Summing Up: 8 matches in the Marsch Era

[Unnamed Trialist]

Let's have a thread to step back and make some general assessments. Any ratings, conclusions, views on Marsch, player ratings, biggest surprises, disappointments?

Marsch was hired about 11 weeks ago and we went into our first camp on June 3 in Rotterdam.

We've played 2 friendlies and 6 official matches in Copa America, the maximum, in less than 40 days, about a game every 5 days.

In two continents, and in Rotterdam, Bordeaux, Atlanta, Kansas City, Orlando, Arlington, New York, Charlotte, 8 flights (really more as no players went directly from Bordeaux to Atlanta)..

And against teams that are all ahead of us in FIFA rankings, in none of which were we favoured, always the underdog. Including the no 1 (twice), no 2 France, the Dutch, all three at least semi finalists in their continental tournaments. Then Uruguay who are 14th, and three teams in the 30-50 FIFA range. 

We won 1 in regular time, drew 4 in regular time, lost 3 in regular time, twice the World Champion. One draw came out as a win in penalties, another was a loss. If it were a league it'd be 7 points of 24, not great. 

We scored four and gave up 11. In official competition it was 4 and 7. 

We made 6 million US in appearance and prize money, plus the appearance fees for both friendlies. 

We also had Canada supporter sections in each stadium, had specific ticketing for Voyageurs in all matches, and has a travelling support that was modest, dedicated and at times vociferous. 

So what are the general thoughts, player ratings, ups and downs, views on Marsch, looking forward?

Edited July 14 by Unnamed Trialist

[jhoops__]

That was a real grind for these guys and I’m proud they spent their entire off season representing our beautiful country.   Just an incredible commitment!   I think Jesse has started something special for this group and I’m proud of the way he handles himself.   Going forward,  I’d like to see a 3 man midfield and David as a lone striker.   Creating chances in the middle of the pitch should be a priority.   Can’t wait for September!

[ensco]

These eight games were shock and awe with respect to Marsch. Stunning.

Marsch's man management generally seems incredible. He has an innate sense for when to rotate and when not to. Example - he stuck 100% with Bombito, who was good but not perfect, while rotating Kone, who was good but not perfect - until Uruguay, when he was perfect. Marsch turned the backline over without hesitation. Who among us would have selected Cornelius and Bombito, and stuck with it? Kemal Miller has has numerous big games for Canada and is in his prime- sitting that player took cojones. Marsch was also able to get Davies to play with more discipline and within a system. This is all before even talking about has roster moves last night, which were simply breathtaking. He schooled a master, Bielsa, there.

Marsch has gravitas. He dominates the room in everything he does and says. His body language in game is perfect. He carries himself differently and you can see it. I am a Herdman fan, and Herdman has some of this too, but for Herdman, it's more that he is a good person. It is on a different level with Jesse. This is a top flight, properly trained, professional manager. 

The rap on Marsch was that he was a creation of the gegenpress machine - yet how much did formation matter? It seems like we played simple hard nose soccer in a 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1, and just executed. This was far from what he was “supposed” to do.

If I had a criticism, it is that his subs were late several times, given the heat. But that is the only thing I can think of.

 

Edited July 14 by ensco

[kingvikingstad]

One of my takeaways is the exposure this likely gains our players who are not household names. There is going to be far more interest in scouting Canadian Soccer from teams around the world than ever before.

I expect more of our players to be moving to a higher level and while that can come with playing time issues, I think we're only going to be better off.

It'll be interesting to see if we can capitalize on the interest within Canada with home friendlies too. 

Interesting times ahead leading up to the next WC

[The Real Marc]

8/10. Needed to figure out how to manage the Uruguay game with so few minutes left rather than put everyone up the pitch. But so far so good.

[mpg_29]

Honestly watching these games I realized to take into account the opponents on-field performance irrespective of their on-paper ranking. In particular I would not say that France, 2nd Argentina game(towards the end), Uruguay were playing as intense as some of the others. The amount of time and space in Peru, Chile and Venezuela games were much less.

For instance Kone played well in the France game and last night but at the same time those midfields were giving him time and space that other teams were not.  I mean in that 2nd goal last night Kone had acres of space. It's quite possible that we play a team ranked much lower than Uruguay and Kone doesn't get that much space.

A lot of this comes down to the coaching and trying to line up effectively against the opponent you are playing.

That being said in general I don't think the drop off in quality to the bench is as much as we think. These are still players getting regular playing time in MLS. Some of these players seem to offer different skills and attributes that change things up.

[Ottawafan]

I posted this on FB.  Couldn’t give a flying fuck what the negative Nelly’s have to say after this run  

Canada found their GK
Bombito and Cornelius solidified the back end
Kone stepped up his game 
Shaf became a starter 
We added depth all over the field
$8M added to the coffers 
Coach was dropped in two months ago and got these players to gel and play better each game
We played Holland France Argentina twice Chile Peru Venezuela and Uruguay 

Bigger picture here. Complete success towards 2026.

[CanadaFan123]

4 minutes ago, Ottawafan said:

I posted this on FB.  Couldn’t give a flying fuck what the negative Nelly’s have to say after this run  

Canada found their GK
Bombito and Cornelius solidified the back end
Kone stepped up his game 
Shaf became a starter 
We added depth all over the field
$8M added to the coffers 
Coach was dropped in two months ago and got these players to gel and play better each game
We played Holland France Argentina twice Chile Peru Venezuela and Uruguay 

Bigger picture here. Complete success towards 2026.

Spot on. Best month we’ve ever had for the men. 
Complete buy-in too. No players magically turning up injured before the 3rd place game and flying back to Europe. 

[DeRo_Is_King]

What I found to be refreshing was Marsch's willingness to switch things up and reward players with minutes for good performances / training sessions.

For example, he calls Olu in and drops Brym, making you think Tani would be a bubble guy. Instead, he ends up being the first striker off the bench. Granted, Tani should have done much better with his chances, but it's this sort of open-mindedness that I really appreciate.

To be totally frank, I thought the wholesale changes yesterday would cost us, but instead, they proved to be excellent decisions.

Overall, our finishing needs to be way better, we did get lucky at times in this tourney, but the results and semi-surprising individual top-class performances of Shaf, Crepeau, Bombito, etc., were really encouraging to witness. 

Great to see guys like Ahmed, Choiniere and LDF also doing well.

[Ivan]

1 hour ago, Ottawafan said:

I posted this on FB.  Couldn’t give a flying fuck what the negative Nelly’s have to say after this run  

Canada found their GK
Bombito and Cornelius solidified the back end
Kone stepped up his game 
Shaf became a starter 
We added depth all over the field
$8M added to the coffers 
Coach was dropped in two months ago and got these players to gel and play better each game
We played Holland France Argentina twice Chile Peru Venezuela and Uruguay 

Bigger picture here. Complete success towards 2026.

Great post!

[TGAA_Star]

A lot of lessons Canada 🇨🇦 have learned after last night and with this new Marsch philosophy and seeing how Canada 🇨🇦 plays under him now, we can take those same lessons with us into CONCACAF Nations League and towards the 2025 Gold Cup because we have to prepare for those next 2 tournaments and hopefully win some silverware. But the ultimate goal here is preparation for 2026 FIFA World Cup because we are a tri-host and being one of the 3 hosts comes added pressure and expectations from the fan base and the country overall to perform at the highest level.

[Kadenge]

A few thought that we would go 0-5 after the 2 friendlies and 3 Copa  group games. Given the teams we were facing and how we have played since the WC that prediction didnt seem unreasonable. When you throw in the refs, heat and that every game was an away game, the results have been outstanding. I noticed that the Uruguayan and neutral fans were applauding our players after the game. Thats respect.

[costarg]

5 hours ago, ensco said:

Who among us would have selected Cornelius and Bombito, and stuck with it? Kemal Miller has has numerous big games for Canada and is in his prime- sitting that player took cojones.

Great post.  I can't say enough about Jesse.  He got so many difficult decisions correct.

However, regarding the backline, I will say, a few of us did, including me back in Feb.  I honestly don't feel it was that bold of a call, it was just common sense.  While many didn't wanna believe, admit or see it, Vitoria was done.  Miller has been playing pretty bad this year, but so has Crepeau and look at him now!

Bombito was the only promising option, we had seen everyone else and knew what we were getting with them.

Cornelius was obvious to all except those who lived and died by Herdman's opinion and decisions. 

Davies at LB was also the only option given the injuries.

Playing a back 3 would have weakened the 11 by playing an extra weaker CB in place of a better player elsewhere. 

Jesse is a breath of fresh air in every sense.

[ensco]

^I remember those posts. I really hadn't seen enough of Kemal in the last year in league play to have an opinion. But I sure remember what he did in qualifying...

It says something that Jesse went to LdF last night instead of Miller.

I hope Miller stays with it and works to get back into the mix.

[Cadeau]

So proud of the team. Seems we went from fragile to anti-fragile. And If we’d have been more clinical, who knows! Another thing learned is maybe the MLS gets more respect from now on. And Marsch is bold -I like it!

[Unnamed Trialist]

My takeaway from yesterday, or what we learnt, is that in various matches, at various points, we could have opted for another mid and taking out Larin and it could have been just as effective.

We put in Tani for Larin, fine.

But putting in Choinière beside Staq and freeing Kone, for example, could have been just as effective or more. We are not condemned to an outside game, wing play; we also can find an inside game. 

Next is that we have better depth in almost all positions than we realised. We were just missing good cover for Davies this tournament, everything else looked okay.

Finally, overall, I think we have to learn to keep the ball alive and not waste it, especially as we approach the final third. We did it well yesterday, but in many other matches we blew easy passes or missed obvious options, so instead of being able to find a chance, we were back defending. We rushed, we don't have a natural movement backwards, we have clear passing lanes we don't take and overthink (or don't think).  This is maturity, it is a more solid possession game, it is also the demand each player has on his own play, which as they move into higher quality leagues we should find more widely across the roster.

[BearcatSA]

I only had time to race through my recording of the match but will watch it again more closely tomorrow.  The reservations I had about the starters got dismissed pretty early from the aggressiveness we showed in quickly closing down our opponents.  We looked a step ahead.

I liked seeing Choiniere get his start and I think his engine and box to box range is a good fit for Marsch's central midfield philosophy.  In pre-game I posted about Tani's rawness in technique and it showed in a couple of big misses, especially that header but his closing speed athleticism in getting into spots is really impressive.

Finally, apart from giving LDF his start, sticking with that Cornelius-Bombitio pairing as his base really paid off for Marsch. Sure, they were mistakes here but as a first choice two some, they are it going forward, but will have to hold off competitors.

I don't want to get ahead of myself here but I sense (hope?) that the Marsch model is going to be more of a meritocracy and less of a class-is-permanent/buddies legacy entitlement or the urge to have all our supposed best guys on the field at the same time regardless of how it exposes limitations.  No sacred cows, please. Jesse.

 

 

Edited July 15 by BearcatSA

[Northvansteve]

Decisive. That's the word that comes to mind with the new Marsch era. He made decisive choices in the lineup replacing the old era of Borjan, Vitoria, Piette and co without any hesitation. He implemented a new formation (no more 3 at the back) and playing style. He stuck with a core group of starters. He brought in young players and stuck with them. Love to see it.

[TGAA_Star]

1 hour ago, Cadeau said:

So proud of the team. Seems we went from fragile to anti-fragile. And If we’d have been more clinical, who knows! Another thing learned is maybe the MLS gets more respect from now on. And Marsch is bold -I like it!

I love Marsch certainly a lot more than I ever did Herdman

[GasPed]

One thing that also popped out at me was just how different European and South American soccer are - between the crowds, the refs, the dark arts, the incessant fouls - they are almost separate sports, especially the way the mid-tier teams (Peru, Chile, Venezuela, etc.) play the game. 

So in addition to learning/implementing an entirely new system, this team also had to learn an entirely different game in the past 6 weeks.  That they managed to do both and with very credible results, speaks highly of them and especially this coaching staff.  Yes, talent plays a big role, but coaching/coachability plays a huge role in success, or failure (and you don't have to look far to see an example of the latter). 

[Joe MacCarthy]

The Uruguay game reminded me so much of the Gold Cup Mexico game where we were missing most of our stars and the second team guys rose to the challenge and put the fear of God into Mexico (unfortunately also giving up the late goal).

I think the home win over the USA preceded that but to me and many of the players, the Mexico game was the game that really entrenched the move forward.  If we can do that without our "best" players imagine what we can do with them.

Our team has no fear, going into hostile territory is not a problem unlike previously when our teams seemed mentally defeated before the game had started.

I'm ambivalent about the results.  I posted that there was a reasonable chance we could lose the first five games and for people not to lose their poop.  We did get much better results than expected but I am still left with a somewhat disappointed feeling that we left so many missed opportunities.

I will say that for the first four or five games I didn't know what kind of team we had, better or worse than I thought.  I now know, it is better.

[The Ref]

I am impressed with Mr. Marsch, what he has done in a short while, how he conducts himself, how he speaks and explains.  I hope he will continue developing our team and maintaining the soccer style we are showing in the games.  We won against Uruguay even though the score says something different.  There are better things to come and we got the players and also a top notch Coach in Jesse.

[TGAA_Star]

Loved Jesse's post match huddle with the team but also loved his interview just now on the Copa pre show with the TSN panel as Marsch is already checking out Canadian Premier League action

[Cheeta]

Hmmm.

Think Marsch brought some street cred into the room.  Some respect was owed him from all concerned and it was extended.  Think that showed, no?  +.

I didn't once hear him referred to as the MLS this or that.  +.

I've been following the NT since the '80s and don't ever recall winning on spot kicks.  +.

Whilst on NT duty so many players showing so many of their best years are in front of them.  +.

I could go on and on but that would just be adding that many more ++++.

Think you get the gist.

 

 

[Gian-Luca]

He has demonstrated that he has been an upgrade for us against high level competition in comparison to both our previous full time manager and especially the interim manager. I can’t really find anything to fault thus far and I have been impressed that he can combine motivation with a more intellectual approach. He seems less a slave to dubious metrics than Herdman was (and is), which I find refreshing (not saying that he should totally ignore them, but I don’t get the sense they are dictating as much as they were under Herdman).