WCQ: Canada vs Costa Rica - Friday, Nov 12, 9pm EST / 6pm Pacific - Edmonton

[Free kick]

9 minutes ago, footballfreak said:

This is gonna hurt me to type this, but should the USA game be at BMO? BC Place is nowhere near as bad as Commonwealth, but it’s yet another new venue to get used to. A lot of home advantage comes from familiarity.

Toronto and Vancouver stand apart in Canada as far as preparing and getting it right for these kind of events. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by Free kick

[Big_M]

Nope Laryea's good for mexico

[ag futbol]

10 minutes ago, footballfreak said:

This is gonna hurt me to type this, but should the USA game be at BMO? BC Place is nowhere near as bad as Commonwealth, but it’s yet another new venue to get used to. A lot of home advantage comes from familiarity.

I would say so yes. Play Jamaica in BC, US in Toronto. 
 

Best way to give our team access to decent surfaces and good home fans 

[Free kick]

9 minutes ago, narduch said:

But Herdman bragged about talking to the grounds crew way ahead of the game.

Looks like the CSA pushed using this stadium despite it not being optimal 

Yes, i suspect that that is exactly what happened.   I highly doubt that the players want to play on that surface. 

[Bison44]

8 minutes ago, footballfreak said:

This is gonna hurt me to type this, but should the USA game be at BMO? BC Place is nowhere near as bad as Commonwealth, but it’s yet another new venue to get used to. A lot of home advantage comes from familiarity.

Part of making it to Qatar is learning to win even on bad pitchs.  How often have we had to play on converted cricket grounds or other such cow pastures all over CONCACAF??  You have a shitty pitch, narrow pitch, hard turf, cold turf...adjust your game plan, adjust your starting lineup and learn to get the most of any game and win anywhere.  And lets play the long game eh??  Play some games outside of TO if you want to grow the game, get more attention, sponsors etc.  

[apbsmith]

14 minutes ago, narduch said:

 

Looks like the CSA pushed using this stadium despite it not being optimal 

Then prolly get fined a solid amount of francs, was it 3 or 4 pitch invaders? 

[Corazon]

I did not see the interview but my father just messaged me to tell me that Sports Centre held an interview with a commentator from Edmonton that said that the players deserve to play on a better playing surface like Toronto and Vancouver. And that the desire to play in front of more fans should not have driven the decision making.

My American & Mexican friends from USA have been making fun of the pitch all night.  Turf was terrible, football lines unprofessional, way too narrow.  

But... what a crowd Edmonton put together and we pulled it off thanks to a bit of luck.  We were the better team anyways.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Corazon

[Kadenge]

Awful pitch but what a crowd!!! Lots of Canada hockey sweaters in the stands but they were red 😊. Great to see the city of Edmonton with massive support for the CMNT and shout out to all the Vs at the game.

[SpursFlu]

It was mentioned in the broadcast that Costa Rica filed a complaint regarding the surface and as a result games cannot be played on turf again 

Before people think the Jan won't be at BC Place. This is likely why BC Place is replacing its turf in January 

[narduch]

4 minutes ago, Corazon said:

I did not see the interview but my father just messaged me to tell me that Sports Centre held an interview with a commentator from Edmonton that said that the players deserve to play on a better playing surface like Toronto and Vancouver. And that the desire to play in front of more fans should not have driven the decision making.

My American & Mexican friends from USA have been making fun of the pitch all night.  Turf was terrible, football lines unprofessional, way too narrow.  

But... what a crowd Edmonton put together and we pulled it off thanks to a bit of luck.  We were the better team anyways.

Did Caldwell call it a massive mistake?

[zeelaw]

SIGN ME UP FOR THE PARTY WOOOOOOO

[Corazon]

2 minutes ago, narduch said:

Did Caldwell call it a massive mistake?

I'm not sure.  My father isn't s die hard fan so he couldn't tell me who the commentator was but he did say it was someone British who made the comment so very well could be.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Corazon

[Free kick]

2 hours ago, Corazon said:

Missed the interview but was told by my father that from one of the Sports Centre there was a commentator from Edmonton that said that the players deserve to play on a better playing surface like Toronto and Vancouver. And that the desire to play in front of more fans should not have driven the decision making.

The playing in front of more fans angle is total BS..  i listened in on some stuff coming out of Edmonton thiw week and lets just say,  they went all out and pulled no punches to make sure that that place was sold out.   The local media outlets we hyping the crap out of this thing and almost threatening people to attend.  Ok, i am using hyperbole but you get my point.  They must have given away tickets.  Lets not forget, that the Fifa inspection was occurring for the host cities for 2026.  So thats another reason to pull no punches to fill the seats. 
 

You had nothing like that kind of hype in Toronto.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Free kick

[SpursFlu]

2 minutes ago, narduch said:

Did Caldwell call it a massive mistake?

No it was James Sharman. He said the CSA probably won't want to hear it but playing on that surface was a mistake. I'm saying, no comment. Lets just keep it moving 

Edited November 13, 2021 by SpursFlu

[gator]

29 minutes ago, Grandbloke said:

Why was that field not made to be 75 yards wide? A CFL field is 65 yards wide and you could see the CFL sidelines. The field  was at most 2 yards wider on each side, so not more than 69 yards in overall width. And yet there appears to be plenty of room on that turf to make the field a full 75 yards wide.

That's what I thought would happen after Herdman's now famous session with the groundskeeper, I don't know why you would really need a groundskeeper for a plastic pitch!

[narduch]

Just now, Corazon said:

I'm not sure.  My father isn't s die hard fan so he couldn't tell me who it was but he did say it was someone British who made the comment so very well could be.

I know Wileman and Caldwell were reporting from the stadium

[toontownman]

2 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

It was mentioned in the broadcast that Costa Rica filed a complaint regarding the surface and as a result games cannot be played on turf again 

Before people think the Jan won't be at BC Place. This is likely why BC Place is replacing its turf in January 

I thought they said the Costa Rica manager was going to file a complaint demanding that games should never be played on turf again. 

 

[SkuseisLoose]

Idk if anyone else has posted this but I was about 15 rows up from the front and I couldn’t hear the guy with the loudspeaker at all. Was there a problem with it or something or is my hearing just bad. Entertaining game overall can’t wait for Mexico.

[urdiub]

Just now, SkuseisLoose said:

Idk if anyone else has posted this but I was about 15 rows up from the front and I couldn’t hear the guy with the loudspeaker at all. Was there a problem with it or something or is my hearing just bad. Entertaining game overall can’t wait for Mexico.

Agreed, I was in row 25 in O, two different chants going on at the same time. Don't think Commonwealth is designed with acoustics in mind 😄

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

6 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Ok, i am using hyperbole but you get my point.  They must have given away tickets.

The price point for tickets was lower than in Toronto but people in the GTA are accustomed to overpaying for things.

[gator]

As bad as the pitch played and looked if we come out of Tuesday with 3 points in ugly conditions I will be thrilled so I won't cast judgement on the wisdom of playing the matches in Commonwealth until then!

[The Beaver 2.0]

1 hour ago, Dominic94 said:

So Panama got a miracle fuck

Not a fan of the surface or the width. And, yet, Mexico will want the ball on the ground, will want a lot of possession, and will not enjoy the cold. Our real advantage Tuesday--along with the amazing crowd--will be that we've had a lot more experience playing on this crappy turf and will be able to adapt more readily. It is going to be another scrappy battle.

Edited November 13, 2021 by The Beaver 2.0

[Approve My Account Pls]

2 minutes ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

Not a fan of the surface or the width. And, yet, Mexico will want the ball on the ground, will want a lot of possession, and will not enjoy the cold. Our real advantage Tuesday--along with the amazing crowd--will be that we've had a lot more experience playing on this crappy turf and will be able to adapt more readily. It is going to be another scrappy battle.

I think there's something to this. Aside from that one horrid pass by Atiba towards the end, the boys seemed to settle in and learn the flow of the pitch by the second half

[Free kick]

9 minutes ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

Not a fan of the surface or the width. And, yet, Mexico will want the ball on the ground, will want a lot of possession, and will not enjoy the cold. Our real advantage Tuesday--along with the amazing crowd--will be that we've had a lot more experience playing on this crappy turf and will be able to adapt more readily. It is going to be another scrappy battle.

Problem is that players like Davies and TB are superb at having control while at full speed.   Thats what makes them amazing.  And several other of our players are good dribblers.   They can not do that on that surface.   Plus the high bounces were letting opposing defenders get back in position.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Free kick

[prairiecanuck]

17 minutes ago, Free kick said:

The playing in front of more fans angle is total BS..  i listened in on some stuff comming out of Edmonton thiw week and lets just say,  they they went all out and pulled no punches to make sure that that place was sold out.   The local media outlets we hyping the crap out of this thing and almost threatening people to attend.  Ok, i am using hyperbole but you get my point.  They must have given away tickets.  Let forget, that the Fifa inspection was occurring for the host cities for 2026.  So thats another reason to pull no punches to fill the seats. 
 

You had nothing like that kind of hype in Toronto.

They must have given away tickets, because there's no way a place like Edmonton could sell that many tickets?  Maybe they did hype the crap out of it and people just bought tickets and decided to come.  Sure there were some comps for youth football, but 99% of tickets were paid for.