Canadian Pride Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 1-0 lost vs Colombia was a great result. But like usual the lack of options up front will hurt us going forward. Rickets to his defence has been working very hard and contributes a lot to our defence but he doesn't have the quality to be our goal scoring threat. We need depth up top if we have any chances of be successful going forward. Currently our probably best striker who is capped by Canada is olivier occean and at 32 years of age he still has more to contribute to Canada. I know he is currently still suspended for that altercation against Cuba but when that suspension is finished is there any reason why he should not come back?! Why hasnt anyone mentioned his name in awhile?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlo_80 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 He was for a while but his form has unfortunately slid recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Gagne Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 ^And by that you mean frozen out of his club team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hodgkiss Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I believe our issue with not scoring against Colombia had much more to do with the quality of the opposition. As mentioned the team was able to defend really well and limit Colombia to just a few good opportunities. I think maybe the lack of mids that can retrieve the ball and put a nice cross or through ball in was by far a much greater issue. The only great scoring chance is when Issey made that nice ball to Ricketts and I think if he had another step he could have launched one at the target. Unfortunately for him, he was taken down before he had the chance. Occean as mentioned has lost his form over the past couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Our attacking options are limited, but there is cause to be hopeful in the near future. Cyle Larin is a can't miss top 3 MLS draft prospect, Cavallini would walk into the starting lineup, if, and when he returns to national team duty. On top of that, Hamilton has real potential. The problem we have is that these guys need a few years to mature. There's no way around it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 We could have Falcao lead the line for us and we still wouldn't be much better off. Sure, he'd win us a game here or there (because the man is a quality finisher), but we still have a lack of quality throughout our entire squad, and that is the difference. Actually, it is not necessarily a lack of quality, I think it's either a lack of belief or a lack of confidence. Don't get me wrong, I am proud of our guys, but they need to play more instinctively in attack. This is why I really like Issey, DeRosario and REB. Colombia have a full squad of players with this mentality. Even their full backs don't hesitate to take players on. So, a positive attitude in attack will generate more chances for us. I think generating chances from open play is still the bigger issue here. We need to force the issue and not rely so much on passing the ball around without intent. I especially get irked when we go backwards rather than exploit space in front of us. I hope we see that eventually, but first we need to learn how to shore up the defense. We've made great strides in this regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I like Occean. Good player. NCAA to 2nd Bundesliga is not an easy feat. Still he was out of the CanMNT for years, behind Gerba and Friend, totally ignored. Nevertheless, when we needed him in 2012 he came right back and scored goals. He had the balls to call out Stephen Hart for his poor decision making and laid back training sessions in the media after the 8-1. His club situation is unfortunate. Occean should not have played hardball with the Impact this summer. That would have been a great fit for him, and hopefully it still happens this offseason. Occean will be 33 in a few days. It makes sense to turn to the future with younger players. (One wonders how his presence in Honduras would have changed things. Same goes for Simpson and DeRo. Our three most dangerous players. Ugh.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Actually I've seen a LOT of games over the last few years where we definitely outplayed the opponent but ended in a tie simply for lack of a finish in the final third. Whether it's service, or the striker, hopefully it improves soon. (an example...if we had beat Honduras in Canada with even 1 goal, and make no mistake about it, we were clearly outplaying them on home soil, the 8-1 result in Honduras would have been irrelevant, in fact probably wouldn't have happened) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Gagne Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Our attacking options are limited, but there is cause to be hopeful in the near future. Cyle Larin is a can't miss top 3 MLS draft prospect, Cavallini would walk into the starting lineup, if, and when he returns to national team duty. On top of that, Hamilton has real potential. The problem we have is that these guys need a few years to mature. There's no way around it. I would add Clarke to that list, if his injury troubles don't persist/impede his development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Pride Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 We need strikers plain and simple. A guy playing in Israel as our top striker does not cut it. At least occean is with a team in 2nd devision in Germany and would probably be a quality starter in Mls. By my book that's good enough to be still called upon for Canada. We still have guys being called up by canasda that are older then occean... Difference is besides de Guzman, occean has more to offer to us then the other veterans still being called Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 We need depth up top if we have any chances of be successful going forward. Forget up top, from what I've read here lately, all we are missing is a quality right back. Once we have that, we're all set to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingvikingstad Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 An in-form striker is something we could definitely use, but one has to look no further than TFC to see that a poacher striker doesn't mean jack shit without service. We have to change our identity more than we need a star striker. Against Colombia we were better off going with a striker with a good work rate, pace and that could defend. I'm not sure Floro wouldn't have started Ricketts regardless based on our tactics. With all that said, what madmonte said also rings true. A more competent striker and we likely score against Honduras and then who knows where that takes us (maybe beyond the Hex to Brazil). Akindele would be helpful, Cavallini would be helpful, Ocean would likely be helpful in the now, and then we wait for the next crop in Larin/Hamilton/Clarke. Ultimately, choice is something we haven't had a lot of lately and it's refreshing to know that we don't have to jam square pegs into round holes forever. With more than one option we can play the most in-form or the most suited for our tactics rather than the only one in form or the only one who suits our tactics. Good strikers will be even more necessary when we improve our wingers with Petrasso looking like the real deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Pride Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Instead of putting on haber against Colombia, they could have put on occean. Only advantage haber has right now is that he is younger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Pride Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Occean fits into what were doing, so hopefully they could get far enough into the gold cup so his suspension is over and he could be an option for the next wc cycle right away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffian Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Instead of putting on haber against Colombia, they could have put on occean. Only advantage haber has right now is that he is younger. He has also played professional games this year and score in those professional games this year Pretty important! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Pride Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 I think after the gold cup he should be eligible again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Occean was given a 6 match ban. I take it this only applies to official matches like wcq and gold cup? if so, he has served 4 already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Forget up top, from what I've read here lately, all we are missing is a quality right back. Once we have that, we're all set to go. I know you are being facetious, but it's pretty bloody crazy that we don't have ONE guy starting at RB worldwide getting calls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Pride Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Yup that's correct so after the gold cup he is eligible again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king1010 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Actually I've seen a LOT of games over the last few years where we definitely outplayed the opponent but ended in a tie simply for lack of a finish in the final third. Whether it's service, or the striker, hopefully it improves soon. (an example...if we had beat Honduras in Canada with even 1 goal, and make no mistake about it, we were clearly outplaying them on home soil, the 8-1 result in Honduras would have been irrelevant, in fact probably wouldn't have happened) mckenna hit the post off a header. we were a few inches from being through to the Hex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Pride Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 We had a descent team for the last World Cup cycle, I wonder how well floro would have done if he was the coach considering how well he is doing deploying b squads at times. It's probably not fair to compare since our expectations are relatively less at the moment so the only way to go is up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 In Floro's eyes the young players he has been calling may be better than the players we had/have. Clearly the guys who folded in Honduras had psychological problems not suitable to winning. FWIW I thought Hutchinson had a good game 10/16/12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmonte Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 mckenna hit the post off a header. we were a few inches from being through to the Hex Yeah, that is probably THE difference making moment of our 2014 campaign...8-1 was a defining moment fail, but even McKenna's post wasn't our only sniff around goal that game. We just could not finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccerpro Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 mckenna hit the post off a header. we were a few inches from being through to the Hex That was the Panama game. We won that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red and White Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I know you are being facetious, but it's pretty bloody crazy that we don't have ONE guy starting at RB worldwide getting calls. We've got Drew Beckie playing a lot of right back in Ottawa. FC Edmonton have Eddie Edwards too, don't they? There's two options, but we'd be reopening the discussion of whether NASL is a high enough level for call-ups. As for the striker issue, it would be nice to see Akindele commit and help resolve it. Getting a guy like Cavellini (or REB) in the mix helps too. Occean can certainly contribute once his suspension is over, but I don't envision him going 90 minutes. I think subbing in a player like REB, who can run at tired defenders for a final 30 minutes, is an excellent strategy. Ricketts has the pace for a super-sub role as well, but I'm still not convinced by his finishing skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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