BenFisk'sBiggestFan Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 36 minutes ago, DigzTFC said: That video makes him look very good. Although I was worried all our players would have broken ankles after watching the first minute. Then I realized he was just showcasing skill by skill. HfxCeltic and BradMack 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KW519 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 55 minutes ago, DigzTFC said: I love a no nonsense CB. Strong, tall, with decent distribution. No reason he can't play himself into the National picture with some commanding performances in the CPL m-g-williams 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 The guy was most recently playing for a semi-pro team in the Finnish second tier, so that would be a spectacular uptick in career terms given he is 27. Suspect he'll be more than happy just with being able to play at a fully pro level in Canada. Gian-Luca 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KW519 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 (edited) Crazy what a few commanding performances can do for ones career huh? David Edgar has played in 12 USL games in the last 2 years and was at the last MNT camp. Considering CB is a problem position for us any CB performing at a high level has to be considered for Canada. And yes he's happy to be back home "I’m so happy because I want to come back and play in my country and I feel like this is the team I want to play for." Edited January 17, 2019 by KW519 Bbeto 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 36 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said: The guy was most recently playing for a semi-pro team in the Finnish second tier, so that would be a spectacular uptick in career terms given he is 27. Suspect he'll be more than happy just with being able to play at a fully pro level in Canada. You do know he was playing “fully pro” in Canada for FC Montreal previously? His club team in Finland was likely a higher level than that so it’s not like it would be a massive leap but I don’t see anything in his highlights that would put him ahead of the other 12 or more centre backs ahead of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 1976 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Many teams in the Finnish 2/3rd Tier train full time ie 6-8 times a week and it’s a very professional environment. The technical quality of player is actually very high, however the money is crap. This will be more than the Canadian Premier League teams will train due to the game and travelling schedule. I doubt whether CPl teams will train more than 4x a week once the league starts. Keegan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Soccer isn't as popular in Finland as it is in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It's basically the only country in the world besides Canada where hockey is very much king and they even have their own version of baseball that competes with soccer for popularity in the summer months. One thing that isn't fully clear yet is whether at least some of the players on CanPL rosters will be working regular jobs during the season as happened a lot in the CSL back in the day. If you have a mix of fully pro and semi pro players in a similar way to what happens when lower tier Finnish clubs bring in a few imports there need to be training sessions that cater to both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shortdutchcanuck Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 5 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said: The guy was most recently playing for a semi-pro team in the Finnish second tier, so that would be a spectacular uptick in career terms given he is 27. Suspect he'll be more than happy just with being able to play at a fully pro level in Canada. https://the11.ca/hocine-looks-to-anchor-the-back-line-in-halifax/ "Hocine spent last season with Finnish side Ekenas IF. At six-foot-five, he is expected to be a commanding presence in the box. He was with Ekenas IF of the Finnish second division, and enjoyed a great season where he was nominated for defender-of-the-year honours in the second tier. He had offers from first- and second-division teams in Finland. But, after a couple of phone calls with Wanderers coach Stephen Hart, he decided to make the move to the Canadian Premier League" More than just your average Finnish D2 player I'd say. BradMack, HochelagaFC and BenFisk'sBiggestFan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 1976 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Well said sir! Having lived in Sweden for two years I’m a bit biased but I don’t think Canadians (inc myself) should knock the standard of Finnish or Scandinavian football or even try and compare it to what we think the CPL standard will be until we have seen the product on the field in 2019. Finland has a 6th of the population of Canada and yes Hockey is the number one sport but it’s currently 20 places higher than Canada in the FIFA world rankings and its Youth and National teams are actually doing very well in Europe. Iceland and Sweden also punching well above Canada. The CPL and Canadian soccer has it all to prove moving forward. If this guy has been playing 2nd Tier in Finland he will be a good player and the fact that he was able to secure a contract in Scandinavia over a European player should tell you about his quality as he would have had to have been paid a minimum wage as a non EU. Some ( not all) of these players returning from Europe will be technically and tactically way ahead of many domestic players coming in from the USL/NCAA/LIO so we should be pleased they have taken the opportunity to return to Canada. Obinna 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Chris 1976 said: ...Some ( not all) of these players returning from Europe will be technically and tactically way ahead of many domestic players coming in from the USL/NCAA/LIO... Maybe 30 or 40 years ago, but things have moved on now that the three MLS academies are in place and the various forms of indoor soccer have made it possible to keep playing 12 months of the year in cities like Toronto. Canadians need to get over this culture cringe that good soccer is something that only happens somewhere else. If Hocine has something to offer (and he does look quite good in that cherrypicked highlight reel) it's mainly based on how he developed as a player in Montreal and it speaks volumes that a guy like that who isn't even on the radar screen in CMNT terms and was bouncing around PLSQ and PDL in his mid-20s could go over to Finland and be a standout at that level. Edited January 17, 2019 by BringBackTheBlizzard deschamp86 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 1976 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Yes MLS has definitely raised the technical level of the elite few in these three clubs. Point I was trying to make is that the Scandinavian lower tiers are full of quality players. Recent example below, this is a 4th Tier team in Sweden who have just signed a 3rd Ex English Premiership club player released. Finland tiers 1-3 is abundant with Brazilians and Nigerian players trying to get noticed by Italian clubs that extensively scout this environment English Players Abroad (@EnglishAbroad1) 28/12/2018, 10:31 Another former #CPFC player has also joined @SkellefteaFF. Defensive midfielder Will Hoare featured alongside @Jordan_Palmer94 & @Rod8Young in a Red Bull TV show last year and is now headed off to Sweden #englishabroadpic.twitter.com/v8CCPh3B2S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said: Maybe 30 or 40 years ago, but things have moved on now that the three MLS academies are in place and the various forms of indoor soccer have made it possible to keep playing 12 months of the year in cities like Toronto. Canadians need to get over this culture cringe that good soccer is something that only happens somewhere else. If Hocine has something to offer (and he does look quite good in that cherrypicked highlight reel) it's mainly based on how he developed as a player in Montreal and it speaks volumes that a guy like that who isn't even on the radar screen in CMNT terms and was bouncing around PLSQ and PDL in his mid-20s could go over to Finland and be a standout at that level. So the MLS academies have been around and our development has caught up for 30-40 years? Time flies. I agree with the stance that we can do it on our own, just odd that you’re a CPL detractor and making points like this. Europe will always be king of development.. even in hockey they tend to develop players better. But we can do it in quality over quantity and hopefully pool kids from each city. Develop players like Hacine, Bekker etc and grow teams and fans. Your stance is always against that so I’m not sure if you’re confusing yourself or... Edited January 17, 2019 by Keegan Bbeto 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Keegan said: So the MLS academies have been around and our development has caught up for 30-40 years? Time flies.... Non sequitur after non sequitur in this thread. Do people even bother reading to the end of sentences before hitting reply? As for this idea of being a "CPL detractor", what I have mainly questioned is whether 6000-8000 people are actually likely to show up for the level of soccer that is likely to be on offer and whether there might be safer strategies for boosting the numbers of pro soccer teams in Canada. Beyond that "Europe" is not a homogenous entity. Finland is not a soccer country. Simple as that. Same can be said for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. There's no reason why we can't do better than them on development. It's why one of our players that was recently playing in PLSQ and PDL can go there and earn a large portion of the player budget on offer at a small semi-pro club in their second tier. Edited January 17, 2019 by BringBackTheBlizzard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 2 minutes ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said: Non sequitur after non sequitur in this thread. Do people even bother reading to the end of sentences before hitting reply? As for this idea of being a "CPL detractor", what I have mainly questioned is whether 6000-8000 people are actually likely to show up for the level of soccer that is likely to be on offer and whether there might be safer strategies for boosting the numbers of pro soccer teams in Canada. Beyond that "Europe" is not a homogenous entity. Finland is not a soccer country. Simple as that. Same can be said for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. There's no reason why we can't do better than them on development. It's why one of our players that was recently playing in PLSQ and PDL can go there and earn a large portion of the player budget on offer at a semi-pro club in their second tier. I specifically bolded your sentence but okay... Your idea is that USL might be a better option to expand pro teams in Canada. There’s no reasoning or basis behind it.. Canadians aren’t going to watch minor league sports, which is what USL is. Is it a coincidence that the number one hockey country in the world has only 6 minor PRO teams while having innumerable junior teams? Canadians WILL watch a league that acts as a first division. No matter what people say the CFL has proved that. It would not be the case if it were NFL2 .. simple as that and that is why you will never convince anyone here. This is even better than that. If a CPL team beats a MLS team and plays in CONCACAF they have bragging rights, their fans and them can say they’re the top team - even if they aren’t on paper. If they are a USL feeder club they can NEVER say that, even if they win they’re the farm team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 4 minutes ago, Keegan said: ...Canadians WILL watch a league that acts as a first division.... Not going to waste any more time on the non-sequitur. Of course Canadians WILL watch a domestic pro league whatever it decides to bill itself as. I was part of plenty of CSL crowds back in the day and noticed that I wasn't the only person there and that something that could be termed a crowd had in fact congregated. What I was questioning was whether enough people will do that for a break even of 6000-8000 and up to be realistic for the sort of league Duane Rollins used to blog about. You may or may not have noticed that I have actually been quite keen on the idea of a low salary cap of 500k or so, if it means the break even is considerably lower than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigzTFC Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Alex De Carolis is rumored to come to the CPL. He also recently followed HFX Wanderers. He isn't following another CPL club. Zakunda and De Carolis both follow each other on twitter. I think that will be one of our next signings Blackjack15, HfxCeltic, BradMack and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansem Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 MtlMario, shamrock, BenFisk'sBiggestFan and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masster Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Here is that clip. Sounds like merchandise sales are strong:https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/new-sports-team-generating-buzz-and-creating-interest-in-team-merchandise-1.4258111 MtlMario 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex D Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Ansem said: I thought Halifax was going to struggle because they didn't have enough immigrants. Because those are the only people who watch football and it's still 1988. longlugan, rob.notenboom, Ansem and 10 others 5 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sébastien Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Halifax is hosting the Memorial Cup this year. That usually means a bump in Moosehead season tickets, plus the cost to attend the actual tournament. Good to see the Wanderers doing well in a competitive setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ansem Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Sébastien said: Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Halifax is hosting the Memorial Cup this year. That usually means a bump in Moosehead season tickets, plus the cost to attend the actual tournament. Good to see the Wanderers doing well in a competitive setting. Smaller population doesn't mean less disposable income, especially with the lower cost of living. Hoping for sellouts forcing the city to accept a permanent structure on the grounds paving the way for some of these Edited January 17, 2019 by Ansem Stryker911, m-g-williams, Greatest Cockney Rip Off and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1996 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 1 hour ago, Ansem said: Smaller population doesn't mean less disposable income, especially with the lower cost of living. Hoping for sellouts forcing the city to accept a permanent structure on the grounds paving the way for some of these Come on man that’s soccer stadium porn that shouldn’t be allowed on here.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 12 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said: Non sequitur after non sequitur in this thread. Do people even bother reading to the end of sentences before hitting reply? I don’t know, do you bother replying to people that prove you wrong and make you look stupid? longlugan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigzTFC Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Quick speculation: Calum Ferguson is out of contract and following HFX Wanderers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calum_Ferguson He played for a team called Cascadia after playing in Scotland. Also, Josh Doughty plays for that team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Are they following Pacific FC then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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