BearcatSA Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Ed Bull****. It's too bad there was no game tape of the first leg so we can all assess Gerba's performance in the natural poacher category. I tend to see him more as a streak scorer, but I suppose you could argue that a majority of good strikers are the same. I actually think Friend is the better fit with our current midfield because he seems far more consistent at holding the ball up from a variety of passing service (not just long ball) and distributing to the midfielders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 There are ways to validly criticize Gerba, but to say he only scores against minnows like St. VAG is bunk. His 7 goals have come against: St. Vincent (2) Guatemala (2) Guadeloupe (1) Venezuela (1) Cuba (1) St. Vincent is obviously crap, but Guadeloupe beat us, and Guatemala and Cuba are both respectable CONCACAF sides. Venezuela is up and down, but are typically ranked in the same neighbourhood as Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 quote:Originally posted by jonovision There are ways to validly criticize Gerba, but to say he only scores against minnows like St. VAG is bunk. His 7 goals have come against: St. Vincent (2) Guatemala (2) Guadeloupe (1) Venezuela (1) Cuba (1) St. Vincent is obviously crap, but Guadeloupe beat us, and Guatemala and Cuba are both respectable CONCACAF sides. Venezuela is up and down, but are typically ranked in the same neighbourhood as Canada. I'm not saying he only scores against minnow, I'm asking if he can be consistent enough to score in the group stage. Would Occean be more consistent? We won't know because he wasn't given a good chance to prove himself, that was my point. Maybe Ali is good enough but I,m wondering why he can't make it for an average european team. BTW, against Guatemala he scored one goal, the other one was an own goal that was wrongly credited to Ali. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA It's too bad there was no game tape of the first leg so we can all assess Gerba's performance in the natural poacher category. I tend to see him more as a streak scorer, but I suppose you could argue that a majority of good strikers are the same. I actually think Friend is the better fit with our current midfield because he seems far more consistent at holding the ball up from a variety of passing service (not just long ball) and distributing to the midfielders. I guess I should have been more targetted with my 'criticism' of that post. I am strongly disagreeing with the 'Friend as a target type guy who can't really score' statement. Bull**** to that. He scored 18 goals in the Bundesliga 2, which is probably the best 2nd division in Europe and he scored most of those 18 goals with his feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juby Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Grizzly The training staff in most Euro leagues is not better than in MLS, it is only better in the top Euro leagues. There are a lot of crap and mediocre leagues in Europe and a lot of crap and mediocre training systems and I think I could probably name a few that some of our players have played in without developing. Just to take one example, Pellerud was a pretty sucessful coach in the Norwegian first division and I think we would all agree his quality is far below that of the current TFC staff. TFC has a good coach in Carver and some pretty good guys in the rest of the coaching staff. I doubt Gerba has had a superior coaching staff in his Euro career to date though I will admit to not checking exactly who he has been coached by. Plus Gerba is no longer a youth player who needs a lot of development, what he needs is playing time. If Gerba gets offered a contract by say a 1st division Dutch club then I am all for him staying but I think MLS is probably pretty competitive on most fronts with the type of teams that will be interested in him as long as they are willing to offer him a decent salary. well I was assuming (granted over assuming) he'd be playing somewhere like germany france or netherlands, maybe in the second division but I wasn't saying Norway is btter for developement then MLS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Actually, Ed, your post was clear enough to me. I just forgot to start my post with the sentence "I totally agree." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 quote:Originally posted by loyola Maybe Ali is good enough but I'm wondering why he can't make it for an average european team. Yes, I also wonder why that is. You would have to ask a member of the Ingolstadt coaching staff for more details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA Yes, I also wonder why that is. You would have to ask a member of the Ingolstadt coaching staff for more details. The same thing happenned with his clubs in Sweden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingham Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Anyone know what is Friend's goalscoring record is for Canada,compared to Gerba and Ocean? Any details on who they scored against etc. My observations on Gerba are based on what I have seen so far. i think he would be a better fit into the Stepehn Hart type of football played at the Gold Cup. Also what is your basis for believing that Bundesliga 2 is the strongest in Europe? I dont think these 2nd tier teams from different leagues ever play each other so how would you know unless of course you are watching these diffrent leagues on a regular basis. I think claims like these are the same as TFC fans claiming that the MLS is as good as the Championship in Britain its all based on assumption and certainly not on observation. And by the way BULL**** is not really a well thought out response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonovision Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Ali Gerba: 7 goals in 17 matches (vs St Vincent (2), Guatemala (2), Guadeloupe, Venezuela, Cuba) Rob Friend: 2 goals in 18 matches (vs Brazil, Jamaica) Olivier Occean: 2 goals in 16 matches (vs Iceland, Northern Ireland) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingham Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 thanks Jono Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingham Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 thanks Jono Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 quote:Originally posted by jonovision Ali Gerba: 7 goals in 17 matches (vs St Vincent (2), Guatemala (2), Guadeloupe, Venezuela, Cuba) Rob Friend: 2 goals in 18 matches (vs Brazil, Jamaica) Olivier Occean: 2 goals in 16 matches (vs Iceland, Northern Ireland) You can see here all their caps with the minutes played and opponents: Friend: http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/nationals/profile.asp?playerid=10&sub=3 Gerba: http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/nationals/profile.asp?playerid=167&sub=3 Occean: http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/nationals/profile.asp?playerid=38&sub=3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 quote:Originally posted by bingham My observations on Gerba are based on what I have seen so far. i think he would be a better fit into the Stepehn Hart type of football played at the Gold Cup. Why do you think he is a better fit? Is it because he's a natural poacher, as you posted earlier? I think that he's more of a streak scorer. He had a career highlight spell last year starting with scoring as a sub vs Venezuela, scoring as a starter vs Guadeloupe and twice vs Guatemala. I'm not denying what a great run that was. I suppose some could critique the nature and quality of those goals but that's neither here nor there: he scored during that "Corrazin GC 2000"-like vein of form and was a contributor to our success last year. But he failed to impress me during the Costa Rica September friendly with either his poaching abilities or his technical skills. Perhaps one could argue that he was rusty after being on the bench for his Swedish club, but this leads to my second point which pertains to why he wasn't able to impress in Sweden or stay with his newly promoted to Bundesliga 2 club side. You'd think a young (25)natural poacher would be able maintain a team place. All this leaves me wondering if last year was more of a fluke. Honestly, I hope it isn't and come the second round Gerba proves to be "the man," if not as a starter than at least as a first choice sub. I truly hope he keeps being able to pop in goals for the MNT come August/September. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 quote:Originally posted by jonovision Ali Gerba: 7 goals in 17 matches (vs St Vincent (2), Guatemala (2), Guadeloupe, Venezuela, Cuba) Rob Friend: 2 goals in 18 matches (vs Brazil, Jamaica) Olivier Occean: 2 goals in 16 matches (vs Iceland, Northern Ireland) OO has had ONE chance to play 90min for Canada in the past three years (since the 05 Gold Cup), and that was in a relatively meaningless game last year against Bermuda. Noone can argue against Gerba's performances as of late, or that Friend's goal vs Brasil wasnt pretty, but lets not pretend that OO has been given a decent chance in the past three years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA Honestly, I hope it isn't and come the second round Gerba proves to be "the man," if not as a starter than at least as a first choice sub. I truly hope he keeps being able to pop in goals for the MNT come August/September. Well, he's popped two more tonight so hopefully he can get his club situation straightened ASAP and keep the momentum going come August 20, in whichever role (starter or sub) DM places him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Speaking after the game with someone close to OO, he was called up against Brazil, but only as an emergency backup, 2 days ahead of the game. He was not called up for the St-VAG series. He's dissapointed, but right now Friend, Ali and Radz (!) are ahead of him in the pecking order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Daniel Speaking after the game with someone close to OO, he was called up against Brazil, but only as an emergency backup, 2 days ahead of the game. He was not called up for the St-VAG series. He's dissapointed, but right now Friend, Ali and Radz (!) are ahead of him in the pecking order. If OO keeps scoring for his club, I don't know how he could be left out come the fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Daniel Speaking after the game with someone close to OO, he was called up against Brazil, but only as an emergency backup, 2 days ahead of the game. He was not called up for the St-VAG series. He's dissapointed, but right now Friend, Ali and Radz (!) are ahead of him in the pecking order. Thanks for that, Daniel! Does that mean that he was added to the emergency list two days before the Brasil match, or that he was asked to join the full squad two days before the match and declined? Might that explain not getting called to fill out the bench vs SVG in Montreal? And, did you find out if he was sitting at home in Montreal, as some suspected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I think it means that they gave him two days notice to join up and he declined. I didn't get a clear answer about if he was in MTL, but I suspect he wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 Mo Johnson let out last night that Frank Yallop has had Ali Gerba down as a 'discovery player' for almost a year. So if nothing works out in Europe, expect to see Ali in San Jose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Ed Mo Johnson let out last night that Frank Yallop has had Ali Gerba down as a 'discovery player' for almost a year. So if nothing works out in Europe, expect to see Ali in San Jose. Discovery player: is that a special category used in MLS or does it just mean a player that the Quakes have a lot of interest in signing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Ed Mo Johnson let out last night that Frank Yallop has had Ali Gerba down as a 'discovery player' for almost a year. So if nothing works out in Europe, expect to see Ali in San Jose. Thanks for the heads up. Not a surprising development, all things considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA Discovery player: is that a special category used in MLS or does it just mean a player that the Quakes have a lot of interest in signing? It basically makes that player available (from an MLS perspective) for the Quakes to sign if they can. They have first option. The category was used by Yallop to sign DeRo back in 1999 or 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpg75 Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Ed Mo Johnson let out last night that Frank Yallop has had Ali Gerba down as a 'discovery player' for almost a year. So if nothing works out in Europe, expect to see Ali in San Jose. No kidding!? I was thinking about this last week, if Mo and TFC don't want him what about Yallop...Good on him. I wonder if a Danish club might call him though, he did some good work for Horsens last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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