Scott Arfield

[CanadianSoccerFan]

He's 32 so any return is likely a short term measure.  

[cronaldo7]

As fans, we don't like it but I don't find a huge issue here at all. He's shown up and put in shifts for our national program. He isn't getting any younger, he's battled injuries and I'm sure he'd like to squeak out a couple more years as a high-earning professional footballer. 

He is just being direct and honest about the circumstances and I personally respect that. 

And yes, I am sure he is aware he won't be captaining the team in the future.

[Bison44]

I dont have any problem with Arfield, Hutch, Vitoria..any of the older guys skipping a camp/qualifier to rest their legs.  Do we need a full squad for this camp??  If Hutch, Eusquatio, Kaye, Piette are there we;ll be fine in the middle.  These guys can sit and we can work in Eusquatio, or a Wotherspoon.  It would be nice if Herdman could get time for Corbeanu, Nelsen, Sturing, Fererria, Johsnton, StClair, etc etc, nows the time in the early rounds.   

 

[SpecialK]

He got hurt playing against shopkeepers. I would be pissed too. It’s a joke!  a player with his career has to play against CONCACAF minnows! Why can’t we get some decent friendlies against mid level or even some of football heavyweights. I’m sorry Shame on the CSA. He’ll be there vs USA, Jamaica and Mexico etc. Again it’s joke why Canada can’t organize some games in Europe vs decent teams. 

[red card]

Full Herdman spiel on Arfield paints a softer picture. Herdman doesn't like players picking and choosing when to come because of the message being sent. But Arfield situation is more like Atiba in terms of body and mind being right to come and play.

If SPL title was won 3 weeks earlier, he might have been here. 

Around 18:30

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by red card

[Ansem]

1 hour ago, Bison44 said:

I dont have any problem with Arfield, Hutch, Vitoria..any of the older guys skipping a camp/qualifier to rest their legs.  Do we need a full squad for this camp??  If Hutch, Eusquatio, Kaye, Piette are there we;ll be fine in the middle.  These guys can sit and we can work in Eusquatio, or a Wotherspoon.  It would be nice if Herdman could get time for Corbeanu, Nelsen, Sturing, Fererria, Johsnton, StClair, etc etc, nows the time in the early rounds.   

 

I'd say if it was top 2 advance than yeah - lot's of guys could have stayed home

But this is a "group winner only" advance with the likes of Suriname upgrading like crazy with Dutch guys.

Better safe than sorry - Goal differential matters and you don't want Suriname outscoring us if we tied them.

That being said - I expect Arfield to answer the round 2 Haiti call up.

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by Ansem

[SpecialK]

16 minutes ago, red card said:

Arfield paints a softer picture. Herdman doesn't like players picking and choosing when to come because of the message being sent.

Why are they calling players like Arfield to play against shopkeepers and semi pro soccer players where a League One Ontario team would kill them 5-0? I have issue with that. That’s where you take our B-C team with a mix of youth and beat the hell out of them. I don’t know why they don’t have faith in our depth. 

[SthMelbRed]

1 hour ago, SpecialK said:

He got hurt playing against shopkeepers. I would be pissed too. It’s a joke!  a player with his career has to play against CONCACAF minnows! Why can’t we get some decent friendlies against mid level or even some of football heavyweights. I’m sorry Shame on the CSA. He’ll be there vs USA, Jamaica and Mexico etc. Again it’s joke why Canada can’t organize some games in Europe vs decent teams. 

Oh, great. A totally new and original take. 🙄

[SpecialK]

11 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

Oh, great. A totally new and original take. 🙄

It’s true though 

[RS]

1 hour ago, SpecialK said:

Why are they calling players like Arfield to play against shopkeepers and semi pro soccer players where a League One Ontario team would kill them 5-0? I have issue with that. That’s where you take our B-C team with a mix of youth and beat the hell out of them. I don’t know why they don’t have faith in our depth. 

You can't be serious.

It's World Cup qualifying. You take the absolute best team you can each and every time out, to ensure your best chance at success.

Maybe you can get away with sprinkling some young/inexperienced players at the bottom of the roster (ie. Nelson, Corbeanu, etc.) this time around given the opposition, but you absolutely cannot gamble on a fully B-C team regardless of the who's on the opposite side of the field. If Herdman actually did this you'd be the first one on here calling for his head.

[SpecialK]

1 minute ago, RS said:

You can't be serious.

It's World Cup qualifying. You take the absolute best team you can each and every time out, to ensure your best chance at success.

Maybe you can get away with sprinkling some young/inexperienced players at the bottom of the roster (ie. Nelson, Corbeanu, etc.) this time around given the opposition, but you absolutely cannot gamble on a fully B-C team regardless of the who's on the opposite side of the field. If Herdman actually did this you'd be the first one on here calling for his head.

I’m not talking about now, I am talking about when he was called vs Dominica, teams like that. Yes Bermuda and Suriname will be a challenge. 
that’s where he got pissed off and rightly so. 

[Kadenge]

1 minute ago, SpecialK said:

I’m not talking about now, I am talking about when he was called vs Dominica, teams like that. Yes Bermuda and Suriname will be a challenge. 
that’s where he got pissed off and rightly so. 

While I agree we should play more the fact is we don't.  So we need to get our A squad out when we can and  prep for the "big games" even if it is vs minnows. How else will JH and the players get on the same page?  Our A squad can't just show up for the Ocho. Same last time around vs Dominica. His injury was unfortunate..it happens

[Bison44]

Geesh, some of those games against Dominica etc were CONCACAF nation league etc, games that meant something, not meaningless friendlies.  If he wants to be part of the program he can only play what we play, and part of that is going through and playing in some strange places.   And if he got on with Scotland?? He'd have to visit Faroe islands, Malta, San Marino, Cyprus, Moldova, Albania, Isreal and Kazakstan to name some from the last 3-4 years.   Its not all glamour games against Italy, Brazil and Mexico.  

[Kadenge]

3 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Geesh, some of those games against Dominica etc were CONCACAF nation league etc, games that meant something, not meaningless friendlies.  If he wants to be part of the program he can only play what we play, and part of that is going through and playing in some strange places.   And if he got on with Scotland?? He'd have to visit Faroe islands, Malta, San Marino, Cyprus, Moldova, Albania, Isreal and Kazakstan to name some from the last 3-4 years.   Its not all glamour games against Italy, Brazil and Mexico.  

That's the thing that bothers me. I get the " I need to take care of my body" but complaining about playing minnows is a concern. This is new. Add Gerrard speaking to the press and there was some mention about a family issue previously... I like Arfield and he has been full on  in games played but I am concerned. Hopefully he is there in June.

 

[kacbru]

Until we prove otherwise, we are a minnow.  Perhaps at the top end of the minnow scale, but a minnow none the less.  It's what he signed up for.  So am I disappointed that he declined the call for WCQ - absolutely.  Does it mean he does not have a place if he were to choose to accept it down the road - absolutely not.

[Obinna]

26 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Geesh, some of those games against Dominica etc were CONCACAF nation league etc, games that meant something, not meaningless friendlies.  If he wants to be part of the program he can only play what we play, and part of that is going through and playing in some strange places.   And if he got on with Scotland?? He'd have to visit Faroe islands, Malta, San Marino, Cyprus, Moldova, Albania, Isreal and Kazakstan to name some from the last 3-4 years.   Its not all glamour games against Italy, Brazil and Mexico.  

Big difference flying to those places from Scotland than flying across the Atlantic Ocean. 

[narduch]

2 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Big difference flying to those places from Scotland than flying across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Israel and Kazakhstan aren't really short flights from Scotland.

[SpecialK]

23 minutes ago, kacbru said:

Until we prove otherwise, we are a minnow.  Perhaps at the top end of the minnow scale, but a minnow none the less.  It's what he signed up for.  So am I disappointed that he declined the call for WCQ - absolutely.  Does it mean he does not have a place if he were to choose to accept it down the road - absolutely not.

A lot of people forget. When he signed on his first few games were not against minnows/shop keepers and semi pro players. He played against Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Scotland. He should have never been called for those weaker teams. This is the issue. Are we gonna take our soccer program seriously or Are we going to be for sub standards! Like look at Jamaica( federations filled with crooked people), they treat their players like shit. But have hey play against top teams and They still get 50-80% of their top guys. Soon they are gonna be force. 

[Obinna]

12 minutes ago, narduch said:

Israel and Kazakhstan aren't really short flights from Scotland.

Most UEFA teams are short flights. All CONCACAF teams are long flights.

I am willing to give Arfield a long leash here. 

[kacbru]

1 minute ago, Obinna said:

Most UEFA teams are short flights. All CONCACAF teams are long flights.

I am willing to give Arfield a long leash here. 

And home games for UEFA teams often mean no flights.  On the rare occasion we play at home, it still means long flights even for our domestic players. 

[A_Gagne]

6 hours ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

He's 32 so any return is likely a short term measure.  

yup, hope to see him back, but if this moving on we'll manage and it's only likely a couple years before that would have happened anyways.

[SthMelbRed]

I'm sorry. Has Canada's geographical position on the globe changed since Scott Arfield declared to play for us?

I have no issue with players reducing their national team commitments as they age and are trying to prolong their professional careers. However, unless this is done in consultation with the national team manager, they should effectively be retiring from international service. They should not be given any leeway to make unilateral decisions on when they will or won't show up.

[king1010]

1 hour ago, SthMelbRed said:

I'm sorry. Has Canada's geographical position on the globe changed since Scott Arfield declared to play for us?

I have no issue with players reducing their national team commitments as they age and are trying to prolong their professional careers. However, unless this is done in consultation with the national team manager, they should effectively be retiring from international service. They should not be given any leeway to make unilateral decisions on when they will or won't show up.

Sounds like this was done in consultation with Herdman. 
 

Same with Atiba the last few years. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by king1010

[Aird25]

Arfield is captain and his league is wrapped up. Meanwhile we get two key players from Besiktas who are in an actual title battle. How does that happen?

[LeoH037]

Fact is, Arfield has always shown up and gone beyond when he played for us, and even if from now on he decides to show up only for the big games against tough opponents (which lets be honest, those ARE the game when we REALLY need someone of his quality) then he'll be welcomed with open arms. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by LeoH037