grande

Sure, let's do it.
That defence is only half new. 19 year old Le Bourhis and 19 year old Garcia. It has played two matches: a solid shut out against York, which fully justified being selected again, and a less than stellar showing against a Forge team who played very well.
We have seen the "old" defence often enough to know that the two experienced defenders who are currently replaced are not up to playing in the CPL, and to see that that old defence is very poor, the worst in CPL.
The two 19 year olds are young and can improve a LOT over the next few years. And so far as the poor performance against Forge goes, I didn't see any of the goals as being caused by big mistakes by either of the youngsters. Arguiñarena is the man who got out muscled for the messy second. You may recall that Forge got a break away goal the last time at IGF too.
After two matches, one good and one not, it is much too early to form judgement on this back four. But it is clear that, given their age, the youngsters have much more potential to improve than the two they have temporarily replaced.
The crucial thing I have seen from the youngsters is that they understand the importance of putting pressure on the ball carrier; something which neither of the other two do. And they get beaten only rarely, and then not comprehensively, unlike Thomas who has a habit of getting sucked out of his jock strap when he tries to put pressure on the man with the ball. No wonder he doesn't do it.
I'm not sure about RB but Mitter / Le Bourhis is, for my money, not only Valour's best CB pairing right now but certainly the one with the most potential. Which is not to say that they are great, but when you blow the budget on midfielders, your hands are tied.

By the way, LOVE this tourney.  

I was fearful CPL teams would get crushed by MLS competition, Cavalry and York9 did really well and there are lots of positives to be taken from that!

Just checked TSN's schedule and the 1st leg against Olimpia will be live on TSN2 at 8pm

Someone should tell him all of the league's stakeholders (fans, sponsors, ownership groups, media partners, sanctioning organizations, etc.) being against MLS reserve teams in the CPL does not equate to a mindset where the league's are bitter enemies. Also, like others have pointed out, these games would not sell well if they were branded as reverse teams.

I was thinking of going to that game.  A chance to see the All Blacks v Anyone plus the ground is an hour from my place, but then I thought I don't want to fork out a wad of cash to watch our boys get the stuffing knocked out of them, especially the way they've been playing for the last three years, so I'm going to Canada v Namibia.
They just released some more tickets.  There are tickets available now to any game that doesn't say "no tickets available."  In other words, if the little thing on the right side of the page is yellow, you're in luck.  If you don't have any luck, send me a message.

Was no one listening when they did that pre-launch cross country tour, taking the pulse of the grassroots as it were?
No, for Gawds sake no.  Raise the cap as is deemed fit but no effing DP rule.  Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be, keep a player a player.  No hyphen or prefix necessary.  Enough of this Nanny State crap.  Just trust the clubs to do what they feel is right by them and let them compete.  
 

I just ordered my supporters tickets for next Thursday's match, I think this has potential to be another great night of football in The Hammer! I expect the Honduran team to be very difficult to play against with probably many more fans than the Guatemalan side had, I just hope the club keeps the away supporters a good distance from the Battalion Section!

Done.  I just saw this now.  I was in Whistler at Crankworx and dropped my phone in a hot tub.   
Banned him permanently. 

Honestly, my hope is they manage enough points so they can bypass the preliminary round in a couple of years. Any steps above that point, will all be bonus IMO.

So Binky... 

Not at all, but the bullet point above it is!  There was a game where the two goalkeepers were ejected for violent conduct, and as both teams had used all 3 substitutions, both teams needed an outfield player to finish the game in goal. Now that’s pretty awesome. 

Are you unhinged? Do you seriously think that the CPL is worse than say... the Haitian or Grenadian leagues? 
1) If you do, you’re out to lunch; and,
2) If you don’t, you’re just a troll so get lost.

I would like to think it'd be much closer to 10 years than 15 and I am sure they are thinking sooner than that.
I would like to see them launch a HFX Wanderers ladies, for example, than a brand new franchise or even a different name.
Get everything under a single umbrella. Have them wear the same jerseys and play in the same venues, that way half the work is already done.
You could even run the same schedule and just run double headers. Have away teams on the same flights. It would be a very cool and unique set up, not to mention practical in keeping down costs.
And they can raise funds with the same open tryouts strategy.

It would be interesting to hear the exact quote regarding the 8th team for next year.  "We're committed to working towards it" is a lot different from "We have a commitment from an 8th team for next year".

Personally, I'd like to see something like what San Antonio FC uses - Toyota Field.

It holds over 8000 spectators for soccer (13000 for concerts) and can be expandable to 18000+ if they make it to MLS. It has some corporate suites as well to generate additional revenue. It took about a year to build and was sold in 2015 for $21 Million. I think something like this would be just about the right size for CPL.

This is Gale's team. If they win, he gets the credit. If they lose, he gets the blame.

I disagree as Welshman looked one of the most dangerous attackers for Forge vs Antigua, and since moving to a more outside attacker, has seemed a reap threat to every back line we’ve played against. 
Antigua’s left back will be happy to hear Welshman is gone. I’m less so as a Forge fan, but I am happy for him and what it could mean for him personally and professionally. 

Just sit Samuel and insert Edgar...after that I don't care how we line up in the back.

Just announced on Twitter: David Edgar coming to Hamilton.
 
Edit: Helps if I include the link...
 

Simeon Jackson would be a nice addition with Babouli. Busti would be a huge get. 
Edgar has dropped so many levels in the UK but has been hampered by injuries. The fact no-one has taken him makes me think he isn't likely to be off the treatment table for long or regaining form that made him a championship mainstay. If fit will still make a fantastic addition and someone for younger players to really look up to and learn from. 

I'm real happy with the Edgar signing, he could potentially be a top CB in this league, bring in Babouli and Busti and Forge will be a solid balanced team!

Just announced on Twitter: David Edgar coming to Hamilton.
 
Edit: Helps if I include the link...
 

Just got home from the match, what a fabulous night of football in The Hammer, the crowd was way bigger than most of us were expecting and everyone was right into it! We had our first issues with away supporters as they taunted the Battalion section after their goal which didn't go over too well, of course the cops and security were all over the local fans and left the away fans who caused the problem alone! As for the match, at the half it looked as if we were just up against a slightly better side who took their one chance but that early second half goal changed everything! The same problems seemed to be plaguing Forge, lots of  posession with no end product and after the 4th official posted a measly 3 minutes of stoppage time and we were stuck in our own half it was looking like a real challenge in the away leg (which it might be) then we score a winner, that's the craziest the Battallion Section has been, I can't wait to give it a go in Central America, Forge may have a decent chance!   

CPL competitive against USL team? Check.
CPL competitive against MLS teams? Check.
CPL competitive against Guatemalan league? Check.
Okay, who wants to take us on next?  !!! 8D