OT: 2024 Soccer and Vancouver Whitecaps Thread

I Hart Conor Garland

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For a 'friendly', that game with Mexico was about as ugly as it gets......it's a miracle no Canadian player came out out of the match without sustaining a serious injury....some of those fouls were bordering on vicious......only two yellow cards to the Mexican side, but easily have been a couple of reds.

I don't know if the strategy was to slow down the Canadians outside of the rules. But whatever it was I guess it worked. But as other commentators have pointed out......Mexico came into the match worried about this Canadian side, and were determined to slow them down. So I suppose that's a backhanded gesture of respect.
Every game with them lately has been chippy and that's much different than before. They absolutely see us way differently now.
 

PanniniClaus

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Oct 12, 2006
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I see Badwal and Chateau signed deals with the Caps. Excellent news as long as Sartini doesn't try to play them out of position like he does almost everyone else.
 

VanJack

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I see Badwal and Chateau signed deals with the Caps. Excellent news as long as Sartini doesn't try to play them out of position like he does almost everyone else.
It always amazes me how little you read about the 'Caps development team......no scores, player profiles or even the league they play in. In fact, what league do they play in? Who are the up and coming talents?

You read a lot more about the semi-pro Canadian Premier League. Maybe because a lot of those teams seem to be 'tough outs' for Canada's MLS teams whenever they play for the Canadian pro soccer title.
 

PanniniClaus

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It always amazes me how little you read about the 'Caps development team......no scores, player profiles or even the league they play in. In fact, what league do they play in? Who are the up and coming talents?

You read a lot more about the semi-pro Canadian Premier League. Maybe because a lot of those teams seem to be 'tough outs' for Canada's MLS teams whenever they play for the Canadian pro soccer title.
You would think they would try to promote MLS next pro although I feel the CPL should expand and be that place where these young players play. They can be loaned from the MLS and play in the CPL where they will get some exposure rather than next pro where friends and family watch.
 

Wry n Ginger

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Really wish this team had been managed better over the last X # of years. Vancouver is a market that was just waiting to go mad for soccer...whitecaps would have been in competition as a legit #2 for Fan's but it's all been pissed away.
 

SeawaterOnIce

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Really wish this team had been managed better over the last X # of years. Vancouver is a market that was just waiting to go mad for soccer...whitecaps would have been in competition as a legit #2 for Fan's but it's all been pissed away.
They've done well to correct the ship since 2021. We are not a market that can attract big names from Europe or Latin America so the best we can hope for is taking shots at guys like Édier Ocampo.

I keep saying it but will say it again....2013-2018 were years that were pissed away. Had a decent squad in 2015 but failed to add anything during the transfer windows and predictably failed to score in the playoffs. They then spent 3 years shedding salary and penny-pinching despite having the best young talented player in the league. That was a prime period to really go for an MLS Championship. Portland, Seattle and Toronto deservedly won while we became a bottom-tier franchise for no reason. I still haven't forgiven the owners for this.
 
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VanJack

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Seems to me in the last few games the Caps lineup has been all over the map.....with World Cup commitments, injuries and a compacted game schedule heading down the stretch, it would appear that Sartini is fielding some pretty questionable lineups.

So assuming they get all their players back 100 percent healthy, this Caps lineup is looking pretty decent. Do they have what it takes to go very far in the MLS playoffs?
 

PanniniClaus

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It wasn't a pretty one (Vancouver clearly the inferior team), and PK results suck, but...



Boehmer was awesome. By far the busier keeper shot-stopping-wise, stopped Bernadeschi on an in-game PK, and stopped another in the shootout. I suspect he will be next season's starter.

Watching what I'm watching... I don't see why Boehmer can't take over Takaoka. Tak is having a much better season than last, but Boehmer is flashing the kind of stuff that can take you places.
 

VanJack

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last two home game for the Caps have been about as ugly as sit gets....against Cascadia rivals Portland and Seattle.

It was 3-0 for the Sounders tonight.......and the lame effort even extended into the stands. The announced attendance was 17,000, but appeared to me to be acres of empty seats.

Caps are guaranteed at least one playoff game, but now will be almost be a lock that they start on the road--where they never win in the playoffs.
 

DFAC

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Gave up a late goal in injury time to lose 2-1 to LA.... throwing away points here

Lousy defence and no finishing - nothing new
 

VanJack

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Caps looked like the real deal in the middle portions of the MLS schedule, but have simply collapsed down the stretch. And now almost a lock for the 8-9 sudden death game just to get into the main playoff draw.

The only thing 'consistent' about this edition of the Caps is its 'inconsistency'. Just can't see this team in its current form advancing very far in the playoffs.

Will the late season swoon actually trigger any changes with the franchise, or will it be the 'same-old, same old'?
 

Jyrki21

2021-12-05
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Caps looked like the real deal in the middle portions of the MLS schedule, but have simply collapsed down the stretch. And now almost a lock for the 8-9 sudden death game just to get into the main playoff draw.

The only thing 'consistent' about this edition of the Caps is its 'inconsistency'. Just can't see this team in its current form advancing very far in the playoffs.

Will the late season swoon actually trigger any changes with the franchise, or will it be the 'same-old, same old'?
I think Vanni is gone after the season.

This has been an OK year all told. I say this all the time, but the Caps are in the mushy middle with 90% of MLS who isn't Miami/Los Angeles/NYC. This last game (without several of their top players) they were actually the better team for the entire second half and should have been up 3-1 if they could have been more clinical on their chances.

But optically, their tendency to go into nosedives – which I suspect all teams do a bit, but I don't watch them – makes them very frustrating. They had a fair bit more creativity last year than this one, when Julian Gressel was in the lineup. They never recovered from that, and had retreated back into their long ball-and-hope style of attacking.
 

SeawaterOnIce

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I think Vanni is gone after the season.

This has been an OK year all told. I say this all the time, but the Caps are in the mushy middle with 90% of MLS who isn't Miami/Los Angeles/NYC. This last game (without several of their top players) they were actually the better team for the entire second half and should have been up 3-1 if they could have been more clinical on their chances.

But optically, their tendency to go into nosedives – which I suspect all teams do a bit, but I don't watch them – makes them very frustrating. They had a fair bit more creativity last year than this one, when Julian Gressel was in the lineup. They never recovered from that, and had retreated back into their long ball-and-hope style of attacking.
Some managers in the MLS are getting paid nearly 1 mil. It is rumored Vanni is making less than 70k and it often shows. Team spending has gone up but the coaching and scouting guys make peanuts.

It's hard to get invested into the club when they default back to a primitive style of football.
 
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Jyrki21

2021-12-05
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This is peak Whitecaps here. Literally no reason to even play tonight since they will be on the road anyways as a higher seed.

I'm not sure why people on Twitter are giving the Whitecaps themselves flak for this – it's totally out of their hands. That said, they've been terrible at home anyway this year.

I think no one has any expectations between one and done here anyhow.
 

VanJack

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Seems like a fitting finale to the season. Although they finished 8th and should have had a home date for the Western Conference 'play-in' game, B.C. Place apparently isn't available.

So it's on to Portland. One more loss on the road and the season is mercifully done. At that point there needs to be a total organization review. The last month has been in short, unacceptable.
 

PanniniClaus

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Sartini goes Christmas tree.. interesting to play basically the same formation the entire year and change now.

Pre game says 3-4-2-1. Which makes sense.
 
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