Stephen Eustaquio

[LeoH037]

Just now, youllneverwalkalone said:

That was a great team. Stephen Hart was Herdman before Herdman. 

Unfortunately Hart was also in charge of the program during our lowest point ever

[CanadaFan123]

4 minutes ago, youllneverwalkalone said:

That was a great team. Stephen Hart was Herdman before Herdman. 

In terms of being a player's manager? Sure... but he had no tactical knowledge. He would basically just put out a best XI in a 4-2-3-1 and tell them to "express themselves" 

[Cheeta]

^ Certainly didn't over think things, which might have been the right answer for that period.

Curious as to how he'd measure up in the current environment.  Not sure he'd be on my short list of potential hires.

[CanadaFan123]

1 minute ago, Cheeta said:

^ Certainly didn't over think things, which might have been the right answer for that period.

Curious as to how he'd measure up in the current environment.  Not sure he'd be on my short list of potential hires.

I'd be more curious to see how Herdman would do in that era. We certainly could have used some more planning in Honduras... 

[sstackho]

10 hours ago, CanadaFan123 said:

In terms of being a player's manager? Sure... but he had no tactical knowledge. He would basically just put out a best XI in a 4-2-3-1 and tell them to "express themselves" 

"IDEAS!"

[MtlMario]

13 hours ago, Kadenge said:

The last time Canada made it to the semi finals  in 2007, Julian De Guzman our #6 and defensive midfielder was voted  Gold Cup MVP. Is history going to repeat itself? Eustaquio is  in 2nd place for the golden boot  with 3 G 1A ( Larin is still tied for 3rd with 3G). Regardless of whether he wins the scoring race or not, his play to date makes him a strong contender.  The 3 min video of, ironically, the 2007 Costa Rica game below, is a example of why JDG won the MVP; albeit with the best midfield in Concacaf...warning the music may not be to your taste

 

I actually liked the music.😁

[prairiecanuck]

23 hours ago, Obinna said:

I don't know about this. Wotherspoon was very good in June qualifiers, but even so he still wasn't starting ahead of Kaye and Osorio. Now both have cemented their spots at the Gold Cup.

It's one thing for Hutchinson/Arfield to replace Kaye/Osorio, but I don't think either lose their spot to Wotherspoon unless he is absolutely crushing it at St. Johnstone. There is just too much good mojo between Kaye, Osorio and Eustaquio right now.

I like Wotherspoon, I think we'll use him at times during the Ocho, but he is very clearly the 7th choice, whether we like it or not. That may be good enough to get on the September roster, but it would be at the expense of Liam Fraser. 

It won't be long before Baldisimo and Priso are knocking on the door, and we still don't know how Paton figures in with all of this. Things are looking very good for us in midfield.

We need all the quality in the mid field we can get.  I really hope Arfield commits to play in September.   We play Sept 2, 5 and 8 in 3 critical and demanding games.   That's a physical toll.  It's pretty crazy to think of playing 3 such high energy games and you're throwing in travel to the US for the 2nd game.  

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, prairiecanuck said:

We need all the quality in the mid field we can get.  I really hope Arfield commits to play in September.   We play Sept 2, 5 and 8 in 3 critical and demanding games.   That's a physical toll.  It's pretty crazy to think of playing 3 such high energy games and you're throwing in travel to the US for the 2nd game.  

Yup it wouldn't surprise me if we carry 7 center midfielders, or even 8. I hope we have a big squad of 28 to 30 players for that window. That seems to be what US fans expect their team to bring. 3 games in that stretch is a lot. 

[SoccMan]

1 hour ago, MtlMario said:

I actually liked the music.😁

How does a team that played like this with some of those players playing at good levels not even make it to the Hex?  Just look at those goals Canada scored and against a good team, just still can’t understand how we failed so miserably all these years . Talk about our present day golden generation team but that team in that video had some damn good players not that far off from this one , but what they lacked was the depth this team presently has, but still enough talent there to at least have made a run at making it to the World Cup instead of not making the final round of qualifying.

[PiedPilko]

Pacos will play Northern Irish side Larne in the third qualifying round, who upset Danish club Aarhus. Probably the easiest possible draw they could have hoped for.

 

[Pottsy3]

13 minutes ago, PiedPilko said:

Pacos will play Northern Irish side Larne in the third qualifying round, who upset Danish club Aarhus. Probably the easiest possible draw they could have hoped for.

 

Larne's backup keeper is Michael Argyrides from Richmond Hill, Ontario. We've got an all-Canadian clash. 

 

Also, hilarious how the sponsor on the bottom (3rd from the left) clearly stole the Sporting KC logo.

[Obinna]

12 minutes ago, Pottsy3 said:

Larne's backup keeper is Michael Argyrides from Richmond Hill, Ontario. We've got an all-Canadian clash. 

 

Also, hilarious how the sponsor on the bottom (3rd from the left) clearly stole the Sporting KC logo.

Or did SKC steal that sponsor's logo? 🤔

[costarg]

21 hours ago, SoccMan said:

How does a team that played like this with some of those players playing at good levels not even make it to the Hex?  Just look at those goals Canada scored and against a good team, just still can’t understand how we failed so miserably all these years . Talk about our present day golden generation team but that team in that video had some damn good players not that far off from this one , but what they lacked was the depth this team presently has, but still enough talent there to at least have made a run at making it to the World Cup instead of not making the final round of qualifying.

I wasn't following as hardcore as I am now, however if i had to guess purely based on what I've seen and remember, i'd say coaching, lack of funding/training/friendlies, CSA in general and of course with a little sprinkle of concacaf on top?

[CanadaFan123]

10 minutes ago, costarg said:

I wasn't following as hardcore as I am now, however if i had to guess purely based on what I've seen and remember, i'd say coaching, lack of funding/training/friendlies, CSA in general and of course with a little sprinkle of concacaf on top?

We brought on Dale Mitchell as a coach to take effect after the U20 World Cup. He flunked at the U20 World Cup and then delivered some brutal results (losses to South Africa and Estonia stand out) then we headed into WCQ and we came out of 2 home matches with 1 point and the rest is history.

[Floortom]

I thought Stephen was the worst player on the pitch for us last night - every touch was off. His dead ball deliveries were poor, turnover, out of position etc.

Doesnt take away his quality but was surprising to see him struggle so much

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

31 minutes ago, Floortom said:

I thought Stephen was the worst player on the pitch for us last night - every touch was off. His dead ball deliveries were poor, turnover, out of position etc.

Doesnt take away his quality but was surprising to see him struggle so much

Huge game against a country where he really failed to make his mark.  Maybe a bit too amped up combined with a good press targeting him.  I would not say the worst but he needs to learn from this and do better in the upcoming big matches.  

[Obinna]

Had a poor game by his lofty standards, but that is because he has been flawless. Nobody was bad last night, including Eustáquio. 

[costarg]

20 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Had a poor game by his lofty standards, but that is because he has been flawless. Nobody was bad last night, including Eustáquio. 

cough cough Henry. 

Two terrible early giveaways close to our box, the stupid (yes it was stupid) penalty, he even fouled at our last corner of the game, imagine we had scored just to have it refused because of another reckless foul from the same guy that gave them the penalty.  

No way anyone can defend Henry after last night.  He can't play these critical matches.  He's ok vs lesser opponents if we can afford to lose without too much at stake, however this is what he brings when its all on the line.

His ideal place is in Korea vs attackers at the sub $500k range.  Anything beyond that and he'll get outplayed and outsmarted.

[An Observer]

2 hours ago, Floortom said:

I thought Stephen was the worst player on the pitch for us last night - every touch was off. His dead ball deliveries were poor, turnover, out of position etc.

Doesnt take away his quality but was surprising to see him struggle so much

I agree and I also thought he was the most at fault for their second.  He needlessly ran across the box to try to shut down the ball carrier when others had it covered and gave up the space at the top of the box for him to pass to

[cronaldo7]

After a phenomenal tournament we did see he’s human last night with some misplays but that doesn’t take away the tenacity and heart he brought. Lots of clever tactical fouls etc. He’s the kind of guy I want on the back of my Canadian national team jersey.

[El Diego]

5 minutes ago, An Observer said:

I agree and I also thought he was the most at fault for their second.  He needlessly ran across the box to try to shut down the ball carrier when others had it covered and gave up the space at the top of the box for him to pass to

He made a really nice read on the initial pass, was unlucky that it went right to Pizarro. I think after that it made sense to continue his press but eh, I'm going off memory so you might be right.

Will echo the general sentiment that he was poor last night, but he is a very important part of this team and an auto-starter.

[Obinna]

56 minutes ago, costarg said:

cough cough Henry. 

Two terrible early giveaways close to our box, the stupid (yes it was stupid) penalty, he even fouled at our last corner of the game, imagine we had scored just to have it refused because of another reckless foul from the same guy that gave them the penalty.  

No way anyone can defend Henry after last night.  He can't play these critical matches.  He's ok vs lesser opponents if we can afford to lose without too much at stake, however this is what he brings when its all on the line.

His ideal place is in Korea vs attackers at the sub $500k range.  Anything beyond that and he'll get outplayed and outsmarted.

Even Henry had a decent game last night.

Drives me to no end seeing him go to ground like that. Those are the moments why you don't want him in the team. Hard to trust a player like that.

That was a single play. Not saying we should ignore it, but we can't say his entire performance was bad because of that.

It was a penalty, but it was kind of harsh. That must also be said. I blame him for going to ground 100% though.

As for Eustaquio, I saw the same player minus a shanked free kick (happens), and unfortunate clearance on the second goal, and a player who was repeatedly fouled without getting a call. Besides that he was the same Eustaquio. 

If you were expecting him to replicate the performance he had against Costa Rica I think your expectations were too high. This was Mexico. He was never going to get the time and space be the deep lying playmaker he was last game.

I have to rewatch, but it didn't seem like he was dropping into those deep lying areas to pick passes. Whether that was down to our tactics or Mexico's tactics or just their ability is hard to say, but I am hardly shocked at Eustaquio's performance because it just didn't seem that bad to me. I don't even think he was the worst of our midfielders. I thought none of them were bad at all, actually.

[Acid-Tone]

3 hours ago, Floortom said:

I thought Stephen was the worst player on the pitch for us last night 

That's a ridiculous statement.   Did we watch the same game? 

How are you gonna say that about a game where two other players gave up PK's?  (questionable or not) 

[Bison44]

Not for nothing...but the Fox guys specifically mentioned Henry as having a great game.  I guess they forgot about the penalty.  

[BrennanFan]

17 minutes ago, Acid-Tone said:

That's a ridiculous statement.   Did we watch the same game? 

How are you gonna say that about a game where two other players gave up PK's?  (questionable or not) 

Eustaquio, unfortunately, turned over the ball in the plays leading to the first penalty call and the goal against us in stoppage time.