CNL Play-In for Copa America: Canada vs Trinidad & Tobago - Saturday, March 23, 2024 - Frisco (greater Dallas), Texas

[ADP10]

Was this the only game this window? For some reason I saw on wiki that we play paraguay and trinidad plays japan later this week. I cannot find any other sources

[Corazon]

Usually it’s just me and the game but yesterdy I had guests over to watch the game so I would say I likely missed certain moments but here is my review

Biello - Thanks, but no thanks.  Glad we qualified but it felt more because of the fact we were just more skilled.  Loved that he was bold and picked players in form but that formation was not it.  I’ve seen enough in the few games he’s coached to know I’d rather an outside hire altogether. 
 

Crepeau - Did no wrong in net but was mostly untested throughout the matchup.  Came up huge when needed including that late save on Levi.

Kamal - I thought he was okay.  Nothing special but a strong presence back there.

Waterman - I’ll happily take the shutout but I was not comfortable with him anchoring there throughout.  His speed was really exposed on that first half break and then he gave a lot of space for T&T player to turn and send a pass right past him on the Levi chance late.

Johnston - Not sure if it was tactical but seemed to be caught out a few times and very uncharacteristic lash out on the yellow card.

Eustaquio - I thought he was a beast everywhere again last night.  Missed some pretty simple passes and some of his long balls were a bit off but showed real urgency when others didn’t.  Strong performance after being handed captaincy.

Kone - Similar to Kamal.  Solid but nothing special.  Playing Davies and Tajon alongside a 2-man midfield does not help our two central midfielders.

Davies - Despite being given a high score on the apps, I was overall disappointed with his performance.  He’s so much better than everyone that he does enough quality things throughout a game to standout in a good way but too many turnovers and hero ball.

Tajon - Probably even worse than Davies but once again so talented that he can still have several strong plays throughout a game.  Such as the buildup on the first goal.  Really need to figure out how to get the best out of Davies and Tajon.

Larin - Aside from his brilliant and calm finish on the goal, he looked okay at best.  A couple of weak shots and really not involved as much as he should.  Formation change likely didn’t help.

Ugbo - Much like Larin, aside from his layoff assist on Larin’s goal, was very nonexistent for large parts of the game.  Happy he was able to contribute though.

David - Masterclass performance.  He was everywhere and everything came through him.

Shaffelburg - Continues to impress.  He still seems very one dimensional but he does it well.  His finishing seems to have improved which has always been a bit of an issue of his.

Choiniere - Not a lot to do for him but did his job well in his cameo.
 

JRR - He looked quite good in his few touches and beautiful turn to get that 2nd goal going.  I was doubtful of his inclusion over Corbeanu but watching what he’s done in the past couple weeks has been impressive.  He could be our next big striker up.

Piette - Nice to see him get some minutes.  Such a dedicated member of this program.

LDF - What a smile on his face.  Genuinely looked super happy and proud to be coming on late for his debut.  Let’s hope he continues to develop into a CB that we need.

 

[TGAA_Star]

4 minutes ago, Corazon said:

Usually it’s just me and the game but yesterdy I had guests over to watch the game so I would say I likely missed certain moments but here is my review

Biello - Thanks, but no thanks.  Glad we qualified but it felt more because of the fact we were just more skilled.  Loved that he was bold and picked players in form but that formation was not it.  I’ve seen enough in the few games he’s coached to know I’d rather an outside hire altogether. 
 

Crepeau - Did no wrong in net but was mostly untested throughout the matchup.  Came up huge when needed including that late save on Levi.

Kamal - I thought he was okay.  Nothing special but a strong presence back there.

Waterman - I’ll happily take the shutout but I was not comfortable with him anchoring there throughout.  His speed was really exposed on that first half break and then he gave a lot of space for T&T player to turn and send a pass right past him on the Levi chance late.

Johnston - Not sure if it was tactical but seemed to be caught out a few times and very uncharacteristic lash out on the yellow card.

Eustaquio - I thought he was a beast everywhere again last night.  Missed some pretty simple passes and some of his long balls were a bit off but showed real urgency when others didn’t.  Strong performance after being handed captaincy.

Kone - Similar to Kamal.  Solid but nothing special.  Playing Davies and Tajon alongside a 2-man midfield does not help our two central midfielders.

Davies - Despite being given a high score on the apps, I was overall disappointed with his performance.  He’s so much better than everyone that he does enough quality things throughout a game to standout in a good way but too many turnovers and hero ball.

Tajon - Probably even worse than Davies but once again so talented that he can still have several strong plays throughout a game.  Such as the buildup on the first goal.  Really need to figure out how to get the best out of Davies and Tajon.

Larin - Aside from his brilliant and calm finish on the goal, he looked okay at best.  A couple of weak shots and really not involved as much as he should.  Formation change likely didn’t help.

Ugbo - Much like Larin, aside from his layoff assist on Larin’s goal, was very nonexistent for large parts of the game.  Happy he was able to contribute though.

David - Masterclass performance.  He was everywhere and everything came through him.

Shaffelburg - Continues to impress.  He still seems very one dimensional but he does it well.  His finishing seems to have improved which has always been a bit of an issue of his.

Choiniere - Not a lot to do for him but did his job well in his cameo.
 

JRR - He looked quite good in his few touches and beautiful turn to get that 2nd goal going.  I was doubtful of his inclusion over Corbeanu but watching what he’s done in the past couple weeks has been impressive.  He could be our next big striker up.

Piette - Nice to see him get some minutes.  Such a dedicated member of this program.

LDF - What a smile on his face.  Genuinely looked super happy and proud to be coming on late for his debut.  Let’s hope he continues to develop into a CB that we need.

 

Then who can we go get to replace Biello? Who would you suggest?

[costarg]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

Ugbo had 17 touches, Davies had 96. That seems like something went wrong considering Davies was double teamed from the start. He needs to be better using his teammates to draw attention away from himself with Canada. He plays differently with Bayern

Because he plays a different position with Bayern.

It's too easy to isolate and double team him if he plays alone on the flank, he's alone out there, no options.  It was T&T's plan all along and we had no response.  He needs to play with options around him, ideally at LB like he does at Bayern or at LW but with a LB option who can overlap.

 

Edited March 24 by costarg

[JamboAl]

Finally have a chance to put down some thoughts from yesterday in Frisco while flying back to Canada.

First of all, kudos to Kevin Blue for coming and meeting the supporters at the pre-game.  He talked to everyone who approached him and was very interested in seeing all of us come down to support the team.

About the game itself, not pretty.  We could have been behind before we scored.  It was all about patience because T&T literally parked the bus.  You could tell from our vantage point.  We might have more success at Copa offensively because no one will be running a low block against us, but we will also get punished at the back.

I would say just as satisfying as our win was seeing a stadium packed full of Hondurans and a smattering of Costa Ricans make noise like I haven’t heard since CR away in WC qualifying.  And to say that more than a few Vs cheered the Tico goals would be an understatement.  Then there was the Honduran fans pointing lasers at Navas, throwing liquids of various types at the CR supporters and every fifth word being “puta”.  A really unpleasant bunch.  Glad we didn’t have to play them cause it would have been like San Pedro Sula.

Finally, Mauro Biello is 2 rows behind me on the plane.  Already had a quick chat but can ask who he wants to replace him.  Ha ha!

[Unnamed Trialist]

56 minutes ago, Corazon said:

Usually it’s just me and the game but yesterdy I had guests over to watch the game so I would say I likely missed certain moments but here is my review

Biello - Thanks, but no thanks.  Glad we qualified but it felt more because of the fact we were just more skilled.  Loved that he was bold and picked players in form but that formation was not it.  I’ve seen enough in the few games he’s coached to know I’d rather an outside hire altogether. 
 

Crepeau - Did no wrong in net but was mostly untested throughout the matchup.  Came up huge when needed including that late save on Levi.

Kamal - I thought he was okay.  Nothing special but a strong presence back there.

Waterman - I’ll happily take the shutout but I was not comfortable with him anchoring there throughout.  His speed was really exposed on that first half break and then he gave a lot of space for T&T player to turn and send a pass right past him on the Levi chance late.

Johnston - Not sure if it was tactical but seemed to be caught out a few times and very uncharacteristic lash out on the yellow card.

Eustaquio - I thought he was a beast everywhere again last night.  Missed some pretty simple passes and some of his long balls were a bit off but showed real urgency when others didn’t.  Strong performance after being handed captaincy.

Kone - Similar to Kamal.  Solid but nothing special.  Playing Davies and Tajon alongside a 2-man midfield does not help our two central midfielders.

Davies - Despite being given a high score on the apps, I was overall disappointed with his performance.  He’s so much better than everyone that he does enough quality things throughout a game to standout in a good way but too many turnovers and hero ball.

Tajon - Probably even worse than Davies but once again so talented that he can still have several strong plays throughout a game.  Such as the buildup on the first goal.  Really need to figure out how to get the best out of Davies and Tajon.

Larin - Aside from his brilliant and calm finish on the goal, he looked okay at best.  A couple of weak shots and really not involved as much as he should.  Formation change likely didn’t help.

Ugbo - Much like Larin, aside from his layoff assist on Larin’s goal, was very nonexistent for large parts of the game.  Happy he was able to contribute though.

David - Masterclass performance.  He was everywhere and everything came through him.

Shaffelburg - Continues to impress.  He still seems very one dimensional but he does it well.  His finishing seems to have improved which has always been a bit of an issue of his.

Choiniere - Not a lot to do for him but did his job well in his cameo.
 

JRR - He looked quite good in his few touches and beautiful turn to get that 2nd goal going.  I was doubtful of his inclusion over Corbeanu but watching what he’s done in the past couple weeks has been impressive.  He could be our next big striker up.

Piette - Nice to see him get some minutes.  Such a dedicated member of this program.

LDF - What a smile on his face.  Genuinely looked super happy and proud to be coming on late for his debut.  Let’s hope he continues to develop into a CB that we need.

 

Quite close to my assessment. I am glad others saw what I saw with Waterman, Kone, David. 

Miller was iffy, he is iffy. Staq could have been better but was really running things for long stretches. 

Ugbo was a mistake on the pitch.

The subs: frankly, I was far too worried about the result than to pay attention, I really could not watch them objectively.

Agree on Biello. One of those cases where you replace him with a truly competent manager and we'll be sitting here saying, "ah, yes, that is more like it". 

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

Finally have a chance to put down some thoughts from yesterday in Frisco while flying back to Canada.

First of all, kudos to Kevin Blue for coming and meeting the supporters at the pre-game.  He talked to everyone who approached him.

About the game itself, not pretty.  We could have been behind before we scored.  It was all about patience because T&T literally parked the bus.  You could tell from our vantage point.  We might have more success at Copa offensively because no one will be running a low block against us, but we will also get punished at the back.

I would say just as satisfying as our win was seeing a stadium packed full of Hondurans and a smattering of Costa Ricans make noise like I haven’t heard since CR away in WC qualifying.  And to say that more than a few Vs cheered the Tico goals would be an understatement.  Then there was the Honduran fans pointing lasers at Navas, throwing liquids of various types at the CR supporters and every fifth word being “puta”.  A really unpleasant bunch.  Glad we didn’t have to play them cause it would have been like San Pedro Sula.

Finally, Mauro Biello is 2 rows behind me on the plane.  Already had a quick chat but can ask who he wants to replace him.  Ha ha!

We heard the Voyageurs very clearly, throughout, not sure how many there were though, because rarely we could get a glimpse of you. 

Remind us who those younger kids from a youth club were.

[JamboAl]

2 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

We heard the Voyageurs very clearly, throughout, not sure how many there were though, because rarely we could get a glimpse of you. 

Remind us who those younger kids from a youth club were.

There is the Dallas Cup happening so there were U-17 teams from Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa.  Some bought tickets in our section but spent the game closer to the pitch because the place was empty until 45 mins before the second game.

[CanadaFan123]

Both our goals were really nice. Larins finish was world class, second touch, off foot, nutmegs the defender and hits side netting from the edge of the box. Class. 

[Kadenge]

14 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

 

First of all, kudos to Kevin Blue for coming and meeting the supporters at the pre-game.  He talked to everyone who approached him and was very interested in seeing all of us come down to support the team.

Kevin Blue is a pro. Everything he has done so far has been spot on and what we have lacked in the past. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

So mods, @Admin can we just close this damn nightmare of a thread, which is like when you get drunk, take a wild swing at a guy, you go to court, the judge let's you off because your aim was crap--better just forget about the whole damn thing and move on.

Close the thread already.

[Joe MacCarthy]

 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

3 hours ago, costarg said:

Because he plays a different position with Bayern.

It's too easy to isolate and double team him if he plays alone on the flank, he's alone out there, no options.  It was T&T's plan all along and we had no response.  He needs to play with options around him, ideally at LB like he does at Bayern or at LW but with a LB option who can overlap.

 

First, he has/had teammates at Bayern that have world class movement and you double team him at your peril. Not there yet with Canada.

Second, he personally does need to develop passing out of a double team.  That is on him.

 

However, you seem to be assuming these formations require some kind of monolithic rigid positioning.  A good wing back in a well run 352 is hard to isolate because he can receive the ball anywhere on the flank and has support from a number of places.

Wide centre back runs, as I pointed out earlier, and midfielders who put themselves in passing lanes (helps if you have 3) and if you have the right 2, a striker can drift wide if only for a give and go.

Saying that a wingback is easily isolated in that system doesn't jive with my experience watching good teams play it.

Davies was still a huge part of the chances we had even in a poor formation and him not having his best game. It really is a waste to ask him to be just a left back.  We aren't Bayern we don't have the luxury of other parts they have.

Edited March 24 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[Macksam]

47 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

So mods, @Admin can we just close this damn nightmare of a thread, which is like when you find out your wife cheats on you with your best friend so you go to a bar, get drunk, take a wild swing at a guy on the barstool next to you in a futile effort to regain your masculinity but you miss completely and end up falling on your ass, you go to court, the judge let's you off because your aim was crap--better just forget about the whole damn thing and move on.

Close the thread already.

Yes, UT, it's best you forget this one and move on. There are healthier ways to cope. 

[Mattd97]

16 hours ago, PegCityCam said:

Assuming Davies is holding his MOTM award as he bounces into the dressing room and LDF has clearly passed the vibe check...

 

I dunno, I've read this thread. Pretty sure it's the worst player on the field award

[narduch]

Concacaf gave Larin the MOTM 

[dyslexic nam]

2 minutes ago, narduch said:

Concacaf gave Larin the MOTM 

Interesting.   I guess a goal will do that but over 90 minutes?  No 

[TGAA_Star]

Shaffelburg should have gotten MOTM

[GasPed]

I think Jonny David is MOTM and it's not particularly close.  When he wasn't playing the 10 and creating space and chances, he was dropping incredibly deep and providing outlets and distribution like a 6.  Great flick off Davies' corner for an almost goal.  Perfect pass to Shaff for the final goal.  Just a great, "he's everywhere" game.

I'd give Crepeau an honourable mention as he was solid, and I could see a lesser keeper making a mess of some of the chances that he handled with no problem.  After that, there's a bit of distance to the rest of the team.

[dyslexic nam]

Just turned on Panama vs Jamaica.  Jamaica up 1-0.   If it holds I am halfway to a two-part bet where I picked Jamaica and Mexico tonight.  This whole sports betting is kind of fun.   Good thing it isn’t addictive…

Edited March 24 by dyslexic nam

[jonovision]

14 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

Just turned on Panama vs Jamaica.  Jamaica up 1-0.   If it holds I am halfway to a two-part bet where I picked Jamaica and Mexico tonight.  This whole sports betting is kind of fun.   Good thing it isn’t addictive…

You'll be blaming your interpreter for your millions in gambling losses in no time.

[dyslexic nam]

8 minutes ago, jonovision said:

You'll be blaming your interpreter for your millions in gambling losses in no time.

Fortunately I am a model of self restraint. Though I did bet on TFC to win MLS this season so I am basically throwing my money away already.  ($4 would get me $268 so let’s go Herdman)

[Approve My Account Pls]

I don't want to join the choir of people making it sound like Davies was poor. I think the best way to summarize his recent run of performances with Canada is this:

in my opinion once of his largest assets that makes him world class with Bayern is his movement off the ball. When he comes into the national team, he feels he needs to do it all himself and spends far too much time on the ball and takes one or two touches too many each possession. He needs to trust the quality of the players around him, but I don't know that he does entirely 

[shorty]

^ +1000.
Well summarized, and trusting the people around him is a key lesson if he is hoping to be captain one day. Hoping he matures into that. He’s still so young really. 

[BearcatSA]

35 minutes ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

In my opinion once of his largest assets that makes him world class with Bayern is his movement off the ball. When he comes into the national team, he feels he needs to do it all himself and spends far too much time on the ball and takes one or two touches too many each possession. He needs to trust the quality of the players around him, but I don't know that he does entirely 

Funny, I felt that way about Buchanon yesterday.  Granted, I thought that he was in more isolated 1 v 1 opportnunities so he should have seen what he could do in taking on the defender, but there were times where a little first time tika-taka exchange could have gotten him free on his horse, so to speak.

As @Corazon noted in his player assessments, maximizing these two guys' abilities is the key for a new coach.