CNL Play-In for Copa America: Canada vs Trinidad & Tobago - Saturday, March 23, 2024 - Frisco (greater Dallas), Texas

[Bigandy]

2 minutes ago, yomurphy1 said:

Levi Garcia is a baller. 

He sure seems that way from my research. worth 15mill at one point. A goal a game this season. maybe its closer to nelson or millar, cornelius, spoony. 

[costarg]

17 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

or luke singh

They're obviously concerned about their real allegiance.

[Alex]

They have called their entire starting 11 from when they beat the US. 
 

it was :

Denzil Smith; Andre Raymond, Justin Garcia, Aubrey David, Alvin Jones, Shannon Gomez; Real Gill, Daniel Phillips, Andre Rampersad; Reon Moore, Nathaniel James

 

[Bigandy]

31 minutes ago, yomurphy1 said:

Levi Garcia is a baller. 

Any idea why levi garcia didnt start vs the USA? Seems like a no brainer if he was fit. 

[Metro]

34 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

On paper, a young daniel phillips is arguably there best player with the garcia brothers in the mix as well. 

Kinda feels like if spoony, Cornelius and Zator being our best players. 

Judah has never dressed for AEK's senior team that I am aware of.  He plays for AEK B in Super League 2.

Levi is their best player IMHO.

[Metro]

4 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

Any idea why levi garcia didnt start vs the USA? Seems like a no brainer if he was fit. 

He was probably injured.  He missed a lot of time during the 1st half of the season.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, king1010 said:

No Ryan Telfer or Malcolm Shaw, both born in Canada. 

Good..... Telfer can't come back to haunt us now

[Obinna]

40 minutes ago, Metro said:

He was probably injured.  He missed a lot of time during the 1st half of the season.

Yup he was injured.

[Obinna]

When T&T played vs the USA in Austin, they made the Americans fans really sweat up until the 80th minute or so. The Yanks were incapable of breaking down their bunker and it took Pepi getting is foot onto a cross to break the deadlock, at which point the floodgates opened.

So, will we have the same problem? Are we better than the states in that regard?

For context, the USA were missing Pulisic and Weah...

Here's what I think:

They call it Berhalter ball for a reason. As much as they've had some learnings, I think they still struggle more to break teams down more than they ought to. We went toe-to-toe in the NL final and they punished us in transition on the 2nd goal, real quality. The first was goal was a set piece, it happens. Had we sat in a low block, it would have been a different story. I don't think they have what it takes to break that down. They move the ball side to side far too slowly.

Are we better though? I am not sure we are. Like the USA, I think we will need to convert on a cross or a mistake from them. 

This is where Larin can help us. He is great in the air and redirecting crosses. David is good at the latter. Balogun by comparison is not great at either. He's good at a lot of things, but not those.

IF David and Larin fail, we have two red hot strikers who have been scoring those kind of goals in Ugbo and Bair.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Bigandy said:

He sure seems that way from my research. worth 15mill at one point. A goal a game this season. maybe its closer to nelson or millar, cornelius, spoony. 

I think Garcia is probably closer to Leon Bailey than Jayden Nelson, just given the sheer amount of goals he's scored for AEK Athens, who are top dogs in Greece now a days, if I am not mistaken. 

If Nelson pans out to be where Garcia is now, I will be very happy. He can get there.

Liam Millar is a hard comparison for me. Maybe the raw talent is similar, but Millar hasn't (yet) proven to be a consistent goal scorer. Garcia has been on fire 

I think Garcia is probably the same threat level as an in-form Sheraldo Becker. 

[costarg]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

They call it Berhalter ball for a reason. As much as they've had some learnings, I think they still struggle more to break teams down more than they ought to.

You're absolutely right.  Berhalter implements a system based solely on his knowledge of the game, regardless of his roster.  There is no adapting to games or opponents.  This is really holding the US back.  Another coach could really unleash something special for CONCACAF, even if I don't really wanna see our neighbours take that next step.

[CanadaFan123]

2 hours ago, Metro said:

Judah has never dressed for AEK's senior team that I am aware of.  He plays for AEK B in Super League 2.

Levi is their best player IMHO.

He is and it’s not even close. I’d say every player on their squad save for 2 guys (Garcia and Phillips) are at or below CPL level. 

[Treppy2]

Here's another welcome change: When was the last time Canada released its roster before an opponent did? Seems like we were always the very last team to release its roster ahead of an international window, especially during WCQ.

This new approach gives everyone here a few extra days to criticize inclusions, exclusions, potential formations, tactics, whether bagged milk is good, etc. Keeps all of us happy!

[Kadenge]

I want us to start like Liverpool today with a relentless press and be up 3-0 in 10 mins

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

3 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

I want us to start like Liverpool today with a relentless press and be up 3-0 in 10 mins

We have a lot of the parts, just need stability in the spine of the team.

[FC_Hali]

Feeling oddly relaxed about this game. Maybe it’s because it’s on a neutral venue which *should* provide near perfect playing conditions, or perhaps because our European based players are in mid-to-late season form. Let’s face it, if we can’t beat this side, comfortably, we simply don’t deserve to play on the big stage. Famous last worlds I guess!

[cornerkick]

7 hours ago, yomurphy1 said:

Levi Garcia is a baller. 

Scored a nice goal recently

 

Edited March 14 by cornerkick

[costarg]

10 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

It still has zero relationship to blowing a lead and totally ignores that Borjan gets us to the World Cup. With Crepeau, who also is solid. Neither make any major error on the way to the WC. 

It also ignores that he won for years in Serbia, and is winning in Slovakia. 

Also ignores that Davies blew a penalty vs. Belgium and Eustaquio coughed up an easy ball in front of the box and left him stranded. Or that the worst error of Borjan in Qatar was when we were already eliminated. Davies has had more substandard games with Canada than Borjan. 

For me it is just a feeding frenzy and I find it immature and disloyal as a fan. I get irate with players in the moment, even for dumb details, but I believe you have to take a step back and not go for blood in a way that just betrays immaturity as fans.

It's not disloyal or immature.  Bigger and younger players have walked away from international duty. It's just pro sports.  Borjan is on a stacked team in a league that offers no competition.  

What the hell does any of this have to do with Davies and Stache?  Who mentioned anything about the WC?  Lots of mistakes were made, Borjan is not the scapegoat for that, no one said he was.  

I don't even understand your point?  We owe him unconditional invites for how long?  He's 36 and no longer our best all round keeper.  Borjan blunders more than Crepeau and Sirois put together and they both play against better competition week and in out.  Most of the Slovakian league outside of Borjan's team is rated below MLS. 

I know nostalgia is fun, but we need to accept reality.  I love the character, passion and what he did for us, yet. no coach in his right mind would have called him based on form and the Jamaica stunt.  Let's be honest, I literally shit my pants every time someone passes back to him, and I know for a fact I'm not the only one.  That never happens with Crepeau and Sirois,

[SthMelbRed]

7 hours ago, cornerkick said:

Scored a nice goal recently

 

Taking nothing away from the finishing, but he may as well be playing against a Voyageurs' XI, looking at that defending. Also, is there a single fan in that stadium?

[DeRo_Is_King]

5 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

Taking nothing away from the finishing, but he may as well be playing against a Voyageurs' XI, looking at that defending. Also, is there a single fan in that stadium?

I still wouldn't underestimate an opponent, but this is a hilarious post.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

11 hours ago, costarg said:

It's not disloyal or immature.  Bigger and younger players have walked away from international duty. It's just pro sports.  Borjan is on a stacked team in a league that offers no competition.  

What the hell does any of this have to do with Davies and Stache?  Who mentioned anything about the WC?  Lots of mistakes were made, Borjan is not the scapegoat for that, no one said he was.  

I don't even understand your point?  We owe him unconditional invites for how long?  He's 36 and no longer our best all round keeper.  Borjan blunders more than Crepeau and Sirois put together and they both play against better competition week and in out.  Most of the Slovakian league outside of Borjan's team is rated below MLS. 

I know nostalgia is fun, but we need to accept reality.  I love the character, passion and what he did for us, yet. no coach in his right mind would have called him based on form and the Jamaica stunt.  Let's be honest, I literally shit my pants every time someone passes back to him, and I know for a fact I'm not the only one.  That never happens with Crepeau and Sirois,

I will add that if we are completely discounting his juggling or "bulletin board" stuff in general, we probably should do the same for fans on match days.  Players regularly say both affect them and drive them forward.  Sport psychology is a pretty big business. 

 

PS on the highlighted bit: Remind me to turn down any invites to watch a Canada games with you. 😉.

Edited March 15 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[Obinna]

15 hours ago, cornerkick said:

Scored a nice goal recently

 

Man I hope we aren't sleeping on this guy. He can be a real problem. 

[Obinna]

Was thinking of the starting 11 this morning and want to toss something out there....

Not saying I think we see this, but I do want to talk about the merits of it....

Now....the back 6 kind of picks itself....and I am not looking to debate that specifically....even though you could change a few things.....like maybe Cornelius for Miller....or Waterman for Cornelius....maybe even Bombito for Johnston.

What I want to talk about here is David at the 10 and Ugbo up front. My thinking here is that we need to get David on the ball more often in general. I believe this team will thrive with David floating around and getting as many touches as possible. I feel that David can sometimes get isolated up top, especially in big games. I am not so concerned for this game specifically, as we should have control for the most part, but moving forward and especially against top teams, I think putting David on the ball will help us gain control. And might as well start that now.

The second part is getting Ugbo on the field. He is a goal machine right now in the Championship. It's great him (and Bair) are called and I expect both will be on the bench itching to get into the match, but why not start him? We still have a hot striker in Bair we could use as a weapon from the bench. We also have two guys in him and Larin who can get onto crosses. And it allows David to drop back a bit to get involved. 

[dyslexic nam]

The issue with this is that both Staq and Kone started as defensive-ish mids but now both tend to be more attack minded.  There is no true CDM in that formation. Plus both Davies and Buchanan love to join the attack.  I think this formation is our entry into the idea that we exchange haymakers and just rely on finding the back of the net more than they do.   Which I think would probably happen - but not sure it’s how I want to approach the game.  This group looks solid on paper, but in reality it sort of proposes playing 3 strikers, 2 wingers, and 2 attacking mids.   While 4 of those players could be assigned defensive duties, it is sort of like the extreme version of skipping leg-day.   

Edited March 15 by dyslexic nam

[CanadaFan123]

11 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Was thinking of the starting 11 this morning and want to toss something out there....

Not saying I think we see this, but I do want to talk about the merits of it....

Now....the back 6 kind of picks itself....and I am not looking to debate that specifically....even though you could change a few things.....like maybe Cornelius for Miller....or Waterman for Cornelius....maybe even Bombito for Johnston.

What I want to talk about here is David at the 10 and Ugbo up front. My thinking here is that we need to get David on the ball more often in general. I believe this team will thrive with David floating around and getting as many touches as possible. I feel that David can sometimes get isolated up top, especially in big games. I am not so concerned for this game specifically, as we should have control for the most part, but moving forward and especially against top teams, I think putting David on the ball will help us gain control. And might as well start that now.

The second part is getting Ugbo on the field. He is a goal machine right now in the Championship. It's great him (and Bair) are called and I expect both will be on the bench itching to get into the match, but why not start him? We still have a hot striker in Bair we could use as a weapon from the bench. We also have two guys in him and Larin who can get onto crosses. And it allows David to drop back a bit to get involved. 

Are we really going to start Click to edit in a big match like this though? I get that the Dutch are looking at him too but I think we need to go with experience.