That first week of training saw a very young and inexperienced Caps squad running drills and scrimmages up at UBC. Having lost their Golden Boot winning Camilo and with a first time head coach in charge, it was looking like it could be a long season ahead.
But slowly, Carl Robinson put together a squad devoid of flashy signings, but players who work well as a team (maybe Omar Salgado aside). The results have been excellent, and yes, it could still all go very badly tits up, but the foundations he has set for future seasons have been laid and if they can get both the playoffs and a Champions League place, then that likely far exceeds most people's expectations before the season began and can only be viewed as major season of success for the Whitecaps, and Robinson personally. Even getting one of them looked unlikely just three weeks ago after the 3-0 thumping down in Portland.
The signing strategy between the Caps and TFC this season has been diverse. Maybe not all through personal choice.
Toronto spent heavily on the salaries of three big name Designated Players, $13,855,000 guaranteed compensation to be exact, and one of them clearly wants away and nearly got his wish. You can add in any transfer fee money paid on top of that.
There is no way that talent should have been assembled and that amount of money spent and they fail to make the playoffs, or at the very, very least, win the Voyageurs Cup. That's not for us to debate too much just now, and they could still pull off a great escape of massive proportions, whilst the Whitecaps implode. For me, it's just reeks of Bob Bradley now coming in to "save" them in the offseason and keep his son (willingly) there. Not that he's exactly set the heather alight with Stabæk (midtable Norwegian mediocrity) and is yesterday's man in MLS as far as I'm concerned. It's a young coaches league now. Anyhoo...
The Caps on the other hand benefitted from one of Toronto's biggest mistakes when they picked up Matias Laba (for only $300,000), along with the wonderful addition of Pedro Morales ($1.41 million). Both will hopefully be around for some time.
They also freed up a lot of money with the departure of Kenny Miller, not to mention Jay DeMerit's salary, and they've still got most of Camilo's allocation money to spend, as they didn't receive that until July. Kendall Waston has come in (at $201,242) and been dominant. He was a beast against Seattle, mopping up every ball that came his way in the air, and has formed a strong partnership alongside O'Brien.
Of the 28 players on the Caps' current MLS roster (including Marco Bustos who will be eligible to play from January), half of them are returning players and 18 players are aged 24 or under, including 8 homegrown players. That's a settled squad that will be together for a long time (hopefully and in theory). That seems to be a key factor in MLS for the most successful teams like Real Salt Lake. None of the constant changing of personnel that Toronto have and are likely to go through again the in offseason.
Sure would have loved for the Caps to have splashed the cash and brought in a big name striker (he will be coming in January) and yes, that might ultimately cost us a deep run in the playoffs, but what business model is looking best right now between Vancouver and Toronto?
The Whitecaps got a bargain in Mati Laba, and for all the flak we direct at the Caps front office, whoever did the negotiating to ensure that it was a permanent transfer and not a loan deal deserves plaudits.
The Caps will use allocation money to keep him here for a few years and ironically that could be coming from the extra money they get for reaching the Champions League, a lot of which is thanks to Laba and at Toronto's expense.
Laba has been fantastic this season and might just nick my 'Player of the Year' vote away from Morales due to being consistently solid in his play. The Argentine was immense on Friday in Seattle and the play of him and Russell Teibert completely shut down Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins in the middle of the park and snuffed out the Sounders.
So it's all positive at the Whitecaps right now. But we're also very aware, as are the players and management, that it could all come off the rails very quickly. If Portland win on Friday night, they're back above the red line. The Caps then have to go and face a struggling San Jose side who will be out to finish their home season with a bang and say farewell to Buck Shaw Stadium with a win. Players are playing for contracts too. It's not going to be an easy ride.
I can't see Portland getting two wins, so it's all very much in the Caps hands and there is still the big possibility that RSL will go into to Portland on Friday and come away with the three points they need to keep them in third place in the West and avoid a first round playoff game against the Caps (as much as I'd rather we face them than Dallas). It's a cracking end to the regular season all round.
For us though, what's the most positive aspect of all, and what we give most thanks for, is the work that Carl Robinson has done this season to lay the foundations for years to come at the Caps.
Players will move on at the end of the season. Some may be less surprising than others. New players will come in to add to the already blooded core of young talent. Making the playoffs this season is the cherry on the top of it all right now, and with the way the Whitecaps have played against the top sides in MLS this season, the rest of the cake is very much there for the eating. Or maybe we should make that pumpkin pie to tie it all in nicely.