Joel Waterman

[costarg]

6 hours ago, VinceA said:

The Montreal defense has been pretty good as of late but the whole team has a bad habit of coughing up points from winning positions. They seem to regularly allow teams back into games late on and lack the mentality to kill off games.

But they also have a few spectacular last minute come backs themselves.

[An Observer]

I only have been watching the 15 minute highlight packages on the MLS site but from what I see there Montreal is by far and away the best MLS side compared to TFC and the Whitecaps.  They generally look quite good in most matches. I do think their inexperience shows at times which leads to them giving away points but they seem to be building something there under Nancy.  Probably only 2 or 3 players away from being a seeded playoff team and from there, anything can happen.  And the best is they are doing it with playing alot of Canadian kids.

[Sal333]

10 hours ago, costarg said:

He played pretty well, I feel it was his best showing yet with Montreal.  I'd love to see him and Miller get more experience playing side by side.  That'd be great for CANMNT.

Miller obviously yes. Waterman no. Not for the CANMNT. He's prone to too many brain farts.

[Chad_Impact]

2 hours ago, Sal333 said:

Miller obviously yes. Waterman no. Not for the CANMNT. He's prone to too many brain farts.

He's not perfect but has been very solid when played, especially his last few starts. Only consistent brain farts out there are Camacho so not sure what games you're watching. 

[Ruud]

All this without Quito and several other injuries 

[Sal333]

3 hours ago, Chad_Impact said:

He's not perfect but has been very solid when played, especially his last few starts. Only consistent brain farts out there are Camacho so not sure what games you're watching. 

And yet the coaching staff uses Comacho as their first choice at CB while Waterman is the bench warmer they're obligated to use because they have no one else.

I'm from Montreal and I watched all their games.I don't want Waterman anywhere near the CANMNT team. I'd rather have Henry there than Waterman. Any kind of pressure on him and he folds.

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Sal333

[GasPed]

23 hours ago, An Observer said:

I only have been watching the 15 minute highlight packages on the MLS site but from what I see there Montreal is by far and away the best MLS side compared to TFC and the Whitecaps.  They generally look quite good in most matches. I do think their inexperience shows at times which leads to them giving away points but they seem to be building something there under Nancy.  Probably only 2 or 3 players away from being a seeded playoff team and from there, anything can happen.  And the best is they are doing it with playing alot of Canadian kids.

A week ago I would completely agree with this, but this Ryan Gauld kid has been quite the sparkplug in his 90 minutes so far.  If we can get some key starters back from injury (e.g. Cav, Alexandre, Godoy, Gutierrez) this team might actually be a force.  As it is, they may well be able to contend for a playoff spot if Gauld can continue his catalytic ways...

[Bison44]

Had to give waterman a shout out after reading the Choiniere thread.  No talk for a month but he is quietly got 13-14 starts so far, prob going to hit 1500 minutes for a decent playoff contender Impact.  TSN has had a couple Montreal games lately  so I am getting to see these guys a bit more (Bassong, ZBG, Pantemis etc) .   Funny that when I watch them at montreal, Miller does seem better but not by a big margin.  Waterman has to be a guy ready to step up if we need him, but having him be a semi regular with montreal makes me feel a little better about our defense.   

[gigi riva]

if Waterman continues to improve like Kamal Miller i think we will see him get a call up soon

[gigi riva]

He got a 7.0 rating om Fotmob

[Obinna]

I would much rather Joel Waterman than Frank Sturing. He's older by roughtly a year and a half, but he's playing at a much better club in a much better league and he's getting plenty of minutes.

Sturing can hopefully continue to develop, afterall Scott Kennedy was at this level not too long ago, but as of today I would chose Waterman in an instant over Sturing. 

[Macksam]

7 hours ago, gigi riva said:

if Waterman continues to improve like Kamal Miller i think we will see him get a call up soon

I never saw the last few matches so I must ask, in what way has he improved? He was good on the ball but it was his lack of instinct on the positioning side if things, where he would get beaten with ease, that was the issue. Either his anticipation has greatly improved or he has done some intense training to improve his athleticism to make up for it so which is it? 

[costarg]

Glad he's getting the minutes and developing, he rode the bench a long time last year.  The rust was apparent (and still is at times). I like the guy, he needs to continue to play more, he's made some huge gaffs, needs more time before I would trust him in WCQ.   

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Macksam said:

I never saw the last few matches so I must ask, in what way has he improved? He was good on the ball but it was his lack of instinct on the positioning side if things, where he would get beaten with ease, that was the issue. Either his anticipation has greatly improved or he has done some intense training to improve his athleticism to make up for it so which is it? 

I never watched too closely the last match, but from what I saw I think the biggest change is his lack of errors. I never saw any defensive mishaps or turning over of the ball. I never saw any great defensive plays either (Miller had one of his typically well timed slide tackles last game), but he never seemed in be in a situation to have to make last minute tackles. Maybe that's down to positioning, maybe that's down to his side not being attacked, I would have to watch more closely.

Again, didn't watch the full game but that's what I saw from casually watching.

[Aird25]

9 hours ago, gigi riva said:

He got a 7.0 rating om Fotmob

He’s rated fourth on the squad this season at 7.13. Easily top 10 in minutes too and he has the best pass percentage, most interceptions per game, second most tackles per game etc. I don’t watch Montreal, but statistically he has been pretty good 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Aird25

[hulkrogan]

On 8/22/2021 at 11:28 PM, An Observer said:

I only have been watching the 15 minute highlight packages on the MLS site but from what I see there Montreal is by far and away the best MLS side compared to TFC and the Whitecaps.  They generally look quite good in most matches. I do think their inexperience shows at times which leads to them giving away points but they seem to be building something there under Nancy.  Probably only 2 or 3 players away from being a seeded playoff team and from there, anything can happen.  And the best is they are doing it with playing alot of Canadian kids.

It's amusing how Montreal was lagging far behind the other Canadian MLS teams not long ago, and now TFC is in utter shambles, despite being the highest paid team in the league.

As a Cavalry fan, it's great to see Waterman continuing to progress. As a TFC fan, it's all depressing, but the silver lining is that if everything goes just right, I'll be able to see TFC play live in Calgary, and Cavalry just might have a chance to pull it off 😂 

[BearcatSA]

I hope he keeps building up the club c.v. and forces himself into NT squad picture.

[Bison44]

8 hours ago, Macksam said:

I never saw the last few matches so I must ask, in what way has he improved? He was good on the ball but it was his lack of instinct on the positioning side if things, where he would get beaten with ease, that was the issue. Either his anticipation has greatly improved or he has done some intense training to improve his athleticism to make up for it so which is it? 

I am no expert on Waterman..only see him here and there.  But I would assume like any other player who jumps a level, the more reps and the more minute he gets will give him confidence and experience.  He is not standing out, which is ok for a CB whose team is doing well eh??  (Everyone hated Henry for making a big tackle then a gaff.)  His positioning, decision making, marking all must be getting better, because last year he sort of stuck out as not being up to snuff, weak link etc.  His lack of speed doesnt seem to be as much of a prob as last year. so I imagine he is settling in and learning..because physically he is no quicker.    

 

[VinceA]

Should be noted that he is a very good passer.

[Shway]

8 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I hope he keeps building up the club c.v. and forces himself into NT squad picture.

Thing is he is….call ups should be based on form. But like the CWNT when Herdman was coach, it was basically the same team all the time. 

Now I’m not mad at that, it just makes it harder for a guy like Waterman, or even ZBG, to make the squad. 

We should be increasing the squad number, increasing the gelling/camaraderie opportunities and making the national team less cliquey…but who am I to say that.

[One American]

TBH, you can't really ask for much more out of this guy. He's done what's been asked of him. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

So, as we stand, in terms of transfers up, is Waterman the CPL's best success story so far? 

 

[CanadaFan123]

11 hours ago, Shway said:

Thing is he is….call ups should be based on form. But like the CWNT when Herdman was coach, it was basically the same team all the time. 

Now I’m not mad at that, it just makes it harder for a guy like Waterman, or even ZBG, to make the squad. 

We should be increasing the squad number, increasing the gelling/camaraderie opportunities and making the national team less cliquey…but who am I to say that.

I don't think that's accurate at all. Even with a small sample size Herdman has called in a ton of players since he's taken over. Of course with big matches he's going to stick with his core squad that has been working. Who would you drop for Waterman at this stage? And even if you did think that player was droppable why is Waterman ahead of Cornelius/James/Sturing as well? 

Waterman is a project - he will get better but the fact he didn't get a cap against Cayman Islands and Sturing was preferred to him for June and the Gold Cup says something. 

[Obinna]

4 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

I don't think that's accurate at all. Even with a small sample size Herdman has called in a ton of players since he's taken over. Of course with big matches he's going to stick with his core squad that has been working. Who would you drop for Waterman at this stage? And even if you did think that player was droppable why is Waterman ahead of Cornelius/James/Sturing as well? 

Waterman is a project - he will get better but the fact he didn't get a cap against Cayman Islands and Sturing was preferred to him for June and the Gold Cup says something. 

He's a better player than Sturing in my eyes, that one is easy.

I think right now he's playing at a better club in a better league than James, and is playing more often if I am not mistaken.

Cornelius is arguably better, but I would call Waterman ahead of him because he can play the RCB spot using his right-foot, which brings balance to the team. It gives us a back up to Johnston, which we desperetly need because I don't trust Henry there. Doniel needs to be the alternative to Vitoria in the middle, that's it. 

[Obinna]

10 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Waterman is a project - he will get better but the fact he didn't get a cap against Cayman Islands and Sturing was preferred to him for June and the Gold Cup says something. 

Not sure it says as much as you think. Back in spring Sturing was a new Dutch recruit playing in the 2nd divison and Waterman was coming off his first MLS season where he only played a handful of games.

Since then he's gone on to have a very respectable second season with a pretty good MTL side, probably on pace to double his minutes and appearances if he hasn't already. His actual play has improved too, so it's not just minutes. 

Sturing was called for June but didn't play, so he was just a warm body. He was clubless so it made sense. It made less sense to pluck Waterman away from MTL while he's settling nicely if you're not going to play him like you're not going to play Sturing. That's my read on it. 

Just based on how things have changed since spring, I would wager that Waterman is closer to another cap than Sturing is right now, but if he's having a very good season in Austria and Waterman is out of action in January it could swing things in Frank's favour.