Scott Arfield

[Obinna]

40 minutes ago, jonovision said:

I hope we get to the point soon, and I think we're almost there, that a player in the Scottish League in his mid-30s is not an automatic call-up for Canada.

Misleading characterization of Arfield. 

Can we be more accurate?

42 minutes ago, jonovision said:

I hope we get to the point soon, and I think we're almost there, that a player on Rangers in his early to mid-30s is not an automatic call-up for Canada.

[jonovision]

12 hours ago, Obinna said:

Misleading characterization of Arfield. 

Can we be more accurate?

As much as I didn't like to admit when I was hitting these numbers myself, a guy who is nearly 34 is in his mid 30s.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, jonovision said:

As much as I didn't like to admit when I was hitting these numbers myself, a guy who is nearly 34 is in his mid 30s.

Even still, Rangers aren't your typical SPL team. Putting it that way doesn't really do it justice. Now if you said that about Wotherspoon it would be more fair, who by the way is very much part of our squad (for now).

[SthMelbRed]

47 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Even still, Rangers aren't your typical SPL team. Putting it that way doesn't really do it justice. Now if you said that about Wotherspoon it would be more fair, who by the way is very much part of our squad (for now).

Spoony never announced his retirement from international football.

[RJB]

How much of Arfields supposed success is down to simply the name of the club he says for?

If he played as a sometimes starter for say, Maccabi Haifa, he'd be playing champions league football and near the top of the domestic league perennially. And his club would be outperforming Rangers (albeit on goal difference).  But he wouldn't be held to such high esteem. 

I think many people are viewing him through Rangers-coloured glasses. 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, SthMelbRed said:

Spoony never announced his retirement from international football.

Irrelevant.

My comment was about @jonovision's comment about us soon being beyond calling old SPL players, which was basically a shot at Arfield, suggesting he may not have a place in the team (had he not retired).

Ironically, Wotherspoon is in his 30s and plays in the SPL, yet is very much part of the squad, so clearly, we have some more strides to make before we are beyond such players. 

Either way, implying we close to being too good for a veteran Rangers player is silly and not accurate.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Obinna

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, RJB said:

How much of Arfields supposed success is down to simply the name of the club he says for?

If he played as a sometimes starter for say, Maccabi Haifa, he'd be playing champions league football and near the top of the domestic league perennially. And his club would be outperforming Rangers (albeit on goal difference).  But he wouldn't be held to such high esteem. 

I think many people are viewing him through Rangers-coloured glasses. 

The same can be said about any player. I don't see why we should cherry pick Arfield and apply that logic. 

[TGAA_Star]

Arfield is done playing for Canada and honestly there is nothing wrong with that. But if Arfield really wanted to come back to play for the national team, don't you think he would have already done it by now? Man hasn't received a call up since 2019 pre pandemic mind you. We are in 2022 now. A full 3 years has passed. He didn't partake in qualifying for Qatar in any capacity at any stage. Was he even there when we clinched qualification? Was he there for the Qatar or Uruguay friendly matches? No point blank period, no. So really why even entertain him being a part of the Qatar squad? He doesn't deserve to be there and especially taking away from certain players at his position who actually deserve to be there who have been there from the start of qualifying to now.

 

Arfield is perfectly content with playing for Rangers as he should be. I'm not even diminishing him as a player because I'm not but what I am saying is that he just doesn't deserve to be in Qatar is all I'm really saying.

Edited October 6, 2022 by TGAA_Star

[SpecialK]

Why do we care so much about this deserve shit? Are we a charity team or a national team? As fans we should want the best Canadian players playing. We should want the best team out there so we can win games. 
Right now Arfield is the second best Canadian midfielder playing right now. So he should get a call period. 

[RJB]

6 hours ago, Obinna said:

The same can be said about any player. I don't see why we should cherry pick Arfield and apply that logic. 

Because this is a thread about Arfield, and many people are using the logic that because he plays for Rangers he is a preferred option.  Hardly cherry picking when it's what we're talking about.

[MauditYvon]

2 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

Man hasn't received a call up since 2019 pre pandemic mind you.

He was in the 2021 GC pre roster.

[MauditYvon]

18 minutes ago, RJB said:

Because this is a thread about Arfield, and many people are using the logic that because he plays for Rangers he is a preferred option.  Hardly cherry picking when it's what we're talking about.

Hum ok… but the guy also played in the EPL and the CMNT. It’s not Brad Parker.

[gator]

Every time I click on this thread I am hoping there has been a new development and he is returning, instead it is just the same old back and forth speculations!😀

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, RJB said:

Because this is a thread about Arfield, and many people are using the logic that because he plays for Rangers he is a preferred option.  Hardly cherry picking when it's what we're talking about.

Okay so let's apply this logic to every player at a strong club then:

-Hutchinson's supposed success is because he plays for Besiktas.

-Davies supposed success is because he plays for Bayern.

-Osorio's supposed success is because he plays for Toronto FC. 

Is this fair to say? If so, we can just say this about any player, couldn't we? And if that isn't true for them, but is for Arfield, why is that? Why would Arfield's supposed success be somehow undeserved because he plays for Rangers, but not true for other guys winning at their clubs?

Clearly he is part of the success Rangers is having. He gets credit for that because he was a contributor. It's not as if the signed him and hr never played.

You know what actually, your point may hold true in the case of a backup goalie who plays for a winning club, but never actually plays and thus finds "success" without stepping on the field, but clearly that is not the case.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Obinna

[TGAA_Star]

2 hours ago, MauditYvon said:

He was in the 2021 GC pre roster.

Yeah but did he make the team ultimately? No

[El Hombre]

31 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Okay so let's apply this logic to every player at a strong club then:

-Hutchinson's supposed success is because he plays for Besiktas.

-Davies supposed success is because he plays for Bayern.

-Osorio's supposed success is because he plays for Toronto FC. 

Davies' supposed success is because he is viewed by most pundits as a world-reknown left back who often is rated in the top two or three players on Bayern, a team which is perennially a Champions League contender and not just participant.

Osorio's supposed success is because TFC are quantitatively better when he is in the lineup.  

Hutchinson's supposed success is because he is a goddamn legend.

Also, we have an entire qualifying run's worth of proof about how good the team is with these guys in the lineup.  Everything about Arfield is conjecture.

[Sal333]

2 hours ago, gator said:

Every time I click on this thread I am hoping there has been a new development and he is returning, instead it is just the same old back and forth speculations!😀

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3utwdo

Edited October 6, 2022 by Sal333

[SpursFlu]

Best Candian soccer players in order 

Alphonso Davies

Jonathan David

Stephen Eustaquio 

Junior Hoilett 

Scott Arfield 

Michael Baldisimo 

[Califax]

Man, for a country that had no league 5 years ago, we're being very hard on Scotland. Your comment stands for MLS too. I'd much rather our starting 11 / match fit 23 are nowhere near domestic leagues after the age of 23, let alone their mid thirties. 
 

We've come a long way since unattached FC. Now we're looking down our noses at Rangers. 

[jonovision]

This is obviously an oversimplification, but the average quality of competition that a Rangers would face week-to-week is lower than MLS. How much lower is a matter of opinion, but aside from the handful of CL games that Rangers will lose this season, Arfield isn't being tested a whole lot.

Now several of our other players are in the same boat. Borjan, for instance. Are a handful of matches against bigger opponents more important than a whole schedule of good but not great opponents (MLS or similar league)? I can't say, but that's the reality of the situation.

[CanadaFan123]

14 minutes ago, jonovision said:

This is obviously an oversimplification, but the average quality of competition that a Rangers would face week-to-week is lower than MLS. How much lower is a matter of opinion, but aside from the handful of CL games that Rangers will lose this season, Arfield isn't being tested a whole lot.

Now several of our other players are in the same boat. Borjan, for instance. Are a handful of matches against bigger opponents more important than a whole schedule of good but not great opponents (MLS or similar league)? I can't say, but that's the reality of the situation.

Agree but Borjan is less concerning as a keeper IMO. 

[SoCalTransport]

47 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Agree but Borjan is less concerning as a keeper IMO. 

I agree with you, MLS is definitely competitive, it took a while but I would say they’re on the level of Liga MX now

Edit: When I say competitive I mean any team can win on any day.

Edited October 6, 2022 by SoCalTransport

[SpursFlu]

1 hour ago, Califax said:

Man, for a country that had no league 5 years ago, we're being very hard on Scotland. Your comment stands for MLS too. I'd much rather our starting 11 / match fit 23 are nowhere near domestic leagues after the age of 23, let alone their mid thirties. 
 

We've come a long way since unattached FC. Now we're looking down our noses at Rangers. 

Yah the team that was in the Europa League finals last year are absolutely trash. Norwegian 2nd division on the other hand.. thats where its at 

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, El Hombre said:

Davies' supposed success is because he is viewed by most pundits as a world-reknown left back who often is rated in the top two or three players on Bayern, a team which is perennially a Champions League contender and not just participant.

Osorio's supposed success is because TFC are quantitatively better when he is in the lineup.  

Hutchinson's supposed success is because he is a goddamn legend.

Also, we have an entire qualifying run's worth of proof about how good the team is with these guys in the lineup.  Everything about Arfield is conjecture.

Not going to argue that Oso doesn't make TFC better, that Davies isn't a worldbeater at leftback, or that Hutchinson isn't a goddamn legend. Each of those guys owe some of their success to the clubs they play for, that's the point. It's the same for Arfield at Rangers.

To suggest Arfield is somehow overrated because he plays for Rangers is silly. And it would be equally silly to suggest any of our other players mentioned are overrated because of the clubs they play for. 

Like I said before, the caveat I would entertain would be a player attached to a successful club who doesn't actually play. If that was Arfield's situation during his Rangers career@RJB may have a point here, but it's not .

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, jonovision said:

This is obviously an oversimplification, but the average quality of competition that a Rangers would face week-to-week is lower than MLS. How much lower is a matter of opinion, but aside from the handful of CL games that Rangers will lose this season, Arfield isn't being tested a whole lot.

Now several of our other players are in the same boat. Borjan, for instance. Are a handful of matches against bigger opponents more important than a whole schedule of good but not great opponents (MLS or similar league)? I can't say, but that's the reality of the situation.

What about Wotherspoon? By that logic he is less tested than Arfield. Yet he'll likely be picked for Qatar as he will be back to playing against those lowly SPL teams in no time.

And I am fine with Wotherspoon getting picked over Arfield, just to be clear, because Arfield is retired. I just take issue with some of the opinions in this thread, including yours, because they are feeding this narrative that Arfield may not be good enough, or prepared enough, etc. It's all a bunch of B.S. and I don't buy any of it.

Bottom line is that Arfield would absolutely be good enough for this team if he was available, but the thing is he is not available, for reasons only him and Herdman know, and that's a little disappointing but fine by me. It is what it is and we got through qualifiers more than fine without him.

I just strongly disagree with the idea that we are a more talented team without him, because that is blatently false. Now if you guys want to argue he is not good for team moral or whatever, and that team spirit is better without him, that's another conversation entirely.

And that would be purely be a conjecture-based conversation. Nobody on this board, maybe aside from a few parents, know the inner workings of this team as far as Arfield wrecking team spirit goes.

Edited October 6, 2022 by Obinna