Good riddance!

[Robert]

Thank you Puerto Rico. Redemption at last. Obvciously the TFC wasn't the best soccer club in Canada this year and thus really had no business representing this country in CONCACAF's Champions League. The evidence speaks for itself in their results. In their last four matches against USL teams they were shut-out on no less than three occasions. TFC fans, who went on and on pointing out to the rest of Canada's soccer enthusiasts what a goal scoring machine their club was after the Farce in Montreal can wake up and smell the coffee this morning. Hillareous to read all the pre-match banter regarding the odds on the game.

Anyway, how can this senario be avoided in the future? The CSA has repeated stated that it wasn't their mandate to govern a domestic league. Too bad they didn't stick to their mission statement. Last year, when the Nutri-Lite Canadian Championship was launched they immediately had their logo front and center along with the logos of our three professional clubs. Well it hasn't taken long for their inexperience at running a championship of this nature to become evident. How could the Farce in Montreal have been avoided? May I be so forward as to offer a few free suggestions? Thank you.

1) Play a tie-breaking match on neutral grounds if teams finish level on points.

2) If scheduling problems, financial shortcomings, or the unwillingness of the three competing teams prevent the use of option #1, then why not use the matches played between the teams finishing level on points as the first tie-breaker. This year that would have meant that the Farce in Montreal wouldn't have mattered.

3) Why not have the three teams involved announce an 18-player roster before the competition commences. That way Canadian soccer fans will not get ripped-off having to pay and watch third-string players, when their coach doesn't feel like putting in a determined effort to have his team win.

Having only a three team national championship is not the most ideal of senarios. However, for the time being we have to make do with it. It's 100% better than not having anything at all. That said, whoever is in charge of the competition, should ensure it is run with the utmost integrity, which I realize for the CSA is a tall order.

I am curious as to how the P. R. Islanders qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League? Do they compete in a national championship that involves three or more teams?

[loyola]

<MOD> Thread lock, we have already a discussion about the V's Cup format here:

http://www.canadian-soccer.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=21

For your comments about the game and PR you can post it in the game thread. <MOD>