http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/te....jsp&team=t280
I'm really starting to believe that TFC will only elevate the CMNT through marketing and that's it. This really offends me as a supporter
http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/te....jsp&team=t280
I'm really starting to believe that TFC will only elevate the CMNT through marketing and that's it. This really offends me as a supporter
How so man we still have a few kids on our own U-17 team
I'm confused. The article suggests he's from Trinidad. What's the problem?
We should be developing players for Canada not T&T. Would you be okay with us developing Jamaican and Trini players and having the rest Canadian? This isn't a stepping stone for every immigrant in Toronto to go play for their country of heritage
Yeah, I'm confused as to what the problem is as well.
If anything, this is great for TFC's Academy - one of it's members got selected for a national team.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
He's Canadian with Trini roots.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TFC_Academy
I think they're two in the same. What's lacking every time we go to the draft? Good young Canadian players. So we should be developing those. There are roster restrictions in this league that would benefit by developing our own. Ryan Macleod would count as a Canadian because he's a Canadian. I do care about the state of football in Canada and want to progress. TFC is part of that and has a responsibility to develop players for Canada
Last edited by DigzTFC!; 03-16-2009 at 09:07 PM.
True there are so many examples of this from all over the world even a ton of CMNT players did this overseas: David Edgar, Asmir Begovic, Simeon Jackson, even the best Canadian Player JDG
I fail to see a problem. I don't really care what country he plays for, so long as the Academy is producing good players for TFC. Canadian content is a fringe benefit.
PS we've still got players like Ashtone Morgan, Garrett Cyprus, Jonathon Lao, Brennan McNicholl, and Allando Matheson, point being: buck up there, sport
You got that from a little flag next to his name in Wikipedia?
It says he's been called up by T&T twice in the past, meaning even if you're right, he wouldn't have the option to play for Canada.
We also have no idea if Canada ever even asked him to play in the first place.
The point of TFC Academy is to train players for TFC, not to advertise or supply players to the CMNT. That's their responsibility.
This is a great thing for TFC.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
You know what, I'm wrong. I get really pissed over people selecting other countries over Canada. Its a sore point with me. The role of TFC is to win games. Thats all. It has no responsibility to Canada. All it is a place to organization that provides winning football. It has nothing to do with Canada.
Who knows...Allando Matheson might be plucked by Jamaica, like they're doing with Hoillet
the fact that McLeod is playing for trini does not mean TFC is not producing Canadian players. He's just 1 guy on a team packed to the max with Canadians. TFC recently had 3 canadians on one of the teen national teams.
If the point is that TFC Academy should not allow non-canadians to play then that's another question altogether. I think you go for the best players who want to be with TFC Academy, regardless of nationality, or whether or not mom and dad have citizenship of another country.
You're argument is suggesting we should only be developing Canadian players in the Academy. Do you really want to put this club at a complete handicap? The big clubs in the world have no problem bringing 12 year olds from other countries to develop them. So I don't see why we should. This isn't the Canadian Soccer Association's Academy, they are not one in the same.
Fine that you want Canadian Soccer to grow, and it's a benefit to have an Academy in Toronto, but at the end of the day, why should MLSE be investing in kids for the Canadian national team? it just makes no sense.
That I would totally oppose if we brought in players from other countries in to the Academy. At least the MacLeod is Canadian. I would totally oppose bringing in players abroad and replacing local guys. Am I the only one with this outlook?
Is club more important the country?
^^ that's like asking which kid you love more. TFC owes nothing to CMNT, and vice versa. TFC academy should attract the best, regardless of origin, or any other archaic nationalistic viewpoint.
Sorry, did you just call my patriotism an archaic nationalistic viewpoint. I want to be clear on this. I don't mind people opposing my views and opinions but I do take offense when you start in with these comments
I'm not too sure we should be reading much into this whole Mcleod T&T situation as I'm pretty sure he'd be able to play for Canada its just that he was probably asked by T&T first, but Digz brings up a good point in how Canada has always had a rich tradition of atheletes with choices to make, from Hargreaves to De Guzman to Mark Boswell (High jumper born in the caribean but repping Canada) to of course Donovan Bailey, we seem to be a great place to come for athletes I suppose, my fear is that we don't get too many kids deciding that playing for the CSA is too much of a dead end street and instead play elsewhere.
to add full context. i think that anyone, who thinks anyone deserves anything based on the landmass they were squeezed out on, is wrong.
Ok maybe you'll see it if I pose it this way. TFC in 5 years gets an opportunity to bring in a future south american star. For whatever reason, this 14 year old decides he wants to come to Toronto (parents are moving here and he wants to be close to them). He's highly regarded as the next Leo Messi. Are you telling me you would oppose him coming because he's not Canadian?
This is not about Club before Country. This is the club's investment and therefore it should benefit the club first. The day the CSA decides to invest in a real system then you'll start to see players being developed for Canada.
If he has a Canadian passport, he's Canadian in terms of MLS roster rules, which in the context of it being a TFC academy, is the absolute best you could hope for. I'm sure we'd all love it if maple syrup and Bryan Adams ran through the blood of each of the kids on the team, but it's not going to happen, and it's not the point of the institution. It's to develop players for TFC. Full stop.
To the TFC Academy? Absolutely. And that is what I want from the TFC Academy.
The point of TFC Academy is not for MLSE to spend money doing the CSA/CMNT's job for them. I want our academy to find and groom great players, no matter where we find them. It will always have somewhat of a Canadian bias, by virtue of being in Canada anyway.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
BTW I don't mean to be a downer but this is all extremely useless to even think about discussing until the MLS changes it's stupid rules governing the academies