The Gaffer and Hooligan: Recent Episodes
Ian Clarke
Welcome to The Gaffer and Hooligan, RedNation Online's newest podcast, where the main idea is to create a type of virtual football pub where, as always, the best discussions, debates and opinions are fostered. Kamal Hylton talks about storylines/news/highlights regarding Major League Soccer, CONCACAF, NWSL, and the NASL, all from a Canadian perspective.
Kamal and Aaron are back with another episode of Gaffer and Hooligan, talking all things MLS on SOCCER SUNDAY! In this show, they talk about expectations/observations going into the 2016 MLS season before discussing some team specifics, giving out fun predictions and going in depth about young prospects poised to make an impact.
Kamal and Aaron are back with another episode of Gaffer and Hooligan, looking back on all the fallout from the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. In this show, they talk discuss where some of the PXI Top 40 MLS Prospects landed, sleeper picks and homegrown signings before revealing some new scouting projects covering prospects internationally and within the American collegiate system.
Kamal and Aaron are back with another episode of Gaffer and Hooligan, getting you ready for the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. In this show, they talk about possible draft strategies and the impact the USL system may have on the drafting forward before discussing some of the prospects they've been tracking all year through ProspectXI and that you should be aware of come draft day.
The gang gets together for another year-end episode of the Gaffer and Hooligan to watch the MLS Cup and witness the Portland Timbers lift the trophy for the first time. Kamal, Aaron and Ian look back over the match, discuss if this was the final they hoped for, and then flip over to a review of the 2015 season. Looking back on a great year for Canadian teams and Canadian players, it was a season to remember.
Kamal and Aaron are back with another episode of Gaffer and Hooligan, reviewing the 2015 Men's CIS Soccer Championship between York University and University of New Brunswick and looking at the big picture of how CIS fits within North American soccer. We also talk some NASL and MLS, discussing Ottawa Fury in the Soccer Bowl Championship and MLS Playoffs.
Be sure to keep up with PXI’s developments by visiting the website and following on twitter @ProspectXI.
Kamal and Aaron are back with another episode of Gaffer and Hooligan, reviewing the year that was within North American soccer. We give our take on the 2015 MLS Playoffs, picking teams from the Eastern and Western Conference before highlighting interesting players and storylines we felt went underrated.
Kamal and Aaron are back with another episode of Gaffer and Hooligan, unveiling it's first (and hopefully annual) Prospect Eleven International U-20 Draft. The guys go head-to-head drafting FIFA Ultimate Team style 18 player squads, using a combination of research done on PXI, our own awareness of players... and in some cases personal biases.
Kamal and Aaron are back with another episode of Gaffer and Hooligan, this time focussing on one of the most divisive topics within the North American soccer landscape (particularly within Canada)... Grassroots Soccer. In this episode we touch on the following: Discuss points from Kamal's article on ProspectXI "Examining LTPD, OPDL and Canadian Grassroots Soccer"; Discuss points from Aaron's article on ProspectXI "Grassroots Soccer in Ontario and OPDL" and his chat with OSA Technical Director Gary Miller; Other issues including coaching education/development, how to avoid player falling through the cracks etc...
On latest Gaffer and Hooligan podcast, Kamal and Aaron touch on the latest goings on over at Prospect XI including - The State of NCAA College Soccer, top North American NCAA players eligible for 2016 MLS SuperDraft, top Homegrown/potential Homegrown players in NCAA soccer, top Foreign prospects in NCAA soccer eligible for 2016 MLS SuperDraft and our early favourites to win 2015 NCAA National Championship.
On latest Gaffer and Hooligan podcast, Kamal and Aaron touch on the latest goings on over at Prospect XI including - PXI’s pieces on North American prospects going European Route or Collegiate/Academy Route;Aaron’s RNO piece on what the legacy of women’s soccer will in North America following 2015 Women’s World Cup; Looking at 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup; Looking at Men’s/Women’s Pan Am Games soccer tournament.
After a hiatus, Kamal and Aaron bring back a special edition of The Gaffer and Hooligan during this jam packed summer of soccer to introduce a new project called Prospect XI. In this episode we discuss: What is PXI and where it fits within the industry? Kamal’s recent trip to Jamaica and how soccer has developed on the island. Prospects at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Prospects/Predictions for 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
I'm here along with Aaron Neilsen and Ian Clarke and we look back on one year of the Gaffer and Hooligan with another MLS Cup Final. We hit all the talking points coming out of this match, which was a pretty drab 90 minutes, but more spirited extra time. The make up of the two finalists and take a closer look at Don Garber's half time interview.
We kick off the show in Segment 1 “The First Round” discussing the USL PRO Final between Sacramento Republic and Harrisburg City Islanders, what impressed us about the Sacramento crowd, Preki as coach, the clubs MLS prospects and go over Aaron’s USL PRO Prospects Handbook. We wrap up the show with Segment 2 “Last Call” talking about the leagues future, if it’s the place to go for North American attacking talent and whether the league could ever compete with MLS for players.
We kick off the show in Segment 1 “The First Round” discussing the Eastern Conference playoff picture, specifically looking at D.C. United, New England Revolution, Sporting KC, Houston Dynamo and Toronto FC. We wrap up the show with Segment 2 “Last Call” talking about the Western Conference, looking at the current standings compared to our pre-season predictions and debate whether Western Conference teams would do much better within the East.
We kick off the show in Segment 1 “The First Round” giving our views from the game on Tuesday night from two different vantage points, Aaron from the stands and Kamal from the press box. We wrap up the show with Segment 2 “Last Call” with interviews from the Reggae Boyz Omar Holness and Andre Blake, discuss the rise of Caribbean and Central American talent within MLS and the overall good position CONCACAF finds itself in at the moment.
That's right, we could not help ourselves in weighing in on the troubles at TFC and Ryan Nelsen getting canned from the sidelines. We go over his tenure and look at what Greg Vanney brings to the table.
Special! We kick off the show in Segment 1 “The First Round” looking at Aaron’s Top 100 MLS prospects list, talking about amongst other prospects Canadian international Cyle Larin, Jamaican international Omar Holness and newly called up US international Jordan Morris.
We kick off the show in Segment 1 “The First Round” with a pre-recorded interview with Jonny Rico, Soccerly.com’s Liga MX Editor and co-host on the Mexican soccer show discussing a variety of angles between Liga MX and MLS. We wrap up the show with Segment 2 “Last Call” with myself and Aaron discussing what we took away from the chat and expand on some very interesting topics.
On this episode Aaron Nielsen and I kick off the show in Segment 1 “The First Round” discussing if MLS teams “Play The Percentages” when it comes to stats/analytics financially and on the field before diving into whether the "Rags to Riches” storyline that is so prevalent in boxing is dying in soccer with the rise of academies.
We kick off the show in Segment 1 "The First Round" with myself and Aaron examining the U-20 Women's World Cup, looking more specifically at what should come of both it and the 2015 senior Women's World Cup long term.
We then transition into examining the trend in North American sports of teams mortgaging their future for a shot at a title. Using the NBA's ongoing trade saga involving Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Love as an example, we discuss whether this would and should ever happen in Major League Soccer.
To end the show, in Segment 2 "Last Call" we talk about North American sports moving towards younger GM's and those with an analytical/statistical outlook before allowing Aaron to play the role of GM. Giving his take on what he'd do with the Montreal Impact.
As always you can let us know your thoughts by tweeting us directly@KamalHylton & @ENBSports, leaving a comment underneath this post or on the Gaffer & Hooligan Facebook Page and find us on the War Room Sports Podcast Network and PhatzRadio.com.
On this episode we make a special announcement, as I'm now joined by Aaron Nielsen as my full-time co-host with a goal of providing our general North American sports perspective towards MLS and CONCACAF.
We kick off Segment 1 "The First Round" discussing the Warren Crevalle trade and the wider topic of the Allocation Order, whether there's a need for MLS to put more focus on finding players within CONCACAF over the "Big Names" and a recent article by Aaron on refereeing.
We wrap up the show in Segment 2 "Last Call" by giving out our MLS mid-season awards.
As always you can let us know your thoughts by tweeting us directly @KamalHylton & @ENBSports, leaving a comment underneath this post or on the Gaffer & Hooligan Facebook Page and find us on the War Room Sports Podcast Network and PhatzRadio.com.
In Segment 1 “The First Round” we give a mini MLS first half review, focusing on the three Canadian clubs and branching out to a few other teams within the league and then transition into a discussion on the recent release of the MLS All-Star roster.
Germany and Argentina have outlasted the other 30 teams and reached the World Cup Final! On this show we quickly run over what happened in the Semifinals, focusing especially on the 7-1 “Belo Beatdown” Germany handed Brazil before breaking down the World Cup Final. We look at the key individual battles as well as the coaching match up before I give out who I think will win the World Cup Final.
On this show, we preview all four games and how each team matches up with each other. We weigh which team has the advantage where in a battle of two European heavyweights Germany vs. France, look at an interesting match up beyond the obvious Neymar vs. James Rodriguez narrative in Colombia vs. Chile, why Argentina vs. Belgium shapes up as an underwhelming match and if little Costa Rica can keep its Cinderella run going against Netherlands.
In Segment 1 “The First Round” look at the Saturday and Sunday matches, two all South American battles in Chile vs. Brazil and Colombia vs. Uruguay before a big day for CONCACAF with Mexico vs. Netherlands and Greece vs. Costa Rica (Spoiler Alert: I tell you how much I HATE Greek soccer)
In Segment 1 " The First Round" we look at CONCACAF's success in the tournament so far, Costa Rica advancing to the Round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Italy, Honduras losing 2-1 to Ecuador, USA defeating Ghana 2-1 and Mexico earning a credible 0-0 draw against Brazil before dissecting what matches are ahead.
We wrap up the show with Segment 2 "Last Call" reviewing three exciting matches this week, Australia fighting hard in a 3-2 loss to Netherlands, Chile eliminating the defending champions Spain 2-0 and Uruguay earning a vital 2-1 victory over England.
In Segment 1 “The First Round” we touch on the controversy in Brazil vs. Croatia and talk about Oscar’s Man of the Match performance, the 5-1 beating Netherlands gave defending champions Spain, CONCACAF claiming a big scalp defeating Uruguay 3-1 and the entertaining nightcap between Ivory Coast vs. Japan. We wrap up with Segment 2 “Last Round” previewing an Olympic Gold/Confederations Cup rematch between Brazil and Mexico, two mouth watering games featuring Spain vs. Chile and Colombia vs. Ivory Coast as well as a battle of desperate teams in Uruguay vs. England.
With the World Cup finally here The Gaffer & Hooligan has put out its first mini-show of the tournament. In Segment 1 "The First Round", we preview key matches over the first few days of the tournament including Spain vs. Netherlands in a rematch of the 2010 World Cup Final, a pair of compelling games from Group C in Colombia vs. Greece and Ivory Coast vs. Japan and Ghana vs. USA in yet another meeting. We wrap up the show in Segment 2 "Last Call", giving out some general thoughts before the kickoff of the tournament and what we're looking forward to most.
In Segment 1 "The First Round", we give an overview of what the league is about and why it has launched, go over the teams that make up the league and touch on the main points of Aaron's recent League1 Ontario article. We wrap up the show with Segment 2 "Last Call", looking at what the league needs to do to grow/improve long-term before ending with Kamal's experience at kickoff weekend a few few funny stories.
To get us all geared up and ready for the 2014 World Cup I've decided to put my neck on the line and submit my official World Cup Bracket, however I think it's only fair to get the opinion of past Gaffer & Hooligan guests on whom they believe will be lifting the trophy when it's all said and done.
Joined by RNO's Canadian Soccer writer and stats/analytics expert Sam Gregory we take a group-by-group approach, answering some important questions from a Statistical/Analytical perspective. In Segment 1 "The First Round" we cover Groups A-D, amongst the questions tackled were can Chile make it out of what can be considered a "Group of Death"? and whether an out of form Shinji Kagawa is a major concern for Japan?
Part 3 looks at UEFA (Europe), by far the largest region that makes up the field of teams. In Segment 1 "The First Round" we look at Groups A-D, highlighting such things as the fun games that are sure to come out of Group B and how Italy's could be helped by its mostly Juventus based squad. We wrap up the show with Segment 2 "Last Call" going over Groups E-H, looking at whether France can make new memories after the disaster of 2010 and if this is the "Golden Age" of Belgian soccer.
This week we're joined by Aaron Nielsen, RNO's statistics and analytics expert to discuss the CAF (African) and AFC (Asian) regions.
In Segment 1 "The First Round", we take a group-by-gorup approach to the African nations, looking at their key players, weaknesses they may have and take a particularly close look at the success of two nations that have chosen to go with away from the foreign coaches that most teams follow in the modern game.
We wrap up the show with Segment 2 " Last Call" going over the Asian region, looking at the German, Dutch and EPL influence on some of the teams, the coaching situation and how key players will impact their success.
To kick it off, RNO contributor and South American expert Andres Torres joins the show as we discuss the CONMEBOL (South American) and CONCACAF (North/Central American) region.
In Segment 1 "The First Round", we give a quick overview of the six CONMEBOL teams (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia Ecuador and Uruguay), go over expectations, how they stack up in relation when looking at the rest of their respective groups and if there are any "Dark Horses".
We wrap up the show with Segment 2 "Last Call", transitioning over to the CONCACAF region and looking at it in the same fashion, whether the conditions in Brazil help will be an advantage and if the region is underrated.
As always you can let us know your thought by tweeting me directly @KamalHylton, leaving a comment underneath this post or on the Facebook Page and as of April 15th on the new War Room Sports Podcast Network.
Also be sure to check out Issue 1 of PLASTIC PITCH and my article on Canadian National Team defender Dejan Jakovic's move to J-League side Shimizu S-Pulse and life in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Back again is RNO's resident statistician and analytics expert joins the show once again to talk MLS from a couple different angles as we prepare for our World Cup coverage. We review the Good and Bad teams/performances from Weeks 3 and 4 of MLS, with a particular focus on a few teams with new coaches as well as the how the regular referees faired since returning from the lockout. As always, you can let us know your thoughts by tweeting me directly @KamalHylton, leaving a comment underneath this post, on The Gaffer and Hooligan Facebook Page and as of April 15th on the new War Room Sports Podcast Network (http://warroomsports.com/)
Back after a short break, I'm back with Aaron Neilsen to talk about the first two weeks of the MLS season, specifically discussing our surprise teams, and disappointments so far. We also wade into the lock out with MLS referees and wrap up with some discussion on the CONCACAF Champions League and the upcoming weekend in the league and who our marquee match ups are. CHEERS!
That's right, Gaffer and Hooligan's Western Conference preview and prediction. Not long after our Eastern Conference pod, we sat down and went West and predicted who would miss, and make, the playoffs. Specifically, we look at the Vancouver Whitecaps (pre Laba) to determine where we think they will fall and things to watch with them in 2014.
That's right, we're getting a head start on our MLS previews as Steve Bottjer and Ian Clarke join me to discuss how we all think the East will shake down in 2014. We start off with the bottom half, and team who won't make the playoffs, then it to the top and who will ultimately represent the conference in the MLS Cup. Of course we take a finer look at both Montreal and Toronto FC as our opinions differ as to where each will place this season.
Joined by RNO's Canadian Women's National Team and NWSL expert Emily Dulhanty we began Segment 1 "The First Round" by briefly discussing the recent Canada vs. USA game before going over all the scheduled games including Cyprus Cup, a rematch against the rival Americans in Winnipeg, a visit from the Germans to Vancouver and a doubleheader against defending Women's World Cup champions Japan in Edmonton and Vancouver.
We've decided to change things up slightly from the normal MLS conversation, joined by RNO's Ottawa Fury FC writer Ryan Stead and SB Nations TFC/Canadian Soccer writer Dave Rowaan we give some love to NASL and more specifically its two Canadian clubs Ottawa Fury FC and FC Edmonton. We discuss the Canadians making up both teams as well as the potential rivalry between the two sides that will ignite right away during the Voyageurs Cup.
Aaron Nielsen is back to bring his NCAA expertise as we review the first two rounds of the MLS SuperDraft. In Segment 1 "The First Round" we give out our Winners and Losers and evaluated the drafts of the three Canadian team, within all of this we also focused on some interesting developments in comparison to our pre-Draft show. To wrap things up in Segment 2 "Last Call" we projected who we thought would be the "standout" rookies for their respective teams.
In Segment 1 "The First Round" we discussed how the MLS Draft/Combine are used as a tool and then transitioned into taking a deeper look at the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. We then wrap up the show in Segment 2 "Last Call" by having a little fun and doing our own Mock Draft of Round 1, discussing team needs and the players that would fit those situations and what the Canadian teams should focus on.
Our full pod will be coming out as regularly scheduled later this week covering the 2014 MLS SuperDraft but with so much news breaking and stories developing I've decided to open up the virtual soccer pub "After Hours" and quickly hit some of the topics that popped up this week, joined by RNO's resident statistician Aaron Nielsen we discussed the Camilo situation, the surprise signing of Michael Bradley to Toronto FC, Bob Bradley passing on MLS for Norwegian side Stabaek and wrap things up with a talk about Home Grown Players.
On this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Emily Dulhanty (RNO’s women’s soccer expert covering CanWNT & NWSL) in what is hopefully the first in a monthly “Salute to the women’s game” chatting NWSL & the lead up to the Women’s World Cup.
A look back on 2013 in MLS. Kamal Hylton is back with guest Ian Clarke as they run through the top stories from 2013 in MLS and zero in on some of top MLS stories from the Canadian teams. They give out their own awards for the 2013 season, and wrap it up by discussing what should be the New Year's resolutions for Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Let's kick off the first episode! Welcome to The Gaffer and Hooligan, RedNation Online's newest podcast, where the main idea is to create a type of virtual football pub where, as always, the best discussions, debates and opinions are fostered. In this first episode, host Kamal Hylton takes us through the MLS Cup Finals and poses the question on whether or not two small market teams reaching the finals is good or bad for the league. He then switches gears to the World Cup draw and asks from a CONCACAF perspective, what will be deemed a successful tournament. Please share your thoughts, questions and opinions!