Premier League Match Thread: Semi-Final Leg 2 - October 23, 2022 - Forge v Cavalry

[Cheeta]

Kah POW!!!

[toontownman]

Had this discussion the other day. While its practically madness to think of it. How long until the questions and doubts rise with Tommy at Cavalry. Will he always be the nearly man falling at the last? How long do the owners stick with that. With where the league is at and his role in the wider community it makes sense to just stick for a few more years BUT... 

[Cheeta]

Not bad, eh?

Let's play.

[toontownman]

Bahaha and game on after I give Tommy the kiss of death.

[toontownman]

This game is ACE

[Unnamed Trialist]

Rama was a statue on that Escalante dribble to get the assist on the goal. Embarrassing. Then he takes a very dumb yellow on a dirty challenge. I'm surprised how many players are a bit loose-headed in this game. 

Still, it's a fun one to watch.

[Cheeta]

1 minute ago, toontownman said:

This game is ACE

Just waiting for somebody's Mum to run out onto the pitch after a rash tackle.

 

[Cheeta]

Just about perfect timing for a "Henry Moment" I'd say.

[Big_M]

Time for Wheeldon to move upstairs and someone else to coach this team..he just cant get this team to peak at the right time..4 years and 1 finals appearance and 0 playoff championships

Edited October 23, 2022 by Big_M

[jonovision]

Barf.

[Ftduck]

Couldn't hear the exact number but over 7000 announced. As always when Cavalry are in town, excellent high emotion game.

[Markoaleks]

Just back from match-comments are out of sequence to the string post game 

Forge fan - full red on Becker but the play 30 seconds prior should not have been called a foul v Forge which led to that play on Becks 

Fun match- great crowd and vibes too 

Prior to match, went to meet/greet with the new commissioner of CPL - he seems to have his stuff together too, good vibes from him as well during his Q&A at the event 

[K Edgar]

[SthMelbRed]

28 minutes ago, K Edgar said:

DNJ got properly fucked. His first yellow should've gone to Choiniere for a simulation and the second one was absolutely ridiculous. The Forge red card was clear, as was the penalty they were given. 

[gator]

9 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

DNJ got properly fucked. His first yellow should've gone to Choiniere for a simulation and the second one was absolutely ridiculous. The Forge red card was clear, as was the penalty they were given. 

Even as a Forge fan I find it hard to disagree with that after watching the replays, it can look so much different at first glance live which of course the ref is basing his decision on in the absence of VAR!

[BurndenAce]

Gonna put this out here - Forge's main rivals are Cavalry not York. Games are always more entertaining.

[Pottsy3]

4 minutes ago, BurndenAce said:

Gonna put this out here - Forge's main rivals are Cavalry not York. Games are always more entertaining.

The matches vs. Cavalry are always a shit show. Things always tend to get heated: two reds in this match, 3 reds in the last regular season meeting, the theatrics of the 2019 Canadian Championship match in Hamilton (Q sent off in the added time, AAJ in net for the tying penalty, late game scuffle) all come to mind. 

Would be hard-pressed to find a CPL player more hated in Hamilton than Jose Escalante. 

[Pottsy3]

While a lot happened that game, I came away feeling as though Forge had earned the win. Cavalry didn't press much between the 10th and 85th minute of the match. 

Early on, it looked like Forge were trying to draw Cavalry in and play on the counter. But after the first 10 or so minutes, Forge clearly controlled the possession. A lot of movement out wide for the first 60 or so minutes. I honestly didn't realize Woobens was on the field until nearly half time. Rama is becoming a confusing player to me, he seems to have the ball a lot but his decision making just feels a second too slow at times and I feel like him and Choiniere could link up more often.

Maybe a bit of a surprise, but I think that Sissoko might be the best Forge midfielder this season. Hojabrpour is playing a defensive role in which I don't notice him all that much (maybe not a bad thing), and Bekker's played too many poor balls this season. We're going to miss the captain in the finals, but I hope we are able to move AAJ back into the midfield and free up Sissoko/Hojabrpour to do a bit more with the ball at their feet.

[shermanator]

18 hours ago, toontownman said:

Had this discussion the other day. While its practically madness to think of it. How long until the questions and doubts rise with Tommy at Cavalry. Will he always be the nearly man falling at the last? How long do the owners stick with that. With where the league is at and his role in the wider community it makes sense to just stick for a few more years BUT... 

Don't kid yourself, people in Calgary are starting to turn on him. Don't think it's necessarily the majority, but the calls of "Tommy out" are a lot louder than it's every been.

It's one thing to have a lineup that goes for a win and comes up short. But to start that lineup during a must win game, have it blow up in your face, and then lash out at the refs after the game (justified or not) is just not sitting well with supporters. It's not just yesterday, it's getting knocked out by Pacific twice 2021, it's getting knocked out by Forge in 2019, it's puffing out your chest every March at supporters meetups and failing to deliver on the promises. At some point you have to deliver results or the promises become meaningless.

Tommy is the best thing to happen to the game in this city, but his time with the club will never be infinite. And I think some people are tired of the same results during the important games and are ready for someone new. The sting of 2019 won't go away until that microwave plate is lifted, and a retroactive regular season trophy win this year doesn't count (Forge fans sure as fuck won't stop bringing it up), nor will winning the regular season title in the future ever be celebrated in the same way.

Personally, I think the Cavalry roster needs a big overhaul, and I'm willing to give Tommy the benefit of the doubt to do that. But if he continues down the same path and gets the same results, then it's time to move on.

Edited October 24, 2022 by shermanator

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 10/24/2022 at 7:26 PM, shermanator said:

Don't kid yourself, people in Calgary are starting to turn on him. Don't think it's necessarily the majority, but the calls of "Tommy out" are a lot louder than it's every been.

It's one thing to have a lineup that goes for a win and comes up short. But to start that lineup during a must win game, have it blow up in your face, and then lash out at the refs after the game (justified or not) is just not sitting well with supporters. It's not just yesterday, it's getting knocked out by Pacific twice 2021, it's getting knocked out by Forge in 2019, it's puffing out your chest every March at supporters meetups and failing to deliver on the promises. At some point you have to deliver results or the promises become meaningless.

Tommy is the best thing to happen to the game in this city, but his time with the club will never be infinite. And I think some people are tired of the same results during the important games and are ready for someone new. The sting of 2019 won't go away until that microwave plate is lifted, and a retroactive regular season trophy win this year doesn't count (Forge fans sure as fuck won't stop bringing it up), nor will winning the regular season title in the future ever be celebrated in the same way.

Personally, I think the Cavalry roster needs a big overhaul, and I'm willing to give Tommy the benefit of the doubt to do that. But if he continues down the same path and gets the same results, then it's time to move on.

Doesn't make sense to blame Wheeldon for Norman not having the football intelligence to savour that man advantage.

Plenty of teams in the world have a certain legacy of falling short in critical moments, just tasting silverware and having it escape. It is not that unusual, only it tends to forged (sorry) over decades. Atlético Madrid blew two Champions League finals vs. Real Madrid, at least once very stupidly, but Simeone is still coaching them. 

Wheeldon out would seem like extreme stupidity and especially given we have only had a few seasons and we are talking about just a couple of games going the wrong way. Or, dumb because this hobby of crapping on coaches is fine if you are a fan like I am of FCB, built to be winning trophies and on another level; but not when you are consistently competitive in a fledgling league with 3 seasons played.

I agree, first year they let themselves down. This year, they were not at all dominant, were threatened with not making the playoffs even, and got critical results to ensure the semis. To whose credit? Again: if Norman had a soccer brain they would have gone into the 2nd half a man up and had everything in their favour. Is Wheeldon supposed to teach the guy what a first yellow means?

[shermanator]

Norman made the mistake, yes, but Tommy should know better than to completely change formations at the last minute, moving to a back 4 with no actual fullbacks on the pitch, while leaving healthy fullbacks who have played well on the bench (Alarcon) or our of the 18 altogether (Vliet). Especially after watching Norman get fleeced at LB all year. Now if it was a matter of Alarcon and Vliet not being healthy, then perhaps his hands were tied, but the club hasn't been up front with that type of information since. 

The line up he put out was almost unanimously panned by supporters and the result was expected. He didn't adjust until Cavalry were already 2-0 down and by then the change in momentum didn't matter, the game was over.

Personally, I think Tommy out is premature and would prefer to see a lot of the squad turned over and improved before making that kind of change. But there are calls for him to be fired everywhere Cavalry is discussed on social media.