You don't have to really be an expert in reading between the lines to come to this conclusion: Michael Findlay wants to use his time as the interim coach of the Canadian men's national team to prove that he deserves to be the side's full-time boss going forward.

We notice more interest from our readers when we try to tackle a big topic over the course of several stories — and issue 10 of Plastic Pitch fits that bill. The MLS standings are always clogged, and 12 of 20 teams (60 per cent) make the playoffs. The No. 1 seed rarely goes on to win MLS Cup. Does …

Like so many before, this World Cup-qualification campaign ended in bitter disappointment; once again, Canada couldn’t survive a tough road schedule and CONCACAF gamesmanship

Canada failed to qualify for the Hex, and continued a World Cup drought that dates back to 1986. With only friendlies on the horizon for the men’s national side, Montagliani said there is no rush to find a replacement.

“I think a lot of players see two sides to it,” said Ledgerwood, who is back in Edmonton. “He’s definitely put in three years of hard work and built a foundation with the guys. I think the guys, internally, see great strides going forward with the national team and I think that’s a big thing. All of us got on the same page and bought into the philosophy that he wanted to bring to Canadian soccer. On the other side of it, do you wreck that foundation that he’s built and bring in somebody else and give them the chance to build something up?”

Really, the fact that Honduras got a point out of a 0-0 draw in Mexico eases the pain. By getting a point, Honduras made sure that Canada could not catch it for second place in CONCACAF’s Group A — and get that spot in the Hex.

Julian de Guzman's knee injury won't allow him to take the field for Canada in its two upcoming do-or-die World Cup qualifiers. But he's still going along for the ride.

No doubt there would have been questions about the exclusion of veteran Will Johnson, who has featured in a couple of Toronto FC matches since recovering from a broken leg — an injury suffered while scoring arguably the most dramatic goal in the history of the Voyageurs Cup.

The news coming out of the Ottawa Fury camp isn't pretty; midfielder Julian de Guzman is expected to be out four to six weeks with a knee tendon issue. He was hurt in training last week.

Nik Ledgerwood was born and raised in Lethbridge, but left town when he was a teenager so he could pursue his soccer career. More than a decade later, he’s come back to his home province...