On the horizon . . .

With a month between matches in the middle of this semifinal round of qualifying, you can expect my bloggerly output to slow from a torrent (see daily posts leading up to Honduras) to a mere trickle. Topics to be considered during this slow period could include:

• Fun distractions (Montreal Impact in CONCACAF Champions League starting this Wednesday)
• Is Canada out of it? (summary of my take: Not until the math says no)
• Who is to blame for the failures so far? (short take: Everyone, including the big name players)
• Should Mitchell be fired? (quick opinion: Only if the CSA has a much better option signed on.)
• Is Mike Klukowski the best thing since sliced bread? (early word: It's quite likely)

Until then, I can throw some more stats at you. After the Honduras and Mexico losses, here are the players that have been on the pitch during Dale Mitchell's tenure:

Player	Starter	Sub	Minutes
Stalteri, Paul	11		954
Klukowski, Mike	10		855
de Guzman, Julian	10		845
Hutchinson, Atiba	10		830
De Rosario, Dwayne	9		800
Serioux, Adrian	9		765
Nakajima-Farran, Issey	8	1	685
Hastings, Richard	8		675
Radzinski, Tomasz	10		646
Onstad, Pat	6		540
Bernier, Patrice	6	4	532
Gerba, Ali	5	4	510
Hirschfeld, Lars	5		450
Friend, Rob	5	3	401
Hainault, Andre	3	1	299
Brennan, Jim	2	4	270
Hume, Iain	2	4	264
Cann, Adrian	2	1	225
Imhof, Daniel	1	2	152
Peters, Jaime		2	91
Nash, Martin	1		90
Williams, Chris	1		90
Reda, Marco	1		90
McKenna, Kevin	1		90
Sutton, Greg	1		90
Harmse, Kevin	1		90
Occean, Olivier		4	84
Gbeke, Charles	1		80
De Jong, Marcel	1	3	75
Pozniak, Chris	1		65
Simpson, Josh	1	1	62
Jazic, Ante		1	45
Nsaliwa, Tam		2	37
Jakovic, Dejan		1	25
Ledgerwood, Nik		1	18
Johnson, Will		1	17
Simpson, Dave		1	10
Ribeiro, Antonio		1	5
Totals	132	42	11852
* Totals include non-FIFA sanctioned friendly vs Martinique, but not friendly against Danish club side Vejle BK

The only comment that I'll make is that seeing Paul Stalteri on top of the list is a reminder of our lack of depth at that position. If Stalteri was playing for his club, it's likely his performances for Canada would not be as poor as they have been. Should Canada be mathematically eliminated after the next match (11 October in Honduras) I'd like to see Adrian Serioux or even Nik Ledgerwood be given a shot at that position. Kevin McKenna, who seems to get no love from Mitchell, also played at right back this weekend against Bayern Munich to rave reviews, so he should be able to handle it as well.

Possibly interesting sidenote: I read the logs for this website from time to time, and I seem to have attracted a regular reader from Romania. Seeing how unlikely it is for there to be more than a handful of Transylvanian denizens interested in Canadian footie, I have a hunch that it's none other than Lars "Get off your heels for frick sakes" Hirschfeld. Drop me a line, Lars, if it's you. Likewise if you're my Romanian reader, but not Lars, if you have an interesting story to tell.