If you wanted a playoff match to perfectly represent the way that two teams played the entire second half of the season, this was that match. Full of intent and intensity, both teams played to win in their own distinct style, with their own unique complexities popping up along the way. Here is our match analysis of the first-leg semi-final between Atletico and Pacific, and what both teams may look to do ahead of the second-leg.
Author: Rhys Desmond
Stephen Hart – Halifax Wanderers FC – Tactical Analysis
On October 13, 2022, Halifax Wanderers officially parted ways with Halifax Wanderers boss Stephen Hart. The former Trinidad & Tobago coach had been in charge since the Wanderers' inception in 2018, and won the Coach of the Year award for his efforts in 2020. But life inside the Canadian Premier League did not go as smoothly as planned in 2022, with the Wanderers stumbling down to a 7th place finish (in an 8 team league), as Hart's time at the club inevitably coming to an end. So with that, we examine Hart's tactics in his final season with the Wanderers, and how to fix the club moving forward!
Canadian Premier League Scouting Database – Right-Backs
While it's abundantly important to focus on the growth of our own nation in the beautiful game, it's also abundantly clear that one of the primary aims of the CPL is to develop talent that can be sold to other leagues in the world. In some ways, this is a sad reality as some of our very best players leave early on in the season for pastures new, in some cases only to sit on the bench! But in other ways, it allows our league to gain recognition in the world market, and has the potential to allow Canadian soccer players to take their development to the next level for higher profile teams. Today we break into the first of this long-haul series, studying the very best right-backs in the Canadian Premier League. Here is our analysis.
Picking the 2022 Canadian Premier League Team of the Season
I've spent many hours across the past eight months watching and scrutinizing over the Canadian Premier League. The 2022 campaign saw several seasoned stars move onto pastures new across Europe, and a race for first that came down to the final day. Now that the regular season has officially come to a close, it's time for me to pick my 2022 CPL Team of the Season.
The multiple layers of Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the best right-backs in the world of football, and possibly one of the greatest the Premier League has ever witnessed. So for all the extremities that he accomplishes in attack, it becomes very normal for fan-bases across the globe to try and poke holes in his game and conjure up reasons that go against his greatness.
Why Erling Haaland scores so many goals
Let's not get overly simplistic about this. Erling Haaland is the best footballer in the world at the moment. But how he scores so many goals can be scrutinized in far greater depth than simply saying he's an alien. So with that, here is our latest analysis on the great Erling Haaland, and how he scores so many incredible goals.
Randal Kolo Muani – Player Analysis
Throughout the past five years, Eintracht Frankfurt have been partially responsible for the conveyor belt production of quality strikers like Sebastien Haller, André Silva, Luka Jović and Rafael Borré. The next heir to the throne is completely different to the goal-scoring poacher-like 'Target Men' previously deployed. In many ways, a departure was needed. Filip Kostic has left the scene to start pastures new at Juventus, and the team no longer have an out-and-out dynamic wing crossing threat delivering peaches into the box for the strikers to ripen. They have a new man leading their attack now, and that man happens to be more of a 'Creative Link' than a scorer of great goals. Here is our analysis of the wonderful Randal Kolo Muani in 2022-23 at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Canadian Premier League Scouting Database – Rezart Rama
Rezart Rama has quickly become a fan-favourite at Forge FC, with his endless energy sources rampaging around the pitch at every turn. An absolute warrior, beast at the back, and more or less a complete defender, Rama is a pivotal marker for success that the Hammers want to have on the ball at every turn. It shows up in the stats, with the 21-year-old completing the most progressive passes and passes into the final third per 90 of any player to make more than 2 appearances in the league this season.
