Canada vs El Salvador Sept 6th in Vancouver WCQ

[gator]

10 minutes ago, Ruffian said:

I think we should alternate between Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. We have the best facilities in these cities and there should a positive effect on attendance from established local soccer support groups. Ottawa and Edmonton and any other city who can establish a strong soccer community should also be in the running but at the moment do not offer what the big 3 can offer.

I'm not sure about Montreal after the Honduras fiasco, it is however an excellent facility with a grass pitch so maybe try another friendly there!

[Ansem]

We should aim to be unbeatable at home at the very least. No excuses for not putting Mexico or any other South American countries through the same conditions the Americans did in the last round. Getting to the World Cup should ALWAYS come before selling silly tickets.

The CSA should use friendlies to grow the game outside of the main 3 cities. WCQ should be played in the best venues giving us any kind of tactical advantage we can possibly get. Sorry, but we're not good enough to think about tickets sales and filling up stadiums in WCQ. Didn't we make the last WC in 86 in the Maritimes in atrocious weather conditions???

The Americans did what they had to do to get the win against Costa Rica. Like I keep saying, we're too Fn nice for our own good. Let's keep having countries like Honduras make us play at 47 degrees at 3pm while we try to woo them with the BC Place or BMO field.

 

Getting to the world cup is what matters the most. PERIOD. Realistically, we are at LEAST a decade (surely more) away from having the talent to consistently compete against CONCACAF powers and to consistently qualify for the Hex, let alone the world cup.

Until then, all we can do is to improve our domestic leagues structure (D3 CHL model and CPL) so we can grow our own elites (being dependant on USSF is a mistake, at the end of the day, Americans could care less about us). We either do it ourselves or we concede that we will NEVER be competitive in soccer and the CSA must quit wasting everybody's time and just admit it.

We need to find a coach that can give us a system fit to our strength and limitations so we can consistently beat CONCACAF nations we're supposed to beat, get results (draw or a win) against harder nations like Costa Rica and Honduras and not get destroyed by Mexico and STICK WITH IT. We're too inconsistent and way too unprepared.

So yeah, when we have the chance to make team play in cold temperature, JUST DO IT. What the point of home field advantage if you can't make it hard for the visitors to play you? Right now, we're a walk in the park at home, that needs to change. Visitors MUST feel that getting a result in Canada will BE HARD despite our limited skills. Take them out of their comfort zone.

 

[GimliJetsMan]

Build a 3,000 fan stadium in Iqaluit.

[Ansem]

1 minute ago, GimliJetsMan said:

Build a 3,000 fan stadium in Iqaluit.

Why do you think so small? No love for Alert, Nunavut?

 

All jokes asides, Countries disrespecting us by having us play in extreme heat in the middle of the afternoon should always get the cold treatment from us, LITERALLY.

Once they stop doing that then perhaps we could give them BMO Field. Canada isn't respected in CONCACAF

[GimliJetsMan]

1 minute ago, Ansem said:

Why do you think so small? No love for Alert, Nunavut?

Have it in the arctic circle. Tell the Canadian Government it will help our sovereignty claims, they'll subsidize it.

[Ansem]

3 minutes ago, GimliJetsMan said:

Have it in the arctic circle. Tell the Canadian Government it will help our sovereignty claims, they'll subsidize it.

Our soldiers in the Arctic could use some fun too. Just like WWE does with the US army

LOL

[tc-in-bc]

If an unknown wealthy party was willing to offer money through a surrogate  to El Salvador to play for a win (which would benefit Honduras)  THEN  that same unknown wealthy party could have offered money through a surrogate to Mexico to play for a draw ( which would also  benefit Honduras ).     # conspiracy theory.

[hamiltonfan]

im waiting for the hammer (and disqualification) to come down on Honduras....hex bound!

[gator]

6 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Why do you think so small? No love for Alert, Nunavut?

 

All jokes asides, Countries disrespecting us by having us play in extreme heat in the middle of the afternoon should always get the cold treatment from us, LITERALLY.

Once they stop doing that then perhaps we could give them BMO Field. Canada isn't respected in CONCACAF

Exactly! We seem to have short memories, or at least the CSA does, we are never going to be real competitive in extreme heat and humidity and our opponents know that and schedule accordingly and that will never change, the only thing we can do is make things uncomfortable for them! Things like not giving the ball back to us after we kicked it out for an injury should never be forgotten, nor should The Azteca Rollover!

[CanadianSoccerFan]

Thing that kills me the most is the loss of regular competitive games.  It's just been nice to have meaningful games to talk about and look forward to.  I can handle not making the world cup but missing the hex is like being kicked out of the party before the DJ has even played a song.  Now there's just 3 years of friendlies and nothingness. 

CONMEBOL went to the 10-team round robin to solve this and Asia just changed their qualifying format to give their members more of a regular calendar of meaningful fixtures.  Only hope Vic can do the same. 

[GimliJetsMan]

7 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Thing that kills me the most is the loss of regular competitive games.  I can handle not making the world cup but missing the hex is like being kicked out of the party before the DJ has even played a song.  Now there's just 3 years of friendlies and nothingness. 

CONMEBOL went to the 10-team round robin to solve this and Asia just changed their qualifying format to give their members more of a regular calendar of meaningful fixtures.  Only hope Vic can do the same. 

I'm not disappointed about our World Cup hopes being dashed, as I don't think we would have a very good chance of advancing through the hex.

I'm disappointed because we lose out on 2 years of media attention and 2 years of meaningful soccer.

EDIT: I think the media attention is the bigger loss, as it would really help us make some more dedicated fans out of those who cheer for other national teams from here.

[Ruffian]

7 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Thing that kills me the most is the loss of regular competitive games.  It's just been nice to have meaningful games to talk about and look forward to.  I can handle not making the world cup but missing the hex is like being kicked out of the party before the DJ has even played a song.  Now there's just 3 years of friendlies and nothingness. 

CONMEBOL went to the 10-team round robin to solve this and Asia just changed their qualifying format to give their members more of a regular calendar of meaningful fixtures.  Only hope Vic can do the same. 

And we are going to feel this way every time we see the Hex games being played. 

[Addona]

9 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Thing that kills me the most is the loss of regular competitive games.  It's just been nice to have meaningful games to talk about and look forward to.  I can handle not making the world cup but missing the hex is like being kicked out of the party before the DJ has even played a song.  Now there's just 3 years of friendlies and nothingness. 

CONMEBOL went to the 10-team round robin to solve this and Asia just changed their qualifying format to give their members more of a regular calendar of meaningful fixtures.  Only hope Vic can do the same. 

There are 2 GC between now and then, but yeah ... I generally agree.

[Gian-Luca]

Not that it matters too much but I'm inclined to think that only the Edgar goal was offside, while Larin's was deliberately upheld because the linesman and/or ref determined that Hoillett didn't have any intention of playing the ball when the idiot El Salvadoran defender smashed it right off his shoulder. I had to go and look up the rules of the game, but it does say:

"A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save by any opponent) is not considered to have gained an advantage."

My emphasis on the second "deliberate". Normally when these plays happen and there's a rebound to a player standing miles offside its due to another attacking player sticking out his leg or whatever, but here I don't think Hoillet could do anything about it (or that may have been what the linesman's interpretation was.

It's either that or the linesman didn't see that the ball rebounded off Hoillett at all, but as bad as the officiating was overall, I'm not sure it could possibly be that bad, even in Concacaf.

Good for Larin to continue to play to the whistle (or lack thereof) and take that chance well.

[Vince193]

Was anyone else really impressed with De Jong last night? I thought he has his best game ever for Canada. Great work on the left side all night.

[The Beaver]

4 hours ago, Markus said:

Ok my last point on this:

Location of the games are not the reason we didn't advance. I am all for playing our wcq games wherever is best for us or most difficult for our opponents. That being said, the last WCQ game I recall against Mexico at Commonwealth was a 2-2 draw in 2008 when Mexico had already qualified. The crowd was about 14,000 that night iirc. We all saw tonight that a dominant Mexico team can be drawn when there's nothing on the line... even at Azteca.

I was part of the crowd of 12,000 in Montreal in 2008 the month before against Honduras where the crowd was at most 6,000 canada supporters. I was part of the 10,000 at BMO against Dominica last summer. I was part of the 64k (50 canada supporters) at Azteca last March lol. 

Our most important game in 2012 (which had we won would have seen us through to the hex) was in front of 16k at BMO. It ended in a 0-0 draw. We were the better team but failed to finish. Not the weather's fault.

B.C. place was great this cycle. We won 2 of 3 games and there were no crowds below 20,000. The one game we lost was against Mexico and nobody managed a home result against them this round. I remember going to wcq games in Vancouver where we couldn't sell out 6k at Swangaard. The last wcq at B.C Place against Mexico was an all time attendance record for a wcq in Canada. That's a fucking big deal imo. I was at that game and yes there were a lot of Mexicans there but it was about 60/40 in favour of Canada and there was an energy in the crowd I have never before seen from a Canadian crowd. Yes, it was spring, and it might have been slightly colder in Edmonton, but to suggest that this was the difference between us advancing or not is ridiculous to me.

I know we're all V's here and all want the same thing but I strongly disagree. To suggest a sold out yellowknife game vs Honduras or Winnipeg vs El Salvador would have made a difference... We won those games in front of great pro Canadian crowds. I'm sorry but not playing Mexico at Commonwealth was not the problem.

We had close to 100,000 fans over 3 games at B.C. place. Unprecedented support iirc. We took 6 of a possible 9 points while maximizing ticket revenue.  I'm not saying that if we had an important December match that we shoudn't play it in -20 at Commonwealth. Just that this time around, CSA choice of venue was not the problem. 

We missed opportunities. We were very close to the hex this time. Literally one away goal in either El Salvador or Honduras would have done it. We were almost there but in the end, just not quite good enough. We need to stop making excuses. 

Condolences to all of my fellow V's whether you agree or not. The one thing we all share is profound heartbreak and that feels the same no matter where you play. 

Terrific, rational post. Just to add to this: I've been going to WCQ games for more than two decades now--geesh!--and the game last night was the FIRST time I've been to a home game where the dominant colour was RED. At Swanguard, for our own home games, we'd be outnumbered by the fans of the opposing team by a ratio of 4 to 1, sometimes worse. I saw Canada v. Honduras in Edmonton, where Devos scored a brilliant game-winning header that was disallowed by some of the worst officiating I've ever seen, and even then we were out numbered. And it was damned cold. And we still tied them. And there were only 10,000 fans.  More than 20,000 fans last night was brilliant, with 80% of them--at least--cheering for Canada. And this for a game where we were all but eliminated? Give me a break! If only 10,000 showed up I would have been impressed. And what was super cool was WHO was cheering for Canada. For instance, the central american family who sat behind me and my brother last night--mom, dad and three boys--cheered for Canada all the way. It was lovely to hear them curse the officiating in Spanish AND English. We are growing the fan base in Vancouver, and in a real way. I am not saying that we should play every home game at BC Place, but I do take issue with the crank who somehow feels that the fans and attendance and results at BC Place were a disaster. The facts show otherwise, and by a long shot.

[The Beaver]

5 minutes ago, Vince193 said:

Was anyone else really impressed with De Jong last night? I thought he has his best game ever for Canada. Great work on the left side all night.

Yup, I was also impressed, as was my brother. (We were at the game.) Also love how physically solid his is. He has been coming along nicely with the Caps, and I wonder if Robbo might try him in midfield now that Harvey is back. Also like the look of James, who is still a young prospect but seems to have real potential. I wish somebody in MLS would pick him up. He needs to be playing regular football. Would love to see him develop with the Caps, but one should not be too greedy.

[Levi Oakey]

I am fully on board the Vancouver train. I don't see a reason to change the venue for now. We did the National Tour option and it wasn't great for the players. Having a home base makes sense. The only real problem with Vancouver is how far it is from Europe so I am sure the CSA is paying more for flights out there. Saying that, as a fan and as it is not my money, I think they have done the best in Vancouver. I hope sometime soon I can make the flight out there to watch.

I do hope that they play more friendlies in Canada though even though that seems tough. They should do some Commonwealth Mini-Tournament or something. Try to bring more games home and use those opportunities to spread around the country.

[GimliJetsMan]

Selfishly I'd love to see a friendly in Winnipeg. I'd point to how well the turnout was for the Women's friendly that was here.

If they want to keep major games to the big centres I don't mind, but would love to see them in the prairies for other stuff.

[Oranje]

With our WC fate sealed and no competitive matches until GC, I'd expect 2 matches each international break from here on out. Ideally, they'd have an A camp and a B camp, take the As on tour across Canada with a different city each break and the Bs can have the closed-door friendlies in Moldova. We need to have the fringe players actively involved and learning the system, developing depth. CSA need to splash, it's the least they can do until DeVos' grassroots revolution starts to bear fruit.

[Addona]

41 minutes ago, Vince193 said:

Was anyone else really impressed with De Jong last night? I thought he has his best game ever for Canada. Great work on the left side all night.

Yes, he was EXCELLENT!  I don't understand how that doesn't translate over to club football more!  I guess he had a good stretch with Ottawa, but in MLS, it's been much more of a struggle.

[Addona]

2 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Not that it matters too much but I'm inclined to think that only the Edgar goal was offside, while Larin's was deliberately upheld because the linesman and/or ref determined that Hoillett didn't have any intention of playing the ball when the idiot El Salvadoran defender smashed it right off his shoulder. I had to go and look up the rules of the game, but it does say:

"A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball (except from a deliberate save by any opponent) is not considered to have gained an advantage."

My emphasis on the second "deliberate". Normally when these plays happen and there's a rebound to a player standing miles offside its due to another attacking player sticking out his leg or whatever, but here I don't think Hoillet could do anything about it (or that may have been what the linesman's interpretation was.

It's either that or the linesman didn't see that the ball rebounded off Hoillett at all, but as bad as the officiating was overall, I'm not sure it could possibly be that bad, even in Concacaf.

Good for Larin to continue to play to the whistle (or lack thereof) and take that chance well.

This was my understanding as well ... it just deflected off of Junior ... no way he intended to play it to Larin.

[Marc]

I think de Jong's play doesn't translate because El Salvador is awful compared to the club teams he faces day in and out.

[johnyb]

Weird feeling today. I'm depressed the day after watching the best Soccer I've seen Canada play since GC 2000. As mentioned by someone earlier in the thread, the biggest thing is not getting to watch any real meaningful games for 3 years. I love the GC but it's just not the same.

[Trillium]

Fort McMurray should get next cycles early spring home games for World Cup Qualifiers.