coming years. 
 

If Junior is called up at the expense of one of our fringe guys I wouldn’t be too upset, but I also don’t think his most recent appearance is indicative of the form he’s been in over the past 3 seasons. 

[jordan]

Assisted the winner today

[Shway]

3 hours ago, jordan said:

Assisted the winner today

From a corner kick.

[king1010]

2 assists today. Good form albeit not at the highest level

[narduch]

1 minute ago, king1010 said:

2 assists today. Good form albeit not at the highest level

I think he's done enough to be seriously considered for Copa

[toontownman]

But Biello already did the gone but not forgotten video montage for the squad? 

[PegCityCam]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

I think he's done enough to be seriously considered for Copa

Indeed, top class assists these:

 

[TGAA_Star]

On 4/21/2024 at 7:26 PM, JamboAl said:

I still think he can have an impact as a substitute.  And I also think he may be more effective in an open end to end game than something that stifles his ability to get wide and put in some really decent crosses.

At this point you almost have to because he's getting older

[BrennanFan]

On 5/12/2024 at 1:17 PM, TGAA_Star said:

At this point you almost have to because he's getting older

For whatever reason, he definitely looks and seems older than he did much earlier in his career.  

[K Edgar]

2 goals, 2 assists today

 

[kacbru]

Yeah, but he's getting older and he'll be 40 by the time the 2030 WC rolls around.  So he's useless to us now.  We should give his sub-minutes off the bench to "insert name of next starlet U16 player at a EPL academy" because 'potential'.

[Kadenge]

I think Jnr really wants to play in the Copa! He's on fire recently.

[Watchmen]

32 minutes ago, kacbru said:

Yeah, but he's getting older and he'll be 40 by the time the 2030 WC rolls around.  So he's useless to us now.  We should give his sub-minutes off the bench to "insert name of next starlet U16 player at a EPL academy" because 'potential'.

There's nothing wrong with him being pushed by the younger players. If he raises his game and is one of our best current players, then great. Invite him to the Copa. But he's not in the category anymore of "he's an automatic inclusion for legacy reasons", which was the situation the MNT found themselves in last fall.

[InglewoodJack]

On 5/12/2024 at 12:34 PM, toontownman said:

But Biello already did the gone but not forgotten video montage for the squad? 

Hoilett to Biello:

[PegCityCam]

Edit: just realized he's #10🤣

Edited May 15 by PegCityCam

[BearcatSA]

On 5/12/2024 at 9:34 AM, toontownman said:

But Biello already did the gone but not forgotten video montage for the squad? 

Marsch can now do a similar tribute for Biello while deciding if he wants to bring Hoillet back into the fold.

[Corazon]

That’s 2 goals and 7 assists in his last 5 games and 2 goals and 8 assists in his last 7 games.  
Im a huge Hoilett fan and I do think he possesses skills and qualities that no one else does for Canada.  I think he’s got a spot on my Gold Cup squad.

But I also think Hoilett’s recent form is in large part to the quality of the league.  He has 10 G+A in his last 8 games.  That’s the same amount of goal contributions he had in his last 3 seasons in the League Championship combined.

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Corazon said:

That’s 2 goals and 7 assists in his last 5 games and 2 goals and 8 assists in his last 7 games.  
Im a huge Hoilett fan and I do think he possesses skills and qualities that no one else does for Canada.  I think he’s got a spot on my Gold Cup squad.

But I also think Hoilett’s recent form is in large part to the quality of the league.  He has 10 G+A in his last 8 games.  That’s the same amount of goal contributions he had in his last 3 seasons in the League Championship combined.

It's also coming in the "relegation" half of the SPL table.

Still, I do hope he sticks around there.  Some stability would be nice.

[Obinna]

I think SPL is the right level for Junior at this stage of his career. Nothing wrong with the SPL for a 33/34 year old like Junior, who's basically played in the EPL and Championship his whole career.

Better to stay with Aberdeen and help them push for Europe, and get a few tough match ups against the likes of Celtic and Rangers, rather than go to League One and help a club promote.

So long as he's playing in the SPL and doing well, I think he should remain in contention for a call up. 

Also, not surprised he is catching fire late in the season. It took him a while to get up to speed, given the long layoff. We know the quality he has, so it had to shine through at this level, eventually.

[InglewoodJack]

8 hours ago, Watchmen said:

It's also coming in the "relegation" half of the SPL table.

Still, I do hope he sticks around there.  Some stability would be nice.

Theo Bair, 2G/2A in the relegation table too. He's firmly in the mix as well.

I've been anti Hoilett un-retirement, but he's playing too well not to be considered. We're going to bring at least one, likely two players from Scotland, and I think Junior is playing better than either as of late. Hate to see a young guy get his spot taken by a guy who will likely be re-retired by the 26 WC, but easy to see how he could come off the bench and do damage in some of the games we have coming up. 0-0 late against Peru or Chile, this is a guy who can come on at '75 and create a goal out of thin air.

[Obinna]

9 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Theo Bair, 2G/2A in the relegation table too. He's firmly in the mix as well.

I've been anti Hoilett un-retirement, but he's playing too well not to be considered. We're going to bring at least one, likely two players from Scotland, and I think Junior is playing better than either as of late. Hate to see a young guy get his spot taken by a guy who will likely be re-retired by the 26 WC, but easy to see how he could come off the bench and do damage in some of the games we have coming up. 0-0 late against Peru or Chile, this is a guy who can come on at '75 and create a goal out of thin air.

Agreed. And moreover it feels this group still needs a bit of a technician. We have some many direct one-on-one guys, Hoilett would be a nice complement to that.