SoccerWhat now for Canada?

Beginning of Story Content

Easy to vent on one person

I won’t even get started on what needs to happen with the CSA. That’s a very long story, and I’m trying to condense my thoughts on that one to something this side of “War and Peace.” It’s coming, but it’s a difficult process.

Manager Dale Mitchell has come in for a torrent of abuse from both the media and the fans, and perhaps this was due to an unrealistic level of expectation. The players themselves told anyone who would listen what a great team they had, that this time it was going to be different. And we believed them. We saw the same thing before the U-20 World Cup last year in Canada and we failed just as spectacularly there as well.

We believed that the players were going to deliver us to the Promised Land. And when that failed to happen, we felt like we’d been cheated. Someone has to take the fall and, since it’s easier to fire a manager than it is to fire a team of players, Mitchell is the man. You can blame the CSA, but they are a nameless, faceless organization. Much easier to just vent your fury on one person.

But there is only so much a manager can do. When a team walks over that white line, it is down to those 11 players to do battle. It is down to those players to perform their jobs within the framework of the tactics that have been put in front of them.

Players win games, not tactics

Critics will argue that Mitchell’s tactics were all wrong, that Canada played the wrong formation which failed to utilize the strengths of the individual players. It’s a valid argument.

But I’ve never felt that tactics win games. Players win games. Because when you strip it down to the bare bones, it’s 11 against 11. How badly do your 11 players want to beat their 11 players? Whether you play 4-4-2, 3-5-2 or 4-5-1, it doesn’t really matter. You go out on the pitch with your teammates and you fight for your lives. If your buddy makes a mistake, you cover for him, you watch his back. Because you know that if you make a mistake, he’s going to be there to watch yours. That’s what it means to be a team.

Too often in this qualifying campaign, Canada failed to be a team.

Look at the second goal in Canada’s 2-1 loss to Mexico. There were 10 Canadian players in the 18-yard box defending a Mexican corner. There were five Mexican players attacking the ball, and Raphael Marquez drifted in unchallenged to head the ball into the net. Clearly someone didn’t do their job. And just as clearly, no one covered for the mistake.

So now Canada has an opportunity to play two essentially meaningless games against quality opposition. What should Dale Mitchell do?

Wipe the decks clean

Give his players a chance to restore some personal pride by beating Mexico in Edmonton. Give his senior players, guys like Paul Stalteri and Tomasz Radzinski, a chance to play their final World Cup qualifying match on home soil in front of their family and friends. Give them a chance to thank the fans for their unwavering support over the years.

And then he should wipe the decks clean.

The final qualifying game in Jamaica is an opportunity to start preparing for the 2014 World Cup. The squad of players called up for that game should all be under the age of 28, because in four years time when the next qualifying campaign kicks off, the oldest player would then be 32. Guys like David Edgar, Andre Hainault, Will Johnson and Asmir Begovic should be brought in and they should play 90 minutes. These players need to get international experience under their belts, because in four years time they are going to need it.

As for Dale Mitchell, his future remains unclear. He has said he won’t resign, and the CSA can’t really afford to fire him. I would imagine that once the qualifying campaign is over, he will sit down with the Board of Directors to discuss the future. The outcome of that conversation could determine the future of our men’s national team program for years to come.

I think Dale Mitchell should be replaced, as managers live and die by their results. It’s a shame, because I’ve got a lot of time for Dale, but that’s the way football works. I also think the CSA needs to be replaced, but that’s a different story altogether.

End of Story Content

Back to accessibility links