El Diego

I have a lot of time for KJ, and I honestly think Caldwell parrots him at times regarding tactical analysis, but KJ would not make a good manager or assistant manager. He'd be a good consultant, perhaps.

Caldwell is a proponent of Davies at left back. I'm still not sure what I think of his analysis in general. He seems like he tries hard not to be a homer regarding refereeing decisions, but his tactical analyses come across as basic. Admittedly, most commentators don't get too technical on television and I don't listen to his podcast where I'm sure he gets more in depth.

Hamilton does need to get involved in the build up and pressing more, but his "laziness" is also an asset when attacking as it helps him find the dead space. I mean, take a look at this goal: If he attacks the loose ball with max effort then he probably doesn't score, but his stealthy running lulled the defender into a false sense of security. Don't get me wrong, the defender should have still cleared it, but on that play I think Hamilton showed his intelligence. I see no reason why Hamilton wouldn't be able to find a club in Europe that would play him week in and week out and where he could score loads of goals. I'm not sure he's ever gonna get paid a bunch or be called up consistently, but he could have a nice career if he wanted.

Telfer is a nice option, but by no means do we need to cap him. As others have pointed out he's not the top CPL attacker and probably not even top 10 based on performances this season. Also, his versatility is overrated imo. He's looked completely out of place when I've seen him in central midfield this season, and from what I've seen of him at left back (for TFC previously) he'd get eaten alive there.

Is there a precedent for a tournament in a "half window"? I'm curious if it means the top guys will actually be available for some of it, though I'm not holding my breath.

Some Canadians that haven't been mentioned that impressed me: Connor James, Joel Waterman. Diyaeddine Abzi, Giuliano Frano, Elliot Simmons

This guy is almost too jacked. Unique player.

Akinola certainly "flashes" more. If you look at the goal he scored earlier this year, that play has everything you want in a striker. But I definitely agree that he doesn't do that often enough. I don't know if it will come together as he matures or if he's gonna be an all tools, no tool box type of player. Perruzza certainly seems more like a "soccer player", if you know what I mean. He gets what he has to do. In fact, this was most noticeable in the u20 qualifiers. Even though he didn't play as much, you could tell when he went on that he saw the game a bit differently than many of his teammates.

They are both attackers but they are very different players from what I've seen. Shaffelburg is a direct winger and Vanney has focused on getting more width this season. Perruzza is a smart striker and finisher. With Boyd and Hamilton gone, some people were wondering if Perruzza was gonna get a senior deal. But the truth is that Altidore plays if he's fit, Mullins is the back up, and Akinola is still ahead of Perruzza. TFC did play two strikers at times early in the year, but now they firmly only play one. I've seen a little bit of him for TFC II this season. He's not overwhelming, but he looks clever and has just enough of the requisite amount of athleticism to get behind the back line. I am not sold on him making the jump to the next level but I would give him every opportunity to. He is a really interesting player.

I started watching Gent more this year for the same reasons (David and generally exciting), though I didn't see the Larnaca match. My initial thoughts are, if you push a higher line against Gent you are screwed. David conducts the counter so well from his central position. They are absolutely devastating. However, if you sit back on them, they can struggle to break down a low line. Keep in mind I've only seen ~3-4 full matches of theirs this year so small sample size applies. That being said, I encourage people to watch Gent. They are a fun side.

His header was close, he ghosted in well but it went just wide. His run for the chopped off equalizer was incredible. A real shame it didn't count. It looked like it was centimetres offside.

Marcus Godinho comes on in the 88th minute as Zwickau draw Magdeburg 0-0. You can't be 100% sure with online line ups but it appears that Zwickau play 3-4-1-2, so it looks like he came on as a wing back.

I started watching the game 25 minutes in. Charleroi definitely defending deeper than Viitorul did so not as much opportunity for David to hit them on the counter. But it is a very interesting role for David. He's playing in the hole but he's not playing as a classic 10 -- he works the channels really hard and makes late runs.

I know it's nowhere near the most important thing when you look at the big picture, but for some reason the bolded part has really pissed me off

When I saw the line ups on SofaScore I had the exact same reaction