CPL Playoffs 2023

[Treppy2]

12 hours ago, Kent said:

I hope York wins it all for 2 reasons. First, I am a York fan. Second, because the league wouldn't fold the playoff champions and one of their 2 CCC entrants... right?

I certainly hope this doesn't happen, but there is a precedent. In 2017 San Francisco won the USL championship then folded 12 days later. They weren't being operated by the league, though.

If York makes it to the playoffs, best of luck to them!

Edited October 6, 2023 by Treppy2

[Unnamed Trialist]

York prepped to travel for the play-in on the 11th. No rival confirmed yet.

No more news yet.

[king1010]

Who gets the tiebreak for second place?

[Big_M]

they said on the broadcast that its forge

[king1010]

Just now, Big_M said:

they said on the broadcast that its forge

Thanks. I think it comes down to away gd

[K Edgar]

6 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

York prepped to travel for the play-in on the 11th. No rival confirmed yet.

No more news yet.

If I have it right... York returns from Vancouver, is off to Victoria and if they win on to Halifax.  That is a lot of travel!

[Big_M]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:01 PM, Big_M said:

henry scores the third for cavalry

ends 3-0

pacific finishes fourth and will host york wednesday

cavalry will host forge saturday

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Big_M

[narduch]

[narduch]

Just now, Big_M said:

 

Cavalry v Forge on Saturday 

[Unnamed Trialist]

So the good question as brought up by @K Edgar, have York already returned to Toronto? That is rough to have to fly back to Victoria.

Though they could train Sunday, Monday and even Tuesday and then fly out. Pacific also have travelled, will have less rest between games and may even have less chance to train.

Either would have to travel to Nova Scotia.

Raises the HFX home advantage.

I really don't mind this playoff format.

Edited October 8, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist

[Big_M]

nope york stayed the night and is now staying in the west until the game

[K Edgar]

3 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

So the good question as brought up by @K Edgar, have York already returned to Toronto? That is rough to have to fly back to Victoria.

Just thought I would do a quick comparison...

Distance between Halifax and Victoria by air is 4475 kilometers (2781 miles). Driving distance from Halifax to Victoria is 6220 kilometers (3865 miles).

Compare that to the English Premier League total travel distance for an entire season:

[Unnamed Trialist]

I wonder if the CPL reserves the flight for the 4th-5th winner going to Halifax, regardless of who it is.

Based on current form, and travel set-up, I'd say Cavalry and HFX are favourites to go to the final, with Forge maybe right behind the latter. I know that sounds harsh on Forge, but they were not good vs. At Ottawa in a game where a simple slip up could have pushed them down a spot. 

Only HFX and Cavalry get to stay home this week, and prep to the maximum. True, if HFX win next weekend they would have to travel the following, to Hamilton or Calgary, but they are on a good curve it seems to me.

Don't know how they did it, but this playoff setup is pretty good, I like it. I'd only make all games that count on the last day of the season be played at the same time, ideally.

Edited October 8, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist

[narduch]

 

 

[Aird25]

43 minutes ago, narduch said:

 

 

Wednesday night in Langford in the rain, on short notice, is going to be a real tough sell. I'm expecting a lackluster ending to a horrible last half of the season unfortunately. I sure hope I'm wrong as I'm trying hard to wrangle the troops 

[davey_twelve]

They're offering cheap tickets to local clubs so I imagine they're desperate to get people out to this game. Second year in a row where they're put themselves in a bad spot for hosting a playoff game.

[Raven]

I can’t make the game. Too short notice, and mid-week game would mean I couldn’t get home after the game (ferry). I had to give up my ticket 😐

[Unnamed Trialist]

Weather looks to be okay for Wednesday night, rain in morning, overcast in afternoon. But cool.

Still, midweek isn't easy the way traffic is in Victoria.

Hoping Pacific can turn around their season, been a shame the way such a sharp team has faltered for two-three months.

[Kent]

Looks like HFX has already sold out their game. Hopefully the other playoff games draw some good crowds as well. York United don't get a home game (and obviously the same for Vancouver and Valour), Cavalry get 2 home games, and everyone else gets exactly 1 home playoff game, no matter how good or bad they do. So those 3 teams only have one chance to catch their team at home. If that isn't already part of your sales pitch to your friends, you can add it in.

 

[narduch]

T&T have called in Rampersad.

I assume he will miss the HFX playoff game on Saturday 

Edited October 10, 2023 by narduch

[masster]

While I like the playoff format, they need to find a way to change some of the scheduling for future years.

1. Only a handful of days between the end of the season and the 4/5 game doesn't leave enough time to sell tickets.
2. With the 4/5 game on a Wednesday, the winner should not have to play on Saturday. That match should be played on Sunday.
3. Having crucial playoff matches during an international break when players may be missing doesn't look great.

I'm not sure how to fix these issues, just pointing out a couple of problems.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Think the deck needs to be stacked heavily in favour of the teams that finish higher in the standings than those in the 4/5 play-in game. That helps to keep the regular season meaningful.

Would Pacific have any issues on selling tickets at short notice if the Whitecaps were the opponent in a Canadian Championship game? A CanPL opponent is still a much more difficult sell than that in some cities, but if this game had been in Halifax as it easily could have been there would be no problem in that regard.

Given how short the season window is for climate-related reasons (we need more global warming basically), I think CanPL should play through international windows, and teams simply need to keep that in mind when it comes to making decisions about signing players from other countries.

[jonovision]

5 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Given how short the season window is for climate-related reasons (we need more global warming basically), I think CanPL should play through international windows, and teams simply need to keep that in mind when it comes to making decisions about signing players from other countries.

The season could easily be extended a few weeks in either direction without major weather worries. Even in Winnipeg. There's a difference between uncomfortable and unplayable.

[Aird25]

5 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Would Pacific have any issues on selling tickets at short notice if the Whitecaps were the opponent in a Canadian Championship game? A CanPL opponent is still a much more difficult sell than that in some cities

I think we still might struggle under similar circumstances, and if it was the 5th or 6th time playing them in a season. The air has gone out of the tires lately given our poor performances 

[Aird25]

5 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

I think CanPL should play through international windows, and teams simply need to keep that in mind when it comes to making decisions about signing players from other countries.

I don't see why CPL should treat this differently than other leagues, particularly for knockout games in the playoffs. Many league's struggle to squeeze all their games into the year, particularly top teams, but they don't play matches while their best players are representing their countries.