Ballou Tabla

[Sal333]

1 minute ago, dyslexic nam said:

And as much as I have been cheering for him, I think that is the 3rd of 4th manager to express something similar.  Too bad - he had such a great game in the Canadian Championship when he scored 2 after subbing in.  Too bad he can’t get his head in it.  I was really hoping he would turn things around but it increasingly seems like that isn’t going to be the case.  

My feeling is that the game was too easy for Ballou growing up. He never had to expend any kind of effort. Considering he learned to play soccer in Quebec where it's not exactly a popular sport, the competition just wasn't there from the early years. It's not like a kid playing in Ontario where it's popular so you have lots of athletic players to play against.

 

It's a real shame. The kid has top level talent. Also with CF MTL and with Nancy he is throwing away a great opportunity to get back into the game. MTL has Toye and Quioto injured and they need goal scorers and Nancy - either by his own decision or orders from management - plays Canadians. Again Nancy started 6 Canucks in the game today.

[Dominic94]

29 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

My feeling is that the game was too easy for Ballou growing up. He never had to expend any kind of effort. Considering he learned to play soccer in Quebec where it's not exactly a popular sport, the competition just wasn't there from the early years. It's not like a kid playing in Ontario where it's popular so you have lots of athletic players to play against.

 

It's a real shame. The kid has top level talent. Also with CF MTL and with Nancy he is throwing away a great opportunity to get back into the game. MTL has Toye and Quioto injured and they need goal scorers and Nancy - either by his own decision or orders from management - plays Canadians. Again Nancy started 6 Canucks in the game today.

You’re wrong, Soccer in QC is very popular, the impact never capitalized though. Both in terms of fans and youth, there really should have been a French quebecois star by now. PLSQ doesn’t get too much love, but it should, and with QC teams it will. Ballou’s issue has always been himself and his entourage, he pushed to leave too early, and he himself got to be full of himself. 

[Sal333]

6 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

You’re wrong, Soccer in QC is very popular, the impact never capitalized though. Both in terms of fans and youth, there really should have been a French quebecois star by now. PLSQ doesn’t get too much love, but it should, and with QC teams it will. Ballou’s issue has always been himself and his entourage, he pushed to leave too early, and he himself got to be full of himself. 

If soccer is so popular where are all these QC players? I did a count for another poster last week. There are 20 players from Ontario on this month's NT. 20 out of 27.

Maybe you mean popular in the sense of soccer moms but definitely not in the sense of producing players. It's a recreational sport and not more than that.

[Dominic94]

Just now, Sal333 said:

If soccer is so popular where are all these QC players? I did a count for another poster last week. There are 20 players from Ontario on this month's NT. 20 out of 27.

Maybe you mean popular in the sense of soccer moms but definitely not in the sense of producing players. It's a recreational sport and not more than that.

The pathway is QC wasn’t great like ever, not everyone had access to AAA, and you had to qualify for it. There’s restrictive rulings, it’s a mess. The impact has been piss fucking poor at developing and identifying players. Just a combination of things.

[Sal333]

10 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

The pathway is QC wasn’t great like ever, not everyone had access to AAA, and you had to qualify for it. There’s restrictive rulings, it’s a mess. The impact has been piss fucking poor at developing and identifying players. Just a combination of things.

Hence the level of play is not as high as in other provinces and a gifted player like Ballou can coast through the lower levels and think he is the next Drogba without putting in an effort. If he was playing in Ontario he couldn't coast because the competition is fiercer .He would have to learn to put in an effort.

BTW I agree with you, another one of his problems is that he is full of himself. It's a combo of the two.

Edited October 17, 2021 by Sal333

[SoccMan]

1 hour ago, Sal333 said:

My feeling is that the game was too easy for Ballou growing up. He never had to expend any kind of effort. Considering he learned to play soccer in Quebec where it's not exactly a popular sport, the competition just wasn't there from the early years. It's not like a kid playing in Ontario where it's popular so you have lots of athletic players to play against.

 

It's a real shame. The kid has top level talent. Also with CF MTL and with Nancy he is throwing away a great opportunity to get back into the game. MTL has Toye and Quioto injured and they need goal scorers and Nancy - either by his own decision or orders from management - plays Canadians. Again Nancy started 6 Canucks in the game today.

Lol so I see your blaming the fact that Balou has issues is because the sport is not popular in Quebec lol , I’m sorry I’m not buying that at all lol . It’s popular enough my friend , the guy just has issues, he probably deep inside doesn’t really want it . If going to Barcelona can’t motivate you then nothing will, he could have been born and raised in Brazil and still have the same problems with motivation and attitude as he seems to have now . He will realize it one day when he is old and passed it , they always do in the end eventually realize the opportunities he had and was given and it will be too late , such a waste of talent and he has more or less thrown it all away , pretty sad .

Edited October 17, 2021 by SoccMan

[Dominic94]

41 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

Hence the level of play is not as high as in other provinces and a gifted player like Ballou can coast through the lower levels and think he is the next Drogba without putting in an effort. If he was playing in Ontario he couldn't coast because the competition is fiercer .He would have to learn to put in an effort.

BTW I agree with you, another one of his problems is that he is full of himself. It's a combo of the two.

I’d argue that the level is absolutely high enough. He’s always been his worst enemy.

[Sal333]

6 minutes ago, SoccMan said:

Lol so I see your blaming the fact that Balou has issues is because the sport is not popular in Quebec lol , I’m sorry I’m not buying that at all lol . It’s popular enough my friend , the guy just has issues, he probably deep inside doesn’t really want it . If going to Barcelona can’t motivate you then nothing will, he could have been born and raised in Brazil and still have the same problems with motivation and attitude as he seems to have now . He will realize it one day when he is old and passed it , they always do in the end eventually realize the opportunities he had and was given and it will be too late , such a waste of talent and he has more or less thrown it all away , pretty sad .

No that's not what I said. This is my post.

1 hour ago, Sal333 said:

My feeling is that the game was too easy for Ballou growing up. He never had to expend any kind of effort. Considering he learned to play soccer in Quebec where it's not exactly a popular sport, the competition just wasn't there from the early years. It's not like a kid playing in Ontario where it's popular so you have lots of athletic players to play against.

 

.

 

[SoccMan]

1 minute ago, Sal333 said:

No that's not what I said. This is my post.

 

There have been some decent players that have come out of Quebec and went on to have good careers, it didn’t seem to effect them. Look this kid has issues like I said if going to Barcelona can’t motivate you nothing will. 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

2 hours ago, Sal333 said:

My feeling is that the game was too easy for Ballou growing up. He never had to expend any kind of effort.

Possibly...

2 hours ago, Sal333 said:

It's not like a kid playing in Ontario where it's popular so you have lots of athletic players to play against.

1) There are far more people within a 90 minute drive of each other in the GTA than there are in the Greater Montréal area.

2) Being further south and by a big lake, the weather in the GTA is slightly milder than in the Greater Montréal area.

Otherwise, you with that part of the post  ↓ 

Edited October 17, 2021 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[VinceA]

I think the most telling thing is that he went to Barcelona and came back a worse player. How the hell does that happen?

[An Observer]

It feels like Wyn Belotte all over again

[Unnamed Trialist]

Folks, I think that Ballou has some personal issues that make it hard on him.

He seems extremely shy, needs family support, and seems to have difficulty handling the pressure of his own talent. He must also be dealing with the apparent "failure" of not getting much from being at Barça. I feel at some point, if he deals with the personal issues and finds a niche, he may find his way back. He probably just needs to have fun playing and, if not, move on to something else if he can't do that.

[Sal333]

9 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

 

1) There are far more people within a 90 minute drive of each other in the GTA than there are in the Greater Montréal area.

2) Being further south and by a big lake, the weather in the GTA is slightly milder than in the Greater Montréal area.

Otherwise, you with that part of the post  ↓ 

You just provided two possible reasons why Ontario has produced more quality soccer players than Quebec. How does that refute what I said? 

[RS]

14 hours ago, canuckgbp said:

Seems like something a manager would say when he is done with the player and feels he has no other recourse

Not the first time with Ballou.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

2 hours ago, Sal333 said:

You just provided two possible reasons why Ontario has produced more quality soccer players than Quebec. How does that refute what I said? 

The whole popularity aspect. I subdivided your quote specifically to address the point I disagreed with.

[Sal333]

1 minute ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

The whole popularity aspect. I subdivided your quote specifically to address the point I disagreed with.

So what did you disagree with?

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

32 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

So what did you disagree with?

OMG, I disagreed with the part of your paragraph that I specifically quoted, the same part other posters took issue with.

In bold:

14 hours ago, Sal333 said:

he learned to play soccer in Quebec where it's not exactly a popular sport...It's not like a kid playing in Ontario where it's popular so you have lots of athletic players to play against.

Edited October 17, 2021 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[Joe1973]

Talent is talent. Whether growing up in Quebec or anywhere else, talent will be discovered. Remember how terrific he was as a kid playing with the Impact against professional men. Reality is that not all kids mature same way, and the ones that don't have that maturity, need a good mentor and entourage. Seems like he hasn't found it yet; with the talent he has, it was alarming that he would fail to make it on the team sheet when he was at Albacete! Call me an optimist, but he's still 22. Still hoping for a happy turn of events.

[costarg]

It's utterly heart breaking, one of my first reflects when checking Montreal's line-up is to look for Ballou and see if he's in the 18 and the odds that he'll make it on the field.  I'm gutted every time he doesn't make it.

This guy went to Barca, he had Drogba as a close friend and mentor, was the MOTM vs Roma at like 17?  We had glimpses of a man playing vs children when he was a child playing vs men.  He just has too much talent to let this happen to him.  

Ballou and Davies are literal opposites in trajectory, paths and work ethic.

 

[Floortom]

I still remember being on team Tabla in those initial Ballou vs. Davies debates 😂

[Sal333]

2 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

OMG, I disagreed with the part of your paragraph that I specifically quoted, the same part other posters took issue with.

In bold:

Honest question do you live in Quebec?

[RS]

32 minutes ago, Floortom said:

I still remember being on team Tabla in those initial Ballou vs. Davies debates 😂

Oof.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

8 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

Honest question do you live in Quebec?

No. I am currently living in Ottawa but I work on the Québec side (Gatineau).

 

Where do you live?

Edited October 17, 2021 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[Free kick]

The recent posts on this page show the importance of a feature that disappeared on this forum; and that I miss.  Its the feature telling you where the poster lives.  I honestly think that this is important for a lot of discussion here because it adds context to a viewpoint.   

for example,  when someone says that a certain sport is or is not popular in certain location in Canada,  it can take on totally different meaning if you know that the person saying lives there or not.