Match Thread: Voyageurs Cup - 1st Round - TSS Rovers v Valour - April 19, 2023

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

3 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Is it?

Think you'll find Pacific were forced to start doing it after largely steering clear initially and it is league policy that the foreign signings are geared towards younger players approved through an agency.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Aird25]

4 minutes ago, jonovision said:

Is it?

I thought so

[narduch]

10 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

If people are using cup results to judge the quality of league play and whether it's worth their attention or not, we must have seen a massive boom in attendance after CPL teams knocked out MLS teams

I would argue that Cavalry eliminating Whitecaps over 2 legs in 2019 is a far bigger achievement than what happened yesterday at Swanguard.

[Kingston]

13 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

I thought so

As far as I'm aware, there's just a maximum limit on internationals.  I'm not aware of a requirement for any.

[Aird25]

15 minutes ago, Kingston said:

As far as I'm aware, there's just a maximum limit on internationals.  I'm not aware of a requirement for any.

I don't have a clue where to find it, but I seem to recall it coming out that teams needed to have at least 3 internationals or something to that effect. I remember discussing it because it looked like Pacific were going to field an entirely Canadian team at one point

[Aird25]

28 minutes ago, narduch said:

I would argue that Cavalry eliminating Whitecaps over 2 legs in 2019 is a far bigger achievement than what happened yesterday at Swanguard.

The funny thing is that virtually all the comments I've seen related to these upset wins elsewhere have been overwhelmingly positive. It's overwhelmingly folks praising the upsets and claiming that Canadian soccer is on the up and up, and then you come to the supporters forum and the usual suspects are spinning it as doom and gloom for the league

Edited April 20, 2023 by Aird25

[narduch]

2 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

The funny thing is that virtually all the comments I've seen related to these upset wins elsewhere have been overwhelmingly positive. It's overwhelmingly folks praising the upsets and claiming that Canadian soccer is on the up and up, and then you come to the supporters forum and the usual suspects are spinning it as doom and gloom for the league

Agreed!

The match had the Cup trending on social media!

[Kingston]

12 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

I don't have a clue where to find it, but I seem to recall it coming out that teams needed to have at least 3 internationals or something to that effect. I remember discussing it because it looked like Pacific were going to field an entirely Canadian team at one point

This is what they have on the league's website:

https://canpl.ca/roster-rules/

Nothing about a requirement for any foreign players.

[Aird25]

4 minutes ago, Kingston said:

This is what they have on the league's website:

https://canpl.ca/roster-rules/

Nothing about a requirement for any foreign players.

Lol forgive me for not being confident that there aren't any publicly posted roster rules

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this conversation has been had here before

Edited April 20, 2023 by Aird25

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

There has been a lot of talk since the league launched that CanPL doesn't publish all its rules.

[Bison44]

20 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

The funny thing is that virtually all the comments I've seen related to these upset wins elsewhere have been overwhelmingly positive. It's overwhelmingly folks praising the upsets and claiming that Canadian soccer is on the up and up, and then you come to the supporters forum and the usual suspects are spinning it as doom and gloom for the league

You know damn well that if this weekend, that Coimbra kid scores 4 goals and Inter Milan offers to buy him for 10mil and Halifax announces a new 10k permanent stadium to be built with the profits, someone .....would find a way to spin it that the league is in dire shape and should just fold up shop.  

[Kingston]

All of the rules they have published set maximums for foreign players and playing time and minimums for domestic players and playing time.  They'd be the only league in the world to require foreign players.

[wallflower]

5 hours ago, nolando said:

I loved that, in the postmatch interview, Will Cromack practically shouted out the fact that his team are hungry, Canadian, and ready and willing to play at the next level. Seemed to be throwing shade towards the many foreign signings at VFC and across the CPL. Said the other teams can pick up the phone and call him.

Totally agree on that - extremely disappointed in this year's CPL rosters. The foreign content is going up, not down. And stupifyingly, Canada has better players in all positions!!! Gobsmacked at Vancouver FC roster this year, in particular.

[jonovision]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

The funny thing is that virtually all the comments I've seen related to these upset wins elsewhere have been overwhelmingly positive. It's overwhelmingly folks praising the upsets and claiming that Canadian soccer is on the up and up, and then you come to the supporters forum and the usual suspects are spinning it as doom and gloom for the league

When Vancouver lost to CPL sides, they were roundly criticized, and the butt of every joke, and it was viewed as a major failing of the team (a manager lost his job for it). I don't think Valour losing to amateurs is bad for the CPL but it is absolutely a disaster and a great shame for Valour.

Edited April 20, 2023 by jonovision

[youllneverwalkalone]

So I bought 4 seasons for Vancouver FC, which cost about 30% more than my 2 Canucks seats and pretty much the same as the Caps to give some context. Nolando was joking with me yesterday that I bought the wrong seats. But looking at Swangard last night I'm really starting wonder WTF we are doing here? Clearly proximity to the Caps is a non-issue and, like it or not, this is a top 8 soccer stadium in our country. With any love and affection it could easily be top 5. (My ranking BMO, Saputo, Wanderers, Spruce Meadows, and I'll be charitable as possible imagining WC BCP with a grass pitch over Westhills).

Seems dumb to be heading out to Langley. Maybe the atmosphere will be ok. I guess I shouldn't judge, but I'm getting a bit worried it could go the way of Clarke Stadium.

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, Kingston said:

All of the rules they have published set maximums for foreign players and playing time and minimums for domestic players and playing time.  They'd be the only league in the world to require foreign players.

I don't get why you're arguing with me, but I've dug up some discussion on the rule for you

 

[SpursFlu]

I personally don't know why anyone who isn't from the Valley would support Vancouver fc. If your from Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam you should be supporting the Whitecaps. If you're quirky east van guy dreaming of a socialist utopia, I just caaaant be mainstream, go support TSS. I think Vancouver fc should be for the million people in the Valley. Those are the battle lines as far as I see them. As long as Vancouver fc and the Whitecaps aren't in the same league I'll kinda cheer for the Caps from a distance but that's the only rational approach for footie fans in the Lower Mainland in my opinion 

You can't consider yourself a supporter of more than 1 domestic team. It's just unconstitutional 

Edited April 20, 2023 by SpursFlu

[Aird25]

1 hour ago, wallflower said:

Totally agree on that - extremely disappointed in this year's CPL rosters. The foreign content is going up, not down. And stupifyingly, Canada has better players in all positions!!! Gobsmacked at Vancouver FC roster this year, in particular.

Yeah, Vancouver's roster surprises me, because Pacific were very committed to Canadians not too long ago. It could be the result of the coach they hired though

[Kingston]

14 minutes ago, Aird25 said:

I don't get why you're arguing with me, but I've dug up some discussion on the rule for you

 

Not meaning to argue, just figure out what the answer is.  Thanks for the video.

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, jonovision said:

When Vancouver lost to CPL sides, they were roundly criticized, and the butt of every joke, and it was viewed as a major failing of the team (a manager lost his job for it). I don't think Valour losing to amateurs is bad for the CPL but it is absolutely a disaster and a great shame for Valour.

When Vancouver lost to the CPL sides, there was some talk about how "the CPL is close to MLS". Which quite frankly was kind of dumb. There's a few posts on here now about how "L1 is close to CPL", which quite frankly are also dumb. It's 3 tiers (regardless of classification), with good teams in a lower tier able to upset a poor team in a higher tier. And that's great, and pushes everyone to be better.

[red card]

Not minor league.

 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

17 hours ago, Watchmen said:

...There's a few posts on here now about how "L1 is close to CPL", which quite frankly are also dumb...

Love how people put things in quotes like that when AFAIA nobody actually wrote that or even argued that point. What has been argued is that the Valour were so poor last weekend despite winning that this result should not have come as a surprise and that it would be good for VFC if Pacific dismantle TSS Rovers in the next round so that perception does not take root. Just in case the strawman argument above was aimed at me, here's a reminder of the sort of stuff I actually wrote:

22 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

One of the reasons York United draw poorly is that there is a perception in GTA soccer circles that the soccer (wrongly IMO when teams like the Forge or Cavalry are involved) really isn't hugely better than top L1O or OSL teams and hence not worth paying to watch. Vancouver FC would benefit from not having that mentality take hold in lower mainland BC. TSS Rovers getting annihilated by either Cavalry or Pacific in the next round would help combat that narrative. Having them reach the semis playing against the Whitecaps not so much.

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Ozzie_the_parrot

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[Watchmen]

Heard on AFTN that attendance for this game was between 1600-2000 sold and an additional 400 given away by the club to soccer groups, sponsors, etc.