kelownaguy Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Has returned home to Kelowna for some R and R at his family's cabin on Okanagan lake for a week or so.. Will have to settle for watching the Gold Cup on Sportsnet and is disappointed not to get the invite.. Amazing how Yallop is having a hard time getting quality young players together for this team because of training camps and club commitments,, yet we have a good young big striker in Friend who is in mid-season form and on a goal scoring tear this season,, sitting at home on break a mere 4 hour drive from Seattle where the team is... Does Wil Johnson truly belong to be there over Friend who has put in his dues with the youth and olympic teams?? I'm not sure about that one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timotas Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Yeah I totally agree with you. Can't believe how in-form Friend is this year and doesn't even get a call? He's young, big, can score, and wants to play for Canada... what is wrong with Yallop? And you make a good point about Will Johnson. He did look great in the U20s campaign, but there is no way in hell he should be there instead of Friend. It seems that Friend is in the kind of form Occean was last year around this time, so why not give him a shot? Yallop has made me wonder a lot, such as playing Peters in ever-so-important WCQ matches, not bringing in Sutton for the WCQ, making Watson such an imperative part to our WCQ campaign, etc.etc.etc. This may be one to add to the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelownaguy Posted July 6, 2005 Author Share Posted July 6, 2005 I agree Timotas,, before Friend moved up to the top Norweigan league this year,, you could make a case for him not being on the team as the competition he was playing was somewhat weak,, but now that he is scoring very consistently in their top league,, I think you have to give him a look.. I'm not knocking Wil Johnson at all, I think he is a very good prospect , but the fact that Friend has put in his dues much longer then Johnson,, and the icing on the cake is he is sitting at home watching the Gold Cup a mere 4 hours away from where the team is,, it just doesn't make much sense to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 To be fair to Johnson, he is not with the Canadian team, but rather he was named as an alternate should any of the 19 travelling team members get injured. All of the reserves named for the GC are North American-based. That said, it is odd that Friend was not called in, as he fits the bill of a young, largely untested player that seems to dominate this year's roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 My hunch is that Johnson has been called in simply because Yallop wants to get him cap-tied. I'm sure Yallop might try to dress him one game and try to get him subbed on if the game is no longer in question. Surely if Johnson continues to develop then the americans will come calling and considering he's lived there his whole life we could very well lose him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Would it have been worth calling Friend to have him be behind Dero, Hume, Occéan and Ali? Not sure he was interested in spending the tourny on the bench... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C. Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 It might have been worth calling Friend instead of Ali, and making Gerba the emercency call-up, instead of Will Johnson. The Impact would have appreciated that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanKeay Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Im sure montreal would of appreaciated that, but im sure one Ali would of been one pissed off dude... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 If Yallop is worth anything he needs to make up his own mind about players and not let himself be influenced by others. Now that Rob Friend is mentioned it seems unforgivable that he was left out without any explanation to him at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analyst Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 quote:Originally posted by SeanKeay Im sure montreal would of appreaciated that, but im sure one Ali would of been one pissed off dude... and in the short time that Ali Gerba and OO were on the field in the friendly vs Honduras, Ali did more. The next day he showed real commitment, flying to Montreal to play that night. Ali is included and should remain so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 Clealry an obvious selection, and I don't know if he would be behind any of our current Gold Cup strikers at the moment. Hume is out of season, and neither DD or Olly have been lighting up the board at the club level. Yallop definetly dropped the ball on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Winnipeg Fury Hume is out of season, and neither DD or Olly have been lighting up the board at the club level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacks Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Rudi Dwayne is rarely used at striker for San Jose any longer. He has been converted to an A-Mid, and by all acounts has excelled in that role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelownaguy Posted July 7, 2005 Author Share Posted July 7, 2005 Daniel,, I'm not sure how much playing time Rob would of got,, but I can tell you through first hand knowledge he is quite disappointed not to have been called and is a little surprised by some of the selections of players taken ahead of him,, I'll let you figure those ones out.. I think one of the strange parts of this whole situation is it's not like they have to pull teeth to get Friend released from his club,, he's already here on a break and is just a short drive away from Seattle,, it almost makes too much sense for him to be there right now,, and that is not the CSA's way of doing things as we all know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 I'm still mad they didn't select Brad Parker or Joey Torchia! This "unacceptable" stuff is getting ridiculous. FY called up his usual strikers plus one which has played with many players on the team in the past (Montréal and U20 Qs) and is the top domestic striker. Friend has not been in the picture for a while, he needs to thrust himself back in. A few goals at the beginning of a season just isn't enough. Otherwise Brian Savage would be an all-star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodway Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by CanadianSoccerFan My hunch is that Johnson has been called in simply because Yallop wants to get him cap-tied. I'm sure Yallop might try to dress him one game and try to get him subbed on if the game is no longer in question. Surely if Johnson continues to develop then the americans will come calling and considering he's lived there his whole life we could very well lose him. Playing in the WYC's did cap-tie Johnson. For that matter so did playing in the qualification group for the WYC's. While the new FIFA rules are in place to allow a player to switch countries after being cap-tied at the youth level. It is a very involved process and only used in exceptional circumstances. The chances of Johnson ever switching over to the US are miniscule. I would put it up there with the chances of Freddy Adu deciding he wants to play his senior international soccer for Ghana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timotas Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Daniel I'm still mad they didn't select Brad Parker or Joey Torchia! This "unacceptable" stuff is getting ridiculous. FY called up his usual strikers plus one which has played with many players on the team in the past (Montréal and U20 Qs) and is the top domestic striker. Friend has not been in the picture for a while, he needs to thrust himself back in. A few goals at the beginning of a season just isn't enough. Otherwise Brian Savage would be an all-star. Yeah, but why not give him a chance? Why keep the same old strikers? Have they really done anything that special to always be a shoe-in? Maybe our strikers need a little competition, to give them that extra motivation to keep their spot on the national team. What other ways will he thrust himself back in? He's scoring goals in a league that is a higher caliber than the USL (where most our GC players are playing); what more do you want? You can say a few goals at the beginning of the season isn't enough, then what is enough? He's doing more than anyone else at the club level right now. Friend is big, strong, in-form... why not give him a shot? Answer these questions Daniel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanKeay Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Hume, Ali, Dero, OO..... all young talent who have impressed Yallop. Sure i think Friend deserves a shot but so does Ali, and has been lighting up the usl for quite some time. And i think looking down on the USL and saying its crap compaired to scandinavia is a joke. The only difference between those leagues is the pay and thats why they go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Rodway The chances of Johnson switching to the US are not miniscule, they are non-existent unless there is a rule change at FIFA. In order to switch ones allegiance, one has to have been eleigible for the second country at the time of the initial cap tie at th eyouth level. Johnson's mother has indicated that he is not a US citizen, hence he was not eligible to play for them, hence he does not qualify for a future switch to the US. His only choices now are Canada and England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timotas Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by SeanKeay Hume, Ali, Dero, OO..... all young talent who have impressed Yallop. Sure i think Friend deserves a shot but so does Ali, and has been lighting up the usl for quite some time. And i think looking down on the USL and saying its crap compaired to scandinavia is a joke. The only difference between those leagues is the pay and thats why they go there. I never said the USL was crap and never looked down on it. I just stated that the Norwegian Tippeligaen is of better caliber than the USL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Timotas Yeah, but why not give him a chance? Why keep the same old strikers? Have they really done anything that special to always be a shoe-in? Maybe our strikers need a little competition, to give them that extra motivation to keep their spot on the national team. What other ways will he thrust himself back in? He's scoring goals in a league that is a higher caliber than the USL (where most our GC players are playing); what more do you want? You can say a few goals at the beginning of the season isn't enough, then what is enough? He's doing more than anyone else at the club level right now. Friend is big, strong, in-form... why not give him a shot? Answer these questions Daniel... Trying to build some team chemistry. There's a limit to how many strikers you can have before ensuring that one will never see the pitch. I think 4 is the limit. I can't see Dero, OO or Hume being dislodged by Friend. That leaves Ali, the most prolific Canadian striker in the USL in the past 3-4 years. That deserves a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 It is great to see Rob Friend haing such a good year in Norway and I would like to see him in a Canada shirt soon. However, methinks if Rob were selected and Ali left off, we would have a thread entitled Ali Gerba and numerous posters lamenting the fact that Ali was not selected. At least we are now building depth where every team selected results in debates about who was left off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 Was Friend on the bench against Belize in WCQ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted July 7, 2005 Share Posted July 7, 2005 No, he wasn't. Neither was Ali or Sir Lawrence for that matter, though the latter did play against Wales prior to the Belize series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 I have a better opinion of the USL than many people and a worse opinion of the Scandanavian leagues than many but the Norwegian top flight is still a division above the USL without doubt. I do have less problem with leaving Friend off than some other callups because at striker we have a lot of decent possible choices who are young but no clear starters. Several of the strikers can play other positions though so Friend probably should have been called. We need to try out as many strikers as possible until we find someone who can score for us on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.