Canada vs French Guiana Match Thread

[gator]

I had a chance to rewatch as well GL and I agree about Osorio's reaction, the main thing that is being missed here by many is he had a very good match, did very little wrong, was creative and tracked back well as required, kind of like he does at TFC often! As for  earlier comments about production, I watched on the big screen in my studio and I love what they have done with the audio, there are lots of mics mixed into the broadcast, they seem to have the proper stereo mix of the crowd (Voyageurs Section), things should only get better!

[Big_M]

Piette's back pass was bad but Borjan should have gotten there faster and cleared it instead of dribbling so the goal conceded is 100% on him..was a reminder that he will make blunders once in a while

[Gian-Luca]

9 minutes ago, gator said:

I had a chance to rewatch as well GL and I agree about Osorio's reaction, the main thing that is being missed here by many is he had a very good match, did very little wrong, was creative and tracked back well as required, kind of like he does at TFC often! As for  earlier comments about production, I watched on the big screen in my studio and I love what they have done with the audio, there are lots of mics mixed into the broadcast, they seem to have the proper stereo mix of the crowd (Voyageurs Section), things should only get better!

I don't have a stereo set up for my tv so I will take your word for that, that is encouraging to hear. I was frustrated with some of the direction when they would cut away to show a close up of a player's head while the ball is in play - once this happened when it looked like FG were about to put in a rebound off a free kick, leaving the viewers to assume that ZGB must have blocked it.  So I hope Mediapro gives some pointers to local crews they use on not to do that sort of stuff because I can't see the point of it. When the ball is in play we should only be seeing the ball in play, not the facial expression of a guy who didn't score 10 seconds earlier. 

[hamiltonfan]

30 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said:

 

Hey, have you found a link to the game tape by chance?

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

2 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Having re-watched the match this evening, the whole Osorio thing seems like it is being exaggerated, unless there is visual evidence to the contrary that someone can provide. The notion that he screamed in rage when he found out he was being subbed out and then stormed off to the dressing room in rage is not only not supported by the video evidence, it is actually contradicted by the video evidence. While he hardly looks overjoyed the moment he finds out he is being taken off, there isn't any temper tantrum caught by the cameras, which are on him the whole time. In a close up he looks towards the bench, points towards himself to acknowledge the sub and the points at the direction of the far sideline that he would exit from, seemingly because someone is directing him to do so (can't tell from the footage, either the Ref or Canada's coaching staff). The other players subbed off weren't told to do this. We forget that a few minutes before being taken off Osorio took a flying forearm to the back of the head and lay on the ground for a minute, so I am wondering if he thought he was (or simply was) being directed to go to the dressing room for concussion protocol reasons before being corrected to come back to the bench. 

In any event, the cameras show Osorio walking off the pitch very slowly on the sidelines and around the back of the FG touch line. Ironically he slows down even further to acknowledge the applause of the supporters, applauding them back (not sure if the guy who took to tweeting at Osorio that he should never don the Canadian jersey again after this match was one of them), then continues to walk slowly and solemnly behind the FG touch line (because the ball is in play in the FG end at this point the cameras are still in him). That is the "extent" of the alleged rage filled storming off the pitch that we can see on the camera. I suppose it is possible that the moment that the cameras stopped showing him walking off (which was almost minute) he suddenly turned into the Tazmanian Devil and started to scream in rage Giovinco-style  while sprinting like a madman, but in the absence of visual evidence to the contrary, I am more inclined to think that whatever was seen afterwards has been exaggerated. Moreover, it would not be surprising to me that if he showed signs of frustration, it would be from being subbed out of the game prematurely (59 min in)as a precautionary measure due to some French Guianese idiot delivering a flying forearm to the back of his head, rather than at his coach (the same coach who was calling Osorio by his nickname post-match). Again, if someone has visual evidence of him screaming "Don't make me angry Mr. Herdman. You wouldn't like me when I am angry" before turning into the Incredible Hulk, then fair enough but I won't exactly be holding my breath in expectation on that one.

As for the more important stuff - the game and our play - after a second view I think I am of the view that the goal against is more of Piette's fault than Borjan's. Originally I didn't like the pass Borjan gave to Piette but upon a second viewing I think Piette calls for the ball back from  Borjan in the first place, and so I have a bit more sympathy for Borjan, given that he gets a "hospital ball" back from the guy who asked for it in the first place. You can also see Henry pointing to ZBG, telling Sam to pass it to him instead, which he doesn't. A sloppy goal which I think comes from, in part, being too casual against an opponent we knew we could easily beat.

If Herman wasn't going to play Davies at left back then I do wonder if Kaye will continue to start there. He just made one poor defensive play which isn't bad for a guy playing out of position, but otherwise he was solid positionally and whipped in some pretty good crosses. I can see that move where he steps into Atiba's position as Atiba gets subbed off in favour of a more defensive left back during the Gold Cup. And we have a lot more in the way of central midfield options than left back after all - the two central midfielders were brought in to replace the two who didn't make the trip due to injury didn't play at all, just to underscore that point.

Speaking of ZBG, upon a second look he was more impressive than I thought to begin with (and I thought he played well to begin with). Between him and Godinho I feel a bit better about the depth at right back, which was the #1 depth problem last WCQ cycle (where we played Doneil Henry as part of Floro's six CB on the pitch at all times strategy).

 

Cool. 

 

sorry, just wanted to quote this giant post to annoy people.

[Gian-Luca]

12 hours ago, hamiltonfan said:

Hey, have you found a link to the game tape by chance?

Sorry, I haven't - I just PVR'd the game so I could re-watch it.

[Kadenge]

Atiba and Piette are each best when deployed in front of the back 4. In a 4 -3 -3  and assuming we have our full squad, the two will not be on the field together unless we are defending a lead/closing out a game. While MAK looked good at LB if Adekugbe is a better defender then he should get the start in the GC to shore up our back 4. We have plenty of firepower with Cav, Davies, David, Jnr, Scotty. I do think that MAK is going to be a dominant player for us in midfield  going forward and with Arfield's injuries (has only played 1 match under JH) he may start in the GC  at CM. Hope he has a stellar season for LAFC

[El Hombre]

4 hours ago, Kadenge said:

Atiba and Piette are each best when deployed in front of the back 4. In a 4 -3 -3  and assuming we have our full squad, the two will not be on the field together unless we are defending a lead/closing out a game. While MAK looked good at LB if Adekugbe is a better defender then he should get the start in the GC to shore up our back 4. We have plenty of firepower with Cav, Davies, David, Jnr, Scotty. I do think that MAK is going to be a dominant player for us in midfield  going forward and with Arfield's injuries (has only played 1 match under JH) he may start in the GC  at CM. Hope he has a stellar season for LAFC

I don't understand this.  Why do you think Herdman won't go back to Atiba and Piette (or another DM with Piette)?  I think this lineup was pretty indicative of the way things will go, especially because games will only get tougher.

I see Piette and MAK (or any two-player combination of those two and Eustaquio) being a tandem in front of the back four.  That will allow the fullbacks to get forward more and both can destroy and play the ball forward.  You then have the option of the remaining four being pure attacking options.

[Kadenge]

3 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

I don't understand this.  Why do you think Herdman won't go back to Atiba and Piette (or another DM with Piette)?  I think this lineup was pretty indicative of the way things will go, especially because games will only get tougher.

I see Piette and MAK (or any two-player combination of those two and Eustaquio) being a tandem in front of the back four.  That will allow the fullbacks to get forward more and both can destroy and play the ball forward.  You then have the option of the remaining four being pure attacking options.

Vs FG Atiba was deployed in a more advanced position #8. He did this in the 2014 WCQ and performed well, but he does not have the legs to do that anymore especially against  top teams. Arfield and MAK are better suited to play the double #8 both have the engine to go 90 mins. Against top teams using Atiba as the #6 with Arfield and MAK (who are both responsible defenively) ahead of him gives us more flexibility in range. Playing Atiba and Piette is basically  a 4-2-3-1 which is fine but then Arfield has to be more of a #10 or we use David there. Eustaquio and Hutch will not play together if Atiba retires post GC.

[SpursFlu]

I love Atiba but the sand in the hour glass is quickly disappearing. He was good in tight with some 1 2s but there were some balls played in to space in which his first step was really exposed. I get the impression he'll play supporting role at the gc and that will be it for him. Legend but i would pencil in MAK next to Piette for the GC

[Gian-Luca]

Remember it is Concacaf and the Gold Cup so it will probably be a crazy schedule where we play a game in Costa Rica and then fly all the way to Cleveland to play our next game 2 days later. I can see a situation where Atiba starts games 1 and 3 but doesn't see the field for game 2.

[Keegan]

@Gian-Luca were you at the game?  We all know what the video shows but there are people saying he went straight to the tunnel, had to be retrieved by a staff member and then didn’t celebrate with the team after.  Is it true? Who knows.  Is it hard to believe? Not really.  I don’t know why people think there’s a conspiracy against Osorio where people are slandering him.

Im an Osorio fan, if you read my posts here I’m one of his biggest supporters.  But let’s take an objective perspective as fans that weren’t there and not say that simply because he didn’t have a “Tasmanian devil” moment on tv it didn’t happen. 

[SpursFlu]

Im not saying to re hash a debate but i literally watched him walk straight to the tunnel after having a negative reaction and screaming " who me?" The tunnel at bc place is behind the goal. I did see him on the field after the game so who knows where he went but he definitely didnt go straight to the bench

[Gian-Luca]

43 minutes ago, Keegan said:

@Gian-Luca were you at the game?  We all know what the video shows but there are people saying he went straight to the tunnel, had to be retrieved by a staff member and then didn’t celebrate with the team after.  Is it true? Who knows.  Is it hard to believe? Not really.  I don’t know why people think there’s a conspiracy against Osorio where people are slandering him.

Im an Osorio fan, if you read my posts here I’m one of his biggest supporters.  But let’s take an objective perspective as fans that weren’t there and not say that simply because he didn’t have a “Tasmanian devil” moment on tv it didn’t happen. 

I am taking an objective perspective. Objectively speaking the claims that he screamed in rage when he found out that he was being subbed off and stormed off the pitch have been proven by video evidence not to be true or at the very least greatly exaggerated. You can't get more objective than backing up your claims with video evidence. If those claims have been greatly exaggerated, objectively speaking it places a lot of doubt on how accurate these other claims are of the stuff that people didn't see. If that slow walk to the dressing room is the definition of "storming off the pitch" and if Osorio applauding the fans on camera is an example of this alleged snubbing of the fans (as has been claimed elsewhere) that's naturally going to place some doubt on the accuracy of other claims for stuff that we couldn't see on video. I'm not saying people are having delusions or just making stuff up for the fun of it - but people can make a meal out of things not for any malicious reasons but often because they too are caught up in the moment or they don't have a full understanding of why something might have happened and have misread the situation as a result or whatever and end up exaggerating what they saw. It's happened to me at times as well when I'm certain I see something from the stands at BMO and then re-watch the game and take a different view once I've had time to look at the video evidence. My own person VAR if you will. In any event, unless we hear of something further about this (maybe from someone asking Osorio himself what the deal was instead of all this speculation) it's not something that I propose to lose any sleep over.

[Keegan]

@Gian-Luca I completely agree that he didn't storm off the pitch.  Now I'm looking on Twitter and a lot of people have back-pedalled.  Objectively though, his body language was not positive.  I think you can agree with that?  And I think we can all agree that no player should be showing poor body language coming off with a 4-1 lead.

[Obinna]

Does anyone have a recording of this game they can share?

[Gian-Luca]

16 hours ago, Keegan said:

@Gian-Luca I completely agree that he didn't storm off the pitch.  Now I'm looking on Twitter and a lot of people have back-pedalled.  Objectively though, his body language was not positive.  I think you can agree with that?  And I think we can all agree that no player should be showing poor body language coming off with a 4-1 lead.

Just to answer this (and then hopefully move on), yes his body language wasn't what I'd call positive, but I'm not sure what it was signifying or what the cause of it was. A forearm bash to the back of the head being worried about a concussion in a game where you already had a substantial lead wouldn't have me doing cartwheels of joy on the sidelines either. As long as there aren't reliable/accurate reports that he was mouthing off to teammates or the coach (and there don't appear to be any reports or evidence of this) then its not something I'm going to worry about.