Gold Cup 2019

[Mikmacdo]

9 minutes ago, Obinna said:

What do you base this opinion on?

Hasn't David started every match since USVI?

David might be the best player on the team right now. Hutch can play dm, arfield cm and david am. 

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, Mikmacdo said:

David might be the best player on the team right now. Hutch can play dm, arfield cm and david am. 

I agree. I don't think we'll see him as an AM, unfortunately. But yes he can play there and yes he's one of the top players in the team right now.

If he doesn't start it's probably down to rotation.

[Ivan]

27 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I agree. I don't think we'll see him as an AM, unfortunately. But yes he can play there and yes he's one of the top players in the team right now.

If he doesn't start it's probably down to rotation.

So much this!.  This is probably the first time I can remember where we can rotate our squad relatively freely without any significant drop off in talent.  The only area that worries me still is at CB, where a rotation of Henry, James and Cornelius would be okay.  But if one or more of those 3 are hurt (questions around Henry & James status) we are in some trouble unless Hainault and Straith can still contribute.  IMHO, Edgar, Jakovic and Vitoria (not even in the 40 man squad) seem past it.

[Ivan]

27 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I agree. I don't think we'll see him as an AM, unfortunately. But yes he can play there and yes he's one of the top players in the team right now.

If he doesn't start it's probably down to rotation.

So much this!.  This is probably the first time I can remember where we can rotate our squad relatively freely without any significant drop off in talent.  The only area that worries me still is at CB, where a rotation of Henry, James and Cornelius would be okay.  But if one or more of those 3 are hurt (questions around Henry & James status) we are in some trouble unless Hainault and Straith can still contribute.  IMHO, Edgar, Jakovic and Vitoria (not even in the 40 man squad) seem past it.

[InBorjanWeTrust]

 

I see this as our strongest starting lineup going into the gold cup and nations league qualifiers (you can swap out hutch for MAK if he does retire after the gold cup).  

 

For the gold cup, I would bring as a bench;

Crépeau
Cordova
Cornelius
Kaye
Osorio
Millar
Jackson-Hamel (I'm fed up with Larin, Tesho never seems to perform on int'l level and I feel like TJH deserves an actual shot)

and as Reserves, I would focus primarily on giving youth a massive learning opportunity and also bring a few old heads to guide the dressing room.

I would probably select Edgar, Okello, Busti, Tabla and or ricketts, and Piette

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by InBorjanWeTrust

[Blackjack15]

Based on current form Tesho Akindele and Tosaint Ricketts are making a strong push to be included in the final 23 ahead of Liam Millar and Ballou Tabla. I really think Herdman will give Larin the benefit of the doubt after a disastrous season in Turkey

Once the Gold Cup Squad is announced, let's see who got most of their picks right 

[apbsmith]

I honestly think we see 18+ players see the field during this Gold Cup, and all would have the quality and merit to be on the pitch.

Let's not forget it is 3 games in 8 days with travel, heat and altitude.

Martinique & Cuba are must wins in my opinion, as getting out of the group is and should be #1 priority.

With that being said...

Game 1

I expect our 1st game will be fairly attack minded and I expect more veterans because starting with a WIN is the utmost importance. We might see a handful of very good players, even regular starters, left off for the first game.  This is okay with me, managing a tournament is what good managers are paid to do and it will be a good test for Herdman.

Game 2

Provided we get a win in game 1, I see us putting out more of a younger core vs Mexico, but also one that would be good enough to get a shock result.  The younger guys would recover much easier from a game at 90 mins at altitude. More importantly, people might call me crazy but for the sake of the tournament, I'd rather have guys like Arfield, Hoilett and Hutch not play the game at altitude vs Mexico. I say this because I want them as fresh as possible for the knock out rounds and/or if and when Cuba really does become a must win.  

Game 3 

Very close, if not the entire starting 11 we will use for the knock out rounds. Sub out the players who played in game 2 during the game if possible.

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by apbsmith

[Kadenge]

27 minutes ago, Ivan said:

So much this!.  This is probably the first time I can remember where we can rotate our squad relatively freely without any significant drop off in talent.  The only area that worries me still is at CB, where a rotation of Henry, James and Cornelius would be okay.  But if one or more of those 3 are hurt (questions around Henry & James status) we are in some trouble unless Hainault and Straith can still contribute.  IMHO, Edgar, Jakovic and Vitoria (not even in the 40 man squad) seem past it.

Is there any update on Henry's injury? I watched Cornelius play yesterday for the VW vs NYRB. He was ok but tends to go to ground a lot when making tackles. At this point Henry is at a different level. I too am concerned that we are an injury away from having a dire situation at CB. Miller is green and we have not seen Edgar, if selected, play for too long. Maybe we go to Piette or Atiba if necessary? 

[Big_M]

Ricketts subbed out with an injury yesterday after 8 minutes and his replacement scored the winner

http://fksuduva.lt/ispudingame-musyje-suduvos-pergale-pries-zalgiri/

 

[Blackdude]

So, starters are in first per position (except I have 2 centre backs starting)

Borjan
Crépeau
Busti

Henry
James
Cornelius
Hainault

Kaye
Adekugbe
 

Brault-Guillard
Córdova

Hutchinson
Piette

Arfield
Teibert

David
Osorio

Hoilett
Millar

Davies
Ballou

Cavallini
Larin
 

Thoughts:

I don't think that they're brining in Thomas to be the #3 goalkeeper since he has club opportunites at the same time. Unlesss something happens prior the tournament to Borjan or Crépeau, I think it's better to have him stay at his club.

For Centrebacks, the fact that Straith wasn't in the original 40-player roster means that I don't expect him to make the 23 for the same reason. I picked Hainault since he was a captain at a decent club. 

The thing for outside backs is hard, I don't really like a lot of them. So, I picked the best ones. If you want to pick Kaye as a midfielder which is a valid point, who do you get as an outside back? Levis, Godinho, Morgan? I don't feel confident in any of those options.

For the central midfield, read what I said for outside backs, I don't think I want to add more to that. The onen thing I'll add is if you don't think that David is a central attacking midfielder for us, I could see someone like Johnson making the team if that is the case.

As for the forward position, I think it will stay the same. I could see Millar or Ballou out for a Johnson if David is considered as  a wide player.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Blackdude
Dropped Akindele

[Corazon]

9 minutes ago, Blackdude said:

So, starters are in first per position (except I have 2 centre backs starting)

Borjan
Crépeau
Busti

Henry
James
Cornelius
Hainault

Kaye
Adekugbe
 

Brault-Guillard
Córdova

Hutchinson
Piette

Arfield
Teibert

David
Osorio

Hoilett
Millar

Davies
Ballou

Cavallini
Larin
Akindele

This almost exactly what I imagine the team to be.  I believe Leutwiler will be there instead of Busti but I am okay with busti as the 3rd string as well.

At CB, not a big fan of Hainault, I would rather have Straith but you may be right if he was indeed left off the original 40 man roster.  I would even consider Miller but if youre looking for leadership I would rather have Straith or Hainault over Edgar.

Outside Backs should be ZBG, Adekugbe, Cordova & MAK.  MAK will play outside back based on how well he has done there and how deep our central midfield is.  I am 100% in supporting a more versatile and more in-form Cordova over Godinho.

Everything else is spot on.  Ballou probably doesn't deserve his spot but I think Herdman will include him anyways.  I would also bring Akindele over Ricketts as well.

[apbsmith]

Could not hold back my excitement so I had to make my starting lineup prediction for Game 1 haha.

I think we see a very similar formation and lineup to our game vs FG, taking into account the need for some squad rotation and veteran importance for a game 1 win.

On paper it was a 4-3-3 vs FG, but really, the mids played in a reverse triangle and the LB/RB were constantly bombing up the pitch and then DM(Piette) was dropping back into a CB support role. 

This lineup is a 4-3-3 on paper, but this shows a bit more position wise.

 

Eventually I want to see David in the middle, I think David and Arfield in a box to box would be unreal. However, I put him where he looked and played great vs FG for consistency and fluidity.

I have MAK at LB, just like vs FG because he is more offensive and I expect him to be more involved going forward compared to Adekugbe for the Martinique game.

Again, I think we see something very similar to the FG lineup in game 1 of this Gold Cup for team fluidity and ensure a win.

Not my ultimate best 11 but would do just fine .

Edited May 23, 2019 by apbsmith
Change my mind... man lineup predictions are hard now!

[CanadaFan123]

I like @Blackdude ‘s squad except I don’t think concacaf is going to let us call 24 players so I’d drop Akindele.

I love the Hainault call.  The guy captains a huge club and has a ton of experience for Canada.  It’s nice to know you have a steady vet if Cornelius isn’t up to the task.  To be honest I’d drop Cornelius for Straith too but I accept that isn’t likely to happen. 

[Blackdude]

3 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

I like @Blackdude ‘s squad except I don’t think concacaf is going to let us call 24 players so I’d drop Akindele.

I love the Hainault call.  The guy captains a huge club and has a ton of experience for Canada.  It’s nice to know you have a steady vet if Cornelius isn’t up to the task.  To be honest I’d drop Cornelius for Straith too but I accept that isn’t likely to happen. 

Oops. Well he's the player I'd drop. I don't know why I thought that with 23, you would get an outfield position with 2 backups.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Blackdude

[Kadenge]

In reality,  because of the condensed schedule and travel, we are not going to see our best XI unless we make the final.  This is why MAK should not play LB in the Group games. We need quality rotation at midfield and MAK is too valuable in the middle of the field to be deployed as a LB

[Blackjack15]

1 minute ago, Kadenge said:

In reality,  because of the condensed schedule and travel, we are not going to see our best XI unless we make the final.  This is why MAK should not play LB in the Group games. We need quality rotation at midfield and MAK is too valuable in the middle of the field to be deployed as a LB

MAK is our back up LB, expect to see Adekugbe in the XI for us there. For me in the midfield, he's the first name off the bench to replace Osorio in CM, after Atiba and Arfield are locks. Teibert is a good depth player.

[apbsmith]

18 minutes ago, Blackjack15 said:

MAK is our back up LB, expect to see Adekugbe in the XI for us there. For me in the midfield, he's the first name off the bench to replace Osorio in CM, after Atiba and Arfield are locks. Teibert is a good depth player.

Don't forget, Piette will be huge for us this tourny as a #6.  He's having an excellent season, great tackling, outlet passing has improved immensely. I could see him starting for us in the KO rounds, at worse probably first sub off the bench, especially if we have a lead. He's 24 years old with 40 +  international caps.

Edited May 23, 2019 by apbsmith

[CanadaFan123]

Guys who could conceivably play left back in @Blackdude ‘s squad: Adekugbe, Kaye, Cordova, Davies, Teibert, Cornelius.  I also could be wrong but didn’t Hainault start at LB for Houston for a bit? 

Thats fine depth and emergency depth.  Cordova has been playing LB for his club as well. 

If we were to go ultra paranoid and call Godinho as well (so we have 2 full backs for each side; Cordova, Adekugbe and ZBG, Godinho) that would mean we have to drop Teibert, which to be honest I’d be totally fine with.  I just don’t think it’s necessary.

We could also drop Teibert for Johnson.  Then we would have Cordova and Johnson as our utility guys, which could be a smart move too.

[apbsmith]

31 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

In reality,  because of the condensed schedule and travel, we are not going to see our best XI unless we make the final.  This is why MAK should not play LB in the Group games. We need quality rotation at midfield and MAK is too valuable in the middle of the field to be deployed as a LB

Not a slate against you, just commenting...

How often do we really expect to be in our own end defending against Martinique and Cuba? No disrespect to those two countries, but I hope not very often.

This is why I see MAK getting minutes at LB this tourny, if our competition was different I would agree with you completely.

MAK would "line up" as a LB but really be playing almost the majority of the game as a LM, that's how I see it anyways.

Edited May 23, 2019 by apbsmith

[apbsmith]

7 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

If we were to go ultra paranoid and call Godinho as well (so we have 2 full backs for each side; Cordova, Adekugbe and ZBG, Godinho) that would mean we have to drop Teibert, which to be honest I’d be totally fine with.  I just don’t think it’s necessary.

We could also drop Teibert for Johnson.  Then we would have Cordova and Johnson as our utility guys, which could be a smart move too.

Crazy eh... when was the last time we actually had multiple valid options in our 23 man squad selection. Pretty cool.

Edited May 23, 2019 by apbsmith

[Blackdude]

28 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

In reality,  because of the condensed schedule and travel, we are not going to see our best XI unless we make the final.  This is why MAK should not play LB in the Group games. We need quality rotation at midfield and MAK is too valuable in the middle of the field to be deployed as a LB

I don't know about this. I do like having Kaye since he's versatile and can play multiple positions, but right now, I feel that MAK is not that valuable for us at midfield. Sure he's good at central midfield, but would you start him over Arfield? However, I do think that Kaye at left back is the best option. Having Kaye start at left back and finish the match at midfield would be something I could see us doing. 

[CanadaFan123]

3 minutes ago, apbsmith said:

Not a slate against you, just commenting...

How often do we really expect to be in our own end defending against Martinique and Cuba? No disrespect to those two countries, but I hope not very often.

This is why I see MAK getting minutes at LB this tourny, if our competition was different I would agree with you completely.

MAK would "line up" as a LB but really be playing almost the majority of the game as a LM, that's how I see it anyways.

Exactly, he was immense against FG in the same role.  But who knows if Davies was healthy he may have been there instead.  I think our Martinique and Cuba matches we’re going to play similar styles. 

We need squad rotation and I’m confident in any one of our players to start a match.  I’ve never said that following Canada. 

Also just as an aside, what an absolute POS Kaye is for LAFC and I love it.  He’s such a shit disturber.  Last LAFC game I watched some kid was running on for his debut and out of nowhere MAK just blindsided the guy as if he didn’t see him coming (as the play is dead) and he starts acting like he got hit.  It was hilarious.

[Obinna]

My final 23 prediction:

GK: Borjan, Crepeau, Leutwiler 

Defense: Henry, James, Cornelius, Miller, Godinho, Adekugbe, Brault-Guillard 

Midfield: Hutchinson, Kaye, Arfield, Osorio, Piette, Teibert, Davies, Hoillet, Tabla

Forward: David, Cavallini, Larin, Millar, 

This was tough. I don't envy Herdman having to make these decisions.

Controversial decisions:

1. Akindele: 

He was the last player I removed. 4 goals in 9 games is very, very hard to ignore. He's having a great season so far and in my opinion deserves a call-up.

However, here's why I don't think he'll be selected:

He's a luxury player. What I mean is that we don't need him. We have goals in Cavallini and David. We have hold up play in Cavallini and Larin. We have flank play with Hoilett, Davies and Millar. Everything Akindele does or can do is currently covered. 

2. Johnson:

This one is more straight forward. He's having a good season too, but  as far as CM's go, there's one too many cooks in the kitchen. It's really down to him and Teibert. I think Rusty has earned Herdman's trust. I think Herdman likes Johnson a lot, but he's going to go with the player he knows, I think.

3. Cordova: 

I want to include him, but me wanting to include him is not really a prediction. I like his versatility. I think he can be kind of like Hasler was for TFC - able to play anywhere in midfield or full back. That said, I think this would mean dropping Godinho and I don't think that will happen. Yes, I know Godinho stopped getting minutes towards the end and Cordova just started to get minutes, but Godinho has been in camp and has shown Herdman what he can do. Cordova (for whatever reason) hasn't been in camp yet, so does Herdman go with the more unknown, but versatile and match fit Cordova? I don't think he does.

4. Miller:

Here is a player I do think will make it, but I feel this may need justification, so here goes: Herdman will select Miller as the fourth CB behind Henry, James and Cornelius. He's young and was called in before. Orlando would be happy to let him go if it means they can keep Johnson and Akindele. He's left-footed and may be able to cover at LB if needed. Straith and Hainault were named to simply make up the numbers. Edgar is coming off an injury and, unlike Henry, is unlikely to start anyways. The phase of calling Edgar for leadership in the back may be over anyways. It was perhaps more crucial in LON qualifying because it was largely a new group. They've had time to get familiar now. Not saying we'll never see Edgar again, but I think getting Miller this experience trumps calling one of the older CBs.

 

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Obinna

[CanadaFan123]

3 minutes ago, Blackdude said:

I don't know about this. I do like having Kaye since he's versatile and can play multiple positions, but right now, I feel that MAK is not that valuable for us at midfield. Sure he's good at central midfield, but would you start him over Arfield? However, I do think that Kaye at left back is the best option. Having Kaye start at left back and finish the match at midfield would be something I could see us doing. 

This +1.  Let’s talk when Hutchinson retires but for now I’m pretty happy to have Kaye shore up our LB position.  I wouldn’t be opposed to him starting in the middle either but with a best XI he’s at LB.

[Obinna]

7 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Exactly, he was immense against FG in the same role.  But who knows if Davies was healthy he may have been there instead.  I think our Martinique and Cuba matches we’re going to play similar styles. 

We need squad rotation and I’m confident in any one of our players to start a match.  I’ve never said that following Canada. 

Also just as an aside, what an absolute POS Kaye is for LAFC and I love it.  He’s such a **** disturber.  Last LAFC game I watched some kid was running on for his debut and out of nowhere MAK just blindsided the guy as if he didn’t see him coming (as the play is dead) and he starts acting like he got hit.  It was hilarious.

Yeah, I have also noticed that Kaye can be a bit of a c*** out there. You're not the only one who enjoys that.