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Originally Posted by Matty81
Yep should have phrased that differently... what I was getting at is that there was no new blood in that squad. Definitely stand corrected on the age. Haineault was already in the starting 11 that cycle and Johnson, Ledgerwood and De Jong had all been in the program anywhere between 1-3 years. All those players except Gbeke were already in the twenty something man pool being used before elimination. They basically just shifted more to their reserves/sub bench.
Bottom line, I think Canada needs to use a bigger pool of players on an ongoing basis and cap players strategically as often as possible. Include a promising teenager who is in form in every 23 man squad and run them out now and again. Call a player like Kevan Aleman or Fraser Aird up to the senior team or give a couple of the stars of the young FC Edmonton team like Hamilton and Saiko a look once in a while. Was very happy to see Piette come into the side but I think Canada has a long way to go when it comes to building depth and succession planning.
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Having a club like FC Edmonton around (and Ottawa in 2014) is great for the development of young players like Hamilton, Saiko and Porter. Unfortunately the level of competition in the NASL is nowhere near what is needed to succeed at the international level.
But it's a start. And one that 4 years ago was not around.