CPL General

[JamboAl]

Because Pacific can’t play a home game in the Vs Cup and then play in Halifax less than 24 hrs later.

[red card]

A piece looking at international players in the CPL concludes the clubs are doing a pretty good job of identifying players with the requisite quality to play in the CPL. But they are struggling to find players with the capacity to exceed that level.

Players from the Australian A-League have played the highest percentage of minutes available to them at 72%.

Next up are the various leagues that make up the Spanish 3rd tier. Rounding out the top three is the Dutch 2nd tier. 

The most successful “group” of leagues was the 2nd and 3rd tiers of Sweden and Norway.

Less successful are English Non-League and American and Mexican leagues below MLS and Liga MX and all of the Non-Caribbean Concacaf leagues. But the worst performing source has been foreign youth leagues. 

Of foreign players who have left the league, only one player, Alejandro Diaz was sold for a fee and over a quarter of them went back to the exact level they were playing at before. About 17% are not currently in professional football but have not officially retired.

Markets to target are New Zealand National League and Australian State Leagues, League of Ireland and Ghanaian Premier League.

https://thethirdsub.ca/2024/06/06/cpl-foreign-signings-a-breakdown/

[Watchmen]

On 6/6/2024 at 7:10 PM, red card said:

A piece looking at international players in the CPL concludes the clubs are doing a pretty good job of identifying players with the requisite quality to play in the CPL. But they are struggling to find players with the capacity to exceed that level.

Players from the Australian A-League have played the highest percentage of minutes available to them at 72%.

Next up are the various leagues that make up the Spanish 3rd tier. Rounding out the top three is the Dutch 2nd tier. 

The most successful “group” of leagues was the 2nd and 3rd tiers of Sweden and Norway.

Less successful are English Non-League and American and Mexican leagues below MLS and Liga MX and all of the Non-Caribbean Concacaf leagues. But the worst performing source has been foreign youth leagues. 

Of foreign players who have left the league, only one player, Alejandro Diaz was sold for a fee and over a quarter of them went back to the exact level they were playing at before. About 17% are not currently in professional football but have not officially retired.

Markets to target are New Zealand National League and Australian State Leagues, League of Ireland and Ghanaian Premier League.

https://thethirdsub.ca/2024/06/06/cpl-foreign-signings-a-breakdown/

It's a good read. Got me thinking about how we've seen more flow of players recently to the Scandinavian leagues (Cornelius, Bustos, Metcalf, Nelson, plus Diaz as a CPL transfer) and makes me wonder if players coming over to the CPL helps clubs there establish a good baseline for talent. I know it's never been uncommon for Canadians to land in those leagues, I just wonder if the pipeline might now end up being even more established.

Ghana would be an interesting league to try to mine (plenty of talent there) but I remember reading years ago that the corruption with agents/teams there was high and it could be difficult to get players out.

[yothat2]

On 6/6/2024 at 8:10 PM, red card said:

A piece looking at international players in the CPL concludes the clubs are doing a pretty good job of identifying players with the requisite quality to play in the CPL. But they are struggling to find players with the capacity to exceed that level.

Players from the Australian A-League have played the highest percentage of minutes available to them at 72%.

Next up are the various leagues that make up the Spanish 3rd tier. Rounding out the top three is the Dutch 2nd tier. 

The most successful “group” of leagues was the 2nd and 3rd tiers of Sweden and Norway.

Less successful are English Non-League and American and Mexican leagues below MLS and Liga MX and all of the Non-Caribbean Concacaf leagues. But the worst performing source has been foreign youth leagues. 

Of foreign players who have left the league, only one player, Alejandro Diaz was sold for a fee and over a quarter of them went back to the exact level they were playing at before. About 17% are not currently in professional football but have not officially retired.

Markets to target are New Zealand National League and Australian State Leagues, League of Ireland and Ghanaian Premier League.

https://thethirdsub.ca/2024/06/06/cpl-foreign-signings-a-breakdown/

The usl was pretty effective for Alan Koch has an quick pipeline. Interesting article

[yothat2]

1 minute ago, yothat2 said:

The usl was pretty effective for Alan Koch has an quick pipeline. Interesting article

Like to see an excel graph of all the foreign signings and minutes. Trinidad internationals have done well 

[Aird25]

3 hours ago, yothat2 said:

Like to see an excel graph of all the foreign signings and minutes. Trinidad internationals have done well 

They'll be missing minutes due to international duties though, whereas many players from other nations won't 

[fil]

Halifax hasn't won a game yet! They are stumbling through this season. Someone tell the boys to sober up. 

[Cheeta]

Can't be a happy vibe right now.  They were a topic on OneSoccer today and pointed out their next stretch of games isn't likely to produce too many results.  Could be a very, very miserable year at Wanderers.

The Shithawks are circling.  No doubt about it. 

[Big_M]

we now know what was behind morellis retirement at 27...kind of alarming that two hfx players in a year failed doping tests...amla in september 2022 and morelli in august 2023

Soccer Athlete Suspended for the Presence of Clomiphene Metabolites

Former Wanderer and CPL Golden Boot winner João Morelli receives 18-month ban following doping violation

[Aird25]

I was really hoping Pacific were still looking to replace Ndom and find an alternative option up top. I haven't heard a peep though, and unfortunately we may regret it come playoff time. The cup semifinal is coming up fast too, and I don't feel we're strong enough

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

I was really hoping Pacific were still looking to replace Ndom and find an alternative option up top. I haven't heard a peep though, and unfortunately we may regret it come playoff time. The cup semifinal is coming up fast too, and I don't feel we're strong enough

I wouldn't worry too much. The Whitecaps scored the winner for Cavalry in the last game.

[Aird25]

The league's 3 top scorers are all imported players 

[phil03]

 

[K Edgar]

23 hours ago, Aird25 said:

The league's 3 top scorers are all imported players 

Brian Wright with two goals to go top of the list (only Canadian in the top 5)

[Aird25]

I'm surprised we're still in second. I feel like our injuries, illnesses and players missing for international duties have really hurt our quality of play

[Kingston]

On 6/14/2024 at 10:26 PM, Aird25 said:

The league's 3 top scorers are all imported players 

To me, that's not necessarily a surprise.  I'd expect the imports to be among the best players in the league - otherwise why bother to import them instead of just hiring a local.  

[Watchmen]

4 hours ago, Kingston said:

To me, that's not necessarily a surprise.  I'd expect the imports to be among the best players in the league - otherwise why bother to import them instead of just hiring a local.  

It was also this way in MLS. And the Bundesliga. And La Liga. EPL only had 1 of the 3 as an Englishmen. Players move around more than ever before, and leagues find the best players they can wherever they can.

[Cheeta]

Only surprise on that list, any leader list besides maybe saves, is Valour still having anyone in the hunt for the golden boot 1/3 of the way into the season.

The big Aussie has earned it.  Truly.  Stay healthy biggin.

 

[jonovision]

I wish I had a breakdown in the goals for Moses Dyer's big year, because Swibel must be very close already to most non-penalty goals in a season for the club. 

[Footscray]

Interview with kelownas mayor.  Talks quietly progressing on building some kind of new facility.  Sounds like the cpl game cemented it.  Kelowna needs some kind of medium sizedoutdoor stadium/concert venue even before cpl enters into the picture as the apple bowl is falling apart.... some rumors it'll be at the soccer field beside the bridge downtown locally.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/493349/Talks-ongoing-to-bring-professional-soccer-to-Kelowna

Hoping there will be at least one permanent stand with a concourse and roof and not just a bunch of metal bleachers.

wonder if it'll be the langley team coming up here or a brand new franchise

[CDNFootballer]

3 hours ago, Footscray said:

Interview with kelownas mayor.  Talks quietly progressing on building some kind of new facility.  Sounds like the cpl game cemented it.  Kelowna needs some kind of medium sizedoutdoor stadium/concert venue even before cpl enters into the picture as the apple bowl is falling apart.... some rumors it'll be at the soccer field beside the bridge downtown locally.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/493349/Talks-ongoing-to-bring-professional-soccer-to-Kelowna

Hoping there will be at least one permanent stand with a concourse and roof and not just a bunch of metal bleachers.

wonder if it'll be the langley team coming up here or a brand new franchise

Probably a Rob Friend Sixfive stadium similar to Langley :

https://sixfivestadiums.com/

Don't foresee Vancouver FC moving there, the league would rather sell another expansion slot for sure and would be reluctant to allow a move.

Think its very risky to assume that such a small market like Kelowna (230k'ish) will draw enough over 14 games. A one off is not proof of sustained support. Could see them drawing like York possibly imo, after the new team hype wears off. But the CPL may be a bit desperate to expand to meet their goals of increasing the size of the league.

Better to put a League1 BC team in Kelowna and let them prove support over a couple of years.

 

[nolando]

2 minutes ago, CDNFootballer said:

Probably a Rob Friend Sixfive stadium similar to Langley :

https://sixfivestadiums.com/

Don't foresee Vancouver FC moving there, the league would rather sell another expansion slot for sure and would be reluctant to allow a move.

Think its very risky to assume that such a small market like Kelowna (230k'ish) will draw enough over 14 games. A one off is not proof of sustained support. Could see them drawing like York possibly imo, after the new team hype wears off. But the CPL may be a bit desperate to expand to meet their goals of increasing the size of the league.

Better to put a League1 BC team in Kelowna and let them prove support over a couple of years.

 

I agree with most of what you say; except, I don't think that Lg1 attendance numbers are going to be a great barometer for future CPL support. Nobody is going to Lg 1 matches in any great numbers, not anywhere in the country, unless I'm mistaken. Conversly, the US has done fairly well predicting MLS support based on USL numbers but I don't think our situation is comparable.

[Big_M]

Kind of a setback for HFX: they were hoping for approval for the permanent stadium in early 2024 and get it built for 2025 but now the answer about the permanent stadium will come end of 2024 so they cannot have it ready for 2025

The contract for Wanderers ground as a temporary stadium is ending this year

Martin is hoping for a bridge year in 2025 where they would again play with the temporary set up there and then get the permanent stadium for 2026

Hopefully Martin has Plans B and C for the two cases which are where to play in 2025 and a permanent solution for 2026

Heres what he had to say about the permanent stadium proposal

So, at this point in the process, how confident is he that this will get over the line?

“I’m really encouraged by where we’re at and where things are going. I’m encouraged that we’re going to get where we want to get to”

It sounds like there’s a ‘but’ coming, I say.

“But things are still moving slowly,” he replies, smiling. “As with most things in politics.”

https://onesoccer.ca/a/big-read-an-inside-look-at-the-journey-to-build-a-permanent-stadium-in-halifax-os-creator-spotlight-canadian-premier-league-hfx-wanderers-fc

[Watchmen]

On 6/22/2024 at 4:15 PM, nolando said:

I agree with most of what you say; except, I don't think that Lg1 attendance numbers are going to be a great barometer for future CPL support. Nobody is going to Lg 1 matches in any great numbers, not anywhere in the country, unless I'm mistaken. Conversly, the US has done fairly well predicting MLS support based on USL numbers but I don't think our situation is comparable.

I think the comparable for L1/CPL would be "how many clubs have made the step up from NPSL/USL 2 to USL Championship". I don't have an answer here. Detroit City FC is the only one that really springs to mind.

[Cicero]

On 6/22/2024 at 7:07 PM, CDNFootballer said:

Probably a Rob Friend Sixfive stadium similar to Langley :

https://sixfivestadiums.com/

Don't foresee Vancouver FC moving there, the league would rather sell another expansion slot for sure and would be reluctant to allow a move.

Think its very risky to assume that such a small market like Kelowna (230k'ish) will draw enough over 14 games. A one off is not proof of sustained support. Could see them drawing like York possibly imo, after the new team hype wears off. But the CPL may be a bit desperate to expand to meet their goals of increasing the size of the league.

Better to put a League1 BC team in Kelowna and let them prove support over a couple of years.

 

I also think it's risky. If they put money into a real stadium that is a good size for CPL, in a good location, I suspect it could develop a decent following. Bleachers on the outskirts of town, forget it. York 2.0. Probably Edmonton 2.0 actually. It's a resort city, people are looking for things to do in the summer. Put it downtown in a nice stadium and you'd get some tourist dollars on top of local support. Do I think anyone will pony up the necessary dollars to make the right situation happen? Very low probability I'd say.