Canada announces roster for Belarus match

[BuzzAndSting]

Omissions scorecard:

Injured/recovering: deGuzman, Haber, Bernier?, Issey N-F?

Left with MLS teams: deRosario, Dunfield, Jakovic

Not in Hart's Plans: Hume

Not sure why: deJong

Out of Season/Early Training: Gerba

Depth option only: Cann, Occean, Uccello, Zaravise

Am I missing anyone (or have anything wrong)?

Attakora.

I also want to point out that Hart has said this game is a chance to see some different looks from different guys as a tune up leading into the GC. This could explain why some have been left out. We also have to remember that some clubs may not have been so keen to let guys go for this game. Although most clubs have to release players Hart has always said that he doesn't want to have negative relationships with clubs.

Interesting point - who will wear the "C?" Atiba was announced as the captain for the Greece game as Stalteri had originally been left out. Now that they are both in camp I would imagine Stalteri would be captain, unless he isn't starting. And if he isn't starting why is he our captain? Why doesn't Hart make an official announcement?

[nolando]

The is an incredibly uninspired roster. There is a very bad message being relayed about the program when so many of these guys are not playing ANY minutes at club level, one of them essentially has no club, many of them have not been the LEAST bit effective at MNT level, and they are picked over a whack of guys who could have replaced them for any of the reasons aforementioned.

What exactly was accomplished in Hart's scouting trip, then, I wonder?

We keep calling the same fat chick every Saturday night, only to kick ourselves Sunday morning.

I've lost all faith in Hart, I'm sorry.

[Bertuzzi44]

^But to be fair, the results have been reasonable, if not good of late. A close 1-0 loss to world #10 Greece, a 2-2 draw to Ukraine (both away) and a 2-1 victory over Honduras at home following a 2-0 loss to Peru.

1-1-2 against Greece, Honduras, Ukraine, and Peru is not bad. Don't quite see how one could "lose all faith" in Hart at this point. He has also brought in Bojan and is trying/tried his best on Hoilett, JDG2, etc.

We'll see after the Gold Cup, but I am cautiously confident.

[roadrunner59]

The is an incredibly uninspired roster. There is a very bad message being relayed about the program when so many of these guys are not playing ANY minutes at club level, one of them essentially has no club, many of them have not been the LEAST bit effective at MNT level, and they are picked over a whack of guys who could have replaced them for any of the reasons aforementioned.

What exactly was accomplished in Hart's scouting trip, then, I wonder?

We keep calling the same fat chick every Saturday night, only to kick ourselves Sunday morning.

I've lost all faith in Hart, I'm sorry.

I think its time that he starts to explain his call ups and the press should insist on getting answers to some seriuos questions, and not question they want to only hear.

If I am correct on my assumuntions and outcome of this game, the |Csa must take the role that they are so proud of with the new system in the offices they shoulder consider his resigning from his post, and i have read some post in here that suggests well greece this and ukraine and we were ok against them. NO excuses they must win not tie and nor lose due to poor choices on and off the field he is making. these are games that should be won not lost with most experienced coach with a disire to win.,

reasonalbe means nothing these are exibition games where these teams THEY ARE PLAYING ARE PLAYHING FOR FUN AND do not give a rat ass if the win or not they experminet with their group we do nothing to adjust and or trial and error, In a real world and a game that counts they would not stand a chance. ||||So you take chances in these games with players that are ready to give opportuntiy not the same every game. Since Ukraine this team is playing worse and worse and the stats show why this will be no exception and you will see it for yourself., on match day, the 29th, 2011.

[betterredthandead]

I also can't see why Hart couldn't give a call to Gerba for this one, he wouldn't miss club action for this and he's probably close to game fitness by now.

Last time I remember watching Gerba for Canada he wasn't outstanding, but it's been awhile since his last chance and he was great at club level for the back half as everyone knows, last year. I would really have liked to have seen him on this roster!

[BuzzAndSting]

I think its time that he starts to explain his call ups and the press should insist on getting answers to some seriuos questions, and not question they want to only hear.

If I am correct on my assumuntions and outcome of this game, the |Csa must take the role that they are so proud of with the new system in the offices they shoulder consider his resigning from his post, and i have read some post in here that suggests well greece this and ukraine and we were ok against them. NO excuses they must win not tie and nor lose due to poor choices on and off the field he is making. these are games that should be won not lost with most experienced coach with a disire to win.,

reasonalbe means nothing these are exibition games where these teams THEY ARE PLAYING ARE PLAYHING FOR FUN AND do not give a rat ass if the win or not they experminet with their group we do nothing to adjust and or trial and error, In a real world and a game that counts they would not stand a chance. ||||So you take chances in these games with players that are ready to give opportuntiy not the same every game. Since Ukraine this team is playing worse and worse and the stats show why this will be no exception and you will see it for yourself., on match day, the 29th, 2011.

They've only played one game since the game against Ukraine?

[nolando]

Issey isn't hurt, he was omitted. He is also fundraising for Japanese quake relief with brother Paris: http://www.achorsensfan.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4657:issey-nakajima-farran-qjeg-gor-alt-hvad-jeg-kan-for-at-hjaelpe-japanerneq&catid=119:interviews&Itemid=70

[roadrunner59]

They've only played one game since the game against Ukraine?

im sorry let me correct myself even in the past 4 games even before ukraine match this team has some concerns of the same notes i have made. but this one will be the worst of the crop. and i hope i am wrong but i doubt it this will be another poor stage for this CMT.

if so the press should apply more presure in getting answers to question that have not been asked and that they do not want to hear.,,, we should have list of question all ready for one to ask if they lose this one..

My first question why do you continue to call up players that are not match fit for 90 minutes game and that have not had many games with there clubs in the past but yet you use them as a starting role in your line up,?

[BuzzAndSting]

I understand your concerns but I don't see an alternative. In reality these friendlies are only good for FIFA points and should be used as a way to see what we have. For me personally the Gold Cup and WCQ are whats important, if Hart continues to experiment with line up changes during those games I might be more upset but at this point I understand his reasoning. As stated in another we also have to aware of each players status with their clubs, we don't know the conversations Hart has with each club.

Who would you have like to see in this lineup instead of the players called?

[nolando]

I understand your concerns but I don't see an alternative. In reality these friendlies are only good for FIFA points and should be used as a way to see what we have. For me personally the Gold Cup and WCQ are whats important, if Hart continues to experiment with line up changes during those games I might be more upset but at this point I understand his reasoning. As stated in another we also have to aware of each players status with their clubs, we don't know the conversations Hart has with each club.

Who would you have like to see in this lineup instead of the players called?

Occean, Nakajima, Pozniak, Dunfield, Attakora, Hume - and perhaps a few more

[BearcatSA]

I understand your concerns but I don't see an alternative. In reality these friendlies are only good for FIFA points and should be used as a way to see what we have. For me personally the Gold Cup and WCQ are whats important, if Hart continues to experiment with line up changes during those games I might be more upset but at this point I understand his reasoning. As stated in another we also have to aware of each players status with their clubs, we don't know the conversations Hart has with each club.

Who would you have like to see in this lineup instead of the players called?

I'm going +1 with your statements. I could quibble here and there about one or two selections (an inclusion here, an exclusion there) but we don't know what's going on behind the scenes.

We have Hutchison. We have Simpson. We have some other guys I'm happy to see get another look (Pacheco, Ricketts). Hainault got a recall. I like Johnson and what he brings both in his skillset as well as his intangibles. Klukowski's back and Peters earns another look at RB. I like Hume in a role off the bench but if Hart doesn't feel that he fits into the scheme of things, regardless of current club circumstances, then I honestly don't have a problem with it.

Based on the skills of the overall talent we have available to us, I think this squad needs to rightly focus on being well organized and compact in the middle of the park, have guys who give us the best chance of holding possession, and be hard to break down, building a stronger collective mentality the process. I'm feeling confident about the overall direction Hart is choosing to take.

[BearcatSA]

I also wonder if Hart will use Edgar in a d-mid role in the limited training sessions we have prior to the match and opt for either a McKenna-Hainault or McKenna-Straith CB pairing.

[Grizzly]

Occean, Nakajima, Pozniak, Dunfield, Attakora, Hume - and perhaps a few more

I agree the lineup is a bit uninspiring but I don't think any of your choices would make it more inspiring. Add any of them and the lineup is different but equally uninspired.

To expand on my earlier point of building the attack around Simpson and not a static target man, this is what I would find inspiring. I was thinking about who could play well with Simpson and this is what I would like to see happen, a conservative version of what Manisaspor does (conservative because there is no thought given to defending and I don't think that would be a good strategy for us). I would like to see a diamond attacking format with Simpson, DeRo, Gerba and Hutchinson. Obviously Simpson would be on the left and Hutchinson behind and we could experiment with Gerba and DeRo to see who is better in the forward role and the right side.

Some people might be surprised to see me include DeRo as a starter since I am probably his biggest critic. However, he is one of the few players we have with the skills to play well with Simpson but we need to find a way to utilize his strengths and neutralize his weaknesses. I think he needs to be taken out of the midfield position and play either as the advanced striker or on the right wing. He is more natural on the left but he never stays in any position anyway so I think he could be put on either side as long as the defensive midfield is very careful in defending against the openings he leaves when out of position. In midfield despite the occasional impressive moves, DeRo kills you with losing possession, destroying attacks and often giving the ball away in dangerous positions. For example, despite all the hype about the number of goals he has scored with TFC, I have seen a lot of their games where he makes a few very nice plays, scores a goal but for most of the game kills their attack, gives the ball away in dangerous positions and they lose 3-1. Even in the game against Greece in which he played pretty well you could see his deficiencies particularly in supporting Simpson. A big problem with DeRo is he doesn't play positionally so his teammates never know where he is. Simpson lost the ball on one and one battles against Greece often because DeRo was not where he was supposed to be and he had no other options than to take on a defender or try to cross to a lone attacker surrounded by defenders. The upside with DeRo is that while he is often in the wrong position he also sometimes puts himself in very good positions in which he could work well with Simpson. Likewise most of his skills are inconsistent but at times very high level, ie. you either get a crap pass, corner, etc. from him or an excellent one. If he is playing parallel or forward to Simpson his negatives will hurt us less and the positives will be most accentuated.

Gerba is a pretty consistent scorer for us even when he plays poorly. Even though his goal statistics last year were inflated with him playing a division below his ability, I have never seen him play like he did last year. He was in shape and did a lot of movement and scored in so many different ways as well as setting up a lot of goals. He has a lot of technical skills but in the past it seemed like he was too lazy to use them. He is not as fast as DeRo or Simpson but still has decent speed for someone of his size. He counteracts any speed deficiency by knowing where he should be on the pitch. Plus, he is like a bull and can really intimidate defenders when running at them.

In Turkey when Simpson or the other strikers have the ball the team floods the box. Many goals are scored but by the other team as well. I would like a conservative version of this in which when Simpson has some options on his runs instead of doing everything himself or trying to hit the lone striker in a sea of defenders especially when accurate crossing is his weak spot. The four players in the attacking formation have permission to go forward and try to either connect with Simpson or give him more possible targets if he is crossing in. The remaining 6 players would have defending as their priority. At the very least even in games they don't score, having Simpson, DeRo and Gerba running around the goal area is really going to make the defenders play further back and more conservative.

[nolando]

I agree the lineup is a bit uninspiring but I don't think any of your choices would make it more inspiring. Add any of them and the lineup is different but equally uninspired.

To expand on my earlier point of building the attack around Simpson and not a static target man, this is what I would find inspiring. I was thinking about who could play well with Simpson and this is what I would like to see happen, a conservative version of what Manisaspor does (conservative because there is no thought given to defending and I don't think that would be a good strategy for us). I would like to see a diamond attacking format with Simpson, DeRo, Gerba and Hutchinson. Obviously Simpson would be on the left and Hutchinson behind and we could experiment with Gerba and DeRo to see who is better in the forward role and the right side.

I have a suspicion from watching where and how they play at club level, that Simspon and Nakaijima also might be a nice pairing but I doubt we'll ever see it.

[BearcatSA]

I have a suspicion from watching where and how they play at club level, that Simspon and Nakaijima also might be a nice pairing but I doubt we'll ever see it.

The attackers we ended the match with vs Honduras in Montreal last year (Simpson, Nakajima-Farran, Jackson) looked a mobile trio.

As for De Ro, I'm guessing Hart will persist with him in the central attacking "free range" role, with Hutchinson and JDG more defensively positioned in behind, likely Gerba up top with Simpson on the left and maybe Johnson replacing Jackson on the right come GC time, not factoring in injuries and MLS commitments. Basically, the same midfield/forward six as GC 09 minus Bernier for DeRo.

[nolando]

and Hume scores another at club...but of course under Hart starting regularly at club level (nevermind scoring) greatly decreases your chance of being called up to the national team ;>

[BearcatSA]

Occean, Nakajima, Pozniak, Dunfield, Attakora, Hume - and perhaps a few more

Hard to guess what Hart thinks of Attakora. He's demonstrated many good things in MLS and is still on the upswing, so you'd like to think he would be in the mix come GC time. Dunfield is an interesting case in that he's a very experienced pro but from the lower tiers on English league yet he also brings some good one- and two-touch ball moving quickness to the midfield as well as defensive awareness from the holding mid spot. If he has a good start to the league he might also be in the mix come GC time, you never know.

[Ivan]

^ I don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling of Hart's opinion of Attakora. He was pulled or pulled out of the Peru friendly near game time with Hart's comments something along the line of "not ready to play". Was that mentally ready or physically ready? Attakora skipped the Honduras game (along with the other TFC players).

[BearcatSA]

^ I don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling of Hart's opinion of Attakora.

Hard to say, and we'll see in a few months time. Of his competitors, if Straith's current club start situation remains the same for the remainder of the season, will he still retain his place come the GC? Interesting to see.

[Sam]

When debating who that "attacking four" is going to be for Canada I think we also need to think about having an effective player coming of the bench. I always go back to Iain Hume coming off the bench against the US in the Gold Cup Semi and inspiring the comeback. He's a high energy player with skill going forward. Not worthy of a starting place IMO, but a good player to bring off the bench when there are tired legs on the field.

I think that is the position we could see Jackson in. He seemed to come off the bench to some effect in the 2009 Gold Cup, and he does have a lot of energy. I don't see DeRo working well as an impact sub considering how he often likes to slow the play down. And there is no chance we'll see Simpson on the bench considering his recent form.

I'd like to see Simpson get a shot up front against Belarus since the only other real option at the moment is Friend.

This would be my starting XI:

--------------------Borjan----------------------------

---Straith----McKenna--Hainault------Klukowski--

---------Edgar--------------------Johnson----------

-----Jackson-------Hutchinson---------Ricketts----

--------------------Simpson--------------------------

[BearcatSA]

^I'm not sure how much time Edgar has spent in the reserves in a d-mid position. Every time I looked up the game summaries for reserve matches he's used as a CB or a fullback. Nonetheless, Hart might have his mind set on using Edgar in that role with the MNT, but I see that more as a tactical substitution instead of as a starter...for now.

[Keegan]

When debating who that "attacking four" is going to be for Canada I think we also need to think about having an effective player coming of the bench. I always go back to Iain Hume coming off the bench against the US in the Gold Cup Semi and inspiring the comeback. He's a high energy player with skill going forward. Not worthy of a starting place IMO, but a good player to bring off the bench when there are tired legs on the field.

I think that is the position we could see Jackson in. He seemed to come off the bench to some effect in the 2009 Gold Cup, and he does have a lot of energy. I don't see DeRo working well as an impact sub considering how he often likes to slow the play down. And there is no chance we'll see Simpson on the bench considering his recent form.

I'd like to see Simpson get a shot up front against Belarus since the only other real option at the moment is Friend.

This would be my starting XI:

--------------------Borjan----------------------------

---Straith----McKenna--Hainault------Klukowski--

---------Edgar--------------------Johnson----------

-----Jackson-------Hutchinson---------Ricketts----

--------------------Simpson--------------------------

Ricketts doesn't deserve a start yet, he should at least get a start for his club before us. But I do think he could be the one for that off the bench role you are talking about, ideally I would take Hume too but who knows what's going on there. Ricketts has unbelieveable wheels but doesn't have the technical skills to earn a start at this level yet (especially for the system Hart wants to play). I think Pacheco may get a good look vs. Belarus now that he is starting and Hart even paid him a visit he has good technical skills. Speaking of technical skilled players... where is Issey?! No one really questions that omission but I find it strange considering we aren't bringing many forward options and the last time we saw him (vs. Honduras right?) he looked good off the bench.

--------------------Hirschfeld-----------------------

Straith--------McKenna---Hainault------Klukowski

---------------------Johnson------------------------

-----------Hutchinson-------Pacheco---------------

Jackson-----------------------------------Simpson

--------------------Friend--------------------------

[Sam]

I'm not sure why I wrote Edgar in there.... I meant Pacheco.

Anyways thats what these friendlies are for, trying out new things. What are we going to learn by playing Simpson-Friend-Jackson again. Let's change it up, if it doesn't work it won't hurt us - it's only a friendly. This way we got to see Ricketts, and see how Simpson plays up front by himself.

[BearcatSA]

^I am intrigued by Ricketts. I sense that he has displaced a former Hart favourite in Nakajima-Farran, and speed might have something to do with it. Both he and Pacheco should get extended looks in this match.

I'd also love to see Hutchinson repeat his Ukraine performance as the attacking focal point of the midfield and send a message that he should be the man for that spot and not have to play a more defensive supporting role to DeRo.

[roadrunner59]

^I am intrigued by Ricketts. I sense that he has displaced a former Hart favourite in Nakajima-Farran, and speed might have something to do with it. Both he and Pacheco should get extended looks in this match.

I'd also love to see Hutchinson repeat his Ukraine performance as the attacking focal point of the midfield and send a message that he should be the man for that spot and not have to play a more defensive supporting role to DeRo.

you woill never see hutchinson repeat with this group, and what the hell does speed have to do with it when you cannot play a full 90 not match fit and cannot put the ball in the net. This is not a 100 meter run game there is more to it then speed and surely he may have that but really he has nothing to offer this group and a waste of CMT inviting him and money.

Johnson deserve the bench as he too is not really in form to play 90 minutes and really he style o0f play is bruttle like i said before he runs like a chicken with his head cut off up to his mouth. He reminds me of my baby brother when he does not get his ice cream he cries and throws things up in the air with a tanterm. He belong at best on the bench and even still he should remain with his club in the mls as his style will not be tolerated in qualifying.

dero sure whjy not add anothe oldie to the list of mine man o man wake up you guys stand up and speak up ask the questions as to why why why till you get the ansewer to them and not settle for any things else after this loss on march 29th starting asking the question wc is just around the corner and not much more time left.