Copes

Saw this on TranferMarkt. https://www.transfermarkt.us/bayern-plan-to-renew-alphonso-davies-contract-quot-we-award-good-performances-quot-/view/news/355763 Relevant quote that I love to see:

Nah man. Haven't you heard? We hate Ottawa now.

Happy to see this. Something just feels good about 10 teams. Saskatoon and Quebec City continue to make sense. I like the idea posted above for a 27 game season, with 3 games against each team and a home / away split each year. Works for me. As for what comes after the 10-team threshold, I agree with another team in Atlantic Canada. I remain with the feeling that St. John's might be a bit better than Moncton - both in terms of population, city culture, and general feeling the team would bring to the league - however I recognize the biggest obstacle with St. John's is travel and I don't know how soon the league will be financially viable enough to justify that many flights to and from the island.

Joel Waterman is looking good in the first half of the Impact's first game of the season. He registered an assist on their goal. 1-1 at the half.

I really like the Halifax kit. I'm looking forward to picking up a version. If everyone's Away kit is black... eh... I don't love that. I'd be a bit bummed. In an attempt to maintain my collection of Wanderers kits (guys, I have every kit that has released since inception! Pretty cool, eh? ) I'd probably snag one. But it doesn't feel as good as the two unique kits last year did.

Based on what's been said, it sounds like we just weren't willing to pay him what he wanted. Realistically, he probably didn't mind too much (and maybe had an inflated ask because of it) because part of him had a yearning to be playing for his "hometown club". I think him moving to York probably makes sense in that context. That said, that's all speculation based on the comments about him being excited to be in York and the comments about not being able to come to terms with the office. As a Y9 fan, you should be pleased with the pickup.

I very much hope this is the case!

It seems to me that the answer, as discussed here previously, is to adapt our formation to the tools we have. A 3-5-3, with a narrow string of 3 CBs and Davies / Laraya on the outside of the 5. Allowing them the wings to do their thing, but pushing them up moreso than they would be in a FB position in a more traditional backline. David and Larin or David and Cavallini are okay as a duo up front. I think our formation adjusts so Davies can have more attacking freedom. We seem to have the pieces to do this.

Yeah there are some interesting options. I liked Langwa a lot in Halifax, but I know he had some dressing room problems. Maybe a change of scenery could help with attitude.

Following up, looks like our first 2020 signing TOMORROW? Email from Derek Martin: As you may have noticed over the past few days, several players that were part of our inaugural 2019 Wanderers roster have expressed their thanks to our fans and our club on social media as they pursue new professional opportunities. While we are sad to say goodbye to these young men, we also want to thank them for making the commitment to play for us this past season. Joining a new league, a new club and new city was a courageous decision and we appreciate their contributions to our club. They all played with heart and passion and for that we will be forever grateful and they will forever be Wanderers. They are also professionals however, so they understand that results matter and the hard truth is that our 2019 squad did not perform the way we had hoped on the pitch. Our last place finish in the standings and lack of goal production are not the results we expect at this club so change is necessary, however difficult it may be. We have been diligently at work, since long before the end of the season, identifying the areas where we need to improve and we are now beginning to execute on our strategy to bring an exciting and winning team to the best fans in the league. We have been impressed by the quality of players that have expressed an interest in joining our club, as the story of the Kitchen and our fabulous atmosphere have reached the far corners of the soccer world, and we are excited to start sharing the roster we are building with you! Beginning tomorrow, we will start announcing the players we have signed for 2020 that we believe give us the best opportunity to compete for a CPL Championship. We look forward to continuing this exciting journey with you and thank you for your continued support of our club and our mission to unite our community through the power of sport. Sincerely, Derek Martin Founder & President HFX Wanderers FC P.S. Rover isn't going anywhere!

Fair - I think I valued Perea a little higher than Guti, but you're right that he kind of became lacklustre as the season progressed. Flexible depth is exactly why I expected Sukunda to stay. Provided he wants to. Agreed, forgot him.

Skublak and (unfortunately) Langwa I expected. The former due to what I perceived to be a lack of production, the second because of attitude issues. Simmons and Iida though - I expected both of them to stick around. I thought both showed a lot of heart and a lot of upside. Prediction game. Who weathers the storm and returns next year? Just rolling through the Roster page on the website, I'm guessing that we maintain Arnone, Bona, De Carolis, Firth, Garcia, John, Kourouma, Oxner, Perea, Sukunda. Maybe Guti but that's a long shot. I don't think he lived up to expectations but maybe Hart wants to give the gabled Guti / Perea combo another season with some more support to try and work?

Herdman, IMO, justified his appointment last night. He now has a bit more rope. I wasn't as down on him as some where. I wanted to wait a few games to make judgement - and I got pretty bummed after Haiti - but I think that performance speaks volumes. I literally got into soccer around the time of the Honduran 8-1. I think that was the first (certainly one of the first) Canada game I ever watched. I ordered pizza and beer and sat there in disbelief. This is the happiest I've been in my short history as a fan!

Silberbauer. I feel like Pacific has been the biggest disappointment / underperforming team compared to their roster.

She included in her vows that she would cheer for whatever soccer team I wanted - I've got one on her for life now.