CNL: Group Stage - Window 1 (June 9th-14th, 2022)

[Cblake]

4 hours ago, Obinna said:

This may have been discussed elsewhere, but I wonder if we also play Albania out east, possibly Montreal (if not Toronto)?

Albania has two Nation's League matches in June, on the 6th at Iceland and the 10th vs. Israel. 

[narduch]

8 minutes ago, Cblake said:

Albania has two Nation's League matches in June, on the 6th at Iceland and the 10th vs. Israel. 

Easy flight from Toronto to Iceland

[Unnamed Trialist]

We are going to play 3 games in this window, and thank you. 

I personally don't mind playing less friendlies, if you can have a longer camp and train more. Training is important too, and in the WCQ campaign we rarely could. 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Cblake said:

Albania has two Nation's League matches in June, on the 6th at Iceland and the 10th vs. Israel. 

Seems unlikely in that case, though travelling all the way to Canada to play a single friendly against Iran seems odd unless they are going to play Canada while they are at it. Is there any time to sneak a friendly in against us, I wonder? 

As @narduchsays, should be easy enough to fly to Iceland from Toronto, maybe from Montreal also?

[Cblake]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

Seems unlikely in that case, though travelling all the way to Canada to play a single friendly against Iran seems odd unless they are going to play Canada while they are at it. Is there any time to sneak a friendly in against us, I wonder? 

As @narduchsays, should be easy enough to fly to Iceland from Toronto, maybe from Montreal also?

It’s is a very easy direct flight to Iceland from Toronto. Could they play one game outside the widow a few days earlier in late May. Most Euro based players are done th e weekend before club wise?

[Yoginess]

so.. is there going to be a voyageurs section for the home match?

[N1ckbr0wn]

12 hours ago, Cblake said:

There is no excuses to not pack BC Place, this is about supporting Canada not the opponent whomever they may thus Curacao this time around. Vancouver should be buying tickets regardless, its about the badge not what players take the pitch. 

Yes… 3 weeks to sell 27,000-60,000 tickets against a mostly unknown opponent, in a mostly unknown tournament, where there’s a high chance we see a rotated squad. What could go wrong 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

i will be there though and I’m bringing as many people as I can 

[SpursFlu]

When I worked in marketing we use to say in 5 years Toronto will come tell you what you're telling them right now like they're telling you something for the first time. 

Don't worry guys, you don't need to put any pressure on us. I'm sure the game will be well attended.. yes we know Alphonso Davies is a star. We have heard of him before. Hopefully there aren't any Raptors pre season games on the night or maybe a Drake live that might cut in to the attendance 

[Approve My Account Pls]

11 minutes ago, N1ckbr0wn said:

Yes… 3 weeks to sell 27,000-60,000 tickets against a mostly unknown opponent, in a mostly unknown tournament, where there’s a high chance we see a rotated squad. What could go wrong 🤷🏻‍♂️ 

i will be there though and I’m bringing as many people as I can 

Yeah, it could be any venue in Canada and I'd be skeptical about a sell out for this one. That's not even with you including the fact that the CSA might be too busy seeing dollar signs and over price this game as well. 

[JamboAl]

56 minutes ago, Yoginess said:

so.. is there going to be a voyageurs section for the home match?

Yes there will.  It is being worked on but details to come out once they are known (incl. pricing).  But it will be very soon.

[johnyb]

14 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

Anyone planning on using a comparatively small crowd for Curacao in a competition most have never heard of as a pretext to argue that the west coast doesn't 'deserve' to host future games can fuck right off.

Fine, but then the same holds true if the attendance is great!

[Unnamed Trialist]

If Davies confirms, which he should having missed the last two windows, sales will be buoyant in Vancouver. 

Another factor is that people still have income they haven't spent on other leisure and travel due to the pandemic. 

[RS]

5 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

When I worked in marketing we use to say in 5 years Toronto will come tell you what you're telling them right now like they're telling you something for the first time. 

Don't worry guys, you don't need to put any pressure on us. I'm sure the game will be well attended.. yes we know Alphonso Davies is a star. We have heard of him before. Hopefully there aren't any Raptors pre season games on the night or maybe a Drake live that might cut in to the attendance 

Attendance in Toronto has been fine in the BMO Field era despite your lame attempts at sarcasm. I'm sure attendance in Vancouver will be fine as well.

No one will care if a match against Curacao isn't sold out.

[SthMelbRed]

47 minutes ago, RS said:

Attendance in Toronto has been fine in the BMO Field era despite your lame attempts at sarcasm. I'm sure attendance in Vancouver will be fine as well.

No one will care if a match against Curacao isn't sold out.

Another guy a few posts above just essentially said that if the match doesn't sell out, Vancouver shouldn't get to see the CMNT anymore.

This game will sell well, but is very unlikely to sell out. There's not a city in the country that would sell 55k tickets for Curacao in the Nations League. A crowd of 20k+, possibly a lower-bowl sell-out, are realistic targets, though.

[RS]

10 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

Another guy a few posts above just essentially said that if the match doesn't sell out, Vancouver shouldn't get to see the CMNT anymore.

I'm suggesting that those opinions are an extreme minority.

[Obinna]

17 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

Another guy a few posts above just essentially said that if the match doesn't sell out, Vancouver shouldn't get to see the CMNT anymore.

This game will sell well, but is very unlikely to sell out. There's not a city in the country that would sell 55k tickets for Curacao in the Nations League. A crowd of 20k+, possibly a lower-bowl sell-out, are realistic targets, though.

Don't sweat it. Most of the Toronto posters are far less biased than him. If you go back through the various NL and June window threads, you'll see he was always pretty bearish on Vancouver hosting a June game in general, and was very pro Toronto, even when I made a good case for Vancouver.

Perhaps just a bit of salt from Toronto not getting the match?

And on that note, not to worry @Cblake, I am sure Toronto gets the Iran match!

 

[Ally McCoist]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Another factor is that people still have income they haven't spent on other leisure and travel due to the pandemic. 

False. Inflation is a motherfucker.

[Shway]

3 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

Another guy a few posts above just essentially said that if the match doesn't sell out, Vancouver shouldn't get to see the CMNT anymore.

This game will sell well, but is very unlikely to sell out. There's not a city in the country that would sell 55k tickets for Curacao in the Nations League. A crowd of 20k+, possibly a lower-bowl sell-out, are realistic targets, though.

Wait...who said THAT.
I was looking to see what poster said this and I can't find it. Did they edit it?

Sounds like something my son would say when I tell him "thats enough candy for the night" and he cries to his mom and says "my daddy said I can't have candy for the rest of my life"

Edited May 12, 2022 by Shway

[Unnamed Trialist]

6 hours ago, Ally McCoist said:

False. Inflation is a motherfucker.

No, true actually. 

If inflation has eaten up what families didn't spend skiing or traveling these last two years then they're idiots. 

[Bison44]

8 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

No, true actually. 

If inflation has eaten up what families didn't spend skiing or traveling these last two years then they're idiots. 

Cripes, what ivory tower are you living in?? Plenty of people didnt spend their money on skiing and travelling before the pandemic.  And inflation is no joke to even middle income families...they arent idiots for feeling the pinch.  

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, Bison44 said:

Cripes, what ivory tower are you living in?? Plenty of people didnt spend their money on skiing and travelling before the pandemic.  And inflation is no joke to even middle income families...they arent idiots for feeling the pinch.  

First, it is true that many Canadians lost income during the pandemic, and had to dig into savings. Debt increased for many as Covid aid programmes did not compensate business closures in certain sectors. More Canadians reported higher financial stress, higher degress of uncertainty, or that they are less optimistic about their financial future. So you are right overall and I was wrong to generalise that way.

Inflation is not the reason, however. In 2021 Canadian inflation was just over 3%; it is showing higher now, pushing 7% I believe, but we have only had a few months like that, not even a quarter yet. Most people in middle incomes do the reasonable thing: spend less in discretionary areas to adjust to inflation that affects non-discretional expenditures. At least at the very start of an inflationary cycle.

Apart from inflation it is true, statistically, that there was a large percentage, a significant minority across all classes above poverty, who did not lose income and increased savings because of limitations on spending. Including related to conspicuous leisure like travel and sport. 

That is mitigated by another factor: as stats have shown recently, the percentage of higher income Canadians who are supporters of the national team is higher than the percentage of lower income Canadians. As per that recent report linked to on another thread. 

We have also seen that because the World Cup qualification is unprecedented, interest in the NT is higher than ever and fans are willing to spend on following and supporting the national team. This was clear in home games played when Covid restrictions were still in place, where all tickets available sold faster than ever. It was radically evident amongst both regulars and newbies on this board.

We are also going to see an unprecendented Canadian fan contingent in Qatar, even when Canadian travel is amongst the most expensive of any participating nation (Japan is a bit cheaper, South America more expensive, for example). Overall economic weakness related to Covid will not impede those interested in travelling from going (I am not going for reason of financial priorities, I prefer to reserve money to travel to see family in Canada or help my son's education).

You can't argue that Covid was a cause for poor ticket sales at Canada games during the qualifying campaign: it wasn't. While exhorbitant pricing for the Curaçao game may cut into ticket sales, medium to high pricing probably would not, as there is still a high enough % of fans in BC willing to pay to see Canada play.

If the NT ensures Davies, that should be enough, even with what is obviously an unattractive opponent with no identifiable players. 

But I can accept that generalising about available income was not accurate, as overall Canadians have come out of the pandemic weaker financially.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[Ally McCoist]

14 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

First, it is true that many Canadians lost income during the pandemic, and had to dig into savings. Debt increased for many as Covid aid programmes did not compensate business closures in certain sectors. More Canadians reported higher financial stress, higher degress of uncertainty, or that they are less optimistic about their financial future. So you are right overall and I was wrong to generalise that way.

It is also true, statistically, that there was a large percentage, a significant minority across all classes, who did not lose income and increased savings because of limitations on spending. Including related to conspicuous leisure like travel and sport. 

That is mitigated by another factor: as stats have shown recently, the percentage of higher income Canadians who are supporters of the national team is higher than the percentage of lower income Canadians. As per that recent report linked to on another thread. 

We have also seen that because the World Cup qualification is unprecedented, interest in the NT is higher than ever and fans are willing to spend on following and supporting the national team. This was clear in home games played when Covid restrictions were still in place, where all tickets available sold faster than ever.

We are also going to see an unprecendented Canadian fan contingent in Qatar, even when Canadian travel is amongst the most expensive of any participating nation (Japan is cheaper, South America more expensive, for example). Overall economic weakness related to Covid will not impede those interested in travelling from going (I am not going for reason of financial priorities, I prefer to reserve money to travel to see family in Canada or help my son's education).

You can't argue that Covid was a cause for poor ticket sales at Canada games during the qualifying campaign: it wasn't. While exhorbitant pricing for the Curaçao game may cut into ticket sales, medium to high pricing probably would not, as there is still a high enough % of fans in BC willing to pay to see Canada play.

If the NT ensures Davies, that should be enough, even with what is obviously an unattractive opponent with no identifiable players. 

But I can accept that generalising about available income was not accurate, as overall Canadians have come out of the pandemic weaker financially.

I wanted to see how much a harmless little comment could derail the discussion. You fell right into my bait 🤣🤣.

[Unnamed Trialist]

30 minutes ago, Ally McCoist said:

I wanted to see how much a harmless little comment could derail the discussion. You fell right into my bait 🤣🤣.

You are such a tricky one, touché.

[Atlantic]

35-man preliminary rosters were submitted today. To my knowledge they will not be made public but I guess leaks can always happen. 

[narduch]

Looks like countries are starting to release their Nations League rosters. 

That means Canada's should be out in a few weeks.