WCQ: Third Round - Window 3 (November 12-16, 2021)

[gator]

5 minutes ago, Floortom said:

I saw that and didn’t really understand - isn’t the turf what it is? It’s not like grass that can be manipulated. How do you change the way turf plays? 

Watering! Also I am not sure if it can be done on the plastic depending on lines but I could see us widening the pitch if it is possible to give our speedy wingers even more space to burn the opponents!

Edited November 5, 2021 by gator

[Mattd97]

2 minutes ago, gator said:

Watering!

Canadians can skate, or at least run across an icy field 🤔

[Mattd97]

Just now, Mattd97 said:

Canadians can skate, or at least run across an icy field 🤔

Sorry Ike!

[rydermike]

For all the people saying why was player X called in over player Y, that really shouldn't be a debate. It shouldn't be one over another since we could call in more players. Could've had both. Saying X is better than Y in this aspect, meanwhile Y would be better than X in a different aspect. We had the space for both.  I know Herdman likes to try to play everyone, but you could give the player the option (Hey you might not play, but you'd be with team, practice, do you want that option). I'm sure some would jump at the chance to be called. Even just for extra bodies, for example games in Toronto could call up a guy like Okello to just be a practice body, see how the team is, since he's already there.

Edited November 5, 2021 by rydermike

[dyslexic nam]

10 minutes ago, gator said:

Watering! Also I am not sure if it can be done on the plastic depending on lines but I could see us widening the pitch if it is possible to give our speedy wingers even more space to burn the opponents!

I like the widening idea.   Maximize the sandbox in which guys like Davies, Buchanan and Laryea play would have to be a net gain for us - especially against an aging back line. 

[Corazon]

I get that Cavallini probably doesn't warrant a call up but I think you are going to see Herdman ride the majority of this group out through to the World Cup unless there are additions that can contribute right now.  Aside from Ugbo, Ferdi may be the only other one that warrants it.  95% of our roster is solidified for almost every camp.  Cavallini also brings in something that few others do which I can appreciate.

I think you will start to see more changes to the main core squad come 2023.  Given our depth up top, I would have to say Cavallini will start to be phased out.  Same goes for a player like Piette as younger midfielders emerge.  I would think that 2022 will be Vitoria's last year with us as well.  This is purely me speculating that he will be a month away from 36 after next years World Cup.

The January camp will be an exception where we might see some European based players called that we haven't seen.  And perhaps any friendlies next season, we might see some additions.  But it is quite clear over the past few matchdays that we have about 30 players currently in squad rotation with about 20 players solidified as "untouchable".  The remaining spots are given based on current form or if regulars are injured.

Edited November 5, 2021 by Corazon

[Shway]

13 minutes ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

Yeah, for me it's not a debate of Hoilett being in a best 23 but rather who comes out. So in that regard I was more curious as to which attacker you drop as opposed to a midfield player. I'd personally just rather have Millar or Cav (those are the two attackers that come to mind as options for me to drop) as an option off the bench as opposed to Wotherspoon or Piette. I do understand that Piette offers a skillset in the midfield that we don't have a lot of on the bench and that's pure defensive mindset in the centre of the park.

Cavallini when healthy offers something we don't have up top. 
David isn't a hold up player, and neither is Larin (although he can). 

I hope to see Cavallini against Mexico because I know hes going to bang, annoy the hell out of their backline leaving them susceptible. 

Millar plays in the wide position where we simply  have many guys who do better jobs...Davies, Buchanan, Laryea.
I've seen him enough, and I don't think anyone can say what he consistently brings to the CMNT. Everybody else in the attack you can. 

[Shway]

2 minutes ago, Corazon said:

I get that Cavallini probably doesn't warrant a call up but I think you are going to see Herdman ride the majority of this group out through to the World Cup unless there are additions that can contribute right now.  Aside from Ugbo, Ferdi may be the only other one that warrants it.  95% of our roster is solidified for almost every camp.

I think you will start to see more changes to the main core squad come 2023.  Given our depth up top, I would have to say Cavallini will start to be phased out.  Same goes for a player like Piette as younger midfielders emerge.  I would think that 2022 will be Vitoria's last year with us as well.  This is purely me speculating that he will be a month away from 36 after next years World Cup.

The January camp will be an exception where we might see some Europeans based players called that we haven't seen.  And perhaps any friendlies next season, we might see some additions.  But it is quite clear over the past few mathdays that we have about 30 players currently in squad rotation with about 20 players solidified as "untouchable"  The remaining spots are given based on current form or if regulars are injured.

I think it's 18 guys, here are their names:
Henry, Vitoria, Johnston, Laryea, Osorio, Eustaqiuo, Hutchinson, Davies, David, Larin, Buchanan, Miller, Borjan, Piette, Kaye, Hoilett, Cavallini, Adekugbe.  

[archer21]

30 minutes ago, Shway said:

Cavallini when healthy offers something we don't have up top. 
David isn't a hold up player, and neither is Larin (although he can). 

I hope to see Cavallini against Mexico because I know hes going to bang, annoy the hell out of their backline leaving them susceptible. 

Millar plays in the wide position where we simply  have many guys who do better jobs...Davies, Buchanan, Laryea.
I've seen him enough, and I don't think anyone can say what he consistently brings to the CMNT. Everybody else in the attack you can. 

Just so we’re clear, you don’t think Millar should be included?

[Corazon]

27 minutes ago, Shway said:

I think it's 18 guys, here are their names:
Henry, Vitoria, Johnston, Laryea, Osorio, Eustaqiuo, Hutchinson, Davies, David, Larin, Buchanan, Miller, Borjan, Piette, Kaye, Hoilett, Cavallini, Adekugbe.  

Yes, this is exactly what I had but I also included Crepeau as the 19th (assuming you missed that inclusion in your list).  I also included Ugbo, as I expect he will be involved in most camps going forward but I may be getting ahead of myself on that considering he has been with our program for 24 hours and yet to feature.

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by Corazon

[dyslexic nam]

I was going to write a long post about this (shocker) but it really comes down to the best guys for the job.  That can change over time.  Most of the guys being identified are likely to be among the best for quite a while - but very few are actually untouchable - especially if you narrow it more to a starting role.  

[Club Linesman]

Given our depth up top, I would have to say Cavallini will start to be phased out.  Same goes for a player like Piette as younger midfielders emerge. 
 

This is crazy!  In a good way. A few years ago I thought for sure that Cavillini would be with us for quite some time and I thought Piette would eventually be the all time caps leader.  Cav needs to perform or he most likely will be phased out and Piette is only getting sporadic playing time in his prime.  

[footballfreak]

1 hour ago, Stryker911 said:

So much for the Teibert debate.

I was one of the people championing Teibert, but I don’t think any of us was calling for his inclusion in a shortened 23-man squad when all the other central midfielders were healthy. Pretty sure most of us were saying he should be somewhere in the mix for a 25-28 man roster, and that assumed injuries. Somewhere in the Fraser range.

[Sal333]

59 minutes ago, rydermike said:

For all the people saying why was player X called in over player Y, that really shouldn't be a debate. It shouldn't be one over another since we could call in more players. Could've had both. Saying X is better than Y in this aspect, meanwhile Y would be better than X in a different aspect. We had the space for both.  I know Herdman likes to try to play everyone, but you could give the player the option (Hey you might not play, but you'd be with team, practice, do you want that option). I'm sure some would jump at the chance to be called. Even just for extra bodies, for example games in Toronto could call up a guy like Okello to just be a practice body, see how the team is, since he's already there.

You confused me. Are players X and Y dual nationals I didn't know about?

[footballfreak]

I keep seeing Cavallini’s hold-up play being brought up as a reason for his inclusion and it honestly kind of baffling to me as someone who watches him week in, week out with the Whitecaps. Just because he’s built thicc doesn’t mean he’s actually good at shielding the ball. The reality is he gets beaten to 50/50’s way more than he should, gets dispossessed fairly easily when he does get the ball, and his passing ability and decision making aren’t anything special.

He still has a role on this team, but to call him one of the untouchables when he is now 4th on the depth chart (at best) is a head scratcher.

 

[Bison44]

Phase out Cavallini??  Because his club doesnt know how to use him to his advantage, hasnt been 100% healthy and he is on a rough patch.  Were you the same guys saying Larin should be phased out when he was finding his feet at Besitkas??  The guy is still quality.  I cant believe I have to mention again we were playing Brym recently.  How can a poor form Cav not be better than Brym??  If IKE pans out, AYO is healthy and we magically conjour up 2 more strikers of that quality..MAYBE..we can afford to disregard Cav.  

[spitfire]

 

Great squad with lots of depth. Liam is happy and proud just for the call up and to be included in this group of players.. history in the making… excited  

I think once he gets one and takes the pressure off of himself things will flow… outside of the missed opportunity versus Jamaica I thought he had a great game… anyways wasted breath I’m sure…

Go Canada Go!! 

[Bison44]

Has Liam come across anyone in his travels that had a long lost CDN grannie...preferably a CB??  Asking for a friend......

[footballfreak]

34 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Phase out Cavallini??  Because his club doesnt know how to use him to his advantage, hasnt been 100% healthy and he is on a rough patch.  Were you the same guys saying Larin should be phased out when he was finding his feet at Besitkas??  The guy is still quality.  I cant believe I have to mention again we were playing Brym recently.  How can a poor form Cav not be better than Brym??  If IKE pans out, AYO is healthy and we magically conjour up 2 more strikers of that quality..MAYBE..we can afford to disregard Cav.  

The phasing him out talk is nonsense of course. We don’t have the depth at striker to close the door on him. However, his inclusion on a shortened 23-man roster should not be anything close to a given right now.

He’s currently playing at or below MLS replacement level since his injury, and he’s not being used because frankly he hasn’t been very useful. He looks a step behind every time he’s brought on - even if it’s only for 5 minutes. The team is playing as well as any team in MLS (10W-9D-2L over the last 21 games), and our second highest paid player can’t find a way to contribute. That’s not a Whitecaps problem. That’s a Cav problem. 

Whether that’s due to fitness, or form, or anything else, he’s not playing like our fourth best option right now and I shudder to think of him being subbed in if we need a goal against Costa Rica or Mexico.

 

[rydermike]

1 hour ago, Sal333 said:

You confused me. Are players X and Y dual nationals I didn't know about?

I was talking about people saying for example why was Millar called over Ennin or why not ZBG for Cavallini for example. Had space for all those guys, so we don't need to "pit our own players against each other" and complain

[Obinna]

56 minutes ago, spitfire said:

 

Great squad with lots of depth. Liam is happy and proud just for the call up and to be included in this group of players.. history in the making… excited  

I think once he gets one and takes the pressure off of himself things will flow… outside of the missed opportunity versus Jamaica I thought he had a great game… anyways wasted breath I’m sure…

Go Canada Go!! 

Seems to be what's happened for him at club level. Only a matter of time before we see it with the national team. 

[Miche]

Interesting that Herdman (correctly) specifically mentions how David and Larin both come to receive the ball and so we miss stretching the line, and therefore Ike will be useful there.

 

I think we start with David and Larin, but Ike might play a bigger role this window than just late work against tired legs.

[Cblake]

The buzz really is building in Edmonton, Phonzie had a media availability yesterday, John had his today with the roster announcement. The media coverage is building, it can only help get these two games towards a sellout and I am sure their home town son has landed the interest will only explode. Man Phonzie is something special. Can't wait !!

https://edmontonsun.com/sports/soccer/van-diest-alphonso-davies-looking-forward-to-edmonton-homecoming/wcm/30f2f2af-9c4d-4606-b9aa-56b33d19c537

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/canada-gets-reinforcements-for-crucial-world-cup-qualifying-games-in-edmonton-1.5654351

This

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, Shway said:

I would accept this from anyone but you...it's actually hilariously that YOU would have the audacity to say this lol.
Completely voided all possible logic in that post. 

But anyways this topic has become mundane, and past the point of opinion it seems.

Like always, I hope when Liam gets his chance to score - he will!

 @Shway

I never slag Canadian players, but let's at least help you make most quoted poster of the day. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

3 hours ago, Shway said:

I think it's 18 guys, here are their names:
Henry, Vitoria, Johnston, Laryea, Osorio, Eustaqiuo, Hutchinson, Davies, David, Larin, Buchanan, Miller, Borjan, Piette, Kaye, Hoilett, Cavallini, Adekugbe.  

One keeper, nice try though. @Shway thinks we should take one keeper to the WC and not the one who drew the #9 team in the world away. Sheesh.