No, no, a million times, NO.

[Joe Keeper]

You seem to be under the impression that there's even an iota of truth to this.

I'm aware it is only a rumour. No matter what strength or lack there of there is behind this rumour, my feelings are still strongly negative towards the matter. No different from anyone else in this thread...

[Danny Boy]

* Actually I take it back. Someone might think its a good idea to Offer him back to Alberta!:eek:

Maybe someone misheard the rumour.... Maybe it's ********** to EFC not TFC?

[Redcoatsforever]

Maybe someone misheard the rumour.... Maybe it's ********** to EFC not TFC?

Maybe Owen should move to a League one or two side since he's decided he's English...of course, that's excluding the Welsh sides, since he's decided that they aren't up to his "standards" either.

[Emlyn]

Clearly this will probably never happen, however it is extremely frustrating and a bit saddening trying to explain to Canadian fans of England why haregraves should not be signed. After all "We cut him form our youth teams, why would you not want to play or England? Canada sucks!" ahhhhh I will be so mad if caps or tfc ever sign this player!

[jpoma]

Clearly I'm in the minority here in that I would not care if he signed for TFC because of his Canadian snub. I easily separate my TFC and Canadian fandom since the clubs are completely separate entities.

I would not sign him at TFC because I simply don't think he'd be worth it (he'll break down physically), especially as a DP.

[Redcoatsforever]

Clearly I'm in the minority here in that I would not care if he signed for TFC because of his Canadian snub. I easily separate my TFC and Canadian fandom since the clubs are completely separate entities.

I would not sign him at TFC because I simply don't think he'd be worth it (he'll break down physically), especially as a DP.

I guarantee you he and the club would market it as a Canadian hero homecoming deal.

[jpoma]

I guarantee you he and the club would market it as a Canadian hero homecoming deal.

possibly, but it won't work as well unless he were a Toronto kid. That's why DeRo got so much hype here.

[munseahawk]

I would not sign him at TFC because I simply don't think he'd be worth it (he'll break down physically), especially as a DP.

On that point, we agree. I think his recent string of injuries have made him a very big gamble for any club. I certainly hope that TFC or VWFC doesn't take that risk.

[Redcoatsforever]

possibly, but it won't work as well unless he were a Toronto kid. That's why DeRo got so much hype here.

That's not really the point. It's the fact that they would call him Canadian and push for him to count as domestic. He isn't Canadian, and shouldn't be thought of as such.

[Soju]

[Jacko]

I can't believe the hatred for OH.

Picture this. You are a young teenage player playing your club soccer in a backwater province called Alberta. Still young enough and naive enough to be wide eyed and bushy tailed, you try out for the Alberta provincial team and of course are not picked because the coaches of the era wouldn't know a soccer ball if it landed in their corn flakes. Anyways, Sir Johnny and cohorts remark " We can't pick you for our program. You are too slight lad. You would be much better suited to tennis or ping pong". Yes, hard to believe but ASA was even more useless back then. So Owen and family decide to leverage the fact that nationalities can be murky in the world of football and he decides to ply his trade in grand old Europe. So his choice was to stay in Canada and see his career flushed down the toilet thanks to ASA/CSA incompetence ( nothing ever changes there ) or as it turned out have a successful go of it in football's Mecca.

CSA/ASA and Canada's soccer culture or lack of, failed OH at a young age just as it has failed numerous others and continues to fail our aspiring young players today. So ask yourself. Who turned on who first? OH simply did what he had to do to have a chance at a career. In retrospect it was a wise move! Loyalty is a two way street.

[dyslexic nam]

Jacko - your explanation misses the mark.

He plyed his trade in Europe for a CLUB team. He turned his back on Canada's NATIONAL team (and its fans). When he whored himself out to England, he was already a starter for Bayern, so his choice of national team had nothing to do with escaping the swirling waters of our local pro-footie environment.

[jpoma]

That's not really the point. It's the fact that they would call him Canadian and push for him to count as domestic. He isn't Canadian, and shouldn't be thought of as such.

Ok, different context. My misunderstanding.

Does MLS rule on its own players' nationality or do they honour a player's FIFA status?

If it's the former, then yeah, I would expect TFC to ask for it (and would likely get it). If it's the latter, then there's really no argument.

[AvroArrow]

I can't believe the hatred for OH.

Picture this. You are a young teenage player playing your club soccer in a backwater province called Alberta. Still young enough and naive enough to be wide eyed and bushy tailed, you try out for the Alberta provincial team and of course are not picked because the coaches of the era wouldn't know a soccer ball if it landed in their corn flakes. Anyways, Sir Johnny and cohorts remark " We can't pick you for our program. You are too slight lad. You would be much better suited to tennis or ping pong". Yes, hard to believe but ASA was even more useless back then. So Owen and family decide to leverage the fact that nationalities can be murky in the world of football and he decides to ply his trade in grand old Europe. So his choice was to stay in Canada and see his career flushed down the toilet thanks to ASA/CSA incompetence ( nothing ever changes there ) or as it turned out have a successful go of it in football's Mecca.

CSA/ASA and Canada's soccer culture or lack of, failed OH at a young age just as it has failed numerous others and continues to fail our aspiring young players today. So ask yourself. Who turned on who first? OH simply did what he had to do to have a chance at a career. In retrospect it was a wise move! Loyalty is a two way street.

Using this logic, Sydney Crosby should have abandoned playing for Canada when we left him off the 2006 Olympic roster. Or maybe, Crosby realized that simply not being included one team did not mean he would not be on the next one.

[rdroze]

Does MLS rule on its own players' nationality or do they honour a player's FIFA status?

If it's the former, then yeah, I would expect TFC to ask for it (and would likely get it). If it's the latter, then there's really no argument.

MLS doesn't care about FIFA nationalities. He would count as a domestic since he is indeed a Canadian citizen.

But the whole marketing issue is why I think this potential signing cannot happen. TFC is not the least bit shy about promoting its hometown / Canadian talent. Even O'Brian White was promoted as being a home-town Toronto boy, even though he only lived here for three or four years. And the Academy players apparently have to commit to play for Canada internationally.

Considering their self-professed commitment to Canadian soccer, I don't see how they could possibly then go out and sign the Anti-Canadian-Soccer poster-boy. I know that the marketing and soccer operations are separate departments, but surely the marketing geniuses at TFC should be doing whatever they can to make sure that this doesn't happen.

[TFCRegina]

Using this logic, Sydney Crosby should have abandoned playing for Canada when we left him off the 2006 Olympic roster. Or maybe, Crosby realized that simply not being included one team did not mean he would not be on the next one.

Or maybe Crosby wasn't a whore.

[Gordon]

I can't believe the hatred for OH.

Picture this. You are a young teenage player playing your club soccer in a backwater province called Alberta. Still young enough and naive enough to be wide eyed and bushy tailed, you try out for the Alberta provincial team and of course are not picked because the coaches of the era wouldn't know a soccer ball if it landed in their corn flakes. Anyways, Sir Johnny and cohorts remark " We can't pick you for our program. You are too slight lad. You would be much better suited to tennis or ping pong". Yes, hard to believe but ASA was even more useless back then. So Owen and family decide to leverage the fact that nationalities can be murky in the world of football and he decides to ply his trade in grand old Europe. So his choice was to stay in Canada and see his career flushed down the toilet thanks to ASA/CSA incompetence ( nothing ever changes there ) or as it turned out have a successful go of it in football's Mecca.

CSA/ASA and Canada's soccer culture or lack of, failed OH at a young age just as it has failed numerous others and continues to fail our aspiring young players today. So ask yourself. Who turned on who first? OH simply did what he had to do to have a chance at a career. In retrospect it was a wise move! Loyalty is a two way street.

You really should at least learn the backstory if you want to troll with the apologist angle. Its easy, and good form demands it. A really good troll does incorporate more than one element - so you'll get no guff from me about the intent of including a good bash at Alberta - but it is dangerous if your skill does not measure up. Knowing the back story would have helped eliminate the manner in which you mitigate the impact of your efforts. OH, for example, was never cut by an Alberta Provincial team. It was some British yob who cut him from a Canadian team. By messing that up, everyone is focused on your obvious error and attention is diverted from the bait - the go at Alberta. To troll successfully, you never want to divert attention from the bait.

The good elements were 1) calling Alberta a back water 2) mentioning OH at all - it always gets a rise on this and any other Canaidan board 3) suggesting it was the only way to get into European club football - once again, something that always gets a rise on this board. There is never anything wrong with sticking with the tried and true, but alas, mucking up the back story is significantly limiting the rise you get Jacko.

[Guest Ed]

I guess the inevitable has happened with Bill Gates putting a computer (or three) in every home, in that anyone who has an opinion, no matter how preposterous or poorly stated, can put that opinion out there via the blogosphere. I must say this MLS Talk is right up there on my list of blogs that really shouldn't be read for anything other than a laugh.

From renowned Cdn footy expert Michael Schwarz:

"While he is a great injury risk, Toronto and Vancouver clearly see that ********** can greatly impact their squads. He has always been known for his accurate passing, superb pace, and magnificent crosses. While injury may make him rusty, he will still remember the fundamentals of his game that made him an elite midfielder. In addition, his Canadian roots would make him a beloved figure for the fans as he could become the face of a team like Beckham and Henry are for the Galaxy and the Red Bulls respectively."

[joepaco]

OH created the precedent which made it ''acceptable'' for other players such as JDG#2 , Azmir, Teal and Junior Hoilett ( potentially) to turn their backs to Canada. OH could have been the backbone and the start of the solid foundation for our national squad , but he refused to take on that role.

Until we have a true superstar who can give out nation credibility both at the the club level and on the international scene, our team will stagnate.

OH cold have been a national hero. Today , he is almost unknown by the average Canadian ,hated by Canadian Soccer fans and soon to be fogotten by the English who have no need for him anymore.

[Soju]

Wh0re apologists are such out to lunch soccer moms I wonder if any of them have ever set foot in a stadium.

All football aside, he's a Calgary boy who puts on a ridiculous pretend English accent and speaks in public this way. If this was someone you knew or worked with, he would be the biggest douche bag you'd ever met for that reason alone.

So apologize some more for him quitting Canada for getting cut from a team. Perhaps that's how you'd live your own life because you're a complete pu$$y who quits whenever possible (even quits his own country? wow).

He doesn't get to come back to Canada now because it suits his wallet, though I'd be curious to see what accent he uses when he speaks to our press.

[Ivan]

OH created the precedent which made it ''acceptable'' for other players such as JDG#2 , Azmir, Teal and Junior Hoilett ( potentially) to turn their backs to Canada. OH could have been the backbone and the start of the solid foundation for our national squad , but he refused to take on that role.

Until we have a true superstar who can give out nation credibility both at the the club level and on the international scene, our team will stagnate.

OH cold have been a national hero. Today , he almost unknown by the average Canadian ,hated by Canadian Soccer fans and soon to be fogotten by the English who have no need for him anymore.

Truer words were never written.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

OH created the precedent which made it ''acceptable'' for other players such as JDG#2 , Azmir, Teal and Junior Hoilett ( potentially) to turn their backs to Canada. OH could have been the backbone and the start of the solid foundation for our national squad , but he refused to take on that role....

Maybe Marc Bircham was the real precedent? Not a fan of what OH did but if the CMNT is going to select players based on the most spurious of links to Canada (Bircham originally thought his grandfather was Welsh but found he was born in Winnipeg when researching whether he could play for Wales) leaving a player that came up through the Canadian system on the bench and another off the roster entirely then maybe people should not be surprised that looking after numero uno in career terms began to supersede notions of patriotism.

[alberta white]

It easy to accept a player moving abroard to further a pro career when only one Canadian Team is playing top level in

Truth is the English said, "Who" when he turned up and will say "Oh, ah well never mind"

OH may, look back on his career and say "Bundersleiger/ EPL and a World Cup Tournament. Something I could not have acheived in a Canadian Shirt".

For Myself, If the tables were turned and I was a English born NHL 1st draft Hockey Player, I could not see myself playing for Canada.

Still, as I can't skate for Sh#t that was never gunna happen!

[thescottc]

Maybe Marc Bircham was the real precedent? Not a fan of what OH did but if the CMNT is going to select players based on the most spurious of links to Canada (Bircham originally thought his grandfather was Welsh but found he was born in Winnipeg when researching whether he could play for Wales) leaving a player that came up through the Canadian system on the bench and another off the roster entirely then maybe people should not be surprised that looking after numero uno in career terms began to supersede notions of patriotism.

Apples to oranges.

Bircham decided to suit up for us because he knew he'd have no chance of ever playing for England. It's the same reason that Canadians suit up for the German and Italian (and other) national hockey teams. They're not traitors in my book.

OH playing for England, to continue the hockey comparison, is akin to Brett Hull playing for the US - traitordom.

Also, I'm not sure which burgeoning young star Bircham was holding back with his 17 caps. We're not a notoriously deep program.

[Grizzly]

Apples to oranges.

Bircham decided to suit up for us because he knew he'd have no chance of ever playing for England. It's the same reason that Canadians suit up for the German and Italian (and other) national hockey teams. They're not traitors in my book.

OH playing for England, to continue the hockey comparison, is akin to Brett Hull playing for the US - traitordom.

Also, I'm not sure which burgeoning young star Bircham was holding back with his 17 caps. We're not a notoriously deep program.

This has been explained over and over to BBTB. He is incapable of fathoming it.