Stuart Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Courtesy Sportsnet.ca and Gerry Saturday, June 7, 2008 Gerry Dobson Archive This is where I start to hammer away about the lack of respect for our national team; and I will keep it up right through the World Cup Qualifying process. Canadian midfielder Julian De Guzman spent this week in Toronto for treatment on a couple of knocks before heading to Florida to hook up with the national team in advance of their two game set with St. Vincent and The Grenadines. Nothing serious, and he was in the hands of the TFC staff. I spoke with Julian Friday morning and he told me he will be good to go for the two-game set. Consider for a moment that the world-class midfielder is coming off a world-class performance against Brazil where he scored a cracker of a goal. Consider also that the Scarborough, ON-native was the most valuable player for his club team in Spain. Only hardcore fans could tell you that he plays for Deportivo La Coruna. He walked out of BMO Field anonymously and disappeared. Julian is a huge star in Spain. Just like Rob Friend is at his team in Germany, and just like Atiba Hutchinson is with his club in Denmark. But here, nobody knows them. Here's a question for the CSA: With Julian in town all week, and TFC's Jim Brennan, Greg Sutton and Kevin Harmse here as well, why not get them together in a news conference, invite all the media, and pump up these guys as Canada gets set to try and qualify for South Africa? They deserve the recogniton. That recognition in turn will help put a face to this team and will help to sell tickets for the upcoming matches. Which brings us to the next point: Julian expects only one of the three home matches in the semi-final round will be played in Toronto. That's what I'm hearing as well. Here's hoping the CSA will turn that match over to MLSE so they can sell it to TFC season ticket holders and guarantee a home crowd. To you hardcore supporters out there under the umbrella of the Voyageurs, get on it. Don't allow this match to be an away fixture for Canada. Make it Canada's house. In fact everywhere Canada plays, make it red and white. The other two matches will likely be in Edmonton and Montreal. Which brings me back to Julian. TFC hosted him this week in an effort to demonstrate good will between club and country. But there is trouble brewing. Head coach John Carver does not see eye-to-eye with Dale Mitchell on the deployment of his players. It could get worse if they don't sit down face to face over a beer and find some common ground. Carver was animated on that topic once again Friday morning. NOTES: DeGuzman will be holding a charity soccer match on the evening of June 29th at Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough in conjunction with the Robbie International tournamnet..... Be reminded of these upcoming fixture changes. Sunday's TFC game at Houston begins at 8:30 EDT on The Score... The following week against Colorado is a home match Saturday evening with a 7pm kick off here on Rogers Sportsnet. The return fixture is in Colorado in August. That switch was made earlier this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Stuart To you hardcore supporters out there under the umbrella of the Voyageurs, get on it. Don't allow this match to be an away fixture for Canada. Make it Canada's house. In fact everywhere Canada plays, make it red and white. Thanks for the much needed pep talk Gerry. While you've been busy showing the Brasil Canada match live in primetime, getting us highlights of the match against Panama, making sure the St VAG away leg will be on TV, working to get RSN production value to 50% of that of CBC and, of course, diligently learning the players names, we've just been sitting around having a toss watching EPL highlights that everybody's seen a hundred times. Thanks for pointing that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Stuart Courtesy Sportsnet.ca and Gerry Julian expects only one of the three home matches in the semi-final round will be played in Toronto. That's what I'm hearing as well. Here's hoping the CSA will turn that match over to MLSE so they can sell it to TFC season ticket holders and guarantee a home crowd. Also thanks very much Gerry for working towards undermining the players in their preference for the grass pitch in Montreal over Toronto turf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by BrennanFan Also thanks very much Gerry for working towards undermining the players in their preference for the grass pitch in Montreal over Toronto turf. I don't think he's saying that. He's just pointing out that the CSA should be working with MLSE to sell tickets to that one match. It's not like he's saying "only one match in toronto what an outrage etc.". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Scottie I don't think he's saying that. He's just pointing out that the CSA should be working with MLSE to sell tickets to that one match. It's not like he's saying "only one match in toronto what an outrage etc.". youre right i misread it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Seems Gerry also assumed the CSA PR person and the CSA actually work to promote the game beyond selling tickets for 'school days' at the Yukon Territories 'Under 20 Degrees Celsius Tundra Tournament for Unemployed Pemmican Makers and Ferry Boat Captains'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 My mistake. Looks like he does recognize it. /damn free glass giveaway with Heinekens making me build up my beer glass collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 FREE GLASS WITH HEINKENS???! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Champions League glasses at Jack Astor's. It makes dinner worth it there. Contineu with your regular thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Carver can go f*ck himself if he thinks there should be any bowing down by our coach to his demands. I don't see him mentioning Guevara who has missed (and will miss) more games. Welcome to the world of actually coaching internationals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Wow, some of you guys are tough. I think Gerry's points are excellent ones. We have a top class talent in Julian - the CSA should be marketing the lights out with this guy (and a few others, to be sure). Instead they do nothing. Also, the pleading for a pro-Canada home crowd is also pretty fair. Anyone who has witnessed Canada vs. Mexico/Jamaica/Iran/you name it in Toronto can appreciate what Gerry is saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnipeg Fury Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by SF Wow, some of you guys are tough. I think Gerry's points are excellent ones. We have a top class talent in Julian - the CSA should be marketing the lights out with this guy (and a few others, to be sure). Instead they do nothing. Also, the pleading for a pro-Canada home crowd is also pretty fair. Anyone who has witnessed Canada vs. Mexico/Jamaica/Iran/you name it in Toronto can appreciate what Gerry is saying. Agree completely. And yes Ed, Carver can go f*ck himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soju Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Random thought: Why does Gerry use the word cracker so much? Cracker of a shot cracker of a goal, what's that from? Baseball? Some of the lingo he brings to his commentary seems weird (homerish?) but he seems like an alright guy. I doubt he meant his "challenge" to the Voyageurs as an insult but it could've been worded better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Beaver Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Yeah, dudes, who pissed in your Corn Flakes this morning? I think Gerry is simply trying to rally the troops and to put some fire under the CSA's ass. His ideas are good. And he might work for SportsNet, but he ain't the brass who makes all the decisions. Let's not cr.ap all over one of our own: Dobson is on OUR side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 The way I read it is that GD wants more exposure for our top level players "in this country"! They are already well known in their pro countries but here they don't get the recognition they deserve. I think the idea of putting on a press conference with a bunch of the MNT a great idea. After getting them some exposure more young players could see just how far they can go and still play for Canada! The only name you hear in Calgary is OH and yes he is the most successful Calgary soccer player but he is old news and doesn't play for us. Forget him. I agree with GD that Dero, Hutch, JDG and others should be household tags that everyone knows about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desigol Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 Do People here think Montreal's Stadium would provide a more pro-Canadian crowd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSamurai Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Desigol Do People here think Montreal's Stadium would provide a more pro-Canadian crowd? Tough to make a fair assessment when you don't advertise the matches and overprice friendlies. Aka. Canada friendly in Sept @ BMO... As for Carver, seems like he's saying he has no problem letting players go for international duty, but only if they play and not sit on the bench. He'd rather have them playing for TFC, than to sit on the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by SilverSamurai Tough to make a fair assessment when you don't advertise the matches and overprice friendlies. Aka. Canada friendly in Sept @ BMO... As for Carver, seems like he's saying he has no problem letting players go for international duty, but only if they play and not sit on the bench. He'd rather have them playing for TFC, than to sit on the bench. Sadly for BMO and Toronto, it has already been established that there are no valid excuses for crowd turn out. Its a legacy of no games in Toronto for many years. The parameters have been set, etched in stone, and will be applied without reason or sanity for every game held anywhere in Canada, but most especially in Torono, since Southern Ontario Voyageurs were the authors of said standards and the most ardent adherents of the no "reason or sanity" evaluative protocols. Some the many manifestations will be evaluations from a television pan as to the "real numbers" which will always be a fraction of the announced total. Any number of empty seats deemed "too many". No game will be accepted as meaningless at any level. The absence of any sort of marketing of the game is irrelevant. Equally, the time or date that the game is scheduled is most clearly not a factor either. Real fans would get to the game no matter the time or the date or any scheduling conflicts with popular local professional teams or sporting/cultural events. Yes SilverSamurai, even when 11,000 fans turn out for a meaningless U-17 women's friendly against proud Iceland scheduled to conflict directly with Game 7 of a Toronto - Detroit Stanley Cup Final, it will not be good enough and prove the failings of Toronto as a soccer City. Because we are Voyageurs, and we never let sanity, common sense or reason get in the way of savaging another region. It is what we do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Ed Carver can go f*ck himself if he thinks there should be any bowing down by our coach to his demands. I don't see him mentioning Guevara who has missed (and will miss) more games. Welcome to the world of actually coaching internationals. I agree. Presumably this is about not playing Sutton against Brazil, for which he missed a club game. But Carver isn't the coach of our national team. Once a player is released that's it, it's up to the coach of our national team to decide how and if they are used in the match they have been released for. Our national team coach can't be making decisions on who plays in a game based on the demands of club coaches, whether its John Carver or Dominic Kinnear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSamurai Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca I agree. Presumably this is about not playing Sutton against Brazil, for which he missed a club game. But Carver isn't the coach of our national team. Once a player is released that's it, it's up to the coach of our national team to decide how and if they are used in the match they have been released for. Our national team coach can't be making decisions on who plays in a game based on the demands of club coaches, whether its John Carver or Dominic Kinnear. I agree. Just saying theirs always an excuse why TO can't fill BMO for CMNT matches. And I was pointing out the excuses. Last minute email to season ticket holders, overly priced matches, lack of advertising, etc, etc... Is that a valid excuse? I don't know, but they certinaly didn't help. The pricing at Saputo is fair though. I don't know about advertising or season tickets holders offers in Monreal though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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