GC: Canada vs Mexico - Thursday, July 29th, 10pm Eastern / 7pm Pacific - Houston TX

[Bison44]

4 minutes ago, Shway said:

I agree with everything. I’ve been stating  this exact sentiment….BUT!

We do need him, we need at least 23 guys for the gruelling WCQ schedule.

Who would have thought we would have needed Tesho at the start of the tournie??  More depth is always good.  So happy for Tesho getting a shot and putting in a good shift even if the teams overall talent has moved beyond him.  

Free KIck.....if we dont need Arfield anymore, why did Fraser see the field???  Hutch or Arfield could have come on for Kaye.  

Edited July 30, 2021 by Bison44

[Corazon]

2 minutes ago, Shway said:

I agree with everything. I’ve been stating  this exact sentiment….BUT!

We do need him, we need at least 23 guys for the gruelling WCQ schedule.

I actually don't agree with this statement.  Although, I am very confident with our other central midfielders we have and I believe we could qualify with the players we have outside of Arfield.  That I will agree with.

The statment about his tires being pumped because he plays in Britain is complete farce.  He has been an outstanding player for club and country in recent years.  And not a difference maker in Scotland?  He was one of the best players in Scotland in 2019-2020.  Likely would have received some call ups for Scotland had he not been capped by Canada at the time.  Yes last year was a step back but mainly because of injury.  I am not begging for him to return because we have great depth already but to state he is overhyped for being in Britain is completely false.  We could use him in qualifying for sure.  

 

[SpecialK]

3 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Agreed.

 

No.  I am someone who actually watched the games.

I watch A TON of football thanks. 

[Free kick]

18 minutes ago, Shway said:

I agree with everything. I’ve been stating  this exact sentiment….BUT!

We do need him, we need at least 23 guys for the gruelling WCQ schedule.

Yes.  Look i am really not trying to  slag the guy nor his contributions to Our MnT..  Arfield was never a Premier league calibre talent.  He was a championship level talent who happened to play in the Premier league.  He is far from alone in this regard.   He played for a club that, for a while was punching way above its weight. Due in large part becaus they played really ugly, park the bus soccer, But in reality they always were a chmapionship level club in both talent, scale and infrastucture.    Arfield is much very much at that level of calibre.   

Edited July 30, 2021 by Free kick

[prairiecanuck]

11 minutes ago, Free kick said:

We dont need Arfield anymore.   He has been surpassed.   Who is Arfield going to replace?   I have never had any issues with Arfield in the past based on who was avaible at the time.   But i never once thought he was indespensable.  The only reason that there is so much talk here of Arfield here is because there is a segment here who constantly pump the tires of UK  or england based players and there has always been that bias here with some that if you play in england you good irrepsctive of what you do on the pitch.  Bottom line, he was good but was not a differnce maker in Scotland nor when he was playing at Burnley.  But now there are better midfielders for canada.

You're underestimating Arfield's talents and underestimating the demands of 3 games in a 6 day schedule that involves travel.  Squad rotation is important.  If you think we're just rolling out the same 11 every game and won't sustain any injuries, you're living in a fantasy world.  

[Corazon]

I'm just glad that there are other Canadian fans here that can't sleep like me because of all the adrenaline running through my body.

[An Observer]

I have been watching a Canada religiously since 82 qualifying (which we didn’t make) and I can honestly say I have never been so proud of a team, it’s spirit and quality.  Sure we qualified for 86, we won in 2000 and we had a good run in 2007, but this team showed both quality and spirit. They were simply a joy to watch. Can’t wait for the Oct. We have great depth and spirit which we will need.  The 5 sub rule and the larger squad will help us tremendously. 
Herdman’s stock went up this tourney. He had our B team outperform a Mexican A- side and a US B side for good swaths of effectively home matches for those sides in front of raucous crowds (especially the semi final). I don’t know what he said at half but that and the tactical switch to put Tajon up top was masterclass.  
Miller has jumped enormously up the pecking order in the back line as he was a rock tonight and I thought most of the tourney (I know others disagree but I think people criticise him as he doesn’t look elegant on the ball but is quietly effective). 
Johnstone is just solid.  The US, Costa Rica and Mexican matches were tests which he passed   
Vittoria is a solid leader at the back and probably fine for Concacaf

Henry is Henry. Rash challenge and bonehead plays but can be physical specimen when needed against some of the larger strikers like Dike

Laryea had a solid tourney on both sides of the ball and can definitely spell Davies and Buchanan when needed which will be the case either as sub in the second half or some matches where they need a rest. 

Buchanan. What can you say.  Just takes it up another level everytime you see him.  That goal today put millions on his value.  With Davies and him on opposite wings and David and Larin up front, a lot of Concacaf is going to be worried.

Euataquio has established himself as one of the first on the team sheet. A great all rounder. He’s one of the hearts of this team.

Kaye has some elements (especially moving the ball forward) but some mental let ups too. Let’s see how he takes this into Colorado and peg him to start at altitude in Azteca in October for that reason.  Even without fans, it will be difficult to run like we did today and we will need all those who have engines and fully utilise the 5 subs there to get a result.

Piette is a good piece to have and didn’t really go up or down this tourney; same with Fraser but I doubt the latter sees the field unless Hutch and Arfield don’t commit.

Osorio is great on the ball, makes great runs, has a lot of heart and will be a useful piece for this side in qualifying even with Hutch and Arfield.

Larin was quietly effective and again didn’t go up or down in my mind. Let’s hope he recovers for qualifying. Shame about Akinola but hopefully he comes back in a year stronger and hungrier.  Cav is a bull but limited as we know. Again, a useful piece and he will get minutes and the occasional start. 

Hoilett was immense.  I thought he was passed it but he showed this tourney he still has a lot to offer with both his quality and passion.  Will get a lot of minutes in qualifying either up front off David or Larin or on the wings subbing Davies or Buchanan.  A great piece to have.

Corbeanu has a lot of potential as we saw today. I hope he gets minutes with Wolves or on loan and grows some more. Could be a Buchanan level player in a year or two if he does but I don’t see him getting many minutes in qualifying as too many pieces currently ahead of him (although I would have said the same about Buchanan 6 months ago). 

I think we will get some of Jebbison, Dias, Flores, Ferdi to commit now but not sure anay of them currently step into this side at present as a starter or maybe even get a lot of minutes but all are great futures for us and if they continue to grow will likely be part of the core for 26 if not 22 (assuming we qualify). 

All in all an exciting time to be a Canadian fan. I think I can honestly say we have arrived. It’s only taken from the days of me being a high school student to the brink of retirement, but I will take it (and retirement is now looking much much sweeter!)

[Gian-Luca]

I'm somewhat resigned to the fact that we were never going to be allowed to win this match, so given that, I am pretty much fully satisfied with the performance, the grit, the spirit and the putting the region on notice -  We don't fear you, now you have to fear us.

The entire officiating crew (including VAR) was a giant sack of shit, I'm not upset about the PK calls (although I wonder where VAR was when Tajon was fouled at the edge of the box) but the Mexicans should have had at least two red cards (granted, the first one was something that VAR should have spotted but apparently reviewed for and I don't know how they can review a choke hold and say "Yeah, that's fine, nothing to see here, move along"). The stopping of the match because of the racist or homophobic chants (whatever it was) only benefited the Mexican team who were able to collect themselves, re-adjust and ultimately won the game. So what exactly is the point of that stoppage - who is actually being punished here?

But never mind that, I loved the way we played, we've earned respect from the two big boys and deserved a better fate. I loved the fight, the toughness, the togetherness and the fearless determination. This was night and day from the nervy start vs Suriname which now seems like a lifetime ago. We have arrived.

[Free kick]

6 minutes ago, prairiecanuck said:

You're underestimating Arfield's talents and underestimating the demands of 3 games in a 6 day schedule that involves travel.  Squad rotation is important.  If you think we're just rolling out the same 11 every game and won't sustain any injuries, you're living in a fantasy world.  

I am not saying we dont need him.    I just dont agree that he is/was as indispensable as some have made him out to be.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Free kick

[BrennanFan]

21 minutes ago, Shway said:

This 1000% too many times in the past where ive seen us pussy out of those situations or guys not really back each other. 

I loved to see it.

This is good, but today it was just a bit too much, another ref would've fucked us badly for the aggression. 

[Shway]

3 minutes ago, Free kick said:

I am not saying we dont need him.    I just done agree that he is as indispensable as some have made him out to be.

…like the “if only we had Arfield in the middle” type comments. I dont believe he’s a game changer. 

[Shway]

1 minute ago, BrennanFan said:

This is good, but today it was just a bit too much, another ref would've fucked us badly for the aggression. 

I agree….if it was an MLS ref, there would’ve been more cards, especially with the hands to the throats.

[Atlantic]

5 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said:

I'm somewhat resigned to the fact that we were never going to be allowed to win this match, so given that, I am pretty much fully satisfied with the performance, the grit, the spirit and the putting the region on notice -  We don't fear you, now you have to fear us.

The entire officiating crew (including VAR) was a giant sack of shit, I'm not upset about the PK calls (although I wonder where VAR was when Tajon was fouled at the edge of the box) but the Mexicans should have had at least two red cards (granted, the first one was something that VAR should have spotted but apparently reviewed for and I don't know how they can review a choke hold and say "Yeah, that's fine, nothing to see here, move along"). The stopping of the match because of the racist or homophobic chants (whatever it was) only benefited the Mexican team who were able to collect themselves, re-adjust and ultimately won the game. So what exactly is the point of that stoppage - who is actually being punished here?

But never mind that, I loved the way we played, we've earned respect from the two big boys and deserved a better fate. I loved the fight, the toughness, the togetherness and the fearless determination. This was night and day from the nervy start vs Suriname which now seems like a lifetime ago. We have arrived.

This is my outlook as well. Stoppage time heart break is tough but I would’ve bet a pretty penny on some dodgy call(s) happening in extra time in favour of Mexico. Mexico vs USA is the wanted final and the final they get, anything else would be seen as major shock. 

[BrennanFan]

1 minute ago, Shway said:

…like the “if only we had Arfield in the middle” type comments. I dont believe he’s a game changer. 

The thing about Arfield is that he can score from outside the box. A good weapon to have. 

[SpursFlu]

The only midfielder better than Arfield is Eustaquio. We don't NEED him, which is nice but we definitely WANT him.

Edited July 30, 2021 by SpursFlu

[prairiecanuck]

Just now, Free kick said:

Arfield was never a Premier league calibre talent.  He was a championship level talent who happened to play in the Premier league.  He is far from alone in this regard.   He played for a club that, for a while was punching way above its weight. Due in large part becaus they played really ugly, park the bus soccer, But in reality they always were a chmapionship level club in both scale and infrastucture.    Arfield is very at that level of calibre.   

You're basically describing the bottom half of the table of the premier league.  Arfield was a regular starter for Burnley for 3 premier league seasons. There's not much separating the bottom 10 or 12 teams in the premier league and the championship.  Promoted teams get the extra money to buy 2 or 3 players to put you in the mix with the bottom 10 or 12 teams.  If you're saying he's not a premier league player because he wasn't good enough to play at the top 6 or 7 teams then fine.  Very few are at that level.  Most of them are the top players in the world.

[Free kick]

19 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

The only midfielder better than Arfield is Eustaquio. We don't NEED him, which is nice but we definitely WANT him.

Your handle kind of says it all.  I suspect you wouldnt feel the same about Arfield if he was playing somewhere in Spain, Italy or even MLS.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Free kick

[prairiecanuck]

8 minutes ago, Free kick said:

I am not saying we dont need him.    I just dont agree that he is/was as indispensable as some have made him out to be.

Well tonight's game should have calmed everyone's nerves in that regard.  The insecure believed we needed our very best every game to have an outside shot at winning against the better teams in concacaf.  We just took on the best, missing several key players and had just as good of a chance as winning as Mexico.  Our depth is light years beyond what I thought it could be a couple years ago.  We should be chests out expecting to qualify at this point.

[SpursFlu]

1 minute ago, Free kick said:

Your handle kind of says it all.  I suspect you wouldnt feel the same if he was playing somewhere in Spain.  Or even MLS.

Sorry I dont get it. What do you mean?

[Yoginess]

Incredibly proud of the team today. This might be the last gold cup where I feel happy despite getting knocked out. Expectations are rising and the players are rising to it.

Also we don't NEED Arfield, but if he's anything like he was 2 years ago when he was playing for us, I think he's still right up there as a top midfielder. I think him and Moustachio Eustaquio paid together with either Kaye or Oso would be one heck of midfield.

[The Beaver 2.0]

Yes, Arfield for depth makes so much sense. Same with Hutch. We are going to need a lot of players to get through WCQ. But the anointing of Eustaquio is the real story in our midfield.  This is just the beginning...

[Shway]

I think guys will be shocked with Arfield, if he shows up!

[Gian-Luca]

Although Fox Soccer highlights leave out the Canada goal (!!) they let the video run quite a bit to get the post-game analysis from Edu & Lalas who are full of praise for our boys:

 

[Alex]

This whole game just made my pants tighter. Regardless of the outcome. 

[SpecialK]

41 minutes ago, An Observer said:

Corbeanu has a lot of potential as we saw today. I hope he gets minutes with Wolves or on loan and grows some more. Could be a Buchanan level player in a year or two if he does but I don’t see him getting many minutes in qualifying as too many pieces currently ahead of him (although I would have said the same about Buchanan 6 months ago). 

If I was Montreal or Vancouver, I would be calling Wolves tomorrow…. hey you up for a loan. Cordeanu is gonna be amazing ! ( I think he already is) 

Edited July 30, 2021 by SpecialK