The Road to Qatar.

[BearcatSA]

6 minutes ago, narduch said:

And they were right

So what you think will happen here if our team laden with sky high expectations ends up losing at home vs Honduras to start off the campaign?  That's the premise of my point that this place will have a meltdown.

[narduch]

10 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

So what you think will happen here if our team laden with sky high expectations ends up losing at home vs Honduras to start off the campaign?  That's the premise of my point that this place will have a meltdown.

Not disagreeing with that premise 

[Obinna]

When you drop points early in league season, the concern is there but it's not too great. You often here calming tropes like "it's not how you start, it's how you finish". 

When you drop points early in World Cup Qualifying, you hear things like "we drop points here and we are cooked".

I guess things are more alarmist because of the short schedule. There aren't many chances to right your wrongs. 

Perfectly understandable, but certainly not helpful. 

When the United States started poorly last cycle, the panic narrative set in quickly and formed a negative cloud that followed the team for the rest of the campaign. No wonder they failed in the end. 

17 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

So what you think will happen here if our team laden with sky high expectations ends up losing at home vs Honduras to start off the campaign?  That's the premise of my point that this place will have a meltdown.

So if we can, we should try and stay calm and confident as fans, regardless of how the September window goes. We can be realistic and acknowledge the difficulties that would lie ahead, but if we have a meltdown we are just sending out bad vibes.

I hope we can stay calm if things don't go our way. The team needs our support.

[dyslexic nam]

20 minutes ago, Obinna said:

When you drop points early in league season, the concern is there but it's not too great. You often here calming tropes like "it's not how you start, it's how you finish". 

When you drop points early in World Cup Qualifying, you hear things like "we drop points here and we are cooked".

I guess things are more alarmist because of the short schedule. There aren't many chances to right your wrongs. 

Perfectly understandable, but certainly not helpful. 

When the United States started poorly last cycle, the panic narrative set in quickly and formed a negative cloud that followed the team for the rest of the campaign. No wonder they failed in the end. 

So if we can, we should try and stay calm and confident as fans, regardless of how the September window goes. We can be realistic and acknowledge the difficulties that would lie ahead, but if we have a meltdown we are just sending out bad vibes.

I hope we can stay calm if things don't go our way. The team needs our support.

No way.  I am going full hysterical-Karen if we lose at home to ES or Honduras.  

[BearcatSA]

Just now, dyslexic nam said:

No way.  I am going full hysterical-Karen if we lose at home to ES or Honduras.  

You are going to demand that you see the manager?

[Obinna]

19 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

You are going to demand that you see the manager?

"Jonathan Herdman....you better not drop points against Honduras at home.....or you're gonna be in big trouble, mister"

[BearcatSA]

[johnyb]

15 hours ago, An Observer said:

Tbh, I don’t think he is going out on the limb with this ranking. I suspect most independent observers would have the same thing now.  Possible some with Mexico and US switched and with us and Jamaica switched as well. But it’s not like he had El Salvador as number 3 or something 

Amazing how an unimportant tournament can change things. A month ago it was crazy talk to have us 3rd in the region.

[trc2014]

I think six points in the two home games in September is the most likely scenario, but in no way is it a guarantee. If its that’s literally the only scenario you see as a way forward, you may be setting yourself up to be very disappointed (although I’m obviously hoping not). 

[red card]

4 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Dropping all the points in the first match, at home, would crash this forum.

Forget the forum, history says it will put the team in a tailspin. First match loss against T&T after 2000 Gold Cup win killed qualifying. First match loss against Jamaica in 2008 made qualifying a lost cause.

3 matches in tight windows means less time to mentally recoup. Canadian men's teams have shown one of their weakness is being resilient while it is a key strength of many our Concacaf opponents. 

But the hope is that given this is one of Herdman's strengths that he brings to the table, we can hopefully better adjust to the inherent ups and downs of qualifying. 

[CanadaFan123]

2 minutes ago, red card said:

Forget the forum, history says it will put the team in a tailspin. First match loss against T&T after 2000 Gold Cup win killed qualifying. First match loss against Jamaica in 2008 made qualifying a lost cause.

3 matches in tight windows means less time to mentally recoup. Canadian men's teams have shown one of their weakness is being resilient while it is a key strength of many our Concacaf opponents. 

But the hope is that given this is one of Herdman's strengths that he brings to the table, we can hopefully better adjust to the inherent ups and downs of qualifying. 

It was actually a draw. The loss weeks later to Honduras made it a lost cause.

[Redpunkfiddle]

8 minutes ago, red card said:

Forget the forum, history says it will put the team in a tailspin. First match loss against T&T after 2000 Gold Cup win killed qualifying. First match loss against Jamaica in 2008 made qualifying a lost cause.

3 matches in tight windows means less time to mentally recoup. Canadian men's teams have shown one of their weakness is being resilient while it is a key strength of many our Concacaf opponents. 

But the hope is that given this is one of Herdman's strengths that he brings to the table, we can hopefully better adjust to the inherent ups and downs of qualifying. 

To be fair, the 4 team group phase was much less forgiving than this octo will be.

 

[Gian-Luca]

2 hours ago, Redpunkfiddle said:

To be fair, the 4 team group phase was much less forgiving than this octo will be.

 

Exactly- the margin for error in this final round is far, far greater than it was for those old semi final rounds 

[BearcatSA]

3 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Exactly- the margin for error in this final round is far, far greater than it was for those old semi final rounds 

It won't matter around these parts:  there will be plenty of posters losing there heads if we have a set back early on.

[An Observer]

10 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

Here are my expectations 

Mexico H/1   A/0

USA H/1   A/1

Jamaica H/3   A/1

Costa Rica H/3   A/1

Honduras H/3   A/1

El Salvador H/3   A/3

Panama H/3   A/3

Obviously results will go one way or another but each game individually i would come away happy with those results. That would safely put us in 2nd or 3rd

 

That would give us 27 points and only one loss.  We would probably top the group with that.  Not saying it couldn’t happen but I think you are looking at best case scenario not expectations.

 

[An Observer]

9 hours ago, johnyb said:

Amazing how an unimportant tournament can change things. A month ago it was crazy talk to have us 3rd in the region.

Not sure I agree.  A month ago, I had us as 3rd or 4th in the region on paper (as many did) but we were up against Costa Rica and Honduras who both have pedigree.  What the Gold Cup changed was that we played Costa Rica off the park with their team being much closer to full strength than ours and Honduras (again with a closer to full strength side) didn’t perform very well in this tournament (and in particular against Mexico where we did).  And neither of these sides have been performing well going into the Gold Cup.

All I am saying now is that I don’t think such a ranking is inconsistent with where most independent observers would have the sides or thereabouts. Of course, once qualifying starts, that all could change and fast.  We still have to prove it but you better believe that for better or worse, other sides are not going to take us for granted now and will be adjusting their strategies accordingly including which players see the pitch against us or not.

[SpursFlu]

45 minutes ago, An Observer said:

That would give us 27 points and only one loss.  We would probably top the group with that.  Not saying it couldn’t happen but I think you are looking at best case scenario not expectations.

 

Yah its not a prediction because that would be unlikely as a totality. Plus who knows with injuries  red cards etc what each game will look like. Im just saying each game individually would be a result I would not feel disappointed with if I look at in a vacumn. For instance if we don't take 3 points against every team but Mexico or US at home, it should absolutely feel like an opportunity lost. If we go to El Salvador and do not take 3pts, that's an airball to me

Edited August 6, 2021 by SpursFlu

[trc2014]

Sounds like both Atiba and Arfield are both in for September per JH.  I wonder how Junior is going to feel about that 😆

[dyslexic nam]

46 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

Sounds like both Atiba and Arfield are both in for September per JH.  I wonder how Junior is going to feel about that 😆

No 🧢 

[BearcatSA]

4 hours ago, trc2014 said:

Sounds like both Atiba and Arfield are both in for September per JH.  I wonder how Junior is going to feel about that 😆

He'll have to show that he is a pro and deal with it, as will the others.  

[Joe MacCarthy]

5 hours ago, trc2014 said:

Sounds like both Atiba and Arfield are both in for September per JH.  I wonder how Junior is going to feel about that 

I've thought about that.  The Gold Cup group was very tight and felt like they had a lot to prove and now some outside forces will come in and take some of that away.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Granted all those guys who weren't at the GC were a big part of the program previously but I'm not sure about the reaction to Arfield, Atiba is a given, he's The Godfather.

[trc2014]

1 hour ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I've thought about that.  The Gold Cup group was very tight and felt like they had a lot to prove and now some outside forces will come in and take some of that away.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Granted all those guys who weren't at the GC were a big part of the program previously but I'm not sure about the reaction to Arfield, Atiba is a given, he's The Godfather.

Herdman will need to message to the team that Arfield will need to earn his starting spot back - better have some good training sessions.

[Joe MacCarthy]

7 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

Herdman will need to message to the team that Arfield will need to earn his starting spot back - better have some good training sessions.

I don't know what his attitude is or what the team's and coaches attitude towards him truly is but we coulda really used him and what he used to bring to the table, at the GC.

[Floortom]

“Starting spots” don’t matter as much when we have 3 matches in 7 days. No one thinks arfield will be starting all 3 of those regardless.  Maybe he starts one and is a substitution option in the other 2.

regardless - there’s a role for Arfield on this squad. And if his return pushes out another midfielder (like Liam Fraser for example) then the boys just need to be professional and accept that.

[EJsens1]

27 minutes ago, Floortom said:

“Starting spots” don’t matter as much when we have 3 matches in 7 days. No one thinks arfield will be starting all 3 of those regardless.  Maybe he starts one and is a substitution option in the other 2.

regardless - there’s a role for Arfield on this squad. And if his return pushes out another midfielder (like Liam Fraser for example) then the boys just need to be professional and accept that.

Exactly.  Field the best team you can.  Park egos or hurt feelings at the door