Callum Montgomery

[Pottsy3]

Mostly just sat on the bench this season, picking up 0 minutes with Minnesota United and making 8 starts across 6 months in MLS Next Pro. Gotta agree with Bearcat, it's time to drop down a level and show what you can do. Not so dissimilar to the case with Amer Didic being on the cusp of SKC for so long.

 

If he moves to Pacific, that will be a massive and scary backline.

[BearcatSA]

11 hours ago, Pottsy3 said:

Mostly just sat on the bench this season, picking up 0 minutes with Minnesota United and making 8 starts across 6 months in MLS Next Pro. Gotta agree with Bearcat, it's time to drop down a level and show what you can do. Not so dissimilar to the case with Amer Didic being on the cusp of SKC for so long.

 

If he moves to Pacific, that will be a massive and scary backline.

How about the Caps?

[Shway]

11 hours ago, Pottsy3 said:

Mostly just sat on the bench this season, picking up 0 minutes with Minnesota United and making 8 starts across 6 months in MLS Next Pro. Gotta agree with Bearcat, it's time to drop down a level and show what you can do. Not so dissimilar to the case with Amer Didic being on the cusp of SKC for so long.

If he moves to Pacific, that will be a massive and scary backline.

I think for a lot of these guys dropping down a level means USL Championship.....UNLESS they can get similar money playing in the CPL then it just becomes a better option. 

At 25, he's at the pinnacle where he's gotta play every week or you have to consider why you're playing. 

[Stoppage Time]

57 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

How about the Caps?

He would have to play day in and day out. Would that be a certainty on a MKS squad? Perhaps a sign and a CPL loan as an opportunity to play his way into the VWFC roster. Even a low, low  $75,000 salary would be a sufficient financial incentive at this point.

[BearcatSA]

6 minutes ago, Stoppage Time said:

He would have to play day in and day out. Would that be a certainty on a MLS squad? 

Obviously, he'd have to earn his minutes and maybe he could do so here.  Remember, this team likes to bring in Cancon from elsewhere to fill squad spots,  so why not bring in a BC (Island) guy, for a change.

[Stoppage Time]

Any news on Montgomery? I wonder of he will appear in the CPL. Perhaps it could be  a stepping stone for him to a move up later.

[Strait Red]

Signed with Cavalry

 

[toontownman]

What a waste the last few years seems. Hope he kicks on now he will get consistent minutes. 

[Obinna]

Waterman and Zator are recent examples of CBs using Cavalry as a launch pad for better situations. At 25 years old its not to late for him to come in, have a good season in Alberta with a good side, then leave for a better situation in MLS like Waterman, or possibly like Zator leave for Europe.

Of course, Zator had a pit stop at York first, who deserve credit too, but it was Cavalry who put him on the map and on the radar and got European teams interested (remember the Championship rumours?). By the time he went to York, it was already a matter of when he was leaving for Europe, not IF.

At risk of turning this into a Cavalry brag post, will quickly mention that it's not just the CBs. We've seen them export Pepple to Luton Town.

Anyway, good luck to Callum. Looking forward to seeing how he fares at this level.

[Wasp]

This is a great example of why the CPL is so important for Canadian soccer. Pre-CPL, Montgomery probably falls through the cracks and ends up retiring.

Will he have a career resurgence and come into the CANMT picture? Likely not. But, you never know, especially with CB's who tend to blossom later in the their careers.

The important point here is that the CPL can serve as a safety net to give players who flame out in the US or in Europe a chance to continue to play professionally, and potentially rehab their value to give it another go elsewhere.

[BearcatSA]

I hope he does really well in Cowtown.

[VinceA]

He wasted so many years. He should have gone to the CPL years ago.

[BearcatSA]

8 minutes ago, VinceA said:

He wasted so many years. He should have gone to the CPL years ago.

MLS first round draft pick?  I think trying to take that as far as he could was, at the time, a reasonable decision.  CBs are late bloomers and he might now find his footing with this opportunity.

[Onelessstar]

29 minutes ago, VinceA said:

He wasted so many years. He should have gone to the CPL years ago.

Really? He was playing football at a decent level (relative to CPL), training with a top level (North American) team with opportunity for advancement and getting paid over $100,000 CDN ($85,444 USD in 2022). I think he was doing okay. Hopefully this new opportunity in the CPL brings some success.

[Corazon]

2 hours ago, Wasp said:

This is a great example of why the CPL is so important for Canadian soccer. Pre-CPL, Montgomery probably falls through the cracks and ends up retiring.

Will he have a career resurgence and come into the CANMT picture? Likely not. But, you never know, especially with CB's who tend to blossom later in the their careers.

The important point here is that the CPL can serve as a safety net to give players who flame out in the US or in Europe a chance to continue to play professionally, and potentially rehab their value to give it another go elsewhere.

Seeing the success of other players/defenders that the CPL has provided is probably a motivating factor for him to make the switch to the CPL.  It has done a solid job reinvigorating careers and for a player that was once a top prospect for an MLS team, there's no reason to think he cannot succeed as well.  Personally, I have not seen him play but I would think that he has to be a favourite to be one of the best defenders in the CPL this season..  He has decent career with USL clubs and probably has a bit better pedigree than both Zator & Waterman had when entering the CPL.

[Bdog]

3 hours ago, VinceA said:

He wasted so many years. He should have gone to the CPL years ago.

I can understand players wanting to stick it out in case they break into the first time, but yeah I agree. There are probably a lot of guys who get drafted to MLS teams in their early 20s who would have been better off if they could have gone to the CPL at the time.

I do think we're seeing more players coming from MLS teams/academies to the CPL at younger ages now so that's a good sign. I'm happy that Callum made the move now though instead of possibly wasting another year in Minnesota.

[SthMelbRed]

4 hours ago, Onelessstar said:

Really? He was playing football at a decent level (relative to CPL), training with a top level (North American) team with opportunity for advancement and getting paid over $100,000 CDN ($85,444 USD in 2022). I think he was doing okay. Hopefully this new opportunity in the CPL brings some success.

If he'd made the move to CanPL two years ago, he'd have lost out on about $100k over the past two seasons, more or less. However, if he'd been an elite CanPL CB in Victoria for those two seasons, he'd have potentially recouped some of that lost income in reduced living costs, being back in his hometown. He'd also probably looking at a decent transfer to Europe heading into the prime of his career rather than where he is now, looking to salvage a career that has never gotten out of the starting blocks. He'll be 26 before the upcoming season is too old.

I think the move to Minnesota was a mistake.

[Aird25]

I thought Pacific would’ve made Montgomery, Zanatta and Straith top priorities at launch. What’s happened

[BearcatSA]

On 2/10/2023 at 1:05 AM, SthMelbRed said:

If he'd made the move to CanPL two years ago, he'd have lost out on about $100k over the past two seasons, more or less. However, if he'd been an elite CanPL CB in Victoria for those two seasons, he'd have potentially recouped some of that lost income in reduced living costs, being back in his hometown. He'd also probably looking at a decent transfer to Europe heading into the prime of his career rather than where he is now, looking to salvage a career that has never gotten out of the starting blocks. He'll be 26 before the upcoming season is too old.

I think the move to Minnesota was a mistake.

Reduced living costs in Victoria?  He's also's a north Island guy, isn't he?

His career path looks less like a Waterman and more like a Didic, guy who was on SKC's books for a few years with stints in USL before joining CPL.

Maybe he really takes off but more likely he becomes a solid pro in the league.

[Aird25]

3 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Reduced living costs in Victoria?  He's also's a north Island guy, isn't he?

His career path looks less like a Waterman and more like a Didic, guy who was on SKC's books for a few years with stints in USL before joining CPL.

Maybe he really takes off but more likely he becomes a solid pro in the league.

Nanaimo, but I think he went to SMUS so he must have moved to Victoria at some point

[SthMelbRed]

8 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Reduced living costs in Victoria?  He's also's a north Island guy, isn't he?

His career path looks less like a Waterman and more like a Didic, guy who was on SKC's books for a few years with stints in USL before joining CPL.

Maybe he really takes off but more likely he becomes a solid pro in the league.

Yeah, I was assuming that he has people in Victoria and, therefore, drawing the conclusion that he could leverage that to his benefit.

[BearcatSA]

1 hour ago, SthMelbRed said:

Yeah, I was assuming that he has people in Victoria and, therefore, drawing the conclusion that he could leverage that to his benefit.

Maybe cheaper rent living at a friend's place.

[Onelessstar]

10 hours ago, Aird25 said:

Nanaimo, but I think he went to SMUS so he must have moved to Victoria at some point

Only moved to St. Michael's (private school) to complete high school. Family is in Nanaimo area.

[nolando]

1 hour ago, Onelessstar said:

Only moved to St. Michael's (private school) to complete high school. Family is in Nanaimo area.

He does have a posh, private school name, now that you mention it. 

[Kent]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:05 PM, SthMelbRed said:

If he'd made the move to CanPL two years ago, he'd have lost out on about $100k over the past two seasons, more or less. However, if he'd been an elite CanPL CB in Victoria for those two seasons, he'd have potentially recouped some of that lost income in reduced living costs, being back in his hometown. He'd also probably looking at a decent transfer to Europe heading into the prime of his career rather than where he is now, looking to salvage a career that has never gotten out of the starting blocks. He'll be 26 before the upcoming season is too old.

I think the move to Minnesota was a mistake.

Or maybe it would have panned out more like Marcel Zajac, who turned down MLS for CPL. He plays for Guelph United now. You never know what could have happened.