Friday the 13th. Unlucky for some. Especially unlucky if you've just forked out for a brand new Whitecaps Sebastien Le Toux strip.
The Whitecaps shocked MLS this afternoon when they announced that they had traded striker Le Toux to New York Red Bulls for Jamaican international midfielder Dane Richards and some allocation money.
Davide Chiumiento's transfer to FC Zurich on Wednesday had been rumoured for a couple of weeks, so didn't come as that much of a surprise. Le Toux's trade to New York though was a complete bolt out of the blue.
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Le Toux only came to Vancouver at the end of January following another surprise trade with Philadelphia Union, but he made an immediate impact, scoring against Montreal on his debut after just 181 seconds.
He went to score four goals, and record one assist, in 19 MLS appearances for the Caps this season, and scored two goals in three Voyageurs Cup games.
The Frenchman had been a regular fixture in Vancouver's starting eleven and it was only up until recently that he had played every minute of every MLS game for his new club.
In recent weeks though his form had dipped and he struggled to play in the style and system that Martin Rennie was adopting. At times, he looked a little lost out there.
He never really gelled with either Camilo or Eric Hassli on the pitch. The 'French Connection' we had all been excited about seeing pre-season never got past the design stage.
After looking so good at the start of the season. Le Toux's scoring touch had deserted him, as did his passing ability. There were too many passes going astray and he was more of a liability defending at times than an asset.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, and the likelihood of the Caps needing to offer him a pay rise to keep him in Vancouver, this is an excellent move by the Club.
His workrate will be missed and so will his presence. We wish him all the best in the next stage of his career.
So what about our newest Whitecap?
In Dane Richards, the Caps are bringing in a hard-working midfielder, with pace, flair, experience and a love for attacking, especially up the right wing.
He is another player with a little bit of a reputation for giving the ball away, and his decision making can be a bit suspect. He is not a straight replacement for Chiumiento in terms of what skills he can bring to the table.
What he is though is someone who knows what MLS is about and has performed well in it for the past five and a half years.
The great Dane will bring dogged determination to the pitch and chase down balls all day long. Will Rennie have him on a tight leash? Or will he be free to tear up the wing?
We might find out immediately as Richards is flying to join the team in Chicago and will be available to play against the Fire tomorrow evening.
147 appearances for the Red Bulls have brought 21 goals and 26 assists. We were bemoaning the loss of one of the Caps few exciting players yesterday. Richards may bring a little of that and on a more consistent basis.
Although he is a Jamaican international (8 goals in 37 appearances), he does not take up an international spot as he has his green card and will count as a domestic.
That's the good news. The bad news is that we risk losing both him and Darren Mattocks to international duty when the next round of World Cup qualifiers come around.
Welcome aboard Dane. We hope you're excited about lifting the MLS Cup in December.
So what is next for the Caps?
Any more trades likely with Eastern teams? We're certainly not going to give up any of our players to Western Conference rivals.
They have cleared three roster spots (Boxall, Chiumiento and Tan), freed up an international place, taken some dollars off their annual wage bill, and got a wad of allocation money. Something is clearly afoot and hopefully it's in the creativity department.
With two regular starters now gone, you have to think that the Caps are going to act fast and you have to think and that's it going to be an impact signing. Maybe even one with some esteem.
With two huge Western Conference clashes coming up next week against LA and San Jose, getting their chosen player(s) in place before then, is almost a must.
We'll just have to sit back now and see what the next few days bring.
For those of you unfamiliar with Dane Richards, here's a short highlight reel of him in action:
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