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    Kevin Laramee
    Every Friday, I will give my keys to victory for the Montreal Impact, in 3 points!
     
    Point 1 The Cohesion in the Midfield
    Montreal had all sorts of trouble in the midfield last week. Congestion, led to confusion that led to loss of possession, this really was noticeable when Montreal was trying to transition the ball forward. Smaller, higher pourcentages passes  are key for the Impact to generate quality opportunity to feed their best attacking options, Piatti and Mancosu, which were left on an island last week.
    Point 2 Oyongo and Piatti
    The combination of Ambroise Oyongo and Nacho Piatti on the left side of the field for the Bleu-Blanc-Noir  can be deadly. When Oyongo is able to use the space in front of him with the ball at his feet, he creates time and space for Piatti to be an offensive threat or even a goal scoring chance for himself. This is imperative for Montreal to get by the defending MLS Cup Champions.
     
    Point 3 Beware of Clint Dempsey
    Clint is back, healthy and HUNGRY! Even though they lost their season opener, Clint has found the back of the net already this season and in his favorite fashion, poacher style. For the Montreal Impact to emerge victorious Saturday night at the Stade Olympique, they will have to be mindful of Dempsey's presence close to goal AT ALL TIMES AND FOR 90 MINUTES!
     
    You can follow Kevin Laramee on twitter @KevLaramee
     
    Off the Woodworkx, a podcast about the Montreal Impact available here  https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/off-woodworkx-sports-podcasting/id1067439813?mt=2
    Duane Rollins
    Philadelphia Union (0-0-1) v TFC (0-0-1), Match Day 2
    TSN 4 – 4:30pm, Saturday
    CSN Away Viewing is upstairs at Pauper’s Pub (Bathurst and Bloor). Check the usual suspects (Wheat Sheaf, Shoeless Joe’s, etc.) for others or add your viewing in the comments.
    Last meeting: TFC won its first ever playoff game in rather convincing fashion to launch a magical run that lasted through to the end of November. I’m not sure what happened in December.
    Most famous game: In what was possibly Aron Winter’s darkest moment the exceptionally average Union put six – yes, SIX – goals by the Worst Team in the World to win 6-2 in front of a grumpy BMO Field back in 2012.
    Key Union player: Let’s go with Super Keeper Andre Blake, who is arguably the best shot stopper in all of MLS. Thankfully, TFC has not been robbed blind by a keeper standing on his head in almost three months.
    Former Red alert: With the man responsible for BMO Field’s lack of plastic, Mo Edu, still recovering from his broken leg the former Reds alert is Warren Creavalle. The utility player most famous in Toronto for the drunk guy two rows back of you insisting he’d be a better option at right-back has actually found some half-decent form for the Union.
    Key TFC player: Gotta be Seba, no? After yet another week of MLS’ tried and true defensive strategy of hack-a-little-Italian, the Atomic Ant will be looking to open his account in style this weekend.
    Home advantage: Meh. Unless you’re trying to park your car after sunset there isn’t much intimating about Chester’s best soccer stadium.   The weather on game day is going to be positively Canadian -- -4C expected at kick-off. No orange ball likely though.  
    What opposing fans are saying: REVENGE!!!!1!!!!1! They are also mostly calling for a tight game and possibly a draw. Yippee.
    TFC panic level (as expressed by the name of a former player): Danny Koevermans (He’s really good, but we’re scared it’s all going to go wrong at any moment)
    Our view: It says here that TFC gets its first three points of the year and Seba opens his account with a brace. 3-0 Reds.
    Kevin Laramee
    Scores, Game Reports, Analysis, Interviews and especially FUN!!
    Hosted by Kevin Laramee @KevLaramee
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    Duane Rollins
    Talk about burying the lead. 
    Toronto FC fans got a surprise yesterday and not one that they would have been looking forward to. That Champions League spot that many were looking forward to is not just delayed until next February -- it's been taken away completely. The news was almost hidden in a release announcing the extension of the Canadian Championship to include the winner of the PLSQ and League1 Ontario. 
    So, to re-cap, the CSA got one thing right and one thing very wrong.
    Let's start with the wrong. Appreciating the fact that a lot of people in this country love it when Toronto gets screwed, there is no denying that they did, in fact, get screwed here. Yes, there was a bit of an issue to fix -- CONCACAF's change in format made it a long wait for the qualifying team -- but the CSA chose quite possibly the least sporting solution available to them. TFC won the Voyageurs Cup on the field and the CONCACAF spot that went with it should have stayed with them.  A year where the Cup did not have a CCL spot would not have been the end of the world. In fact, it may have given more opportunity to young Canadians to play in the competition as the teams would have very likely rotated (as an aside, the CSA also added a Canadian quota for starters this year -- each team will need to start three Canucks each game.
    The CSA did provide a slight advantage by allowing TFC to host the one game playoff. Obviously, if TFC wins the 2017 Voyageurs Cup they do not need to play itself for the berth.
    Unfair or not, it's done now and the Reds will need to get down to the business of repeating as champions if the CCL is to make a long awaited return to T.O. 
    For the D3 level teams the long wait to get a shot at the Canadian Championship is almost over. The specific format of the 2018 Cup has not been released yet (hopefully because they are waiting to add a few more teams in a, say, new league...), but whatever it is it will include at least two D3 teams. It won't include the Canadian PDL teams. The likely reason? The CSA wants those teams to play in Canadian leagues and this might be the incentive to get them to make that choice on their own.
    Duane Rollins
    In the words of the great modern poet that is Demi Lovato: 
    So how did you get here under my skin?
    I swore that I'd never let you back in
    Should've known better than trying to let you go
    'Cause here we go go go go again
    After nearly a year of...let's call it re-charging...CSN is back with a slightly new mandate and hopefully a revitalized zest for writing about the always frustrating but rarely dull world of Canadian soccer. We would have been back sooner, but we had a lot of work to accomplish first. Most importantly, we needed to change the look of the site and to get rid of a truly staggering amount of spam that had overwhelmed us and that played a significant role in creating the burn-out that necessitated that above mentioned re-charging.
    The comments section, once the best check of my ego I could have ever hoped for, but yet an important part of making CSN a community rather than just a news site, became the bane of my existence. Unless you were in the market for Russian pharmaceuticals there was no point checking the comments. Without the understanding that people are reading it becomes difficult to motivate yourself to take time out of your schedule to do that hard work of writing -- especially when you spend a lot of time commenting in audio form as the host of SoccerToday.
    Speaking personally, the burn out was also just a product of doing it for so long. You feel that you are repeating yourself after a while. But, eventually you start to miss it and you start to feel that you need to get your voice back out there in a consistent way.   
    A lot remains the same about Canadian soccer, but a lot has changed as well. Part of CSN's (slightly) new mandate will be to address those changes -- specifically the Canadian Premier League project that is (frustratingly still) on the horizon. Additionally, D3 level leagues like League1 Ontario, the PLSQ and the new BC initiative are becoming more and more important in the system and reporting on them will become a big focus of CSN 2.0.
    That's not to say we won't still talk about MLS and the three Canadian teams. There was a time when I felt that maybe we should step away from that kind of coverage (and I still think we should focus a bit less on it compared to the topics outlined above), but when nearly 100,000 people attend the Eastern Conference Final in Canada and a million more watch it on TV it's hard to say that it shouldn't be covered.
    So, it will be. As will the national teams and issues that impact Canadian soccer at all levels, regardless of where it originates from.
    It's going to be a lot of work. But, it's work I'm excited to get back to after a little time away.
    In the words of retired Canadian soccer poet Ben Knight...
    ONWARD!   

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  • Posts

    • WestHamCanadianinOxford
      Tajon Buchanan

      By WestHamCanadianinOxford · Posted

      Seems Thuram is a bit of a mentor/ambassador - the English probably helps.    (Liked some of the Juve teams his dad was on and that Parma UEFA Cup-winning team: Crespo, Buffon, Cannavaro)
    • Big_M
      Valour FC - 2024 Season Thread

      By Big_M · Posted

      this is likely the point when a coach hopes he gets relieved of duties as he knows he cant turn it around and would still get paid instead of resigning and not get fully paid
    • dyslexic nam
      Daniel Jebbison

      By dyslexic nam · Posted

      That is awesome.  The level doesn’t matter - the fact that he is back to the point where he is playing is a huge step forward.    
    • Joe MacCarthy
      Derek Cornelius

      By Joe MacCarthy · Posted

      Translation REVEALS: New big club looking for Cornelius fotbolldirekt-se April 28, 2024 This week FotbollDirekt could reveal interest in MFF's Derek Cornelius.  It was about the Dutch mare club Feyenoord.  Now another giant joins the hunt. Derek Cornelius, 26, has grown into one of the Allsvenskan's absolute best centre-backs, and the Canadian is cast in Henrik Rydström's starting eleven. In the match against Djurgården last Thursday, Cornelius was one of the absolute best on the field, and the centre-back was highly praised by FotbollDirekt's correspondent Casper Nordqvist. "He is majestic back there for MFF and shone perhaps the most on Tele2 tonight with his natural weight and star shine," wrote Nordqvist after the match . Last week FotbollDirekt could reveal interest in Cornelius from the Dutch Feyenoord. The big club is said to have scouted the centre-back in place on several occasions, and has been impressed by his physique. - No, I haven't heard anything about it, but it feels like you always know more than I do. I have to call him (the agent, editor's note) and ask what's going on, said Cornelius about FD's duties after the match against Djurgården. Now another big club, and a big rival to Feyenoord, joins the hunt. According to information to FD, Ajax is looking for Cornelius. Reliable sources claim that he is on a list of potential signings for the summer. Should a move to Ajax fall through, however, the 26-year-old has a lot of competition for the starting spot. That's what William Edström, Ajax expert at SvenskaFans, thinks. "Ajax already has two left-footed centre-backs, Jorrel Hato and Ahmetcan Kaplan, who are both young and highly regarded as great talents," writes Edström in a text message to FotbollDirekt. None of the players are expected to leave the club this summer, explains Edström, and Cornelius will have to fight to get into the eleven. Derek Cornelius joined Malmö FF from Vancouver Whitecaps in February 2023. He has a contract with MFF through the 2026 season.
    • WestHamCanadianinOxford
      Daniel Jebbison

      By WestHamCanadianinOxford · Posted

      Played the first half of a u21 game in the week.  Should probably make the senior squad tomorrow or next week. https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/daniel-jebbison-boost-as-sheffield-united-see-off-brief-sheffield-wednesday-challenge-to-win-fourth-league-title-in-row-louie-marsh-ryan-one-4617702
    • costarg
      Tajon Buchanan

      By costarg · Posted

      Grabbed his opportunity, can't ask for more.  1 goal in 104' ain't bad.  Competition for the role is fierce, hopefully they offload a little in the offseason.
    • nolando
      CPL General

      By nolando · Posted

      So they want Kelowna for 2026. And to double the teams in the league in ten years. Friend says they have creative ideas for the stadium. And Noonan mentioned definitely they will be testing markets with this series. I wish they gave more advance notice if this is indeed a test of Kelowna's viability as a market.
    • Soccerpro2
      Valour FC - 2024 Season Thread

      By Soccerpro2 · Posted

      Not sure signing a U-Sports player was going to move the needle for Valour. She implies that he could have done something. I'd suggest no player can do enough to make a difference for Valour at this point.
    • WestHamCanadianinOxford
      Jonathan David

      By WestHamCanadianinOxford · Posted

      Villa stuff won't go away https://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/serie-a/pericolo-premier-per-jonathan-david-aston-villa-in-i-pole-i-per-l-attaccante-del-lille-1962616
    • costarg
      CF Montreal - 2024 Season Thread

      By costarg · Posted

      Uhhh what?  Are you familiar with the details?  It's the other way around good sir.  Getting fleeced wouldn't be so bad, Saputo has it way worse than that.  There is no "break" either, he's getting absolutely swindled in the deal.  
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