Free kick Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Probably close to our strongest team...depressing though that there is only one player under 24 (Borjan at 23) on the roster. There is real gap in the program in that area of the 21-26 year olds and thats reflected or attributable to two things: 1) the soft performances on the recent u20 team over the past three u20 wc cycles where there were no or very few stand out players. 2) Defections or reluctance to commit to Canada. Imagine what the squad would look like without the defctions. Surprised nobody mentioned Will Johnson. I didnt see him on that list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThiKu Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I mentioned Will Johnson! Obviously he'll play a part. But RSL always releases him so why push it by calling him for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I wanted to delete that part of my post after i realised that he was on the list. But my computer crashed. Upon review he was indeed picked, i missed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 There is real gap in the program in that area of the 21-26 year olds and thats reflected or attributable to two things: 1) the soft performances on the recent u20 team over the past three u20 wc cycles where there were no or very few stand put players. 2) Defections or reluctance to commit to Canada. Imagine what the squad would look like without the defctions. +1 on both points Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Overall, i cant think of any glaring ommision from that list. Some people have mentioned a few players, but considering: 1) recent club form and professional progress 2) play in recent friendlies and gold cup 3) ability to make a difference and influence a game. 4) Injuries The above factors might explain all of those exclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Probably close to our strongest team...depressing though that there is only one player under 24 (Borjan at 23) on the roster. Right, but there are 4 that are 24, which seems like a number picked arbitrarily to make some point. I'm not sure what's depressing about that. And if you wanted to include some U23s, there are a number that you could've chosen from: Attakora, Gage, Gyorio, Haber, Latendresse-Levesque, Morgan, Saiko, Porter, Stillo, Straith, Street, Teibert (bold meaning they wouldn't look out of place starting). In fact, I find it refreshing to see a lineup for WCQ that doesn't have to rely on kids still establishing themselves as pros. That's a far cry from the Guatemala WCQ at Swangard in 2004 where a 17 year old Peters was introduced. I like the lineup. Still would've liked to see Friend there though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Right, but there are 4 that are 24, which seems like a number picked arbitrarily to make some point. I'm not sure what's depressing about that. And if you wanted to include some U23s, there are a number that you could've chosen from: Attakora, Gage, Gyorio, Haber, Latendresse-Levesque, Morgan, Saiko, Porter, Stillo, Straith, Street, Teibert (bold meaning they wouldn't look out of place starting). In fact, I find it refreshing to see a lineup for WCQ that doesn't have to rely on kids still establishing themselves as pros. That's a far cry from the Guatemala WCQ at Swangard in 2004 where a 17 year old Peters was introduced. I like the lineup. Still would've liked to see Friend there though. 24 was picked because I looked at the roster, sighed, and thought it seemed so deja vu. So I went to the CSA site and looked at ages. I missed Borjan the first view so thought the youngest was 24 initially. I went to look at who was younger and what the prospects were for an infusion of new blood for a team that has been an also ran in the semi-final stage of WCQ for the last decade. Then I sighed louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnyb Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Much stronger than I was expecting, really surprised to see Hutch. It's great that Hart went with a strong lineup, I hope Hutch's inclusion doesn't come back to bite us in the Ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Well i think that 24 is a key age. Look back for a moment at Canada 2007 WC. Look at some names in that tournamment. Now check out the recent headline makers in the game in the past couple of weeks (goal scorers, transfer news etc)and you'll notice that a great many of those players are comming on to their own in the game today. Thats a prime age in the game and the argument has been made you are not the same in quality nor as hungry for success as player when you pass 29. Add injuries and wear out/burn out from fixture congestion and the peak age might have dropped well below 29 in todays game. So the gap on our squad in that 21-25 age is significant today. Many of the best players in the world right now are in that age (21-25). A player like Peters, who in that age range, is not going make that big a leap at this this stage of his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 ^ You edited that? WTF does Canada 2007 WC mean? (now I get it, you meant the 2007 U20 WC held in Canada). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 With regards to age though you could also say that only 4 players are over 30 which is a good thing. One of those four is the keeper which isn't surprising and another one is making his return after 2 or 3 years away (Jazic). What these guys did last WCQ is irrelevant unless all of them are pushing 32 or 33, which isn't the case. So, I don't think we're relying heavily on old guys that shouldn't be there nor are we relying on inexperienced kids which to me is refreshing. I guess all I'm saying is that if you're looking for negatives, you can find them. But I'm not nearly as pessimistic about the future as some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 The big issue for me deals with the fall off in quality when you get a few key absentees. No Di Chara, I see. I wonder if Hart alluded to him in the press conference as one of the younger guys who might get a look later in the round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I think this is what we will see -------------------Lars---------------------- Ledgerwood----Jakovic---McKenna---Klukowski ---Hutchinson---De Guzman------De Rosario ---Jackson--------Occean-------Simpson But I would rather see Andre in there at right back, Ledgerwood does not do it for me, but Hart seems to have faith in him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2011/08/25/dobson_on_canada/ "Friend is also dealing with a family issue as is Marcel De Jong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free kick Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 With regards to age though you could also say that only 4 players are over 30 which is a good thing. One of those four is the keeper which isn't surprising and another one is making his return after 2 or 3 years away (Jazic). What these guys did last WCQ is irrelevant unless all of them are pushing 32 or 33, which isn't the case. So, I don't think we're relying heavily on old guys that shouldn't be there nor are we relying on inexperienced kids which to me is refreshing. I guess all I'm saying is that if you're looking for negatives, you can find them. But I'm not nearly as pessimistic about the future as some. Not negativity just an observation. For what its worth, Honduras is probably in worst situation in that they have core group of stellar players who are even further past their prime. Unlike Canada, they have had even less success than Canada at the U20 levels in the past ten years. Also dont forget, the hex is in two years and the WC will be played three years from now. What form will those players who are over 29 now, be in at that time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyJames Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I would like to see some younger guys as well but they would just be here to sit on the bench...the players mentioned in another post are better off getting playing time with their club teams.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest darowaan Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I am very pleased with the roster that Hart has selected here. He most be feeling the pressure to get some big results in this game and as such he has gone with the strongest team possible. I am glad to see that everyone who we would expect to see in the team is going to be there and they all said yes to play in these first 2 matches. I think that bringing in Occean over Friend is a good move as he is on fire now and will likely bring more then Friend. I have to say that I dont think this roster will be the one we see for all of the second round games but we should see Canada get off to a flying start now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhat Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Good roster, veteran bunch. We really need to get these guys going; no excuses anymore! Hart must really feel the pressure to not only get results, but perform well. Onward! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hard Canadian Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Glad to see Hart is bringing out the A squad right out of the gate. That's the way it should be done, let the team build some nice chemistry in time for the challenges that await us in /round 3 of qualifiers. Also very happy to see Peters in there. I too was calling for him to get some minutes in the Gold Cup but no such luck. I remember first seeing him play at BMO in an U20 friendly vs. Argentina and he played well. Really starting to look forward to this game now, hopefully it'll be a big confidence boost for both the players and the fans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Good roster, not real surprise apart from Jazic presence but it's probably because of DeJong having to deal with personnal stuff. Someone needs to ask SH about DiChiara. Does he know about him? Did someone at the CSA talked to him? I would probably go with this starting 11: Milan/Lars Hainault--Mckenna--Jakovic---Kluka ----------JDG----Johnson----------- DeRo--------Atiba----------Simpson -----------Occean-------------- I would sure love to see a 4-4-2 but I don't think Hart wants to play that style in the next round so there no point at starting like that. If Hart plans to used the 4-5-1 in the next round, let's build chemistry with the 4-5-1. At the end of they day, style of play shouldn't come into play, we should get results for every games in this round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dare431 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 It would be nice to see Hume come off the bench as a sub next friday. It's been a while since we've last seen him in a Canada shirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Not negativity just an observation. For what its worth, Honduras is probably in worst situation in that they have core group of stellar players who are even further past their prime. Unlike Canada, they have had even less success than Canada at the U20 levels in the past ten years. Also dont forget, the hex is in two years and the WC will be played three years from now. What form will those players who are over 29 now, be in at that time? Who knows and who cares? The idea is to win now, look at all the best teams in the world... do you think in 2004 the USA was considering dropping McBride because they were worried about the future? NO! The best teams have a WIN NOW attitude at the senior level... I really really really strongly disagree with the notion that there is some "prime" age in football. There isn't. Every single player is different and you just play it by ear. I'll admit in 2008 WCQ I was worried about DeRo's and Radz's skills declining rapidly... 3 years later and you could say DeRo is in the prime of his career right now and Radz could still make our WCQ roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deschamp86 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 ------------------------------------Occean------------------------------------ -------------Simpson--------------------------------------Jackson------------- ----------------------------------De Rosario----------------------------------- -----------Hutchinson-------------------------------------Johnson------------- -Klukowski---------------Jakovic---------------McKenna---------------Hainault- ----------------------------------Hirschfeld------------------------------------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Who knows and who cares? The idea is to win now, look at all the best teams in the world... do you think in 2004 the USA was considering dropping McBride because they were worried about the future? NO! The best teams have a WIN NOW attitude at the senior level... I really really really strongly disagree with the notion that there is some "prime" age in football. There isn't. Every single player is different and you just play it by ear. I'll admit in 2008 WCQ I was worried about DeRo's and Radz's skills declining rapidly... 3 years later and you could say DeRo is in the prime of his career right now and Radz could still make our WCQ roster. Yes! Play the best players available. Age doesn't mean a thing. This is WCQ, no place to be messing about. We know all to well how quickly the party can end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munseahawk Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Play the best team possible (and available) and try to clinch the group in the 1st 4 games. Then look at getting some of the younger names into the squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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