Gold Cup 2019

[Obinna]

26 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

@Obinna I think we have the same heirarchy just different values.  Tyler Adams is probably an A+ for me because to go straight into a top bundesliga team is huge.  

The letter really signifies potential in my mind and I dont know how Okello is lower than an A-.  Theo Bair id also have as a C but I haven’t seen him lately. 

I know he’s a 98 but Liam Fraser is a guy with B+ potential in my mind just as a comparative.  

Everything can change weekly of course lol.  

Yup, things can and will likely change as time goes on. Fun to think about nonetheless and it may be interesting to check this space in 2 years from now to see how it all played out!

[El Diego]

Atiba must be playing centre back, either as first or second option, for this roster to make sense. MAK spending time at left back is a given.

[Obinna]

36 minutes ago, Fullback said:

Pretty sure that people were absolutely screaming for Aleman to be included and to be played so he could be cap-tied. Ended up being kind of irrelevant 

It's really too bad Aleman hasn't been able to progress more than USL Championship. Even at the U23 camp in Qatar he showed glimpses of skill to suggest he still had some magic to offer.

He played a bit-part role at Saprissa and Herediano, but he was still in his early 20s - I thought latching on to MLS was very possible. The speed at which the quality of the league improved was simply too much.

Moreover, the TAM money was accompanied by a change in trend - MLS teams began acquiring more South Americans and less Central Americans/Caribbeans. More money means they can now go bigger, so to speak.

No surprise then that Aleman finds himself firmly in the USL Championship. Now at the age of 25, he has 3 goals in 23 league games since signing with Sacramento in 2018. Of course, it's not too late for him to make it to the MLS level, but you'd think at this point the best chance would be to join with a Sacramento expansion. That's the way his career is shaping up. 

[Obinna]

4 minutes ago, El Diego said:

Atiba must be playing centre back, either as first or second option, for this roster to make sense. MAK spending time at left back is a given.

I'm going to say second option. Cornelius (Miller) - Henry (Hutchinson). When not backing up Henry, I expect him to be starting for us in defensive midfield.

[Blackjack15]

To be honest, I feel pretty good about our team! Adekugbe Out due to injury and James due to club commitments sucks but luckily Herdman has found the solution. 

This I would say is the projected XI vs Martinique and the template for the rest of the matches. Confident in saying we have depth in every position.

MAK will drop to LB no doubt, as we've got plenty of cover in the central midfield, After naming 3 CB's; I would think Piette plays as the DM Role then Atiba drops to help out for game 1 and let Henry rest both the friendly and Martinique match to be good to go for the rest of it all. Okello role is very simple, I'm sure he'll be subbed on in the injury time phase of some game, and same goes with [Kamal] Miller 

[Bison44]

1 hour ago, Fullback said:

Pretty sure that people were absolutely screaming for Aleman to be included and to be played so he could be cap-tied. Ended up being kind of irrelevant 

I remember being so happy when he got capped.  Losing Begovic was still sticking in my craw.  

[Yoginess]

The nice thing about James is he has experience playing against Mexico (in Mexico City too). It's too bad he's not fit for selection.

[Kadenge]

1 hour ago, Yoginess said:

The nice thing about James is he has experience playing against Mexico (in Mexico City too). It's too bad he's not fit for selection.

He also scored against Honduras away during 2018 WC qualifiers

[king1010]

7 hours ago, Blackjack15 said:

To be honest, I feel pretty good about our team! Adekugbe Out due to injury and James due to club commitments sucks but luckily Herdman has found the solution. 

This I would say is the projected XI vs Martinique and the template for the rest of the matches. Confident in saying we have depth in every position.

MAK will drop to LB no doubt, as we've got plenty of cover in the central midfield, After naming 3 CB's; I would think Piette plays as the DM Role then Atiba drops to help out for game 1 and let Henry rest both the friendly and Martinique match to be good to go for the rest of it all. Okello role is very simple, I'm sure he'll be subbed on in the injury time phase of some game, and same goes with [Kamal] Miller 

No way David doesnt start. 

[king1010]

5 hours ago, Yoginess said:

The nice thing about James is he has experience playing against Mexico (in Mexico City too). It's too bad he's not fit for selection.

Isnt he fit but doesnt want to lost his semi starting spot with his club? 

[SkuseisLoose]

Just now, king1010 said:

Isnt he fit but doesnt want to lost his semi starting spot with his club? 

His season is over so I don’t know what him being there will do to solidify his spot at the club.

[Kadenge]

During last night's TFC /VW game Herdman hinted that he would be focusing on the Martinique game (and presumably Cuba) while rotating for the Mexico game....rather go for it against Mexico in the semi-finals vs pool game...not an exact quote from him but great to hear the confidence about reaching the last 4... He also stated that several players can play multiple positions which gives the team a lot of flexibility. 

[Ivan]

8 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

His season is over so I don’t know what him being there will do to solidify his spot at the club.

I thought his club had a Euro qualifying game?

[SkuseisLoose]

1 hour ago, Ivan said:

I thought his club had a Euro qualifying game?

On August 8th so well after the gold cup 

[king1010]

9 hours ago, SkuseisLoose said:

His season is over so I don’t know what him being there will do to solidify his spot at the club.

His 2019/2020 season starts mid july. So missing training in the lead up to the mid july start would hinder his chances to solidify a starting spot. 

[BCM]

10 minutes ago, king1010 said:

His 2019/2020 season starts mid july. So missing training in the lead up to the mid july start would hinder his chances to solidify a starting spot. 

Wouldn't playing in June actually mean he would return fitter and in better game shape? Playing at the high level would also presumably up his game. Two sides to this coin.

 

[king1010]

4 minutes ago, BCM said:

Wouldn't playing in June actually mean he would return fitter and in better game shape? Playing at the high level would also presumably up his game. Two sides to this coin.

 

I dunno, playing for two years straight with no summer break would be tough on the body. 

 

Not saying I agree with keeping him at his club but the team may have said you’ll have a better shot at starting this year if you’re part of training camp. 

Herdman made the comment that some players had club commitments. James seems to be one who fits that bill. 

Rather have had him on the gold cup squad obviously. It is what it is unfortunately. 

[Obinna]

I am finally past the Tabla exclusion after listening to Herdman last night during the MLS broadcast. I was satisfied with his explination.

He framed it in such a way that he's prioritizing Tabla's long term success. He needs to sort himself out with his club and it is hard to hit the ground running in pre-season when you are away with the national team.

As long as Ballou responds well to his situation, it can be one step back, two steps forward with team Canada. Herdman reiterated that Ballou has a bright future with the national team.

Herdman also made a general comment along the lines of "gold cup is not an all-hands-on-deck situation like world cup qualifying".

Edited June 1, 2019 by Obinna

[Obinna]

10 hours ago, king1010 said:

No way David doesnt start. 

There is an obvious log jam in attack. It would seem that David, Hoilett and Davies be vying for two spots.

I think we could actually see Hoilett start from the bench against Martinique. Keep him fresh for the Mexico match.

In midfield, the same perhaps. Start with a midfield 3 of Piette, Teibert and Kaye. Give Morgan this first match at LB. Bring Arfield off the bench if needed. We need to rotate.

Perhaps this is a good game for Crepeau to start. Eliminate any chance lighting strikes Borjan twice with Martinique. In front of him ZBG-Henry-Cornelius-Morgan.

Start Cavallini with the plan to bring Larin.

This sets us up to have a fresh Borjan, Hoilett, Hutchinson and Arfield for Mexico. Osorio, if healthy, must start against Mexico too. His CCL experience will give him a lot of confidence and perhaps he'll have a chip on his shoulder. Move Kaye to LB for this one. Bring David and Millar off the bench. I think late in the game that Millar can especially challenge the Mexicans with his directness and pace.

[Kadenge]

31 minutes ago, Obinna said:

There is an obvious log jam in attack. It would seem that David, Hoilett and Davies be vying for two spots.

I think we could actually see Hoilett start from the bench against Martinique. Keep him fresh for the Mexico match.

In midfield, the same perhaps. Start with a midfield 3 of Piette, Teibert and Kaye. Give Morgan this first match at LB. Bring Arfield off the bench if needed. We need to rotate.

Perhaps this is a good game for Crepeau to start. Eliminate any chance lighting strikes Borjan twice with Martinique. In front of him ZBG-Henry-Cornelius-Morgan.

Start Cavallini with the plan to bring Larin.

This sets us up to have a fresh Borjan, Hoilett, Hutchinson and Arfield for Mexico. Osorio, if healthy, must start against Mexico too. His CCL experience will give him a lot of confidence and perhaps he'll have a chip on his shoulder. Move Kaye to LB for this one. Bring David and Millar off the bench. I think late in the game that Millar can especially challenge the Mexicans with his directness and pace.

You may be right, but I got the impression from Herdman last night, that he was going to start his A team vs Martinique and rotate for Mexico due to travel, altitude, 3 quick games and save it for the knockout vs Mexico?  Although the Mexico game would be a good test to see how good our squad really is, the main goal is to get to the knock outs and perform well thereafter. We need wins in our first and 3rd matches to meet that objective while managing recovery time and playing minutes especially for our key older players such as Atiba Arfield and Hoilett

Edited June 1, 2019 by Kadenge

[Bison44]

Man, if we wanted tests to see how good the squad is we should have already done it with a friendly or two.  With the guys out of the mexico squad i was hoping we would go in a stick it to them.  We have so many guys playing on big stages, the intimidation factor should be getting weaker.  We should be able to play the A team vs mexico.  If this squad (even rotating starters) cant beat martinque and cuba, we are in big trouble.  

[Yoginess]

I'm started to get really amped up for this gold cup. I'm incredible confident in a front four of Cav, Hoilett, Davies, and David. Throw in Arfield, Hutch, Kaye (at LB), and Borjan and that's 8 really quality pieces. 

7 years ago I feel we struggled to get even 3 players of this quality.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

On the subject of all the Mexican players skipping the tournament, there is a thinly veiled strike action happening against the Mexican Federation that has been brewing for a while.  The players have recently woken up to how much their federation is financially exploiting them.  Their players are only paid $2K per game with no win bonus, appearance bonus, or share of image rights.  They also spend huge amounts of the international breaks doing unpaid promotional work for the FMF's commercial partners.  For a team that generates millions per game filling NFL stadiums for friendlies with tens of millions of TV viewers that is absolutely staggering.  

 

Hear more about if from the 39 minute mark of this podcast

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/espn-fc-podcast/e/61461853

[SkuseisLoose]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

There is an obvious log jam in attack. It would seem that David, Hoilett and Davies be vying for two spots.

I think we could actually see Hoilett start from the bench against Martinique. Keep him fresh for the Mexico match.

In midfield, the same perhaps. Start with a midfield 3 of Piette, Teibert and Kaye. Give Morgan this first match at LB. Bring Arfield off the bench if needed. We need to rotate.

Perhaps this is a good game for Crepeau to start. Eliminate any chance lighting strikes Borjan twice with Martinique. In front of him ZBG-Henry-Cornelius-Morgan.

Start Cavallini with the plan to bring Larin.

This sets us up to have a fresh Borjan, Hoilett, Hutchinson and Arfield for Mexico. Osorio, if healthy, must start against Mexico too. His CCL experience will give him a lot of confidence and perhaps he'll have a chip on his shoulder. Move Kaye to LB for this one. Bring David and Millar off the bench. I think late in the game that Millar can especially challenge the Mexicans with his directness and pace.

David can play centrally so he’ll likely start over Osorio. Also rather we start a A lineup against Martinique because they’re probably more likely to upset us then Cuba so we shouldn’t take chances by starting a B lineup.

[Blackjack15]

17 hours ago, king1010 said:

No way David doesnt start. 

No way Cavallini doesn't start, he's our best forward - Liga MX is a top 20 league in the world and he's scoring is lethal. In terms of trajectory/projection without a doubt David will have a longer career with the NT and has had a better start (4G in 4 Games) at age 19 compared to (5G in 11 Games) for the 26 year old.

For me Jonathan would be the first guy off the bench, but Hoilett and Davies are our best wingers; Herdman hinted that there will be rotation in the 3 Gold cup games