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Named Motherwell Player of the Year.

Gorgeous:

There are a few 🤫🤫

Seeing multiple "reports" about a possible move for Derek. Namely Ajax and Feyenoord.

scores against rayados!

This guy is fire:

MOTM

Has just scored a beautiful header to the bottom corner to cut their deficit to 2-1. https://x.com/mls/status/1784391914575249761?s=46&t=tKRu86Vea8ViJ1G0Nj6cIA

WIns Goal of the season for Preston a s a loan player for his Boxing Day Goal vs Leeds United!! Very Cool. They play Leicester City on Sky Monday night on Sky here (Dazn in Canada) If someone wants to post a proper link please do... https://www.instagram.com/p/C6UMQ7ht6Ia/?img_index=3 https://twitter.com/pnefc/status/1784650486458519934

Has just scored another goal. Right place, right time as it was played to him at the back post for a simple tap into the open net. https://x.com/mls/status/1784389679397159095?s=46&t=tKRu86Vea8ViJ1G0Nj6cIA

With this talk of homegrown coaches it is interesting that the best product of the Canadian coaching landscape is a Frenchman, Wilfried Nancy. What a great story he is for Canadian soccer -- played university ball, coached amateur level in Quebec, coached their provincial team, part of the Impact academy, made it to MLS with Impact then Crew, now an MLS champion and possible CCL champion. If there was one guy who was 'perfect' for the CanMNT job, it's him.

Makes the CCC semis best 11.

Went 120+' in a victorious Cup Final. 1-1 after regular and extra time. Malmo won the penalties easily. Jansson was subbed late in extra time (maybe to get another wiley veteran - Martin Olsson - on to take a penalty?) so he was the only real true centre back on the pitch late. Again maybe me reading too much positive in but they seem to trust him a lot lately. A bit of him in the celebration near the end and then just a fun video. Congrats.

Cornelius and him with the headers recently...just what our backline needs.

JFC... what an Appalachian-inspired inbred soccer community we have at times. Can't we please look outside the gene pool?

Wow. So this kid and JRR should be getting the call for the friendlies. Just to take a look and get him involved.

Has a goal this morning from a penalty

I like Kamal Miller as much as the next guy but it is time for Derek to start on the left.

Bro looks like he's about to win 29 straight UFC fights

Start at 21:10 (should be cued) for some assists and then see Liam's goal (Goal I) and the awarding of (Goal of the Season at 24:45) and interview

So since he's been mentioned, let's consider Aitor Karanka. He was a solid, strong mostly CB, for Athletic Club de Bilbao, then went to Real Madrid and won a few Champions Leagues, then back to Bilbao, being Basque born. Also had a season in MLS so knows a bit about what things are like over here. Then, to start his coaching career, he was second to Mourinho. Started as head coach about a decade ago. He has not really had a stellar coaching career, was mostly in Championship though I think he did promote Middlesborough to EPL, though was fired in the second half of the season. His last stint was in Israel, but he left that gig last summer. Also means his English is strong, no problem there. As we see today, these Basque coaches have solid skills, they emphasize pace and physicality, have knowledge of a more northern European style they are honed in, then have tactical acumen in the Spanish style. I am not saying just because Arteta, Xabi Alonso, Emery, Iraola at Bournemouth are all Basque (Lopetegui, Lillo, Guardiola's assistant, and many more in Spain) they have a genetic extra, but it's a specific and quite solid calling card. They also tend to appreciate academy and developing players, and unlike most club managers; those who have coached Bilbao or been through the system understand about designing their rosters based on nationality, which approximates them to a National Team way of doing things. Athletic Club looks for Basques in the world the way we look for dual nationals. He's a nice guy, a bit bland, a soft communicator, not really trendy, but quietly smart. I don't really know if he'd be good for Canada, but at least we are talking about a guy who has played at a top level and been in top tier dressing rooms as a coach. So basically, a far better bio than either Smyrniotis and Wheeldon.

No clue who John Jacques is or if he is right or not but that FootyPrime podcast is terrible. There's two people (maybe three) who serve almost no purpose, most of them come off as unlikable, there are inside jokes the audience isn't privy to and I could go on but I wouldn't want to offend their over 1k subscribers. Contrast that with OneSoccer who are also prone to the inside jokes but at least come across as likable, even the doofus Wheeler. I'd even take him over the other crew. Watching FootyPrime is like watching a bitter conversation in a poorly lit room in somebody's basement

GK spot is up for grabs imo. Crepeau is solid but he isn't outstanding and a lot could change in this year alone. Also from what I've seen, he looks like one our best GKs with the ball at his feet.

Ridiculous ball and finish on his 2nd goal

Even though we are in the Laryea thread, I was expecting you to post about how much Osorio sucks, but you didn't. Nice work.

Let's be honest, he scores important goals for us, really no matter how he has been doing with his club. On paper and stats, he gets replaced but the real world plays tricks on you.

I find she's as bad and as unlikable as the rest of them. I don't think anyone has to white knight her, she's more than capable of standing up for herself. She dropped an F bomb the other day which was kind of a last straw for me. Really that's unacceptable in any environment that deals with the public. I admit I'm old school, in my day it wasn't acceptable on the air or dealing with a customer. I understand times change, but it doesn't mean we have to like or accept it.

I hope Tajon enjoyed the title celebrations...

He really has been a terror for Malmo opponents...

I swear its a disease, as soon as a CDN gets settled and playing well somewhere, we all are cheering for him to transfer out ASAP.

Nice run of play and definitely gets the assist.

Just subbed on Will get about 20 minutes

I dislike when I see this, and I've seen it mentioned enough here. How does a kid fall through the cracks? Because Toronto is a hotbed for talent with limited opportunities and TFC shouldn't be expected to "catch them all"! Especially when playing in a league like MLS where every year each team has the possibility to win MLS Cup. So they build their teams as such every year. Shaan Hundal 99" Ayo Akinola 00" Jordan Peruzza 01" Jacob Shaffelburg 99" Luke Singh 00" Julian Dunn 00" Luca Petrasso 00" Noble Okello 00" All guys who have had first team minutes. Just imagine 1 professional team, that has academy teams for about 5 age groups that have 20 max players signed, in a province that has nearly 50% of the countries registered youth players. Tani, Buchanan, Mitrovic, Cornelius, Millar, Miller, Johnston, Laryea, Godinho, Ahmed, Promise, L. Johnson,... Thank God for the CPL, and may God bless it too.

Is there anything this guy can't do? Defends, scores, fast as lightning, and an artist. Canadian VVD.

The pundits on Sky Sports had great things to say about Theo today before the Rangers - Kilmarnock game today.

Just scored to make it 2-0 over Atlanta

I don't think he was even on the bench last game? So to start him in a key match in his first game back is a good sign. Wouldn't have expected him to go the full 90. Hopefully it's just being cautious after a long injury.

Starts away to Stuttgart.

Pepple subbed in at 69' with the team leading 3-1

Always love having someone to cheer for in a competition like this. And nice problems to have: a Scottish team of year player, a better than 1 in 3 man in the Championship and a couple MLS impact players vying for our backup spots at striker.

Kid is dynamite. Continues to rack up the powerful, clinical strikes from distance and doesn't seem to be slowing down in the slightest. Off to the final.

Shaffelburg went to a top tier prep school in the U.S (my cousin to the same school for hockey 20 years ago). He also played summer PDL (I believe) in the U.S during that time. If he never left N.S and didn't get the training, competition and exposure that he got in the U.S, would he have developed the same? Would TFC, or anyone else given him a sniff? No to both questions is my answer. Do you know how hard it is to stand out on a national stage when your team get smacked at club nationals by bigger provinces even if you're a really good player? After having lived in several provinces in Canada (and playing university soccer for a few schools), it's clear to me there is a provincial hierarchy for pro soccer prospects in this country. Group A is Ontario, and then below them B.C, Quebec, Alberta. Group B is everyone else. Your chances of becoming a pro, regardless of your talent level, shrinks atomically if you are from a group B province. It seems that Calgary and Edmonton are the cut off as far as what's required to produce a pro player. Winnipeg, at a couple hundred thousand people less, doesn't have the same development ability. This is due to several factors, but the biggest in my mind is competition. Winnipeg is just so isolated that top players don't get challenged playing in the city and Winnipeg doesn't have a Calgary or Edmonton 3 hours up the road to play against, and they don't regularly attend tournaments in B.C the way the top Alberta teams or the Pacific NW they way BC teams do or the U.S the way top teams in Ontario might (along with other strong competition from Quebec and Ontario teams).. If you're from Halifax, and you're a top player, how do you get better? If you make it to club nationals/provincial teams you get to play against top level competition once every year or two. Other than that you play against crappy Maritime teams and maybe 2 decent teams in the Halifax region. How does that improve you as a player? How does that raise your level? It doesn't. It means you have to get out of there to a full time training environment, and how the hell are you going to accomplish that being on the East coast? Coaching is a big issue in this country no doubt. But even if you have the best coaching in the world, it doesn't mean anything if you don't stay sharp playing against strong competition.

As of Week THREE Club Total U-21 Minutes Pacific FC 405 (+90) York United FC 401 (+83) Valour FC 287 (+105) Vancouver FC 153 (+116) Forge FC 58 (+14) Halifax Wanderers FC 56 (+22) Cavalry FC 49 (+18) Atlético Ottawa 44 (+36) Pace number - 214.3 minutes (2000 divided by 28 times 3)

This is a great clip - not only does DC show a huge competitive fire, but he also shows a great Richie Laryea sense of how to get under an opponent's skin. And he shows some great athleticism. There's a lot to like here.

That's fine. The black IG story with inspirational quote only means he's having a tough time getting on the pitch. When the player posts a bible quote, that's when you know he's on the verge of getting loaned out to the 4th transnistrian division.

I have to say I'm loving this Match Night show that OneSoccer has every Sunday night.

Assist tonight on a White goal vs. NYRB

Playing tonight and he has been handling Farsi really well in the first half hour.