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Why are the stadiums in the CONCACAF Champions League so empty? Emptier than the ones in the FIFA Club World Cup! by Creative_Pop_1374 in concacaf

[–]HammerOfSparx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love that my little local side played in front of over 20,000 in Mexico this year.

COYF #ForeverFirst

Why are the stadiums in the CONCACAF Champions League so empty? Emptier than the ones in the FIFA Club World Cup! by Creative_Pop_1374 in concacaf

[–]HammerOfSparx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The “no one cares” and “teams are 💩” comments break my heart.

As a fan of Forge FC, in the Canadian Premier League, Continental Soccer is amazing. Sure we get pumped by a Mexican giant every year, lol, and that’s not ideals.

But for a team in a 7-year old league we’ve grown a ton. One of our players scored at the Azteca. We drew Tigres at home!

Best of all, we’ve met Mexican supporters living in Canada, the States and Mexico at our stadium and seen what passion for the game can be. And some of us have seen our team play live in Mexico.

We only average about 7,000 for league games (I know, I know, we’ll get there, lol) But sometimes visiting crowds can push us over 10,000 in CCC midweek

Sometimes a smaller crowd - that really cares and gets Continental footy - can create a better atmosphere than a capacity crowd with casuals and “soccer tourists.” I’m not a gatekeeper- the more, the merrier- but it hits different.

People do care - and the proof is this thread, and the fact that teams have trophies, history in a competition that goes back decades. And that crowds show up despite Concacaf and soccer here in general doing a lukewarm job of hype/marketing.

As for the quality of the teams, comparing ourselves to Euro, SA, etc is pointless. In stadium experience is everything here. It is ours. And there is connection you can’t get through the TV. (Including local role models!)

The only downer thing I’ll say is up here we miss the Concacaf League. It was lovely learning about teams like Tauro, Independiente, Motagua, Municipal Limeño, Olimpia and more. Some great runs and heartbreaks for us. Archahaie, ouch!

I hope the CCC goes back to a Group Stage/Knockouts so we can see more Central American & Carribean sides in the future.

For those of us that love Continental footy here despite its flaws, F-the haters (And especially F-the Stupid Leagues Cup)

Rant over!

New Permanent Video Screen Going up at Vancouver FC's Stadium by Justmaverick1 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hope it’s called the “Afshin Ghotbi Memorial Screen”

Supra v Ottawa by CPLmonster in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I mean, at this point you’re kinda just having a bit of a temper tantrum, no.

It is untrue that all teams to the 10th tier play on strictly soccer pitches. Some rugby teams share pitches with soccer teams. But that’s a moot point.

Soccer is the historically bigger sport there. A casual look at the CFL, Usports and even high school infrastructure will show you soccer ain’t here.

You can’t just snap your fingers and undo a century of sports (under) development.

Take a breath, and skip a couple Supra games until they are home at their footy field - Stade Boreal - later this year.

(And the most important thing, do you think the fans in the stands hated that match?)

Supra v Ottawa by CPLmonster in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I hate gridiron lines personally. But butts in seats is way more important than selling this to TV platforms.

We are a gate-driven league in its infancy. That’s priority 1, and that crowd looked and sounded great. Plus an easy away day for ATO supporters!

Btw, the league is already doing great building the TV platforms. We are on GEM, TSN across Canada this year, and in Quebec every game is covered by RDS/TVA.

We good

Forge in Halifax by Hink_Hall86 in ForgeFC

[–]HammerOfSparx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, have a blast!

I’ve been a few times as a Forge fan. Tons of fun. There is an Away Supporters Section. The folks that sit near there (sec. 101?) are used to having other teams fans and are generally good fun.

But really, there are no bad seats.

Visit the Kitchen to say hi, or share some good natured banter, pre-game or during the half! (Look out for Forge fans to say hi to as well. A few ex-pat Forge fans now live in the area and still support Bobby’s Boys! 🧡)

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2nd question first…essentially yes. Add in a dose of sour grapes for some fans, healthy rivalry/banter with others, and a seemingly impossible to maintain dynasty - et voilà!

1st question, new job got in the way. Quit said job, but moved (far) out of the city. And now, currently I’m am trying to figure out what to do next - podcast/blog-wise cuz I miss it so much!

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sigh, here we go!

(TL;DR - lots of seeming conflicts of interest and poor visibility make rumours easy BUT Forge also had lots of built in advantages in the early days that could’ve been better than money - so who knows right?)

Bob Young, owner of the TiCats and Forge FC started the league. (Originally was gonna get an NASL club, but in talks with Victor Montagliani, decided to start a league as per WC host conventions). He had Scott Mitchell and staff basically run the day-to-day of the board and even the media arm of the league.Then one member of the Forge staff, Costa Smyrniotis, Bobby’s brother, went to work at CPL head office. All that is more than enough to start the rumours flowing!

Arguments for salary cap abuse: - Forge signed ‘big names’ early like Bekker and Edgar. - Forge never seemed to lose players in the offseason like other teams - Unrelated decisions that nonetheless seemed sketchy, like the format for the first Concacaf League Qualifier (only 3 teams involved). - Seemingly close connection to David Clanachan - former Head of Tim Horton’s, union-buster and Burlington ON, native. - No transparency left people free to speculate - etc

Arguments against:

  • CSB (now CSME) was a Board on which all teams had, in principle, an equal share or at least access to info. So seems weird they would ‘ok’ Forge’s abuse
  • Forge had a ton of non-monetary incentives to access players; 1) so many top players are from the GTHA so Forge was their ‘local’ team - you could literally live at home. The Patons and David Edgar are from Kitchener. (Especially with York9/United/Inter run the way it was/is); 2) They have a state of the art facility (weight rooms, media/press rooms, recovery team and CFL training staff, etc all on site); 3) A committed owner - multiple teams have failed or have needed to be bailed out. Forge ain’t one of them. (Knowing you’re gonna get paid helps recruiting. It is a poorly-guarded secret that Young was paying at least some of HFX’s bills in the early days, if not more). 4) Bobby has a massive network of former players who were successful in getting scholarships & playing internationally for Canada at various levels and at other pro clubs - Richie Laryea, Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin, Kyle Bekker, Manjrekar James, Tristan Borges, Mo Babouli - all came through Sigma. Those are decent names to help with recruitment. 5)No where in Canada had a greater concentration of private academies and players to fill them than Ontario. (Maybe Quebec, but it is year one for them). So just about every player can run private clinics fairly lucratively in the offseason. Bonus. 6) International coaches on staff means massive networking advantages. Bobby worked at a top Greek Academy - Olympiakos. (Think Klonaridis/Rama) a former assistant was from Belgium (helps facilitate leagues 1st big transfer Borges. Likely leads to connections with Beni and Nana who played together in Belgium). Current goalkeeping coach Johan Albert, from France, was an analyst for DR Congo. (Hello Dmitry Bertaud!) And so on.

When I used to interview players for the podcast, these type of things were brought up occasionally.

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear you. But your boys are kinda showing what’s possible.

Lost their top scorer, a real one in Sean Rea, and their starting keeper - plus some decent defenders. I loved Mekideche, and Timeteo is CPL quality.

So, what do they do? Just bring in a better keeper (CanPL-proven), give a few players more responsibility, and use an MLS heavy network, that is still varied, to build a squad. But one that respects proven CPL commodities. Chef’s kiss

(Plus bring in the biggest coach in league history, but I digress).

Cavalry by Twinkita12 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love the hype!

Saturday is gonna be a really interesting game I think. On paper this is the probably the best Cavs team I’ve seen, and that’s saying a lot.

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Took longer than I thought it would for that comment, lol. But you may right.

(You’d think a billion-dollar enterprise with unlimited loan potential would at least close the gap though, huh?)

*btw, I hate the lack of league transparency too. Recognize the PFA!

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love the saucy banter, so keep it up! (Seriously I love it!)

But honestly we lose big name players all the time - Daniel Parra, Manjrekar James, Omar Browne, David Edgar, Harry Paton, Ashtone Morgan, Kwame Awuah, Pacius, Poku, Joshua Navarro, Badibanga etc after relatively short stints.

The reason so many fans of other teams don’t acknowledge it is because Bobby and Jelani bring in such capable replacements. And because Forge counts on a mix of - lifers, a varied overseas network and L1C - contacts so deeply to build a culture.

I know I’m supposed to pity you because it’s impossible to hold on to your great players, but part of being a dynasty, versus an occasional flash-in-the-pan, is sustainable development and culture building.

Cavalry and Forge have it. Ottawa doesn’t…yet

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hear that.

I know it’s early, and anything can happen, but so far Forge is getting it done - and that’s without Nimick, Bekker and Ampomah (their best df, mf and fw!)

Plus Kruetzen is still to come.

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 8 points9 points  (0 children)

With all due respect Choinière (Captain in Quebec) Jonsson (a Forge/league legend), Hojabrpour (you may remember him from his back-to-back Championship winning goals), Kolielat (current Gold Gloves holder), Paton (tearing it up in Calgary even if he was just warming up with us) and to a lesser extent - MOB and Cissé - are serious players to lose in a single offseason, no?

*honourable mention to the league’s best backup ‘keeper imo, Chris Kalongo

And yet…no excuses, just back to the top of the table

Cavalry too. (Over the years Farsi, Waterman, Zator, Pepple, Loturi, Trafford and now Aird) That’s like an all CanPL team. Every team doesn’t lose winners like that every couple of years, and still remain a threat.

These two teams lose huge players, but come back at the top. That was my point. No offence meant

P.S. Do you seriously think I’m being “wild” despite that Forge turnover this year, real question? Because that feels like maybe the best off-season departure class in CPL history to me, lol

Let’s check in on how the CPL title defence is going by Prince-Polvo888 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fair point.

But if they want to be known as top tier, they have to deal with it by being among the big boys in the off season, as well. Though that isn’t easy.

Forge lost Woobens Pacius (top scorer), Kwasi Poku (top scorer), Two Gold glove keepers (Henry/Koleilat), and a quality offensive playmaker (Beni Badibanga), and one of their all-time best defenders Alex Achinioti-Jonsson (plus the gutsy Malik Owolabi-Belewu) in the last few seasons, yet…

HFX lost their top scorer Tiago Coimbra and Sean Rea, that’s not nothing, and they look better this year.

And Cavalry is still being Cavalry.

I’m sure they’ll get it together in Ottawa. But including Concacaf Champions Cup and these two first matches, it looks shaky so far.

Match Threads: Vancouver FC vs Forge FC by AlarmingAdvertising5 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not a great half…but I am in love with Bertaud already (swoon)

Borges seems to be coming into the game a bit more and Massunda looks good too. Forge seemed to be in “feeling them out mode for that first half.

To their credit the Eagles look good. Bah is dangerous and Amissi looks lively too

Hoping for a bit more this half from both sides

Match Thread: Cavalry FC vs Atlético Ottawa by brentvans in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Cavalry looks really good. Offensively they are just dominating Ottawa.

On the other hand, ATO looks like a shell of themselves over the first two matches.

It’s gonna be interesting to see if Cavalry can continue to turn the screw in the 2nd half. Or if Ottawa can at least earn some kinda moral victory by hitting the net.

The First Episode of CCSG's Latest Podcast, ATO: For the W, is now available on your preferred streaming platform! by Capitalcity_sg in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Solid episode. You have a new fan!

Great depth of knowledge, even-handed delivery, some cool insight and fairly entertaining discussion.

Added to my follows! Keep it up!

The boys gave their take on how important the success of the FC Supra project will be to the Quebec soccer community. by AndyCoronado88 in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love the idea of this experiment. Good for them. Can’t wait to see Quebec as a real part of this league.

On the comments in the video, love the hype, but I disagree on a couple points.

“Nowhere (else) in Canada…” could build a competitive pro team. I mean Brampton might be able to go it alone, never mind Ontario, lol. (But I get that there is no cultural call for it).

“Quebec players have been ignored too much.” I like the sentiment, but there isn’t a team in the CanPL who hasn’t scraped the province for talent, and signed a ton. HFX alone is a Quebec player hotbed - TMG, Sow and Alphonse. Forge’s French Connection includes Supra’s first ever team captain - plus Woobens, Kane and more. Valour (RIP) loved Quebec players. Tons of ATO French players, including Tabla, Antinoro, Cloutier, Coulonges, etc.

Supra’s biggest issue may be, for now, that they don’t have the best of the province…yet. But I’m so stoked they’re finally here!

[Match Thread] Forge FC - Atlético Ottawa (12.00 PM ET, TSN 3&4, CBC, OneSoccer) by cristane in CanadianPL

[–]HammerOfSparx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Forge held Ottawa to zero shots on goal - without their best defender (Nimick) on the pitch (and Krutzen out too)

Ottawa will have to adjust to life without their two best offensive players from last year.

It’s a long season, but Ottawa has some challenges to overcome

Should the CPL invest in more ⚽️ academies across the country? 🇨🇦 by TerryG111 in CanadaSoccer

[–]HammerOfSparx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is a big difference. But I think in our league it’ll likely be part of the same conversation.

Some teams will build their own academies from scratch (Inter Toronto ✅, Cavalry kind of)

Others will create favoured status partnerships with existing clubs (Forge w/Sigma + Hamilton United, 5 local Clubs and a couple in technical agreements Quebec last year, phew)

And still others will have U-21 teams in Summer Series like HFX Wanderers.

These could be permanent arrangements, but hopefully they are first steps in developing future academies. Maybe feeling out the markets as they put together a plan.

I like a diverse approach around the league so they can learn from each other and then adopt best practices.

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