Camp Poutine 2021 @ IMG in Florida Jan 9 -24

[HochelagaFC]

There is clearly something else with Ballou. He had some kind of problem with every (IMFC) manager he’s had. He didn’t attend practices under Biello to force a move to Europe, he was fined for being late to practice under Cabrera, both Garde and Henry criticized him publicly for a lack of effort. 
 

At that point there is clearly something wrong that goes beyond just a coach’s preferences. 
 

Having said that, as an Impact fan, I still hope he can be an important player for us but I’m not blaming the coach anymore for his lack of playing time. 

Edited January 11, 2021 by HochelagaFC
Clarified that he had problems with is IMFC managers and not the Barca B one.

[Unnamed Trialist]

16 minutes ago, HochelagaFC said:

There is clearly something else with Ballou. He had some kind of problem with every manager he’s had. He didn’t attend practices under Biello to force a move to Europe, he was fined for being late to practice under Cabrera, both Garde and Henry criticized him publicly for a lack of effort. 
 

At that point there is clearly something wrong that goes beyond just a coach’s preferences. 
 

Having said that, as an Impact fan, I still hope he can be an important player for us but I’m not blaming the coach anymore for his lack of playing time. 

False.

At Barça B, where he spent the longest time, he had absolutely zero problems with the manager. He played, started, got okay results, and was just fine. 

At Albacete on loan he did not play much, but there were zero reports of problems with his coach.

Don't make up garbage just because it suits your narrowly conceived narrative.

Edited January 11, 2021 by Unnamed Trialist

[HochelagaFC]

1 minute ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

False.

At Barça B, where he spent the longest time, he had absolutely zero problems with the manager. He played, started, got okay results, and was just fine. 

Don't make up garbage just because it suits your narrowly conceived narrative.

I should have been more clear and exclude his time at Barca B from my point because I dont know how it went and by all account it went well.
 

My point still stand and I don’t think he was a victim of every coach I mentionned in my post, if it keeps happening, there is probably something wrong wether you want to see it or not. 
 

Anyway, like I said I want him to succeed, I just think that right now his career is not going well and it’s clearly not just because his coaches are dinosaurs.

[HochelagaFC]

22 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

.Don't make up garbage just because it suits your narrowly conceived narrative.

By the way I didn’t make anything up. I wasnt clear enough but every situation I talked about is well documented.

[costarg]

1 hour ago, HochelagaFC said:

There is clearly something else with Ballou. He had some kind of problem with every (IMFC) manager he’s had. He didn’t attend practices under Biello to force a move to Europe, he was fined for being late to practice under Cabrera, both Garde and Henry criticized him publicly for a lack of effort. 
 

At that point there is clearly something wrong that goes beyond just a coach’s preferences. 
 

Having said that, as an Impact fan, I still hope he can be an important player for us but I’m not blaming the coach anymore for his lack of playing time. 

Biello was playing Oduro, Ontivero and Choiniere while Ballou was rotting on the bench.  He wowed everyone in the few minutes he got vs Roma and then went straight back to the bench.  Of course he asked for a transfer, everyone would in that situation.

BarcaB seemed to believe in him, and I trust their system and coaching more than Albacete and the Impact.  The loan didn't work out, but there were no reports of attitude or performance issues.  

Looking at it from a different angle.... perhaps the amateur coaches (yes, they're all amateur: Biello, Cabrera, Garde and even Henry) didn't realize what they have in Ballou.  Not every coach can get the best out of every player.  Sometimes it takes one special bond and mentor and the player can learn, thrive and develop.

[HochelagaFC]

I agree with you, I think Biello should’ve play him more and I don’t rate Cabrera/Garde/Henry as managers but when those same kind of situation happens with 4 different managers (and we don’t know, maybe the Albacete manager wasn’t playing him for similar reasons), the player must bear some kind of responsability. I don’t think it’s only just because he’s not good defensively that he’s not seeing the field. 

[El Hombre]

7 minutes ago, costarg said:

Looking at it from a different angle.... perhaps the amateur coaches (yes, they're all amateur: Biello, Cabrera, Garde and even Henry) didn't realize what they have in Ballou.  Not every coach can get the best out of every player.  Sometimes it takes one special bond and mentor and the player can learn, thrive and develop.

I don't buy it.  I'm with @HochelagaFC on this.  I don't care what you think of them personally, if four coaches have a problem with you, their collective opinion carries more weight than one coach with Barcelona B.  Also, Barca didn't see all that much in Ballou either as they let him go after 18 months.  That was after a total of 2 appearances with Albacete.

In Spain he was a small fish in a big pond.  I get the feeling that he believes he's a big fish in a small pond in North America but hasn't really done anything on the field to prove that.

His reputation on here far outweighs his on-field accomplishments to date.

[N1ckbr0wn]

Some bad, unreleased news out of camp that is going to make everyone hate COVID just that much more... a couple staff members and players tested positive upon their arrival in Florida. Players who haven’t left the country to go to camp are now being told to hold their horses and the entire camp is in jeopardy right now... waiting on more testing for the players/staff in question. 

[SpursFlu]

1 minute ago, N1ckbr0wn said:

Some bad, unreleased news out of camp that is going to make everyone hate COVID just that much more... a couple staff members and players tested positive upon their arrival in Florida. Players who haven’t left the country to go to camp are now being told to hold their horses and the entire camp is in jeopardy right now... waiting on more testing for the players/staff in question. 

Cmon buds.. don't do that to us. Not funny 

[N1ckbr0wn]

2 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

Cmon buds.. don't do that to us. Not funny 

I wish I was joking 😔

[trc2014]

16 minutes ago, N1ckbr0wn said:

Some bad, unreleased news out of camp that is going to make everyone hate COVID just that much more... a couple staff members and players tested positive upon their arrival in Florida. Players who haven’t left the country to go to camp are now being told to hold their horses and the entire camp is in jeopardy right now... waiting on more testing for the players/staff in question. 

You hearing this from someone on staff?  

[N1ckbr0wn]

Just now, trc2014 said:

You hearing this from someone on staff?  

Player invited to camp.

[Alex]

I really don’t want to be that guy but what if it was March right now instead of January and this type of thing happened  😬

[VinceA]

CSA licking their lips at this news.

[costarg]

30 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

I don't buy it.  I'm with @HochelagaFC on this.  I don't care what you think of them personally, if four coaches have a problem with you, their collective opinion carries more weight than one coach with Barcelona B.  Also, Barca didn't see all that much in Ballou either as they let him go after 18 months.  That was after a total of 2 appearances with Albacete.

In Spain he was a small fish in a big pond.  I get the feeling that he believes he's a big fish in a small pond in North America but hasn't really done anything on the field to prove that.

His reputation on here far outweighs his on-field accomplishments to date.

I see your point, I agree with a lot of this and @HochelagaFC.  But its like I said, we don't know the entire story, we're just assuming a lot of it based on a few lousy inexperienced coaches.  All I ask is to see the kid play a few games in a row. 

The Impact has given so many chances to guys with the right attitude and work ethic who showed close to no skill or attacking vision, why not try the opposite and see what happens?

Every single coach that didn't play him has their own massive list of deficiencies.  Pirlo, Ozil and Riquelme also pissed off a lot of coaches, that's the style player we're talking about. Not the same level, but the same style.  Not every team can play that type of player but loads of teams would.  If Ballou is 1/20th as good as one of those guys, the Impact is still holding him back, mostly because of the coaches own arrogance.  Minus Biello, his statement was he was trying to protect his development and manage pressure/expectations.

[Shway]

45 minutes ago, El Hombre said:

His reputation on here far outweighs his on-field accomplishments to date.

I know a guy who's the same age, played less professional games, scored less goals, and has less assists...who's reputation on here farrrrr outweighs his on-field accomplishments to date, but you seem to have a totally different energy towards him. (I know why, but i'll say less)

Like @Unnamed Trialist said, leave the false narratives in your head, or bring some links to the accusations. Other than that it's bad gossip.

[El Hombre]

6 minutes ago, Shway said:

I know a guy who's the same age, played less professional games, scored less goals, and has less assists...who's reputation on here farrrrr outweighs his on-field accomplishments to date, but you seem to have a totally different energy towards him. (I know why, but i'll say less)

Like @Unnamed Trialist said, leave the false narratives in your head, or bring some links to the accusations. Other than that it's bad gossip.

1) And who is that?  I'm genuinely curious as to whose tires I'm pumping.

2) I have no false narratives or accusations.  The kid has not performed on the field.  And yet people still think he's some wunderkind.  If one coach holds him out of the lineup, then maybe you have something.  If four do....

[Dominic94]

I’m fairly certain is been reported that Ballou’s entourage isn’t so great.

[SpursFlu]

41 minutes ago, Shway said:

I know a guy who's the same age, played less professional games, scored less goals, and has less assists...who's reputation on here farrrrr outweighs his on-field accomplishments to date, but you seem to have a totally different energy towards him. (I know why, but i'll say less)

Like @Unnamed Trialist said, leave the false narratives in your head, or bring some links to the accusations. Other than that it's bad gossip.

I'm kinda with you. Not so much in that Tabla deserves anything but I do find that with a lot of players too much is made of a "bad attitude" or other things without people really knowing. Im not really there so I'm not gonna judge. All I know is the kid clearly has talent, is still really young, definitely lacks consistency and didn't make it a Barcelona. Not many can. I've lowered my expectations but I still think he can be a quality player. Its up to him and time will tell. Everyone needs some guidance and mentorship. Hopefully he's getting it and hopefully he's willing to receive it

Now what the hell? The camp may be canceled?

[Kent]

1 hour ago, El Hombre said:

1) And who is that?  I'm genuinely curious as to whose tires I'm pumping.

2) I have no false narratives or accusations.  The kid has not performed on the field.  And yet people still think he's some wunderkind.  If one coach holds him out of the lineup, then maybe you have something.  If four do....

I'm not sure where you stand on him, but I think Liam Millar is the most likely candidate to meet his description.

[N1ckbr0wn]

News update: Players out of the US have been cleared to fly down for camp. Thought I’d play with everyone’s feelings 😉 happy to receive this news!!!

[PiedPilko]

1 minute ago, N1ckbr0wn said:

News update: Players out of the US have been cleared to fly down for camp. Thought I’d play with everyone’s feelings 😉 happy to receive this news!!!

Do you have any updates on the covid situation?

[VinceA]

Just now, Kent said:

I'm not sure where you stand on him, but I think Liam Millar is the most likely candidate to meet his description.

Millar makes sense. He was underwhelming in Scotland, couldn't break into the Liverpool squad at any level (which is okay) but the fact he has decided to stay with the club and "amid Bundesliga and other top level interest" has gone on loan to a League One club I'm starting to not see the hype that was there. Wish him the best but at the moment he's not in my CanMNT plans. I'd take Buchanon over him right now.

[N1ckbr0wn]

17 minutes ago, PiedPilko said:

Do you have any updates on the covid situation?

Based on what I’ve been told, it seemingly has been cleared up and potentially was some false positives. Not 100% sure on that information, more to come. The good news is (depending on how you look at it), is that they’re seemingly going ahead with camp.

Edited January 11, 2021 by N1ckbr0wn

[El Hombre]

20 minutes ago, Kent said:

I'm not sure where you stand on him, but I think Liam Millar is the most likely candidate to meet his description.

Yeah, that's probably it.  Makes sense.  Based on their current trajectories, I am definitely more optimistic about Liam than I am of Ballou.  Didn't I read somewhere that Liam renewed his contract with Liverpool?