The Soccer Show on Fan590 - Sept. 25 edition

[VPjr]

I just finished speaking with Nigel Reed

Tonights show should be interesting to any Canadian soccer supporter.

Tonight's guests:

Victor Montagliani - VP of the CSA and the guy who is responsible for the men's and women's national team

Chris Cummins - Asst. Coach of TFC

The show will air live around 11pm (after Blue Jays baseball).

In GTA, tune into 590AM.

outside the GTA go to www.fan590.com and click on Listen Live.

It will be available tomorrow afternoon on the fan590.com website as well because they archive all the shows.

[Sam]

Hopefully Nigel tells it like it is and gets into some serious questions with Montagliani.

[VPjr]

^ the episode is pre-taped. apparently, its quite a lively interview with Ol' Vic...Nigel was quite insistent that I personally would find that interview very interesting (but he wouldn't spill the beans as to what exactly I'd find most interesting

[djcuse]

Thanks for the info Dino, will be very interested in listening to this tonight...

[superbrad]

You guys need to hear this guy Victor. He still thinks we can go through. That's not confident - its a litte dumb. He also indicated he hasn't receive a "plethora" of emails asking for them to sack Mitchell or make substantial changes. Maybe we can change that.

Overall I get the impression he's cocky and doesn't give a @#$# what anyone thinks - including us.

[loyola]

I'M not able to listen but how in the world are you expecting him to tell us it's over when we still have a slim chance? The best soccer executives in the world would say the same exact thing. The same goes for DM, I'm not expecting a CSA member to go on air and tell the world they are looking for a replacement.

I've heard Vic before and can't stand the guy but sometimes I'm wondering what you guys are expecting from that kind of interviews.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by superbrad

You guys need to hear this guy Victor. He still thinks we can go through.

Well we can still go through, so what else is he supposed to say?

I'd hate for anyone involved with the national team to sound like they are defeated & have thrown in the towel. If they don't have belief then they have nothing, just as Limniatis has said about his Impact players.

Not that I was impressed with how he said it mind you (he isn't the greatest at speaking the media), and a lot of his answers contained the usual bureacratic nonsense but I didn't have a problem with what he said on that particular topic. I hope they live up to their word on the hiring a woman's coach that will instill possession football, but I'll wait & see on that one.

[Cheeta]

He did nail it though. A win</u> in Honduras and EVERYTHING changes. It'll be wild, desperate, hope in Canada and wild, desperate, panic in Honduras so who knows what will happen after that. It could get crazy.

Okay, I'm fishing but come on, it may be unlikely but it fits!

Nice one by Reed though. Words to the effect of "What's the point of anyone besides Ian Bridge applying for the job of WNT coach?" Classic.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

He did nail it though. A win</u> in Honduras and EVERYTHING changes.

That's what I am clinging to!

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by superbrad

You guys need to hear this guy Victor. He still thinks we can go through. That's not confident - its a litte dumb. He also indicated he hasn't receive a "plethora" of emails asking for them to sack Mitchell or make substantial changes. Maybe we can change that.

Overall I get the impression he's cocky and doesn't give a @#$# what anyone thinks - including us.

I really wouldn't expect him to say "we're done" although that is the prevailing sentiment (and I'm not talking about supporters).

I can tell you that I have met him and I share the feeling that he is cocky (must be a requirement to sit on the BoD) and they, as a group, definitely do not give a rat's arse what we or most anyone thinks. They are insulated from all of us by umpteen layers of institutional bureaucracy so they know we can't do anything but flood email inboxes and appeal to the media to take up our cause.

I find it interesting that it took 2-3 weeks for the CSA to come out and confirm that DM will be coaching the team for the rest of this cycle. If they were so sure, if there was no "powwow" after the results against Honduras and Mexico (and trust me, there was) to determine if this was the guy they were going forward with, if there were no meetings at BMO or elsewhere with other candidates, why did it take so long to make it clear that DM was their man. The reason is because they realized that he wasn't resigning (why would he? where would he make that kind of money elsewhere) and they couldn't afford a replacement (or, at least, they could not afford the replacement they wanted).

I'm glad that Bob Iasrusci was tough on him (I don't care if Bobby sounded negative/realistic....that's how I feel so its nice to see I'm not alone). I'm equally happy that Nigel asked that question about Ian Bridge.

Also, what a joke when he says he doesn't know who has applied for WNT job. that's the biggest load of horse manure. He knows the names of several candidates. Why he would lie about something as trivial as that, I don't know? Makes you wonder how fast and loose he is with the truth on other, less trivial, matters.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by superbrad

You guys need to hear this guy Victor. He still thinks we can go through. That's not confident - its a litte dumb. He also indicated

Whats he supposed to say? "No we've got no hope, we're packing it in and wont send anybody." Yes, speaking as a fan, I know its an uphill climb and based on current form, current results, and what they need to do, it probably wont happen. But if you are an athlete, coach or adminstator/manager, you have to play until its over and believe your in it until its over. Otherwise what kind od sportsman are you?

Unlike fans, these people ( Players coaches, administrators) can do things to influence results. So a better line of questioning might have been: So you believe , we can come back, what do you need to do to turn things around?

But listening to Iaruschi pester Montagliani over this, made me have to turn off the radio in frustration. I was wondering, how could someone who have ever played competitive sports much less as a PROFESSION!, not understand this most basic notion. I could understand Bob's tone and line of questioning if it came from a non athlete. But for someone who has played at a competeitve level, its hard to fathom.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Cheeta

He did nail it though. A win</u> in Honduras and EVERYTHING changes. It'll be wild, desperate, hope in Canada and wild, desperate, panic in Honduras so who knows what will happen after that. It could get crazy.

And we'll be against a team that will likeley be missing two of its top four players, in a place we haven't lost at since 1981 (on a completely offside goal I might add).

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

[Listening to Iaruschi pester Montagliani over this, made me have to turn off the radio in frustration. I was wondering, how could someone who have ever played competitive sports much less as a PROFESSION!, not understand this most basic notion. I could understand Bob's tone and line of questioning if it came from a non athlete. But for someone who has played at a competeitve level, its hard to fathom.

Bob has every right to his opinion, just as you do to yours. Based on everything he's seen from this team over the past year and, more importantly, the past 3 games, there is absolutely no reason to believe that a magical turnaround is in the offing. I, for one, am glad that someone with his experience as a player would come out and be blunt.

Under Dale Mitchell, this team has never beat a single team of any quality and yet Dale is still around. There is no new voice to inspire the troops. There is nothing to give the guys hope. They basically know that, by not taking action, the CSA has thrown in the towel. They've decided that getting a new coach would be equivalent to throwing good money after bad money so why do it. Just leave Dale in place and hope for the best is their motto when this team needed something more than that, even if the players were mostly to blame for the results (which is a theory I don't personally subscribe to)

Bobby is right....we're done. I'm glad he said it and i support him for pestering Vic. I wouldn't expect Vic to agree but I don't really care much for Vic's opinion.

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

Thats would seem plausible. I buy it. I am disappointed in DM if that's the case. If he felt that he was obstacle to better results, then by not resigning, he is putting his interests ahead of the team.

What I dont get is, If its all about taking a financial hit, then why not just go with SH behind the bench?

[superbrad]

What bugged me is that he was quite the opposite of humble - he sounded arrogant and cocky. No I don't expect him to say were going to lose (thanks to all three of you for making the same point) but he seemed to not accept the reality of only being up 1 point at this stage. Having that kind of attitude and being so sure is exactly why he’ll be so stubborn to stick to his guns and not do anything drastic – such as firing DM and ridding us of the brutal coaching style. Kind of like the captain staying on the sinking ship. At least I can stop hoping for that. Were with DM to the end so I hope they can recover and he wins us back.

I loved them asking him the tough questions – that was good and someone had to do it. I think the days of the CSA being able to ignore criticism are over

Yes a win in Honduras changes everything. That will certainly get us all back being positive. I pray for that.

[gator]

Mitchell should have resigned by now, he's been a great servant to Canadian soccer as a player, he should have realized by now that the team isn't responding to him! As FK mentioned Stephen Hart is right there to take over so 1) he is not leaving them without a coach and 2) SH is already on the payroll so there can be no argument from the CSA!

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

And we'll be against a team that will likeley be missing two of its top four players, in a place we haven't lost at since 1981 (on a completely offside goal I might add).

That is true. though to be fair and present the other side of the coin, we haven't won in Honduras either during that period. I checked it a while back and i think that since 1986, we have played two times in Honduras and collected two draws.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

Getting the MNT job in Canada is essentially the pinnacle any Canadian coach can achieve because we don't have a professional soccer league or sufficient Canadian teams for him to seek employment. Furthermore, his career has been less than stellar (the reasons are many) so his job prospects as a coach (even in NCAA) don't seem to be plentiful (of course, I'm an outside so I don't know this for sure...he might have received job offers).

He's making as much money as he'll ever make as a coach, in my opinion, so he will ride this train until it ends. He's had to put up with the CSA B.S. for all these years so I guess he feels entitled.

As for SH not getting the job, the information available on the grapevine is not convincing enough to post but suffice it to say that I don't think he was the #1 choice to replace Dale by certain factions.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by Free kick

That is true. though to be fair and present the other side of the coin, we haven't won in Honduras either during that period. I checked it a while back and i think that since 1986, we have played two times in Honduras and collected two draws.

Well we beat them more recently in Honduras (1985) then they have beaten us there. And those two subsequent draws would both have been wins for us had it not been for criminally poor officiating that granted them goals in the first match and denied us goals in the second.

Granted, we could get ripped off for a fourth time in Honduras, but my point is that it is a place where we've traditionally played well & got some results in. There's no reason for us to think we can't win there, we just have to have the right attitude and the belief. Which is why any sort of defeatist attitude on behalf of anyone to do with the national teams would annoy me greatly.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Well we beat them more recently in Honduras (1985) then they have beaten us there. And those two subsequent draws would both have been wins for us had it not been for criminally poor officiating that granted them goals in the first match and denied us goals in the second.

Granted, we could get ripped off for a fourth time in Honduras, but my point is that it is a place where we've traditionally played well & got some results in. There's no reason for us to think we can't win there, we just have to have the right attitude and the belief. Which is why any sort of defeatist attitude on behalf of anyone to do with the national teams would annoy me greatly.

Exactly, this isn't Azteca where we've lost 4-0 numerous times and even 8-0....

[gator]

Just remember everyone, this is Concacaf, it is very corrupt! We get screwed at home so it's almost certain if the game is close the officials will be intimidated by the piss throwing home crowd! Just when you think you have seen it all something worse happens! We knew this going into qualifying, that's why it was so important to win our home matches, of course we haven't done so, now it is near impossible to qualify! We may in fact on the day be a couple of goals better than Honduras, that won't be enough, the officials will make sure of that! Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but that is reality my fellow V's!

[MontrealVs]

I STILL HAVE A SICK FEELING IN MY STOMACH FOM THE HONDURAS GAME, GET RID OF MITCHELL AND LETS MOVE FORWARD AND HOPE WE IMPROVE IN THE NEXT 3 MATCHES. THAT IS MY DEGREE OF OPTIMISM!

[Free kick]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Well we beat them more recently in Honduras (1985) then they have beaten us there. And those two subsequent draws would both have been wins for us had it not been for criminally poor officiating that granted them goals in the first match and denied us goals in the second.

Granted, we could get ripped off for a fourth time in Honduras, but my point is that it is a place where we've traditionally played well & got some results in. There's no reason for us to think we can't win there, we just have to have the right attitude and the belief. Which is why any sort of defeatist attitude on behalf of anyone to do with the national teams would annoy me greatly.

I don't have any info on my db for results prior to the 1986 WC. But anyways for those who are interested here are the results versus Honduras since that time. Now that I have had a chance to double check it it was indeed two games in Honduras since that time and both wnded in draws. Both were WCQ matches

1994 28jun91 Hon Gold Neutral Loss 2 4

1994 4apr93 Hon Wcq Away Draw 2 2

1998 10jan96 Hon Gold Neutral Win 3 1

2002 30may00 Hon Fr Home Win 2 1

2006 4sep04 Hon Wcq Home Draw 1 1

2006 9oct04 Hon Wcq Away Draw 1 1

2006 02Jul05 Hon Fr Home Loss 1 2

2010 06Sep08 Hon Wcq Home Loss 1 2

[Joe MacCarthy]

Iarusci is a goof, it's one thing to ask the hard questions and another to take advantage and be a prick about it.

I didn't find Montagliani cocky, I think he was being defensive and I sure as hell wouldn't want a leader who would be throwing in the towel right now.

Thanks to Allah, Nigel was there to counter Babbling Bob and bring some balance to the program. Have to say I've become a fan of both Dobbie and NR for what they bring to the Canadian soccer scene.

At first I thought he was simply a "British accent" hired to suck in the poseurs but Nigel has truly embraced the Canadian soccer scene with a depth of understanding and common sense many seem to lack, including his co-host.

Dobbie has continually worked to promote the game, improve his knowledge, often under difficult circumstances, and weathered criticism from those who don't have two clues about broadcasting. Can't wait to hear Gerry call the winning goal against Honduras, even if it is from a studio in Toronto.

[dbailey62]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

Exactly, this isn't Azteca where we've lost 4-0 numerous times and even 8-0....

Ah! Memories!!! Let us never speak of this again!!!