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The Ottawa Fury appear to have lost the game of chicken that they were playing against CONCACAF and the CSA. Yesterday, the club announced that they would not be allowed to play in the US-based USL for 2019. This is despite receiving a tepid approval from the CSA in September, when they refused to become founding members of the CanPL. This leaves the Fury in a difficult position just four months out from the start of the season. However, according to multiple people working inside the game, they shouldn’t be surprised. “They knew this was possible,” one source said. “Yet, they went ahead anyway and now they are crying about being discriminated.” Another person went even further, suggesting that the Fury might have “half wanted (to be denied sanctioning).” The suggestion being that OSEG doesn’t really want to be involved in soccer anymore, but didn’t want to be the bad guy in fans’ eyes, least it hurt them with RedBlacks’ ticket sales. What happened yesterday was predicted by many. In a Sept 6 article on CSN I quoted a source suggesting that this was a distinct possibility. “Who is going to sanction them,” they said at the time “They may get a ‘pity’ sanction for 2019, but beyond that?” Another person speculated that the CSA would be reluctant to directly challenge the Fury, but would work behind closed doors to challenge the legitimacy of the club playing in a US-based league. “They won’t say anything publicly, but they are hoping CONCACAF steps in,” they said at the time. We don’t know if CONCACAF is acting on behalf of the CSA, but CONCACAF did in fact step in. The question now is what happens next. Most still believe a temporary sanctioning for 2019 will come through, but only with the understanding that this will be the final year it is permitted. Will the Fury continue with that understanding? For the sake of the fans, let’s hope so. But, relations between the CanPL and the Fury weren’t great already and, although there is no direct link between the CanPL and CONCACAF denying sanctioning, yesterday didn’t help the relationship improve. Beyond the Fury, yesterday’s decision could have a trickle down impact on Canadian soccer. If CONCACAF is to enforce the policy evenly, you would have to think that USL-2 teams (formerly PDL) will be the next to be targeted. The rule being referenced in the Fury’s case states that no team is allowed to play in a league outside its country if a league of the same standard is available in their country. Clearly, CONCACAF has concluded that CanPL is equal to USL. But, is League1 Ontario and the PLSQ the same as USL2? It’s long been the desire of the CSA to stop teams at the D3 level from playing out of country in the hope that the provinces would step up and start D3 leagues. So far only two have, which has allowed several D3 teams to ignore that desire and play in the US. With the CanPL buying L1O, there is speculation that the plan is to bring that model to all parts of the country. When that happens, you would expect that the existing D3 teams be asked to return to Canada. Anyone operating a D3 team now would be wise to plan ahead with this in mind. Which brings us to the MLS teams. Many fans will not accept the rational that they should be exempt from this. In the interest of “fairness” it will be argued that they too should be forced to join CanPL. It won’t happen, but it will create some bad optics for the CSA. The reason it won’t happen now is because it’s clear that forcing TFC, IMFC and VWFC out of MLS would be negative for player development and soccer culture in the country. That would be counter to the entire purpose of creating the CanPL. Although many USL fans strongly disagree, that league is not viewed as having a net benefit to the country and thus is fair game here. Will this eventually change? Is there a scenario where the three MLS teams are required to enter the CanPL. Yes. And possibly sooner than most believe. (That is if one or more of the Canadian MLS teams isn’t part of a bigger league by then – a league that is launched as part of the United 2026 bid and is designed to disrupt the established order of world football. But, that’s a topic for another day). View full record

It's funny that both sides of this derby can't even agree on what to name it. I feel the 401 derby is a terrible name, especially considering there's no 401 highway here. What should it be called? My vote is on The Canadian Classic or Le Classique Canadien, since it translates well to both languages. Though, I have seen some Whitecaps fans get pretty butt-hurt about the name. (I'm not sure if there's a thread debating this yet or not, I couldn't find one.)

Look at the photo above. That’s Estadio Merkatondoa, home of Club Deportivo Izarra of the Segunda División B. That’s the third tier of Spanish football. Located in the Basque region of Spain you can never accuse it of not being beautiful. It’s incredibly charming, actually. I’d love to play in that stadium. It would be appropriate for me to play in that stadium, as there are only 3,500 seats. It’s in every way a small, community-like stadium, like you find everywhere. In this particular case it also plays host to a third tier professional team. The third tier professional team that Samuel Piette most recently played for. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, of course. The third tier of Spanish professional soccer is about 60 times better than the level than likely everyone reading this played at. Well, unless someone from the Montreal Impact is reading. The Impact, of course, represent Piette’s new team, having inked him to a deal earlier this week. It was the worst kept secret in MLS for a couple days as Piette’s 6,000 relatives in the Montreal area were telling anyone that wanted to listen. Montreal fans badly wanted this signing to happen. The link started just after Piette played for the national team in Montreal in early June and intensified as the summer grew as long as the Impact playoff hopes. Let’s take a step back for a moment. What I’m about to write in no way should be interpreted as me wishing Piette failure. Nor, is it meant to suggest that I don’t think Piette has talent. I, like many, am impressed with the player’s improvement over the last year or so and think a move to MLS is very good for his career. However, I do have concerns. As suggested off the top, Piette was not playing at MLS level before the move. The third tier of Spanish soccer is, despite the screaming of MLS haters, not at the same level of the Montreal Impact. Thus, why I’m happy for Piette. He’s making a move up. Awesome for him and awesome for the Canadian national team. But…this is not a normal signing in that if Piette wasn’t a Montreal native it would have either flown under the radar or actually been criticised. If I was being cynical, I’d suggest that the Impact are caving to fan pressure to sign the local kid to distract from what is turning out to be a terrible season. Kind of like when TFC signed Julian de Guzman all those years ago. Now, JDG was playing at a higher level than MLS at the time, so it’s not a perfect comparison, but the element of local kid comes home to play for struggling team is the same. As is the fact that Piette isn’t a goal scorer. Many, many Impact fans are sophisticated enough to appreciate the subtleness of a destroyer’s game – comparing him to Donadel, as the Impact have, will help that. But, fans will always fan and some are going to want offensive production from a signing that got as much attention as Piette did. It’s worth a reminder that Piette is just 22. He’s improved, but he’s still going to need to earn his time at MLS. Hopefully, the Impact made this signing with his best interests in mind and they have a plan to bring him up to speed. Even more hopefully, he is already ready to make an immediate (sorry) impact for the Impact. View full record

Happy with the Point on the Road Against one of the best offense in the Eastern Conference, the Montreal Impact defense was able to keep their discipline and shutout David Villa for the first time at home this season. Even though his play was instrumental to Wallace's goal, David Villa was kept off the score sheet for NYCFC. It could have been better, of course, but a 1-1 draw at Yankees Stadium versus an offense who had put 4 goals past DC United's goalkeeper last week is an accomplishment unto itself. It wasn't pretty, but Montreal was able to keep the score close. Montreal was dominated in the first half but with a mix of blocked attempts on goal and bad accuracy by the trio of Villa-Moralez-Wallace, the Impact kept the result in striking distance. Even though they conceded a late goal in the first half, the Montreal defense was more disciplined and focused than in the previous two games. No early yellows (no yellow card period for IMFC's backline), no dangerous or questionable tackles in the box, so basically, a very well rounded performance by the defense. Their best of the season. What really caught my attention once again was the performance of the defensive midfield and Patrice Bernier. The assist of Bernier on Montreal's equalizer scored by Dom Oduro at the 68' is a sight to be seen! A great read of the play, followed by a pinpoint accurate lob pass to Oduro, bypassing the entire midfield of NYCFC (Pirlo included) to create the scoring chance that would become Montreal's first away goal in 2017. Montreal's control of the midfield late in the game Saturday gave them a few chances to score the game winner, but a post by Piatti and a few great saves by Sean Johnson kept it at 1-1. Going back to the captain, Patrice Bernier's play has been outstanding in the last 2 games; from ball possession control to controlling the pace of the game, to creating time, space and looks on goal for his teammates, Patrice has been the spark of the offense in 2017. Since the snafus of the first game, the ball movement in the midfield has been excellent. High 80s and 90s of passing accuracy, controlling the tempo of the game, finding the open men on the flanks and using them to move the block forward, all adjustments and directives by Mauro Biello that have been well executed by the Montreal Impact midfield. Even with the late switch on the starting 11 of Marco Donadel for Callum Mallace, Marco "felt something" during the warm up, the midfield accomplished its mission of giving opportunities to the offense to be, no pun intended, impactful. All in all, 1 point at Yankees Stadium, 1 goal conceded and good game adjustments and substitutions by the manager made for an appreciated trip to the Big Apple by the players. A win was possible, even probable with the pressure Montreal was putting in late, but a draw is manageable and hopeful for the next few difficult games ahead. View full record

Every Friday, I will give my keys to victory for the Montreal Impact, in 3 points! Point 1 The Cohesion in the Midfield Montreal had all sorts of trouble in the midfield last week. Congestion, led to confusion that led to loss of possession, this really was noticeable when Montreal was trying to transition the ball forward. Smaller, higher pourcentages passes are key for the Impact to generate quality opportunity to feed their best attacking options, Piatti and Mancosu, which were left on an island last week. Point 2 Oyongo and Piatti The combination of Ambroise Oyongo and Nacho Piatti on the left side of the field for the Bleu-Blanc-Noir can be deadly. When Oyongo is able to use the space in front of him with the ball at his feet, he creates time and space for Piatti to be an offensive threat or even a goal scoring chance for himself. This is imperative for Montreal to get by the defending MLS Cup Champions. Point 3 Beware of Clint Dempsey Clint is back, healthy and HUNGRY! Even though they lost their season opener, Clint has found the back of the net already this season and in his favorite fashion, poacher style. For the Montreal Impact to emerge victorious Saturday night at the Stade Olympique, they will have to be mindful of Dempsey's presence close to goal AT ALL TIMES AND FOR 90 MINUTES! You can follow Kevin Laramee on twitter @KevLaramee Off the Woodworkx, a podcast about the Montreal Impact available here https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/off-woodworkx-sports-podcasting/id1067439813?mt=2 View full record