Mathieu Choinière

[Kadenge]

Well he can't be ignored anymore! Very happy for Choiniere. Pretty sure the injury he sustained was a result of that incredible goal saving tackle he made in the box. 

 

[InglewoodJack]

“Oh but he wasn’t picked because they took Eustaquio”

“Oh but he was injured once we needed subs, that’s why he wasn’t picked”

 

”bro maybe the girl you have a crush on really did lose access to her phone for 13 hours and maybe the posts she made on Instagram during that time was a hack”

[VinceA]

Do hope someone asks Herdman about his exclusion, but also quite telling Herdman didn't do a pre-match presser or even a media call when the roster dropped.

[Stoppage Time]

Choiniere's creative attacking from the middle of the pitch would be so valuable. As we agree, he should have been chosen - his unlucky injury notwithstanding.

 

[RS]

16 hours ago, VinceA said:

Do hope someone asks Herdman about his exclusion, but also quite telling Herdman didn't do a pre-match presser or even a media call when the roster dropped.

He did.

[InglewoodJack]

I had it in my head that MC is 25, turning 26 soon, but it looks like he just turned 24. Not to get too ahead of ourselves but… Europe one day? I think a lot of teams could use a guy like this. He seems like a guy who would become a quick fan favourite at Celtic. 

[DeRo_Is_King]

26 minutes ago, RS said:

He did.

Do you have a link? Not saying it didn't happen, but all I've found is this interview with OS:

 

[RS]

5 minutes ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

Do you have a link? Not saying it didn't happen, but all I've found is this interview with OS:

 

I have a (now-expired) Zoom link, but I can't share those here.

Canada Soccer sent out an email for "an in-person and virtual availability" with Herdman and Ali Ahmed that took place on Monday. It was presumably organized through CONCACAF.

I can't tell you how many outlets were on the call (or in person) as I rarely do that kind of work any more. I do still get Canada Soccer's emails, though.

[DeRo_Is_King]

14 minutes ago, RS said:

Canada Soccer sent out an email for "an in-person and virtual availability" with Herdman and Ali Ahmed that took place on Monday.

Thank you. Found it:

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

"Losada did confirm the following on Thursday morning: that Mathieu Choiniere was going to try and train with the group"

https://northerntribune.ca/2023-mls-cf-montreal-atlanta-united-preview/

So he isn't back to 100% yet but may be close.

[Mitchryan11]

definetly could of used him against usa, herdman sucks

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

6 hours ago, Mitchryan11 said:

definetly could of used him against usa, herdman sucks

[InglewoodJack]

I wanna start hearing some Choiniere transfer rumours. I think he’s earned the traditional MLS “he’s garnering interest from clubs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, as well as a Bundesliga team” rumour that pretty much all of our MLS players get.

[narduch]

On the bench tonight.

[Jack1997]

It’s crazy how important he is to Montreal this season, 1 draw and 3 losses in four games without him causing them to fall out of a playoff spot. With Montreals willingness to sell players and Montreals loaded midfield I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Europe by January.

[VinceA]

39 minutes ago, Jack1997 said:

It’s crazy how important he is to Montreal this season, 1 draw and 3 losses in four games without him causing them to fall out of a playoff spot. With Montreals willingness to sell players and Montreals loaded midfield I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Europe by January.

If he was getting links to Europe we'd probably have heard them by now.

[Jack1997]

10 minutes ago, VinceA said:

If he was getting links to Europe we'd probably have heard them by now.

If you look back at the Johnston thread from last year he didn’t have any real links until November when there was a Bologna link, before that was some fans making shouts for him to go to Europe but nothing else. All of our MLS players who had links to Europe didn’t come up until later in the season because that’s when their season is coming to an end. So I disagree with your statement, I think barring a huge fall off we will be seeing some rumors floating around in September-January.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Jack1997 said:

It’s crazy how important he is to Montreal this season, 1 draw and 3 losses in four games without him causing them to fall out of a playoff spot. With Montreals willingness to sell players and Montreals loaded midfield I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Europe by January.

I would be surprised if not for the success Montreal had moving on Johnston, Kone and Mihalovic. 

[InglewoodJack]

17 minutes ago, Jack1997 said:

If you look back at the Johnston thread from last year he didn’t have any real links until November when there was a Bologna link, before that was some fans making shouts for him to go to Europe but nothing else. All of our MLS players who had links to Europe didn’t come up until later in the season because that’s when their season is coming to an end. So I disagree with your statement, I think barring a huge fall off we will be seeing some rumors floating around in September-January.

Celtic was pretty much the first concrete AJ rumour and it feels like we went from hearing about it to it being official in like a week. I doubt Choiniere has an agent behind him with the resources to drop a bunch of transfer rumours to the press. I still think he’s an MLS lifer purely because I think he can carve out a very lucrative career here, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we don’t hear anything until Christmas and by the second week in January, he’s abroad and playing.

[VinceA]

I think we overrate our guys too much when it comes to transfers, especially after how well WCQ went.

Waterman and Miller had a ton of rumours that died a death. Not to mention JMR.

Nelson feels like an anomaly in 2023.

And you have guys seeing Ali Ahmed have a good half season and are like EUROPE WHEN when there's nothing to suggest anyone outside MLS knows who he is.

We need to chill out.

Edited July 14, 2023 by VinceA

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

2 minutes ago, VinceA said:

I think we overrate our guys too much when it comes to transfers, especially after how well WCQ went.

Waterman and Miller had a ton of rumours that died a death. Not to mention JMR.

Nelson feels like an anomaly in 2023.

And you have guys seeing Ali Ahmed have a good have season and are like EUROPE WHEN when there's nothing to suggest anyone outside MLS knows who he is.

We need to chill out.

This time of year in Europe shows you people write what people want to hear about transfers. The job is not really to write the truth, that only helps sometimes.

We Canadians want to hear people are going to higher levels and journalists who care about Canadians try to find ways to write that.

Still the speculation is a lot of fun.

[dyslexic nam]

#SillySeason

 

The name is not random. 

[Obinna]

3 hours ago, VinceA said:

I think we overrate our guys too much when it comes to transfers, especially after how well WCQ went.

Waterman and Miller had a ton of rumours that died a death. Not to mention JMR.

Nelson feels like an anomaly in 2023.

And you have guys seeing Ali Ahmed have a good half season and are like EUROPE WHEN when there's nothing to suggest anyone outside MLS knows who he is.

We need to chill out.

It's interesting that we make such a big deal over Ahmed and no American fans or analysts have pointed him out as a danger or a rising talent. Maybe we do overrate our guys. 

Same with Choniere. The Americans were well aware we sent a B team. I heard at least one American mention that Ugbo would have made our group stronger. Crickets on Choniere though. Technically he's an all-star, but by Commissioner's pick, right? Seems this has moved the needle up here, but not down south.

Don't get me wrong, I think both players deserve looks moving forward, but acting like a European move is on the cards is premature - especially for Ahmed. Now, could Montreal manage to sell Choniere for a couple of million? I wouldn't doubt it based on the recent past. Wouldn't bet on it though.

[Shway]

Definitely less possible for that transfer to happen if those guys don't have European/British ancestry.

Made it a little easier for Alistair. 

[costarg]

On 7/14/2023 at 3:41 PM, Obinna said:

It's interesting that we make such a big deal over Ahmed and no American fans or analysts have pointed him out as a danger or a rising talent. Maybe we do overrate our guys. 

Same with Choniere. The Americans were well aware we sent a B team. I heard at least one American mention that Ugbo would have made our group stronger. Crickets on Choniere though. Technically he's an all-star, but by Commissioner's pick, right? Seems this has moved the needle up here, but not down south.

Don't get me wrong, I think both players deserve looks moving forward, but acting like a European move is on the cards is premature - especially for Ahmed. Now, could Montreal manage to sell Choniere for a couple of million? I wouldn't doubt it based on the recent past. Wouldn't bet on it though.

Accurate.  However the commentators seemed complement him regularly during last nights game, even saying the all-star game should help him raise his stock and get visibility.  They definitely knew who he was and what he can do. 

Choiniere got shifted from midfield to LWB when Saliba came on, and the commentator immediately showered Choiniere with more praise regarding his versatility and the value in that.

I feel Choiniere's biggest hurdle is he doesn't stand out.  Looks like a regular guy.  No multi-coloured, long or wild hair.  He's on the short side, not very imposing.  You can't spot him on the field easily, doesn't wear his shorts high like Piette, he just blends in.  Johnston and Ahmed are probably the most comparable, however Johnston is visibly stockier and blonde. Ahmed stands out for his style with the ball, he's got a distinct trot and flair when taking guys on.  while Choiniere, again is very pragmatic and not flashy.