Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Canucks Need A New Leaker

Episode Date: May 29, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason dive into the text message inbox and do some Ask Us Anythings (3:00), plus the boys preview today's Canada Soccer roster announcement with One Soccer lead commentator Gareth Wheeler (24:30). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

704 on a Friday. Did you pipe in the rap horn? No, it's part of the song. It's built in, baby. It's the user raphorns. 704 on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody. Halford, Bradford, Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford & Brub of the morning is brought you by Sands and Associates.

They're open seven days a week and they're open late to help you get debt free. With no judgment or upfront fees, visiting today, it's sands dash trustee. com. We're now an hour two of the program. Theresa from AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Antoine is going to join. They're again. again.

Are you getting hype yet? Hour two of this program is Brad to have Jason Hominock and Jason Dom Mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you, visit them online at Jason. Dom Mortgage. I like the idea that the raphorns came with the song. You didn't have to add them. It was like, no, that's the stock version.

Rap horns included. It's the feature. Yeah, raphorns included. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio, Step Strong with Orthotics and Footwear. from Kintech guests on SportsNet 650 call in on the ABLE Auctions hotline. Email sales at ABLEE auctions.ca to get your business assets sold and your building cleared. Let's go now to the ABLE Auctions hotline.

Our next guest is the co-owner and co-proprietor of A.J's Pizza on East Broadway and the water slides into us. And it's Teresa from A.J's pizza here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. She wants to start by calling us out. What a great start on our ask us. The premise of Ask Us Anything and how it works. ahead, Theresa. Well, good morning, guys.

I have to start with the obligatory AJ. What is going on? What is going on, guys? What is going on? So this whole AUA that we sponsor is a bit of a sagasy, I have to say. Isn't it called Ask Us Anything? Yes. Well, I had a pretty good one lined up, but you guys shot it down tootsweet on Wednesday night.

She also doesn't like the fact that we get a heads up on Ask Us Anything on occasion from AJ. She thinks that it might be script. Let me tell you nothing is scripted on this program. Okay. I want to get to a couple. We got a couple things we got to get to here. I want to start with maybe the last day as a HABS bar, potentially not, but tonight at AJ set the scene for us in what has been a great month of May as you guys as a HABs bar.

Yeah. So first I just want to make mention that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. And so, you know, I feel like given, you know, what's going on today this morning with, you know, your helper fans and the HABS game tonight, you know, we can speak to our own mental health challenges that we go through and that the loved ones experience at times. It's a real thing. So oftentimes we don't actually know what's going on for those around us. And I want to give a shout out to an organization called Heads Up Guys, which has sounded at my alma mater, UBC. Incredible resource for not just men, but has a large email focus with tons of free resources.

So my ask us is to check them out. but if evil Vegas ends up winning the Cup, I'm coming back and bringing the original AUA, just, you know. Okay. For the weekend. Yeah, so tonight we'll be at AJ's. Come visit with your HABS gear,

your Halbro shoutouts, get 20% off your bill. We'll be there celebrating our beautiful daughter, Juno. Shout out to Juno, happy birthday, Junebug. And then finally, we are filling up quickly for World Cup game reservations. So if you are looking for reservation, please visit our website or email info at aj's.

dot pizza and yours truly will assist in ensuring you are there to watch England break more hearts. Brilliantly done and extremely well said. And for those that might have missed, I just want to reiterate, it's heads up guys is the Mental Health Awareness Foundation that you shouted out there. And we would like to reiterate it again. Teresa, thank you very much for taking the time to do this today.

Very well done. Enjoy the weekend. Hopefully this HABS run continues a little longer. And a reminder for everybody out there, promo code, Halbro, 20% off. Thanks for doing this, Teresa. Awesome. Yeah, take care, guys. Thanks. Thanks. That's Theresa from AJ's Pizza on. He's Broadway here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. With some more phrege audio?

Yes, but I'm going to start it with an Ask Us Anything. And this comes from Old Gill. Poor old Gil. Gill's got to make a sale. Ask us anything. I said, I don't know if this counts, but on Monday, you gave the impression you'd be in a full panic spiral if the Canucks had not yet named Manny the head. head coach by Friday. And it's Friday. So are you guys okay?

Or is it the expectation that at 902, two minutes after your show is done, he will be announced. Okay. So we actually set Wednesday as the panic deadline. And it was a little tongue in cheek. Okay. It was. Moving the goalposts, are we? Here's Elliot Freeman.

Latest 32 thoughts on the latest on the main. on the Mani Mahotra situation. I'm not as concerned about that situation as others are. Nature abhors a vacuum, particularly in Vancouver. Dom needs information. He needs to know that something is happening or else he starts crazy rumors to the contrary. I know this is all your fault, Dom.

I still am not panicked about anything going on with Malhotra. One of the things I think that's going on in Vancouver is they have a lot happening. They have some positions to fill, some business to do, and I think that has affected some of these decisions, not in terms of them happening, but the timelines of it. So I'm not concerned about the Malhotra situation as it stands right now. I still think as we sit here on Thursday night recording this pod, I still think that things are moving in the proper direction.

Fritz was like that gambling at the Simpsons at the end there. Sin, sir, man, T. Come on, come on, don't you know that I'm paying for this call? The wind is blowing. 53 knots. He gets paid for 32 thoughts by the minute. I'm pretty sure. The knucks have signed, man, man, man, man, man.

Manny, Mal, that Haltra. I think the insiders might be struggling with the new regime in Vancouver. We've got to stretch out of these guys. It's like when you only have a little bit of food to cook with then you got to stretch it out to make it last the week. That's what you get. You only get morsels from the cadux now. It's a new regime.

It's a new way. The insider's got to learn. Got to make that extra little bit of morsel stretch. I'm willing to buy into the idea, though, that they have so much to do that maybe they can't entirely focus on the Malhotra situation. And it's one of the reasons, in fact, that earlier in the week, I was like, they need to get this locked up. What else do they got to do?

Not in a panic, but they need to get this lock. locked up because there's a lot of things to do. Well, A-Dog, they have to fill out the head coach's staff. They have to, if it is Mani Mahalachar that gets hired to be the head coach, they have to find a new head coach for Abbotsford.

They have to find a new GM for Abbotsford because that was Ryan Johnson's job. So there's all that. Yeah, but shouldn't Manny be at the top though? And then everything else falls after that? Like you hire your coach, he hires his staff, then you fill out Abbotsford. Meanwhile, maybe they're losing some candidates on the coaching status for, you know, staffs and all that sort of stuff.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know, I just find that a little flimsy. Like, I get there's a lot of stuff to do, but man, he should be at the very top of the list. I'm not being insolent. Man, he should be at the very top of the list. There's other things that they need to get taken, they need to take care of. But I don't think there's anything more important than hiring your head coach. The draft is pretty important. And they need to have discussions about that.

They need to have conversations with. players and their representatives, whether it's Jake DeBrusk or Lee's Pedersen about their future, I agree with you that the head coach is the most pressing issue right now. It's the one that everyone's talking about. But there's a lot of things that are going on with this organization because they've just had a regime change like two weeks ago. They're probably talking with their staff, their current staff, going, okay, um, they're Things are going to be a little different now.

And you have a conversation with your AGMs or other staff, the analytics group. You have meetings with them because those people, your employees, want to know, okay, am I going to have the same responsibilities? Am I going to have different responsibilities? That sort of stuff I imagine could be going on right now. I don't know if they can be in the position of hold everything. We got to figure out this mani Mahocha situation. It can be your main focus.

Now, can I throw something else on the list too, by the one? Now that being said. You missed one thing, by the way. Okay, what? Monday, June 1st is the start of the NHL scouting combine in Buffalo, in which the team also will send representatives and will need to be at for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which they've got two first-round picks.

So the combine for the Canucks this year, probably more important than it's ever been, given the amount of picks that they've got, especially at the high end of the draft, so you can add that to the list. of duties and obligations that they've got on the go as well. I would assume that Ryan Johnson would be going to Buffalo. I have no confirmation of this,

but there's another thing that you can add to your list of they've got a lot on the go right now. So it's also possible that they've run into some sort of issue. I mean, there is that possibility out there, right? I wonder what, Freedges isn't worried. I wonder how many other coaches they've spoken to just to speak with them. Let's do a few more Ask Us Anythings. This comes from Jason Not Brough.

Nice. Okay. Ask us anything. Are these the lamest playoffs of the salary cap era? Oh, I thought. No death march overtime games, not many crazy moments. Only Montreal is having anything close and hyped up matchups like Dallas, Minnesota, disappointed. I mean, I think Colorado, Minnesota kind of disappointed as well.

I don't think Minnesota played up to their abilities. And then we had a shock sweep of Colorado by the Vegas Golden Knights. But I don't know if that was like, wow, isn't this amazing? Isn't this incredible? I love this. It was kind of like, oh. So we're going to have two teams that check really well in the Stanley Cup final. So here's the thing.

If you're going to do the power rankings of, what constitutes a great playoff and a bad playoff. You need criteria, right? So you ticked a couple of boxes there. And in that regard, the playoffs have fallen short. It's been an alarming lack of game sevens, comparatively speaking to previous years. There's been a lot of lack of those, you know, death march overtime games that you talk about. Tampa Habs easily the best, right?

And that's the thing. I don't even think there's a close second in terms of a series. Like, what was another series that really grabbed your attention? Like, I have to watch every single game of it. None. Right? It's been pretty underwhelming. A lot of them didn't force the game sevens

that we thought they were going to. I'll tell you, like, Philly Pittsburgh, in terms of the hype that went in, of it being a grudge match, was a dud. And that had a lot to do with the fact that Philly jumped out to a 3-0 lead. And then Pittsburgh sort of backed their way into making it competitive.

Edmonton, who is the two-time defending Western Conference champ, went out, I would say pretty meekly in round one with the best player in the NHL. I'll do respect to everyone else, but it's still Connor McDavid. here's the other thing. You can make the argument that unlike past years,

the NBA playoffs have dramatically outdone the Stanley Cup playoffs. For the point where Charles Barkley isn't up at the pulpit talking about how the Stanley Cup playoffs are great and the NBA playoffs think. The NBA right now. He's like, God, the Stanley Cup playoffs are horrible. Are you watched that Eastern Western Conference finals? We got the Knicks in the finals. Having the Eastern and Western Conference finals potentially go a grand total of nine games.

is crazy. Because of Wemmy, man. No, no, no. I never watch basketball. Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm just saying with the NBA, like I never watch basketball and like Wemby's got me glued to the TV.

And they've got a game seven between like great storylines, even though the markets aren't ideal, the defending champs in O'KC with the MVP against what many consider to be the next great iconic, transcendent star. And also that's awesome.

And then the next are just waiting in the final. And the storyline that's developed because, you know, I think a lot of people, including myself, we're like yeah whoever wins this series between the spurs and the thunder are going to win the NBA finals but the way the nicks have gone through the playoffs

I think now we're kind of like well maybe Austin and langley ask us anything how concerned are you about them running it back with the same staff essentially so he's talking about hockey ops I'm not concerned yet at all I know some people are

I'm not yet It's been a few weeks. And I think the way the Canucks are operating is dramatically different. Agreed. And the change that I've, that they've enacted just so far is where I would have started. And that's the start. You know, think of what I think it was Henrik, Daniel, I don't know, said like to go fast, you got to go slow. the sedans need to get they need to figure out how everything works you know if they don't

readjust their analytics department this offseason even there's time for it there's time to do that as long as they have the resources going forward and they've said they will have those resources and as long as they recognize these things and something else that i that i that i just spoke about you know, maybe they're going to empower some of the other people in the organization to do different things. Like, this idea that the Canucks Fonda office has like no brain power, it's kind of ridiculous. I mean, Emily Castan Gay has a business degree.

She's a lawyer. She's very bright. So, you know, maybe there's a new role there. And even if someone wanted, I know people wanted an outside perspective, like bring in someone a big brain guy, you know, and and have them provide an outside perspective on the Kinex. And I certainly don't disagree with that notion. But my point is there's time to do that. It's, it's, it's, it's only been a couple of weeks.

But we want it now. Think of all the things that, think of all the things that they've got to get done. Like they don't go in, you don't go into a job and be like, okay, we got to fire the head coach. And then we got a new head coach. And we got the draft coming up. Okay, we got the draft coming up. And this is a huge draft. So we got to make sure that everything is together with the scouting and the assessments.

We probably got a deal, we have a few conversations with. you know, guys like Pedersen and maybe Jake DeBrusk and, you know, conversations with really all the players about how things are going to be different. We're going to have to talk to them. We're going to have to reach out and set expectations

because we want to make sure that everyone comes to training camp. Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold everything. Hold everything. Guys, we need to hire someone for the analytics department. Yeah. I mean, that's...

It's just, it's not... It's not top of mind. even though I do believe that it needs to be addressed. But, again, just to put the seat of doubt out there, because why not? The dismissal of Adam Foote, which many saw as a layup, was done pretty quickly, expeditiously. It was fast. Okay. But they had to address it right then.

The hiring of many Malhotra, which also, comparatively speaking, feels and seems like a layup, has been a little bit more protracted. So I understand why you've got insiders saying, I'm just checking in and it appears all as well. Because a lot of people are asking, is all well? Layups are supposed to be easy. That's why they're called layups. But this person is texting in about the staff, the hockey ops staff.

No, I get that. That's nothing really to do with that. No, I would, no, but I'm just saying, like, you got to think about this stuff. Like, do the connects need to invest more in analytics? Yes. Do they have to get that done in the next two weeks? absolutely not. JD and Coquitland, we'll do one more. Ask us anything before we go to break here.

Who do you guys pick to win the Champions League final tomorrow? J.D. writes, I believe PSG are favored they are. They're fairly significant favorites on the money line, anywhere from plus 125 to 141. JD then writes that he believes that Arsenal has the momentum on their side. I think if you're going to go down the wagering road, I would not be surprised if this goes to extra time. I do not expect it to be incredibly high scoring in large part because Arsenal is involved in it. I think Arsenal can dictate the style of play, although I think if PSG can get, as they like to say, Jason, on the front foot and maybe try and force things early. The longer the match goes, goal is the more it's advantageous to Arsenal because all of a sudden you can start breaking the match down into its component parts, set pieces, free kicks, corners, etc., which which case Arsenal has kind of made a meal of their season through those pieces. How excited are people for this final?

Okay, that's a good question. Rank it out of previous, like over the last 10 years. I've seen a lot of people build it up because of the fact that it's like a team from Paris and a team from London and they're incredibly high profile clubs within Europe. As you would often get. Is a team from Paris a little snooty? And the team from England is a little obnoxious? Yeah, and they're a little bit.

Stylistically, it's a great, they're good foils to each other. other because PSG can turn on the style and they've got a lot of daring and bold individual talents that can go out you one on one. And if you've watched Arsenal, especially down the stretch this year, they've been accused of playing at times more negative football.

They're very defensively resolute and they don't concede a lot. And is it Champagne football? No, but they just won the league and they're in a Champions League final. So this year has been wildly successful. So in those regards, there's a lot

leading into it in terms of anticipation, I'm very skeptical that we're going to see like a classic match on Saturday. Despite all of these great things going into it, I don't know if style equals entertainment on this one. I got a feeling that this might end up one-nil. At the end of the day, it's a final in a tournament football. And we've seen how that can go sometimes. Is soccer in good form?

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, look, Arsenal didn't exactly turn on the style down the stretch when they needed. results to win the league. There's quite a bit of Arsenal in England, though, isn't there? There is. Yeah. I mean, well, look, Declan Rice. Well, it's funny because when everyone talks about England and like the, and now we're pivoting here to England, but when everyone talks about the 26 man roster and the selections, I can't believe Palmer didn't make it. I can't believe this guy didn't make it. That guy didn't make it. I'm like, look, England's going to go as far as four

guys are going to take them. Okay, let me guess. Harry Kane. Yeah. Declan Rice. Yeah. Saca. Yeah. And Bellingham. in Bellingham. Yeah. That's, that's, which is, and Bellingham is, is a wild guard, I think, don't you think? Right.

The most important, but Tuchel might not even like it. But the most important player might be Declan Rice. Yeah. Right. And that's, Declan Rice and Kane and Sock it might be the three. I'm just throwing Belling him in there because he's Belling him. But so for all of this argument about the 26 man and taking Ivan Tony and everything,

I'm like, their fate is going to be decided by a handful of guys. Two of them who were playing in the Champions League on the weekend. Okay. We got to pivot real quick here before we go to break and remind you about our good friends at the hometown Heroes Lottery. They are in need of your support to help change lives. BC's bravest answer the call and your ticket answers theirs. Support BC's best value

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Millions and prizes are just waiting to be won and tickets started four for only $85. Don't wait. Buy your tickets now at Heroes Lottery.com. You're listening to the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet 650. I'm not concerned. The coaches hot line. Line. I still think as we sit here on Thursday night

in the game versus sin. Cincinnati. Cincinnati. Cincinnati. I still think that things are moving in the proper direction. Come on, come on, don't you realize this is it costing me money? Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. Get your daily dose of Canucks Talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650.

Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 733 on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody, Halford, Braves. Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. They're ready to give you the financial fresh start you deserve. With no judgment or upfront fees, visit them today at sands dash trustee.com. We're still in hour two of the program.

We're at the midway point of the show. Gareth Wheeler from One Soccer is going to join us in a few moments here, just a few hours ahead of World Cup roster announcement night for Team Canada. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason hominock at jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, and don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.mort. To the able auctions hotline, we go.

Our next guest is the lead commentator for one soccer. Gareth Wheeler joins us now on the Halford & Breath Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, Gareth. How are you? Morning, guys. What's going on with you? Not that it feels like we've waited so long, so very long to get to this part of the proceedings and now it's finally here. I know that we've got a pretty good idea of who's going to make the squad with the guys

that are in camp in Charlotte. but how excited are you to finally get to this point where we get the 26-man roster to decide who will be playing for Canada at this year's World Cup? To be perfectly honest with you, I'm kind of approaching this with a little bit of unheed. I just don't think that there's very many things right now that can be considered a sure thing. Like, look, it's exciting to recognize the individuals, the players, their families, everyone that's been involved in the process. It's exciting for the country.

But the sheer number of injuries and question marks and lack of players who are actually match fit, it's deeply concerning to me. Like I've been trying to look back on other national teams that have dealt with this kind of issues, these kind of injury issues heading into the World Cup, and I kind of stop at Canada. So even when the 26 players are named tonight,

Jesse Marsh has the ability through injury or illness to then make replacement calls up to 24 hours ahead of the first, the ball being kicked in their first game. It wouldn't surprise me it's not inconceivable whatsoever that the 26 players that are named tonight that all 26, you know, they might not all be playing for Canada in Toronto on June 12th. That's where I kind of am right now. Like, Marsh is putting on a brave face

and the reports coming out of Charlotte is, yeah, all the players are doing great, but let's see what they look like when they're on the field, when they're supposed to be match fit, as sharp as can be heading into the biggest tournament of their lives. It's just, I think a wait-and-see approach needs to be taken right now. Keel, I'm glad you started with the injury unease

because I was going to start with the goalkeeping unease, but it's great that you decided to go there first. So let's continue in that vein of conversation. Is there one particular health concern that you have above the rest? Well, it's Alfonso Davies. Because typically when players who don't start a World Cup fit or coming back and are not fully fit, those World Cups oftentimes end in disappointment for the player.

Like just look at England because they're a well-publicized team. Like look at Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Gary Neville, like these players like have tried to, you know, when you're trying to jump on a moving train and you're not fully 100% fit and not playing heading in. It just, it makes the goal of being, you know, a real key contributor. It makes it that much more difficult. So Alfonso Davies is number one because he's the best player that Canada has. And the fact that it doesn't sound like he's going to be playing June 12th.

Who knows when he may be playing next? I mean, that's the most problematic. But I just don't, I don't think that you can paint the picture as just one. You know, it's so many question marks. Moise Bumboito, hasn't played since last October. Elfie Jones hasn't played in 2026. Richie Luray is now injured.

Derek Cornelius hasn't played first team football since 2025 as well. Alastair Johnson's the guy that you're most confident in right now across the back line. He's played about like eight games since his return from injury. It's just they all add up and they all create a situation where these cluster injuries, you just got to ask yourself, what is this thing going to look like? it's not just there as well. Like Ali Ahmed's a little bit more injured than what was originally

thought to be like this is just entirely problematic to me when you're trying to piece together 11. And it's not just like getting back healthy. Like it's good news that a number of these players have put themselves in contention to be part of the 26 and play a role. But when the first, when the whistle goes, like you need to be match fit. You need to be sharp. players take time to get back to full strength,

returning from injuries as well. So that's where my real concern is, is just the sheer number of unknowns. I think that it should affect the way that Jesse Merck's makes is 26. We'll see how that plays out tonight. So I'm trying to weigh everything to create my expectations for Canada at the tournament,

and the injuries are obviously not good. But we've also made the argument that Canada could be in the weakest group in World Cup history. No disrespect to some of those teams, but my expectations had been set at getting the opportunity to play Switzerland in their third game for the group. So if they win that game, they win the group. If they don't, they probably advance anyway,

because, you know, I think they should still be favored in the games against Bosnia and Herzegovina to start, and then Qatar in the second game. Are my expectations too high, too low, considering the injury situation? Yeah, I think they're fair. The thing about this is the worst group in World Cup history. And it's no disrespect to the teams.

It's disrespect to a 48-team World Cup, which is on the surface of it ludicrous. Like the group stage is going to be a little bit of a slog. Like, you can chalk off 18 teams right away that you probably wouldn't miss at this world. Cup. Now, the knockout phase of 32 has the potential to be absolutely brilliant, so

that's kind of a trade-off there. But I've kind of changed the way that I've looked at things. I originally thought that game one, at home, in Canada, against Bosnia and Herzegovina, like, that's a must win. But because of all of these unknowns, I just think it's a can't lose.

I think that you've got to pick up a point in that game. Qatar is your second match. The game's actually lined up pretty good for Canada. Qatar, you're traveling across, the country which is not a whole lot of fun on short rest, but you're playing guitar and they're weak. Like they are really poor. That is 100% a must-win game. Like Canada should go away winning that game. I have no problem saying that. And then it gives you kind of like that free shot against Switzerland when hopefully some players are a little bit healthier, back up the

speed or however you want to phrase that. And you can give it a real go against the best team in the group. I think that that's a realistic position. Like four points to the first two games and then you go out with a free shot knowing that no matter what you're moving on to the next round. But with a chance to potentially upset Switzerland and win the group, I think that that's the most realistic path for me. And that being said, with this being the worst group of World Cup history, yes,

it's an opportunity for Canada, but you've got to believe the other teams in the group are thinking the exact same thing. thing about Canada. Oh, for sure. For sure. For sure. It's general right now. So it kind of goes both ways. But I think it's fair. Like, there's no way that Canada should not get out

of this group. It's a home world cup. They're still strong enough. There's still some good players as part of the mix. It's just how high those aspirations might be based upon the current situation. I just think it's too early to tell how good this team might actually be. By the way, the way you spoke

about that first game is it's not a must win, but it's a It's a not a, like it's a, it's a must not lose is the way you put it. That's a warning for ticket buyers of the group stage. Sometimes you get some real duds. Like, Alfred and I are both England supporters. And we've had to slog through some group stage games with England. Which other countries, you know, heading into this really fascinate you?

We were talking about the Americans yesterday. And I think, I mean, they don't have a group of death or anything. There isn't a group of death, really, at this tournament. But they've got a tougher group than Canada. And the vibe seem to be off with this American team. Yeah, it's USA 250. The kit is awesome, by the way. The flag kit.

I just don't think the team's that good. Like, I know the Pocetino stuff. And the way that this team is hyped is, crazy for me. Like the way that Christian, Christian Polisic is like made out to be the next coming of like Pele is just insane. It's like he's an average player at best. I just, Tim Ream, who's like what, like 38? Like he's still starting

at center back for this team. It's just, I just don't think that they're that good. And the pressure will be on. But I mean, the pressure's on and things will ramp up based upon the team's behavior and the way that it's covered more so than anything else. Like, no one in the right mind thinks that this team is doing any damage at this World Cup. I just, I mean, I just can't see it. I do think there's going to be some really intriguing teams. I think that Brazil, first and foremost, with Carlo Ancelotti, as manager, I mean, let's see.

Because oftentimes teams like that thrive under Airti because it's all about vibes. He just knows how to manage players appropriately. And I think that they're in a position where, you know, I think the conditions, that they're playing in really warm weather, which is a genuine possibility. I think that they'll be okay with that. They're a really intriguing team for me, and I think that they should be one of the favorites in this tournament.

No squad in this tournament is better than France, like just in terms of like how stacked and how loaded they are. They're the most talented team. Will they win? I mean, we'll just have to see how this plays out, but they probably should be the odds on favorite. And based upon its selection,

you guys are England supporters. I mean, Thomas Tuchel has set himself up for potential disaster if England doesn't thrive because right now they have the best player in the world, the player that's coming out the best season for my money in Harry Kane. And he named a squad which is peculiar to say the least just in terms of some of the names that are included in it. And look, like he might have his preferred 11 and it might not affect much, but these things are combed over so much in terms of the English media in the press

and it can just ramp up the pressure. like it's funny like the squad comes out and people are accusing Thomas Tuchel being a German trying to like sabotage. German spy. It's really, really funny. So yeah, I mean there's so many teams like 48 teams is outrageous. I think that there's actually like maybe 12 teams that will be kind of in the mix to be in the top four, top eight.

Beyond that it's hard to get much further to be to be honest with you. She's comparing some of the groups to Canada's group is pretty wild. Like you mentioned, France. They're in with Senegal, which is a good side. And they're also in, I mean, they've got Iraq, but they've also got Norway, which, you know, has Erling Holland, and they were terrific in, in the qualifying. The difference in that group compared to Canada's is really, really stark, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, I like Senegal. Like this team won African Cup of Nations. They have experienced players. They can play different ways. Again, the climate shouldn't

affect them. They're having a little bit of political issues behind the scenes, but I mean, that, I mean, once the players put on the kit, they should be really good. And in Norway, has some top players as well, although early Holland's coming off the season where he was nowhere near his best, but they're all good at, this, this is the problem. Like, typically in a World Cup, two teams advance from the group. So you look at it, say, wow, that's, that's really competitive. Like, I would be shocked if all three of these teams don't just beat Iraq convincingly. If you get a win, then essentially, you know, a win could be enough, pick up a point somewhere else

along in your head-to-head games against the better teams, then you're moving on. It's just about like where. That's why when people are saying now, like, who do you think is going to win the World Cup, it's so much more difficult to project this time around because it just depends who plays places where in the groups and the paths aren't predetermined like they were previous World Cups because of the addition of the third place spot. So that's what makes the exercise, because typically you can kind of plot it out.

This one you can't do so as much, so it's a little bit more difficult. But all three teams should go on based upon the fact that they all should beat a rack. And with the top of the third place teams moving on, it kind of takes away the jeopardy. That's why when it comes to the ticket prices and some of the groups and some of the matches,

it's just like, I've just advised people, if you're going to spend some serious cash, save it for the knockout round. Like that's when you want to actually see the games. The group stage games for me might be just a big nothing-nothing burger, to be honest. Yeah. I mean, I still think it's going to be special to watch Canada at home. And there's no guarantee that Canada will play, well, even another game after the group stage.

But hopefully they will. There's no guarantee that they'll win their group and play at BC Place in the round of 32. I want to talk a little bit more about Canada. And I want to talk about the content. contract extension that Jesse Marsh got. What was your reaction to that? Do you think that was more about Jesse Marsh wanting some stability? Or was that more about Canada wanting some stability going forward?

I think a little bit of both. I think it's strange to give it a contract extension before World Cup. But I think we all saw this coming. I think that there was willingness on both sides to get a deal done. look, I would, I subscribe to the fact that, you know, from a sporting perspective, I'm not sure how much Marsh is accomplished as of yet. They had two tournaments last year to go out and win trophies in the Nations League and in the Gold Cup. They failed on both accounts.

Has there been some progress? Yes. How much is that attributed to Jesse? I'm not sure because the group under John Herdman, you know, was very successful. Now you have a group of young players that came through under John. who are better, a lot of them are in their prime today. So, look, Jesse off the field, like, people love him. He's wrapped his arms around the program, the country,

and I think that that is his, like, kind of superpower right now. But he needs to show it off the field. The thing is, which makes this even more strange, is that the financial commitment that's being made by people outside of the CSA, so part of the White CPS ownership group, C.F. Montreal, private donors, that have allowed his contract to be signed and pay him a lot of money to do so. With that being the case, and I don't know what the breakdown of those numbers are, it kind of mitigates the risk for the CSA in case it doesn't work.

And it won't be left on the hook with just an albatross of a salary for a head coach that isn't achieving. That's the interesting thing to me because for all the budgetary issues, and that was made a big deal by people that were criticizing the CSA at that time, time, the biggest liability on their balance sheet was what they were paying, Herdman and Priestman and the coaching staff. So you take that off the balance sheet, it's going to look a whole lot better. So I would have just like, love to have seen it done after the World Cup when you get a better idea, whether Jesse is capable of getting the most out of this team.

I think that although he presents really well, he's a great spokesman, just on the field, can you play and press ferociously over 90 minutes and difficult weather at tournaments like this? It's his style of play made for international football. I still have some real questions about that. So look, there's positives and negatives to the situation. I think that you can make the case for either one. I just would have preferred to see that contract done after the World Cup rather than before.

You know, I want to touch on that last point with getting something done in tournament football and the style that he plays. I do wonder, given the relative weakness of the group, the fact they're at home, and the fact that compared to the other three teams in the group, they've got, I don't want to say unparalleled, but I think unmatched athleticism and the ability to make things hectic and frenetic.

Yeah, but everyone's hamstring is holding on by a thread. But they've still got, yeah, the threaded hamstrings is a problem for sure. But I do wonder if there's something in the recipe here where they can just go and kind of make the groups, stage chaotic and because they've got the energy of playing at home, that they'll be able to get through the group and it'll look good on March and that the results might actually look better than the process. Because with all due respect to Bosnia and to Qatar, maybe I think Switzerland will be a much more difficult foe than the previous two. Like I think that they could have

six points in the bag just by making life difficult with that very narrow, very swarming, very high press style at home with the energy of the crowd. And then at that stage of the game, it's successful tournament for Martian company, almost regardless of what happens beyond that? Of course. Like, what is your expectation? Just in terms of, like, what would be a successful tournament for you? Get out of the group? You know, it's, I mean, if they

don't, let's put it this way, they don't get out of the group. It's an unmitigated failure. It's a failure. It's a big failure. It's a disaster. A home world. Yes. In that group? We haven't got out of the group when they've hosted a little cup or South Africa and Qatar. Like, it should be a significant advantage. And

with this being like a a Canada team that we've never seen at least a team on paper when match fit is better than this. Like, I mean, there's a lot riding on this. But yeah, you're right. Like, I think it can be fun. However, they want to spin it. And this is why for me, like the North Carolina training camp, like, it doesn't make a lot of sense, training and heat. Because inevitably, Canada will be in a much better situation if they go in and win the group,

potentially have two knockout round games in Vancouver, where the conditions are mitigated. Like, what's this world weather training? I don't even quite understand it. Even if you finish second place in the group, the team would then go play in L.A. in Englewood. Well, there's a roof at Sofi stadium. So I don't know what that's all about to me. It's adding unnecessary travel, North Carolina, to Eminton to Montreal. It's like, what are we doing?

I don't quite understand what's happening there. But, I mean, this will be able to be fun in the way. way that they want to spin it. I think that Jesse's done a great job controlling the narrative. Just read the reports that are coming out of North Carolina right now. All the players are good. Everyone's on the right track. Everyone's going to be able to play on June 12th. It's like, okay, let's wait and see what the reality actually looks like a little bit. And I hope that he's right, by the way. Like, I really hope that he is right. And this is a successful World Cup. A lot is riding on it. Like, this is a really weird time for soccer in this country. What's

going on with a white caps and potential relocation right now. I think that CF Montreal is an underreported story. I think that if Vancouver goes, they're next. Like, they're right after just in terms of like sponsorships and agreements and infrastructure. Like, we're at a real critical time in this country. I think a lot of it's predicated on people getting excited about this team and them doing some damage. So the stakes are incredibly high here.

It's just, until I get a good. look these two friendlies and typically friendlies going to the World Cup. You kind of glaze over them. It's just kind of the preamble, the appetizer. But I think there's really something to look out for these games against you, Pakistan, and Ireland to see just who's

ready, who isn't, and how the team might be able to compensate for it. Not to mention the goalkeeper. Who's going to be the number one goalkeeper? I just, there's just so many question marks right now. It's really hard to kind of pick or figure out where this team might end up. We're up against our time, but I don't care. It's our

show. Hey, so the goalkeeping, where would you go if you had to pick a guy right now? I probably would have picked the guy that's not even there in James Pantamus. He's a goalkeeper on that form right now. I'll just say this really quickly. I think that this is the one area where

Marshall opens himself up for criticism. I think he's made a mess of this goalkeeping situation. The fact he said he's going to play each goalkeeper in 45 minutes in Edmonton, it's like, pick one. Yeah, I know. Pick one. Get this story away because as soon as one of those

goalkeepers who's ever in, who's ever is in is going to make it, potentially make a mistake, they're just going to be like absolutely skewered. And so Marsh just, this just tells me that he doesn't have faith in either one. That's the way that I'm looking at. If you have your guy, you pick him

and you roll with them. We're at like, it's like 1130 right now. It's almost midnight. You got to pick, you got to pick one. And I just don't think that he said either goalkeeper up for success here. I think that both goalkeepers are okay They just don't have like a world-class goalkeeper

I love if Craig Forrest or someone was in their prime And that situation will be settled But that's not what we have right now I think it's an area of at the very least concern for Canada Gareth this was excellent man Thank you for taking the time to do this We appreciate it I'm sure we'll be checking back

As we get closer and closer to the start of the World Cup If you're up for it Awesome guys enjoy it chat soon Yep thanks buddy we appreciate it's Gareth Wheeler from one sock here on the Halfwood and Breff Show on Sportsnet. 6.50. It's time now for the smart decision brought to you by Crow. Your trusting accounting and tax advisors

for over 55 years. I'm going to go to the NBA with this one. The NBA has officially approved the draft lottery reform in an effort to curb tanking, Jason. So you may be aware that this year, the NBA had a bit of a problem during the regular

season where just a slight one. Roughly one third of the league gave up and stopped trying. So yesterday, voted on by the league's board of governors, the plan is the 3-21 lottery proposal. It expands the lottery to 16 teams. It flattens the odds of winning the number one pick, all in an effort to try and deter teams from tanking

by lowering the lottery chances for teams that have the worst record. And you know there's going to be one team that gets totally screwed by these new rules. Maybe more than one. They're going to be like, we are trying. Yeah. But we're terrible. and now you're punishing us for being terrible. We're doing our best.

There's going to be a Canucks of the NBA. That's like we weren't even tanking. We were doing our best. We're trying so hard. And now we're getting screwed. So the three worst teams have a 5.4% odds of winning. Teams that finish 4th through 10 worst all have an 8.1% chance of winning. So it really has flattened out.

We'll see how it goes for now. I'm calling it a smart decision brought to you by Crow. your trusting accounting and tax advisors for over 55 years. Crow smart decisions lasting value. Learn more at chroma-kai.cai.ca. Final hour of the program is coming up a reminder. Call in now at 8 a.m. to win a $50 gift card to White Spot. We're going to award that at 8, announce the winner on the other side.

You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.