Wednesday 4 April 2012

What Was Supposed To Be 20 Random Thoughts So Far

Alright mid week, time to clean up some blog related and WCP soccer issues. Remember this is my opinion and I am open to hearing other suggestions. I will start with the blog related stuff and move into the soccer.

1. There has been some debate on multicultural component vs the soccer component of this tournament. Right now I would say the tournament is 80% about soccer and only 20% about multiculturalism. If you honestly wanted teams to have 75% heritage players I bet you would lose half the teams.

2. I am 100% for bringing players from out of town. It raises the level of soccer and has helped in making this tournament as big as it is. There are already some really bad teams, imagine how poor the quality of soccer would be if we got rid of all out of town players.

3. That being said I do have a problem with teams who bring in out of town players and then don't make the heritage requirements. That doesn't seem fair. 

4. I endorse trash talking people on this blog to a certain extent. It's entertaining and I think most people get that it is either a joke or someone who is just an idiot looking for attention. Trash talking cultures on the other hand is by no means acceptable. I don't think any comment on here have been too bad so far but if you find one point it out and I will remove it asap.

5. The reason I originally started this blog was to focus on the soccer side of things so lets get to that!

6. Part of focusing on the soccer side of things is giving credit to teams that play well. On the other side of that I think that part of reporting what happened is being critical of teams and their poor performances. If you want to play in front of paying fans I think its fair that they and the people who cover the tournament have the right to criticize.

7. To be clear I am talking about Vietnam, South Korea, Hungary, Somalia etc. These teams haven't been up to par and I hope they can get their acts together.

8. So how do we raise the level of competition? Allow less teams? Or maybe we could bring in MORE out of town players (not going to be a popular idea)? Or some sort of relegation tournament?

9. Or how bout this idea..... reduce the rosters to17 players which would a) Still leave you with 2 full lineups and a keeper. b) Free up 6 players from every team. Which is 144 players, the equivalent to 8.5 teams. c) Allow the bottom 6 players on the rosters to form more competitive team and gain more playing time. d) Would really push heritage requirements. e) Really make you reconsider putting out of town players on your roster if they are not going to be there every game. I know I am a genius eh?

10. From what I have seen so far the top teams would be 1) Poland. Followed by in no particular order, France, ROI, Laos, Sudan and Nigeria. Though I am not completely on the Nigeria band wagon yet.

11. People are saying that Poland may be in a bit of trouble because it doesn't sound like Brett Levis will be attending many games. However, I would expect that the Sembaluk's, obviously more Devin than his sub Dustin, to really step up and take the goal scoring reigns.

12. I don't know where I sit on Jamaica right now. They beat Colombia but what does that mean? They also lost to Hungary in exhibition... I think tonight's game against N. Ireland will be tighter than people imagine and that group could come down to goal differential.

13. Norway is another team I am having trouble drawing an opinion on. Yeah they beat Greece but so what? I would be real happy to get drawn against them in the quarters still. (I know we can't)

14. Coming out of their groups right now I have A) ROI, Sudan  B) Laos, Canada  C) Poland, Nigeria  D)France, Norway

15. On the Women's side.... When was the last time there was an upset? I think we are talking year's ago. I feel like, even with my limited knowledge of the players, every game is a foregone conclusion.

16. In saying that, it looks like a 2 horse race again. However, I think Germany has looked the better team this year from what I have seen. It's not going to be a push over for Ukraine this year.

17. Anybody else go for the music being a little quieter at the facility? I am trying to discuss the game at half time!

18. Will end off with some really humorous stuff I have seen so far. Starting with a player kicking a ball out the same sideline he was taking the kick in from. It was on the ground and only went 10 yards yikes.

19. I get putting 2 guys on the ball for a free kick that makes sense. But is it really necessary when the freekick is just outside your own 18 yard box? Yikes.

20. The setting up of walls has been something teams have struggled with the whole tournament. But if you are in a wall, even a poor one, you have to face the ball, you can't turn your back.

21. Funniest thing I have seen so far and I know I shouldn't laugh but we saw a guy try to jump up onto the back of the bleachers catch his feet and end up sprawled across them. He was fine so I think it's alright to laugh.

Bonus Point. Best/ Most Unpredictable anthem of the year this year is Somalia. Awesome beat and ends abruptly. Loved it.

39 comments:

The Joker said...

Ummm u got 22 thoughts, your title says 20

Anonymous said...

Relegation tournament idea. Just throwing out thoughts. Right now there are 24 teams. I think the tournament functions well as is even though there are some blow out games, it is what it is.

However, if you wanted to try a relegation idea You could try something like this...


CHAMPIONSHIP SIDE TOURNEY (Maximum 16 teams)
Every year you have only 16 teams in the Championship side of the tournament. You make 4 groups of 4 with those 16 teams/countries. The top 2 teams in each group play through to the quarters like they do now (top 8). The bottom 2 teams in each group (bottom 8) play through to not be in the bottom 4 and get relegated out of the tourney for the following year. You play all the way through and have placing games. Whether that be for 9th, 10th etc.

If you end up 13th to 16th you are then relegated out of the 16 team CHAMPIONSHIP tourney as you finished bottom 4. To get back into the championship side you would then have to enter the relegation side tournament and place top 4 at it the following year so essentially taking a year off from the championship side and maybe more if you fail to qualify.

RELEGATION SIDE TOURNEY (minimum 8 teams, max 16 teams)
This is a tourney that you want to finish top 4 in as it allows you to make the jump to the championship side the following year. A min 8 teams playing off in their own seperate tourney are seperated into 2 groups of 4. The top 2 from each group come out (so these 4 teams would then be in next years 16 team tourney). You would play these placing games out as well as they are used for rankings the following year.

If a new country wants to enter the tournament they are in the Relegation tournament first to prove themselves.

This would make for some highly emotional games in the relegation stages and it helps better tier the tournament.

Also teams that qualified out of relegation would probably be able to get a lot more transfers of some ok players that would want to play in the championship side vs the relegation side and therefore make them more competitive. It is the same thing you see in leagues around the world that have a relegation system in place.


Just random thoughts. It may sound confusing but is actually not very.

DG

Anonymous said...

I agree that the music should be quieter, unless they are playing the hot new track, "I Got a Feeling". That gem of a song can never be too loud!

Nate

Anonymous said...

I would also add DG"s favorite track "Party Animal" ( I think that's what it's called, ironically it played before the ROI Somalia game) to the list of hot hits.

DG I browsed through parts of your novel, sounds similar to the World juniors format, I actually think its a very well thought out idea and could help make the tournament better for all.

Julio

Anonymous said...

The roster size seems to be a legitimate solution. The top squads in the tournament run with low number and like you said it would put pressure on your decisions for outside players and would probably form more competitive teams.

Anonymous said...

Great ideas. I like dg' except that new teams would have to wait the year to Get in. On Poland, they are a joke. Lucky last year they beat us, one goal that should been dis allowed and our terrible system we ran. Friday night we are going to crush them. There will
Be no mercy shown

The Joker said...

I agree with DG strategy tourney, instead top 4 goin up or down, they should challenge a team

Anonymous said...

Mike are u out of your mind? Germany is a way better team than Poland and Nigeria so we going to make u eat your words when we play them, both teams can't beat us, look at our roaster and the calibre players we have then compare it to those two teams u mentioned, and am pretty sure with all our players around we ate capable of beating your team and Sudan just a mere fact

Anonymous said...

actually thats not a fact. its not even a mere fact

Anonymous said...

I've thrown out the Relegation idea on here (almost identical to DG's...16 teams...all else relegated and play in a qualifying tourney...players relegated can get signed 'on loan' to a qualifying team if someone wants them, etc.)

It would make the actual tournament more exciting, but would still keep new teams coming in and helping them prepare to be better before going to the slaughter house like Vietnam/Somalia, etc are going through this year. The Relegation tournament would be a way to get the hype going early on the tournament as well.

Having less total games would help reduce the cost of the tourney pass and better quality games would increase the fan support...more hype...more potential for solid sponsors...

Anonymous said...

thats not fair if the tournament was all heritage players on one team.. tthat would mean GREECE would win every year. and we wouldnt want that to happen would we. but really, Greece would be the IRELAND of the wcp tourney if that was the case, Nigeria, Canada, would be top competitors every year as well. Just saying. There is a reason why the greek team won 5 or 6 consecutive city titles in the 90's,and early 2000's... but this tournament obviously doesnt check heritage and it s almost impossible to check so i want to blame them but i cant because this tournament isnt a fifa tourney and who has time to do background checks.

Anonymous said...

I like DG idea. Why don't you run it by Kevin man, see what he says? Thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Is it me or are all these blogs becoming super out dated? I am looking for up to date scores and all I get are opening day stuff and some food bracket. Come on now. Get on top of this. Don't have time for it, get someone else that has time to do it/update it. So annoying ...

Mike Collins said...

Really outdated? It's been updated twice today?

Anonymous said...

Actually while all of you are wasting your time thinking Poland is the best team, you should think twice because from what I've seen sofar, apart from ROI , Laos and Sudan being the though teams to beat, there's also France and Canada whom I think are the complete deal in terms of team chemistry and players, those two teams are well established and are capable of beating any team in this tournament

Anonymous said...

I'm betting Poland will beat Germany, And Collins.. Sembaluk's scoring?? I'd say Jay or Chris.. and against Germany I bet you they get another 1 maybe 2 goals a piece and show Germany that Poland is a good team..

Anonymous said...

Don't write off Jamaica and ES and germany yet I think they are capable of making it out of there pools especially Germany they have in my mind the best team in that group

Anonymous said...

ok so this is how its all going to play out

group a

serbia
scotland

group b

jamaica
n.ireland

group c

poland
portugal

group d

italy
france

Anonymous said...

If you're just looking for scores go to cbc.ca or the Facebook group and they post them there. This place is great for the stuff aside from just the scores.

Anonymous said...

Canada and France are the best teams this year, ROI is not winning it again

Anonymous said...

Hey, this is Khuong from team Vietnam. I know our team hasn't done well in this tournament. We have a new team that just formed a few months ago with guys that really love soccer and proud to represent Vietnam. Eventhough we don't have many skillful players like some of the wcp teams. But we are proud to have a full team of Vietnamese representing Vietnam and play with all we have. We don't try to represent who we are not, like some of the teams trying to stacked up. I'm sure Somalia and North Korea are thinking the same thing. We all knew coming in we don't have a shot of winning and just be proud to be part of the tournament. Winning is great but being proud of your heritage and representing your country is on honor.

Peace..

Anonymous said...

Big props to Khoung and the Vietnam team for walking into this with the cultural pride side being more important than winning the whole tournament! I love it when teams do that. The winning will come as more people hear about the team and join in. Hope you guys tough it out and keepcoming back unlike the 'one and done' teams of recent years.

Anonymous said...

I second the comments above and give props to Khuong and team Vietnam!

Good for you guys and keep your heads up and play with pride no matter the score.

Peace back at you!

Anonymous said...

Funniest moment.. a teenager was standing behind the meshing and as a shot went wide of the net he tried a high kick. His heel caught the meshing and he ended up on his back.. too funny!!

Anonymous said...

Great comments Khuong.

Anonymous said...

Music at half time should be turned down so coaching staff can talk to their team. It's hard to hear when music is blaring onto the pitch. At the same time the music does add to the atmosphere. Just have to find a balance.

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Totally agree...even from a fans standpoint, it's ridiculously loud, especially if you're upstairs and within 20 feet of those speakers.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike, keep up the good work on the blog. I enjoy your posts as they're critical without sounding condescending towards teams.

I agree with mostly everything except lets keep the fun multiculturalism aspect of the tournament. So what if teams get stomped, let them come out and play. The competitive teams can fight it out after group play. We need all the teams possible to keep WCP growing or it may stagnate and die eventually.

Anonymous said...

No more anthems?

Anonymous said...

Vietnam great example on how teams and players should be. Stand proud for your nation. You want to got watch true heritage players? Watch Vietnam!

Anonymous said...

Who cares if teams like Vietnam go and lose 20-0 or whatever. They are proud, they go to have fun. I could careless what the fans think. Go home if you don't like it. It's a Regina tournament. Big deal. You win some you lose some. Chill out people. It's all in good fun. As long as the players are having a good time, who cares really. Support your country, be proud.

Anonymous said...

yeah I'm a little disappointed about losing the anthems before the games...it was one of the cool cultural things about this tournament.

Would be great to find cultural music to play after goals as well...like upbeat stuff like that tune they always play before the Greece games...adds to the culture. Fire up some drum/bagpipes when a Scotland team scores. Some kind of Irish Jig when Ireland Scores, some upbeat Latin music when ES scores. etc. Let the teams pick a theme song or something.

Mike Collins said...

Wow did I get a compliment on here. That's unheard of.

On the music situation I will bring it up tonight and see how it's received. It is hard to hear from players side let alone the fans side.

As for National Anthems it is my understanding that now everyone anthems have been played once they won't be played anymore til the knock out stages. This is tied in with the unavailability of the back fields and the need for the athletes to get appropriately warmed up.

Anonymous said...

Don't get use to compliments. Most people still don't like you.

DB

Anonymous said...

I agree! Obviously Collins toots the roi horn at times, but for the mostpart he gives an informative, impartial opinion of the games/teams/matchups.

If anything he could probably give roi more credit than he does to be honest.

Riggs

Anonymous said...

Just to clarify my original post.

The CHAMPIONSHIP tourney and RELEGATION tourney would both run at the same time. The teams would still be apart of the WCP tourney.

DG

Anonymous said...

That's too bad about the anthems t. They sound better than the crap being played by z99 , I mean DJ :)

Anonymous said...

Personally, I think the committee has hit the nail on the head with the anthems. This probably comes as no surprise, given my blog entry a few weeks ago. If we had access to the back fields prior to every game, it wouldn't be as big of a deal, but as things stand, we get about 3 minutes to warm up before the anthems begin. If you're looking at the back end of games on back-to-back days, particularly, that's simply not enough time to get adequately warm. It may not be as entertaining for the fans, but at the end of the day, it's nice that the prevention of player injuries has been given its justified importance.

Nate

Danilo said...

I agree with Nate. They should leave the back fields open for team warm ups. I understand the RSA needs to make extra income by renting the fields. But I am sure all the teams would gladly pay a little extra entry fee to keep those fields open for the tournament. Not to mention that there have been baseballs and cricket balls landing on the main soccer pitch during games. That's a player safety concern.