Canadian Championship - Rovers FC@TFC Wed April 24th 7:38pm - He Said, "Enter at

[OgtheDim]

Your own risk

I am not Responsible"



*********

Have At It People

[flatpicker]

The only other time I have gone to a game that featured a League 1 team called Rovers was when I went to a couple games in Bristol while visiting family. Both times Rovers lost. So I take that as a good sign for this week's matchup. lol

[jloome]

Trap game? Anyone know enough about Simcoe to know if there's any threat? I read a piece today but it was a bit muddled. Sounded like they have two of the defecting Cubans from the WC cycle, as well as possible some ex-pros?

[los sonadores]

This article sort of makes me want to cheer for Simcoe Country, hah. I like a heavy underdog and frankly I don’t think we’re going to win anything much, overall, in any competition, until we get better. Also, it sounds like the club is truly well run (which we cannot say about TFC).

2000 travelling supporters expected, and Simcoe has 5 former CPL players (including the two Cubans) plus a U-17 Canadian player.

https://canpl.ca/article/theyre-loca...ronto-fc-clash

[SenorDingDong]

Surely this is the game Mailula gets his start?

[barticusz]

Surely this is the game Mailula gets his start?

Hahah still not good enough.

[MikeForbes]

I can see Ayo potentially scoring a goal. League1 Ontario is probably his level currently.

[Red CB Toronto]

Will be very interested to see if John put out the best 11 to start, blow them up for 3, 4 or more first half goals and then empty the bench for the 2nd or does he manage the roster with the road trip to Orlando on the weekend in mind. Do we see some TFC II signings? There is no doubt Simcoe County will be coming here to play especially with an expected 2K or so of their fans making their way down the 400 for the game.

[MikeForbes]

Will be very interested to see if John put out the best 11 to start, blow them up for 3, 4 or more first half goals and then empty the bench for the 2nd or does he manage the roster with the road trip to Orlando on the weekend in mind. Do we see some TFC II signings? There is no doubt Simcoe County will be coming here to play especially with an expected 2K or so of their fans making their way down the 400 for the game.

This is the perfect time to give guys like Mabika, Mailula, Kosi, Kerr and maybe even a couple kids like Ythallo and Staniland some game time. Have Prince, Bernie, Oso and whoever else ready to go in the second half if needed.

[OgtheDim]

All the language out of Herdman is they are taking this one seriously and will rotate some senior members in who knew last week this would be a starting assignment for them.

Oso loves beating teams like this because it feeds his "top dog in Canada" mentality - I think Herdman also has that approach.

Mabika, Gravan, Kerr should start. Kosi will for sure, as a CB, based on Friday's presser.

Anybody carrying a knock should not start- Petretta, Berne.

I'm a little concerned about how our midfield will look - although watching Flores scare these guys could be fun.

[Red CB Toronto]

Based on the 20 who dressed on Saturday, if Berna and Raoul sit plus Kevin Long returns to the lineup, do we see a TFC II signing or two to fill things out, giving John some roster sub options if the Reds get up in the first half, does he start resting guys come the second half? I do not want to call this a trap game because of the wide gap in roster quality and John having them ready, but on the other hand you do not want to get into a scrappy one goal win or something.

All the language out of Herdman is they are taking this one seriously and will rotate some senior members in who knew last week this would be a starting assignment for them.

Oso loves beating teams like this because it feeds his "top dog in Canada" mentality - I think Herdman also has that approach.

Mabika, Gravan, Kerr should start. Kosi will for sure, as a CB, based on Friday's presser.

Anybody carrying a knock should not start- Petretta, Berne.

I'm a little concerned about how our midfield will look - although watching Flores scare these guys could be fun.

[Prof]

Surely this is the game Mailula gets his start?

Mailula should be starting in Osorio's position. He is a poacher, he and Prince up top with Bernadeschi behind them would give us more punch than what Oso offers.

[613reppingTFC]

Tried looking for this on Fubo for anyone unable to attend. It shows it at listed on One Soccer and Fubo but when I reached out and contacted someone they said that the game will be unavailable. In years past they were pretty quick to make the change and have it available. I wonder if now that they have EPL it's changed a bit of how they operate.

Also if Berna plays maybe he finally can get the monkey off his back.

[SenorDingDong]

Also if Berna plays maybe he finally can get the monkey off his back.

I'd be surprised if Berna starts but imagine he will be on the bench.

I mean if our B team can't be a league 1 Ontario team then we really need to clean house with them.

[Mikmacdo]

Trap game? Anyone know enough about Simcoe to know if there's any threat? I read a piece today but it was a bit muddled. Sounded like they have two of the defecting Cubans from the WC cycle, as well as possible some ex-pros?

they have two ex cuban national team players and a bunch of guys who were bench warmers in the cpl. they played york in preseason and lost. tfc should honestly win by 4 minimum.

[Joe Kool]

Tried looking for this on Fubo for anyone unable to attend. It shows it at listed on One Soccer and Fubo but when I reached out and contacted someone they said that the game will be unavailable. In years past they were pretty quick to make the change and have it available. I wonder if now that they have EPL it's changed a bit of how they operate.

Also if Berna plays maybe he finally can get the monkey off his back.

I would ignore the Fubo guide. It is terrible at times like this. Sometimes the game being played on One Soccer is not even what is on the guide at the time. Sometimes it changes last minute. Really unreliable. Worst case I will play the live One Soccer channel on Fubo at the start time of the game and hope for the best.

[jloome]

Well that's me out of watching. Fubo doesn't carry Leeds this year and I'm not paying more per month for the CPL and the odd Canada game than I pay for most major streaming services.

$12.99 for OneSoccer? They must be having a laugh. Mental.

[los sonadores]

Seems there are $10 tickets even at ticketmaster… I’ll probably get something and walk over to the stadium. It’ll be strange to see the north end blue but there is something really nice about these sort of matches. That we have one now in Canada says a lot about the growth of football here.

[los sonadores]

they have two ex cuban national team players and a bunch of guys who were bench warmers in the cpl. they played york in preseason and lost. tfc should honestly win by 4 minimum.

Maybe… but that’s the fun of matches like this. Also, they scored two against York, it was 3-2, so not at all bad for a preseason match.

[OgtheDim]

Fubo carries OneSoccer

[OgtheDim]

Kerr out - foot injury - plantar fasciitis

[Red CB Toronto]

Kerr out - foot injury - plantar fasciitis

Plus John said their would be a few TFC II short term signings for tomorrow evening, they have not released that announcement yet.

[James17930]

If we lose this game we don't deserve to exist.

[los sonadores]

If we lose this game we don't deserve to exist.

Think of it as taking one for Canadian soccer!

To be honest, I’d rather lose than seeing Bernie and too many of our first stringers out there with a league match on Saturday. At least Insigne is not possible… $14 million US against a League One Ontario side is a somewhat ridiculous proposition. Or maybe not… the entire wage bill of AFC Marine when they played Spurs in 2021 in the 3rd round of the FA cup was 750 quid:

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-cup-third-round-marine-tottenham-mourinho-b2473334.html

[los sonadores]

This article is a bit more detailed about Simcoe County than the others I’ve seen.

https://wakingthered.com/2024/04/23/...-club-history/

[rydermike]

While my initial thought was to bench the top guys, I feel like we should throw out Bernardeschi, let him bag a hat trick and get that goal scoring monkey off his back. Also, it would be a career highlight for the Simcoe players to play him. Like when Tottenham threw out some stars like Gareth Bale, Dele Alli, and Lucas Moura out against Marine

[jloome]

While my initial thought was to bench the top guys, I feel like we should throw out Bernardeschi, let him bag a hat trick and get that goal scoring monkey off his back. Also, it would be a career highlight for the Simcoe players to play him. Like when Tottenham threw out some stars like Gareth Bale, Dele Alli, and Lucas Moura out against Marine

Jim Brennan's take this week on Footy Prime was that we should put out a strong team and try to wax them 15-0. Be good for morale, basically.

I'm not adverse; most MLS weeks until Leagues Cup are single game, so one four-day turnover shouldn't be extra taxing.

[SenorDingDong]

Jim Brennan's take this week on Footy Prime was that we should put out a strong team and try to wax them 15-0. Be good for morale, basically.

I'm not adverse; most MLS weeks until Leagues Cup are single game, so one four-day turnover shouldn't be extra taxing.

I'm starting to lean towards this at least for 45 min. But anyone nursing a knock should sit.

[jloome]

From his presser, I'm guessing we're getting mostly backups and TFCII kids.

Hopefully Mailula gets a start, and Thompson. They need chances to prove themselves in real game situations. Be good to see Pearlman and Mabika get time, too.

[los sonadores]

From his presser, I'm guessing we're getting mostly backups and TFCII kids.

Hopefully Mailula gets a start, and Thompson. They need chances to prove themselves in real game situations. Be good to see Pearlman and Mabika get time, too.

This is the lineup I’m expecting. Herdman, in his first club gig sounds, in general, like he’s really trying to play it safe. As he should do, given our recent injury history.

It’ll be fun - there’s a lot for everyone on both sides to play for.