Pacific FC - 2020 Season Thread

[BearcatSA]

When is the regular season schedule getting announced?  I'm hoping to fly in for another match but this time in the spring.

Edited January 25, 2020 by BearcatSA

[Ivan]

7 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

When is the regular season schedule getting announced?  I'm hoping to fly in for another match but this time in the spring.

Probably after they figure out the Ottawa situation, which according to many, will happen next week.

[CanSuffer]

33 minutes ago, Ivan said:

Probably after they figure out the Ottawa situation, which according to many, will happen next week.

Hope they take all the time they need to make it as good as possible. It's an area they need to improve as much as they can. Right now a better sched is more important than a sooner sched.

 

[Mikmacdo]

Pacific and York look like they will def challenge Forge and Cavs for the title. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

I like how the Bustos signing has been met with a flurry of silence. 

[youllneverwalkalone]

What was the beef between Bustos and Blasco. Someone stole an iPad?

[Big_M]

Silence probably because its not officially announced yet..article out today about his options

https://canpl.ca/article/valour-fcs-marco-bustos-opens-up-about-his-free-agency-options

[Cheeta]

“It’s funny, like, I’m going here, I’m going there, I’m going everywhere,” Bustos said. “I remember reading that I was spotted in Victoria (while) I was at the gym in Winnipeg at the same time.”

LOL.  Go figure.

Any-who, may be a bit late in the game but CPL/OneSoccer could have done a bit more to drive this story in the media.  Go a little tabloid with it, stretch it out and build it up just in an effort to generate some media content for the league if nothing else.  Pretty sure neither either one wants to go that route (even if they have the creative talent what could pull something like that off) but still, my point stands.

There's no such thing as bad publicity and NEVER let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

See?  Easy!  The CanPL site should have be having fun with this for weeks.

[toontownman]

Was pretty clear from that article he was going to Pacific. Winnipeg and gale reunion boxed checked. Learning under Kah with a better squad. Pacific can be contenders with Bustos  Valour will still be Valour Bustos or not. It's a natural progression.

Watch him sign for Edmonton now.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[Ansem]

The decision...

 

[Ansem]

 

[toontownman]

Waiting for a Sask team, this will test my resolve as to whether I stick by Calgary this season. I love Kah and exciting things seemed to be happening at Pacific.

Both Pacific and York are going to be pushing this year. Forge may have retained most but unless they replace their difference maker in Borges they could easily find themselves anywhere from 1-4.  Cavalry still need to confirm some big pieces although they are starting to trickle in. Still, they have moved backwards on paper so far or at best look like standing still. 

If Pacific can grab another couple of big signings in central mid, upfront, they will be looking great. 

Luckily my irrational hatred of Haber might keep my allegiance switching at bay. 

[Obinna]

Bustos immediately makes Pacific FC title contenders. You have Bustos and Blasco feeding Terrance Campbell or Marcus Haber. De Jong back now for a full season. Then a lot of the young talented players are returning. Fisk is still there as well, right?

If I was a neutral they would be my team. They are young, they have several Canadian internationals, they have a cool stadium, and they have cool jerseys on top of that. The only downside is the camera angle. Man it is such a buzz kill...

[deschamp86]

13 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Bustos immediately makes Pacific FC title contenders. You have Bustos and Blasco feeding Terrance Campbell or Marcus Haber. De Jong back now for a full season. Then a lot of the young talented players are returning. Fisk is still there as well, right?

If I was a neutral they would be my team. They are young, they have several Canadian internationals, they have a cool stadium, and they have cool jerseys on top of that. The only downside is the camera angle. Man it is such a buzz kill...

I don't feel like Pacific is nearly as upgraded as a lot of people think they are. Having De Jong for a full season will definitely help. I think an important piece would be resigning Fisk, but even then I still think they are behind York

[Obinna]

58 minutes ago, deschamp86 said:

I don't feel like Pacific is nearly as upgraded as a lot of people think they are. Having De Jong for a full season will definitely help. I think an important piece would be resigning Fisk, but even then I still think they are behind York

Fair enough. York9 are definitely another team to watch out for. I didn't intend to overlook them or anything. I put them and Pacific in that same category of strong contenders.

Certainly 1 of those 2 are going to be fighting near the top I suspect.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Lofty said:

Ah, the pre-season optimism of a football fan -- you've gotta love it. Pacific will be contenders! And York! And Cavalry! And Forge! Everybody except Valour! It rarely pans out as expected. Bustos-less Valour will probably walk it and Rob Gale will be hailed as a football genius! 😂

And HFX

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, Obinna said:

And HFX

......and Edmonton lol

[MtlMario]

...... and Ottawa now.😀

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Lofty said:

People don't seem to be quite as down on HFX as they are on Valour though. I've noticed quite a few Valour bashing cracks on here and quite frankly I find them rather amusing and certainly well deserved! But football is a funny auld game...

Yeah, I guess. I can only speak for myself in saying that I expect Valour, HFX and Edmonton to be somewhere near the bottom (and yes we can add Ottawa to that list), with some combination of Pacific, York, Cavalry and Forge near the top. As you say though, I am sure there will be surprises. Predictions and sentiments are often inaccurate at this stage of the game.

I have said it before and I will say it again, I think Aird can potentially be one of the top players in the league this year. I really think he can better the seasons had by Petrasso and Bustos. Aird, Petrasso and Bustos are all the same class of player in my opinon, but I like Fraser's directness and ability to shoot from distance. In the past he has looked good in games far above the CPL level, most notably against Scotland, where he was by far the player of the match for both sides. Gotta factor the motivation in though, right? If he doesn't have his head screwed on right he may not be half the player for Valour I think he can be.

Hopefully he thrives on being "the guy" for your team. I hope he will because I have always been a fan of his game. And I do have a bit of a soft-spot for Winnipeg as well, being a mid-sized market team. Easier to cheer against York and Forge who have the advantage of being able to pull players from the GTA. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Obinna

[toontownman]

6 hours ago, deschamp86 said:

I don't feel like Pacific is nearly as upgraded as a lot of people think they are. Having De Jong for a full season will definitely help. I think an important piece would be resigning Fisk, but even then I still think they are behind York

Definitely on Fisk. Not so much on Issey or Haber! 

TMG, Dixon, Bustos are all upgrades and a fit DeJong will be huge. I am not sure Hernandez, Gonzalez and Norman Jnr were huge losses. Neither were the others they released. Still expect a fair amount of movement of players in though. They need at least another CM, Striker and another Defender or two. 

The Wheeldon Jnr. vs Kah fashion off Derby will be a highlight. 

[davey_twelve]

I'm excited to have a healthy De Jong but Blake Smith quietly had a really good season last year. De Jong isn't coming in to replace a weak area.

Younger players have the most room to grow from one season to the next so it's really hard to predict what kind of team Pacific turns up with in April.

Anyone know what to expect from Kah in terms of style of play? Silverbauer definitely had a distinct approach...

 

 

[xancgr]

8 hours ago, deschamp86 said:

I don't feel like Pacific is nearly as upgraded as a lot of people think they are. Having De Jong for a full season will definitely help. I think an important piece would be resigning Fisk, but even then I still think they are behind York

Yes! This right here. I am stoked at the signings so far this off season, but I am afraid that the team will have a big drop off in talent when we look at the bench, and have no depth like last year which is problematic. They need 2-3 more experienced players before I feel good about the 18. 

[deschamp86]

12 hours ago, toontownman said:

Definitely on Fisk. Not so much on Issey or Haber! 

TMG, Dixon, Bustos are all upgrades and a fit DeJong will be huge. I am not sure Hernandez, Gonzalez and Norman Jnr were huge losses. Neither were the others they released. Still expect a fair amount of movement of players in though. They need at least another CM, Striker and another Defender or two. 

The Wheeldon Jnr. vs Kah fashion off Derby will be a highlight. 

Is TMG better than Staro? I am not sure. He is definitely more likely to be healthy

Is Dixon better than Gonzalez? I doubt it

Is Bustos better than Fisk? Probably but they are quite different players. If Bustos can operate centrally and they resign Fisk for the wing, that will be huge

Is De Jong better than Smith? Normally I would say yes, but I thought Smith played well last year and De Jong is a year older after only having played a handful of minutes following a major injury

Is Wirth good enough to be the starter? Sure. For a top team? Not so sure

[Unnamed Trialist]

8 hours ago, deschamp86 said:

Is TMG better than Staro? I am not sure. He is definitely more likely to be healthy

Is Dixon better than Gonzalez? I doubt it

Is Bustos better than Fisk? Probably but they are quite different players. If Bustos can operate centrally and they resign Fisk for the wing, that will be huge

Is De Jong better than Smith? Normally I would say yes, but I thought Smith played well last year and De Jong is a year older after only having played a handful of minutes following a major injury

Is Wirth good enough to be the starter? Sure. For a top team? Not so sure

Agreed. The problem is that we have lost our better keeper, and have kept one who actually cost us games and points last season with glaring errors, sorry to say. For me Village was better.

Then we proved we could score, did so easily, but had a real problem not letting in dumb goals. So we dug ourselves into holes we could not get out of, got behind in games and had more pressure on us, and lost a lot of points this way.

Another factor, clearly, was an inexperienced squad, unable to manage games because we were simply too young. So rivals could just pressure and we'd pop at this or that seam. We lacked experience in getting results, however talented the young bunch was.

The team needs to build from the back. Keeper (someone better than Wirth), and central defenders and a DM who are tough as knocks and solid. We probably need to play the youth a bit less, and let them be accompanied by more experience, so they can learn more effectively, not just be thrown into the feeding fest as a clever experiment. Some of those young guys will come back much wiser, I think. 

In any case, I do not see how adding Bustos, a head down sort of attacker who has trouble connecting with his teammates going forwards, and with no strong defensive committment, is going to help us. De Jong healthy will, and Haber, no doubt. But other key pieces are still missing IMO.