T_Bison

So we're talking December / January for a Forge home date... That seems ... less than good. I mean, the Grey Cup is expected to be cold AF, but that's a whole new level of insane. On the upside, the central american teams might just freeze solid.

Glorious! Fantastic work!!!

I was just going to say - try Winnipeg to Perth (in the planning stages currently)!

We wouldn't want to wish 2019 Valour on anyone. Except Saskatchewan, because .. Reasons....

I'm with you on York's kit. I like the green pop. It's pretty bland - hopefully next year they return to last year's home kits or *FINALLY* do a gold kit.

I'm excited to see this group perform as well, and I think this short tournament makes the rebuild a bit of a crap shoot with systems, players who haven't played together much, etc. That being said, the talent should be there to do some damage and be significantly better than last year. If Valour is buried at the bottom of the table then Gale is probably gone. If they are competitive in that 4/5 zone and it would need to be something cultural that gets him let go. If he makes the second stage he's safe (as well I think he should be).

Is it wrong that I'm much more excited about the attackers this year than last year?

Yes, although I think they are probably watching the MLS fiasco right now and thinking maybe it's best to work towards the V-Cup.

Looks like Ricci's agent broke the news: https://northerntribune.ca/valour-fc-austin-ricci-signing/ Speaking of cheap insurance! But he is also listed as an attacker so that would be good. Valour's pretty thin up front there.

Maybe - But room & board for a month vs travel, road & food accommodations for five or six months. Also, not having to pay for all the game day stuff for the fans will help. Testing is definitely a wild card however.

It would be pretty straightforward to rebrand OneSoccer as OneSports. Also, if that relationship (OS/CBC) is there, it could pay dividends for us in the long haul. Imagine if the tourney goes well, then next year all CPL games are on Gem?

Actually, it's probably reversed. Salaries will be still significant (my guess is ~ 75% of normal), but travel & accommodations would be significantly less if not nil, plus not having to pay for gameday operations. In fact, I bet the CPL teams lose *LESS* this year by having the shortened season than they would normally.

I disagree. In a league with only 23 roster spots, having four players dedicated to CB isn't great. Granted, Valour may run two CBs this year but with both Moutou & Levis at left-back, one will be shifting over to CB, so that gives four before Hocine. Plus both of the Canadian U-21s are on the back line (Le Bourhis & Garcia) so they will be getting minutes for sure. Not saying it's a great signing (nobody has said anything about him being signed) but just not sure where Hocine slots in.

Translation via Google Translate: "Chakib Hocine is currently in Winnipeg. Valor FC said it would sign at least 2 unannounced players who played #CanPL last year." "Played" - Yes. "Played a lot" - nope. Only got into 4 games last year with Wanderers. Also, doesn't make a lot of sense - Valour is pretty deep with CBs.

Either way he wasn't going to crack the roster. Yes, you are right they were unprofessional. I should have used inexperienced instead of young. However, my original point still stands that it wasn't a big deal last year or this year. It was two rounds and generally semi-pro PLSQ & L1O seem to have better players than U-sports currently do. MLS' super draft usually isn't considered a big deal for a reason.