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‘We have to be brave’: CPL format proves a tough test for club managers

Rob Gale (L), Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (C) and Stephen Hart (R).
Rob Gale (L), Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (C) and Stephen Hart (R).

TORONTO — Cavalry FC and FC Edmonton will have met four times before the Al Classico series shifts back to Spruce Meadows in October.

In other words, there won’t be any secrets come late summer, when most clubs will have already met each other on multiple occasions.

“We have to be brave enough to be in that situation,” Cavalry coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. told CanPL.ca ahead of Wednesday’s Canadian Premier League schedule reveal.

The best CPL managers, it seems, will be the ones who get the best out of their players in a variety of ways — the ones who, perhaps, stay ahead of the opposition through work and preparation.

“We’re all going to be challenged and stretched as coaches,” Wheeldon Jr. continued. “I, for one, am willing to throw everything I have to keep the other teams guessing while believing in our strengths.”

In revealing its inaugural schedule on Wednesday the league confirmed its clubs will face opponents a minimum of four times during a 28-game campaign divided into a 10-match Spring and 18-match Fall.

The winners of both seasons will meet in the Canadian Premier League Championship in late October.

“I think (the 10-game spring) is fantastic because it gives an immediate perspective on how you’re doing things,” Forge FC coach Bobby Smyrniotis said. “Every three points really counts. It’s not a matter of, ‘Hey, I can drop points or do a rotation.'”

Another enticing schedule wrinkle, Smyrniotis admitted, is the fact his Hamilton-based side will open its Fall season on July 7 against FC Edmonton – the third time the two clubs will tangle in 2019.

“We need to be able to give them some different looks, with different players or ways of playing or movements in a game,” he explained.

“It’s going to be a tricky thing for all of us (coaches). It’s quite different, but it’s a good challenge … and it pushes you as a coach to be better.”

The biggest challenge facing clubs like HFX Wanderers, Pacific FC and York9 FC will be featuring in extra Cup fixtures to start the season.

Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis.
Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis.

Wanderers coach Stephen Hart pointed to the health of his players as being a decisive talking point as HFX prepares for a pair of big away dates on Vancouver Island and at Vaughan Azzurri to start their inaugural season.

“The biggest difficulty will be playing in and out of the league,” Hart explained to CanPL.ca, adding featuring in Round 1 of the Canadian Championship will challenge some CPL clubs.

“You’re playing Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday … it’s wear and tear on the body.”

Hart added he specifically targeted versatility in naming his roster this winter as a means to cope with the demanding number of games about to be thrust upon his players.

“How your players adapt to playing different positions (is important),” he said. “That was a big thing for me.”

It’s part of what makes the league’s decision to reset in early July even more enticing.

Clubs slow to gel or hit with injury bugs early in the year will have the opportunity to start anew come summer.

“It took me a bit to get used to the idea,” Wheeldon Jr. admitted. “But fans enjoy that chase for something. As a seven-team league, without promotion-relegation right now, we needed something to offer fans.

“I quite like (the split season) because we could start with someone having a great opening season but then you have time to adjust and go again. I think it will be unique.”

Whereas some leagues diminish the importance of the regular season, the CPL’s inaugural format puts an emphasis on every match in the pursuance of a championship berth.

“I’m a supporter of the split season,” FC Edmonton coach Jeff Paulus said, adding the CPL implementing a four-team playoff would have “detracted” from league football.

Instead, the league’s seven clubs know falling behind as early as May could see them miss out on a 2019 CPL Championship berth.

“It’s a fantastic little carrot we have at the start of the season and it’s a big thing,” Smyrniotis said.