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The Importance of Alphonso Davies


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37 minutes ago, An Observer said:

No.  He should have been getting injured in training at Bayern instead

  Look at the squad that the americans called up.  
and yes,  it would have been preferable if an injury happens at the club.  Its his job to play for Bayern. They are the ones who have invested in him and are paying his salary.    Its one thing to get injured while doing your job, its another when doing an activity that you could have easily passed on at no cost.

But bottomline he didnt get injured at BM, he got injured training for the gold cup.

Edited by Free kick
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3 hours ago, Free kick said:

They are the ones who have invested in him and are paying his salary.    Its one thing to get injured while doing your job, its another when doing an activity that you could have easily passed on at no cost.

And why should he play for Canada in the Octo, it's not like that guarantees a place in the World Cup.  He could put in all kind of blood, sweat and tears for Canada, for nothing.  They aren't even paying him!

Or say we do qualify - why should he turn up for the World Cup, it's not like we are guaranteed to get out of the group stage... etc.

The Gold Cup is our continental championship.  It is what we have.  And most importantly - Davies himself wanted to be there.  "An activity he could have passed on at no cost" - Cut the BS.  Given his commitment to the CMNT, Davies doesn't see it that way and that is all that matters.

 

 

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5 hours ago, Free kick said:

  Look at the squad that the americans called up.  
and yes,  it would have been preferable if an injury happens at the club.  Its his job to play for Bayern. They are the ones who have invested in him and are paying his salary.    Its one thing to get injured while doing your job, its another when doing an activity that you could have easily passed on at no cost.

But bottomline he didnt get injured at BM, he got injured training for the gold cup.

Yes, he could've passed on this just like David and Borjan and Kennedy.  The fact that he didn't means that he wanted to be there.  No one had a gun to his head.

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3 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

And tons of posters on this board downplaying it as a "knock" or negligible. 

Glad everyone was so thrilled how our Martinique performance was a clear and necessary prep for WC qualifying. 

Yeah, we really needed him against Martinique, didnt we?  Imagine what we could have done against MTQ had he been there.  

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17 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Yeah, we really needed him against Martinique, didnt we?  Imagine what we could have done against MTQ had he been there.  

Meanwhile Serginho Dest had a full physical yesterday for Barça, they started pre-season fitness, then they'll go off to a spa somewhere and ease into it. What a sucker.

What really matters is discovering if Kamal Harris can shift his hips enough to pass in a different direction in a pinch. If he were Byzantine I'd be asking how many Kamals can dance on the head of a pin. 

 

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1 hour ago, El Hombre said:

Yes, he could've passed on this just like David and Borjan and Kennedy.  The fact that he didn't means that he wanted to be there.  No one had a gun to his head.

Yes.  No one put a gun to his head.   But Herdman should know better.  I really like the work that Herdman done so far, but he blew this one.   In this region the continental championships will just never have the same level of prestige as the euros.  There are many factors for this that have everything to do with demographics and geography meaning that that its basically alsways going to be Mex-USA in the finals.  Thats just the way it is, so Gold cup will always be second in prestige in this region to WCQ.   Nothing wrong with that.  

Tons of the top tennis players in the world skip the Eastborne tournament just before Wimbledon.  There is nothing wrong with that, thats just being smart because everyone knows that your carreers is better defined by what you did at Wimbledon than what you did at the Eastborne tournament.   That doesnt make them less committed.   There is nothing wrong with the Eastborne tournament and there is nothing wrong with wimbledon but all ournaments cant be equal in prestige just as all international matches/events/ touraments in Concacaf cant be equal. 

Edited by Free kick
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9 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Yes.  No one put a gun to his head.   But Herdman should know better.  I really like the work that Herdman done so far, but he blew this one.

Now you're just bending over backwards to lay blame. 

You have a player that wants to play but you're going to send him home?  Ludicrous.  You do that and next thing you know Cavallini and Osorio and Hoillet and Larin will all start finding excuses not to go too.  Because if Herdman doesn't want someone of Phonzie's quality that wants to be there, what's the point of any veteran going?  Then Canada is three and out.  I know that would make you and @Unnamed Trialist happy, but wouldn't do much for the program at large.

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Just now, Floortom said:

The U.S. Vice-President?

I also thought so at first, but UT wouldn't be using "his" to refer to said made-up player in that case.

The probable answer is that he meant Kamal Miller but his superior footballing intellect slipped up for a second and inserted a different surname.

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We need continuity.  The error against Martinique and slow starts in a lot of matches in the last couple years ( we were not punished in most of them because it was a poor team we were facing)  say that, to me at least. 

Even if we pretend our Confederation cup means nothing and you ignore the basic lesson you learn from playing sport at any decently competitive level - winning breeds winning- we need our players at least training together before facing a three match window in September.  Do you think there will be an excess of training time in those windows?

Of course our best player should have been training with us, if he was able to make it work with his club and he wanted to be there. 

So even if WCQ is the only thing that matters in your mind (it shouldn't be), of course, Alphonso Davies should be with the team, whenever possible. 

Edited by WestHamCanadianinOxford
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1 hour ago, El Hombre said:

Now you're just bending over backwards to lay blame. 

You have a player that wants to play but you're going to send him home?  Ludicrous.  You do that and next thing you know Cavallini and Osorio and Hoillet and Larin will all start finding excuses not to go too.  Because if Herdman doesn't want someone of Phonzie's quality that wants to be there, what's the point of any veteran going?  Then Canada is three and out.  I know that would make you and @Unnamed Trialist

Did he really call Herdman and ask to play?  Do we know that?  Or was it that Herdman invited him first?   
i still dont get how it is that Americans dont invite

mckinney, Pulisic and Dest but we feel the need to invite our top star.   Are we smarter than the americans?

Several top Concacaf players who were with big clubs in the past (that i mentioned above) never played in Gold Cup.  When we had Tomasz Radzinski,  our expectations were that he would be available for WCQ.  He never played in the Gold cup,  and i think that we were all fine with that.  Davies plays at a much bigger club and is more impactful.  We cant say the same about the 3-4 others on your list.

Edited by Free kick
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18 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Did he really call Herdman and ask to play?  Do we know that?  Or was it that Herdman invited him first?   
i still dont get how it is that Americans dont invite mckinney, Pulisic and Dest but we feel the need to invite our top star.   Are we smarter than the americans?

Rightly or wrongly, I don't think the Americans believe they need to hit WCQ running the way I think we need to. 

Edited by WestHamCanadianinOxford
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9 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Also the fact that the Americans have played friendlies and competitive games with their "A" team against Octo level competition already. We haven't. 

As long as we advance from the Gold Cup group stage, we will most likely play 2, 3 or maybe even 4 games against our Octo opponents. This is excellent preparation for WCQ.

Edited by Grandbloke
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10 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Also the fact that the Americans have played friendlies and competitive games with their "A" team against Octo level competition already. We haven't. 

So because of the CSA incompetence with lack of games vs real competition. They have forced our hands by putting us in a position to rely on our star players to play games vs minnows and in a tournament that is SO close to WQC, it puts them at risk of real injuries and fatigue. 
 

Plus Herdman won’t call up Gutierrez to help the team. It’s weird and a joke. 

Edited by SpecialK
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28 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Did he really call Herdman and ask to play?  Do we know that?  Or was it that Herdman invited him first?   
i still dont get how it is that Americans dont invite

mckinney, Pulisic and Dest but we feel the need to invite our top star.   Are we smarter than the americans?

Several top Concacaf players who were with big clubs in the past (that i mentioned above) never played in Gold Cup.  When we had Tomasz Radzinski,  our expectations were that he would be available for WCQ.  He never played in the Gold cup,  and i think that we were all fine with that.  Davies plays at a much bigger club and is more impactful.  We cant say the same about others.  

I think it's plainly obvious that Herdman put the call out to all the players but left the ultimate decision in their hands.  This is why David and Borjan immediately opted out and why we (seemingly) didn't put up a fight with Kennedy.  It would be strange for Herdman to let these guys sit out but demand that Davies be there.

Also, you keep holding up the USA as some sort of talisman for how to run things, when I think it is clear that Gregg Berhalter may not be the sharpest soccer mind in the knife drawer.  The USA is clearly not prioritizing this but they seem to be the outlier.  Jamaica brought Bailey and Reid.  Mexico brought a lot of their top guys (if not all).  I'm not an expert on Costa Rica, but the fact that Campbell and Oviedo and Duarte are all there would make it seem like they are taking it seriously.  Seems to be the same for Honduras.

And, for what its worth, I was not fine with Radzinski skipping the Gold Cup and that is the first time I've heard someone on here say such a thing. 

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1 hour ago, El Hombre said:

I think it's plainly obvious that Herdman put the call out to all the players but left the ultimate decision in their hands.  This is why David and Borjan immediately opted out and why we (seemingly) didn't put up a fight with Kennedy.  It would be strange for Herdman to let these guys sit out but demand that Davies be there.

Thank you. Yes.  This is one that i have not mentioned and purposely refrained from doing so.   Because Davies is so important to canada.  Not only this year but for 2026.   I dont want to fault the player.

What is the players responsibility in the decision?   I think thats a fair question?   Loyality is admirable, yes, but but so is pragmatism, and so is the bigger picture.  He will ahve to play in SOME friendlies but If he keeps commiting to every call up,  then how is that going to affect his long term future (Developmentwise) and with the Big club.  Some people wanted him to play in the Olympic qualifiers.   I was shocked.    Hopefully,  this will be a time for Herdman and the Davies camp to discuss and have some open dialogue or plan that works best for everyone as far as callups and events leading into 2026 and the club career.     So in the end,   This may all be a blessing.   

Edited by Free kick
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