Linford encouraging JDG2 to play for Holland

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Current Champ

Doesn't almost everyone on this board bash the CSA?

Isn't Linford actually agreeing with the sentiments voiced on this forum?

Linford isn't even agreeing with his own sentiments with a comment like that. He is bashing the CSA for not having the best interests of the National team at heart, and then he makes a comment that encourages players not to play for the national team.

Does that not seem to be the slightest bit contradictory?

[VPjr]

Guys, it's easy to throw stones at Linford for a comment like this but, at the end of the day, if JDG2 was your kid, would you encourage him to put on the Canadian kit or the Dutch kit, knowing what you know about the CSA. I think Linford was doing what anyone would do...when you are angry, you tend to speak the truth...too bad the truth hurts. The CSA is going to have to get its SH-T together if they want to keep the best players playing for Canada.

Instead of nitpicking, put yourself in his shoes for a minute. Imagine having to go to work dealing with what Linford had to deal with for 15 months. Imagine having formulated a plan of attack for moving the CSA into the 20th century but everything you wanted to do gets squashed by petty egomaniacs who can't see the forest from the trees. You finally have enough of the BS and so you quit and then you speak out, in anger. Have any of you misspoke when speaking in anger? My guess is yes. I am sure he might have wished that he did not say that better players should avoid playing for Canada but I, for one, am glad he did. It makes sure that this news story does not die off quickly.

[David C.]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Which for me, is simply an inexcusable statement.

Rallying for change in a country's FA is one thing, encouraging kids to turn their back on their country is another altogether.

Agreed 100%. Pretty classless thing to say, despite the circumstances.

[BigBird]

I don’t think anyone turns their back on their country because someone tells them too, players and their managers are not stupid, but I do believe his statement may have some valid points. Look lets be realistic a players future cannot depend and wait for the country to pick them for any duty call, sure its nice to be pick and a honor as some as mentioned, and some have done but at the end of the day its just a few games in their young career to add to their resume, and a small window of opportunity that is available to these young players does not help. But I think he is truly looking at the overall larger picture of what is important and what is not! I think he is just getting the message out their there is none and the reason why.

Good for him at least it’s a rude awaking for many in this forum, that should wake up and smell the **** that goes on, and behind close doors at the CSA .

Fire them all and hire all South Americans, Mexican, and Italians and you will have a World Cup team in short time…….I guarantee it. Look at the futsbol soccer first time in World Cup for Canada and the best team ever...an amazing team......

My kind of guy Go Linford.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

Guys, it's easy to throw stones at Linford for a comment like this but, at the end of the day, if JDG2 was your kid, would you encourage him to put on the Canadian kit

Yes. If you love your country and you love soccer, you play soccer for your country.

It's as simple as that.

[Ivan]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Yes. If you love your country and you love soccer, you play soccer for your country.

It's as simple as that.

Hear, hear. You play for your country, end of story.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Yes. If you love your country and you love soccer, you play soccer for your country.

It's as simple as that.

That's a load of horse manure. Nothing is as black and white as your simple assertion.

I love Canada and I love the men and women who represent our country on the soccer field but if my kid was good enough to play for a top footballing nation, as JDG2 might, especially if the other country actually developed his skills and made him the super talent that he is, I'd be inclined to encourage him to play for them. In my heart, I would rather see my son play for Canada but the CSA is a joke and why would I want to support them. They do nothing for the elite players. Hell, they can wrestle up enough money to schedule a decent number of matches for both the men and women each year.

Now, if a revolution takes place at the CSA, then my opinion would change.

[Bill Spiers]

I was also concerned about the statement attributed to Colin but in an exchange of e-mails with him, he advised that his statement was taken out of context and as a proud, 'adopted' Canadian he would (and has) done everything to encourage Canadian players to play for Canada. He even tried to convince Aston Villa owner, Randy Lerner, (Colin is a life-long Villa fan) to buy JDG2 in the hopes that by getting him out of Holland, there would be more chance that he would join his brother on the Canadian National Team.

[BigBird]

quote:Originally posted by Bill Spiers

I was also concerned about the statement attributed to Colin but in an exchange of e-mails with him, he advised that his statement was taken out of context and as a proud, 'adopted' Canadian he would (and has) done everything to encourage Canadian players to play for Canada. He even tried to convince Aston Villa owner, Randy Lerner, (Colin is a life-long Villa fan) to buy JDG2 in the hopes that by getting him out of Holland, there would be more chance that he would join his brother on the Canadian National Team.

Good then he should have another press conference to clear matters up!

[kclee]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

That's a load of horse manure. Nothing is as black and white as your simple assertion.

I love Canada and I love the men and women who represent our country on the soccer field but if my kid was good enough to play for a top footballing nation, as JDG2 might, especially if the other country actually developed his skills and made him the super talent that he is, I'd be inclined to encourage him to play for them. In my heart, I would rather see my son play for Canada but the CSA is a joke and why would I want to support them. They do nothing for the elite players. Hell, they can wrestle up enough money to schedule a decent number of matches for both the men and women each year.

Now, if a revolution takes place at the CSA, then my opinion would change.

Oh, but it is as simple as that. Why do people have such trouble differentiating club football from country? The motivations are not and should not be the same (unless your OH). Also, Feyenoord developed JDG2 not Holland. And they will make a pretty good return on their investment after they sell him.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by kclee

Oh, but it is as simple as that. Why do people have such trouble differentiating club football from country? The motivations are not and should not be the same (unless your OH). Also, Feyenoord developed JDG2 not Holland. And they will make a pretty good return on their investment after they sell him.

Ok, fair enough, but what has the CSA done JDG2? What has the CSA invested in him? Best as I can tell...NADA...ZIP...NOTHING.

Just because he was born here doesn't make him a homegrown talent. The Canadian senior men's team and even the U20 team is chock full of players born in other countries. They chose to play for Canada either because we were a better choice then their native country or because they could not crack the squad of another country. That's the cold hard truth. Christ, that kid Johnson on the U20's had never even been to Canada since he was an infant until he got called up to a U20 camp.

Save me the rhetoric about loving your country. I assure you I love Canada as much or more than most. However, when it comes to international soccer, these days, supporting a country's national team is not much different than supporting a club team. National Coaches are always looking for some loophole that will allow them to cap some other nation's native born sons.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Bill Spiers

I was also concerned about the statement attributed to Colin but in an exchange of e-mails with him, he advised that his statement was taken out of context and as a proud, 'adopted' Canadian he would (and has) done everything to encourage Canadian players to play for Canada. He even tried to convince Aston Villa owner, Randy Lerner, (Colin is a life-long Villa fan) to buy JDG2 in the hopes that by getting him out of Holland, there would be more chance that he would join his brother on the Canadian National Team.

Ok fair enough. Though Linford should have some serious issues with that particular journalist as that mis-quote (if that's what it was) made him look extremely bad.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

That's a load of horse manure. Nothing is as black and white as your simple assertion.

I love Canada and I love the men and women who represent our country on the soccer field but if my kid was good enough to play for a top footballing nation, as JDG2 might, especially if the other country actually developed his skills and made him the super talent that he is, I'd be inclined to encourage him to play for them. In my heart, I would rather see my son play for Canada but the CSA is a joke and why would I want to support them. They do nothing for the elite players. Hell, they can wrestle up enough money to schedule a decent number of matches for both the men and women each year.

Now, if a revolution takes place at the CSA, then my opinion would change.

If Jonathan loves his adopted country Holland and wants to play for them, then that's fine for him, he's been there long enough. As a proud Canadian however I would want any offspring of mine to play for Canada. The football association would have to do something pretty drastic (like murder my other offspring) to want to change that.

Do you really think we are the only country where the fans hate & blame everything on the FA? I've seen some howlers from the USSF from my time, just as another example, but they are more likey to get away with their incompetencies because they have $$$ coming out of their asses.

I'm an extremely dedicated Canadian & Canadian soccer fan & supporter. I support the team & the players and occasionally the coaches too. My support isn't contigent upon how competent the country's football association is, or how it is perceived to be.

And yes, it is that simple for me.

[Guest Ed]

With all due respect G-L, the fact is the players do play for the CSA. Just as Olympians play for the COA and hockey players play for Hockey Canada.

To suggest otherwise is ignoring the reality - you cannot play soccer for this country unless through the CSA. Do you think Charmaine Hooper and Christine Latham don't want to play for CANADA? They sure as hell do. But the CSA prevents them from playing.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

If Jonathan loves his adopted country Holland and wants to play for them, then that's fine for him, he's been there long enough. As a proud Canadian however I would want any offspring of mine to play for Canada. The football association would have to do something pretty drastic (like murder my other offspring) to want to change that.

Do you really think we are the only country where the fans hate & blame everything on the FA? I've seen some howlers from the USSF from my time, just as another example, but they are more likey to get away with their incompetencies because they have $$$ coming out of their asses.

I'm an extremely dedicated Canadian & Canadian soccer fan & supporter. I support the team & the players and occasionally the coaches too. My support isn't contigent upon how competent the country's football association is, or how it is perceived to be.

And yes, it is that simple for me.

I too support like crazy. I buy my gear, I buy my tickets, I travel to games when I can. I just want to see the dissolution of the CSA so that I can truly be proud of the national team program as a whole. I love the players but hate the organization, and thus understand why some players wont pull on our kit because they too hate the organization.

[Cheeta]

re-posted under the right topic...

Geez guys..

I think this is one of those dramatic statements where the desired effect became muddled when taken out of the context of the interview.

And that's a pretty damned dramatic statement when you consider the source. And it was ment to be a bit of theatre.

Think of it....the just resigned president of the CSA, a former president of the OSA and a man who's dedicated decades of his life to the front lines of soccer in this country at all levels has come out and expressed in a single statement that all these years he's been wasting his time.

That long, long over-due reform is impossible at the Canadian Soccer Association.

That the cause is hopeless and any Canadian player who has the opportunity and is worth his salt shouldn't be shackled by his Canadian identity into playing for Canada/CSA on the international stage. They shouldn't be guilted into that sort of sentence. That the players deserve far, far, better than anything the CSA will every be willing to offer them.

That isn't bitterness. Sounds more like resignation to me. A recognition of an inevitable defeat and acceptance that things are the way they are and they're not going to change.

But good for Linford. Keep them coming. You'll only get 15 minutes of fame so use all those minutes up. Probably just spinning those wheels but keep spinning away. Hopefully enough people will hear the noise, see those tires spinning, and collectively lend enough hands push the CSA moving forward.

Oh, and please spare me the "you're playing for Canada, not the CSA" routine. I used to feel that way and God Bless the ones that still do, but year after year after year I finding that it's impossible to divorce the two. And more and more others will to.

[Bertuzzi44]

Unless Linford was mis-quoted, I think he totally crossed the line. Bashing the CSA is one thing, but encouraging Canadians not to play for Canada undermines (most) any support and sympathy he would receive from Canadian soccer fans.

[Guest speedmonk42]

quote:Originally posted by Bertuzzi44

Unless Linford was mis-quoted, I think he totally crossed the line. Bashing the CSA is one thing, but encouraging Canadians not to play for Canada undermines (most) any support and sympathy he would receive from Canadian soccer fans.

I agree, and it is not the first stupid thing he has said.

He said once that he never thought the U20 could have been such a success. I thought, well f**k off then, and let someone else with faith in the soccer community here do the job.

I am glad he is gone. He was an abysmal speaker and wrt to things like above shows the wrong internal attitude/direction for the game.

If you don't believe we can be something truly greater than we are now, you don't deserve to work at the CSA.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Ed

With all due respect G-L, the fact is the players do play for the CSA. Just as Olympians play for the COA and hockey players play for Hockey Canada.

To suggest otherwise is ignoring the reality - you cannot play soccer for this country unless through the CSA.

Playing "through" the CSA is not the same as playing "for" the CSA. I am obviously referring to intent & desire and who the players feel they are representing when they pull on that jersey. I'd be surprised, to put it mildly, if any of our players dream of "playing for the CSA" or "dreaming of winning a World Cup for the CSA". As well, I don't think being banned from a team because you didn't show up for a game or a tourney (ie. Radzinski a number of years ago) is quite the same thing as deciding on which country you'd like to represent and play for.

[RJB]

I'm annoyed by Mr. Linford's statement, however it is a good show of his frustration. With Fernandes for Portugal, Hargreaves for England, and De Guzman for Holland, maybe THEN people will notice and start to question. It's sad, I know.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by speedmonk42

I agree, and it is not the first stupid thing he has said.

He said once that he never thought the U20 could have been such a success. I thought, well f**k off then, and let someone else with faith in the soccer community here do the job.

I am glad he is gone. He was an abysmal speaker and wrt to things like above shows the wrong internal attitude/direction for the game.

If you don't believe we can be something truly greater than we are now, you don't deserve to work at the CSA.

The man obviously dedicated a big chunk of his life to the OSA and CSA. You have to think that he believed in this country's potential to be a good soccer nation or else why would he even bother volunteering so much of his time...It wasn't for the money.

however, after 15 months of swimming with the sharks, he got tired of getting eaten alive. So he quit and spoke out. He told us what we all already knew. Nothing is going to change as long as the clowns at the top are still in place. I applaud him for speaking his mind, even if the opinions expressed offended some of the more sensitive among us. In this day and age, too many people take the "no comment" route rather than speak the truth. I am glad he didn't and I hope the media take this opportunity to expose what's gone down.

Cheeta, I agree with you...the CSA and the National Team are one and the same. You can't seperate them. I will still cheer for the players but if they succeed, I fear it will only reinforce the status quo, which is unacceptable in the long run.

[Acid-Tone]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

That's funny because that's exactly what I thought was happening when his resignation was first announced with all the people on this forum who immediately formed a lynch mob for anyone on the CSA who wasn't Linford, while simulataneously forming a committee to institute him as the Patron Saint of Canadian Soccer.

good thing we have you around to stick up for the CSA and champion all of their causes!! []

OMG Colin Linford said something politically incorrect! Lets throw out all the good he's tried to do for soccer in this country and instead crucify him for suggesting that a players best interests might not be best served by playing soccer for Canada.

[TOcanadafan]

Colin Linford is playing the political game. And encouraging any talented Canadian youth soccer players and their entourage to play the political game as well with a statement like that.

It comes down to pride and character. Play for your nation and stop the political game playing. At the end of the day, your play at your club team will earn you the fame and money or whatever you want out of the game.

I can't believe some of these comments about how "if it were my son I would have him play for Holland too." You should be telling your son who's making way more money than you ever did to suck it up for 10 days and not only play for your country but be as happy and as proud as Captain Canuck. And then when he's 40 and retired from the game, credible because of all his years of service, he can become the head coach, director, whatever, a leader for Canadian Soccer.

This is the message we should be giving our youth, not the political bs coming from the yap of Linford.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by TOcanadafan

And then when he's 40 and retired from the game, credible because of all his years of service, he can become the head coach, director, whatever, a leader for Canadian Soccer.

This is the message we should be giving our youth, not the political bs coming from the yap of Linford.

Have you ever found it odd how few former Canadian national team players seem to be involved publicly with the CSA. From the 86 WC team, there are still a few guys who are involved with the game but you don't hear too many of them cheerleading for the CSA (The Duze and Bruce Wilson are are two well known critics). Are there any former players who are actively involved at the Provincial or CSA level? If not, why?

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

quote:Originally posted by David C.

Pretty classless thing to say, despite the circumstances.

Personally, I think he has earned the right to say it after doing all he could to try to hire the right sort of people as national team coach and CEO who could take things forward. How could anyone start off an interview by saying the whole CSA setup is now broken beyond repair and he is leaving the organization in disgust and then turn around in all seriousness and recommend that a young player still should choose Canada over Holland? For this to ever get fixed a lot of people are going to have to stick their necks out a long way like this.