Asunto: Canada U20 NT Discussion

Feel like I've more or less got a feel for what the lineup should look like. One surprise to me is our highest player in the defense attribute looks like he'll end up as a sub at best. I guess basic attributes aren't as important as I thought they were. Going to check out a final handful of players in positions, but unless one of them is better than I think he is, I think I'll just be keeping an eye on energy and chemistry and setting lineups to balance between them.

Speaking of, only 1 player in my second half lineup this weekend looks like they'll have an energy rating under 100, and that guy would benefit from a chemistry bump, so I'm going to play vl/normal.

Also looking at things, unless players at 19 develop faster than I think (I assume 200+ OR over 76 days at that age is rare), we're going to see a severe decrease in the quality of this team next season. Not seeing many good 19-year-olds hanging around, though I've only looked at the top-15 ranked country I.1 leagues plus those that have been displayed in the prospects and these NT threads. If anyone knows any player that would not be found within those searches and is a 950 (18) or 1200 (19) OR, please let me know!

Hutchison of course gets himself a red card mid-way through the first half last game. His chem took a pretty good hit compared to where it could have been if he had played the full 90. Thankfully he wasn't subbed so he didn't do anything to disrupt that.

Gonna be checking out a final set of 3 guys next week, but I'm pretty sure none of them will seriously fight for qualifier games, so I think I know who and what I'm going to play. Got 2 friendlies to play in the middle of the competitive games since we're in the 7-team pool, so will probably play the subs and the youngsters those games.

Speaking of, last on the update for this week is looking at the filling of the last 4 open roster spots with youth. Will finish scouting the last of the graduating players from last year's U17 team Tuesday night. Have a pair of 19-year-olds on the docket after that, but I don't think either will be worth selecting over 18-year-olds who might receive chemistry for being on an NT from last season. I've added Ezra Mauge from Tullamore, will add the best of the 18-year-olds when they're done scouting (MF Jordan Myers of the Portuguese team Vale de Vilao is the front runner ATM) and then will pick the final two on Friday after the 19-year-olds scout.

So, not that it really matters much being an exhibition game and all, but we lost our first game with me as manager today. Still got some decent data and chemistry from it.

The team and tactics selection is done. Most of the subs will probably see action in qualifiers as there's a lot of close battles for spots. The exception is Denny Garcia who is the 19th player out of 19 that will be called up for next weekend's game. He's a bit down on the depth chart, but he's got the most versatility among our midfielders, should there be such a need. I'll save the other 3 spots in case of injuries.

Colombia is our first qualifier. On paper, it looks like we should win, but we will not take them easily regardless. I believe we can also beat Japan with a little luck, but the rest of the pool will be difficult, and a top 4 finish is hardly guaranteed. My personal opinion is Belarus and the Netherlands will battle for first spot, meaning we'll have to figure out a way to defeat Chile and/or Portugal for a season 21 World Cup spot. Hopefully I can carry this team there, but it's going to be a long grind.

Also forgot to mention that I've filled out the 35 man roster with a trio of 19-year-olds: Rickie Haslam, Zander Sinclair and Robert Atkin. They will join the team in our two remaining friendlies to gain some experience and hopefully join the team next season to fight for spots. We're going to rely heavily on forwards and defense, as our midfield is looking to be very poor. Hopefully there are some gems hiding around for me to find over the next couple of months.

Woohoo. What a dominating match against Colombia! Granted, they played only a single poor striker and wound up with one of the worst offense ratings possible and we probably overplayed the match importance a little, but we still kicked their butts!

Portugal and Netherlands played to a draw, which may actually turn out to be a stolen point for the former, as Portugal's ratings weren't that much better than ours. Belarus, with their win and superior ratings, might now be the favourite alongside Netherlands, even if it's just one game done.

Japan is up next for us. Being the bye team last week, Japan has a situational advantage, but I think we're still the better team. My lineup tactics didn't really get tested/displayed in our win, so I'll probably be making minimal changes to it. If we can get wins against Japan and Chile and at least a point out of Portugal, we should have at least a top 4 spot solidified after the first 6 games.

goaliematts1 wake up! You're killing our U20 team! We lost to Belarus by playing VL in a WCQ game!!!!

Thanks for taking over, I hope this forfeit was last game with this goaliematts manager!

Called up a bunch who were not scratched on the U17 team last year. We currently have a VERY young squad. Please let me know if you see/know of any good 18-20 year olds currently not associated with the team.

We only have 5 or 6 returning players.

Added a bunch more, including a few that I just meant to scout. We're up to 34 players now. Any remaining good ones will be outside I.1 Canada.

Good work, excited for this year, but I know the road back will be tougher than it should have been.

Guide says you can dismiss players during week 1. Guess this is week 2. Also thought I could carry 40, but it is 35. We have one more spot open. Better save it for a potential non-NT player we want to save from a team going inactive.

Good call

Not a bad debut considering road, weaker team and basically no chem.
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