2020 Voyageurs Cup Format

[Ansem]

 

During mandatory testing as part of preseason training, multiple members of the Toronto FC team delegation tested positive for COVID-19. As a precaution, club personnel are currently isolating and TFC has discontinued training until contact tracing and follow-up testing has been conducted. The club will continue to follow, and strictly enforce, all health and safety protocols, and is working with Toronto Public Health to ensure the players return to training as soon as is safely possible. Toronto FC will provide further updates later in the week as additional information becomes available.

 

[narduch]

Maybe Forge should have accepted that March 20 date lol.

[Ansem]

Incoming rationalization of those who mocked Forge request to push back the date - but now it's 10000% ok to do it for TFC

In all seriousness - hope everyone recovers on the TFC side and get healthy for the game

Edited March 8, 2021 by Ansem

[RS]

TFC hasn't requested anything yet, so no need to get giddy over it.

[Ansem]

4 minutes ago, RS said:

TFC hasn't requested anything yet, so no need to get giddy over it.

They will as they should - we all want that game played when both clubs are 100%.

[Big_M]

neither team is training so neither team is ready and there will be a much higher risk of injury which could then lead to a much reduced squad against leon..postpone or cancel the final and decide who goes to champions league so they can prepare better and represent Canada better..then make it up to the other team

[Kent]

At this point I'm expecting a double KO and for Wanderers to be the Canadian representative.

This scheduling catastrophe was predictable back when they announced they would do it in early 2021 and probably even in September when TFC went to the USA. The logic seemed to be to hope that there was a very significant postponement of the CCL and then hope Forge and TFC could have their schedules line up despite there likely being border crossing complications with TFC's season likely starting first, and likely being in the USA completely again. CCL usually starts in February. But somehow it was too cold to play the game in December, and I can only speculate why the game didn't happen a week or so after TFC finished their Canadian schedule in September or whenever that was. Like, they couldn't have an MLS league game postponed to get the championship done while TFC were in Canada, even though game postponements have been happening every week in every sports league since COVID started messing with us.

It's colder in February than December, and field conditions likely worse in February and even March after the winter, than in December. February and even March are months before Forge's season, while December was about a month after TFC's. It never really made sense to leave it so last minute, especially since it hinged on hoping that last minute would be pushed back to the summer or something like that. It's all frustrating and stupid.

I blame the CSA. They probably caved to TFC saying they don't want to play weeks after they got knocked out of the playoffs, but that is speculation. Whether that is true or not, it's on the CSA. They should have made the game in September, but they screwed it up. They should have then made the game in December, but they screwed it up too. Now there are no good solutions to the problem that they created.

Edited March 10, 2021 by Kent
I said 2020, should have been 2021.

[narduch]

Platt suggests a possible solution is to play the game April 3 in Florida 

 

[JamboAl]

Hi everyone.  I am going slightly off topic but it is relevant to this thread.   Comments have been made over the past 3-4 days that have reverted to name calling (but not isolated to this thread).  

I would ask everyone to be respectful of each other’s points of view.  Thank you.

[Daniel]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

Platt suggests a possible solution is to play the game April 3 in Florida 

 

Wow, if we have to play our national cup final in another country... 🤦

[nfitz]

Listening to One Soccer tonight. They (the pundits) are suggesting playing it in a couple of months time, as Hamilton is still not training and no sign of them soon (?).

Also meaning they won't be ready for Mexico, so simply giving the Champions League spot to the highest-ranked MLS team - (which was what was done the last time there was no Voyageurs Cup done before Champions League).

(I'm not unconvinced given the current situation that having to face the top Mexican team in the first round, might be winning the booby prize)

Edited March 10, 2021 by nfitz

[nolando]

2 hours ago, nfitz said:

Listening to One Soccer tonight. They (the pundits) are suggesting playing it in a couple of months time, as Hamilton is still not training and no sign of them soon (?).

Also meaning they won't be ready for Mexico, so simply giving the Champions League spot to the highest-ranked MLS team - (which was what was done the last time there was no Voyageurs Cup done before Champions League).

(I'm not unconvinced given the current situation that having to face the top Mexican team in the first round, might be winning the booby prize)

The expression, "I'm not unconvinced," wins the booby prize, no question.

[Ivan]

The Onesoccer team just said the game will likely be postponed until later in the year, with TFC getting the CL spot.  Forge, in return, will get to host the future game.

I find it funny that Andi asks insiders Gareth and Oli for their opinions on what is going to happen, when she probably has more inside information than both of them! 😄

[longlugan]

1 hour ago, Ivan said:

The Onesoccer team just said the game will likely be postponed until later in the year, with TFC getting the CL spot.  Forge, in return, will get to host the future game.

I find it funny that Andi asks insiders Gareth and Oli for their opinions on what is going to happen, when she probably has more inside information than both of them! 😄

As a diehard Forge FC fan and season ticket holder I'm ok with this if it were to  be decided this way. Forge still hasn't trained...and who knows when they'll start...and even if we miraculously beat TFC then the following match versus Club Leon has the potential to turn into a travesty. Getting to play TFC at the Donut Box later on in 2021 in front of fans (hopefully) with both teams being in form would lend itself for a great atmosphere here in Hamilton. While we're at it we should also make TFC agree to a pre-season game next year in Hamilton as well.

[yellowsweatygorilla]

I would not be shocked if out of necessity with the pandemic, the CSA makes the postponed match the 2020/21 Canadian Championship with the winner qualifying for 2022 CCL. That'll certainly make things feel a little more fair for Forge .. who might not even be able to play in the CCL even if TFC forfeited because of being unable to train.

[Trois Reds]

14 hours ago, Ivan said:

The Onesoccer team just said the game will likely be postponed until later in the year, with TFC getting the CL spot.  Forge, in return, will get to host the future game.

I find it funny that Andi asks insiders Gareth and Oli for their opinions on what is going to happen, when she probably has more inside information than both of them! 😄

I deleted an earlier post about this before, but shouldn't the CCL spot then go to CF Montreal?  They are the last winners of the Voyageur's Cup, and this spot is supposed to be reserved for our last Cup winner.  This has precedent all over the world, especially this year.  Even the US is giving the 2019 Open Cup champion a spot in 2021.  We also have a precedent (Whitecaps 2017). 

Giving the spot to TFC makes a lie of the fact that the CSA pretends that MLS and CPL are 1a and 1b in the Canadian pyramid.  From an outsider's perspective, CPL would be Div 2.  If neither team wins the Championship before CCL started, neither team gets the spot.  If it goes to a league team, the spot should go to the domestic league team, not the domestic team in a foreign league.  Which means either Forge again (2020 CPL Champions) or CF Montreal (2019 VC champions).

I know this sounds weird coming from a TFC and Cavalry fan.  Looking at it subjectively, though, does this make sense?  

Edited March 11, 2021 by Trois Reds
grammar

[narduch]

TFC won that mini tournament they did though 

[Trois Reds]

Forge won as well.  CPL is also Canada's Division 1. What makes an MLS mini-tourney more important than Forge winning the CPL? 

No Voyageurs Cup has been played. The Canadian slot in CCL normally goes to the defending Voyageur's Cup champion.  TFC isn't even that, which is my main point.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Trois Reds
Fixing post

[narduch]

It's official TFC will be the rep in CCL

 

[Big_M]

On 3/8/2021 at 8:57 PM, Big_M said:

neither team is training so neither team is ready and there will be a much higher risk of injury which could then lead to a much reduced squad against leon..postpone or cancel the final and decide who goes to champions league so they can prepare better and represent Canada better..then make it up to the other team

as said here

[scooterlawrence5]

Ultimately this was the smartest decision regardless of what club you support.  Congrats to the leadership of Canada Soccer, Forge FC and Toronto FC for working together to make it happen which surely wasn't easy to do.  The good news is that we can look forward to watching a great match when the weather is nicer and there are fans in the Tim Horton's stands!

[narduch]

Have to wonder if there will even be a 2021 Cup

[Watchmen]

18 minutes ago, narduch said:

Have to wonder if there will even be a 2021 Cup

I'd rather the 2020 edition be the one that's scrapped. It was a bad format (but understandable given the constraints). I'd rather 2021 be attempted, and if logistically it also can't happen then TFC vs Forge goes ahead as the decider.

But given that they've already decided the game will happen, my variation probably won't.

[Ansem]

I'm just going to leave it out there because the TFC apologists will use more mental gymnastics to justify this comical farce that wouldn't even happen in a banana republic.

1-Forge can't train - we get it!

2-Who are the CURRENT REIGNING V Cup champions? CF Montreal. They should be going since they've won the cup.

3-Outside of winning American league games, what have TFC actually won justifying them as Canada's representative?

See what I did there, I'm not arguing that Forge should have just went, but it should have been Montreal going.

Had Forge been fit and allowed to train, as the Canadian Champions they should have went, NOT TFC

 

Well played CSA - Well played

Edited March 11, 2021 by Ansem

[Bison44]

1 hour ago, scooterlawrence5 said:

Ultimately this was the smartest decision regardless of what club you support.  Congrats to the leadership of Canada Soccer, Forge FC and Toronto FC for working together to make it happen which surely wasn't easy to do.  The good news is that we can look forward to watching a great match when the weather is nicer and there are fans in the Tim Horton's stands!

If they were really working together they would have shoe horned in a V-cup final last fall.