CAPS @ DYNAMO: Sunday April 10

[nolbertos]

Disappointed in this performance by the Caps. Don't know the formation teitur was using in the first half but the dynamo's dominated the field and if Cruz had been a better finisher I think this game would've been over in the first half. I question Teitur's decision to put Demeritt in the game. A groin injury like that takes more than 4 weeks of proper conditioning to at least be injury free. Now it seems we lost our captain and central defender for awhile. The only bright side of the game is camilo. The kid has flair and a goal scorer's touch, if he keeps playing like this every game, The lower European club teams could give him a shot. Also was chiumento playing off position?? He wasn't effective today and seems like his first game against Toronto was just an apparition. Hope he hasn't gone invisible on us. Lastly I say give Joe Cannon more tries in goal. I've seen Nolly second himself too many times on alot of plays, particularly that 3rd goal. I'm sure if he stayed back he would've cut the angle and made Houston shoot a more difficult shot.

[Gian-Luca]

Was relieved when Teibert came on - kinda sucked (when the starting line-ups were shown) to see a Canadian MLS team with no legitimate Canucks (ie. those eligible for the national team) in the starting line up (a first for Canadian MLS teams IIRC). I wonder if Hart will consider him for the Gold Cup.

[tmcmurph]

Flat. For whatever reason just flat. Totally flat. Our through balls were way too long and nobody is going to chase it in those conditions. More injuries.

Flat as a pancake. Flat

See you next week.

[tmcmurph]

The spray paint is a usual thing in Brazil.

BTW I'm surprised I didn't read comments of crying babies whining against the ref.

Maybe that's because the ref did a great job? Maybe we all think he got the collision Camilo had in the box correct? Defender has position, doesn't stick his leg out and attacker runs into him and falls over. Not a dive, not a foul, play on.

Other than that he kept control and didn't let things get dirty and gave correct calls the vast majority of the time.

Why would we complain? Compared to the douchebag Toledo that we had previously this guy is bloody great!

[masster]

Worst performance we have seen from Vancouver so far this year. I know it has only been 2 games but they have not looked good on the road. We will need to see them raise their energy levels when they do not have the support of the Empire Field crowd. The Whitecaps have had a pretty easy schedule to start the season, so when you analyze what seemed like a pretty good start closely, you begin to get a little concerned. I know it is only 5 games in, but you have to think that the home game against a poor Chivas squad on Saturday is a must have 3 points.

I'm not sure why somebody brought up the ref. He was fine. Hainault has to be careful though. There is not doubt in my mind that a Concacaf ref would have called his 'tackle' on Camilo a penalty if we were playing on the road in Guatamala.

[Free kick]

Worst performance we have seen from Vancouver so far this year. I know it has only been 2 games but they have not looked good on the road. We will need to see them raise their energy levels when they do not have the support of the Empire Field crowd. The Whitecaps have had a pretty easy schedule to start the season, so when you analyze what seemed like a pretty good start closely, you begin to get a little concerned. I know it is only 5 games in, but you have to think that the home game against a poor Chivas squad on Saturday is a must have 3 points.

not sure why somebody brought up the ref. He was fine. Hainault has to be careful though. There is not doubt in my mind that a Concacaf ref would have called his 'tackle' on Camilo a penalty if we were playing on the road in Guatamala.

I don't have the stats at hand but unlike any other sport MLS has ridiculously high winning percentage for home teams. When all is said and done and you look back at any MLS season, it's not the away games and results that you notice but the dropped points at home. The draws versus KC and NE were bigger setbacks. I have always enjoyed the road trips that I went to but it was the experience. if it was about the perfomance and results, I would think twice about considering it again.

[Danny Boy]

Wow... I was way off on my prediction. Caps were listless and looked uncomfortable. Could the 9 men performance mid-week coupled with the temperature be a factor? Brovsky reminded me of the second coming of Geoff Aunger. Seemed like every pass of his went backwards. I think we missed Dunfield's energy in the middle. Rochat as a CM wasn't the best decision either. I think with the amount of adjustments TT had to make he should have gone with a defence first philosophy.

Season is still young and 3 points are up for grabs on Saturday....

[loyola]

Was relieved when Teibert came on - kinda sucked (when the starting line-ups were shown) to see a Canadian MLS team with no legitimate Canucks (ie. those eligible for the national team) in the starting line up (a first for Canadian MLS teams IIRC). I wonder if Hart will consider him for the Gold Cup.

That's why I watched the game tape on fast forward until Teibert came in.

I would like to see Vancouver adding another Canadian in the squad because my interest in the team is sadly very limited at the moment.

[nolando]

I agree about the absence of Dunfield having a significant effect. I haven't rated him incredibly high so far, except for the opener maybe, but it sure was noticeable through the middle of the park without him around.

Thought Wagner was a weak link on a number of plays. And that Chiumiento was mostly pants.

[masster]

Teitur must not rate Harmse very highly if he was kept on the bench even with the shortage at CM. Why do you sign him then if you are not going to use him in this sort of situation? I think Harmse could have been useful today. Unfortunately, Davies seems to have lost all of his confidence with the step up to MLS. I hope he gets a good run with the reserves and can force his way into the first team.

[jonovision]

I agree that Harmse could have been useful today. He certainly has his shortcomings and has been affected by injuries recently, but it wasn't so long ago (late 2008) that he was a part of the most (and the only) impressive midfield performance of the ill-fated 2010 WCQ campaign, the 2-2 draw with Mexico in Edmonton.

For those who have forgotten, the starting midfield (I can't recall the precise alignment) was a rather ragtag group: Stalteri, Harmse, Bernier and De Jong, who was replaced in the 1st half by Pozniak.

Certainly nobody could be as useless as Brovsky was today.

[nolbertos]

That's why I watched the game tape on fast forward until Teibert came in.

I would like to see Vancouver adding another Canadian in the squad because my interest in the team is sadly very limited at the moment.

Well honestly, I keep seeing this on the boards, obviously being Canadian and all, but the Caps didn't jump to MLS for the sake of developing the Canadian National team or adding more Canadians on the team, if there not good enough to start. As much as I'd like them to be starters, I could care less, if the Whitecaps field an entire team of Americans, of course I wouldn't like that, but the "club" is there to make money and win games, regardless of nationality. The academy was created to create more quality futbol players whether Canadian, American, or whatever nationality they are. I think it'll be awhile, before we see more Canadians in MLS starting positions, but until than, glad the Caps provide a quality environment for aspiring Canadian players that might want to emulate Camilo, Hassli down the road.

[BearcatSA]

For those who have forgotten, the starting midfield (I can't recall the precise alignment) was a rather ragtag group: Stalteri, Harmse, Bernier and De Jong, who was replaced in the 1st half by Pozniak.

Good memory: nary a JDG, a Hutchinson, or a DeRosario in sight on that evening.

[Lord Bob]

Certainly nobody could be as useless as Brovsky was today.

Khalfan sure gave him a run for his money, I thought.

[loyola]

Well honestly, I keep seeing this on the boards, obviously being Canadian and all, but the Caps didn't jump to MLS for the sake of developing the Canadian National team or adding more Canadians on the team, if there not good enough to start. As much as I'd like them to be starters, I could care less, if the Whitecaps field an entire team of Americans, of course I wouldn't like that, but the "club" is there to make money and win games, regardless of nationality. The academy was created to create more quality futbol players whether Canadian, American, or whatever nationality they are. I think it'll be awhile, before we see more Canadians in MLS starting positions, but until than, glad the Caps provide a quality environment for aspiring Canadian players that might want to emulate Camilo, Hassli down the road.

I understand your position as a club fan and I'm not blaming the Caps. I'm just saying that as a MNT fan who has no ties to that particular club, I have little interest in watching them because of the low number of Canadians. Of course when Dunfield is healthy and Teibert is playing it's more interesting for me.

[Jeremy]

The academy was created to create more quality futbol players whether Canadian, American, or whatever nationality they are.

:eek: so the pro clubs should spend their money on developing foreign talent??? I like TFC's rule that if you don't commit to Canada you can't be in the Academy.

[Gian-Luca]

That's why I watched the game tape on fast forward until Teibert came in.

Well I kept watching because at least Hainault was on the field (and gave a good performance) - as long as there's one Canadian that's enough to keep me watching, it's just a shame that he was on the US-based team rather than the Canadian one.

[Gian-Luca]

Well honestly, I keep seeing this on the boards, obviously being Canadian and all, but the Caps didn't jump to MLS for the sake of developing the Canadian National team or adding more Canadians on the team, if there not good enough to start.

As loyola said, I think we get all that - but for those of us watching the Caps games because of national team interest, its disappointing to tune in and see that the starting line-up has no Canadians in it - it immediately diminishes the interest one can't help but be disappointed (thankfully there was a Canadian on the field, but he was wearing orange). Likewise I'd be really annoyed with TFC if they ever fielded a team with no Canucks, or the Impact when they join next year for that matter. Otherwise, it just becomes a bunch of foreign athletes playing together in another city, which I'm not especially interested in.

I think it'll be awhile, before we see more Canadians in MLS starting positions, but until than, glad the Caps provide a quality environment for aspiring Canadian players that might want to emulate Camilo, Hassli down the road.

Eek! I'd hate the thought of Canadians wanting to emulate a diver and a dirty player, respectively. If going for non-Canucks as role models, couldn't you have said DeMerit and Chiumiento (ie. players with a bit more class)?

[nolbertos]

:eek: so the pro clubs should spend their money on developing foreign talent??? I like TFC's rule that if you don't commit to Canada you can't be in the Academy.

If that means the foreign talent brings money to the coffers of the Whitecaps than yeah. I'm sure there is more Canadians than foreigners in the Academy, but take a look at the rest of the world's academies. They take on any nationality as long as it serves there interest financially.

[jpg75]

If that means the foreign talent brings money to the coffers of the Whitecaps than yeah. I'm sure there is more Canadians than foreigners in the Academy, but take a look at the rest of the world's academies. They take on any nationality as long as it serves there interest financially.

That's because under MLS rules you're only allowed a maximum of 3 players from outside your local area.

[ThiKu]

I haven't read this thread, so this might have been discussed already. Look, any time you have Rochat, Akloul, and Khalfan all spending time in centre midfield you know you are in tough. The team was seriously depleted and the best subs were a 19 year old and a 17 year old - as good as those two will be....in these circumstances....

If Akloul is fit, he has to be DeMerit's partner. A poor man's MLS Rio Ferdinand.

But what it all comes down to...Houston just physically dominated a Vancouver side that was dead on their feet the final 15. Houston won it before that from direct play and exerting significant pressure physically. Houston's players are just totally physically stronger than Vancouver's and the Caps' 2nd unit of smaller/gifted players had no chance in the heat, and due to the make-shift nature of the team. Houston was faster and stronger on the day. But in the end their goals came from poor defending of direct plays. They weren't beaten by "footballing." So that is a positive.

[redhat]

The Caps were just tired. Rochat ran out of gas in the last 30 minutes of the match; injuries, suspensions, the heat, and pure physical pressure from Dynamo just took their toll. Can't really fault Nolly too much, as it seemed Houston wanted to win more.

They really missed Dunfield in the middle.

[tmcmurph]

This whole bit about pro clubs developing talent for other countries misses 2 major points.

#1 - They are developing the talent for themselves!

#2 - If we had our act together and some talented kid trains here for 5 years we could scoop them up or our MNT.

We are losing more than we are gaining currently because other countries have more to offer. Their FA's scout and scoop all the time so why don't we?

[Admin]

Given the number of clubs around the world that have hosted young Canadian kids, speculatively, as development prospect over the last... well very long time it seems a bit disingenuous to complain about foreign kids in our academies.

There is a paucity of Canadian players in MLS because MLS is still middle ground. Our players are either in Europe cause they are worth more than MLS can pay, or they work at Pizza Hut.

I am not saying academies will fix this by producing middle ground players. Not at all, but time will fill out the spectrum a little.

[youllneverwalkalone]

I'm glad the Caps didn't bring in second division Canadians to make up the numbers. The only problem is that they brought in second division Americans instead! Other than DeMerit & Salgado, you could replace most of the US players with an equivalent player at an equivalent price. Obviously the transfer market gets in the way, but off the top of my head:

Cannon = Borjan/Hirschfeld

Nolly = Stamatopolous

Sylevstre = Lesveque

Leathers = Ledgerwood

Janicki = Straith

Knight = Pozniak

Wagner = McCallum

Thorrington = Nakajima-Farran

There's certainly more to the analysis than this (Leathers & Salinas know each other, Duckett & Brovsky know each other, the USL guys know each other, etc.), but it would be nice to see a little more CanCon -especially when TFC has triple what we have. If we have a season ticket questionnaire this year, I'll definitely voice my displeasure in this area. Having said this, we need to give the new Acadeny a little more time as we lost our elite prospect in the 2007 class in Straith, and arguably Haber and Gage, to Europe as a result of Neindorf's export philosophy. Alderson is likely ready right now, and a couple more guys should emerge by the end of the PDL season.

Even more to the point for me, is that Teitur and the supporters are literally in love with the USL guys, particularly Nolly, Knight, Janicki, and Khalfan. These are the guys most easily replaced by Canucks abroad, but I'm not sure this will happen any time soon. More likely they lose their jobs to PDL players coming up. And this will take awhile. On the bright side, I'd expect a few current non-Canucks to be naturalized eventually and perhaps participate with the MNT.