Congrats on the site Martin! As a voracious reader of The Athletic, I was hopeful that their local model would result in more CanPL content. However, over the last two years, it seems like they don't really value Canadian MLS content (other than an occasional Josh Kloke TFC piece) let alone CanPL, and it has left a void of high quality writing, that goes beyond game stories.
Rant done, I am impressed with your first post! The level of detail and analysis remind me of those Athletic pieces that I love, and the overall style and writing is of a high standard! Excited to follow along in the months ahead!
Thanks for reading, Jaideep! Glad you enjoyed this first one. (And count me as another who'd love to be reading more MLS/CanPL content on The Athletic.) What's the biggest PFC question you've got heading into the season?
Of course, the biggest question for me and surely from others will be whether we will be allowed to attend matches at Starlight Stadium at some point this season... but that remains to be seen (fingers crossed, experiences in other countries continue to show that fans can attend football matches without significant risk of spreading the virus).
In regards to the football however, my biggest question is whether Pa's coaching over the last year results in tangible improvement for the young players that have been with the squad since the beginning. Coaches have always been important in football, but the 'cult of the manager' has become a major topic in the modern game (for instance Guardiola v Klopp/Mourinho/Bielsa/Tuchel is promoted like a heavyweight title fight) and the most successful coaches not only excel at tactics, but also the man management side. Pa has been lauded for his man management, and given how proud PFC has been of its young players since 2019, I'm curious to see how much those that have been in the core (Chung, Campbell, MacNaughton, Baldi, Alessandro) have actually improved over Pa's tenure.
Glad you enjoyed it, Brenton! I'm a newcomer to Polisi, and as you've noticed, didn't give him much in the way of words here. That'll change in the coming weeks -- looking forward to seeing how he performs for PFC.
Congrats on the site Martin! As a voracious reader of The Athletic, I was hopeful that their local model would result in more CanPL content. However, over the last two years, it seems like they don't really value Canadian MLS content (other than an occasional Josh Kloke TFC piece) let alone CanPL, and it has left a void of high quality writing, that goes beyond game stories.
Rant done, I am impressed with your first post! The level of detail and analysis remind me of those Athletic pieces that I love, and the overall style and writing is of a high standard! Excited to follow along in the months ahead!
Thanks for reading, Jaideep! Glad you enjoyed this first one. (And count me as another who'd love to be reading more MLS/CanPL content on The Athletic.) What's the biggest PFC question you've got heading into the season?
Of course, the biggest question for me and surely from others will be whether we will be allowed to attend matches at Starlight Stadium at some point this season... but that remains to be seen (fingers crossed, experiences in other countries continue to show that fans can attend football matches without significant risk of spreading the virus).
In regards to the football however, my biggest question is whether Pa's coaching over the last year results in tangible improvement for the young players that have been with the squad since the beginning. Coaches have always been important in football, but the 'cult of the manager' has become a major topic in the modern game (for instance Guardiola v Klopp/Mourinho/Bielsa/Tuchel is promoted like a heavyweight title fight) and the most successful coaches not only excel at tactics, but also the man management side. Pa has been lauded for his man management, and given how proud PFC has been of its young players since 2019, I'm curious to see how much those that have been in the core (Chung, Campbell, MacNaughton, Baldi, Alessandro) have actually improved over Pa's tenure.
Great question. Love it. I'll dig into this in the future.
Love this, Martin.
Don't sleep on Matteo Polisi. He was also a clear standout for the TSS Rovers in USL League Two. He's got skill and a ton of tenacity on the ball.
Glad you enjoyed it, Brenton! I'm a newcomer to Polisi, and as you've noticed, didn't give him much in the way of words here. That'll change in the coming weeks -- looking forward to seeing how he performs for PFC.
Great article! Probably worth noting that Duran Lee suffered a season-ending injury (acl?) and will not appear for Pacific this year.
Thanks for reading, Blake! Had it as a footnote (#6), but you're absolutely right - I should've included that in the main text.
Oh shit yeah there it is, my mistake!