Alex Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=1989 Apparently Vancouver has signed Mark Watson. You guys think he should help the Caps? whats their defensive situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Footy Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 The Caps had a great goals against record last year and with the addition of Watson should make our defence one of the best in the league ... dont be surprised if another "name" defender is signed in the new year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Duzzi seems to prefer the mature type of guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ochico Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 M Watson is a great addition to the Whitecaps roster. But more importantly,he will be retiring in the next two years and joining the national team program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettermirror Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 hehe, ochico. i think he's a good add to the whitecaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanKeay Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Man, i wish i had watson on the lynx!!! i love watson!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 He didn't play poorly in the last round of qualifying. In fact, he looked very good in one or two games. But there were players who were overlooked whom I feel could have made more positive contributions with a more well rounded game. Actually, I am a little disppointed in the Whitecaps with these moves. With only three A-league teams, there are so few professional options in canada for younger players in the U23 and U20 pools and I hate to see these spots get wasted through through players like Xausa, Corrazin, and Watson. All of whom won't be around for future MNT duties. Wouldn't the game be better served if these spots were taken by players who can gain more from the a-league experience in terms of a stepping stone to bigger and better things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Free kick He didn't play poorly in the last round of qualifying. In fact, he looked very good in one or two games. But there were players who were overlooked whom I feel could have made more positive contributions with a more well rounded game. Actually, I am a little disppointed in the Whitecaps with these moves. With only three A-league teams, there are so few professional options in canada for younger players in the U23 and U20 pools and I hate to see these spots get wasted through through players like Xausa, Corrazin, and Watson. All of whom won't be around for future MNT duties. Wouldn't the game be better served if these spots were taken by players who can gain more from the a-league experience in terms of a stepping stone to bigger and better things? unknowns wont put the butts in the seats. remember, first and foremost the 'caps are a private business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 My cristal ball says that the next player to sign for the Whitecaps is either Hastings or Fletcher! Seems the Duzz is rebuilding with Holger's old players! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberto7 Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Free kick He didn't play poorly in the last round of qualifying. In fact, he looked very good in one or two games. But there were players who were overlooked whom I feel could have made more positive contributions with a more well rounded game. Actually, I am a little disppointed in the Whitecaps with these moves. With only three A-league teams, there are so few professional options in canada for younger players in the U23 and U20 pools and I hate to see these spots get wasted through through players like Xausa, Corrazin, and Watson. All of whom won't be around for future MNT duties. Wouldn't the game be better served if these spots were taken by players who can gain more from the a-league experience in terms of a stepping stone to bigger and better things? Why would the Whitecaps care if players move on to bigger and better things? They are interested in what these players can bring on the field for the Whitecaps and no one else. Watson is a very capable A-league(sorry, I meant USL First Division) defender and will fit in very well in Vancouver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Free kick Wouldn't the game be better served if these spots were taken by players who can gain more from the a-league experience in terms of a stepping stone to bigger and better things? Just to ditto others comments why should the Whitecaps care? Their job is to run a successful club side, not to provide young players a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Vancouver fans don't sit around chatting how great it is that one of their ex-players is now sitting on the bench over in Europe for Dillhole United. Vancouver supporters care about how the Whitecaps are doing. A club sides only priority should be winning games, not worrying about how they can best provide a stepping stone for their players to move elsewhere. The Canadian game would be better served if more Canadian teams thought like the Whitecaps. Ask Calgary and Edmonton fans how well things go when you treat the teams as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
François Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Daniel My cristal ball says that the next player to sign for the Whitecaps is either Hastings or Fletcher! Seems the Duzz is rebuilding with Holger's old players! My cristal ball says that the next player will be a friend of Bob Lilley. Remember when he came to Montreal how he signed Ze Roberto and Sebrango... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Except for a few gaffs here and there Watson had a pretty good WCQ, as short as it was. Or so I thought. If the 'Caps don't have a younger up and comer that they're grooming I don't see any harm in Watson playing his footie out on the left coast. Of course if they do, I find it hard to imagine Mark living life as injury cover for someone else. Playing time conflict. But I speculate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 quote:Originally posted by François My cristal ball says that the next player will be a friend of Bob Lilley. Remember when he came to Montreal how he signed Ze Roberto and Sebrango... The next player they will sign will be another Charleston player, midfielder Steve Klein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Cheeta Except for a few gaffs here and there Watson had a pretty good WCQ, as short as it was. Or so I thought. Just to further endear myself to the Southsiders, I beg to differ. Although he didn't hand over a sure goal like Jazic did in game #2, he was caught flat footed too many times for my liking contributing to killer goals against in the first game against Guatemala and the away game against Costa Rica. His non-clearance in the last seconds of the game in Honduras cost us 2 sure points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Maybe I should clarify. He perfomed head over heels better than I thought he was going to. Wore a very fine pair of goat horns a couple of times and usualy at the worse possible momment. But overall I still think he managed. That being said, I'd never have had him even on the bench. Think the A-League will continue to suit him just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Ed Just to further endear myself to the Southsiders, I beg to differ. Although he didn't hand over a sure goal like Jazic did in game #2, he was caught flat footed too many times for my liking contributing to killer goals against in the first game against Guatemala and the away game against Costa Rica. His non-clearance in the last seconds of the game in Honduras cost us 2 sure points. It's a case of over scrutinizing certain players, something the voyageurs love to do. You guys were looking for Watson to make mistakes, even hoping that he would. The same goes for some other players you guys like to put down. I'll say this. I'll watch Watson play for the Whitecaps next season while some of you can keep getting excited over which bench players like Lars Hirschfeld are warming this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 Krammer, what I was looking for was for Canada to field a strong defence and qualify for the Hex not for Watson to make mistakes. I think most of the other posters here who are critical of Watson felt the same way. I agree with Cheeta's assessment. He performed better than I thought he would but still made a number of costly mistakes and did not perform at the level I think a few other candidates for his position would have, most notably Nsaliwa. He might have been a reasonable call up as a substitute and injury cover but not as a starter. On the other hand I don't think his play was so bad as to be a crucial factor in our elimination like Onstad's was. He also played well for us when he was younger and playing higher level soccer. In his current form he is still an excellent A-league defender but there is a huge difference between A-league and national team level. Hirschfeld may be warming the bench but it is a much higher level bench than A-league where he would be a definite starter and top keeper. I hope and expect that Watson will perform well for the Whitecaps because that is the level he should be performing at not the national team level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarnCherry Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 I understand your point Grizzly, however we can't blame Watson for himself being in the lineup, and for being there in place of others that some may feel better deserved the spot. He was asked and he served his country, something that those that are overly critical of these players who played when asked can say about themselves. You can't deny some of the attacks some of the players (usually A-Leaguers) got here for playing for Canada when called upon went far beyond normal criticism. Go back and look at the match threads where right after kickoff people here went off on some of the players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 I have stated many times that I think everyone who shows up when called should be respected for it and there have been posts that go over the top in their criticism (although in comparison with Hastings and Fenwick, Watson and Onstad have gotten off relatively easy). Nor was Watson's performance a disaster (Onstad was a disaster) and every game had several players less deserving of a call up than he was. If I were to grade his performance it would be a C or adequate which is still a pass but I think we could have had a stronger player in his spot. He was also consistent, didn't make the blaring errors that Onstad did every game starting with Belize and gave 100% effort. With Watson's experience he would have been ideal as injury cover. Still a professional soccer player is judged on their play not on whether they are great guys and have to be ready to accept the criticism that will come from their play. The blame, though, should be placed on the person who called up the players and decided who was a starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Krammerhead You can't deny some of the attacks some of the players (usually A-Leaguers) got here for playing for Canada when called upon went far beyond normal criticism. Go back and look at the match threads where right after kickoff people here went off on some of the players. Sure some of the attacks were on A-League players, but other popular whipping boys have been Paul Fenwick and Richard Hastings in recent years. The problem with many of the A-Leaguers who have been called is that they are former National team members past their prime. Some guys who fit this category are Watson, Corazzin and Dasovic. The latter two started earning their raspberries before joining the A-League. Dasovic was one of my very favourites at the top of his game, but he lost that step he didn't have to lose. Still thinks the game as good as or better than anyone we have, but just can't always compensate for the dimished physical tools. You are right, the players don't select themselves, but to we have to preface every critical statement with "Mad props to X for showing up for Canada but he is past it"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacks Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 Watson looked terrible in the qualifying, slow, and old. Menezes, Kluwkowski, Nasawal (spelling?), Fenwick(similar player but plays at a higher level), Gervais, Pozniak, + Mark Rogers would all of been a better choice than Yallop's buddy Mark Watson. Come on Retire Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timotas Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 quote:Originally posted by stacks Watson looked terrible in the qualifying, slow, and old. Menezes, Kluwkowski, Nasawal (spelling?), Fenwick(similar player but plays at a higher level), Gervais, Pozniak, + Mark Rogers would all of been a better choice than Yallop's buddy Mark Watson. Come on Retire Mark. I disagree. Watson didn't look very good, he is slow and he is old. He wasn't terrible. Menezes- would have been better Kluwkowski- would have been better Tam- would have been better Fenwick- he was basically released by Hibs; I remember the managing saying before the season that he'd have no place on the team, so I disagree with this one. Gervais- would have been better Pozniak- Wizard of Poz would have definitely been better Mark Rogers- I disagree again. He plays in the Conference Nationwide League, and doesn't start regularly. I do believe Mark Watson is better than Mark Rogers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 Seems Lennarduzzi has a penchant for older players on the downward slope of their careers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted December 4, 2004 Share Posted December 4, 2004 Just to address the whole development vs. results thing. The cool thing about the Impact being set up as a non-profit publicly funded club is that it has a mission statements to serve as a stepping stone for Québec youths. This has provided us with some revelations, such as diTullio, Fronimadis, Hainault, Taty, Ribeiro, etc. The last 2 were playing LSEQ ball when they were signed. Hainault barely got on the pitch last season (something like 45 minutes) but I'm sure he learned a lot. It's exciting to see young players with potential, even if they don't perform quite as well as peaked-out veterans. Watching a very raw Taty in 2003 was great fun. He'd lose the ball all the time but when he managed to keep it, it made for some exciting plays. Same with watching our young guys mature (diTullio and Fronimadis, although they missed most of 2004 with injuries). The Whitecaps seem to have a very old team which means that they're not developing their next team. When the vets retire or become too slow, will the club just repeat the same moves (ie Onstad or something)? Get those U17 nationals and U20s on there. Odds are the home crowd'll love the kids and they'll get great development, which'll help the Caps in the long run, on the pitch and at the bank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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