Shway

No doubt. The thing is, like someone mentioned “it won’t be the real experience” as he won’t be with “stars”. So his perception maybe skewed if he’s showing up playing with Shaffelburg expecting to see Davies.

I’m obviously no journalist. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, and just wanted to started a discussion based on why I think it’s important that the MLS clubs join the CPL at some point. What do you think? Are Canadians so engraved into American culture that it’s more prestigious to play Charlotte, Columbus, Cincinnati over the likes of Calgary, Edmonton, or Manitoba?

It’s the year 2021, the CMNT are ranked the best they have ever been. The CPL is in it’s 3rd season, and has their champion qualifying for the Champions League. We got a world class kid from Edmonton part of the winning culture at Bayern Munich, a kid from Ottawa leading Ligue 1 in goals off the back of leading his team to their first championship in 10 years, and two Brampton boys lifting trophies in an Istanbul. What do these guys/clubs have in common other than being Canadian? They all developed their game on Canadian soil. But what does that mean going forward. Is this “golden generation” more than an anomaly - how do we really take control of our future? It starts by changing the overall perception of the game in Canada and maximizing the potential of our league - the Canadian Premier league, and here’s how that looks. “Breaking news Toronto FC, Montreal Impact, and the Vancouver Whitecaps will join the CPL prior to the 2026 World Cup.” Now you’ve probably read that and thought “this guys smoking that lala land stuff” or “the MLS has done so much for the development of Canadian mens soccer, this would be a setback”….but wait, hear me out. Here’s why, let’s look at Player Development: There is a massive contingent of active national team players that are Canadian developed. (I.e they’ve played their developmental years in Canada, and went pro in Canada or USA. Miller, Waterman, Laryea, Davies, David, Buchanan, Johnston, Crepeau, Adekugbe, Henry, Kaye, Osorio, Fraser, Shaffelburg, Akinola) some are TFC, Impact, Whitecaps academy trained, some are Sigma, Vaughan SC trained, some are your regular local youth club. However a lot of these guys have “randomly” burst onto the scene just based on being given an opportunity, and I don’t believe some of these guys are who they are today solely because of MLS. We have homebred talent, we just don’t have the overall product to suffice. Which goes to my next point. Perception Yes the CPL is considered CAN D1 to the “in-the-knows”, but to the average person it is perceived as amateur, doesn’t exist or the “so do they play in the same league as Toronto FC”…Fan perception has a massive effect in our biggest metros, and it’s important piece of this league to make it more than just a developmental league. Not having the countries biggest cities, and biggest teams in it will always be a huge detriment to the overall look of the league, no matter how much it evolves. So what does the league look like if they are there. Infrastructure/Competition: Currently there are 8 CPL teams, with a future 2 clubs in Saskatchewan, and the Vancouver proper. Add Quebec City team because we all know there needs to be a team there. You add the 3 MLS Teams and it equals to 14 teams. A great base to solidify the first division footprint. The D3 leagues are building out, which will naturally facilitate with the development of building the pyramid upwards. The leagues salary rules could be a hybrid of MLS & CPL (2M + 3 Luxury Players) Here’s some of the positives: The former MLS teams can still be competitive Increased options for Canadian players An expanded Voyageurs Cup More CCL slots Argument to play in the Concacaf regional Leagues Cup. More Canadians tested on the regional stage (As of 2024, there will be a 10% chance that our “best”Canadian teams can qualify for champions league through MLS Cup. A 6% chance at qualifying through Leagues Cup) In the current & future state, our Canadian representation will be heavily affected or heavily skewed due to the fact that our “top” (MLS) teams will have a lower chance at qualifying over the likes of the CPL teams. Every iteration of the tournament will potentially have 1 MLS team, and 3 CPL teams baring a miracle if the 3 Canadians teams win one of the Supporters Shield, MLS Cup, Leagues Cup or the Voyaguers Cup - the odds will always be stacked against us. So where’s the consistent chance at testing our guys against the best in Concacaf before they reach the national team. Development will be bottled if our alleged best, most financially backed clubs aren’t consistently able to test themselves with homebred talent against the continental powerhouses. Some will say “I would hate for our league to be like La Liga or the Bundesliga, where the same one or two teams win all the time (ahem Forge) but it won’t because of the baseline parity these teams would have. We have to navigate through the hype and success of the men and woman’s national team successes, and solidify ourselves as Concacaf powerhouse. This era isn’t an anomaly. This is how we control our future. This is our USA 94 moment. View full record

Disagree. But I get what you’re trying to say. The reality is Davies is World Class…. But we also have a lot of top tier players who have performed at high levels, and have led their teams to champions vs a lot of raw, untested, up and coming talent. Guys like Corbeanu, Fraser, Akinola…would have to have breakout, league leading, career best numbers/performances to surmount Larin, David, Buchan or Osorio - because we know what those guys do. Perfect example, ZBG had a great year but has barely made it into the squad. I honestly think if the WC is 23 man rosters, 14 spots are already guaranteed if healthy. 9 spots are up for grabs.

When you think about it, that’s the epitome of the entire team albeit a few guys. Versatility has been our weapon.

Of course everything helps, as long as its an official friendly. This time last year we had point experts figuring out how we could catch El Salvador to get into the Hex, and look at us now...

Wait...he's been talking? is he even healthy?

Agreed @Obinna Let's look at the guys who are active in Europe and are our main guys. Davies, David, Larin, Hutchinson, Vitoria, Kennedy, Buchanan, Henry, Borjan, Ugbo, Eustaqiuo, Wotherspoon, Hoilett, Adekugbe, Corneilius, Millar = 16 guys who I foresee won't be at this camp, but will meet in Honduras. I don't see a wide list of NA players (as @Cblake mentioned) in this camp considering they will be out of season, and this camp has a different importance - seeing who's ready to fill in where needed. So I suspect we'll see the main regulars in Osorio, Kaye, Crepeau, Johnston, Laryea, Miller, Cavallini, Piette, (that's 8 guys) and add some of the fringe guys, and MLS guys in Fraser, Shaffelburg, ZBG, Pantemis, Breza, St. Clair, Waterman, Pasher (8 guys) I think this team will have an equal European feel to it with guys like Corbeanu, Enin, Paton, Amanda, Halbouni, Sturing and Brym. Throw in the potential return of Captain Canada and that brings the number even higher while not mentioning the possible dual appearances from Dias, Mitrovic, Flores, or DJ. ...if we're calling in guys like JMR, Nelson, or Morgan...i'll have to question the significance considering the minutes they played this year.

If he’s not in Bobs plans than I hope he’ll get away. Pretty sure conversations are ongoing, as I believe his contract is up this year albeit a team option.

I definitely would prefer that TFCs you gets would head to Europe vs grinding it out for the same minutes.

It’s these statements that grind my gears lol

Started and scored Rangers opener this morning against Livingston. Games still on, but it’s seems as if when he starts they win. Hes routing into nice form, which can make it hard for JH to expose his decision.

I dream of the league being a real Canadian D1 league propped up initially by the 3 MLS teams coming to the CPL. I think it's hard to legitimize the CPL to fans, international clubs and it's players without the major clubs having a significant play in the league (not just Voyaguers Cup). Other than TFC (and solely because it's the market), the other teams get washed out/forgotten in the universe that is MLS. I don't understand when people say that it will be bad for that to happen, when a lot of our CMNT products were bred in playing in Canada. I went on a tangent...

This. Play your part or be silent. Positive talks only.

Forge FC lol

You mean you didn’t seem to slip him the question! Cmon! 😂

A double the cost price makes perfect sense...anything more and I think they are being greedy! Only because we haven't always played games in Canada, the squad hasn't been successful in the past and now that we get a few in these times with a revolutionary team, and you're quick to up the price....I hope not. Now isn't the time to price people out. We need a full house outdoor in the heart of winter. We got the nations league to start the gofundme world cup fundraising campaign.

I put down 5+ because I was already booked with a group of 4 to go to Vancouver...and now with the change of plans, it kinda makes it easier for me to arrange an even bigger group. Like @Olympique_de_Marseille the time of the game will be crucial, as my group is husbands and fathers with young kids. Heck it might even be worth it to arrange a few transportation buses from a few spots around the city?

Somebody else got called up consistently in the less form than Corbeanu playing in the same league. Heck Theos matched the goal output in substantially less minutes. So I’ve realized there isn’t a barometer to say those kind of things. However I too wish to see DJ in Canada red, here’s hoping it’s very soon. If he was to commit today, he could be in the top 5 for our striker pool.

So the USMNT will play 3 consecutive games in possible freezing temperatures, all in different locations.... This can't be good for their players. I suspect injuries.

LMAO dissing. I went to the Forge v Edmonton game so I saw the passionate vocal group of people. Funny thing is they were chanting "nobody wants to live in Edmonton", to the response of some Edmontonians...."And nobody wants to live in Hamilton!" The banter was more entertaining than the game.

Not really…. They did have this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Clasico However both these January games can be worse.

Yea it’s not easy to say that in MLS. That’s what the players union is for. Reason why they display their salaries. Tesho isn’t a CJ Sappong (427K), but he’s better than a Patrick Mullins (248K) …. And his return is better than Bobby Wood (968K). 200K is now a vet bench player. That is Tesho.

Whats interesting to note, is that his team is 5pts from the top. If he continues this form, he definitely should be there in January.