CPL General

[Keegan]

$100k to a club would mean nothing really but if that was split among the players it could make things interesting! 

Edited April 6, 2019 by Keegan

[KW519]

These clubs are starting from scratch any injection of money would be big. Players would certainly get a piece of any prize though. 

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

All 7 clubs are in the Dominican for pre season.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ArmenBedakian/status/1114600851966791680

[Blackjack15]

Any early content from pre-season camp in the Dominican Republic? I've seen a few on the leagues official website (CanPL.ca) but expecting a lot more features, interviews, footage, articles being writer about where each team stands

The Next 10 Days are gonna go by fast! From what I'm hearing only 2 games will be played (1 vs local pro team and 1 vs CPL) which is too bad, thought at least three

Maybe Media Pro can get come highlights and sneak peaks of what their broadcasts will look like this season

[MtlMario]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is prior to the kits unveiling the commish stated that the league will not allow flipping and flopping around the field., and that he'll stop that by being "tough on crime". He also called it Un Canadian. I'm happy he listened to me since I mentioned it here about a year ago.??

[Copes]

33 minutes ago, MtlMario said:

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is prior to the kits unveiling the commish stated that the league will not allow flipping and flopping around the field., and that he'll stop that by being "tough on crime". He also called it Un Canadian. I'm happy he listened to me since I mentioned it here about a year ago.??

I think we can all forever dedicate our less-floppy league to you!

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, MtlMario said:

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is prior to the kits unveiling the commish stated that the league will not allow flipping and flopping around the field., and that he'll stop that by being "tough on crime". He also called it Un Canadian. I'm happy he listened to me since I mentioned it here about a year ago.??

For me it was the most stupid cliché he mentioned. He said we should do things the Canadian way, play hard, to the limit. Also inferred the refs should allow it. 

We'll simply see a lot of boot tackles, the ones who are talented and can dribble will have it kicked out of them or get injured if they try, the thugs will run the league and for fans, it'll look hack. 

Much more intelligent line of thinking: we want a league where real talent can flourish, where the best players can shine, where technique rules over brute force, and we'll have refs enforce that. But he, coming from the stock he is from, and listening to who he does, you could not expect anything less retrograde from Clanachan. 

I think MedioPro should just pull out now if the league is going to be a place where you get the shit kicked out of you if by trying to show skill.

[baulderdash77]

I think he’s more referencing the guy who barely gets touched in the lower body and then rolls around grabbing his face waiting for the penalty.  Then miraculously with some spray he’s 100%.  

That kind of thing grated on a lot of people.  

[mpg_29]

6 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

For me it was the most stupid cliché he mentioned. He said we should do things the Canadian way, play hard, to the limit. Also inferred the refs should allow it. 

We'll simply see a lot of boot tackles, the ones who are talented and can dribble will have it kicked out of them or get injured if they try, the thugs will run the league and for fans, it'll look hack. 

Much more intelligent line of thinking: we want a league where real talent can flourish, where the best players can shine, where technique rules over brute force, and we'll have refs enforce that. But he, coming from the stock he is from, and listening to who he does, you could not expect anything less retrograde from Clanachan. 

I think MedioPro should just pull out now if the league is going to be a place where you get the shit kicked out of you if by trying to show skill.

Couldn't agree more. If anything "The Canadian Way" largely gets in the way when it comes to our soccer. No one wants to see flopping or diving. But I also don't want to see a league full of oversized ADHD-riddled athletes running around like a chicken with their heads cut off simply because they display more "guts".

[fil]

I expect this will be similar to how MLS deals with diving. Occasionally fines are given for embellishment/simulation to players after the match. Will Johnson received a fine for this.

CPL will probably take a harder line on this, at least in the first season. This is to keep new casual fans who won't stand for diving. 

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

47 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

I think he’s more referencing the guy who barely gets touched in the lower body and then rolls around grabbing his face waiting for the penalty.  Then miraculously with some spray he’s 100%.  

That kind of thing grated on a lot of people.  

Totally agree. He didn't say anything about diving. He talked about rolling around on the ground. Takles are still going to be called, just the rolling around on the ground like a wimp will be snuffed out.

[KW519]

Does this Clanachan have any background in football? 

[xcalibre]

tbf the Island team hardly needs to do preseason training in a warm-weather climate, but if the other 6 teams are going they might as well squeeze in!

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

18 minutes ago, KW519 said:

Does this Clanachan have any background in football? 

Played at a fairly high youth level in Windsor from I understand from his interviews. Think he has mentioned something about playing a youth game tied into a Detroit Express NASL game back in the day. His parents are/were from Scotland and he's from a Rangers supporting background.

Edited April 7, 2019 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[FromAwaysHFX]

33 minutes ago, KW519 said:

Does this Clanachan have any background in football? 

He does know his stuff when it comes to football. Had a beer with him after a Q&A he did in Halifax back in February and had a really good chat with him about the game. Talked about George Best, Rodney Marsh, players from the 70s, 80s, Scottish football etc. He's a big Rangers fan. He also still plays weekly, too. Said he started off as a striker but is moving further and further back as he gets older. 

I remember feeling a lot more at ease about the league after that chat. He gets it.

But yeah, the comment about being 'tough on crime' did feel a bit like pandering. Perhaps that's necessary though to get some skeptics on board.

Edited April 7, 2019 by FromAwaysHFX

[KW519]

That's reassuring knowing a true fan of the sport is running the show, and his comments come from years of being involved in the game. 

[Keegan]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

For me it was the most stupid cliché he mentioned. He said we should do things the Canadian way, play hard, to the limit. Also inferred the refs should allow it. 

We'll simply see a lot of boot tackles, the ones who are talented and can dribble will have it kicked out of them or get injured if they try, the thugs will run the league and for fans, it'll look hack. 

Much more intelligent line of thinking: we want a league where real talent can flourish, where the best players can shine, where technique rules over brute force, and we'll have refs enforce that. But he, coming from the stock he is from, and listening to who he does, you could not expect anything less retrograde from Clanachan. 

I think MedioPro should just pull out now if the league is going to be a place where you get the shit kicked out of you if by trying to show skill.

This is a pretty big leap.  How is punishing diving equated to guys getting the shit kicked out of thenselves for showing skill?

Edited April 7, 2019 by Keegan

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, Keegan said:

This is a pretty big leap.  How is punishing diving equated to guys getting the shit kicked out of thenselves for showing skill?

I am in favour of diving, it is an essential part of making football great. It is what protects talent from the hacks and the goons in an unfair world. Okay, you can say, make it fair, have refs call fouls. But you need refs willing to do it. Problem: we just heard our commissioner trying to condition reffing in favour of not protecting talent on the ball and allowing physicality, as if it is something Canadians want. As if Canadians do not like talented dribblers and prefer direct long ball. The implication is insulting.

In Canada we have this nobility narrative, which we cite thinking of hockey, when it is totally false. Anyways, hockey is notorious for cheap shots, childish vendettas (get that guy back next shift, next game), and NOT leaving things on the ice. So we are just conning ourselves into thinking that is more noble or something. It is a residual sport still protecting being dirty and fans say it's part of the game to be cheap if the rival deserves it.

Then we screw ourselves over by taking that narrative into soccer, grave error. It affects our MNT results, because we cannot compete with others who have not been fooled into this bull.

In hockey you have two blades, and your stick, and the puck is pushed by the stick, not affecting your two main points of stability, slippery surface notwithstanding--but balanced out by the boards, so we have multiple points of support to counter the instability of being on ice. In American football, you use your hands, both feet are dedicated exclusively to balance and movement. In baseball, basketball, pretty well all sports. The ball is held by hands and arms, or when not, as in volleyball, the rival does not interfere, it is no contact. 

In soccer one of your main points of stability is also used to do incredible things with a ball that is round, and loose, and cannot be retained, and thus can be taken away relatively easily. So the ease of falling is extremely high, because you have to multi-task with your feet. A player can be taken down easily because he is concentrating on staying up and controlling, or passing, or dribbling. This is why you have to watch great players up close, or training, or the good ones young: they have great balance in movement, amazing at times. It is one of the things scouts look at with mid teens, this capacity to run through a mess of bodies and legs with the ball at your feet, and not fall.

If you say you want the league to favour talent, and ball control, the beautiful game, and order refs to protect the talent (which is mostly what fans pay to watch, and what clubs pay more for to have), then you are talking. Say that, not the dumbass narrative of our commissioner, who seems to even be trying to tip the balance of our reffing, and thus our league, away from basic FIFA rules. 

Fortunately, we will have tv for every match, so fans can decide for themselves if that guy who went down was touched or not or if the yellow for diving should have stayed in the pocket.

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by Unnamed Trialist

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 hours ago, FromAwaysHFX said:

He does know his stuff when it comes to football. Had a beer with him after a Q&A he did in Halifax back in February and had a really good chat with him about the game. Talked about George Best, Rodney Marsh, players from the 70s, 80s, Scottish football etc. He's a big Rangers fan. He also still plays weekly, too. Said he started off as a striker but is moving further and further back as he gets older. 

I remember feeling a lot more at ease about the league after that chat. He gets it.

But yeah, the comment about being 'tough on crime' did feel a bit like pandering. Perhaps that's necessary though to get some skeptics on board.

That is the football I grew up with, in Vancouver. Our coaches were Scots, they were fair, and even keel, and handled the group very well. They were pleasant and honest and treated us all kindly.

But their tactics and emphasis on technique was dirt poor, we missed out on basics when the world was watching the Dutch and Brasil, and they make kids who had real sprains, or pulls, even broken bones, keep playing. You had to play through it. And then, frequently, you got diagnosed the next Monday and were out for a few months.  I saw a grotesque case of this in Van involving my cousin, who was raised in England, which ruined sports for him forever, at age 17.

If the system does not protect talent, talent has to protect itself. You have got to keep the hounds off somehow, if the ref won't.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Unnamed Trialist

[FromAwaysHFX]

22 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

If the system does not protect talent, talent has to protect itself. You have got to keep the hounds off somehow, if the ref won't.

Completely agree. I'm from England and played in leagues from the age of 9 until my late teens. Stopped playing because of how rough and feisty it all got. You'd see some shocking challenges. I don't think the league can only be either a) full contact like hockey or b) full of divers. Should be easy enough to find a good balance.

[mpg_29]

 

[Ngravs]

delete.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Ngravs

[KW519]

Yes, we're all in favour of attractive possession based football, and we can all agree the players need to be protected, but sometimes these players that go down easy are asking for it. If you know a player is going to dive on most contact, why wouldn't you get a proper disguised kick to the ankles in? Why not let him feel your studs on his foot top if he's gonna try to cheat you? At least he thinks twice before dribbling at you next time. One's a thug, one's a con man pick your poison 

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

4 hours ago, fil said:

...CPL will probably take a harder line on this, at least in the first season. This is to keep new casual fans who won't stand for diving.

They should be more concerned at how hardcore fans would respond to rockem sockem soccer that deviates from international norms. Having said that I think Unnamed Trialist's picture of Scottish football culture is a bit dated and stereotypical. Things have moved on from what it was like 20 or 30 years ago, because people in and from Scotland are all too aware of the lack of results for Scotland's national team and club sides in recent times and what led to that.

[Unnamed Trialist]

57 minutes ago, FromAwaysHFX said:

Completely agree. I'm from England and played in leagues from the age of 9 until my late teens. Stopped playing because of how rough and feisty it all got. You'd see some shocking challenges. I don't think the league can only be either a) full contact like hockey or b) full of divers. Should be easy enough to find a good balance.

It's just a pet rant I have. 

I honestly believe we are seeing less diving, and less brainless challenges, in world football. But at the highest level, televised. And in an age when the real talents have a value you'd be foolish to leave unprotected, they drive the economy of everything else.

Lower divisions, well that is a different story, because it is not being watched as carefully, and refs are poorer. For me the worst in Spain is third tier, oddly, fourth is cleaner overall, and fifth. Then you get into 6-8th tier and it is messy and foul again. As I watch it all, I can attest to this. 

The absolutely worst behaved: the guys in the veterans leagues, the 35-45 crowd.