Herdman new head coach

[dyslexic nam]

On 1/9/2021 at 2:01 AM, Dominic94 said:

Herdman’s inflated salary could be going to a much better coach.

So I guess we have found the far boundary of your boundless optimism.  

[gator]

2 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

So I guess we have found the far boundary of your boundless optimism.  

I agree with him on this, I hope Herdman changes my mind though, nothing short of WC qualification will do so however!

[dyslexic nam]

2 minutes ago, gator said:

I agree with him on this, I hope Herdman changes my mind though, nothing short of WC qualification will do so however!

Yeah, not disagreeing.  I am still pretty  luke warm.  I have to admit that some of my resistance comes from the slick style that isn’t really my preference but that would be silly if he had delivered in the big games, but the Haiti collapse and the immediate capitulation away to the US don’t exactly tell a tale of success in the important games.  
 

I sincerely hope he converts me into a believer during this campaign.  Success in 2022 qualification will be the carte blanche for me.  If he does that, hand him the keys to the friggin kingdom.  But if he does not, I hope the CSA has the wisdom and humility to recognize that the Sizzle may not be the guy they hoped.   

[BrennanFan]

Goes without saying that if we don't get past the early qualifying rounds, he should be gone.

But more than that, I think Herdman needs to prove himself once and for all at this summer's gold cup, or he should be fired.  Get out of the group stage.  Win a knockout game.  That's it.  Simple. 

WCQ is harshly unforgiving.  Playing well is not good enough, drawing home games will kill us. Lets face facts, if we qualify for Qatar, it is going to come down to the last game, likely an away draw on a last minute goal, fighting not only the other team but the weather, the fans and corrupt reffing.  The players will have to all but kill themselves to get the job done, and we will all end up with ulcers.   

If Herdman can't get the boys up to win a big knockout game at the Gold Cup, he's just not the man who is going to get the required blood from a stone to finally get us to the promised land.  

[BrennanFan]

Herdman interview with Wheeler.  A lot of the usual fluff from Herdman, but still worth watching.

 

[dyslexic nam]

39 minutes ago, BrennanFan said:

Herdman interview with Wheeler.  A lot of the usual fluff from Herdman, but still worth watching.

 

Didn't seem too encouraging about Arfield.  May be available for bigger games but this sounded a lot more Like Gerrard's comments noted a while back.

Somewhat more positive about Atiba, with the usual caveats that he may not be there for all of the games - but it sounded like he is still in the mix. 

Interesting that Cornelius wasn't mentioned when he talked about U23 callups.  Tajon was the first name mentioned which isn't too surprising.

 

 

 

[RS]

2 hours ago, BrennanFan said:

Goes without saying that if we don't get past the early qualifying rounds, he should be gone.

But more than that, I think Herdman needs to prove himself once and for all at this summer's gold cup, or he should be fired.  Get out of the group stage.  Win a knockout game.  That's it.  Simple. 

WCQ is harshly unforgiving.  Playing well is not good enough, drawing home games will kill us. Lets face facts, if we qualify for Qatar, it is going to come down to the last game, likely an away draw on a last minute goal, fighting not only the other team but the weather, the fans and corrupt reffing.  The players will have to all but kill themselves to get the job done, and we will all end up with ulcers.   

If Herdman can't get the boys up to win a big knockout game at the Gold Cup, he's just not the man who is going to get the required blood from a stone to finally get us to the promised land.  

With all due respect, the Gold Cup is nice and all but this year's edition will be the most meaningless one in years. It's a B tournament across the board, and should be treated as such.

 

If Canada's successful at the GC but crashes out of WCQ early, would you celebrate?

[Shway]

39 minutes ago, RS said:

With all due respect, the Gold Cup is nice and all but this year's edition will be the most meaningless one in years. It's a B tournament across the board, and should be treated as such.

 

If Canada's successful at the GC but crashes out of WCQ early, would you celebrate?

B tournament for which teams? Seems like we are the only team who are going to have a "B team".

Jamaica will be using the tournament as preparation for the Ocho.

[Dominic94]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

Didn't seem too encouraging about Arfield.  May be available for bigger games but this sounded a lot more Like Gerrard's comments noted a while back.

Somewhat more positive about Atiba, with the usual caveats that he may not be there for all of the games - but it sounded like he is still in the mix. 

Interesting that Cornelius wasn't mentioned when he talked about U23 callups.  Tajon was the first name mentioned which isn't too surprising.

 

 

 

I can understand Arfield’s retirement, it sucks but it’s his right. 

[red card]

50 minutes ago, Shway said:

B tournament for which teams? Seems like we are the only team who are going to have a "B team".

Jamaica will be using the tournament as preparation for the Ocho.

US is sending a B team.

“One thing I can guarantee you is a guy like Christian Pulisic is not going to be playing Nations League and Gold Cup – it's not going to happen. These guys need a break, so I can imagine them playing one of those tournaments and then getting rest. That's going to be true for a lot of our guys who are going through similar situations right now.”

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2021/02/06/gregg-berhalter-most-usmnt-players-wont-play-gold-cup-and-nations-league-extratime

Mexico is in similar situation, so likely following the same pathway.

Edited March 1, 2021 by red card

[Obinna]

44 minutes ago, Shway said:

B tournament for which teams? Seems like we are the only team who are going to have a "B team".

Jamaica will be using the tournament as preparation for the Ocho.

I think Berhalter was quoted somewhere saying that Pulisic and others won't be playing in multiple competitions, so my guess is that we see the top squad in Nations League and the B team in the Gold Cup. Perhaps they water-down the squad for both competitions, rather than doing the A team B team thing. The certainly have the depth to do it.

And if the Olympics happens (have they cancelled yet?) you'd think they'd prioritize that and send Pulisic, Dest, McKennie, etc. 

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, red card said:

US is sending a B team.

“One thing I can guarantee you is a guy like Christian Pulisic is not going to be playing Nations League and Gold Cup – it's not going to happen. These guys need a break, so I can imagine them playing one of those tournaments and then getting rest. That's going to be true for a lot of our guys who are going through similar situations right now.”

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2021/02/06/gregg-berhalter-most-usmnt-players-wont-play-gold-cup-and-nations-league-extratime

Mexico is in similar situation, so likely following the same pathway.

beat me to it

[Alex]

47 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

I can understand Arfield’s retirement, it sucks but it’s his right. 

I don’t think anyone says he’s retired. He will play this year for sure.

[Shway]

11 minutes ago, red card said:

US is sending a B team.

“One thing I can guarantee you is a guy like Christian Pulisic is not going to be playing Nations League and Gold Cup – it's not going to happen. These guys need a break, so I can imagine them playing one of those tournaments and then getting rest. That's going to be true for a lot of our guys who are going through similar situations right now.”

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2021/02/06/gregg-berhalter-most-usmnt-players-wont-play-gold-cup-and-nations-league-extratime

Mexico is in similar situation, so likely following the same pathway.

I know this has been stated....but the clarity that I would have, is if it was specifically said that Nations league was the priority. I haven’t read that anywhere. 

Also, we’ve said many times that the US/Mexico “B” teams could give with our A team a go.

[dyslexic nam]

13 minutes ago, Alex said:

I don’t think anyone says he’s retired. He will play this year for sure.

I don’t know.  When Herdman starts talking about his wife’s concern about his travelling; it seems like he is laying the groundwork for non-participation.  

[red card]

Herdman was quoted in the Athletic article that the country would only care if Canada men made the World Cup. So, as history has shown, winning the Gold Cup means diddly especially this year when it isn't a priority for many nations.

“But I was pretty clear that if I could stay and help this country, and take the men’s team to a World Cup, we knew what that would do for the women’s game. I could have stayed in the women’s game for another quadrennium and we’d have maybe finished in a bronze medal, potentially pushed for a silver if we’d got lucky, but the way I could see it, this country wasn’t going to change unless the men’s team got themselves to a World Cup. And it hasn’t been there since 1986."

[Obinna]

A player isn't retired until he is retired.

How often have people suggested Atiba is done, only for him to keep showing up? Even when he said he was done, he wasn't done.

Scott went on record this season saying it is up to Herdman. Talk of his wife not wanting him to travel is not a good sign, but to say he is done at this point is a pretty big stretch. 

For me when the big games come he'll probably be there, which is exactly what has been said, so not sure we need to deviate from that....

[Bdog]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

A player isn't retired until he is retired.

How often have people suggested Atiba is done, only for him to keep showing up? Even when he said he was done, he wasn't done.

Scott went on record this season saying it is up to Herdman. Talk of his wife not wanting him to travel is not a good sign, but to say he is done at this point is a pretty big stretch. 

For me when the big games come he'll probably be there, which is exactly what has been said, so not sure we need to deviate from that....

The way I look at it, for both of them it's their only chance to potentially play in a world cup. You'd have to be crazy to pass up an opportunity like this before you retire (not that they will soon ). Maybe I can understand them skipping the games against minnows due to the travel/pandemic but it's hard to see them not showing up for the octagonal.

[costarg]

4 hours ago, Obinna said:

A player isn't retired until he is retired.

How often have people suggested Atiba is done, only for him to keep showing up? Even when he said he was done, he wasn't done.

Scott went on record this season saying it is up to Herdman. Talk of his wife not wanting him to travel is not a good sign, but to say he is done at this point is a pretty big stretch. 

For me when the big games come he'll probably be there, which is exactly what has been said, so not sure we need to deviate from that....

We've been saying this for at least a year now regarding Hutch and Arfield, yet people still come on here and keep repeating the same baseless crap claiming to have read something between the lines or heard something that was never said.  It's annoying and lacks respect.

[costarg]

6 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

I can understand Arfield’s retirement, it sucks but it’s his right. 

Name one player that's never played in a WC, who finally gets a solid chance to qualify, yet chose to retire from INTL game a year before that opportunity came.  I'll wait..... 

[SpecialK]

Come on do you really think Arfield and Hutch are really gonna retire when they have a huge chance to play in a World Cup. But they don’t need to be there playing against minnows. 

[LeoH037]

Atiba and Scott were always expected to show up for the bigger games moving forward... this has been a given for a while now... don't get all this getting upset over non issues, haha, wtf

[LeoH037]

25 minutes ago, SpecialK said:

Come on do you really think Arfield and Hutch are really gonna retire when they have a huge chance to play in a World Cup. But they don’t need to be there playing against minnows. 

lol, easy there, as far as track record goes, we are minnows ourselves 😂

[Stryker911]

I would be surprised to see either Arfield or Hutch there in March. Maybe Hutch will, but not Arfield with his recent injury. With how successful their club seasons are going its understandable they would pass. However, with June being their off-season I think they will both be there.

[BrennanFan]

8 hours ago, RS said:

With all due respect, the Gold Cup is nice and all but this year's edition will be the most meaningless one in years. It's a B tournament across the board, and should be treated as such.

 

If Canada's successful at the GC but crashes out of WCQ early, would you celebrate?

If it's just B squads we will face, there really is no excuse for  Herdman to fail to produce results. I don't expect all of our veterans to show up, but I would be very surprised if our talented young players skip the GC. It's crucial prep for the qualifiers. 

I wouldn't celebrate that scenario, obviously, but at least I'd go into qualifying thinking we might have a chance. If we can't cut it in neutral venues in a watered down GC, what chance do we have when the games get real?