CF Montreal - 2023 Season Thread

[Big_M]

when in the first half saliba gives away the ball multiple times in his third and iliadis gets beaten there theres big weaknesses that are clear to see...and another game it was zouhir getting beaten and giving away balls

[Stoppage Time]

46 minutes ago, costarg said:

Nah, not buying it.  Fitness is the issue here.

 

46 minutes ago, costarg said:

Nah, not buying it.  Fitness is the issue here.

Player quality? Fitness? What is the quick, early, and practical fix here to possibly save the season?

[SoccMan]

15 hours ago, Stoppage Time said:

 

Player quality? Fitness? What is the quick, early, and practical fix here to possibly save the season?

I can understand losing your players or coaches to higher level leagues, you can’t stop players or coaches  for wanting to pursue their dreams of playing  or coaching in Europe. However, I do have a problem when you lose your coach to another team in your own league and you are not willing to pay him more money so that he doesn’t leave . If I was a fan of this team I would have been furious at that decision to not pay him more so he stayed . Unfortunately, it’s going to be a very long season now and really have to feel for their supporters. 

[El Hombre]

17 hours ago, Big_M said:

when in the first half saliba gives away the ball multiple times in his third and iliadis gets beaten there theres big weaknesses that are clear to see...and another game it was zouhir getting beaten and giving away balls

I remember reading a similar critique of JdG in the 2004 WCQ.  That was because everything ran through JdG then so of course it looked like he gave the ball away "multiple times".

I'm not saying that Saliba is the same but it's worth noting that in 45 minutes, Saliba had 36 touches and completed 86.2% of his passes (25 in total).  Compare that to Wanyama who, in 90 minutes, had only 45 touches and completed 76.9% of his passes (30 in total).  Saliba's pass accuracy was the second highest on the team.

So, it may have looked like he gave the ball away multiple times, but it may have seemed like that because a significant amount of the play was going through him, more than his counterpart in the middle.  I really like Saliba's game and hopefully they can pair him with someone in the middle that can support his development.  I think losing Piette might be a big problem for CFM this year.

[BearcatSA]

I have only watched the highlights packages of Montreal games this year but it seems like I see at least a couple of bad turnovers that have resulted directly in goals or very good chances against.  They usually involve a lazy pass or ill-adviced hospital one or simply a seemingly lack of communication ("It's yours!" "No, it's yours!").  Some of that I attribute to inexperience but some of the guys making the errors (Mason Toye on one play that eventually resulted in a goal) should know and be better.  

Key player (and coach) turnover obviously hurts.  Playing all but one game on the road so far may be a factor, too.  But also Montreal's incumbent players aren't an unknown quantity:  teams have considerable video on those players from last season and can game plan to expose them.

I just hope they turn it around because if they look to be a conference basement dweller, there will be a lot more fans dressed as empty seats as the season progresses.

 

 

 

[PastPros]

7 hours ago, El Hombre said:

I remember reading a similar critique of JdG in the 2004 WCQ.  That was because everything ran through JdG then so of course it looked like he gave the ball away "multiple times".

I'm not saying that Saliba is the same but it's worth noting that in 45 minutes, Saliba had 36 touches and completed 86.2% of his passes (25 in total).  Compare that to Wanyama who, in 90 minutes, had only 45 touches and completed 76.9% of his passes (30 in total).  Saliba's pass accuracy was the second highest on the team.

So, it may have looked like he gave the ball away multiple times, but it may have seemed like that because a significant amount of the play was going through him, more than his counterpart in the middle.  I really like Saliba's game and hopefully they can pair him with someone in the middle that can support his development.  I think losing Piette might be a big problem for CFM this year.

Excellent point.

[An Observer]

On 4/10/2023 at 2:27 AM, Bison44 said:

You cant lose your coach, then Milhilovic and Camara (20+ goals), Kone, Johnston, Torres

I think this is Montreal’s problem. They lost 5 key guys and only brought in Herrera in spite of gaining about $20m in transfer fees. They are just too young and inexperienced. They needed to bring in at least one more experienced attacker and one more attacking midfielder and then they still would have had minutes for the young guys but in a more manageable fashion.  You can be a club that develops and sells players but that doesn’t mean you don’t use some of the transfer gains to buy players to fill gaps. 

Miller has looked very poor this year. A shell of his self from last year. I don’t know if that is a World Cup hangover or being run into the ground by the new manager. Waterman has not looked great either. 

Losing Nancy to a small market team in the same league was also a stupid decision as he clearly showed in the short time he was there that he could mould a group of players and make them a sum greater than their parts.

If their plan is to set up like they have done this year every year, the franchise is in big problems long term. 

[costarg]

2 hours ago, An Observer said:

I think this is Montreal’s problem. They lost 5 key guys and only brought in Herrera in spite of gaining about $20m in transfer fees. They are just too young and inexperienced. They needed to bring in at least one more experienced attacker and one more attacking midfielder and then they still would have had minutes for the young guys but in a more manageable fashion.  You can be a club that develops and sells players but that doesn’t mean you don’t use some of the transfer gains to buy players to fill gaps. 

Miller has looked very poor this year. A shell of his self from last year. I don’t know if that is a World Cup hangover or being run into the ground by the new manager. Waterman has not looked great either. 

Losing Nancy to a small market team in the same league was also a stupid decision as he clearly showed in the short time he was there that he could mould a group of players and make them a sum greater than their parts.

If their plan is to set up like they have done this year every year, the franchise is in big problems long term. 

It isn't the young guys that look inexperienced out there, its the veterans.  Wanyama is no where near the player he was just a few months ago.  Miller has looked awful and slow.  Camacho makes more errors than his usual, Waterman looks like he's back in his first MLS year, lacks confidence or pace.  Ball isn't getting to the final third, when it does, the strikers either can't hold on to the ball or they're not getting to the through balls quick enough.  The young guys and Choiniere are the only sparks.

Edited April 11, 2023 by costarg

[phresh]

He's already missed over 40 games due to injury since joining the club. Tough luck.

 

 

[wallflower]

On 4/10/2023 at 6:53 PM, An Observer said:

I think this is Montreal’s problem. They lost 5 key guys and only brought in Herrera in spite of gaining about $20m in transfer fees. They are just too young and inexperienced. They needed to bring in at least one more experienced attacker and one more attacking midfielder and then they still would have had minutes for the young guys but in a more manageable fashion.  You can be a club that develops and sells players but that doesn’t mean you don’t use some of the transfer gains to buy players to fill gaps. 

Miller has looked very poor this year. A shell of his self from last year. I don’t know if that is a World Cup hangover or being run into the ground by the new manager. Waterman has not looked great either. 

Losing Nancy to a small market team in the same league was also a stupid decision as he clearly showed in the short time he was there that he could mould a group of players and make them a sum greater than their parts.

If their plan is to set up like they have done this year every year, the franchise is in big problems long term. 

Totally agree with

"Miller has looked very poor this year. A shell of his self from last year. I don’t know if that is a World Cup hangover or being run into the ground by the new manager. Waterman has not looked great either. "
They both been shite. 

Good move for Miller... Miami. Clearly he has not been thriving. Maybe not happy with peers? Don't know...

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[Soccerpro2]

On 4/12/2023 at 6:58 PM, phresh said:

He's already missed over 40 games due to injury since joining the club. Tough luck.

 

 

Adrian Heath said when they traded him to Montreal it was a high risk high reward trade. He was right. Dude isn’t worth an MLS contract because he’s never fit.

[Bison44]

Yeesh, I've never seen a team get roasted like Montreal got from the talking heads last night.  I think Deguzman even went so far to say their poor start to the season could effect the youth players across canada.  Saputo must be in protective custody this morning for his own safety.  

[BearcatSA]

2 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Yeesh, I've never seen a team get roasted like Montreal got from the talking heads last night.  I think Deguzman even went so far to say their poor start to the season could effect the youth players across canada.  Saputo must be in protective custody this morning for his own safety.  

I found JDG quite refreshing with his comments last night, most notably around the Miller situation.

[Bison44]

JDG is getting more comfortable on the panel, its nice to see.  I'm glad JDG mentioned TFC debacle with Armas.  Montreal has gutted the team, sold the assets and are paying for it, TFC has sucked and were still one of the biggest spenders.  IF there was a way out for Montreal, it should have been last night.  If the coach cant motivate them against DC, oh boy!  

[phresh]

8 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Yeesh, I've never seen a team get roasted like Montreal got from the talking heads last night.  I think Deguzman even went so far to say their poor start to the season could effect the youth players across canada.  Saputo must be in protective custody this morning for his own safety.  

Yea, caught a bit of the postgame show on RDS, the guys were basically saying this team shouldn't be this shitty, that the players lack the necessary mentality and focus. Even mentioned that they literally watched film and knew DC would try to bomb a pass from midfield at the start of the second half, yet they conceded. Gervais and Losada are supposedly pissed about the lack of effort, and I'm pretty sure I saw the team running suicides in the background

[InglewoodJack]

Going to the game against Vaughan tonight. Can’t say I’m as confident as I should be.

[costarg]

19 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Going to the game against Vaughan tonight. Can’t say I’m as confident as I should be.

Anywhere near 106?

[costarg]

On 4/16/2023 at 11:57 AM, Bison44 said:

If the coach cant motivate them against DC, oh boy!  

Losada seems to be anti-motivation.  Definitely a "push" type of manager and not a leader.

[narduch]

Have to wonder how close they were to signing Smyrniotis.

Doubt he would take the job now

[brianjc]

What about Jesse Marsch??  Seems to be available, fired from Leeds, rejected by southhampton.

 

 

[gator]

3 hours ago, narduch said:

Have to wonder how close they were to signing Smyrniotis.

Doubt he would take the job now

Money talks but Bobby is a smart man and knows that Montreal would be a huge risk with all of the player turnover, his coaching reputation could be potentially damaged if he failed there which is very possible! I have no idea how much of a salary increase he would be getting stepping from the comfort of Forge to the uncertainty of Montreal and who knows if he is even on their radar!

[Bison44]

Plus didnt someone bring up Bobby S doesnt speak french?  Replacing a very popular and successful coach after a record season with a depleted roster....hmmmmmmm let think twice about this.  A MLS gig would be a coup for him, but not if the odds are stacked against him before he even steps to the sideline.  

[Goal_Kick]

MLS writer Sam Jones' view on Losada:

Hernan Losada - CF Montréal
Rating: 3.9/10.0

I couldn’t give him a good rating or anything, but I’m not really sure any of this is his fault. They’ve lost so many good players. And anyone who thought about it for a bit worried a hard switch from Nancy’s possession-based style to Losada’s high-energy, Red Bulls-esque style might fall into the “actively making things worse” category. The thing is, he hasn’t even been able to implement that style yet. Instead it’s just kind of… well, the only real style so far has been to allow a bunch of goals and score zero goals in six out of their seven games. So, yeah. A far worse roster with no identity seems to be a bad recipe. Who knew?

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/your-tuesday-kickoff-grading-the-league-s-first-year-coaches-mls-unveils-one-pla

[InglewoodJack]

23 hours ago, costarg said:

Anywhere near 106?

Just saw this- I was in the supporters section, I think 102? Behind where we score in the second half.