Stefan Mitrovic

[Obinna]

6 hours ago, narduch said:

I think that is a bit presumptuous to say people are discounting the player to spite the father.

Nobody here is the spiting the player. The only person doing any spiting is the father.

Besides I think its pretty fair to question how high a level the Serbian top flight is.

One of the most hilarious things I've seen the past few days is some twitter troll complaining that Kone has been selected instead of Mitrovic.

My POV is that few people questioned the level of Serbia a few months ago when Mitrovic was set to link up with Canada. Now he is with the Serbian youth team and people are fed up with the dad's antics (rightfully so), so now suddenly the quality Serbian league should be questioned? 

You/We should at least be consistent.

I am perfectly fine with the argument he's not playing at a high enough level, but if you were calling for his inclusion back in january, when he was linked to Brugge and Anderlecht and Boavista and Leicester City, but nonetheless playing in Serbia, then you shouldn't now be suggesting the Serbian league is not good enough. Know what I am saying?

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

6 hours ago, costarg said:

Speaking of unread topics... anyone know if its possible for individuals to "unpin" the 7 first threads or is it only the admins who can do it?  Perhaps just my OCD acting up, but it kinda irks me!

This is how I view the forum, nothing pinned. 

https://www.canadiansoccernews.com/discover/unread/

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

...so now suddenly the quality Serbian league should be questioned...

Think what happens there once you move beyond Red Star and Partizan has been questioned for a while. Yugoslavian players used to have to stay in their domestic league until they were 29 so in the 1980s a club like Radnicki Nis were a force to be reckoned with if they qualified for European competition and made it to the UEFA Cup semifinals one season.

Once that policy ended the playing standards collapsed and breaking up into seven separate UEFA sanctioned national leagues allowed some very small clubs into the top tiers. Playing Serbian top tier at 18 was noteworthy. If he is still there at a smaller club at 21 or 22, the ship has probably sailed in terms of him likely to ever be a major factor in CMNT terms. Hence Ivan's antics.

[archer21]

3 hours ago, Obinna said:

My POV is that few people questioned the level of Serbia a few months ago when Mitrovic was set to link up with Canada. Now he is with the Serbian youth team and people are fed up with the dad's antics (rightfully so), so now suddenly the quality Serbian league should be questioned? 

You/We should at least be consistent.

I am perfectly fine with the argument he's not playing at a high enough level, but if you were calling for his inclusion back in january, when he was linked to Brugge and Anderlecht and Boavista and Leicester City, but nonetheless playing in Serbia, then you shouldn't now be suggesting the Serbian league is not good enough. Know what I am saying?

I think a lot of people wanted him called in because they bought into the hype train when he was linked to those bigger clubs. It’s easy to just assume that he’s at that high level when he’s being linked to clubs like that. The problem is, it’s at least possible that it was all BS to begin with. All of the rumours were coming from his dad, who doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation around here. If you believe none of those clubs were actually that seriously interested, then you’re not left with much to assume he’s CMNT quality.

[Sal333]

36 minutes ago, archer21 said:

I think a lot of people wanted him called in because they bought into the hype train when he was linked to those bigger clubs. It’s easy to just assume that he’s at that high level when he’s being linked to clubs like that. The problem is, it’s at least possible that it was all BS to begin with. All of the rumours were coming from his dad, who doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation around here. If you believe none of those clubs were actually that seriously interested, then you’re not left with much to assume he’s CMNT quality.

I haven't seen the kid play so I really have no say in the matter.

But there's one aspect that would worry me. When we look at this Canadian national team we can honestly say it's made up of  mostly good players sprinkled with a few (at most) exceptional players. Very much like many of the national teams ranked 30 to 50 in the world. But in my eyes there's something special - call it chemistry -  about this group of players. I've said it a number of times on this forum this group can probably finish as a top 15 (maybe top 10) team by the end of this year.  Why is that? Because they play as a team. There literally are no egos on display in this team. 

Now imagine if Herdman would have called Mitrovic for a window and not played him a second. Do you think his dad would take it sitting on his hands? Of course not, he would be texting away slagging Herdman and the CSA. And then you have to question yourself. What sort of pull does he have with his son? Will the son start to believe his father's rantings? I'm reminded of what Doneil told Ike in that Kristian Jack interview. If you want to play for Canada the team comes first. Put your ego aside.

Without having seen this kid play maybe it's best that Herdman give the kid time and space to sort out for himself why he wants to play for the national team. Ego or team spirit.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Sal333

[Macksam]

58 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

I haven't seen the kid play so I really have no say in the matter.

But there's one aspect that would worry me. When we look at this Canadian national team we can honestly say it's made up of  mostly good players sprinkled with a few (at most) exceptional players. Very much like many of the national teams ranked 30 to 50 in the world. But in my eyes there's something special - call it chemistry -  about this group of players. I've said it a number of times on this forum this group can probably finish as a top 15 (maybe top 10) team by the end of this year.  Why is that? Because they play as a team. There literally are no egos on display in this team. 

Now imagine if Herdman would have called Mitrovic for a window and not played him a second. Do you think his dad would take it sitting on his hands? Of course not, he would be texting away slagging Herdman and the CSA. And then you have to question yourself. What sort of pull does he have with his son? Will the son start to believe his father's rantings? I'm reminded of what Doneil told Ike in that Kristian Jack interview. If you want to play for Canada the team comes first. Put your ego aside.

Without having seen this kid play maybe it's best that Herdman give the kid time and space to sort out for himself why he wants to play for the national team. Ego or team spirit.

QFT. I have a feeling this team can pull a Greece 2004. The team has no egos and we have the game breakers up top that can hurt the opposition. 

I think the long road it took to qualify put us at a huge advantage over everyone in the Octagon. El Salvador had to take the long route and it benefitted them as well since they punched above their weight during certain matches like against Panama for example. Most would have predicted them to be in the basement but they're 6th right now. 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Macksam

[El Hombre]

16 hours ago, Obinna said:

I feel we have shiny new toy syndrome to a degree, and now that Mitrovic's future seems to be in Serbia (at least until summer), the potential new toy doesn't appear as shiny. 

If I were more of a memelord, I'd post a Vince McMahon meme with the four stages of Voyageurs hype:

1) Under 21
2) Rumours of big league interest
3) Playing at any level in Europe or South America
4) Dual national "still weighing options"

Put those four things together and the hype train takes off around here.  Often has very little to do with actual performance or ability.  

[Joe MacCarthy]

14 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

The worst thing is the hypocrisy.

Norm MacDonald RIP

I thought it was the rapin'

[Joe MacCarthy]

14 hours ago, costarg said:

Speaking of unread topics... anyone know if its possible for individuals to "unpin" the 7 first threads or is it only the admins who can do it?  Perhaps just my OCD acting up, but it kinda irks me!

Finally someone had the courage to say it, I figured I'd get attacked if I did.  Too damn many pinned threads.  What about a forum for just the pinned threads so we don't have to scroll half way down the page to get to the news.

[Unnamed Trialist]

14 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I thought it was the rapin'

Please don't take it wrong if I don't give you I like, too many here don't know what we are talking about.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Just now, Unnamed Trialist said:

Please don't take it wrong if I don't give you I like, too many here don't know what we are talking about.

No prob, Bob

[Obinna]

3 hours ago, archer21 said:

I think a lot of people wanted him called in because they bought into the hype train when he was linked to those bigger clubs. It’s easy to just assume that he’s at that high level when he’s being linked to clubs like that. The problem is, it’s at least possible that it was all BS to begin with. All of the rumours were coming from his dad, who doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation around here. If you believe none of those clubs were actually that seriously interested, then you’re not left with much to assume he’s CMNT quality.

This is precisely what I am getting at, and I include myself amongst those who got sucked in to the hype. The player looked like more of a must have because there were a ton of big clubs linked to him. It was never about the strength of the Serbian league or his club, but it should have been because that's where he is playing his games and scoring his goals. I say this to myself just as much as I say it to you all, but next time we should judge a player's worth based on what he's done and not based on the sort of transfer we think the player will make. 

And by the way, even though I include myself as someone who fell for the hype, I still think there's an argument for calling him to the national team on the strength of what he's done so far, but I don't think bringing Kone ahead of him is exactly criminal. He's doing it at a better level right now and I think Kone is going to be a big hit.

Meanwhile, I hope Mitrovic's time with the national team eventually comes and, most of all, I hope his dad can finally chill out once his son is called. I am tired of reading about him lol. Please Twitter guys, spare us his rants and keep that stuff over there!

[blueseeka]

1 hour ago, El Hombre said:

If I were more of a memelord, I'd post a Vince McMahon meme with the four stages of Voyageurs hype:

1) Under 21
2) Rumours of big league interest
3) Playing at any level in Europe or South America
4) Dual national "still weighing options"

Put those four things together and the hype train takes off around here.  Often has very little to do with actual performance or ability.  

Love this...so true

[Unnamed Trialist]

Folks, you can go on and on about hype all you want.

But a teen playing with the men in Serbia top flight, and scoring, and the team doing well--we absolutely have to reckon with it. The average quality in Serbia is high, if you don't know that then we have nothing to say. Their players emmigrate and adapt enormously well, from what I have seen in Spain, the former Balkan players are the most adaptable of anyone coming in.

You can yap all you want about things dropping off fast after the top clubs--well it is has been that way in many leagues over long periods too. The country coefficient in UEFA is higher than Belgium, Greece or even Turkey, which most here are fully convinced are good enough for Canadian players. You can argue that is because of the success of the top two clubs--so then tell me about Scotland, slightly higher rated than Serbia, where it is similar. Then we get guys here going on about Ross County stars and our NT.

It's not being straight up. The guy has an incredible upside. if you look at the clips, he's sprite, lively, can handle the senior game physically, has game smarts. And scores.

We have not been able to offer him a chance, and he is taking Serbia u-21 chances as it is good for his career. Serbia won the u-20 World Cup in 2015, the level is high. Then look at the current u-21s, all but three play in Serbia: so it is completely false to argue that if they are not already signed elsewhere by now they are not good enough. Only four play for Red Star, none for Partizan. So they are from a broad variety of teams in Serbia, which a national team of that level does not do gratuitously. 

This whole conversation seems a bit immature, like when someone you are courting also likes someone else, so you just slag all over them. A bit of continence would be better.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[red card]

 

[yomurphy1]

2 minutes ago, red card said:

 

Hahahahahaha

Brains exploding in 1,2,3...

[archer21]

46 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Folks, you can go on and on about hype all you want.

But a teen playing with the men in Serbia top flight, and scoring, and the team doing well--we absolutely have to reckon with it. The average quality in Serbia is high, if you don't know that then we have nothing to say. Their players emmigrate and adapt enormously well, from what I have seen in Spain, the former Balkan players are the most adaptable of anyone coming in.

You can yap all you want about things dropping off fast after the top clubs--well it is has been that way in many leagues over long periods too. The country coefficient in UEFA is higher than Belgium, Greece or even Turkey, which most here are fully convinced are good enough for Canadian players. You can argue that is because of the success of the top two clubs--so then tell me about Scotland, slightly higher rated than Serbia, where it is similar. Then we get guys here going on about Ross County stars and our NT.

It's not being straight up. The guy has an incredible upside. if you look at the clips, he's sprite, lively, can handle the senior game physically, has game smarts. And scores.

We have not been able to offer him a chance, and he is taking Serbia u-21 chances as it is good for his career. Serbia won the u-20 World Cup in 2015, the level is high. Then look at the current u-21s, all but three play in Serbia: so it is completely false to argue that if they are not already signed elsewhere by now they are not good enough. Only four play for Red Star, none for Partizan. So they are from a broad variety of teams in Serbia, which a national team of that level does not do gratuitously. 

This whole conversation seems a bit immature, like when someone you are courting also likes someone else, so you just slag all over them. A bit of continence would be better.

In truth, nobody knows exactly the level that he’s playing at. And how many have actually watched him play, other than in highlights? All we have to go on is rumour, guessing about the level of competition, etc. Nothing really substantial. And as much as some have said they think Paton should be included in some camps (I don’t think that’s really been a big point of contention on the board lately btw), he hasn’t been getting calls either. So it really shouldn’t be a shock that Mitrovic isn’t getting calls yet. 
 

With all that said, if he gets called in, obviously we’ll all be rooting for him. I still hope he gets a move up to a higher level and becomes a big part of our team. But I’m also not really upset by Herdman’s choice not to call him in at this time.

[Kent]

This conversation just reinforces my decision to not get worked up about players I haven't seen play, and to not really worry about dual nationals unless they meet the Junior Hoilett/Jonathan De Guzman/OH level of play. i.e. if the player isn't in a top 4 league, I'm not going to get worked up. Sure, maybe someday Mitrovic (or Flores, or Dias or whoever) ends up in a top 4 league, and maybe it would be a good get and maybe he could marginally help the team immediately, but I just don't want to get emotionally invested unless the player is already a pretty big deal.

[Unnamed Trialist]

31 minutes ago, archer21 said:

In truth, nobody knows exactly the level that he’s playing at. And how many have actually watched him play, other than in highlights? All we have to go on is rumour, guessing about the level of competition, etc. Nothing really substantial. And as much as some have said they think Paton should be included in some camps (I don’t think that’s really been a big point of contention on the board lately btw), he hasn’t been getting calls either. So it really shouldn’t be a shock that Mitrovic isn’t getting calls yet. 
 

With all that said, if he gets called in, obviously we’ll all be rooting for him. I still hope he gets a move up to a higher level and becomes a big part of our team. But I’m also not really upset by Herdman’s choice not to call him in at this time.

"Nobody knows" = "I don't know so nobody knows"

Isn't that what you mean?

I mean, the national coach of the u-21s in Serbia, a team that won a WC a few cycles ago, probably knows the level he is playing at with relative exactitude, don't you think?

To be clear: I am not saying he had to be called into this camp, it made certain sense to bring Kone as he's N America based and it's an easier call--and he is not going to play, or maybe just garbage minutes, which won't bother him. While it would bother Mitrovic, I fear.

[Unnamed Trialist]

30 minutes ago, Kent said:

This conversation just reinforces my decision to not get worked up about players I haven't seen play, and to not really worry about dual nationals unless they meet the Junior Hoilett/Jonathan De Guzman/OH level of play. i.e. if the player isn't in a top 4 league, I'm not going to get worked up. Sure, maybe someday Mitrovic (or Flores, or Dias or whoever) ends up in a top 4 league, and maybe it would be a good get and maybe he could marginally help the team immediately, but I just don't want to get emotionally invested unless the player is already a pretty big deal.

So if we had a dual national playing alongside Hutch, or Tajon, or even David at Lille, you would "not get worked up"? If there was an attacking mid age 19 at Basel, with Millar, who was a dual for Canada and Macedonia, you would not get worked up?

Not sure I believe you there.

Sorry, I think I've seen you post for a while here, and, with all the leeway I could give you regarding what "worked up" means, I think you would.

[archer21]

9 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

"Nobody knows" = "I don't know so nobody knows"

Isn't that what you mean?

I mean, the national coach of the u-21s in Serbia, a team that won a WC a few cycles ago, probably knows the level he is playing at with relative exactitude, don't you think?

To be clear: I am not saying he had to be called into this camp, it made certain sense to bring Kone as he's N America based and it's an easier call--and he is not going to play, or maybe just garbage minutes, which won't bother him. While it would bother Mitrovic, I fear.

What I mean is that it’s likely that nobody on this board knows, myself included. Gonna go out on a limb and say it probably applies to you as well, despite your overconfidence in being all knowing in all things soccer. Not sure what the argument here is to be honest. If you’re saying he should be called to our youth teams in the future if he qualifies then yeah of course. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

37 minutes ago, archer21 said:

What I mean is that it’s likely that nobody on this board knows, myself included. Gonna go out on a limb and say it probably applies to you as well, despite your overconfidence in being all knowing in all things soccer. Not sure what the argument here is to be honest. If you’re saying he should be called to our youth teams in the future if he qualifies then yeah of course. 

You are right, I don't know either.

[lbula17]

46 minutes ago, archer21 said:

What I mean is that it’s likely that nobody on this board knows, myself included. Gonna go out on a limb and say it probably applies to you as well, despite your overconfidence in being all knowing in all things soccer. Not sure what the argument here is to be honest. If you’re saying he should be called to our youth teams in the future if he qualifies then yeah of course. 

If anybody wants to watch him play against the best team in Serbia, tune into Red Star Belgrade vs Nis Saturday April 2nd.

[Kent]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

So if we had a dual national playing alongside Hutch, or Tajon, or even David at Lille, you would "not get worked up"? If there was an attacking mid age 19 at Basel, with Millar, who was a dual for Canada and Macedonia, you would not get worked up?

Not sure I believe you there.

Sorry, I think I've seen you post for a while here, and, with all the leeway I could give you regarding what "worked up" means, I think you would.

If a player popped up on those teams, I wouldn't be seeing them play other than from highlights. I would probably think it would be nice if he commits, but yeah, I wouldn't get too worked up about it. I haven't gotten worked up about Ferdi, Flores, Dias, Yankov, possibly I was a bit annoyed with Akinola since he was at TFC, and I might have been nervous around Balou (but I had seen him play so I knew what he had to offer). OH incited rage for me back in the day (way before I was on this board), I had a lot of stress around JDG2's decision.

I got less militant in my thinking when I got together with my wife. My family has been in Canada for several generations and North America for several more generations, and I was in my late 20's before I had even ever been on a plane. My wife's family is much more international and I got to see close up what that is like. Having already been through the ringer a couple times got me to care less for self defense reasons, then the enlightenment from my wife got me to understand the other side of things better, and now add in that we are less desperate to gain credibility and yeah, I don't think I will get too worked up about someone at Basel, Lille, or Besiktas. I still read the threads, but won't lose sleep over their decisions.

[Unnamed Trialist]

8 hours ago, Kent said:

If a player popped up on those teams, I wouldn't be seeing them play other than from highlights. I would probably think it would be nice if he commits, but yeah, I wouldn't get too worked up about it. I haven't gotten worked up about Ferdi, Flores, Dias, Yankov, possibly I was a bit annoyed with Akinola since he was at TFC, and I might have been nervous around Balou (but I had seen him play so I knew what he had to offer). OH incited rage for me back in the day (way before I was on this board), I had a lot of stress around JDG2's decision.

I got less militant in my thinking when I got together with my wife. My family has been in Canada for several generations and North America for several more generations, and I was in my late 20's before I had even ever been on a plane. My wife's family is much more international and I got to see close up what that is like. Having already been through the ringer a couple times got me to care less for self defense reasons, then the enlightenment from my wife got me to understand the other side of things better, and now add in that we are less desperate to gain credibility and yeah, I don't think I will get too worked up about someone at Basel, Lille, or Besiktas. I still read the threads, but won't lose sleep over their decisions.

You have the formula for a long happy life, you are doing better than I am. 

I have to admit, being so close to Qatar now, it is all dressing from here on in. I would like to get a goal, and a result, in the group stage. I might get greedy about making knock-out rounds. I'd like things to stay similar to this for the next few WC qualifying rounds. Of course if all that is happening, then it makes it much easier to not get worked up about losing a player. We don't want to lose anyone dumbly, but if we are performing, and the spots on the roster are dear to be had, you are right we can shift out of the anxiety mode and roll with the punches a lot more easily. 

My family has been in Vancouver since 1908, which makes us oldtimers, but I have personal friends whose family were the original signees for the incorporation of the city and are in the famous tent photo after the fire. Just saying: am an oldtime Canadian, maybe a few generations off you though, and yes, the street cred in football does matter to me.