Cavalry FC Season Thread 2020

[Ed_S 153]

5 hours ago, shermanator said:

You should read the entirety of my post regarding Malonga, rather than cherry pick one piece of the reasoning. He did not want to be in Calgary. This was evident not only in his play on the pitch but in how he conducted himself off the pitch at club events and the aforementioned way he interacted with supporters.

His goals will be missed, but his goals are also very replaceable. All but one of them were headed efforts in the box, scrambles in front of goal, or penalties. I would argue Minatel was a much more reliable and versatile attacker over the course of the fall season.

I've been on this board and its predecessors for a long time and have been a supporter of local clubs since the Calgary Storm days. You take me to task because I don't buy your 'most supporters don't want him back' comment? Get off your high horse man. I read the entirety of your post and stand by the fact that he scored the most goals on the club and that won't be easy to replace.

[Ivan 566]

1 hour ago, shermanator said:

 Chatting with Gareth Wheeler I would not recommend.

Really?  I ran into him boarding a plane in Vancouver and he was a great guy.  I would definitely recommend chatting to him.

[Bison44 4,486]

1 hour ago, Ivan said:

Really?  I ran into him boarding a plane in Vancouver and he was a great guy.  I would definitely recommend chatting to him.

Really? He seems like a close talker.  😁

[Unnamed Trialist 4,920]

1 hour ago, Ed_S said:

I've been on this board and its predecessors for a long time and have been a supporter of local clubs since the Calgary Storm days. You take me to task because I don't buy your 'most supporters don't want him back' comment? Get off your high horse man. I read the entirety of your post and stand by the fact that he scored the most goals on the club and that won't be easy to replace.

I seriously doubt that Cavalry will have a season as good as this first in terms of W/D/L in the next five years, maybe more. Another thing is if they can grab a trophy regardless. It is so classless just to diss their key players in the amazing success of the team for petty baseless motives.

[Ivan 566]

10 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Really? He seems like a close talker.  😁

Haha.  No not at all.  Just a good guy.  Came up to me after in the boarding area and wished me a safe flight, as he was on the team flight a half hour earlier.  He didn't have to do that.  I respect the guy.  

[shermanator 4,388]

1 hour ago, Ivan said:

Really?  I ran into him boarding a plane in Vancouver and he was a great guy.  I would definitely recommend chatting to him.

Yes really. I did not have a good interaction with him at all, although to be fair it was brief. 

Sounds like yours went well though. 

[Lofty 3,765]

6 hours ago, shermanator said:

I'll try and contribute something to this thread before going away for a few more months, forgetting why I hate this board, and coming back.

Attacking mid is not something that is lacking right now on this squad. Camargo (particularly in the Spring) and Minatel (when Camargo was injured in the Fall) both excelled in a #10 role for large stretches of the season. Pepple can play there as well and Adekugbe in a pinch, although I don't believe he has playing at attacking mid since 2015 with Foothills.

What this team is desperately needing are wingers and full backs. Escalante is all but gone. Pasquotti is rumoured to be going elsewhere. Serban and Northover are coming off ACL tears. Hamilton needs another year of seasoning. Fakunle is not up to the standards of the CPL. Mavila has not been signed, although I imagine there is a mutual interest in his return. I'm sure most of these players will be back, but there is still a fairly large hole in the squad there.

I don't think Bustos would really add much to the Cavalry squad that isn't already there. When he's on his game, he's one of the best offensive talents in the league. When he's not, he might as well be watching the game on TV. His inconsistencies from game to game diminish any return you get on the offensive side. It's why despite having the talent to make a better league such as MLS, he has not.

In addition, there is the cost. Bustos is going to command top dollar in the CPL. Cavalry not only are not willing to spend that kind of money on a single player (they did not have a single player in the top 10 in salaries last year), but they have many players who excelled and will want a raise, which will inevitably lead to some of these players leaving the club. Signing Bustos would hamstring Cavalry's ability to address their needs out wide, while taking far too large a salary than he is worth, at least in my opinion.

I'll start by saying that I like and rate Bustos and think he was almost Valour's best player last season (just shaded to it by LBG IMHO).

I think some of your comments are a little harsh but I agree with your main point that he is perhaps a little over rated right now. 5 goals from open play (plus 3 assists) in 27 apps is good for an attacking mid/winger, but not fantastic.

And ironically (based on your stated need) I'd call him a winger far more than a #10, albeit a winger that likes to cut inside rather than go outside and put in crosses. Ideally suited to (and often used on) the outside of the attacking 3 in a 4-2-3-1. I don't think he ever occupied a #10 role for Valour -- he was always on the outside.

So, he might actually fill the need you have suggested but the cost may indeed be too high.

Edit: I'll just add that his weakness is that he is fairly one dimensional in that whenever he gets the ball he seems to set off on a dribble towards goal. He would be far better if he added more clever forward passes to his repertoire because those dribbles far too often end with the ball being lost and at higher levels that will not be tolerated.

Edited January 24 by Lofty

[Blackdude 542]

According to Nik Ledgerwood, Pasquotti is going to Scandinavia.

[BearcatSA 261]

2 hours ago, Blackdude said:

According to Nik Ledgerwood, Pasquotti is going to Scandinavia.

I hope it goes really well for him there.

[The Real Marc 272]

I think most of the foreigners in low-paying leagues like our would prefer to be somewhere else - some are just better at hiding it.

[Stryker911 1,176]

7 minutes ago, The Real Marc said:

I think most of the foreigners in low-paying leagues like our would prefer to be somewhere else - some are just better at hiding it.

Are you talking about Pasquotti? The guy from Lethbridge?

[Ivan 566]

21 hours ago, Obinna said:

I for one am excited about Cordova. He scored a lot of goals in the Peruvian second division. I see he did so most recently with Juan Aurich, which was surprising as I never knew they got relegated. I thought they were a solid first division club. I now see though that their history is hmm...complicated. they went through some restructuring in the recent past, it seems. Regardless, they have a current Panamanian international on their books and have won Copa Peru in 2007, so for Cavalry to get one of their top strikers is quite an achievement. I am sure he will make up for the loss of Malonga, if he indeed leaves Calgary.

On the CPL web site, they have Cordova listed as Canadian on the Calgary roster (in and out article).  That can't be true, is it?

[Obinna 6,149]

2 minutes ago, Ivan said:

On the CPL web site, they have Cordova listed as Canadian on the Calgary roster (in and out article).  That can't be true, is it?

Must be a mistake...

[toontownman 2,055]

Unless they have another Cordova signing up their sleeves  

[youllneverwalkalone 953]

I heard Nick Dasovic is updating the web site.

[Bison44 4,486]

Somebody fat fingered it.  

[Obinna 6,149]

On 1/23/2020 at 2:26 PM, shermanator said:

Agreed on that front. I would argue interest in the national team has never been higher in Calgary, at least since I have been following them. You can also get rational conversation on the national team, and Cavalry, in many more places now. There's more Cavalry talk on CalgaryPuck then there ever will be here.

Thanks, but no thanks. I wouldn't go out of my way to frequent a hockey message board just for Cavalry banter. I get what I need around here.

And besides, I am more of a country over club sort of guy. That's why I keep coming back here. If there's a better place for national team talk I haven't heard of it.

Cool to know Cavalry are discussed elsewhere though. The community has seemed to embrace the club!

The success of Cavalry is fantastic for the local game here in Calgary. It gives our talent something to strive for and provides a critical rung in the player development ladder.

Most importantly though (for me), a successful Cavalry ultimately lends itself to the Canadian national team!

From that perspective, I wish all of our professional clubs success, but of course I support my local cpl club before the others...

[Ansem 6,927]

 

 

[BearcatSA 261]

I thought Pasquotti was signing abroad?

[toontownman 2,055]

22 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

I thought Pasquotti was signing abroad?

Adekugbe is on trial at Valengra. Pasquotti did tease on his twitter he was off to pastures new but don't remember seeing anything else. Glad he is back. 

[BearcatSA 261]

On 1/23/2020 at 7:53 PM, Blackdude said:

According to Nik Ledgerwood, Pasquotti is going to Scandinavia.

Where did you find this info?

[Blackdude 542]

2 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Where did you find this info?

I think that Ledgerwood got me. 😆

 

[BearcatSA 261]

Regardless, a key piece of the core returning is a big plus for the club.  I hope he continues to build on his cv.

[CanadaFan123 1,198]

Where is Buscher going?  I thought he was a great piece to their puzzle and he'll be a loss for sure.

[Obinna 6,149]

Buscher is a very important player, more so than Adekugbe. I like both of them and hope they both return, but if Adekugbe signs on with Valerenga, it would be such a success on so many levels.

Elijah would not get such an opportunity if he was still playing with Foothills. Kudos for Cavalry for putting him the exposure for such a trial.

I am getting ahead of myself, but if he signs with them and actually starts playing for them, I think CanMNT call-ups could soon follow...