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2022 Voyageurs Cup


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1 hour ago, SpursFlu said:

One thing that seemed clear to me and others I spoke with after the game last night. The CPL is a good league. You couldn't really see a clear distinction between the MLS teams and the CPL team last night. Whitecaps for the most part played their best team 

I've been pleasantly impressed with the CPL in that regard.  I was worried that the cross-league Canadian Championship games would be uninteresting, lop-sided affairs.  The all time record is 13-2-2 in favour of the MLS teams, so the outcomes have been lop-sided, but the games have mostly been close.  And those occasional upsets always leave you wondering which game will be the next to go that way.

The CPL teams have been helped by the fact that the three MLS teams have, overall, been at low ebbs during the CPL era.  That said, the institution of the single game knock out format has meant that the CPL teams have mostly faced fairly full strength MLS teams.  This is different than the old Fury/Edmonton days where the MLS team would start a B-lineup for game one and then see what they needed to do to win the series in game two.

I'm enjoying the interleague clashes in the Canadian Championship more and more.  I'm also looking forward to the first time a D3 team pulls an upset.

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2 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

One thing that seemed clear to me and others I spoke with after the game last night. The CPL is a good league. You couldn't really see a clear distinction between the MLS teams and the CPL team last night. Whitecaps for the most part played their best team 

The CPL is a fine league, but I think the "no distinction" is a bit of an exaggeration. The Whitecaps are one of the weaker teams in MLS and they still had well over 50% possession (over 60% for quite a time) and never really looked that threatened by York until they started making some bad changes last night.

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9 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

The CPL is a fine league, but I think the "no distinction" is a bit of an exaggeration. The Whitecaps are one of the weaker teams in MLS and they still had well over 50% possession (over 60% for quite a time) and never really looked that threatened by York until they started making some bad changes last night.

Bad changes but arguably brought on starters. Basically the changes outlined the difference between CPL and MLS. It's 3 players on everyteam. That's the difference. The new Argentine midfielder came off and the Whitecaps York looked like the same team

Take away, Jimenez, Salcedo, Pazuela.... Abra Cadabra (poof) I pulled a CPL team out of my hat

Edited by SpursFlu
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7 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

Bad changes but arguably brought on starters. Basically the changes outlined the difference between CPL and MLS. It's 3 players on everyteam. That's the difference. The new Argentine midfielder came off and the Whitecaps York looked like the same team

I don't think I'd call Martins, Owusu, or Ricketts "starters", while Alexander is still coming back from injury and working in to game shape. And I'd say the Whitecaps still didn't start their strongest backing, giving Jungwirth the start. So I guess if you want to say that once the Whitecaps B team was on the field they looked the same as a CPL side, that's fine.

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18 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

I don't think I'd call Martins, Owusu, or Ricketts "starters", while Alexander is still coming back from injury and working in to game shape. And I'd say the Whitecaps still didn't start their strongest backing, giving Jungwirth the start. So I guess if you want to say that once the Whitecaps B team was on the field they looked the same as a CPL side, that's fine.

Martins and Alexander are starters. Owusu is better than Teibert but clearly Teibert has pictures of someone naked.  You got me on Ricketts, he's just around because the Whitecaps want to give him a job when he retires. The point being, like most MLS teams, there a a couple players that are on another level. They should pay them more and give them a name or something. Maybe designate them "distinct players" or something like this. Without them I really don't see much of a difference between MLS and CPL

Edited by SpursFlu
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44 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

Basically the changes outlined the difference between CPL and MLS. It's 3 players on everyteam. That's the difference. 

Take away, Jimenez, Salcedo, Pazuela.... Abra Cadabra (poof) I pulled a CPL team out of my hat

I disagree.  Let's take those three away from TFC and make a line up:

Westburg (or Bono)

Mavinga, O'Neil, Petrasso, MacNaughton

Osorio, Bradley, Priso, Shaffelburg

Akinola, Nelson

(or fit in JMR, Okello, Kerr, or Perruzza as you prefer)

This is one of the very worst MLS teams minus three of it's highest paid players and that lineup wins the CPL.  TFC is not a good MLS team right now; most MLS teams minus their top three would be far stronger.  I like the CPL and I'm impressed by the level of play, but the teams are not MLS teams minus three players.

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20 minutes ago, SpursFlu said:

Martins and Alexander are starters. Owusu is better than Teibert but clearly Teibert has pictures of someone naked.  You got me on Ricketts, he's just around because the Whitecaps want to give him a job when he retires. The point being, like most MLS teams, there a a couple players that are on another level. They should pay them more and give them a name or something. Maybe designate them "distinct players" or something like this. Without them I really don't see much of a difference between MLS and CPL

Martins isn't a starter. He was a free agent no other MLS team wanted and even the Whitecaps just brought in as a back up.  And are there players in the CPL that could be swapped in for some of the Whitecaps players? Sure. But I'd still argue that there's more Whitecaps that are better than CPL than you're giving them credit for, they played like it for about 80 min, and the B teamers let York back in to it.

This isn't me saying CPL is bad. Teams can absolutely beat MLS squads on their day and are more than capable of keeping the games close. But after the sacking of MDS and his terrible management ability, the MLS teams haven't lost to a CPL team. 

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There's a difference between CPL and MLS, it isn't fair to say that the difference isn't noticeable - it is.

But I also think that we're far from the "night and day" gap that was expected especially when we're talking Cavalry and Forge (minus the 2nd Mtl game).

What surprised me about CPL is how underwhelming most internationals are for the most part to the point where being very Canadian heavy is mostly the right call.

If CPL does better there in term of recruitment and/or raise salaries to get them - i believe the league could go another gear up

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In FA cup terms it's comparable to having a Championship team (maybe upper half of League One with the Whitecaps right now) doing a bit of squad rotation while playing a fully professional Conference club that is really up for it and is treating the game like their cup final. Upsets can and will happen but usually the club with the larger budget wins.

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13 hours ago, Ansem said:

There's a difference between CPL and MLS, it isn't fair to say that the difference isn't noticeable - it is.

But I also think that we're far from the "night and day" gap that was expected especially when we're talking Cavalry and Forge (minus the 2nd Mtl game).

What surprised me about CPL is how underwhelming most internationals are for the most part to the point where being very Canadian heavy is mostly the right call.

If CPL does better there in term of recruitment and/or raise salaries to get them - i believe the league could go another gear up

Regarding the CPL internationals, we don't really have a natural source for them. At that salary structure, it's hard to draw in talents as it is. But most leagues have another nation at a lower status nearby that they can source, like Poland with Baltic talents, in Central America it happens, Spain looks at Portugal--there are scores of examples.

A guy can pack a car and drive across the border, simplifying. 

We basically have to source south of Mexico or abroad and the paths aren't natural. And of course we're conceived to ignore the US, thankfully. 

So we're sourcing Canadian talent and being favourably surprised. 

Edited by Unnamed Trialist
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4 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Regarding the CPL internationals, we don't really have a natural source for them. At that salary structure, it's hard to draw in talents as it is. But most leagues have another nation at a lower status nearby that they can source, like Poland with Baltic talents, in Central America it happens, Spain looks at Portugal--there are scores of examples.

A guy can pack a car and drive across the border, simplifying. 

We basically have to source south of Mexico or abroad and the paths aren't natural. And of course we're conceived to ignore the US, thankfully. 

So we're sourcing Canadian talent and being favourably surprised. 

There's talent in CONCACAF - just have to be willing to look at it. Many of those players would move in Canada in a heartbeat given the opportunity

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1 hour ago, Ansem said:

There's talent in CONCACAF - just have to be willing to look at it. Many of those players would move in Canada in a heartbeat given the opportunity

What I am saying is that the non-Canadian talent in Concacaf willing to come to CPL is a long ways away. Hard to scout. Hard for them to get here, not easy or cheap for them to trial, always means a big move not a small one, and so sourcing those talents to give value your internationals is going to be that much harder. Most leagues in the world do not have such problems. 

Because normally you sign from a league-national context that is not strong as yours to find real value. Which puts us south of Mexico.

We still do not know what the best value for CPL internationals is, mostly because there are too few willing to accept the adventure.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

What I am saying is that the non-Canadian talent in Concacaf willing to come to CPL is a long ways away. Hard to scout. Hard for them to get here, not easy or cheap for them to trial, always means a big move not a small one, and so sourcing those talents to give value your internationals is going to be that much harder. Most leagues in the world do not have such problems. 

Because normally you sign from a league-national context that is not strong as yours to find real value. Which puts us south of Mexico.

We still do not know what the best value for CPL internationals is, mostly because there are too few willing to accept the adventure.

 

 

There have been some.

Forge had Navarro (Costa Rica) and Browne (Panama).

Plus there have been Haitians, Jamaicans and Trinis.

 

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On 6/23/2022 at 1:32 PM, Watchmen said:

The CPL is a fine league, but I think the "no distinction" is a bit of an exaggeration. The Whitecaps are one of the weaker teams in MLS and they still had well over 50% possession (over 60% for quite a time) and never really looked that threatened by York until they started making some bad changes last night.

You mentioned that the Whitecaps are one of the weaker MLS teams, so I think it’s only fair to point out that York is one of the weaker CPL teams as well.

As for a few subs making a big negative difference, keep in mind York was missing starters as well. Lowell Wright to the U20 team, and Petrasso, Thompson, and Ricci out with injuries.

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On 6/23/2022 at 11:35 AM, Watchmen said:

Martins isn't a starter. He was a free agent no other MLS team wanted and even the Whitecaps just brought in as a back up.  And are there players in the CPL that could be swapped in for some of the Whitecaps players? Sure. But I'd still argue that there's more Whitecaps that are better than CPL than you're giving them credit for, they played like it for about 80 min, and the B teamers let York back in to it.

This isn't me saying CPL is bad. Teams can absolutely beat MLS squads on their day and are more than capable of keeping the games close. But after the sacking of MDS and his terrible management ability, the MLS teams haven't lost to a CPL team. 

Martins is not a starter. Almost every team in the league passed on him. I've never even seen the guy play before. That's how bad he is

Edited by SpursFlu
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On 6/19/2022 at 10:33 PM, SpursFlu said:

I just looked in to my crystal ball and it was amazing to see the Whitecaps win the Voyageurs Cup for only the 2nd time 

I do not recall giving you (or anyone) the right to use a crystal ball. Expect a letter from my lawyer.😀 ps. which model did you get?

Edited by MtlMario
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