Richard Goddard who played goal for the Ottawa Wizards and is currently with the A-League Charlotte Eagles rates the calibre of play between the A-League and the CPSL. (May 5th, 2002).

CPSL vs A-League players...................
by Richard G.

Since I joined the league last year I always thought that the CPSL had quite a few players who can play in the A-league. Take for example Shurland David, who plays for the Wizards. This fella has more international experience than most, if not all players in the CPSL and A-league. In fact, I think he has more caps than all of the Wizards' players combined. I know a few Montreal players played for both the Impact and Le Dynamites and more than a couple Toronto Olympians' players have played in the A-league or have had stints with the Canadian National Team.

Now if we take a look at how many players from the CPSL that are playing in the A-league, one can see that the ability gap between the two leagues' top players sin't very large. I actually think that it's very small. True examples of "former" CPSL players already making a name for their teams and themselves include Toronto’s Nikola Budalic and Elvis Thomas and Charlotte Eagles' Richard Goddard (yes it's me). Each of these players have already made a difference in each team's play. Budalic has already been made a marked man after being selected for two straight A-League Teams of the Week. Thomas scored the game winner against Hampton Roads while Goddard has a 2-1 record, helping the Eagles' to a 2-2 record early in the season, which includes a win against a much more complete 2002 Toronto Lynx team, aiming for higher goals this year.

I wished that the Wizards' did play against the Impact. I know that the game would have been a hotly contested game and would show the talent level fo the CPSL.

Well just for the massives here on this site. I've assesed the A-league and it's players, and I now have a measure for the talent that's here, and trust me, there's a lot of talent here. The Atlanta game which we lost 3-1 opened my eyes to what I am in for. that game has helped me focus on what I need to do in order to help my team become a better and much more formidable team this year. That game against Toronto was extremely important for us in that we couldn't afford to go down 1-3 this early in the season. Hence it was a fight till the end.

Anyhow hope tings are ok with all here. I'll be off now. Maybe next time I'll be able to give a more complete assessment of the players in the league.

Lata and blessings
Richard G.

Posted on May 5, 2002, 7:41 PM

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