[Official] Vancouver Whitecaps Thread

[RUPERTKBD]

9 hours ago, van_ws said:

There better be some major changes. I would like to see a change in management and coach.

 

This is going to be a long and ugly remainder of the season.

 

I can't speak much to the new additions, because I haven't had a lot of time to assess their play, but quite honestly I looked at yesterday's lineup and asked myself "who in this lineup would you absolutely hate to see leave?" Even though neither has had a season to remember, Waston and Ousted were the only guys that came to mind. Laba and the young kid maybe as well....

[Lancaster]

I don't think a change in management or coaching will really make much of a difference if they have to work with an internal salary cap. 

 

While coach Robinson has made some strange coaching decision, the team is starting to remind me of the Dave Nonis era of the Canucks.  A few good/decent pieces, but with the coaches forced to scramble things ups hoping something will work.

[ShakyWalton]

8 minutes ago, Lancaster said:

I don't think a change in management or coaching will really make much of a difference if they have to work with an internal salary cap. 

 

While coach Robinson has made some strange coaching decision, the team is starting to remind me of the Dave Nonis era of the Canucks.  A few good/decent pieces, but with the coaches forced to scramble things ups hoping something will work.

Thats one thing I dont like about the team and it has been that way for awhile now...you never know what lineup will be on the field from game to game..I find it hard to behind an inconsistant, juggled lineup.

[Lancaster]

4 minutes ago, ShakyWalton said:

Thats one thing I dont like about the team and it has been that way for awhile now...you never know what lineup will be on the field from game to game..I find it hard to behind an inconsistant, juggled lineup.

The only way I can think the team can justify having a juggled lineup is if players aren't training/working hard enough and the need to light a fire under them.  But if that's the case... the team has a way way bigger issue. 

 

One thing I noticed since beginning of the year is Pedro Morales playing the role of a defensive midfielder instead of trying to pressure offensively.  It's akin to have Henrik Sedin to be a checking centre..... a waste of talent. 

[RUPERTKBD]

Anyone catch Perry interviewing Lenarduzzi at halftime?

 

Asked about possibly pursuing a true DP, Lenarduzzi states that there is no directive that says they can't or won't look at a guy like Giovinco or Drogba, then he goes on to talk about finding inexpensive, "difference makers". Basically saying that the team will continue these under the radar signings, looking for diamonds in the rough.

 

It doesn't look like we'll see a change of philosophy anytime soon. 

[ShakyWalton]

10 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

Anyone catch Perry interviewing Lenarduzzi at halftime?

 

Asked about possibly pursuing a true DP, Lenarduzzi states that there is no directive that says they can't or won't look at a guy like Giovinco or Drogba, then he goes on to talk about finding inexpensive, "difference makers". Basically saying that the team will continue these under the radar signings, looking for diamonds in the rough.

 

It doesn't look like we'll see a change of philosophy anytime soon. 

Until he is gone..I think the time has come.

[RUPERTKBD]

Just now, ShakyWalton said:

Until he is gone..I think the time has come.

You have to wonder if it will ever happen. You'd think this sad sack of a season would be all the impetus ownership needs to clean house....

[ShakyWalton]

8 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

You have to wonder if it will ever happen. You'd think this sad sack of a season would be all the impetus ownership needs to clean house....

yep...why not..him and Robbo..and half the team would be a good start..lol

 

Lenarduzzi runs the team like they are still the 86ers playing for 5 thousand at Swangard..the mentality has to change.

Edited August 22, 2016 by ShakyWalton

[MJDDawg]

[MJDDawg]

Came across what I think is a good and well thought out read you might not have seen. I particularly like the idea of the supporters groups turning their backs on the team for a few minutes next game. Maybe ownership will get the message then.

 

http://aftn.ca/where-do-vancouver-whitecaps-current-problems-lie/

 

 

As the fans grow more and more restless, just where do Vancouver Whitecaps current problems lie?

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Aaron Campbell in MLS with 10 Comments

 

As I sit here in front of my laptop, staring at the blank screen, my mind is wandering. It was another lacklustre heart-free game by the struggling Vancouver Whitecaps. I have lost track of how long it has been since I have been excited to watch this team. I know it is the dog days of summer, but it is really hard week after week, and game after game, to write about this team.

 

Us bloggers in Vancouver should be used to this midsummer and late season collapse, but it never gets easier. We could all just run the same story every week and just change the name of the opposition. We could keep the same name of the struggling Whitecaps players, talk about the chances they missed, and how the back four was below average at best.

 

The past three weeks we have really seen this team take a hit online and in the media. The buzz from last season, when the Vancouver Canucks and BC Lions were struggling, is gone. The atmosphere in BC Place has deflated faster than the roof did in the stadium on January 6th 2007.

 

The locals are mad and they are calling for people’s heads….. And no-one is safe…

Some hardcore Whitecaps supporters on Twitter are calling for #LenarduzziOut.

 

 

 

At half-time of the KC game, Bobby Lenarduzzi gave an interview with Perry Solkowski and his lack of effort, excitement and answers that paying supporters wanted to hear riled up the masses. He admitted that they will not be spending millions on a quality Designated Player and will continue to invest in the youth.

 

Well long term that isn’t such a bad idea, but it hasn’t worked out the past few seasons with getting Residency (or even USL) players up to the MLS first team.

 

This season we have seen the emergence of Residency players moving on up to the USL Whitecaps 2 side. We have seen Kadin Chung, Alphonso Davies and Matthew Baldisimo step up and give Alan Koch great minutes, and the future is bright with them in the wings. But now we need to see the next step. We need these players to get MLS minutes and make a difference. We are seeing it at a smaller scale with Davies getting minutes and continuing to improve game after game.

 

But this also is a story we have seen before. Remember Ben Fisk, Bryce Alderson and Caleb Clarke? They were all great Residency players who were supposed to be the ones to make the big jump and be serviceable MLS players. None succeeded, and neither have the Residency graduates that followed them.

 

But whose fault is that?

 

Is it the Whitecaps front office committee (“affectionately” known as the Football Death Panel) headed by Lenarduzzi, Greg Anderson and Rachel Lewis?

 

Do we blame Carl Robinson, who has brought in the players and hasn’t gotten the results he thinks he should get out of them?

Or is the blame solely on the underachieving players, who at times this season have been, I hate to say it, really, really $&!#ty in all aspects of the game?

 

 

Personally I think the problems this season have been a mixture of all three of the above questions.

This team needs a big time difference maker. Someone who can take over the game and be the difference between. Someone who can turn losses into draws, and turns draws into wins.

 

And Greg Kerfoot, and the other Whitecaps invisible owners, sorry but those players cost money. Millions and millions of dollars, and sometimes tens of millions of dollars. In today’s world of professional soccer, money talks. Any player will play for any team in any league if the money is right. That is the reason why the Chinese Super League landed a handful of top soccer players this past year.

I know we aren’t spending that kind of money, but $5-$10 million on a world class striker should not be out of the question for a team like the Whitecaps. When you look at the expansion fee paid by the Whitecaps in 2011, and the crazy amount it is now for new teams coming in (and then divvied up) to the league, that’s just a drop in the ocean.

 

The owners of this team need to be vocal and let the supporters know that this is not acceptable and they understand the frustration. The day to day hardcore supporters need to hear from someone other than Robinson and Lenarduzzi that the future will be bright. They need to reassure the people who spend their hard earned money on tickets, food and merchandise that next year will be different.

 

These are problems that the casual Whitecaps fans have no clue about, but the complaints are starting to be heard in aspects of the media in Vancouver.

 

 

There is something different about Robinson this season. He has seemed to lose his spark and fun he usually showed on the sidelines. He seems to be repeating the same story over and over again about not giving players opportunities in games when they struggle, but then you see a player like Matias Laba and Pedro Morales struggle and get the starts (albeit Laba was finally dropped last night and didn’t seem too happy about it on Twitter). He has continued to put players out of position on the pitch and not put them in the proper positions to succeed.

 

What the front office needs to know about Robinson is he doesn’t need the Whitecaps. With his experience, contacts in Europe, and young career in front of him, he can get a job in most leagues. Sure he might not get a top notch managerial job right away, but he could get a job closer to Wales and his family.

 

He has always said he had a seven year plan to be a manager in professional soccer. That plan was fast tracked and it only took three years. There is nothing stopping him from moving over to England and taking a Football League Championship or League One job.

 

He may not have the pick of the top quality teams, but he could get himself into the door and have a long respectable career over there.

 

Let’s just hope that the front office doesn’t push Robinson out this off season and blow this whole team up and start all over without a long term plan in place.

 

With all the struggling players like Laba, Morales, Kendall Waston and Cristian Techera getting a lots of minutes week after week, something has to change and it has to change quick. We know all the players can’t be quality all season long but it also helps when they don’t all struggle at the same time. When they do we get all the exciting football we have seen in the past six weeks.

Maybe the owners, front office and coaching staff will get the message when these “sell-out” crowds start falling faster than Felix Baumgartner’s world record freefall parachute jump. Would they notice if the Southsiders, Curva Collective and Rain City Brigade supporters’ groups protested in silence the next home game? Would they notice if the whole supporters’ section turned their backs to the pitch for the first ten minutes of the next home game?

 

With all that doom and gloom, we can still advance in Champions League and win a Cascadia Cup this season….

Yippee for that.

 

Am I right guys?…

 

 

[ShakyWalton]

49 minutes ago, MJDDawg said:

Came across what I think is a good and well thought out read you might not have seen. I particularly like the idea of the supporters groups turning their backs on the team for a few minutes next game. Maybe ownership will get the message then.

 

http://aftn.ca/where-do-vancouver-whitecaps-current-problems-lie/

 

 

As the fans grow more and more restless, just where do Vancouver Whitecaps current problems lie?

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Aaron Campbell in MLS with 10 Comments

 

 

As I sit here in front of my laptop, staring at the blank screen, my mind is wandering. It was another lacklustre heart-free game by the struggling Vancouver Whitecaps. I have lost track of how long it has been since I have been excited to watch this team. I know it is the dog days of summer, but it is really hard week after week, and game after game, to write about this team.

 

Us bloggers in Vancouver should be used to this midsummer and late season collapse, but it never gets easier. We could all just run the same story every week and just change the name of the opposition. We could keep the same name of the struggling Whitecaps players, talk about the chances they missed, and how the back four was below average at best.

 

The past three weeks we have really seen this team take a hit online and in the media. The buzz from last season, when the Vancouver Canucks and BC Lions were struggling, is gone. The atmosphere in BC Place has deflated faster than the roof did in the stadium on January 6th 2007.

 

The locals are mad and they are calling for people’s heads….. And no-one is safe…

Some hardcore Whitecaps supporters on Twitter are calling for #LenarduzziOut.

 

 

 

At half-time of the KC game, Bobby Lenarduzzi gave an interview with Perry Solkowski and his lack of effort, excitement and answers that paying supporters wanted to hear riled up the masses. He admitted that they will not be spending millions on a quality Designated Player and will continue to invest in the youth.

 

Well long term that isn’t such a bad idea, but it hasn’t worked out the past few seasons with getting Residency (or even USL) players up to the MLS first team.

 

This season we have seen the emergence of Residency players moving on up to the USL Whitecaps 2 side. We have seen Kadin Chung, Alphonso Davies and Matthew Baldisimo step up and give Alan Koch great minutes, and the future is bright with them in the wings. But now we need to see the next step. We need these players to get MLS minutes and make a difference. We are seeing it at a smaller scale with Davies getting minutes and continuing to improve game after game.

 

But this also is a story we have seen before. Remember Ben Fisk, Bryce Alderson and Caleb Clarke? They were all great Residency players who were supposed to be the ones to make the big jump and be serviceable MLS players. None succeeded, and neither have the Residency graduates that followed them.

 

But whose fault is that?

 

Is it the Whitecaps front office committee (“affectionately” known as the Football Death Panel) headed by Lenarduzzi, Greg Anderson and Rachel Lewis?

 

Do we blame Carl Robinson, who has brought in the players and hasn’t gotten the results he thinks he should get out of them?

Or is the blame solely on the underachieving players, who at times this season have been, I hate to say it, really, really $&!#ty in all aspects of the game?

 

 

Personally I think the problems this season have been a mixture of all three of the above questions.

This team needs a big time difference maker. Someone who can take over the game and be the difference between. Someone who can turn losses into draws, and turns draws into wins.

 

And Greg Kerfoot, and the other Whitecaps invisible owners, sorry but those players cost money. Millions and millions of dollars, and sometimes tens of millions of dollars. In today’s world of professional soccer, money talks. Any player will play for any team in any league if the money is right. That is the reason why the Chinese Super League landed a handful of top soccer players this past year.

I know we aren’t spending that kind of money, but $5-$10 million on a world class striker should not be out of the question for a team like the Whitecaps. When you look at the expansion fee paid by the Whitecaps in 2011, and the crazy amount it is now for new teams coming in (and then divvied up) to the league, that’s just a drop in the ocean.

 

The owners of this team need to be vocal and let the supporters know that this is not acceptable and they understand the frustration. The day to day hardcore supporters need to hear from someone other than Robinson and Lenarduzzi that the future will be bright. They need to reassure the people who spend their hard earned money on tickets, food and merchandise that next year will be different.

 

These are problems that the casual Whitecaps fans have no clue about, but the complaints are starting to be heard in aspects of the media in Vancouver.

 

 

There is something different about Robinson this season. He has seemed to lose his spark and fun he usually showed on the sidelines. He seems to be repeating the same story over and over again about not giving players opportunities in games when they struggle, but then you see a player like Matias Laba and Pedro Morales struggle and get the starts (albeit Laba was finally dropped last night and didn’t seem too happy about it on Twitter). He has continued to put players out of position on the pitch and not put them in the proper positions to succeed.

 

What the front office needs to know about Robinson is he doesn’t need the Whitecaps. With his experience, contacts in Europe, and young career in front of him, he can get a job in most leagues. Sure he might not get a top notch managerial job right away, but he could get a job closer to Wales and his family.

 

He has always said he had a seven year plan to be a manager in professional soccer. That plan was fast tracked and it only took three years. There is nothing stopping him from moving over to England and taking a Football League Championship or League One job.

 

He may not have the pick of the top quality teams, but he could get himself into the door and have a long respectable career over there.

 

Let’s just hope that the front office doesn’t push Robinson out this off season and blow this whole team up and start all over without a long term plan in place.

 

With all the struggling players like Laba, Morales, Kendall Waston and Cristian Techera getting a lots of minutes week after week, something has to change and it has to change quick. We know all the players can’t be quality all season long but it also helps when they don’t all struggle at the same time. When they do we get all the exciting football we have seen in the past six weeks.

Maybe the owners, front office and coaching staff will get the message when these “sell-out” crowds start falling faster than Felix Baumgartner’s world record freefall parachute jump. Would they notice if the Southsiders, Curva Collective and Rain City Brigade supporters’ groups protested in silence the next home game? Would they notice if the whole supporters’ section turned their backs to the pitch for the first ten minutes of the next home game?

 

With all that doom and gloom, we can still advance in Champions League and win a Cascadia Cup this season….

Yippee for that.

 

Am I right guys?…

 

 

Good read..totally agree with most of it..Lenarduzzi thinks he is untouchable because he is from here...has a name in the city and in a position of power..he needs a wake up call..he has worn out his welcome ages ago....this team needs a different group running things and maybe a new direction with a few top flight players...something this team is reluctant to do.

[ckamo]

Stream for tonight's match vs SKC:

https://www.facebook.com/concacafcom/

[elvis15]

He'll work with the residency teams as a staff coach as well. Interesting development and something he seems suited for.

 

With Edgar and now Levis signed there was less and less room for him in the lineup.

Edited August 25, 2016 by elvis15

[MJDDawg]

Good news on Kah.

 

Seems like a perfect role for him.

[Lancaster]

7 hours ago, elvis15 said:

He'll work with the residency teams as a staff coach as well. Interesting development and something he seems suited for.

 

With Edgar and now Levis signed there was less and less room for him in the lineup.

I dunno.... wasn't he the guy on the bench messing with the ball in the final minutes during the Amway Championship, forcing the ref to give him a yellow..... probably gave the ref extra incentive to not blow the whistle?

 

Doesn't really scream leadership....

[Tiger-Hearted]

On 23/08/2016 at 8:12 AM, ShakyWalton said:

Good read..totally agree with most of it..Lenarduzzi thinks he is untouchable because he is from here...has a name in the city and in a position of power..he needs a wake up call..he has worn out his welcome ages ago....this team needs a different group running things and maybe a new direction with a few top flight players...something this team is reluctant to do.

I have vented about ownership's cheapness ever since the Camilo fiasco.

 

However, Lenarduzzi has bugged the living hell out of me for, who knows, how long. Shaky, you bring up great points about so-called "BC's Mr. Soccer". If he thinks he's untouchable, then why does he lack the pair of grapefruits and the spine to go to this invisible ownership group and remind them that the 'Caps winning legacy has been tarnished? That long-time fans and supporters are fed up with mediocrity?

 

Every time I listen or read Lenarduzzi's comments, my stomach turns. The guy is extremely condescending.  What does he really have to offer the Whitecaps other than rehashing memories of his playing career and the '79 Soccer Bowl winning team? Is he still hung up on being Vancouver's sex symbol and poster boy to local young women? Heck, Stan Smyl looks far better than Lenarduzzi today. The guy doesn't even know how to evaluate talent. How does one explain his ditching of Dominic Mobilio when he coached the Canadian Men?

 

How about the Waterfront Stadium fiasco? Remember all the excitement and hype over a privately built soccer-specific stadium? Our very own BMO Field? I blame ownership for this but Lenarduzzi doesn't escape blame here. He doesn't have what it takes to be a leader of a professional sports franchise. Not like Pat Quinn and Bob Ackles. Those two men worked their way up in their respective sports the old fashioned way. Never lived on the stardom of their names. They had heart and they cared. Let's be honest...when Ackles left for the NFL in '86, it left a big gap. When Quinn was fired by Orca Bay, it felt very wrong. I don't think it would feel the same if Lenarduzzi got let go.

 

To me, all Lenarduzzi is, is a Vancouver born-and-raised original Whitecap, wearing his #5, who rode on the stardom of the '79 'Caps and Canada's goalless '86 World Cup team and coached the 86ers to greatness in a terribly weak Canadian Soccer League. 

Edited August 29, 2016 by Tiger-Hearted

[ShakyWalton]

10 minutes ago, Tiger-Hearted said:

I have vented about ownership's cheapness ever since the Camilo fiasco.

 

However, Lenarduzzi has bugged the living hell out of me for, who knows, how long. Shaky, you bring up great points about so-called "BC's Mr. Soccer". If he thinks he's untouchable, then why does he lack the pair of grapefruits and the spine to go to this invisible ownership group and remind them that the 'Caps winning legacy has been tarnished? That long-time fans and supporters are fed up with mediocrity?

 

Every time I listen or read Lenarduzzi's comments, my stomach turns. The guy is extremely condescending.  What does he really have to offer the Whitecaps other than rehashing memories of his playing career and the '79 Soccer Bowl winning team? Is he still hung up on being Vancouver's sex symbol and poster boy to local young women? Heck, Stan Smyl looks far better than Lenarduzzi today. The guy doesn't even know how to evaluate talent. How does one explain his ditching of Dominic Mobilio when he coached the Canadian Men?

 

How about the Waterfront Stadium fiasco? Remember all the excitement and hype over a privately built soccer-specific stadium? Our very own BMO Field? I blame ownership for this but Lenarduzzi doesn't escape blame here. He doesn't have what it takes to be a leader of a professional sports franchise. Not like Pat Quinn and Bob Ackles. Those two men worked their way up in ther respective sports the old fashioned way. Never lived on the stardom of their names. They had heart and they cared. Let's be honest...when Ackles left for the NFL in '86, it left a big gap. When Quinn was fired by Orca Bay, it felt very wrong. I don't think it would feel the same if Lenarduzzi got let go.

 

To me, all Lenarduzzi is, is a Vancouver born-and-raised original Whitecap, wearing his #5, who rode on the stardom of the '79 'Caps and Canada's goalless '86 World Cup team and coached the 86ers to greatness in a terribly weak Canadian Soccer League. 

well said..I agree...I have known Bob for years..not as a close friend but as an acquaintance...he is a decent enough guy away from soccer but but when he is running things its a different story...they need to let a person that has some idea of what direction this team should go and certainly invest in a qualified..talented DP instead of bargain hunting in South America ..Morales was okay his first year hear..but the last few he is non existent.

 

This was taken in 86 in Edmonton before the team headed to Mexico for the World Cup...Les Wilson in the centre..on his left Tino Letieri...Dale Mitchell in the front and Bobby behind him...manager of the Westin was there...myself and Bob McLean..vaguely remember that night...lol

 

[RUPERTKBD]

22 hours ago, Tiger-Hearted said:

I have vented about ownership's cheapness ever since the Camilo fiasco.

 

However, Lenarduzzi has bugged the living hell out of me for, who knows, how long. Shaky, you bring up great points about so-called "BC's Mr. Soccer". If he thinks he's untouchable, then why does he lack the pair of grapefruits and the spine to go to this invisible ownership group and remind them that the 'Caps winning legacy has been tarnished? That long-time fans and supporters are fed up with mediocrity?

 

Every time I listen or read Lenarduzzi's comments, my stomach turns. The guy is extremely condescending.  What does he really have to offer the Whitecaps other than rehashing memories of his playing career and the '79 Soccer Bowl winning team? Is he still hung up on being Vancouver's sex symbol and poster boy to local young women? Heck, Stan Smyl looks far better than Lenarduzzi today. The guy doesn't even know how to evaluate talent. How does one explain his ditching of Dominic Mobilio when he coached the Canadian Men?

 

How about the Waterfront Stadium fiasco? Remember all the excitement and hype over a privately built soccer-specific stadium? Our very own BMO Field? I blame ownership for this but Lenarduzzi doesn't escape blame here. He doesn't have what it takes to be a leader of a professional sports franchise. Not like Pat Quinn and Bob Ackles. Those two men worked their way up in their respective sports the old fashioned way. Never lived on the stardom of their names. They had heart and they cared. Let's be honest...when Ackles left for the NFL in '86, it left a big gap. When Quinn was fired by Orca Bay, it felt very wrong. I don't think it would feel the same if Lenarduzzi got let go.

 

To me, all Lenarduzzi is, is a Vancouver born-and-raised original Whitecap, wearing his #5, who rode on the stardom of the '79 'Caps and Canada's goalless '86 World Cup team and coached the 86ers to greatness in a terribly weak Canadian Soccer League. 

This was the thing that forever tarnished Lenarduzzi for me. A national team that struggled to score, yet Canada's most accomplished striker couldn't crack the lineup? There was obviously a rift of some kind there and Bobby let his ego take precedent over what was best for the team.

 

However, I thought the Waterfront stadium was shut down by the city. Am I remembering that wrong?

[MJDDawg]

3 hours ago, RUPERTKBD said:

This was the thing that forever tarnished Lenarduzzi for me. A national team that struggled to score, yet Canada's most accomplished striker couldn't crack the lineup? There was obviously a rift of some kind there and Bobby let his ego take precedent over what was best for the team.

 

However, I thought the Waterfront stadium was shut down by the city. Am I remembering that wrong?

I believe it was the Port Authority that owned the land the Caps wanted. The Caps owned another piece of land nearby and wanted to swap but because the stadium was to be built over tracks, there were all sorts of hurdles the Caps had to clear federally with regards to public safety, dangerous materials...etc. Plus the Port Authority didn't want the piece of land the Caps were offering.

 

I may not be remembering it exactly right though.

[Tiger-Hearted]

1 hour ago, MJDDawg said:

I believe it was the Port Authority that owned the land the Caps wanted. The Caps owned another piece of land nearby and wanted to swap but because the stadium was to be built over tracks, there were all sorts of hurdles the Caps had to clear federally with regards to public safety, dangerous materials...etc. Plus the Port Authority didn't want the piece of land the Caps were offering.

 

I may not be remembering it exactly right though.

It shows that the 'Caps didn't do their homework. I don't know exactly what other land the club owned but it doesn't matter where. As long as it was close to rapid transit. Look at Arthur Griffiths. Okay, unfortunately, he didn't have the financial backbone but explored all avenues on where to build GM Place. Kerfoot and Co didn't explore all their avenues. 

Edited August 30, 2016 by Tiger-Hearted