The Vancouver Whitecaps

By Sean Cruz

Entry into the MLS was the dream for the Vancouver Whitecaps for many years, and at the start of the season the club had lofty aspirations.  Club President Bob Lenarduzzi announced the goals of the club included making the MLS playoffs and winning the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. 

After the first game you could believe the hype. A dramatic 4-2 victory against Canadian rivals Toronto FC, a brilliant display of attacking football and a crowd to rival any in the MLS.

Then the wheels fell off.  Winless in their next 11 games with 6 losses and 5 draws, the front office decided to axe popular Icelandic coach Teitur Thordarson in favour of Tommy Soehn, who was the team's director of soccer development.  While Soehn did provide a home win within his first few games in charge, things have not gone well for the Whitecaps as a whole.

The past few months have highlighted the hilarity in which the team manages to lose or draw games and the way the front office has acted this season.  Lenarduzzi has been forced to concede that mistakes were made and that things did not go to plan this season.

Roster decisions have been head scratching as well.  French Defender Mouloud Akloul was released soon after scoring the deciding goal against Montreal in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship semi-final, a decision made while Captain and US international Jay DeMerit was still on the shelf with a long term groin injury.  Canadian defender Kevin Harmse barely got to show his worth and was released.

One of the more shocking issues though was the treatment of hometown boy Terry Dunfield.  One of the co-captains of the team and a favourite of Teitur Thordarson, the coaching change came while Dunfield was on international duty.  It was clear that when he came back to the team, there was a personality conflict between him and Soehn, and Dunfield didn't help matters when his poor penalty kick against the Columbus Crew was stopped; a goal that would have tied the game.

The real kick to Dunfield though was trading him to Toronto FC a week before the Whitecaps were scheduled to face his former team Manchester City in a friendly, a game surely made in part due to Dunfield's former association with the team.  I remember overhearing a conversation during a promotional event for the match in which players for both teams were discussing the Dunfield situation, with the Whitecaps players saying it was bullshit the way Terry was treated at the end of his time here in Vancouver.

Dunfield has barely gotten a game for Toronto but is still selected regularly for the Canadian National Team.  The Whitecaps got allocation money in return, something they needed due to the fact they spent most of their original allotment on left back Jordan Harvey, when they already had a more than capable left back in Alain Rochat, whom Tommy Dreamer (Soehn), as some of the Whitecaps faithful call him, has now put into the center of defense.  The Caps also got the rights to 17 year old Canadian Kevin Aleman, who by all accounts will never play for the Whitecaps unless it’s his final option.  Good trade there, guys.

The Whitecaps identified that they did not have enough attacking depth, due partly to the fact that they've mismanaged their attacking options.  While both Eric Hassli (10 goals) and Camilo (8) are in the top 10 in MLS  scoring, the drop off after that is dramatic.  Atiba Harris is tied for 3rd in team scoring with 2 goals in only 5 games, with the Whitecaps seriously mismanaging his knee injury, opting for rehabbing the knee which did not go well before finally opting for full surgery 4 months after the injury occurred.  While he is starting to train again the team could have had him back a lot sooner and perhaps the goals would have been more plentiful.  Young Omar Salgado, who has freely admitted that he has a tough time gelling with his team mates, has one goal, while Chinese striker Long Tan leads the reserve team with goals, and recently contributed to Shae Salinas' winner against the Houston Dynamo.

Salgado's troubles coming up in a minute, but the lack of attacking options forced the front office to make waves once again, bringing in the MLS' first African Designated Player in Gambian striker Mustapha Jarju. Or at least that's what he was presented as.  Although his strike rate in Belgian League 2 isn't bad, 43 goals in 118 appearances, His role is more that of a midfielder than a striker - a position he plays regularly for his national team – Jarju has simply looked lost so far this season.  Soehn and the whitecaps countered that when they signed him he wasn't match fit due to the European season ending, and also that the team hasn't really had him for a long period of time due to his national team commitments.  Jarju has refused to talk to the media recently and may be second guessing his decision to sign with the Whitecaps rather than stay with his team RAEC Mons, which he had helped win promotion to the Belgian First Division Juliper Pro League.  Some fans though are willing to give him till next season to prove his worth.

This brings us back to the clubs treatment of Omar Salgado  Originally, due to FIFA regulations, Omar would have been unable to join the team for 1st team action until September 10th, due to international transfer regulations for under age players.  The Whitecaps countered that the MLS was a multi-country league and FIFA relented, letting the Whitecaps make use of the 1st overall draft pick in the MLS Super Draft.  In hindsight, letting Salgado stay with the U.S. U-18 team for the summer would have been better for his development than regularly taking verbal (and occasionally physical) punishment from his elder teammates.  To his detriment though, he does have a tendency to go down under contact and regularly complains about calls.

Recent roster decisions have had calamitous effects on the Whitecaps psyche.  Soehn axed popular right back Wes Knight, who at the beginning of the season was Teitur's choice as the starting right back.  Soehn, then inexplicably started midfielder John Thorrington at right back in the game against New York, a decision which would come back and bite him as it was Thorrington who let his mark, one Juan Agudelo, slip by him and latch on to a long ball to tie the game at 1.  Note that during the two team's previous encounter, also a draw, it was none other than Wes Knight who man-marked Agudelo into oblivion.  Again, that game happened to be Thordarson's last game in charge. Soehn has other natural right backs in Bilal Duckett and Jonathan Leathers, but has preferred Thorrington and fellow midfielder Jeb Brovsky on the right of defense. The New York game was also notable for another reason. Captain Jay DeMerit said it best with a tweet after the game: "1-0. Up a man. Game needs to be finished off. Period. #frustrationfrustration".

Of course, realising their mistake in getting rid of 2 defenders earlier in the season the Caps added Trinidad and Tobago international defender Carlyle Mitchell, pending an international transfer certificate.  Mitchell, who is listed as a center back, will no doubt try and be shoehorned into the right back slot once his papers come through.  The Caps could have used him for the game against the LA Galaxy since the Whitecaps’ defenders failed to heed their own advice on staying tight on LA attackers, letting them score on 2 free headers on the way to a 3-0 defeat.

While we're at it ripping on the team there was also the whole debacle with the temporary grass surface installed in advance of the Manchester City friendly – a game that was already sandwiched between a Saturday and a Wednesday game.  The temporary surface was installed before Saturday's game against Real Salt Lake, a game that ultimately was delayed due to rain making the surface unplayable.  During the Manchester City game, you could see players replacing clumps of grass during play, and the surface no doubt contributed to City striker Yaya Toure's ankle injury (Toure did recover though in time to start the Premier League season).  The regular turf would have handled the rain fine, but because of the decision to play the friendly 2 days after a league game, the match was rescheduled to be played at Bell Pitch Downtown on October 6th.  Only problem with that is it’s also the night of the Vancouver Canucks season opener which is across the street at GM Place.  Can you say gridlock?  And I wonder which game is going to draw the bigger crowd.

The other oddity this season was the announcement of a new head coach to take place of Tommy Soehn for the 2012 season.  NASL Carolina Railhawks coach Martin Rennie was introduced as the Whitecaps new coach for next season, a move that most would agree is a step in the right direction, the fact that it was announced in the middle of the current season left members of the media scratching their heads.  General consensus though was that the Caps secured Rennie before the Montreal Impact (who will join the MLS next year) could get their hands on him.  While Rennie's pedigree in the lower divisions in the US are impressive, finishing no worse than 2nd in his 6 seasons as head coach, it remains to be seen whether he can replicate his success at the MLS level.

There are some silver linings, however, as the Whitecaps wrap up their season.  Firstly, they are moving into the renovated Bell Pitch Downtown.  This might motivate the players to play better knowing they are playing in an actual stadium now with an actual locker room instead of the converted portable they've been using at Empire Field.  Secondly, the season is almost over.  If you think its depressing being a fan of the Whitecaps this season, think how much worse it has been for me to cover the team on a daily basis.  The players themselves have talked about how hard it has been to stay motivated when the team is constantly losing.  Last, but not least, they will start next season with a new coach in Martin Rennie.  Whether Rennie will, or will be allowed to, clean house as he did when he joined Carolina remains to be seen, as MLS player contracts are structured differently.  Tommy Soehn will remain with the team as Director of Soccer Development and will be loathe to let players he recruited to this team go so easily.  Lastly, you have players such as Eric Hassli who bleed white and blue – a guy who truly gives it his all for the full 90 minutes and sincerely wants to be here.  The ‘Caps just have to find more of those guys and put them in the right combinations.