Canada vs Scotland

[Northvansteve]

I loved a lot of what I saw from Canada in this game. The defense was its usual shaky / scary self (ahem...Straith...) but so many positives. The attack actually seemed decisive and creative and dangerous. Credit to Aird and Bustos for that.

This 4-4-1-1 formation worked well. Allows a creative attacking mid like Bustos (or Arfield, Aleman, Tabla...) to support a strong attacker and not leave that attacker completely isolated. I thought Bustos was excellent - he controls and distributes the ball beautifully. He's a pure attacking passer. Perfect position for him. 

Aird was terrific - no idea why the Whitecaps gave up on him. Who starts at RM in the Gold Cup: Aird or Davies?

James and Tissot were really good. And Corbin-Ong - I liked what i saw - speed, strong passing. This guy is going to be a contender to be our starting LB. 

Encouraging!

[Obinna]

4 hours ago, Soccerpro said:

Nice friendly result, but we drew Ghana 1-1, and we know how much that means in WCQ and Gold Cup games.

Are we ever going to develop some good defenders? Hell, play Will Johnson at RB just like Orlando does.

More exciting than the result was the actual performance. We played better in this match than against Ghana. 

I know it's only a friendly, but getting a point as the away side is more encouraging than getting a point in a neutral venue. 

[kacbru]

Are people on here sure they were watching the same game?  Bustos is the future and Whitecaps hate Canada / Bustos is so slow it's no wonder he never sees the pitch in Vancouver.  Piette is awesome / Piette should never play again.  Corbin-Ong had a howler / Corbin-Ong undiscovered gem. Tissot is the future at LB / Tissot is a liability.  The only consensus seems to be around the play of Aird.

I'll have to watch the game myself now, I obviously can't trust any of you.

[shamrock]

Corbin-Ong didn't look out of place at all. Plus with the few chances Canada will create, his throw-ins can be of great value. Why didn't anyone think of that before? (I didn't either).  

[Floortom]

13 hours ago, PopePouri said:

Re: Bustos. He has similar atheticism and size as Felipe @ NYRB. i.e. he can still be a successful soccer player at a decent level.

Yah, I'm not saying he can't be successful due to lack of pace. It just surprises me

[Fort York Redcoat1555362293]

4 hours ago, kacbru said:

Are people on here sure they were watching the same game?  Bustos is the future and Whitecaps hate Canada / Bustos is so slow it's no wonder he never sees the pitch in Vancouver.  Piette is awesome / Piette should never play again.  Corbin-Ong had a howler / Corbin-Ong undiscovered gem. Tissot is the future at LB / Tissot is a liability.  The only consensus seems to be around the play of Aird.

I'll have to watch the game myself now, I obviously can't trust any of you.

It's pretty standard to read contrasting opinions here. And you should absolutely watch and chime in with yours! 

[Kent]

12 hours ago, Floortom said:

Airfield was not at fault for that clearing attempt. James attempted to clear it from the ground right as Arfield was going to boot it. That caused the mishit. Just one of those things that happens- wouldn't blame anyone in particular and certainly not Arfield

A couple people have said it was James, and that Arfield kicked the ball. It was Tissot (number 17) that was on the ground though, and I am pretty certain he kicks it off of Arfield, rather than Arfield being the one doing the kicking.

[rob.notenboom]

5 hours ago, kacbru said:

... I obviously can't trust any of you.

Winner of this week's Voyageur truth award.

[El Hombre]

On 2017-03-13 at 0:48 PM, Floortom said:

I really hope we send as good a squad as possible otherwise we might be humiliated.

Do you think?  I wouldn't want to get humiliated!

On 2017-03-18 at 8:49 AM, jpg75 said:

Arfield, Hoilett and not much else. I have low expectations for this match.

The lower the expectations, the less disappointed you may be.  Probably safe to set your expectations very low.

On 2017-03-18 at 8:53 AM, baulderdash77 said:

I think by omitting our top MLS players, Borjan and Atiba we are not putting out close to our strongest roster.  We probably only have 4 true starters (Lederwood or Aird, James, Hoilett, Arfield) from our best 11 out there.

 

Oh no, we ARE going to get humiliated!

On 2017-03-18 at 8:59 AM, Floortom said:

Man that is an atrocious roster. Would be pretty surprised if we managed to put together a decent performance against Scotland but hopefully we don't get destroyed 

Oh I hope we don't get destroyed.  Humiliation I can take.  Total destruction would be the worst.

On 2017-03-18 at 11:36 AM, nolando said:

This hodge-podge versus a brilliant -looking Scottish line-up? 3-1 loss, if we're really lucky and only if Scotland takes their foot off of the gas a bit. 

Findlay might be able to generate a bit of offense based on his previous interim work, hence the consolation goal, which I'll wildly predict will go to a soon-to-be impressive Aleman.

Oh no, this game is going to be terrible!

On 2017-03-18 at 1:45 PM, nolando said:

Was seriously depressed for a moment but this doesn't look half-bad. Perhaps we won't get a result but at least we should have a respectable match.

Oooooh, I hope the match remains respectable.

On 2017-03-18 at 7:54 PM, Stryker911 said:

Hopefully for Arfields sake we don't get embarrassed. 

If we don't get embarrassed, I will consider it a win!

On 2017-03-18 at 10:53 PM, king1010 said:

Was thinking the same thing . 

Too bad we couldnt have our best team against their best. 

Yeah.  We would need our best to keep the game respectable and not get humiliated.

20 hours ago, hamiltonfan said:

...that lineup has me nervous

Don't worry, that's normal, most people get nervous before getting destroyed.

.

.

.

Wait a minute, what happened?

[rob.notenboom]

And the responses go dead.

[jpg75]

Like i said before, we punched above our weight and Scotland looked biteless. I mean come on, were we supposed to expect a result in Scotland with that roster after 4-0 in Morocco? It was a pleasant result, we should be very happy.

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 23/3/2017 at 1:27 AM, nolando said:

Sure enough. Arfield indeed made the poor clearing attempt, seemingly trying to compensate for a mix-up  started by Piette's terrible glancing-header backwards and then Manneh-like backtracking  - in any case no one earned themselves any kudos on the play in question:

 

You can't say Piette had a terrible glancing header when he was in position for the ball and was slightly pushed from behind on it. 

But even then, the ball went right to a Canadian foot. Which did not handle it, coughed it up (Arfield)

Scotty tracks back on the play, unlike Piette. The half cross could have been held by the keeper better. Still, went to a Canadian foot with time (Arfield again), but the clearance was awful. 

In this game we had moments of certain players not being sharp, a few passes, clearances, making bad decisions going forwards, trying to do things difficult when an easier option was available. They did not punish us for any but this err. Scotland was pretty poor, we were pretty good for what our level has been lately.

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 23/3/2017 at 1:19 PM, shamrock said:

Corbin-Ong didn't look out of place at all. Plus with the few chances Canada will create, his throw-ins can be of great value. Why didn't anyone think of that before? (I didn't either).  

Trying to think who it was who used to do our long throw-ins, at the tip of my tongue. Like 10 years ago...Serioux?

[BuzzAndSting]

Just now, Unnamed Trialist said:

Trying to think who it was who used to do our long throw-ins, at the tip of my tongue. Like 10 years ago...Serioux?

Didn't Cann have a really long throw?

[El Hombre]

Just now, Unnamed Trialist said:

Trying to think who it was who used to do our long throw-ins, at the tip of my tongue. Like 10 years ago...Serioux?

Serioux's a fucking legend.  Shame on you for forgetting that name.  Hand in your gun and badge sir.  Not only did he have the longest throw-in known to man, but he also two-footed Beckham.

Fucking.  Legend.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Just now, El Hombre said:

Serioux's a fucking legend.  Shame on you for forgetting that name.  Hand in your gun and badge sir.  Not only did he have the longest throw-in known to man, but he also two-footed Beckham.

Fucking.  Legend.

Thing is, I didn't forget it, I'm a beast!

[Big_M]

We get a result and right away it's ''we played above our level and they were bad''. They came with a squad of players playing at a very high level and mid season and we had some of our best missing and a lot of them in pre or early season. How about we are simply good enough to compete against these sides. Enough of underestimating ourselves and accept always losing against teams like honduras and costa rica.

[Grizzly]

22 minutes ago, Big_M said:

We get a result and right away it's ''we played above our level and they were bad''. They came with a squad of players playing at a very high level and mid season and we had some of our best missing and a lot of them in pre or early season. How about we are simply good enough to compete against these sides. Enough of underestimating ourselves and accept always losing against teams like honduras and costa rica.

That is true to some extent but we also have a long history of one-off good results usually in friendlies followed by bad results when it really counts. Also I think we match up to Scotland stylistically much better than against teams like Honduras and Costa Rica. Honduras and Costa Rica with their fast, technically skilled forwards would probably punish the errors our defenders made during the game a lot more than Scotland did. It was a good result and I was happy with how we played and hopefully the new coach can build on this with some consistency but lets not get overly optimistic either and as much as we showed we have some decent midfielders with ability, our defence is still really weak and needs either some new players or a few of the existing ones to improve their skill set.

[Bison44]

I think this result is a good example of what high motivation will do for a few players, and those few players can drag the team up a notch or two.  And what low motivation (Scotland) can do to a good squad.  Arfield and Aird were highly motivated and played excellent games against the national team that had no room for them.   So now the job is to get several (or all) or players to be as highly motivated to beat Honduras, Panama etc down in their barn. Not to play timid, defensive Floro ball.   

[Boominbooty]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

You can't say Piette had a terrible glancing header when he was in position for the ball and was slightly pushed from behind on it. 

But even then, the ball went right to a Canadian foot. Which did not handle it, coughed it up (Arfield)

Scotty tracks back on the play, unlike Piette. The half cross could have been held by the keeper better. Still, went to a Canadian foot with time (Arfield again), but the clearance was awful. 

In this game we had moments of certain players not being sharp, a few passes, clearances, making bad decisions going forwards, trying to do things difficult when an easier option was available. They did not punish us for any but this err. Scotland was pretty poor, we were pretty good for what our level has been lately.

Watch the replay again. Arfield tries to kick the ball out with his left foot over the back end line i.e. give up a corner to relieve the pressure. Tissot gets in the way and the balls is blocked and lands at the Scottish player's foot. Unfortunate the whole way through. Serious of errors leading to that goal not one player screwing up. 

[gator]

On 2017-03-23 at 8:19 AM, shamrock said:

Corbin-Ong didn't look out of place at all. Plus with the few chances Canada will create, his throw-ins can be of great value. Why didn't anyone think of that before? (I didn't either).  

It seems his teammates don't know the extent of his throw, one instance he is urging Hoilett to run behind the defender which Junior doesn't and he can only watch as the ball flies past both of them then there is a throw from not too far over the halfway line and he launches it right up to the edge of the 6 yard box but no one had anticipated it! This could be very useful in the future once everyone is on the same page!

[Unnamed Trialist]

13 minutes ago, Boominbooty said:

Watch the replay again. Arfield tries to kick the ball out with his left foot over the back end line i.e. give up a corner to relieve the pressure. Tissot gets in the way and the balls is blocked and lands at the Scottish player's foot. Unfortunate the whole way through. Serious of errors leading to that goal not one player screwing up. 

In the box, you have to clear. Either high in the air, or out, or to the side, but the clearance has to be definitive. Even if it just give time to the defence to settle. For me, the Arfield clearance is not up to standard. The giveaway is also his, before, as he tries to dummy through a player and loses it. So not so good, I am sure he knew it too. 

For me he is a great player and I am glad to have him, but a lot of that is on him.

[Boominbooty]

 I chatted with a Scottish friend from Aberdeen who now lives in Canada. He was basically a neutral when watching but his comments were; "Canada gave a good performance and Scotland were bad as usual . . . We've (the Scots) been permanently disappointed for almost 20 years!".  This is the mental piece that Octavio Zambrano is talking about -- the negativity that permeates some teams:  we (or the Scots) suck and that is shown in our results. Arfield also mentioned it in an interview, Canada has to begin to believe they can win and they will start to play to their ability. We have good players; better than many concacaf nations but our mentality stinks. We walk into games hoping to hang on rather than assuming we can win. 

I'll be interested to see what happens to Scotland and Slovenia this weekend, judging by all reports Scotland's already lost this game before they've even played it. We need to stop fallin into that trap too. (cue the Anthony Robbins self-help videos here!)

[Obinna]

11 minutes ago, Boominbooty said:

 I chatted with a Scottish friend from Aberdeen who now lives in Canada. He was basically a neutral when watching but his comments were; "Canada gave a good performance and Scotland were bad as usual . . . We've (the Scots) been permanently disappointed for almost 20 years!".  This is the mental piece that Octavio Zambrano is talking about -- the negativity that permeates some teams:  we (or the Scots) suck and that is shown in our results. Arfield also mentioned it in an interview, Canada has to begin to believe they can win and they will start to play to their ability. We have good players; better than many concacaf nations but our mentality stinks. We walk into games hoping to hang on rather than assuming we can win. 

I'll be interested to see what happens to Scotland and Slovenia this weekend, judging by all reports Scotland's already lost this game before they've even played it. We need to stop fallin into that trap too. (cue the Anthony Robbins self-help videos here!)

The Scottish fans are negative but I wonder if the players share this mentality? Are the players inspired by years of failure or do those expectations weight on them?

[The Beaver]

On 3/23/2017 at 1:49 AM, kacbru said:

Are people on here sure they were watching the same game?  Bustos is the future and Whitecaps hate Canada / Bustos is so slow it's no wonder he never sees the pitch in Vancouver.  Piette is awesome / Piette should never play again.  Corbin-Ong had a howler / Corbin-Ong undiscovered gem. Tissot is the future at LB / Tissot is a liability.  The only consensus seems to be around the play of Aird.

I'll have to watch the game myself now, I obviously can't trust any of you.

Bustos IS slow, and for that reason has had a tough time finding a role with the Caps, who as a counter-attacking team rely on speed, speed, speed. Bustos is better suited for a more compact set-up, something similar to the way Tigres plays, for instance. He could very well play an important role for Canada going forward just as long as he is not deployed as a winger--because he is slow.