Subject: [NT] World Cup Qualifying

I was waiting for Laufer to start this thread, but I don't want the NT Update thread going off-track. If the new manager wants his own thread, I'll remove this one. :)

I'm waiting for his response to see where went wrong today.

Thanks.

Strange game against Suomi today.
Did not really like the tactic and what happened with the substitutions?

Why did my striker Wyn Lavrynenko replace the winger with MID order??
Wyn does not have passing and playmaker, on this position you only risk that he gets injuried.
Please, I don't want this to happen again since he is the only striker I have.
If you use him then correct, else let him stay at home.
I'm not amused!
(edited)

Congratulations to the new manager on a respectable debut. :) Finland really held all the cards today. Not only do they have superior players, but their manager has coached Finland before and has much more familiarity with his assets. A -2 may not be what we were hoping for, but IMO was a good result under the circumstances. :)

Got a really nice game out of Parker - especially considering his form. Made a number of nice stops, and if memory serves, made the first save on all of the Finland goals.

I was very surprised to see Biron in the line-up. He hasn't been able to hit a barn with his shot for me in the past month. But it was a good selection - he made the most of his opportunities. Considering the formation, using a technical striker was (IMO) the proper decision.

The knock to Amado was unfortunate. He was noticeably "off" after that - slow, clumsy. Might have meant a couple more chances had he stayed healthy.

I found the semi-sweeper a little curious - especially when backed into our end. I'd be interested in hearing the motivation for it.

A little constructive criticism - I thought Canada's throw-ins were very weak in this match - especially in the offensive zone. It's tougher to make nice throw-ins when playing defensively, but they are such an important method of goal scoring in Sokker that I'd strongly recommend tweaking them.

You played with a sweeper? Haven't seen those for ages on NT level :p

well, thats one way to make sure your player gets limited caps...

why do you have an NT player if you don't like him playing in NT games?

Did't see the match yet, had some internet connections problems.
Anyway we would love to hear from you Laufer.

I haven't seen the match yet either but will try soon. Things are a little hectic here & should change mid weekish.

Not please with Amado's knock but thankfully it's not too long. Hopefully that will be his injury for the season :)

Sorry, but I have a NT striker without playmaking and passing not a winger.
There is absolutely no reason to bringt him in for a winger.

You know what happens to wingers with high tech, but without playmaker skill?
They get injuried.

Do you really think I care about caps if my player gets used like that and ends in hospital, without reason?

I wanted to train him as close to 3x divine as possible for your NT, but not with this disrespect.

It's only good that no injury happened and I hope that Laufer can explain what happened.
That's everything I want :)
(edited)

I agree that Wyn Lavrynenko should not have played with a mid order. Canada only stands to benefit by his continued training and nt games are a part of that training. My player, Vince Lemieux, was played out of position in this game ( def instead of mid ) too and the result would be a small loss of training if I dont reorganize my whole training routine for the week.
Laufer, please play players in their proper positions.

Nice that someone understands my problems :)
I have and had quite some NT players and every few seasons a new NT coach does strange things with positioning them.
For me it's important that the NT manager knows that he is primary only borrowing the players from the clubs.
I don't want to check every week before league match if my 6 nt players were used correctly or got a knock because of misuse.
Actually I do check this, but I'm putting a lot of free time into this game since I'm addicted :)

Well, in Wyn's case its not even about the extra training (20minutes=7% extra), so I won't change him to MID for todays game.
It's only a nice goodie to bring Wyn in the last minutes so my interest for the national team stays steady, but has about no training/experience worth.
But please not as winger, next time I will certainly get a heart attack.
Every tackling on him was a stitch into my heart.

Maybe I'm an idiot and narrow, but that's how I see the things :)
(edited)

I could be wrong, but I doubt playing Wyn Lavrynenko in that position was by intent. I had assumed during the match that is was Olaf (Lavrynenko) who had been substituted in. That's an easy slip to make (as is subbing the wrong # - also a possibility here - which I did in my last friendly :P).

Olaf is a winger?

Well, that's surely an easy slip if one is new to the team!
It was not a lot harm done though, because the winger got about no balls anyhow.
I can understand this confusion.
However, as an advice from an old long term nt coach: you always have to double and triple check the lineup because if you do a mistake it does not only affect your teams, but others as well :)

The defenders and def mids kicked them quite often directly out of play.
I did not see this happen that frequently in the past.
Was there every player on the right position?
(edited)

I am just speculating on what might have happened. Olaf is a midfielder - a very versatile one (his club has used him as a defender and a striker). He's not a winger really, but I wouldn't call the role Iginla played in this match a winger role.

The advice about double & triple checking is good. In my experience, most of these slips happen when making last second adjustments - which can be very hard to catch.

The defenders and def mids kicked them quite often directly out of play.
I did not see this happen that frequently in the past.
Was there every player on the right position?

It's actually a pretty common problem for Canada that I have commented on frequently. :) The use of Villanueva in defensive midfield was a departure from what I had been doing. I never thought he had the passing skill for the role. But both the manager that preceded me and now the manager that has followed me have used him there - so I think maybe it's me that is out of the ... loop. ;)

I see!

Well, I have to confess that I mainly watched NT matches against weaker countries where Canada was making the game.
Looks like there is a big lack of playmaking in the defensive section that is very much visible if under pressure.
About time to clear that backlog since its crucial for ball possession.
Many seasons have past since I last saw my players play like that and my defence is certainly of no NT quality!

so I think maybe it's me that is out of the ... loop. ;)
Nice pun, you've got me there :)
(edited)

Good point. :)

I would say the coach did put an emphasis on PM when selecting the line-up. Dehere, Villanueva and Abbas Musa are our highest PM defenders. Bradshaw (along with Dehere) has perhaps the best overall midfield skills amoungst our defenders (I personally prefer him in the DM role when a big tackler is needed there).

IMO there are two big things that separate the top 10-15 NTs from the second tier. Those are defending skills on mids, and passing skills on defs. We simply don't have players like ... say a Lucas (USA).