Obinna

Looks like they won 4-1.

The other semi involves Rad, Borjan's old club, and Partizan Belgrade, which has won the last 3 editions of this competition.

Two penalty kick goals for Ricketts and he drew one of them. Good for him and nice to see him scoring.

I will risk opening some old wounds to inform you guys that Bryan Crisante has been linked to Man U. This is a rumor, but goal and the sun are reporting that he is being considered as Fellaini's replacememt. The plan would be for Atalanta to exercise their 10 million pound buy-option from Benfica, then turn around and sell to Manchester United for 31 million pounds.

Not a CMNT player but he was recently eligible and it's fun to dream "what if". We were close....

3 hours ago, shermanator said:

Not entirely sure if relevant, but Bruno Zebie (who has played for FC Edmonton during an emergency callup) will play for Calgary Foothills this year.

 

Did he play for Edmonton Green & Gold? I think I watched him play for them at the 2016 Challenge Cup Nationals.

3 hours ago, Toje said:

Andres Fresenga has signed with Cerro Largo in the Uruguayan Segunda División.

https://twitter.com/fresenga

http://int.soccerway.com/players/andres-fresenga/181357/

Nice to see he's still making a go of it. Would be cool if he can get back to the top flight.

On 2017-01-03 at 1:04 PM, Boominbooty said:

I imagine Straith -- he's out of contract now. For fun, how about Cavallini!

I would love for it to be straith. He is a good age, has plenty of experience, and is a Floro favrouite to boot. He would get a lot out of playing professionally in Latin America. 

I wouldn't rule out Jakovic. Played a lot under floro as well, and I can't imagine he'd be returning to Japan. If you're looking for an experienced CB in concacaf you could do a lot worse. 

"Oh he's done, let me click this link and see what's up"

***article in Swedish***

"Oh great I can't read anything".

***notices black guy signing contract***

"Why are they showing a picture if him signing his contract when he was rele.....wait hold up that is not him at all...haha".

***ponders how black guy in picture has similar skin tone but completely different face***

"Wow that's funny I even thought for a second that was him, I'll post and make a joke of it"

.....this was my self talk in its entirety. Thought I'd provide it for you seeing were cleaely concerned enough to post lol

I can't read Swedish, but I do know for sure that lad in the picture is not our guy lol

2 hours ago, shermanator said:

Looks like Mauro Eustaquio will not return to Ottawa next year.

 

Too bad. Thought he was doing well there

As I mentioned in the Vitoria thread, they finished 5th last year and there are other internationals at the club, so at first glance it looks to be a solid move.

Yeah exactly.

I don't think there is any realistic chance of him joining the first team, but if he were to hit a rich vein of form (..and it would have to be mighty rich), he would technically have a more straightforward pathway to Tuchel's squad than 99.99% of footballers in Germany.

In a wild fantasy world, he tears it up and makes a brief appearance for the 1st team, putting him on the radar of lesser 1st division and 2nd division clubs. That would be a dream scenario for him.

That brings the Fury up to 5 Canadian Internationals. 1 regular (JDG) 1 squad player (Tissot) and three fringe players (Dixon, Roberts, Porter). With Porter not being able to find a way back into the NT picture in Ottawa, I wonder what Dixon's chances are of a second cap...

16 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Obinna, Deportivo de la Coruña is historically amongst the top 10 or so sides in the history of the Spanish league, which is most likely the best in the world. No one in Spain says they are "ascensor", that term is reserved for a few other sides. 

I trust what common knowledge is here, rather than guys doing rapidfire Wiki-checks then trying to discuss this stuff. You are way over your heads.

If you don't believe me, just ask the current Canada coach or current captain. Who you are also disrespecting totally, Floro must be an idiot to be calling up a reserve player from a yo-yo team, our lowest division player on the CMNT. Julian will tell you the same thing I am: Deportivo is a major Spanish side; Getafe or Rayo or Levante are "ascensor".

If Piette gets first team minutes at Depor, being good fans, you'll insist he's playing for a yo-yo team. In fact you saying this now is dissing him before he even gets there, which is totally pathetic. Accoring to Obinna, right now Sam is reserve on a yo-yo team and plays for Canada. With fans like you we might as well all be Mexicans.

I think most Canada fans might actually show some appreciation if Sam makes it, since the accomplishment will be great. 

Depor had huge debt like most important football teams when Julian was there, if I recall maybe over 100 million, lost their shirt sponsor even when Julian around as its business collapsed (real estate), and were forced into a radical restructuring with an important consequence for us: they started paying attention to their academy. They never had, nor had regional rival Celta, Galician players were few in Spanish top flight. They sold players, refused to resign--since all this affected our captain you should bloody well know, but you don't. Because it is not in a little table on your Wiki, is it now?

They brought in journeymen and called up kids from the academy. Third or fourth tier players, often loaned out a while then come back.  As they are doing now, maybe a quarter to a third of the first team is from the B (not going on Wiki-genius here, on memory). Many of the players Sam would technically replace are also academy. Basically, finances obliged them to go with what they have and thus they went down, came back up, dropped, even last year they were close. You could even argue it was part of the calculated risk.

It does not matter really. I love to watch them when they come to Camp Nou, even watched Julian when they played Espanyol in Barcelona, and am disappointed Sam and Ben did not draw a team closer to me for the promotion playoffs. Deportivo is a great team, an important club, and Canada is lucky to have Sam there.

Just so you're clear, It was actually Grizzly who stated Deportivo was a yo-yo club, not me.

I was simply restating what he actually said to you, because you clearly ignored the vast majority of it. Ironically, you accused him of ignoring your detailed post, funny that.

By the way, Deportivo has spent 45 seasons in the top flight and 39 in the second division. That is not to say they aren't a great club with a lot of history and all but let me ask, was Grizzly wrong to call them a yo-yo club based on the facts? Before you answer, emotionally detach yourself so that you can answer with logic. In that way, your feelings won't get hurt again and we can enjoy some reasonable dialog. Everybody wins.

As for Sam, glad that he's still under contract with a La Liga club.

Edit: Yo-yo doesn't necessarily mean they aren't held in high esteem. It just means they have bounced around. It seems like the only person who is attaching a negative connotation to the word "yo-yo" is you. 

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

You basically just repeat what I say in a post made 6 hours before yours. Just ignore my detailed post on Depor history, and go for it. 

Actually no, Grizzly also pointed out that Deportivo was (and currently still is) a yo yo club, outside of a golden decade. You never even acknowledged that in your response. 

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

According to Grizzly  if Piette ends up playing regularly for Deportivo, and Arfield for Burnley, and hey, even Doneil for the Hammers, they will all still be playing at a worse level than Atiba. This is genius.

This was neither said nor implied by Grizzly. He never mentioned West Ham or Burnley once in his post.

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

 

You honestly think Mario Gómez playing in Spain would score 27 goals like he did at Besiktas? He did because it is easy vs. 80% of teams. He'd get 10-12 if he were lucky, same pace he had at Fiorentina. In strong leagues he is a 10 goal a year man now. That is the level.  I'd sign Lucas Pérez, leading scorer of Depor, over Gómez (his dad was actually Spanish thus the name) any day. 

I think you are downplaying the achievements of Mario Gomez this year. 27 goals in the Turkish league was so impressive that it saw him get recalled into the German national team. When he was a 10 - 12 goal striker with Fiorentina in Serie A, he was overlooked for the national team.

By the way, his Europa League scoring rate at Fiorentina was 3 goals in 14 games, while at Besiktas it was 2 goals in 5 games. So he has a better strike rate at Besiktas in the same competition, which is counter evidence to your suggestion that he only scored so much because Turkey is much weaker than the top leagues.

So, did Mario Gomez actually improve in Turkey ? Or, did Germany recall him because he's in goal scoring form? Either way, one thing is clear, playing at Besiktas has given him more value to the German team national team and perhaps that's evidence that Besiktas (right now) is a better level than you care to admit? Playing at better levels makes you more valuable to your national team and often wins you a call up, we all know this.

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Right now Arfield is our top ranked player for club and playing level, even if they are relegation-threatened the whole upcoming season it'll be the case. Not surprisingly, this is actually evident on the field for Canada. Atiba has been great for us, but he has that slightly plodding pace and lack of urgency at times which is what happens when you play  vs. inferior competition 80% of the time. He has made some serious possession blunders leading to goals against so far (vs. Mex he was pretty poor). Sam, in contrast, does not look out of place for Canada while playing in crappy fourth tier Spain, which is not even pro officially. 

I don't think Atiba and his lack of Urgency is in anyway a result of playing in Turkey. That is just a flaw in his personal game. I understand what you're saying, but can you provide an example using at least 1 other player who's suffered from this as a result of playing in Turkey? Otherwise, you are connecting dots that are not there...

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Besiktas is a bigger club, and so is Hamburg, and Newcastle. I guess folks don't have memory, this is a team that has been in Champions and gone further than any Turkish side ever. Deportivo is a stronger more competitive club in the best league in the world. To break into the first team would be huge for Sam.

Sure, it would be quite an achievement for Sam. I think everyone around here would agree, but regarding this side tangent comparing Besiktas and Deportivo? Well, that's a tough one if you ask me. At the moment, player for player at least you could make a strong argument that Besiktas holds an edge, but Deportivo plays in a better league and has a stronger historical record in Europe. At the end of the day it's probably just splitting hairs, but it's always fun to debate such things. I am happy for all our players when they wind up at high levels.

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I honestly don't think Sam is anywhere near getting a first team contract for Depor, I'd be very surprised if he did. After all, if he did, he would automatically become the highest level player for Canada in terms of club. And we all know that would not be realistic.

EDIT: Sorry, rectifying, Sam is staying at Deportivo B. That is good news. They are keeping a core of 15 players, bringing up 6 u-19s from their academy, they feel it is a strong side to try for the promotion next year again. And all those guys that much more experienced if the first team needs them.

http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/torremarathon/cantera/2016/06/16/depor-perfila-nuevo-fabril/00031466092555073611292.htm

 

Depor is a higher level than Besiktas?

^ SWU is the same club that Elva played for by the way...

10 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Marcus Haber....he's been knocking them in alot lately.  Liverpool could use a striker, HEHHEE!!  

I hope that man gets a move to be honest. His club is getting relegated yet he's scored 10 goals this season. Probably not enough for a Championship side to take a chance, but surely a stronger league one club would be interested, no?

23 hours ago, ditty said:

Kicker with an article on Andre Hainault re-signing with FC Magdeburg of the 3. Liga. Term seems to be through the 2017/18 season. He's spent most of the 2nd half of the season injured but started 18 games this season prior to his injury. Magdeburg were promoted last season to the 3. Liga and have flirted with the promotion places at times but are currently around 6th or 7th and won't be going up.
 

Hopefully his club promotes to the 2.Bundesliga next season - I think that's Hainault's level. 

1 minute ago, Grizzly said:

I think it would be more accurate to say we are unhappy with the level of his play. Given his level of play recently this is the right level for him because if he was at MLS or similar he would be sitting on the bench like he was at Kansas City and Augsburg before that. Possibly his lack of playing time for so many years is what has caused his decline in performance or possibly it is other reasons like age, accumulated injuries, etc. We can hope that regular playing time in NASL will bring him back to his previous form but at the same time we need to be developing other players to take over his spot in the starting lineup.

I agree with that, but at the same time I ask the questions: why NASL? Why not go back to Europe?

NASL is not typically an environment where a player can impress and move up a level, especially at the age of 29.

I fully agree that he's now in the NASL due to a drop off in his performance level, but there are many equivalent leagues in Europe that would give him a better chance of moving back up the professional ladder.

Happy he found a club, unhappy with the level he'll be playing at. How long is his deal?

More on De Jong's looming move away from SKC. This blogger is speculating he could join a Canadian MLS team, although this appears to be solely based on his passport.

http://reportingkc.com/2016/02/09/is-marcel-de-jong-on-his-way-out-of-sporting-kc/

I don't quite know where he'd fit in. I definitely don't see him going to TFC with Morrow and Morgan already there (unless the latter decides to try his luck elsewhere). Montreal has Oyongo and Eric Miller as a reserve I believe? A better chance there, but he wouldn't be an automatic starter - he'd have a battle on his hands. In Vancouver, Harvey and Adekugbe will be vying for the left back role. De Jong is a better player than both, but at a $180,000 salary cap hit I don't believe it'd be worth their while.

7 hours ago, shorty said:

Does seem ungrateful somehow, given what he has given to the program, but I agree.  The more I think about Ledgerwood to the Whitecaps, the more I think Ledgerwood and Beitashour are pretty comparable players in many ways (career arcs aside).  Beitashour was good enough to ride the bench on a World Cup team, but did not play and didn't even play much in qualifying if I remember correctly.  I think soldiers like Ledgerwood have an important role to play in getting us to the Hex and maybe even back to the World Cup, but we definitely don't get there with soldiers alone.

I think you're pretty spot on here - in my opinion, they are similar in terms of talent, physicality and even experience level. Plus, they are close in age and are even similar in the way they play the game. I just think Beitashour has an edge in that he is a little more gifted, although he doesn't have the versatility that Ledgerwood does. 

Ledgerwood has rarely been a favourite choice, despite his dedication, but winning close to 50 caps with a nation like Canada is an accomplishment. He's an experienced international and Energie Cottbus, FSV Frankfurt, MSV Duisburg and 1860 Munich are not tiny, rinky-dink clubs either. Hell, even Hammabry are a big club as far as Swedish clubs go (although they got relegated).

His resume is that of an MLS player who gets heavy minutes, if not an out-and-out starter. I think collectively we just don't value him because of the time he's spent in a 3rd tier. A very good 3rd tier by the way.

7 hours ago, shermanator said:

If Ledgerwood were to play at DM it could make sense for him to move to FC Edmonton. There has been a little chatter about a national team player coming to play in Edmonton, but no idea who it is.

Ledgerwood is free hey? Don't the Whitecaps need another Right back?

Yeah I would have wanted this West Ham transfer before, but Besiktas look poised to win the title this season. It would be a shame for Hutchinson to leave without any silverware. 1st place would also mean direct qualification to the Champions League, but he could pretty much kiss those aspirations goodbye if he signs with the Hammers. They might sneak into a Europa place but that's as high as I see them finishing. 

The reporter also speculates that Hutchinson may also be used as RB cover. That is something I do not want. Hutchinson has been playing so well with Besiktas and Canada at DM. I don't anything to throw that off.

Bilic has never played Hutchinson at RB though, so maybe that won't happen.