Haber vs Bunbury

[nolando]

So...if there was one spot left on an upcoming roster (like Sept, for instance) and both are match fit, and playing and scoring at equal paces, then who do you bring along?

Who has the most potential?

[RS]

If both are fit and scoring at equal paces, you go with the guy who is doing so in MLS.

[SthMelbRed]

^As opposed to the guy who would be with a Premier League club in September? Surely you jest.

[Sam]

Marcus Haber at the moment is proven. Bunbary is not. Until that changes for me its going to be Haber > Bunbary. If they are both scoring I still think that I like Haber as a player who doesn't need to see as much of the ball to have a good match, and Canada tends not to give their forwards great service

[gigi riva]

I thought Haber is back at Van City, please confirm that. If he is still playing in the U.K. and not on the reserves but playing a few match's then I would probably go with Haber right now and maybe call up Bunbury early 2011.

[Cheeta]

Wow, actually quite a tough question.

I absolutely want to see Haber in each and every Canada match from here forward. I think it would be good for him, and especially good for us but, if Bunbary looks to be having a decent year a bit of public recognition from Hart (with a call up) and a bit of exposure to international football would do nothing but help his career. Which in turn helps us (Canada).

No, NT call ups shouldn't be about helping individual careers, but sometimes one purpose can also serve the other and everybody wins.

Geezus, this is too hypothetical, too muddy. I think Bunbury would have to having a pretty good run of form and the right international to come along for me to leave Haber at home. But I'm a big Haber fan, very high on his future, and feel making him part of our NT has importance above and beyond his current standing.

Am not of the same thought with Bunbury at this time.

[loyola]

^As opposed to the guy who would be with a Premier League club in September? Surely you jest.

I think Rudi is assuming both players are scoring in their respective league (MLS and USL). Then I agree take the one doing it at the best level, which should be the MLS.

Of course, if Haber is getting into WBA squad for an EPL season he would probably get the call before Teal but until he proves his value at the CCC or EPL level, let's just assume that his level is the league is been playing in for 2 years.

As for the question, I haven't seen enough of Bunbury to compare both players but I must say I liked what I've seen from Haber.

[RS]

I think Rudi is assuming both players are scoring in their respective league (MLS and USL). Then I agree take the one doing it at the best level, which should be the MLS.

Yes, I thought that much was obvious.

If we are considering form for a September friendly, then we'd be talking about his play between now and September, which means USSF D2 for Haber. You don't pick a guy based on where he's "going", you pick him based on what he has done recently.

Obviously if he's scoring at that pace in the EPL, trhen he's a shoo-in for later matches with the national team.

[SthMelbRed]

Haber has played one season in USL-1 and will be returning for what amounts to a two-month conditioning stint during the European off-season. Come July, he'll be training full-time with a Premier League club and hopefully getting some game minutes, unless he gets a further loan to a different English club. At this point, Haber is definitely the stronger prospect than Bunbury. I do hope to see a day when they are both forces for Canada, though.

[bettermirror]

Can't go with Habs if he is bench-warming at WBA - Stalteri has been benchwarming for "top" teams and look at the ****e performances he has put out lately.

[jpg75]

You pick the player who is playing the best between now and September and that includes any forward not named Haber or Bunbury. If Jonke, Ricketts, Edwini-Bonsu etc. are scoring in bunches and Hart likes what he sees, that player gets the call.

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

I thought Haber is back at Van City, please confirm that. If he is still playing in the U.K. and not on the reserves but playing a few match's then I would probably go with Haber right now and maybe call up Bunbury early 2011.

He is back with the Caps for 2 months, then rejoins EPL bound WBA, what their plans for him after his NASL spell is still up in the air; that being said I feel Haber is the choice as he brings size that only Freind can give Canada up front otherwise, we will have small guys plenty Simpson, Jackson, Hoillett(fingers crossed), Hume, Johnson, Gerba and so on

[youllneverwalkalone]

I'd like to see them both, sooner rather than later, to determine if there's some chemistry there. Friend hasn't scored much for Canada, Hoilett is on the outs, and Gerba has no club. Both these players are exciting prospects who can probably score in CONCACAF.

[redhat]

I'd go with Teal Bunbury. He will benefit immensely from the international experience and we get to see a glimpse of what he can do as he earns his senior cap (eventually). I think Hart knows what Haber can do already.

[Keegan]

I'd go with Teal Bunbury. He will benefit immensely from the international experience and we get to see a glimpse of what he can do as he earns his senior cap (eventually). I think Hart knows what Haber can do already.

Haber doesn't have a senior cap...

Haber has played under 50 pro games he just turned pro a year ago, Hart doesn't know what Haber can do as the highest level he is played at is quite a step down from the international level whether you consider it to be NASL or league 1

[RS]

Bunbury has even less experience.

Let's just hope they both do well enough this year so that this can be a serious (non-hypothetical) debate come September.

[Keegan]

Yes, I thought that much was obvious.

If we are considering form for a September friendly, then we'd be talking about his play between now and September, which means USSF D2 for Haber. You don't pick a guy based on where he's "going", you pick him based on what he has done recently.

Obviously if he's scoring at that pace in the EPL, trhen he's a shoo-in for later matches with the national team.

I agree but Haber is just with the Caps for two months come the September friendlies he'll be with WBA (or another club they loan him to)

[jpg75]

That's now 3 people that have mentioned that Haber will be going to training camp with an EPL club this summer. So i have to ask, how does his club being promoted make him a better player? To me he's still the same player, just playing for a slightly richer club.

[Keegan]

That's now 3 people that have mentioned that Haber will be going to training camp with an EPL club this summer. So i have to ask, how does his club being promoted make him a better player? To me he's still the same player, just playing for a slightly richer club.

Im not saying it does? Im just saying that he won't be with the caps so the USL vs. MLS goal debate isn't gonna happen

[jpg75]

It was more the "surely you jest" comment from Page 1 i was refering to. Anyways, the fact Haber is going to be in training camp over the summer kind of cramps any comparison between the two. Bunbury will be involved with league games most of the summer while Haber will be playing in a few friendlies, kind of hard to make a judgement using non-competitive games as a measuring stick.

[SthMelbRed]

My 'surely you jest' comment was to point out that the person whose comment I was referring to didn't know the respective situations of the two players he was commenting on. The fact that this poster has previous as the poster-formerly-known-as-MediaGuy's chief protector in the past "MLS is so much better than USL-1' debates just made it a little bit more enjoyable to have a small dig.

As for the voracity of the comment, I think most people outside of Toronto will accept that training every day with a Premier League standard squad and playing in Premier Reserve League matches is a higher standard than playing with KC Wizards. If he's getting the odd Premier League appearance, that'll blow the argument out of the water. If he's loaned out, you'd have to assess the situation based on the level of play of the club he's loaned to.

[jpg75]

He'll have the better opportunity, but it's up to him to make the most of it. You could almost make an argument that their promotion could harm his chances with West Brom if they add strikers. What was he on the depth chart last year? Worse case scenario he might not even get into reserve games. My 2 cents, i felt he should have stayed with Vancouver and gone up to MLS with them. Then when he proved himself at the MLS level he could have gone to Europe and been more ready to win a starters job.

[RS]

My 'surely you jest' comment was to point out that the person whose comment I was referring to didn't know the respective situations of the two players he was commenting on. The fact that this poster has previous as the poster-formerly-known-as-MediaGuy's chief protector in the past "MLS is so much better than USL-1' debates just made it a little bit more enjoyable to have a small dig.

As for the voracity of the comment, I think most people outside of Toronto will accept that training every day with a Premier League standard squad and playing in Premier Reserve League matches is a higher standard than playing with KC Wizards. If he's getting the odd Premier League appearance, that'll blow the argument out of the water. If he's loaned out, you'd have to assess the situation based on the level of play of the club he's loaned to.

I had a huge, multi-quoted response written out, but it's just easier and more succint to call you a jerkoff.

Instead of attacking me for where I live and your retarded preconceptions of other posters on this board who aren't me, how about engaging me in what I wrote? "Surely you jest" doesn't amount to anything, and neither does your "if if if" scenario, either.

[loyola]

My 'surely you jest' comment was to point out that the person whose comment I was referring to didn't know the respective situations of the two players he was commenting on. The fact that this poster has previous as the poster-formerly-known-as-MediaGuy's chief protector in the past "MLS is so much better than USL-1' debates just made it a little bit more enjoyable to have a small dig.

As for the voracity of the comment, I think most people outside of Toronto will accept that training every day with a Premier League standard squad and playing in Premier Reserve League matches is a higher standard than playing with KC Wizards. If he's getting the odd Premier League appearance, that'll blow the argument out of the water. If he's loaned out, you'd have to assess the situation based on the level of play of the club he's loaned to.

I'm not too sure about your reserves comment TBH and I'm from Quebec City....BTW, don't come up with the Toronto vs rest of the country stuff. It's not a MLS vs USL debate. It's a question of judging a player quality by judging the league where he performs. You can find a couple of examples of players who have played games (usually not a lot) in the EPL and were in fact L2 level (Dunfield could be used as an example but of course he suffered some bad injuries if I recall correctly). So the jury is still out on Haber just like he's still out for Bunbury.

So far Bunbury has almost no MLS experience but it seems his coach feels he is good enough to contribute, which is a good thing. Haber situation is that he did very well in USL but so far hasn't prove he is L1, CCC or EPL quality and the fact he'll be part of an EPL training camp doesn't mean much until he gets an opportunity at that level. WBA could as well release him if they feel he isn't good enough. Like I said, the jury is still out but both guys are in good position to improve their pro careers and it can't be a bad thing for us.

[RS]

I'm not too sure about your reserves comment TBH and I'm from Quebec City....BTW, don't come up with the Toronto vs rest of the country stuff. It's not a MLS vs USL debate. It's a question of judging a player quality by judging the league where he performs.

I'm glad someone can actually see that.

I actually used Dunfield as an example in my deleted response to the Aussie-based Toronto-hater. He played in the almighty EPL reserve league and is now languishing in lower league hell. Obviously I don't hope that Haber takes the same path, but so far there is zero to suggest that he'll get any minutes in the EPL before the September friendlies.

If Bunbury somehow gets regular playing time in MLS by September (and is scoring at a decent rate) and Haber is playing EPL reserve games, then absolutely Bunbury should get the call over Haber. The EPL starts in August, so just how many opportunities to get first team (EPL) football will Haber get between now and the Sept friendlies? (Especially when the players will be called up weeks before the actual friendly dates).