Yup. That first offside I went, fcuk. Good old lazy Larin.Agree with Regs as well about Larin.
It's always the same with him.
Maybe time to bring in Cava.
Back to this....Agree with Regs as well about Larin.
It's always the same with him.
Maybe time to bring in Cava.
Surely both Larin and Cavalini know that spot is up for grabs. With David absent in March they both started against Bermuda. Cava missed a handful of chances, including at least two sitters, and Larin bagged a hat trick. Larin started the rout of Cayman Islands and scored before being replaced by Cavalini who banged in a garbage time hat trick to take the score to 11-0.Back to this....
Why not?
Cava is a pure striker (that's a True 9, for all you fancy talk nerds). His strengths are in finishing and being disruptive in the box. Drawing attention. He's not going to ghost anyone...in fact may piss off defenders just enough to distract them from the Wonder Twins. (On a side note, I find my strengths are also being disruptive in the box, but that's a different discussion). If you have him either paired w/ David, or have three forwards in Davies, Cava, and David, seems to me the attack is just as potent, and let's not overlook, Cava was statistically influential yesterday in drawing David's PK, Larin was not...except for the offside call. And, as we all know, @mtkb, stats matter.
Sure is fun waking up after a big Canada win where they advance. Was dreading the other scenario.
He came on for a few minutes and was fun to watch last night.Job done. If the "big 3" started that game, 20-nil isn't an outrageous thought
My MOTM: Tajon Buchanan
Surely both Larin and Cavalini know that spot is up for grabs. With David absent in March they both started against Bermuda. Cava missed a handful of chances, including at least two sitters, and Larin bagged a hat trick. Larin started the rout of Cayman Islands and scored before being replaced by Cavalini who banged in a garbage time hat trick to take the score to 11-0.
Larin then went back to Turkey and clattered in the goals for Besiktas en route to a title. Cava went sputtering along with the Whitecaps. Now there's a whole thread here dedicated to the fact that his lack of club success hardly falls on Cava alone, but the point is it seems pretty clear that based on these parameters Larin had done enough to edge ahead of Cava for the starting roll in this window.
Again, with Herdman taking his "split squad" approach to these games, it seemed obvious that Cava would start against Aruba and Larin would get the Suriname game. Cava did his job against Aruba by potting a brace, but Larin came on late and banged one in himself.
All signs had pointed to this being a "new and improved" Larin after having plenty of domestic success and being in goal scoring form for Canada. Perhaps that why his performance against Suriname was all the more disappointing. He looked on the back foot all night, his link up play was non-existent and he created no chances of note for himself or others. Yes, Suriname were doing their best to be suffocating defensively, but Larin looked like a shadow of the player that his recent form has produced and much more like the sour disinterested player we have seen in the past. I'm certain he was interested as he was full value for the start in Canada's biggest game in over 8 years, but, for whatever reason, he just didn't have it on the night. Maybe it was the formation and deferring to David in those central areas, but Larin was more or less a ghost. Then, when he was rightly replaced, there looked to be flashes of the attitude problems we've seen from him in the past.
His frustration is perhaps somewhat understandable as, after being swarmed by Suriname all game to that point things were finally starting to open up with the visitors forced to chase the game, and you respect that players don't want to come out, but still, given his attitude in the past it was cause for a bit of concern.
Cavalini, on the other hand, looked like a man possessed when he came on; no doubt because he has realized that, at least in the immediate term, he is behind Larin in the pecking order. Cava put himself about and looked lively, chasing down loose balls and pressuring defenders. Again, as noted, Suriname no longer had the luxury of sitting in the way they did early on when Larin was on the field, but Cavalini's energy was still noticable. Credit to Cava for drawing the penalty, although he did miss another glorious chance of his own, but one could argue it was one more chance than Larin had during his time on the pitch.
So where does this leave them going forward? Was it just a bad day at the office for Larin, who has otherwise been more or less trumps for both club and country in recent months? In which case, perhaps the best thing to do is run him right back out there against Haiti. That said, Cava certainly looks motivated and maybe that energy is what could make the difference, especially in hostile territory down in Port-au-Prince. I'm sure both will get their minutes in the two matches but it will be interesting to see how they are used for sure.
"I'm from Canada" LOL...It's not Larin's fault. He thought he was in a one-way zone, he didn't know he could go the other direction.
He’s terrible. What’s with the over pronouncing? I’ve noticed a lot of soccer guys do that, extra emphasis on the Ts. It’s annoying.On another note, I've had enough of this Wheeler Muppet.