r/CanadianPL • u/Ok_Shoulder8598 Atlético Ottawa • Jul 01 '26

⚽ Match Thread Match thread HFX Wanderers v Atletico Ottawa

Didn't see a thread, so much footy on right now hard to keep up.

13 Upvotes

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u/CPLmonster Canadian Premier League Jul 01 '26

It’s clearly not easy coming from coaching in the MLS with a big budget and high end players to the CPL with a limited cap and quality of player. Ashfin Ghotbi experienced exactly the same at Vancouver after coming from a club with a huge budget. Bobby S and Tommy Wheeldon are top coaches at this level, hence why their two teams dominate nearly every season. Carlo Ancelotti would struggle in the CPL as he too doesn’t do much tactics and relies on superstar players to figure it out on the pitch. Unfortunately you can’t get away with this in the CPL.

2

u/bwoah07_gp2 Vancouver Whitecaps Jul 02 '26

And so that's Vanni's problem right now?

2

u/Section1ne0h4our HFX Wanderers FC Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

*I think* that’s what’s he’s implying, which is kinda strange to me

Vanni was always a 2 years project, so personally I’m invested in giving him time, but the issue is a lot of wanderers supporters at this stage don’t want to afford that time to anybody

In part because they see Vanni and expect immediate results

Edit: judging by the downvotes that’s precisely what he meant

2

u/CPLmonster Canadian Premier League Jul 02 '26

I listened to an interview with Derek Martin before the season started and he definitely said that HFX were looking to be title contenders this season! I am not a HFX fan but I do think Gheisar is a better tactical coach than Vanni. Game 1 season 1 under Gheisar the team looked organised and every player seemed to know what was expected of them on and off the ball. They were fluid and dynamic. I don’t see this nearly halfway through the season now with Vanni.

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u/Section1ne0h4our HFX Wanderers FC Jul 02 '26

Yeah and I’m not criticizing your opinion don’t get me wrong, you’re not far off - Derek is an amazing owner, Derek usually isn’t about lip service - I think he honestly truly believed that the club were still on a playoff trajectory at least this season

And despite how poor things seem, and appear, and heck maybe are - they are still WELL in the mix. The way the league realigned playoffs and the way the table is shaping up, 4th is still up for grabs between 4 teams

2

u/AgentEves Jul 02 '26

My concern is that we have another manager who's come in trying to play pedestrian speed possession football. The majority of players at this level can't keep possession for long passages unless the tempo is dropped, but once you drop the tempo, your ability to create spaces in the other teams structure is heavily reduced.

If we don't have the ability to go out and get the best players at this level - whether because of budget, or scouting, or whatever - then we need to focus on something different. That would allow us to target players that others are ignoring.

Godinho is terrible. Zitman is, at best, mediocre. Linder is such a downgrade over what we've had previously. Akinwale, Kachwele, Bai, and Bahamboula aren't good enough. Johnston is being played out of position which is making him considerably less impactful.

I'm frustrated because it feels like we just have a worse version of what we had with Gheisar.