Atletico Ottawa - 2022 Season Thread

[Big_M]

Discuss and post news

[Atlantic]

Wishlist:

FW - Stefan Karajovanovic - from the area + ex. Carleton player 

FW - Carl Haworth - former fury player released by Indy Eleven 

MF - Charlie Ward - former fury player just release by OKC 

MF - Aidan Daniels - OKC will be on hiatus next season and he was previously on loan with Fury (although I think he will look for a loan move within the USLC)

DF - Atletico Madrid youth loanee 

DF - Zachary Ellis-Hayden - also with OKC and at 27 might want to move back home 

GK - Nathan Ingham 

 

[Big_M]

Haworth who was a usl reserve and turning 33? Only way should be if he proves it in a trial

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[yothat2]

On 12/16/2021 at 8:24 PM, Big_M said:

Haworth who was a usl reserve and turning 33? Only way should be if he proves it in a trial

Does he still have the speed? he was pretty good in the nasl

[Ansem]

Mista departs Ottawa

 

[rkomar]

I'm kind of sorry to see Mista go.  Despite starting off badly, the team never lost its spirit, and fought well with everyone toward the end of the season.  Mista seemed to be taking the team in a good direction.

[yothat2]

22 minutes ago, rkomar said:

I'm kind of sorry to see Mista go.  Despite starting off badly, the team never lost its spirit, and fought well with everyone toward the end of the season.  Mista seemed to be taking the team in a good direction.

Esp since he's learning the language. Though he would get one more season before rebuilding 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Marc dos Santos is who they should try to hire.

https://northerntribune.ca/atletico-ottawa-mista-leave/

...While former Ottawa Fury and Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Marc Dos Santos told us that he wasn’t really looking at the CPL a few months ago, it’s worth noting that he did take in an Atletico Madrid match with Fernando Lopez last month, and this was followed by a private dinner hosted by the La Liga side afterwards....

[toontownman]

https://northerntribune.ca/atletico-ottawa-marc-dos-santos-rule-out/

Or not.

[jonovision]

So Hart, Wheeldon and Smyrniotis are only Year 1 originals left. Not surprisingly, the 3 with the deepest pre-CPL ties to their clubs/communities. Based on performance alone you might think Hart is on thin ice too.

[narduch]

Dasovic linked

 

[BearcatSA]

1 hour ago, toontownman said:

https://northerntribune.ca/atletico-ottawa-marc-dos-santos-rule-out/

Or not.

I don't see him back in North America, either.  As the article suggests, he might be Portugal bound as a number one but I wouldn't rule out another stint as an assistant on a higher profile club (heck, if Armas can find a seat beside Rangnick during Man U match days, I couldn't see why that wouldn't happen with MDS)

[toontownman]

Yep an assistant coaching stint in Europe would be fantastic and a great potential springboard. I don't see him getting a head coach position in a decent league but maybe Ottawa was a smokescreen and he ends up and another Atletico feeder... shock San Luis hook up on the cards?

[toontownman]

27 minutes ago, jonovision said:

So Hart, Wheeldon and Smyrniotis are only Year 1 originals left. Not surprisingly, the 3 with the deepest pre-CPL ties to their clubs/communities. Based on performance alone you might think Hart is on thin ice too.

I think Hart is clearly building for the longterm there and has the credentials to do so. It's been a mixed bag but I think he will and should get more time to embed into the communities and continue building that culture. Could see him staying on at the club and moving upstairs over time and bringing through his succesor. That's what I would want if I was the HFX top brass.

[BearcatSA]

1 minute ago, toontownman said:

Yep an assistant coaching stint in Europe would be fantastic and a great potential springboard. I don't see him getting a head coach position in a decent league but maybe Ottawa was a smokescreen and he ends up and another Atletico feeder... shock San Luis hook up on the cards?

That's certainly within the realm of possibility.  

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

2 hours ago, toontownman said:

I think Hart is clearly building for the longterm there...

Not sure I buy that. The Wanderers always look a bit dated tactically to me (FCE under Paulus and Valour under Gale had that sort of vibe as well). Local contacts are probably the least important in a Halifax context in recruitment terms as they are a team that won't get anywhere unless they bring most of their roster in from elsewhere. A bit like TFC in the early years do the people running the club actually know enough about the sport to be able to make informed decision or does Hart have the job pretty much by default as the big name in coaching locally?

Nick Dasovic would be another CSA coaching clique type appointment who seems to have a job for life in Canadian soccer despite never really achieving anything hugely noteworthy in coaching terms. Think the key for Ottawa for now in the absence of Quebec expansion might be to try to tap into Montreal for players with a francophone coach given they are relatively easy driving distance away so maybe they would be better off with someone with recent links to Montreal's academy rather than Vancouver's.

[BearcatSA]

31 minutes ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Not sure I buy that. The Wanderers always look a bit dated tactically to me (FCE under Paulus and Valour under Gale had that sort of vibe as well).

I'm curious about this because I haven't watched enough CPL.  Could you provide some examples?

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Mainly revolves around the level of emphasis placed on maintaining possession and the team keeping its shape. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

6 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Mainly revolves around the level of emphasis placed on maintaining possession and the team keeping its shape. 

Correct. Meaning you need to have players in the right place to receive a pass before the ball gets to the previous player. There are teams moving a ball from the middle to the wing and that outside player is coming back late, with a defender on him, and he can't turn. He plays backwards.

And there are teams set up to be getting the ball to a player who has time to make a play, turn, look to advance, has another option up the wing and one in the middle. The well-coached sides do it.

There are teams that make like they want to play out from the back, but they are so slow setting up the keeper is constantly saying, hey, forget it, and waving everyone up the field for the long kick. Because they think they want something but don't coach it to make it work. MDS could never get this right at Whitecaps, by the way, he just gave up; Robinson before him did not even try. Good teams play out from the back, if they want to, crisply, neatly, because you have to work your ass off to do it right.

And also what you do when you lose possession. Most CPL teams don't press effectively because to do it right, you have to coach it to be coordinated. Otherwise one guy presses, the others don't, the rival slices through your midfield. Or the ball goes out to the wing and you have one defender scrambling to get out there, worried about who has his back. Or there is a mid already there to help. Coaching matters.

One of the stories from the final was Pacific successfully pressing, not in the early part of the game, but as it progressed. So PFC took advantage of Forge tiring, and exploited that progressively. PFC renounced its style, in part because Wero and Bustos were out, and Blasco too, then adjusted to try to get something from a match with three key attacking pieces not playing. Good coaching, but we only realised that after the match.

IMO the best coach by far in CPL is Smyrniotis, hands down, need to say it because he deserves it and I'm a PFC fan. For me, Gale was one of the worst, I know Edmonton and At Ottawa had worse seasons but I think they have other problems to deal with affecting their results.

[Dominic94]

22 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Not sure I buy that. The Wanderers always look a bit dated tactically to me (FCE under Paulus and Valour under Gale had that sort of vibe as well). Local contacts are probably the least important in a Halifax context in recruitment terms as they are a team that won't get anywhere unless they bring most of their roster in from elsewhere. A bit like TFC in the early years do the people running the club actually know enough about the sport to be able to make informed decision or does Hart have the job pretty much by default as the big name in coaching locally?

Nick Dasovic would be another CSA coaching clique type appointment who seems to have a job for life in Canadian soccer despite never really achieving anything hugely noteworthy in coaching terms. Think the key for Ottawa for now in the absence of Quebec expansion might be to try to tap into Montreal for players with a francophone coach given they are relatively easy driving distance away so maybe they would be better off with someone with recent links to Montreal's academy rather than Vancouver's.

I think the Ottawa and Gatineau area have more than enough local talent, might just take some time given that PLSQ and I believe L10 didn’t start off there right away. 
 

if anything Halifax will really have to poach.

[BearcatSA]

13 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Correct. Meaning you need to have players in the right place to receive a pass before the ball gets to the previous player. There are teams moving a ball from the middle to the wing and that outside player is coming back late, with a defender on him, and he can't turn. He plays backwards.

And there are teams set up to be getting the ball to a player who has time to make a play, turn, look to advance, has another option up the wing and one in the middle. The well-coached sides do it.

There are teams that make like they want to play out from the back, but they are so slow setting up the keeper is constantly saying, hey, forget it, and waving everyone up the field for the long kick. Because they think they want something but don't coach it to make it work. MDS could never get this right at Whitecaps, by the way, he just gave up; Robinson before him did not even try. Good teams play out from the back, if they want to, crisply, neatly, because you have to work your ass off to do it right.

And also what you do when you lose possession. Most CPL teams don't press effectively because to do it right, you have to coach it to be coordinated. Otherwise one guy presses, the others don't, the rival slices through your midfield. Or the ball goes out to the wing and you have one defender scrambling to get out there, worried about who has his back. Or there is a mid already there to help. Coaching matters.

One of the stories from the final was Pacific successfully pressing, not in the early part of the game, but as it progressed. So PFC took advantage of Forge tiring, and exploited that progressively. PFC renounced its style, in part because Wero and Bustos were out, and Blasco too, then adjusted to try to get something from a match with three key attacking pieces not playing. Good coaching, but we only realised that after the match.

IMO the best coach by far in CPL is Smyrniotis, hands down, need to say it because he deserves it and I'm a PFC fan. For me, Gale was one of the worst, I know Edmonton and At Ottawa had worse seasons but I think they have other problems to deal with affecting their results.

Sometimes it's coaching, sometimes it's lack of player talent and iq that screws up the execution of the play, and sometimes it's both.  

[Atlantic]

Instagram story from the team account says there will be a roster update next week (whether that’s just for players leaving or also signings we will soon find out). 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Presumably this means they have the new coach sorted out even if the appointment hasn't been announced yet.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]