Greatest Cockney Rip Off Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 On 10/3/2021 at 9:41 AM, Unnamed Trialist said: Or if someone from London disses the Scottish teams when a Scottish club was the first British team to win the European Cup and London clubs only did likewise 40 years later or so. The bumpkins should just shut up instead of exposing themselves in public. Just a point of order, both West Ham (‘65) and Tottenham (‘63) won a European completion a few years prior to Celtic (‘67). Yes it was the cup winners cup, but London wasn’t exactly the European backwater you are alluding to. Unnamed Trialist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SthMelbRed Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 On 10/3/2021 at 7:41 PM, Unnamed Trialist said: Anyone who has followed European football with minimal attention knows the teams that have played European Cup finals. My kid is studying in Liège, which I know from Standard, and pretty well only from Standard. Because they played a European Cup final. No one is saying Malmoe is more famous, just that to diss it like that is extremely parochial and narrow-minded. Sweden has been a strong footballing nation since the 1950s and has held up better than Scotland, to give an example. Scottish players have never gotten their team past a first round. Swedes have played 4 semis and lost a final to Brazil. So just assuming a team with more butts in seats in a stadium in Glasgow, or with more fans doing tartans on their driveways in Canada, is better than a team from Sweden is pretty ignorant. It is like saying, hey, Aston Villa, don't know where that city is in Britain, never heard of a town with that name. Or if someone from London disses the Scottish teams when a Scottish club was the first British team to win the European Cup and London clubs only did likewise 40 years later or so. The bumpkins should just shut up instead of exposing themselves in public. The relevance of what happened in the '60s and '70s is nearly nil today. Two of my closest mates, two guys with whom I speak every day and to whom I'd trust my life, are lifelong Bhoys from Glasgow. Not even they would argue that Celtic or Scotland are significant entities on today's football stage. My brother's brother-in-law, a buddy of mine for the last quarter century, is a sports-mad Swede from about an hour outside Malmo. He doesn't get his nose out of joint when somebody points out the obvious fact that Sweden is a 2nd-tier football nation and it's clubs are about 2 or 3 rungs lower on the food chain. Knowing and acknowledging history doesn't mean you have to carry delusion into the present. An Observer, Free kick and Unnamed Trialist 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floortom Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Interestingly, Arfield opened an instagram account a few months ago. he doesnt use it that often but he has CanadaSoccer in his bio and he just did a regram in his story on the win last night. Even when he was active with the team he posted almost no Canada Soccer content on his twitter. Suggests to me he wants back in the mix - not sure it will happen especially with him barely playing at the moment Olympique_de_Marseille, DeRo_Is_King, Corazon and 2 others 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frmr Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 He'll likely have a tough time earning his place back in the team unless he starts playing. Cblake, Obinna and johnyb 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayverider Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 On the one hand we all know what Arfield did the last time we defeated the US at BMO. That kind of central midfield performance is still very much in demand on team Canada, notwithstanding the plethora of depth this team now possesses. But how long ago was that performance. Airfield was in fact slightly past his prime when he first joined Canada. Here we are now a few years later and it’s a huge concern that he is no longer receiving prime minutes at Glasgow Rangers. I can’t see him back in the mix until he can demonstrate his old form at the club level. Cblake and johnyb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Wayverider said: On the one hand we all know what Arfield did the last time we defeated the US at BMO. That kind of central midfield performance is still very much in demand on team Canada, notwithstanding the plethora of depth this team now possesses. But how long ago was that performance. Airfield was in fact slightly past his prime when he first joined Canada. Here we are now a few years later and it’s a huge concern that he is no longer receiving prime minutes at Glasgow Rangers. I can’t see him back in the mix until he can demonstrate his old form at the club level. I agree with the overall sentiment, but will be a little nitpicky and push back on him being 'slightly past his prime' when he first joined Canada. For me he was squarely in his prime. He actually earned his first cap back in 2016 while he was in the midst of arguably his best season in the English Championship. He scored 8 goals in 49 appearances that 2015-16 season as Burnley earned promotion back to the EPL. He went on to play two more EPL seasons after that, and while he found game time harder to come by in 2017-18 Burnley also finished in 7th so whether it was more a case of Arfield slipping out of his prime or Burnley just getting stronger is debatable. 2018-19 was his first season back in Scotland and he was magnificent for Rangers, scoring 12 goals across all comps and featuring heavily in Europa League. Since then it has been a steady decline as the following season saw a similar number of apps and goals, but a pretty significant drop in his minutes (you can spin that as being more efficient though, I suppose). His third rangers season, which was last season, saw a more dramatic drop in minutes and stats and this year is his low point for sure. Nobody can argue he's still in his prime because he's not. For me he was slightly past his prime right around that BMO game against USA. He did very well obviously and the Nov return leg he did fine, but that period is where I begun questioning if his legs were fading. He didn't seem to get around the field as well and playing a top team like the USA exposed that a bit, I think. The man has played a lot of football in his career. Edited October 14, 2021 by Obinna Califax, Free kick, johnyb and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayverider Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 Fair enough. When I wrote he was slightly past his prime in 2016 I suppose I was referring to him having wanted to be called up by Scotland for an extended period and him then realizing it was never going to materialize. That ship had sailed, and in fairness, Scotland though not strong at the time, was about to elevate its game on the international stage, with its midfield being its strongest area of talent. Arfield still had a lot of good soccer in him, but he had come to realize (in the eyes of the national coach) his talent was never going to be what Scotland were looking for. ... But your argument is very valid, and perhaps the Scottish coach was wrong (Gordon Strachan). Cblake and Obinna 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansem Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 Scott Arfield on the pitch for Rangers in Europe at the 77th minute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pod818 Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 1 minute ago, Ansem said: Scott Arfield on the pitch for Rangers in Europe at the 77th minute And gets a shot immediately hitting the crossbar. Great chance Ruffian and Ansem 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floortom Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 I didn’t watch but I see these comments on Twitter which reminds me how useful he would be in a squad with Phonzie, David and Tajon grigorio, Corazon, GasPed and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grigorio Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 He's a G whether he has a ton of game-time experience lately or not. I really hope we see him again. GasPed, Corazon, Bertuzzi44 and 4 others 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Floortom said: I didn’t watch but I see these comments on Twitter which reminds me how useful he would be in a squad with Phonzie, David and Tajon At the expense of Osorio or Larin though? To me, its hard to argue about the effectiveness of those two at various points over the last six months and it would be difficult to replace either with Arfield as a starter even if he was playing with any regularity. Or for Hutchinson or Kaye? I could see swapping Kaye and Arfield in and out, but I have the feeling that Kaye is a little more defensively responsible, which is useful to help out Eustaquio when everyone else is attacking. In my mind, the only time we really missed Arfield was the Panama game. I could've seen him in there instead of Wotherspoon. But other than that I don't really see him as an upgrade over what we've had as starters. Maybe he'd have been useful as a substitute. The Real Marc, Approve My Account Pls, dyslexic nam and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 The January window is going to present a different selection dynamic with so many of our players out of season, I have called for Arfield from the start of qualifying and if he is still getting some club minutes my opinion hasn't changed one bit! He may be a better option than out of season midfielders and in fact I am not sure he's not a better option than in season midfielders we have called and this is no disrespect to those players! lamptern, johnyb, king1010 and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyslexic nam Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 26 minutes ago, gator said: The January window is going to present a different selection dynamic with so many of our players out of season, I have called for Arfield from the start of qualifying and if he is still getting some club minutes my opinion hasn't changed one bit! He may be a better option than out of season midfielders and in fact I am not sure he's not a better option than in season midfielders we have called and this is no disrespect to those players! That is fair for sure - and I say that as someone who probably holds a petty grudge over him skipping out recently. But if he is mid-season and playing with Rangers, if probably becomes a no-brainer if he wants back in the tent. Having a guy like him as “back-up” is a sign of just how far we have come. Obinna 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 People gotta ask themselves, why isn't he there? He was once there, often, and now he is not. People love to think there are conspiracies and the ever ubiquitous "old boy's network" at work. Sometimes, things are very simple folks. Either he's not good enough or he doesn't fit anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertuzzi44 Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 2 hours ago, El Hombre said: At the expense of Osorio or Larin though? To me, its hard to argue about the effectiveness of those two at various points over the last six months and it would be difficult to replace either with Arfield as a starter even if he was playing with any regularity. Or for Hutchinson or Kaye? I could see swapping Kaye and Arfield in and out, but I have the feeling that Kaye is a little more defensively responsible, which is useful to help out Eustaquio when everyone else is attacking. In my mind, the only time we really missed Arfield was the Panama game. I could've seen him in there instead of Wotherspoon. But other than that I don't really see him as an upgrade over what we've had as starters. Maybe he'd have been useful as a substitute. Arfield and Larin don't play the same position, so it wouldn't be at Cyle's expense. If you are referring just getting into the squad then Arfield > Brym... Last I saw, Arfield is better than Kaye, oso, wotherspoon and hutch, so I would have no issue swapping him in for any of those players. Granted, it has been a while since Scott last played for Canada, so you could make the argument his form isn't as good at the moment. But the only way to see that is to call him to the squad and see how he performs. Last time I saw him play for Canada he was great! gator 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 I don't want to go to far off topic on this thread but my son, @JDub and I have been discussing the January window in depth recently, not every out of season MLS player is a risk but I would be more comfortable starting match fit players, a starting 11 could look something like this if all are available: Borjan Henry Vittoria Kennedy Buchanan Davies Arfield Atiba Wotherspoon Larin David The 2 biggest concerns with this for me are Henry at RCB and whether we have enough pace in the midfield, of course this could be augmented by out of season players who are deemed to be fit, Millar and Adegube could play important roles as well! Califax and dyslexic nam 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 (edited) 6 minutes ago, gator said: I don't want to go to far off topic on this thread but my son, @JDub and I have been discussing the January window in depth recently, not every out of season MLS player is a risk but I would be more comfortable starting match fit players, a starting 11 could look something like this if all are available: Borjan Henry Vittoria Kennedy Buchanan Davies Arfield Atiba Wotherspoon Larin David The 2 biggest concerns with this for me are Henry at RCB and whether we have enough pace in the midfield, of course this could be augmented by out of season players who are deemed to be fit, Millar and Adegube could play important roles as well! K League is off in December and January too. Aldo we should set up a couple of January friendlies leading up to the window to help get the out of season guys some match fitness Edited October 22, 2021 by narduch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 (edited) 4 minutes ago, gator said: I don't want to go to far off topic on this thread but my son, @JDub and I have been discussing the January window in depth recently, not every out of season MLS player is a risk but I would be more comfortable starting match fit players, a starting 11 could look something like this if all are available: Borjan Henry Vittoria Kennedy Buchanan Davies Arfield Atiba Wotherspoon Larin David The 2 biggest concerns with this for me are Henry at RCB and whether we have enough pace in the midfield, of course this could be augmented by out of season players who are deemed to be fit, Millar and Adegube could play important roles as well! Henry at RCB is my primary concern when it comes to depth, but the team is in such good shape that it may not even matter. We are almost half way through and he hasn't played there yet. Maybe Allistair is superman and will never get injured, but I would feel better with another option. It seems clear that plan A is to prey he doesn't get injured and/or change to a back four if/when he needs a rest. Edited October 22, 2021 by Obinna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnyb Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 3 minutes ago, gator said: I don't want to go to far off topic on this thread but my son, @JDub and I have been discussing the January window in depth recently, not every out of season MLS player is a risk but I would be more comfortable starting match fit players, a starting 11 could look something like this if all are available: Borjan Henry Vittoria Kennedy Buchanan Davies Arfield Atiba Wotherspoon Larin David The 2 biggest concerns with this for me are Henry at RCB and whether we have enough pace in the midfield, of course this could be augmented by out of season players who are deemed to be fit, Millar and Adegube could play important roles as well! Eustaquio will be in season and Johnston is a beast. You'd have to kill him for him not to be there. dyslexic nam, Shway, Approve My Account Pls and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadenge Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 10 minutes ago, johnyb said: Eustaquio will be in season and Johnston is a beast. You'd have to kill him for him not to be there. same for Laryea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe MacCarthy Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Just now, Kadenge said: same for Laryea All three could be in the UK then, you never know. Kadenge, Sal333, dyslexic nam and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 12 minutes ago, johnyb said: Eustaquio will be in season and Johnston is a beast. You'd have to kill him for him not to be there. Yes, of course Stacks will be in there, probably ahead of Wotherspoon and quite honestly I don't expect Arfield back since he hasn't been present lately! johnyb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 1 minute ago, Joe MacCarthy said: All three could be in the UK then, you never know. Agree but at this point Buchanans' is the only move confirmed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sal333 Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 15 minutes ago, johnyb said: Eustaquio will be in season and Johnston is a beast. You'd have to kill him for him not to be there. Why are you giving our opponents ideas? RS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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