imusic Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 Wasn't it mostly these same players who "revolted" against Holger and basically got him fired blaming him for bad results and the last WC failure? They forced out Holger, got the "saviour" they all wanted and then what? Same thing as last WC qualifying. So was Holger REALLY the problem? Is Yallop overrated? Canada is just so unlucky? It's all the CSA's fault? Is it the players? Who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massimo Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 I think Canada needs to get a real soccer league up and running, and not the 3-4 month stint that the A-league currently has. If we could get a leagues that is from April - November, that almost doubles the amount of time these players will be playing. Ultimately developing them further, and giving them a better chance to hit the big time (Europe). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 The CSA could have found a compromise with Holger, maybe giving him an assistant that the players liked (Dale Mitchell?) to be a good cop to Holger's bad. He is the only coach to actually win something with Canada and I think he deserved a second chance to qualify, especially with the finals in his home country. As it is, they gambled on Frank and tried to switch the focus for player development from players based in Europe to domestic ones. The A-leaguers have been surprisingly good, Serioux is taking East London by storm and Gabriel Gervais looks like the second coming of Maldini, but we're no closer to seeing Canada play in the World Cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 quote:Originally posted by imusic Wasn't it mostly these same players who "revolted" against Holger and basically got him fired blaming him for bad results and the last WC failure? They forced out Holger, got the "saviour" they all wanted and then what? Same thing as last WC qualifying. So was Holger REALLY the problem? Is Yallop overrated? Canada is just so unlucky? It's all the CSA's fault? Is it the players? Who? All fair and simple questions Imusic and welcome to this forum. Without being evasive I would venture to say that probably all have some degree of fault. Regarding Yallop, it is a bit too early to tell and I don't think I would have done any better with what he has. In the case of Holger, this is how I see it. He was not only the coach for Canada, but he was hired as the Technical Director for the CSA. If he could not get things done in a way as to improve Canada's soccer, why did it take him 5 years (or maybe it was 6) to realize that it was not going anywhere. Now Holger is a smart man, to me he realized this early in his employment with the CSA, but he was just milking the cow after that. Now looking at things from a different point of view, without some rather fundamental changes, whatever these may be, I don't think that continuing to change the coach will result in us all of a sudden becoming a world power in soccer. From as far back that I can remember we have had all these coaches: Barrie Clarke Tony Taylor Tony Waiters Bob Lenarduzzi Bruce Twamley Holger Osieck Colin Miller Frank Yallop The only common denominator I see in this pletora of coaches is the CSA. Does that mean something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 I don't think they saw Frank as the saviour, but simply as a good option. I still think he is a great option, and needs proper time to prove himself. I wish Holger stayed on as technical director, but it was clear he lost the respect of the team, and when Jason Devos complains in this regard, I have a tough time taking Holger's side. Plus, Holger had been around long enough. The single most important thing we need to be able to win at the international level is: a lot of really good players. We're getting better in this regard, but have a ways to go. The question then, should be, how to we get ourselves a lot of really good players? This is something we discuss all the time. Can't help but point out as a comparison the route a Canadian hockey player will take on the way to the big league. Our 15 and 16 year olds are NOT being developed by professional outfits, and are NOT playing consistently at a high enough level. We need a junior program. To make that work, we need a league. At minimum, we need a gob of cash to fund junior teams. Just say the Whitecaps and Impact and Lynx all had amature teams filled with 15 - 18 year olds? That could help develop about 60 kids in Canada. They could play against each other, and against US regional sides throughout the season. They could play for these teams while they finish highschool. This would be for those kids who aren't already playing in Europe. Anyhow, the resources are thin, but we must find focussed and innovative ways to surge forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imusic Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 Thanks for the responses. This is how I see it. Canada has a few above average players.....principally...De Rosario (he REALLY impresses me), De Guzman, and Radzinski (going by his club not national team form). Add to that some pretty decent players and you have the "makings" of a good nucleus around which to build. Neither Yallop nor Holger is the issue although it certianly seems as if Holger was tuned out by the players. The issue to me is circumstantial. The reality is, just from a geographical standpoint, a professional league in Canada is tough to establish. Canada is too big. Football is not a mainstream sport...at least from the media perspective. The "culture" of football in Canada is very weak. Most of that "culture" is borrowed heavily from the British Isles but Canadian football doesn't really have an identity. Add to those things the fact that the women's game seriously cuts into funding and corporate support from the men's team, and this is not a criticism of women's football...just a reality. The ineptitude of the CSA, the general apathy from the sporting public in canada who see HOCKEY and very little else are also major contributors. Canada in such a situation finds itself having to "export" it's players so that other countries can develop their players for them. This is a 2 edged sword. On the one hand, good for the individual players, good for their development etc. On the other hand terrible for the National team because these are the players the national coach relies on but only gets them 3 days prior to a WC qualifying game. Canada's performance thus far HAS been a disappointment. I think the key to what has happened this campaign was that first game against Guatemala. Just like the first game against T&T in the last qualifying. The difference is, T&T was outplayed in that game but made the most of their chances. Guatemala outplayed Canada and made the most of their chances. Canada never looked PREPARED in that game which to me is the major disappointment, especially given the fact that the game was played at home. The 2nd game was tough luck but that first game set the tone. Tough to be in a must win situation the 2nd game of your qualifying tournament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi44 Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 the blame game sucks. lets play hungry hungry hippos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.