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Whitecaps offseason thread


finchster

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Thank goodness. Hoping greatly that he stays fit! Even if he doesn't produce the same numbers just think about the fact that the season ended with Harvey playing left wing! And Long Tan getting loads of playing time (ahead of Salgado!...sheesh).

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Harris was the only MLS level winger the caps had I am glad he is returning. I will be happier if I see Demerit and Jarju gone however ;)

Great to hear about Harris getting re-signed. We need him to play left not forward as Camillo & Hassli fill those spots better but it is great having Harris is great as he can play either position whereas the other 2 are pure forwards.

I'll give JD and Jarju more slack than you do because I want to see what all the players (yes even Brovsky & Duckett) can do with a real coach at the helm.

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Did people see this?

SoccerByIves

Ives Galarcep

I'm hearing that current Red Bulls midfielder Carl Robinson is also being lined up to join Martin Rennie's coaching staff as well.

3 Nov

Hmmm, if true I am not sure that it is such a good move. He is already 35 and has hardly played for New York the last 2 years. He should not be too expensive since he only made $75 000 this year. However, even when he played at TFC he was not much better than a decent average MLS midfielder. Is he going to be much of an addition at age 35?

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Hmmm, if true I am not sure that it is such a good move. He is already 35 and has hardly played for New York the last 2 years. He should not be too expensive since he only made $75 000 this year. However, even when he played at TFC he was not much better than a decent average MLS midfielder. Is he going to be much of an addition at age 35?

35 is pretty young for an assistant coach, IMO. ;>

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35 is pretty young for an assistant coach, IMO. ;>

Haha, you got me, didn't read it close enough. Obviously, I was thinking he was being signed as a player. Might be a decent guy as an assistant coach though one would have to be concerned with the lack of coaching experience in the Caps organization next year. Even Rennie has only been a coach at the professional level for 6 years and that is if one counts PDL as professional. Ritchie has only coached for 2 years and Robinson will be a complete rookie. Well at least you have the immense experience of Soehn to draw on! :)

However, the Impact are pretty much in the same boat as far as coaching experience or lack of it goes. We better hope these guys prove to be as talented as is being claimed.

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Watching interviews Rennie seems to have taken a liking to Tiebert which is excellent news and his assistant forgot his name also likes him and Alderson.

Also the caps seem to be taking long looks at Alderson, Caleb Clarke and Ben fisk.

Can any of you Cap fan give insight on these young players?

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Alderson: central DM-type, quality holding midfielder. Passes well and has excellent vision and positioning. At the PDL level he was a superior player despite being six years younger than most of the guys he was trying to mark. Not a whole lot of offensive upside; doesn't shoot enough, doesn't play killer balls, but is reliable and exceptional for his age. Canada U-17 captain.

Fisk: forward/winger. Quality finisher. Accelerates quickly, though with not a lot of top speed, and is constantly aggressive in going for goal. I've been a Fisk fan for a while but 2011 in PDL was really his coming-out party. Not too well-rounded yet but smart, eager to learn, and improved rapidly over the 2011 summer.

Clarke: striker. Never particularly rated him; not quick enough, struggles to get into position, etc. but he finishes well. Takes penalties for the Whitecaps U-18 team.

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Alderson basically equals Michael Carrick....and I'd take that in our CMNT any day! Fisk is getting talked-up big time by whitecapsfc.com....seemingly more than any other youth in the system. Clarke - same as Bob...I've never particularly rated him. He struggled in my opinion when playing for Canada's youth teams.

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http://blogs.theprovince.com/2011/11/05/whitecaps-scoreless-in-intrasquad-game/

Team White featured residency midfielder Bryce Alderson, and residency graduate Russell Teibert, both Canadian youth internationals. Teibert started in a more central role than usual, playing on the inside left of midfield and, along with first-overall draft pick Omar Salgado, was the most dangerous player in the first half. Teibert was all over the ball and made several good runs in behind, drifting out wide on occasion, where he’s most comfortable. Alderson played a central role and both received praise after.

“I though the young players, especially, stood up and didn’t look out of place — young Russell and Bryce,” said assistant coach Paul Ritchie.

“[Teibert] was one of the few guys who was looking to get beyond in the first half,” said Rennie. “He was making runs beyond the back four. That was good and I’d like to see him wide, playing higher up as well.”

In the second half, Teibert moved to left back, where he spent a bit of time in an injury-plagued first MLS season.

Pondering positions

Rennie wasn’t shy in moving players around Saturday. Aside from Teibert at left-back in the second half, he brought Philippe Davies on as a right back, used Jeb Brovsky for a time at centre back, used struggling designated player Mustapha Jarju on the right side of midfield, and tried central midfielder Gershon Koffie at right-back in the second half.

Koffie is perhaps the most interesting. He was the Caps’ ball-winner this season but Rennie stated when he arrived that priority one is finding a “physical, ball-winning central midfielder.”

While that wasn’t intended as a knock on Koffie, whom Rennie is high on, it is a signal that Koffie, 20, could see some minutes elsewhere in 2012.

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Koffie is perhaps the most interesting. He was the Caps’ ball-winner this season but Rennie stated when he arrived that priority one is finding a “physical, ball-winning central midfielder.”

While that wasn’t intended as a knock on Koffie, whom Rennie is high on, it is a signal that Koffie, 20, could see some minutes elsewhere in 2012.

I hope Rennie doesn't screw him up in the process. If it doesn't pan out and circumstances result in Koffie finding himself on the bench next year, I can think of a number of MLS clubs who would gladly use him in his 2011 role.

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If you read between the lines I think Rennie is contemplating the idea of signing Alderson based on what he's seen in this camp. There are a few more quotes not shown here where he's says something to the effect that Bryce is composed beyond his years and that if you're good enough, you're old enough. This praise has been echoed by everybody who's been watching training. But you're not going to sign a 17 year-old to sit on the bench, so it's a fair question whether you want two teenagers as holding mids. I'm not sure why it's so hard to find a RB right now, but if it's a choice between a Koffie conversion and another mediocre MLSer, I'd be tempted to give the former a try. I suspect Rennie will find someone in Scotland for either DM or RB, but maybe not both.

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35 is pretty young for an assistant coach, IMO. ;>

And, I seem to recall comments Carl Robinson (from the past) that getting his feet wet in coaching was one of his motivations for comming to North America in the first place.

Seems like a very well-respected player and leader. In fact you could see his strong leadership skills in the pre match huddles whereby he was often seen as the most vocal the most and the one that was being listened to. His playing pedigree includes Welsh skipper, some 50 something intl caps, playing experience at Sunderland, Norwich, Portsmouth etc. So, his experience loosk good and, since Rennie is rooted in North america, having someone with the overseas contacts and networks is vital when it come to getting people to sign on the doted line for those non domestic slots on the squad.

Sounds like a very good choice for an assistent coach.

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At 90K/yr for practically nil contribution to the first team, and at 24yr old not a solution, either now or in the future, to our midfield woes that was probably a pretty easy call.

Random comment: Paul Richie is fvckin awesome! My suspicion is that him and Rennie are somewhat like Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, in that they very much compliment each-other and fill in the gaps that would be present if either one was working solo.

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Since I've written neither jack nor **** for about the last month, here's my reaction to Morfaw's release in about 800 words.

Morfaw would always take the time to chat with a fan or even have a kick-around with a young supporter after a tough PDL game. He went to the Whitecaps' first U-18 home game of the season, not in an official capacity but just to show his support for the youngsters. He was class all the way and I'll miss having him in Vancouver, but in a salary-capped league like MLS that's just not a good enough reason to keep him.
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