New Year Wishes: New Faces for Floro

[nolando]

Who do you hope to see get their first minutes under Floro?

Petrasso, Cavallini and Stillo seem like obvious ones but how about the others, including some vets like Bernier who haven't played under the new regime?

[shermanator]

Wouldn't mind seeing Mallan Roberts of FC Edmonton see a callup once he gets his passport. Plays the same style as Doneil Henry.

[tmcmurph]

I'm just hoping that all the interest in Camilo translates to Vancouver locking him up as a DP for 2015 onwards for 5 years. Last thing I want is for him to be sold before he gets his first Canadian MNT cap!

[nolando]

I'm just hoping that all the interest in Camilo translates to Vancouver locking him up as a DP for 2015 onwards for 5 years. Last thing I want is for him to be sold before he gets his first Canadian MNT cap!

He couldn't play for us in 2014, though, right?

I am interested in the CSA looking at Michel Acosta. We have talked about him before. Four years younger than Pacheco but a similar link to Canada (apparently a Canadian passport) and now 11 starts in the Cyprian top flight this season. Now, I think with the right paperwork he could play for us in 2014. Same with Opare, who is high on my list.

[A_Gagne]

Chencinski: now that Borjan is officially riding the pine, and our 1st choice keeper situation is clear as mud, it would be nice to see Chancinski finally get a couple caps.

Petrasso: +1

Adekugbe: if he shows well and gets some quality minutes for VWC.

Boakai: why the hell not. I also hope within 2 years he makes the jump to MLS.

Roberts: +1 as well... also hope he's on to bigger and better within 2 yrs before NA lower div becomes a habit that's hard to kick.

Opare: would be great, but I doubt he would be convinced... If he'll probably want to give himself at least a couple of seasons to try to nab a starting role for LA, as if he can do that, he'd probably be in the conversation for the USMNT.

Mauro Eustaquio: My dark horse pick. Apparently he showed well at that the Francophone games for the U-20 team, and his Portuguesse soccer education could see him fit well within both Do Santos' in Ottawa and Floro's tactical systems.

Respectfully disagree about Stillo. I'm not sure if backing up for D3 in Italy is worth a cap over other options at Floro's disposal.

[A_Gagne]

Any word about if we plan on doing a USA style January camp?

[Blackdude]

Chencinski: now that Borjan is officially riding the pine, and our 1st choice keeper situation is clear as mud, it would be nice to see Chancinski finally get a couple caps.

Respectfully disagree about Stillo. I'm not sure if backing up for D3 in Italy is worth a cap over other options at Floro's disposal.

How many games has Chencinski played in the last year?

[BearcatSA]

Rather than select guys with the word/phrase "Unattached" or "Not in matchday squad" or "Unused Sub" consistently associated with their names, how about picking a guy who's actually been a career regular starter in NASL, Paul Hamilton? See what he looks like in comparison with those journeymen currently rated ahead of him on the CB depth chart.

[Grizzly]

Chencinski: now that Borjan is officially riding the pine, and our 1st choice keeper situation is clear as mud, it would be nice to see Chancinski finally get a couple caps.

Petrasso: +1

Adekugbe: if he shows well and gets some quality minutes for VWC.

Boakai: why the hell not. I also hope within 2 years he makes the jump to MLS.

Roberts: +1 as well... also hope he's on to bigger and better within 2 yrs before NA lower div becomes a habit that's hard to kick.

Opare: would be great, but I doubt he would be convinced... If he'll probably want to give himself at least a couple of seasons to try to nab a starting role for LA, as if he can do that, he'd probably be in the conversation for the USMNT.

Mauro Eustaquio: My dark horse pick. Apparently he showed well at that the Francophone games for the U-20 team, and his Portuguesse soccer education could see him fit well within both Do Santos' in Ottawa and Floro's tactical systems.

Respectfully disagree about Stillo. I'm not sure if backing up for D3 in Italy is worth a cap over other options at Floro's disposal.

Italy D3 is certainly worth a cap over Chechinski who has been riding the pine far more and far longer than Borjan and who does not look even close to international level any time I have seen him play either for Canada or for club team.

[A_Gagne]

Rather than select guys with the word/phrase "Unattached" or "Not in matchday squad" or "Unused Sub" consistently associated with their names, how about picking a guy who's actually been a career regular starter in NASL, Paul Hamilton? See what he looks like in comparison with those journeymen currently rated ahead of him on the CB depth chart.

Absolutely!!! forgot about him, but have often had the same thought.

[BearcatSA]

Absolutely!!! forgot about him, but have often had the same thought.

In the end, he might not have the chops but he seems to me to be a "late bloomer" type. Based on what I have seen of his play with Edmonton, I felt he warranted some notice.

[nolando]

How many games has Chencinski played in the last year?

One - http://ca.soccerway.com/matches/2013/05/20/israel/ligat-haal/maccabi-tel-aviv-fc/bnei-yehuda-tel-aviv-fc/1459436/

FWIW, Tomer's coach says he is amongst the top three keepers in Israel: http://www.maccabi-tlv.co.il/en/news/news-articles/mta-s-rade-prica-the-ball-just-wouldn-t-go-in-/

[nolando]

And speaking of guys who have appeared in one match in the past year, how about this Owen H. lookalike:

http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/joseph-di-chiara/profil/spieler_181116.html

I dunno, in all honesty and although he is signed semi-long term for a club in an interesting league, I think this guy would need to play at least a half-dozen matches before getting another look. He was so resoundingly unimpressive (according to Hart and co who saw him in his one MNT camp call-up) that he might have burned some bridges on the way out the door. Still, I find something intriguing about this guy and his career.

[nolando]

Could a guy like Cyle Larin get a call-up in 2014?

[Grizzly]

One - http://ca.soccerway.com/matches/2013/05/20/israel/ligat-haal/maccabi-tel-aviv-fc/bnei-yehuda-tel-aviv-fc/1459436/

FWIW, Tomer's coach says he is amongst the top three keepers in Israel: http://www.maccabi-tlv.co.il/en/news/news-articles/mta-s-rade-prica-the-ball-just-wouldn-t-go-in-/

LOL. I think you have to take with a grain of salt the opinion of any coach who rates his 3 keepers as the top three in the country. Tomer has been in Israel for a year and a half and has only played one game. He is rarely even on the bench not because of foreigner quota issues like Borjan (Tomer has Israeli citizenship) but because he has lost the backup job to a 20 year old. I have watched a number of games that he has played and he does have good reflexes but he seems to be basically an athletic guy who does not know how to play his position very well. His positioning and decision making are terrible. I will give him credit for being dedicated and sticking it out through various leagues and teams to keep his career going unlike some of our other young keepers who quit in their early twenties but on a skill/potential level I thought a few of those keepers were better than he was. Now I guess it is possible that he has received some good coaching in Israel and improved on some of his deficiencies but it is hard to judge since it is not possible to watch him play since he does not play. And I suspect if he was improving greatly he would be at least making the bench. And at 29 even with the longer career of keepers he really needs to be playing and establishing himself. He certainly did not look very good in the one game he played for Canada either. So unless he starts playing and shows he has improved a lot there are several keepers I would rather see given a chance instead of him. And a 22 year old with a lot of potential who is the backup of a division 3 team in one of the strongest soccer nations and who starts in Cup matches is certainly a better selection than a 29 year old 3rd string keeper who never plays in a first division team of a fairly weak league (although Maccabi itself is a decent team).

[Grizzly]

And speaking of guys who have appeared in one match in the past year, how about this Owen H. lookalike:

http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/joseph-di-chiara/profil/spieler_181116.html

I dunno, in all honesty and although he is signed semi-long term for a club in an interesting league, I think this guy would need to play at least a half-dozen matches before getting another look. He was so resoundingly unimpressive (according to Hart and co who saw him in his one MNT camp call-up) that he might have burned some bridges on the way out the door. Still, I find something intriguing about this guy and his career.

I certainly would not give much credence to Hart as capable of judging the abilities of our young players. I expected Di Chiara to establish himself faster than he has since I watched him play a number of matches where he looked pretty good but admittedly many of them were RPL reserve team matches. He has only played in one official match since joining Torpedo. However, he is still only 21 and whenever they have a friendly he is at least a substitute so he still seems to be in their plans. He is also hurt by the limit of foreigners in the lineup as the more established foreign veterans usually get those spots. Like Borjan unless he is going to play he is not going to be on the bench, ie. not likely to get some minutes if someone gets injured or if a game situation requires a player like him. His most recent game was a friendly against fellow 2nd division side Khimki in November in which he came on in minute 83 and scored the 3rd goal in a 4-2 victory in minute 86. The video at the bottom of this page shows the goal at 2:20. But I would agree that he probably needs to start getting some regular time to get a call though if Floro is having a camp it still might be worth calling him as a young guy with potential and a possible U-23 team player. One thing I like so far about Floro is I get the impression most of the players are learning from him and coming away from the camps having worked with someone higher quality than their club coach which is how it should be for every player unless they are playing at a top team in a top league. I never had the impression any of our players got much out of camps they attended under Hart, Mitchell and Yallop.

http://fc-tm.ru/arkhiv-novostej/item/2734-futbolisty-torpedo-moskva-pereigrali-khimki

[El Hombre]

Rob Friend.

That is all.

[Max]

Rather than select guys with the word/phrase "Unattached" or "Not in matchday squad" or "Unused Sub" consistently associated with their names, how about picking a guy who's actually been a career regular starter in NASL, Paul Hamilton? See what he looks like in comparison with those journeymen currently rated ahead of him on the CB depth chart.

That would be my wish. More players from NASL.

[Max]

Chencinski: now that Borjan is officially riding the pine, and our 1st choice keeper situation is clear as mud, it would be nice to see Chancinski finally get a couple caps.

Petrasso: +1

Adekugbe: if he shows well and gets some quality minutes for VWC.

Boakai: why the hell not. I also hope within 2 years he makes the jump to MLS.

Roberts: +1 as well... also hope he's on to bigger and better within 2 yrs before NA lower div becomes a habit that's hard to kick.

Opare: would be great, but I doubt he would be convinced... If he'll probably want to give himself at least a couple of seasons to try to nab a starting role for LA, as if he can do that, he'd probably be in the conversation for the USMNT.

Mauro Eustaquio: My dark horse pick. Apparently he showed well at that the Francophone games for the U-20 team, and his Portuguesse soccer education could see him fit well within both Do Santos' in Ottawa and Floro's tactical systems.

Respectfully disagree about Stillo. I'm not sure if backing up for D3 in Italy is worth a cap over other options at Floro's disposal.

Chenciski is not international level. I would like to see Stillo playing for Canada.

[Lord Bob]

Shaun Saiko, obviously. Hamilton has already been mentioned.

[shermanator]

Wouldn't mind seeing Boakai or Jordan Hamilton getting a callup in 2014 either.

[Lord Bob]

It's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early for Boakai. Hamilton should probably play a professional game in his life before he gets a senior national team cap, but I don't know so much about him so can't be quite so dismissive. These are just kids! Patience is a virtue.

[finchster]

I think what this thread translates to is we suck so hard that we need to give anyone who has had a ball at their feet a chance

[RJB]

My wish for 2014 is that players play more games for their clubs than they do for the National Team.

Can you believe that we many people are advocating more NASL players in the National Team squad? When TFC there were zero MLS clubs, people weren't exactly clamouring for this type of thing, but now we are. Is it too early to call our pro-club structure a failure? And if not, then when?

[finchster]

My wish for 2014 is that players play more games for their clubs than they do for the National Team.

Can you believe that we many people are advocating more NASL players in the National Team squad? When TFC there were zero MLS clubs, people weren't exactly clamouring for this type of thing, but now we are. Is it too early to call our pro-club structure a failure? And if not, then when?

I think it is a combination of high profile defections and players crashing and burning. Our talent pool is thin for these reason IMO. But yes our pro set up isn't so great.