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Canucks in Germany (Oct 1st - Oct 6)


Guest Ed

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After a very disappointing home loss to newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld, coach Lienen is likely playing for his job this weekend as Hannover 96 are away to Hansa Rostock. Julian de Guzman is likely to start. Congrats to Julian for his number 1 ranking among field players on the team (only keeper Enke has a better kicker rating).

Werder Bremen look to be coming on strong after a good performance against Valencia yesterday and they have a cracker of a game on Saturday vs Bayern Munich (with a rejuvenated Owen Hargreaves, according to the German press). You can watch Stally and company on Fox Sports World this Saturday on slight tape delay (8:00am MDT).

In the Bundesliga 2, Tam Nsaliwa and 1.FC Saarbruecken have a tough match on Sunday as they take on 1.FC Koeln, who sit in 2nd place after 6 matches. Ryan Thomson is expected to be on the bench tomorrow, as his RW Essen host Eintracht Frankfurt.

In the Regional League South, hopefully Nik Ledgerwood's strong game last week will earn him some playing time tomorrow with the amateur side of 1860 Muenchen as they host the VfB Stuttgart amateurs.

In the Oberliga Bayern, a 6 pointer for Alen Marcina and 1.FC Schweinfurt 05 who sit in 4th place as they take on the league leading 1.FC Nurnberg amateurs on Saturday, a game that might see Waldemar Dutra in action, although he was reinjured in training. In the Oberliga Baden-Wuerttemburg, Victor Oppong and SV Waldhof Mannheim host SVG Freiburg on Saturday.

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Nik Ledgerwood starts again today in 1860 Muenchen reserves second victory in a row, a 2-0 win over the amateurs of VfB Stuttgart in the Regional League South. Nik is the 1860 player on the right closing down the lone Stuttgart player in this pic.

10.jpg

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In the Bundesliga games, Paul Stalteri and Werder Bremen were beaten by a fired up Bayern Munich 2-1 and Julian de Guzman had a strong game setting up the final goal for Hannover 96 as they had a huge win away at Hansa Rostock 3-1, taking them off the bottom of the table. I apparently missed the 5 yellow players booked in the Werder Bremen - Bayern Munich game, as reported by Slam Sports.

Also, Victor Oppong and SV Waldof Mannheim had a big 5-1 win over SVG Freiburg in the Oberliga Baden-Wuerttemburg. No lineups available yet as FC Schweinfurt 05 drew 0-0 with 1.FC Nurnberg amateurs today.

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Marcina came on midway through the 2nd half in yesterday's scoreless draw. Another win for Saarbruecken, with Tam Nsaliwa playing 90 minutes in central defense. The 2-0 win over 1.FC Koeln at home in front of 17,500 fans puts the team in 5th place in the Bundesliga 2.

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A Saarbruecken fansite poll rated Tam the top player for his club in yesterday's win, leading the team to its 5th straight game without a loss and 3rd shutout in that time.

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quote:Originally posted by Ed

Marcina came on midway through the 2nd half in yesterday's scoreless draw. Another win for Saarbruecken, with Tam Nsaliwa playing 90 minutes in central defense. The 2-0 win over 1.FC Koeln at home in front of 17,500 fans puts the team in 5th place in the Bundesliga 2.

What's the promotion/relegation system in Germany? And has Nsaliwa had any role in the MNT since Yallop took over? (Training in FLA? Manchester?)

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quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone

What's the promotion/relegation system in Germany? And has Nsaliwa had any role in the MNT since Yallop took over? (Training in FLA? Manchester?)

Top 3 from BL 2. get promoted. Bottom 4 go down to either Regional League North or South depending on where they're from. Therefore, each Regional which makes up the 3rd div will have between 18 and 21 teams.

Don't think Nsaliwa's been invited to anything yet. Ed might be able to shed light on why, I think it had something to with the Olympic qualifying team.

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My understanding is that Nsaliwa did not perform well at the Olympic camp (part of which was joint with Yallop's North American camp in January in Ft. Lauderdale) and tournament because of injury.

Also, I don't think anything below the top divisions on the continent is on Yallop's radar.

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Hey Ed,

Is Ledgerwood playing fullback or in the midfield? You've probably posted it someplace but I missed it. If I remember correctly, he's a midfield type player but had been playing in the back at 1860. Just wondering if he's still back there. It's great to see him get in there with the amatuers. He seems to be progressing nicely.

Thanks.

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In my opinion German B-2 would be fairly equal with the English League Championship. Yes EPL is probably a little stronger than the Bundesliga at the moment; but, the gap between B-1 and B-2 is much narrower. It is not uncommon for B-2 teams to stay up and Kaiserslautern did win the B-1 title in 1998 after being promoted the year before.

We have been moaning here for a long time (myself included) that we needed a central defender with pace and some ball skill and now we have one in Nsaliwa. Yet, he doesn't even seem to be considered. Ironically, Saarbreuken beat Coventry in preseason something like 2-0 and a regular on the Saarbreuken cannot even get a sniff on the MNT. Yet, a number of that Canada development side have been promoted to the MNT after beating Millwall and tying Hearts. Nsaliwa scores an outstanding 2.5 rating in Kicker magazine as central defender against a fallen German powerhouse and promotion favourite, Cologne, this past weekend. The week earlier, he had the best rating of all four defenders. There is something wrong with this picture. Then again, maybe I am wrong and A-League defenders are superior.

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

My understanding is that Nsaliwa did not perform well at the Olympic camp (part of which was joint with Yallop's North American camp in January in Ft. Lauderdale) and tournament because of injury.

Also, I don't think anything below the top divisions on the continent is on Yallop's radar.

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I think if he was playing central defense last year and at the beginning of the year he would have been called. But as he was playing midfield and wing, Yallop decided to go with others in that position (which is still arguable but at least there we have more depth). Now that he is playing central defense, i think Yallop has tried to settle on a back four to give us some stability there. By experimentinig at the back now, it would be risky. So while I think certainly playing B-2 and by all accounts, playiing well is far superior to A-league, there is a risk of bringing him in now would risk instability.

The real issue here is a lack of matches building up to the qualifiers, where different players could have been tested.

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I was being a little facetious with A-league comment. As for stability at the back, I agree that it is very important. However, we seem to have a shortage of defenders on MNT squad at the moment and Nsaliwa has played at the back before and at right back against Germany. IMHO, I think a decision was formed and no revision of that decision has been considered. In the meantime we continue to call in different North American based defenders and ignore some quality young players developing well and playing at a high level. What is the greater risk?

quote:Originally posted by An Observer

I think if he was playing central defense last year and at the beginning of the year he would have been called. But as he was playing midfield and wing, Yallop decided to go with others in that position (which is still arguable but at least there we have more depth). Now that he is playing central defense, i think Yallop has tried to settle on a back four to give us some stability there. By experimentinig at the back now, it would be risky. So while I think certainly playing B-2 and by all accounts, playiing well is far superior to A-league, there is a risk of bringing him in now would risk instability.

The real issue here is a lack of matches building up to the qualifiers, where different players could have been tested.

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quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

And in addition to the Nsaliwa ommission you also have the puzzling ommission of Mike Klukowski who is playing regularly at the back for a team that is doing really well in the top flight in Belgium this year - which is nothing to sneeze at.

I thought Klukowski acquitted himself quite well against Belize. Although I remember him playing LB in that game, and CB with his club?

Regarding Nsaliwa, what kind of partnership would he have with DeVos? Is Tam physical? Could it be Rio/Campbell-esque, in the sense that the younger guy takes some tackling pressure off the older guy?

Here's where I'm going: Radzinski is done after this tournament one way or the other. I assume DeVos is back for Gold Cup. I'm thinking McKenna should just make the permanent move to striker in a rotation with Occean & Hume. In this scenario, we need somebody to step in. Is Nsaliwa the natural choice? Even if he is, do you think Yallop will already look at a guy like Edgar?

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Nsaliwa can play all over the park. Has played at the right back position, on the outside of the midfield (both sides but is naturally right sided), in a defensive midfield position and now as a central defender. Incidentally, Nsaliwa was part of a back three when he received a 1.0 in Kicker ratings last year against Nurnberg. From what I have seen of him, he has pace, good skill on the ball and excellent 1 v 1 defensive abilities. I can see him making the shift permanently down the road. He is not very tall so it would be best to have a tall defensive partner.

As for a partner, Klukowski would actually be an interesting defensive partner for the future.

It would also consider Edgar in the future too. Playing in the reserves at 17 with Newcastle is nothing to sneeze at.

But I am afraid we might already be talking about the next WC for this group. I have to say that we look very promising for 2010...

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I too am surprised that Tam is still not included, considering his recent club success. I would have liked to see him as our pacey right-back, that is so important against fast Cenral American teams. And that would allow us to move Hutchinson to a more familiar central (midfield or defensive) role.

Kuklowski is a bit of an enigma to me. He doesn't strike me as fast enough for a CONCACAF wing-back, despite playing there in Belgium. I think that he might be better suited to a central midfield or defensive role, similar to Hutchinson.

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quote:Originally posted by beachesl

My understanding is that Nsaliwa did not perform well at the Olympic camp (part of which was joint with Yallop's North American camp in January in Ft. Lauderdale) and tournament because of injury.

Also, I don't think anything below the top divisions on the continent is on Yallop's radar.

Well Tam was played as a striker in the opening game of the Olympic qualifying round; you can ask Twamley about that. He played 90 minutes in both the first two games and subbed in for the 2nd half in the meaningless 3rd game. If he was ****, why was he on the field for both do or die qualifying games??

I suspect he forgot to kowtow to some CSA demi-god and they are punishing him for that slight.

And regarding Yallop, you explain how he can choose and start a kid with PDL experience over Tam, who has been a pro since he was 18.

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I should not have said that he did not perform well, that was a mistatement, sorry.[:I]

I was only passing on information from those close to Nsaliwa. He did play, but he was apparently injured. He thought that he was in good enough shape to help, as did his coach Twamley. He played against the wishes of his club. He apparently has second thoughts about his enthusiasm in this regard, as he apparently believes that this less than standard performance because of this gesture was a factor in his being lowlisted on the national team, aggravating his injury and causing problems with his club in Germany that he is now starting to work out (his recent good performances there help). The point is, perhaps his enthusiasm to wear the red and white caused him problems and was misread. I obviously don't have all the details, just trying to add to the dim picture because it was requested.

Yallop was hired partly as a way to improve communication between the players (as well as their clubs) and the coaching staff, and I don't think that anyone here would reasonably disagree that Holger was deficient in that area, for all his skills. Yallop obviously has improved the situation in this department, apart from the pros and cons of his other work. However, it is obvious that Yallop has a ways to go to become better in terms of communication and fact gathering as well.

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quote:Originally posted by beachesl

I should not have said that he did not perform well, that was a mistatement, sorry.[:I]

... He apparently has second thoughts about his enthusiasm in this regard, as he apparently believes that this less than standard performance because of this gesture was a factor in his being lowlisted on the national team, aggravating his injury and causing problems with his club in Germany that he is now starting to work out (his recent good performances there help)....

Yallop was hired partly as a way to improve communication between the players (as well as their clubs) and the coaching staff, and I don't think that anyone here would reasonably disagree that Holger was deficient in that area, for all his skills. Yallop obviously has improved the situation in this department, ....

He changed clubs in the off season so he's not 'starting to work out[problems]' arising from his Olympic qualifying stint.

And on the second point, I don't really see where Yallop has improved anything. He's given plenty of playing time to a couple of friends who were players who would not play for Holger. I don't see where that has benefited our situation.

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Curtis Armada posted a starting lineup that I would have a problem improving upon waaayy back prior to the Honduras game in Edmonton.

GK Lars

Defense Jazic Menenez Stalteri

Def Mid Serioux Imhoff Brennan

Attack Mid Hume DeGuzman

Forward Radz Ocean

Sub Devos McKenna DeRo Nsaliwa Bircham Hutchinson Bernier

That is assuming an injury free squad selection. With McKenna and Stalteri out due to injury/suspension, I would start Nsaliwa at right back and add Klukowski as cover on the left.

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Curtis Armada posted a starting lineup that I would have a problem improving upon waaayy back prior to the Honduras game in Edmonton.

GK Lars

Defense Jazic Menenez Stalteri

Def Mid Serioux Imhoff Brennan

Attack Mid Hume DeGuzman

Forward Radz Ocean

Sub Devos McKenna DeRo Nsaliwa Bircham Hutchinson Bernier

That is assuming an injury free squad selection. With McKenna and Stalteri out due to injury/suspension, I would start Nsaliwa at right back and add Klukowski as cover on the left.

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quote:Originally posted by Ed

Curtis Armada posted a starting lineup that I would have a problem improving upon waaayy back prior to the Honduras game in Edmonton.

GK Lars

Defense Jazic Menenez Stalteri

Def Mid Serioux Imhoff Brennan

Attack Mid Hume DeGuzman

Forward Radz Ocean

Sub Devos McKenna DeRo Nsaliwa Bircham Hutchinson Bernier

That is assuming an injury free squad selection. With McKenna and Stalteri out due to injury/suspension, I would start Nsaliwa at right back and add Klukowski as cover on the left.

You have continental, lower-level competition Imhof. Yallop obviously likes him too. You have Holger cast-off Jazic. If Frank doesn't love him how else would he continue to draw in after Honduras? You have Serioux, who nobody would rate had Yallop not brought him into the B squad, and you have Radzinski who would never have come back for Holger. Clearly, Yallop has improved player selection. There's something strange going on with Brennan and Bircham. But maybe Nsaliwa is legitimately too far down the depth chart based on the mix Yallop desires amongst N.American, Scandinavian, and European players & schedules? Just a guess.

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