Gareth Wheeler

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, archer21 said:

I kind of disagree with this. There are plenty of Canadians who know absolutely nothing about the game. The problem is that everyone thinks they know. It’s painful being in an arena listening to a bunch of parents who think they know more than the coaches, even when in many cases the coach is highly qualified or played at a high level.

In hockey, you are talking about hockey of course. I suppose so, happens in all sports. There are plenty of Argentines who are full of shit when it comes to football, but they are still one of the greatest nations ever and basically their BS is well earned.

Have you even gone to the States to watch NHL, or any hockey? If the fans around you are commenting and you say anything, and they find out you are Canadian, they can really get their backs up. You can just sit on your high horse and not get off and it bugs the hell out of them. 

[ECW]

On 6/9/2022 at 5:50 PM, Unnamed Trialist said:

Because we are talking about Don Cherry, aren't we? 

IMO any Canadian giving his opinion on hockey has every right because we all have it in us. And then former players and coaches, even more so. And the conversations aren't lame simply because our fellow Canadians can win medals and Stanley Cups and represent the best primary hockey resource in the world, probably. Cherry's opinion on hockey represented a strong minority, I'd say, in a dominant hockey nation.

We have nothing of the sort in football and won't for a long time, don't think.

I've been a bit surprised listening to Mexican football commentary over the qualifying campaign, they are really bad. The level is low. They still are deluded and have all sorts of inferiority complexes. There is no comparison between a Mexican and an Argentine commenting football (the Argentines can often be geniuses, however mad). Even one of the better commentators on the game associated with Mexico, Eduardo Galeano, was from Uruguay. All Mexico has ever won is the Gold Cup, the only Copa America final they played, they lost. 

One thing Canadians can legitimately aspire to is be able to laugh at and mock American and Mexican fans and pundits. To get them past us. That is within our grasp, because winning Nations League and the Gold Cup is right there for us. 

Eating at a small Italian restaurant in Buenos Aires, my Argentinian girlfriend pointed out Galeano leaving the restaurant with his publisher. A random local guy stopped him at his table and they talked football for a few minutes… one of my highlights of Buenos Aires. 

[TOcanadafan]

I’ve more or less been positive on Wheeler up to this point and like his enthusiasm (maybe more on his coverage than game calling. 
I finally watched the OneSoccer Today show from Thursday and couldn’t believe how pro-CSA and anti-player he was in his commentary… it actually made me sick.  He mocks all claims by players on lack of transparency, dodging negotiations and slams them for skipping the game when they were “so close” to an agreement, and barely falls short of calling them greedy.  Not one critique of how CSA handled anything.  

Edited June 13, 2022 by TOcanadafan

[Sal333]

29 minutes ago, TOcanadafan said:

I’ve more or less been positive on Wheeler up to this point and like his enthusiasm (maybe more on his coverage than game calling. 
I finally watched the OneSoccer Today show from Thursday and couldn’t believe how pro-CSA and anti-player he was in his commentary… it actually made me sick.  He mocks all claims by players on lack of transparency, dodging negotiations and slams them for skipping the game when they were “so close” to an agreement, and barely falls short of calling them greedy.  Not one critique of how CSA handled anything.  

This  in no way is meant as an indictment or an excuse. You can make up your own mind.

CSA dealt the rights to NT games to CSB . CSB dealt them to MediaPro. Media Pro owns One Soccer. Wheeler works for One Soccer. What would you have done or said differently if you were in Wheeler's sock-less loafers?

[costarg]

11 hours ago, Sal333 said:

This  in no way is meant as an indictment or an excuse. You can make up your own mind.

CSA dealt the rights to NT games to CSB . CSB dealt them to MediaPro. Media Pro owns One Soccer. Wheeler works for One Soccer. What would you have done or said differently if you were in Wheeler's sock-less loafers?

I think you're pushing it, and assuming a lot in your comment and general thought process.  I'm 100% sure Wheeler is wearing ankle socks or no-show socks in his loafers.  No way does he actually go sock-less. 

[Sal333]

45 minutes ago, costarg said:

I think you're pushing it, and assuming a lot in your comment and general thought process.  I'm 100% sure Wheeler is wearing ankle socks or no-show socks in his loafers.  No way does he actually go sock-less. 

Look again. At this time of the year he goes Miami Vice.

[costarg]

1 hour ago, Sal333 said:

Look again. At this time of the year he goes Miami Vice.

You're entitled to your opinion, I still think it's wrong, slanderous and you're spreading conspiracy theories.

[sose]

Is Wheeler watching the game on a low res stream? He said good thing is we they are not supposed to get more rain.. and you can clearly see that it has been raining for the entire half.

[VinceA]

Easily one of the worst performances from him last night. He also seemed to have no energy in his delivery. Also Brennan, love the guy but my goodness the bias was terrible.

[masster]

I am not a Wheeler hater, but the bias on the broadcast of the Honduras match, especially about the referees was unacceptable. In fact, Brennan was way worse than Wheeler! For me, that was the first time I wanted to watch the match on mute!

[Kent]

11 minutes ago, masster said:

I am not a Wheeler hater, but the bias on the broadcast of the Honduras match, especially about the referees was unacceptable. In fact, Brennan was way worse than Wheeler! For me, that was the first time I wanted to watch the match on mute!

Brennan is really bad at talking foul vs yellow vs red. I feel like growing up in the 80's and 90's (like me) he heard a lot of people talking about how soccer is for wimps, it's not tough like hockey or gridiron. As a result, he talks as if the sport is as violent as hockey/gridiron.

A player could jump up and smash their studs into someone's face with the ball nowhere near them and Brennan would complain at the ref's decision to give a red card because it happened early in the game, or it was the guy's first foul. He complained about Vitoria's yellow when I thought it was reasonable to give a yellow. He compared completely different fouls as if they were the same. He seems like he has no idea that not all fouls are created equal.

[Joe MacCarthy]

On 6/14/2022 at 12:17 PM, VinceA said:

Easily one of the worst performances from him last night. He also seemed to have no energy in his delivery.

A lot of us think that might be a good thing

[Metro]

1 hour ago, masster said:

I am not a Wheeler hater, but the bias on the broadcast of the Honduras match, especially about the referees was unacceptable. In fact, Brennan was way worse than Wheeler! For me, that was the first time I wanted to watch the match on mute!

Not sure if this is available on all devices, but you can now opt to switch the audio to stadium sound, at least if you watching on the Roku.

[narduch]

Just now, Metro said:

Not sure if this is available on all devices, but you can now opt to switch the audio to stadium sound, at least if you watching on the Roku.

They also had French and Spanish

[Metro]

^^ Yes! But I don't think the Wheeler (and Brennan) haters care about that. 😄

[masster]

1 hour ago, Kent said:

Brennan is really bad at talking foul vs yellow vs red. I feel like growing up in the 80's and 90's (like me) he heard a lot of people talking about how soccer is for wimps, it's not tough like hockey or gridiron. As a result, he talks as if the sport is as violent as hockey/gridiron.

A player could jump up and smash their studs into someone's face with the ball nowhere near them and Brennan would complain at the ref's decision to give a red card because it happened early in the game, or it was the guy's first foul. He complained about Vitoria's yellow when I thought it was reasonable to give a yellow. He compared completely different fouls as if they were the same. He seems like he has no idea that not all fouls are created equal.

Spot on. I felt exactly the same way. Makes you wonder how he must of been as a player, but even more frighteningly, as a coach.

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, Kent said:

Brennan is really bad at talking foul vs yellow vs red. I feel like growing up in the 80's and 90's (like me) he heard a lot of people talking about how soccer is for wimps, it's not tough like hockey or gridiron. As a result, he talks as if the sport is as violent as hockey/gridiron.

A player could jump up and smash their studs into someone's face with the ball nowhere near them and Brennan would complain at the ref's decision to give a red card because it happened early in the game, or it was the guy's first foul. He complained about Vitoria's yellow when I thought it was reasonable to give a yellow. He compared completely different fouls as if they were the same. He seems like he has no idea that not all fouls are created equal.

Forrest spews the same BS, it is all old school old boy British mentality. Or maybe English mentality, lower league especially, since let's be fair, no English manager has ever won the EPL, but Scots have.

Hume sometimes falls into it as well, waving off clear attempts to play an ankle instead of the ball. Or nitpick about the ref. Too bad because when he lays off that lame angle he can be very good and can offer the broader perspective (rewatched the CPL final highlights, Hume was good).

They think they are defending something,  some principle of world football, but they are not. It is sort of sad because if they'd be able to analyse how the players line up, why a team is dominating a midfield, or say which opposing player has the skill to give this or that player fits, it'd balance out. But it doesn't. Because they don't even look at such things. 

It goes back a long way, that is the sort of mentality I was raised in playing soccer in Vancouver in the 60s-70s, nice noble guys still stuck in the "foot in-oh get up-fuck you ref" mentality. 

[El Diego]

28 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Forrest spews the same BS, it is all old school old boy British mentality. Or maybe English mentality, lower league especially, since let's be fair, no English manager has ever won the EPL, but Scots have.

Hume sometimes falls into it as well, waving off clear attempts to play an ankle instead of the ball. Or nitpick about the ref. Too bad because when he lays off that lame angle he can be very good and can offer the broader perspective (rewatched the CPL final highlights, Hume was good).

They think they are defending something,  some principle of world football, but they are not. It is sort of sad because if they'd be able to analyse how the players line up, why a team is dominating a midfield, or say which opposing player has the skill to give this or that player fits, it'd balance out. But it doesn't. Because they don't even look at such things. 

It goes back a long way, that is the sort of mentality I was raised in playing soccer in Vancouver in the 60s-70s, nice noble guys still stuck in the "foot in-oh get up-fuck you ref" mentality. 

It is easy to analyze/blame the ref or other team's antics. It allows the dissonance of believing you are the better team versus losing to be reconciled: we are actually the better team, we are only losing because the ref is biased and/or the other team is not playing the true/noble game.

Brennan was egregious with it in the Honduras match, it was embarrassing. But the important thing is that JH and his staff don't fall into this trap, and Herdman seems too practical to allow himself to have these thoughts.

[TOcanadafan]

The ref was pure poo, still.

Edited June 15, 2022 by TOcanadafan

[toontownman]

Just when I think Wheeler can't be any more stupid.. he does a thing like this..

...and totally redeems himself.

Studio work like this is exactly where he should be to be fair. 

[DeRo_Is_King]

I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about the Canadian men's national team and it spat out a Wheeler-esque analysis that references rock-solid defence. For a laugh, here it is:

There's a certain aura
that comes with wearing the Maple Leaf
and it's something that's hard to replicate
anywhere else in the world 

There's a swagger in their step
and a confidence that's unquestioned
It's something that makes you proud
to be from Canada 

The players on the Canadian Men's National Soccer team
represent the best of what this country has to offer
Their passion for the game show
with each game they play

They're a team that will never give up
no matter what the situation may be
Their rock-solid defense
and deadly shooting attack

Make no mistake about it
when the Canadian Men's National Soccer team steps on the field

The game is sure to be a close one
And it's a spectacle that no one should miss

[Redpunkfiddle]

6 hours ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about the Canadian men's national team and it spat out a Wheeler-esque analysis that references rock-solid defence. For a laugh, here it is:

There's a certain aura
that comes with wearing the Maple Leaf
and it's something that's hard to replicate
anywhere else in the world 

There's a swagger in their step
and a confidence that's unquestioned
It's something that makes you proud
to be from Canada 

The players on the Canadian Men's National Soccer team
represent the best of what this country has to offer
Their passion for the game show
with each game they play

They're a team that will never give up
no matter what the situation may be
Their rock-solid defense
and deadly shooting attack

Make no mistake about it
when the Canadian Men's National Soccer team steps on the field

The game is sure to be a close one
And it's a spectacle that no one should miss

Missing a final line..

ADEKUOOOOUUuuGhBAyyuyyy!!

[El Hombre]

16 minutes ago, Redpunkfiddle said:

Missing a final line..

ADEKUOOOOUUuuGhBAyyuyyy!!

I was expecting a full stanza on how to properly pronounce players' names.

[Califax]

On 1/31/2023 at 7:40 AM, DeRo_Is_King said:

I asked ChatGPT to write a poem about the Canadian men's national team and it spat out a Wheeler-esque analysis that references rock-solid defence. For a laugh, here it is:

There's a certain aura
that comes with wearing the Maple Leaf
and it's something that's hard to replicate
anywhere else in the world 

There's a swagger in their step
and a confidence that's unquestioned
It's something that makes you proud
to be from Canada 

The players on the Canadian Men's National Soccer team
represent the best of what this country has to offer
Their passion for the game show
with each game they play

They're a team that will never give up
no matter what the situation may be
Their rock-solid defense
and deadly shooting attack

Make no mistake about it
when the Canadian Men's National Soccer team steps on the field

The game is sure to be a close one
And it's a spectacle that no one should miss

man I wish I could give most karma more than once. This is outstanding. 

Let's set it to music and then stumble through it in the stands at the nations league game for old times sake. 

[trc2014]

With Jordan Wilson confirmed as full time at One Soccer, is Wheeler done?