Marcelo Flores

[Unnamed Trialist]

42 minutes ago, finchster said:

What level on that pyramid would you rank the Whitecaps? 

At the very least, you would have to take a look at Jebbison vs Cavallini, especially after Cavallini's form this year. I don't want to derail the thread, so let's leave it there.

No, it's fair. But even their home clubs have them down in League One to get minutes, it is like an MLS player being sent to USL. 

Yes, I'd say MLS teams are not first tier in the top 4 leagues in Europe, but would likely be 2nd tier. The 30 MLS teams are in that Championship slot, a few might manage without relegating from a top flight, a few would relegate into a League One. But it's all moot: not even their own clubs are treating these kids are ready for their first teams. 

[rydermike]

In my opinion, FIFA will continue with the 26 man squad, but 23 man match day squad that UEFA used in the Euro IMO. 25 are in the current Canada squad. Add Davies as he is the obvious #26. 

I would say 24 of the 26 are currently that "core group". The exceptions are Keeper #3 Leutweiler and Guttierez. 

I'd say the outsiders of the current 26 with a chance at selection would be (in no particular order) Jebbison, Flores, Wotherspoon, Akinola, and Corbeanu. One of those guys will get in over Guttierez Throw in an injury or two and those guys could make it without displacing another player.

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by rydermike

[top cheese]

1 hour ago, rydermike said:

In my opinion, FIFA will continue with the 26 man squad, but 23 man match day squad that UEFA used in the Euro IMO. 25 are in the current Canada squad. Add Davies as he is the obvious #26. 

I would say 24 of the 26 are currently that "core group". The exceptions are Keeper #3 Leutweiler and Guttierez. 

I'd say the outsiders of the current 26 with a chance at selection would be (in no particular order) Jebbison, Flores, Wotherspoon, Akinola, and Corbeanu. One of those guys will get in over Guttierez Throw in an injury or two and those guys could make it without displacing another player.

 

It’s likely there will be another player or two that will emerge like tajon did over the next 12 months. My guess is someone like priso, Marshall rutty, baldismo, or a Canadian in mls just out of ncca. 

[toontownman]

2 hours ago, top cheese said:

It’s likely there will be another player or two that will emerge like tajon did over the next 12 months. My guess is someone like priso, Marshall rutty, baldismo, or a Canadian in mls just out of ncca. 

Anyone catch the Galindo/nef interview with A.J? Although overtly biased he was talking about his younger brother being better than him in every area in comparison to where he was at every stage of development. Said he will be a big pick up in the draft. Would be magnificent if we had both Johnstons repping Canada together! The Canadian Nevilles lol.

[An Observer]

10 hours ago, Kadenge said:

Flores is super talented, but he has not played a single pro min. Now if he gets mins with Arsenal or out on loan and impresses that's a different story. Plus we are short #8s and #6s. Flores is an attacking mid by all accounts. He does not have the physicality at this point to play as a #8. 

We are short 8s and 6s but even shorter 10s.  As for the brotherhood, we have all heard recently Henry and Johnston both talking about recruiting the duals.  I don’t think they will be pissed with some coming on board even for the WC.  In many ways, I prefer Flores to commit than Jebbison (but gladly would take both) as he plays more of a position of need for us even if I agree Jebbison is more ready.

[toontownman]

48 minutes ago, An Observer said:

We are short 8s and 6s but even shorter 10s.  As for the brotherhood, we have all heard recently Henry and Johnston both talking about recruiting the duals.  I don’t think they will be pissed with some coming on board even for the WC.  In many ways, I prefer Flores to commit than Jebbison (but gladly would take both) as he plays more of a position of need for us even if I agree Jebbison is more ready.

Shouldn't probably sleep on Dias either. He might well break through to the first team before Flores.

[An Observer]

56 minutes ago, toontownman said:

Shouldn't probably sleep on Dias either. He might well break through to the first team before Flores.

Other than Flores and Dias, there are a few other possible 10s in Rutty, Colyn, Passquale, Habibullah.  Doubt one will step up before this year’s WC to be a starter for us but there is promise for 2026.

[Xavier.]

6 minutes ago, An Observer said:

Other than Flores and Dias, there are a few other possible 10s in Rutty, Colyn, Passquale, Habibullah.  Doubt one will step up before this year’s WC to be a starter for us but there is promise for 2026.

Mitrovic also plays frequently as a 10.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Xavier.

[TGAA_Star]

14 hours ago, rydermike said:

In my opinion, FIFA will continue with the 26 man squad, but 23 man match day squad that UEFA used in the Euro IMO. 25 are in the current Canada squad. Add Davies as he is the obvious #26. 

I would say 24 of the 26 are currently that "core group". The exceptions are Keeper #3 Leutweiler and Guttierez. 

I'd say the outsiders of the current 26 with a chance at selection would be (in no particular order) Jebbison, Flores, Wotherspoon, Akinola, and Corbeanu. One of those guys will get in over Guttierez Throw in an injury or two and those guys could make it without displacing another player.

 

If from now on, it will be 26 man squads then Marcelo Flores could be in consideration but I doubt he would get chosen.

However for AFCON, well for us Africans who happen to be Canadian too like myself, for AFCON they are using 28 man squads

[An Observer]

8 hours ago, Xavier. said:

Mitrovic also plays frequently as a 10.

I knew I was forgetting someone. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

18 hours ago, finchster said:

What level on that pyramid would you rank the Whitecaps? 

At the very least, you would have to take a look at Jebbison vs Cavallini, especially after Cavallini's form this year. I don't want to derail the thread, so let's leave it there.

I really don't think Jebbison comes into the picture at all unless he's scoring at a higher level. Same with Theo. This insistence is just England fan-boy stuff, overrating a guy in third tier.

It also ignores that we are not pressed whatsoever for scoring coverage; if anything, we need another CB and another creative mid.

Cavallini having a poor season would not be any worse than anyone else having a poor season: Herdman will chose based on certain loyalties and who can be a useful sub. 

IMO the really interesting player will be Lucas Dias; if he gets any first team minutes he has to be in the picture before any of the guys in League One, obviously. Apart from that, we need guys who can play mid more than pure attackers. 

But the squad is virtually set. The only decisions to be made are going to be third keeper, Ayo if he gets healthy and starts playing well, and covering for injuries. 

[narduch]

5 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I really don't think Jebbison comes into the picture at all unless he's scoring at a higher level. Same with Theo. This insistence is just England fan-boy stuff, overrating a guy in third tier.

It also ignores that we are not pressed whatsoever for scoring coverage; if anything, we need another CB and another creative mid.

Cavallini having a poor season would not be any worse than anyone else having a poor season: Herdman will chose based on certain loyalties and who can be a useful sub. 

IMO the really interesting player will be Lucas Dias; if he gets any first team minutes he has to be in the picture before any of the guys in League One, obviously. Apart from that, we need guys who can play mid more than pure attackers. 

But the squad is virtually set. The only decisions to be made are going to be third keeper, Ayo if he gets healthy and starts playing well, and covering for injuries. 

Jebbison is going to have half a season in the Championship now.

Let's see how he does there before we anoint him the second coming.

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 minute ago, narduch said:

Jebbison is going to have half a season in the Championship now.

Let's see how he does there before we anoint him the second coming.

Was he called back in then? That would give him 20 matches or so, that is a lot of fixtures.

I don't want to be stubborn about it: if he's scoring in Championship that is great and he has to be considered. 

But the fact is: we have too many strikers and not enough AMs and CBs. 

[El Hombre]

58 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Was he called back in then? That would give him 20 matches or so, that is a lot of fixtures.

I don't want to be stubborn about it: if he's scoring in Championship that is great and he has to be considered. 

But the fact is: we have too many strikers and not enough AMs and CBs. 

I need to re-watch the game, but how different was David's role against the US than the standard attacking mid or #10 that everybody is calling for Flores to fill?  If we have a number of attacking options (Larin, Cavallini, Ugbo, Akinola, Jebbison etc.) wouldn't David slot in nicely behind them?  He seems to have the creativity and vision.  Would also still get chances in the box, wouldn't he?

This is why I'm over the Flores hype.  Sure he has potential but it's not like we're completely destitute without him. 

[narduch]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Was he called back in then? That would give him 20 matches or so, that is a lot of fixtures.

I don't want to be stubborn about it: if he's scoring in Championship that is great and he has to be considered. 

But the fact is: we have too many strikers and not enough AMs and CBs. 

Yup. Confirmed just before the window closed.

I believe they sold another player to Salernitana which made room for him.

[Sal333]

11 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

I need to re-watch the game, but how different was David's role against the US than the standard attacking mid or #10 that everybody is calling for Flores to fill?  If we have a number of attacking options (Larin, Cavallini, Ugbo, Akinola, Jebbison etc.) wouldn't David slot in nicely behind them?  He seems to have the creativity and vision.  Would also still get chances in the box, wouldn't he?

This is why I'm over the Flores hype.  Sure he has potential but it's not like we're completely destitute without him. 

I was going to post this very idea. If David, Larin, Akinola, Ugbo and Cavallini are all good to play (in Qatar) why not use David as a 10 (attacking midfielder). He practically played that role in the US game. If it works it would solve @Unnamed Trialist real concern for another attacking midfielder.

His high school coach said in an interview that David was a mid fielder and never a striker for their team. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Sal333

[dyslexic nam]

I think the real issue isn’t whether or not he can do the role well (he can) - it is about where he will have the most impact given the alternatives at our disposal in each of those two roles.  Is the step down from David to Ike, Ayo or Cav (recognizing they have dif styles) more or less than the step down from David to others in A 10-type role if we played someone like Hoilett or Oso there?  Not sure it is worth giving up his clinical finishing in the box.  

[gator]

33 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

I need to re-watch the game, but how different was David's role against the US than the standard attacking mid or #10 that everybody is calling for Flores to fill?  If we have a number of attacking options (Larin, Cavallini, Ugbo, Akinola, Jebbison etc.) wouldn't David slot in nicely behind them?  He seems to have the creativity and vision.  Would also still get chances in the box, wouldn't he?

This is why I'm over the Flores hype.  Sure he has potential but it's not like we're completely destitute without him. 

I did watch a highlight package specific to David's contributions and he had a huge influence on our build up play, of course the key one was the one two with Larin on the goal! At times I thought he was playing too far back, when you see all he did though it's as you say, he is versatile!

[Approve My Account Pls]

45 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

I need to re-watch the game, but how different was David's role against the US than the standard attacking mid or #10 that everybody is calling for Flores to fill?  If we have a number of attacking options (Larin, Cavallini, Ugbo, Akinola, Jebbison etc.) wouldn't David slot in nicely behind them?  He seems to have the creativity and vision.  Would also still get chances in the box, wouldn't he?

This is why I'm over the Flores hype.  Sure he has potential but it's not like we're completely destitute without him. 

I definitely started thinking this way after rewatching. I think it'd be really interesting to explore playing David just under Larin. Or I wouldn't even be opposed to trialing a Nations League game or friendly where he plays under 2 ST as a CAM. In either of those roles he could still make late runs into the box. The way he moved the ball around against the US AND the subtle number of defensive plays he made was really eye opening on my watch back

[Unnamed Trialist]

7 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

I think the real issue isn’t whether or not he can do the role well (he can) - it is about where he will have the most impact given the alternatives at our disposal in each of those two roles.  Is the step down from David to Ike, Ayo or Cav (recognizing they have dif styles) more or less than the step down from David to others in A 10-type role if we played someone like Hoilett or Oso there?  Not sure it is worth giving up his clinical finishing in the box.  

Just what I say. There will come a day when a lethal scorer like David will find a coach who puts him into the middle to help--or not. On a club (and we don't know this because Lille seems to care less), you can go out and buy a couple creative mids who can feed the talented guy who moves well and with a decent pass and half a step can score.

For a national team, you can't buy what you need. IMO we have Eustaquio, and then Osorio. Hoillet could probably be this guy. And when it comes to threading passes into strikers, that is about it. Vs the States our feeds failed consistently, Kaye was laughably bad; others were not too sharp. We are already playing to our strengths a bit too much, I'd say: Tajon takes on Dest for a finely fought battle played out in the hinterland of a football match taking place elsewhere. Fascinating, ultimately irrelevant. Wingbacks galore, so let's play the whole damn game up the wings, great. For that, a team with wingers and wingbacks, Herdman seems to have had the field narrowed, possibly hurting us as much as them (I think it was 68 yards wide, cause I counted: 44 width of the box, two more to the line marking 10 yards to the corner, so 44+4+20). 

This is where some of the younger guys may be interesting, thinking of Mitrovic, Dias and even Flores. Not pure strikers, but more attacking mids, better able to pivot and move the ball around, keep possession, in the middle of the park. I haven't seen Liam Millar do this, nor Tajon, and Davies is actually a fairly mediocre passer with rather poor midfield skills for a guy who's be training where he is for a few years now. 

I am hoping we can classify asap and start experimenting, because I think we need to try some possession matches, just try, and some where we have mids looking for other mids and strikers, play in the middle and not just play to the wing skills. 

[Daniel]

8 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Tajon takes on Dest for a finely fought battle played out in the hinterland of a football match taking place elsewhere. Fascinating, ultimately irrelevant.

Great piece of writing. 🤣

[Weng]

They said it was 68 meters.  So 74 yards

[canuckgbp]

Herdman went on a "tangent" to point out Flores. Interesting. Wasn't Wheeler digging apparently. 

[Markoaleks]

🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
wordle + 4 

‘Simple decision for a Canadian like you are 

Time to come home 

[Corazon]

I fully expect him to compete with Mexico U20's this summer and possibly the U20 World Cup in 2023.  If he starts making some progress with a senior professional team before 2023, then he may have to make some decisions earlier.