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View Full Version : A Look Ahead To The CCL Group Stage



bgnewf
08-12-2011, 11:03 AM
My Take On The CCL Group Stage for TFC

http://viewfromthesouthstands.com/2011/08/group-stages/

A brief look ahead at the task ahead for TFC in the Group Stages of the CONCACAF Champions League and why I think the officials in all eight games might turn out to be the story in the first round of matches.

TOBOR !
08-12-2011, 12:17 PM
"Toronto will need to get as many points as they can from these games, plus the reffing may be dodgy."

I'm curious to know which teams were involved in the last five internationals refereed by Marco Brea - there may be underlying reasons why he handed out as many cautions as he did.

bgnewf
08-12-2011, 01:11 PM
"Toronto will need to get as many points as they can from these games, plus the reffing may be dodgy."

I'm curious to know which teams were involved in the last five internationals refereed by Marco Brea - there may be underlying reasons why he handed out as many cautions as he did.

World Cup 2014 qualifiers Caribbean 1st round Dominican Republic vs Anguilla - 4 yellows

Olympic qualifiers 2012 - Caribbean 1st round Haiti vs Antigua & Barbuda - 7 yellows

Gold Cup 2011 qualifiers Central American zone group stage Nicaragua vs Belize - 4 yellows and 1 red + 1 penalty

CONCACAF u20 Championship 2011 group stage USA vs Panama - 2 yellows

CONCACAF u17 Championship 2011 2nd stage Dominica vs Barbados - 8 yellows and 1 red + 1 penalty

These are the last five games he has reffed. Was not able to find anything online about anything domestic he has done in Cuba. 5.4 cards per game is a bit of an excessive average don't you think??

TOBOR !
08-12-2011, 01:33 PM
^hells yeah. Those things must be all dog-eared and torn. He must need a new set every week.

mdc 77
08-12-2011, 01:36 PM
At least the pitch shouldn't be an issue in Panama. I believe Tauro will be playing the group stage at Estadio Rommel Fernandez which is a pretty decent quality stadium of 30,000 seats in Panama city. Travel shouild be much easier as well since they will avoid a long bus ride after the flight. Heat and humidity will be a factor for this round though, Dallas and Panama city are pretty steamy places. Although the Dallas match is in October so hopefully cooler.

maninb
08-12-2011, 02:16 PM
IMO...we need AT LEAST 4 points from our first 2 games (Tauro away & Dallas home) or we'll be done....

Yohan
08-12-2011, 02:18 PM
IMO...we need AT LEAST 4 points from our first 2 games (Tauro away & Dallas home) or we'll be done....
I'd say both games have to be wins...

mdc 77
08-12-2011, 02:18 PM
IMO...we need AT LEAST 4 points from our first 2 games (Tauro away & Dallas home) or we'll be done....

I say we need 6 from those two matches, they are 2 tough but "winnable" games.

bgnewf
08-12-2011, 02:59 PM
I'd say both games have to be wins...

Agree with that. Here is how I see it possibly working out. Last year in three of the four groups it took only ten points to advance. So working on that assumption you hope that it goes down as follows:

Beat Tauro Home and away - six points. Beat Dallas home - three points. Have two games home & away versus Pumas and one away match in Dallas to get the one remaining point you need to advance. If you draw or lose versus Dallas then you have to hope that you can get something from Pumas, Mexican Clausura champions, who are arguably the best side in the entire tournament, let alone trying to win in Dallas (where TFC has never won in five attempts before - 1 draw & 4 defeats).