soccer.shocker

I think Herdman is going to primarily play the young guys at the back through the Gold Cup and Nations League to give them as much experience and exposure as possible ahead of 2022 qualifying. The exception is if Atiba stays involved and plays some CB. The assumption that the leadership and experience that Edgar (or Jakovic or Straith for that matter) brings is valued more at this moment by culture-building Herdman that the bit better form that Vitoria brings seems reasonable, especially since the more senior CBs probably aren’t going to play much anyways.

What about a side like Monaco in Ligue1? Disaster this year but surely they will improve under a legend like Thierry Henry and be an upper table side next year and presumably back to European competition after a short hiatus. Playing for Viera at Nice would also be good for his development I’d think. Might also be neat to see Millar and ZBG on the right side for Lyon a few years from now.

Fury just announced in the last day or two that their goalkeeper coach is leaving for Whitecaps. Good continuity for Crepeau if the trade to Vancouver is on.

This. I think if systems building and structural re-organization are part of his mandate, then it would be pretty reasonable to assume that in between MNT camps he’s not just sitting around playing Fortnite and counting dollars.

If Celtic were after him and he was showing well in France he’s better off going back to Europe to develop if he can than in year one of CPL.

Apparently injured again. A friend in Montreal says there rumours of a back problem.

Maybe (hopefully?) a trade for Crepeau is on the agenda though agree it would be nice to see Leutwiler actually play regularly too.

When is Piatti getting a passport? In time for Gold Cup 2019?

This is good stuff. Thank you for putting it together. Him being called in for training is a good sign. Flashback to summer 2018...Herdman et al. had heard about this Busti kid playing at Juve...so they called him to Toulon, he impressed and is now capped at senior level in less than 6 months. CSA has known about Desjardins. CSA peeps also seem to rate Hasal very highly, so to those that follow youth teams his selection is not a surprise. IIRC he played as underage in last U20 qualifiers That Herdman / Biello / Olivieri have taken the opportunity to bring in another keeper prospect that they rate highly enough to fly across the pond for an in person assessment is great news to me and a very positive move in the scouting department compared to the likes of Zambrano and Floro. With all the usual clamouring about budgets etc, this move shows me the brass are seriously about assessing players in person. IIRC we learned after he fact that Breza was in Toulon for a bit as a training keeper? I hope Desjardins is impressing this week. If he does, who knows, maybe we’ll see him called in for March Nations League or more likely Toulon if Canada ends up going back next year (assuming he is age eligible as Toulon is U21 I think).

I think CSA has known about Desjardins for a while. I don't think Busti has joined the U20 team yet (but can't confirm for sure) but if that is the case Desjardins should be getting lots of time to impress, even if he is there only as a training player.

MNT

Wotherspoon will be called back. Maybe even for St Kitts match. Elva will probably be called for either November or March and maybe even Gold Cup if he shows well. Herdman will probably want to see him play in the flesh. I suspect enthusiasm for Telfer has dampened a lot since his performance and minutes dwindled over the summer, but maybe we see him for last qualifier in March. With respect, I don’t imagine Fisk is really within reaching distance of the top of the depth chart at the moment. A few years ago when he got to Korea? maybe but not at present sorry to say.

Heard that he may be in consideration for the u20s

Have seen Didic play in person several times. His pure pace is certainly less than Henry or James but moves fairly well for a really big dude his decision making playing out of the back and defensive instincts are typically very good and so he spends much less time “recovering” than james and henry which helps him compensate for less pure athleticism / speed than the others. He is also disadvantaged in the sense that Cornelius is younger, but Didic, much like Straith should be a long term reliable CB at whatever level he ultimately lands. Have heard that DeVos is with the team this time around. Coincidence?? if this is a forward looking thread, names like Dunn and LeBourhis (spelling?) might need to be in the mix, esp if they get called to U20 and show well.

Herpes are forever.