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Whitecaps 2017 Season


TRM

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I actually only enjoyed the game from a Caps perspective in the last half hour, losing badly already. We played better, attacked, combined, seemed concentrated, were aggressive. It was entertaining at least. I just tried to wipe the NYRB goals out of my mind, imagine we were tied, and get into it waiting for an imaginary game winner. 

Davies did not make one good play, every decision was garbage. The kid should have been sent back down to USL where the coach can shout at him and he won't feel out of place. Tchani is pretty bad as we know, but the Egyptian is even worse, coasting the whole time, no aggressiveness, a floater in our midst. 

I love how we pressure poorly, and the other teams embarrass us with possession. That is fun to see, in a perverse way, it just proves how little quality training we must do. It must bore Robinson. I have never seen a 2B team in Spain play with such little committment to defending as a team together. 

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Wouldn't mind seeing the players get some training sessions on basic ball control, basic passing and basic decision making. That's two weeks in a row (being very generous) that I have watched the worst performance from us in terms of the basics. It's not just the younger or weaker players either. 

Disappointing stuff. 

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2 hours ago, toontownman said:

Wouldn't mind seeing the players get some training sessions on basic ball control, basic passing and basic decision making. That's two weeks in a row (being very generous) that I have watched the worst performance from us in terms of the basics. It's not just the younger or weaker players either. 

Disappointing stuff. 

I mentioned this in a post earlier in the week, but one of the huge downsides of regular massive squad rotation is that the team never really builds the sort of chemistry and understanding that develops when you play the same 11 a lot of the time. We know the benefits of squad rotation, especially for a team like the Caps who have already played a lot of football this year. A few weeks ago I was starting to get reasonably excited about what SEEMED to be growing chemistry and (relative) cohesion among a core group, but these last three games have me holding my head, despairing at what seems to be a regression in team cohesion--in both directions! I know we nicked the win in Kansas, but for my money we just played three terrible games in a row. Yup, lots of squad rotation, all of it necessary with international duty and all, but I am not nearly as optimistic about the Caps' playoff chances now as I was a month ago. 

Good news is that we have two more games where Robbo can get his best 11 on the field, all with the aim of building chemistry and momentum as we head into the playoffs. We just need one win to cement a first round bye! Was hoping to see Nosa today, but maybe he comes in for 30 minutes at home next week when we are up by two goals.

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Oh and also: Waston is our most important player. Hands down! I love what several other players bring, including guys like Reyna and Montero, but Waston is MVP.

And this might be the most damned obvious observation I will make about the Caps, but for some reason none of us have noted how porous our midfield is without Laba. The man does not take a shift off. He just keeps running and running and running. And he's damned smart. And he has bite. With Laba in the lineup I don't think Seattle would have sliced us up as bad as they did. Same with NYRB. Without Waston and Laba we have no spine.  If those two are around, with Reyna and Montero playing in their regular positions, we've got a pretty damned strong spine all the way up the field.

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12 minutes ago, The Beaver said:

I mentioned this in a post earlier in the week, but one of the huge downsides of regular massive squad rotation is that the team never really builds the sort of chemistry and understanding that develops when you play the same 11 a lot of the time. We know the benefits of squad rotation, especially for a team like the Caps who have already played a lot of football this year. A few weeks ago I was starting to get reasonably excited about what SEEMED to be growing chemistry and (relative) cohesion among a core group, but these last three games have me holding my head, despairing at what seems to be a regression in team cohesion--in both directions! I know we nicked the win in Kansas, but for my money we just played three terrible games in a row. Yup, lots of squad rotation, all of it necessary with international duty and all, but I am not nearly as optimistic about the Caps' playoff chances now as I was a month ago. 

Good news is that we have two more games where Robbo can get his best 11 on the field, all with the aim of building chemistry and momentum as we head into the playoffs. We just need one win to cement a first round bye! Was hoping to see Nosa today, but maybe he comes in for 30 minutes at home next week when we are up by two goals.

I understand cohesion, misjudging runs etc. That doesn't excuse terrible first touches and misplacing simple passes to players 5 yards in front. I feel the Seattle game completely winded the spirit and confidence of the squad at the worst time. 

Hopefully like you say we can start fielding a consistent 11 for the remaining games and pick ourselves up and get going again. 

 

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14 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I actually only enjoyed the game from a Caps perspective in the last half hour, losing badly already. We played better, attacked, combined, seemed concentrated, were aggressive. It was entertaining at least. I just tried to wipe the NYRB goals out of my mind, imagine we were tied, and get into it waiting for an imaginary game winner. 

Davies did not make one good play, every decision was garbage. The kid should have been sent back down to USL where the coach can shout at him and he won't feel out of place. Tchani is pretty bad as we know, but the Egyptian is even worse, coasting the whole time, no aggressiveness, a floater in our midst. 

I love how we pressure poorly, and the other teams embarrass us with possession. That is fun to see, in a perverse way, it just proves how little quality training we must do. It must bore Robinson. I have never seen a 2B team in Spain play with such little committment to defending as a team together. 

I saw little difference in the performance here compared to other games they won during the summer and more recently, except that the finishing by the opponent was clinical. 

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17 hours ago, The Beaver said:

And this might be the most damned obvious observation I will make about the Caps, but for some reason none of us have noted how porous our midfield is without Laba. The man does not take a shift off. He just keeps running and running and running. And he's damned smart. And he has bite. With Laba in the lineup I don't think Seattle would have sliced us up as bad as they did. Same with NYRB. Without Waston and Laba we have no spine.  If those two are around, with Reyna and Montero playing in their regular positions, we've got a pretty damned strong spine all the way up the field.

Last year in a number of defeats the team looked porous in midfield even with Laba in the line up (and sometimes Waston behind in the back line), most notably vs Colorado at home.  I like Laba, but the bigger issues this team has are far more systemic in nature and in the end that falls on the guy who is not part of the playing staff. 

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18 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Davies did not make one good play, every decision was garbage. The kid should have been sent back down to USL where the coach can shout at him and he won't feel out of place.

Nah man, it's solely Robbo's fault that Davies has 0 goals, 1 assist, and 64 turnovers this season. /s

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18 hours ago, The Beaver said:

I mentioned this in a post earlier in the week, but one of the huge downsides of regular massive squad rotation is that the team never really builds the sort of chemistry and understanding that develops when you play the same 11 a lot of the time. We know the benefits of squad rotation, especially for a team like the Caps who have already played a lot of football this year. A few weeks ago I was starting to get reasonably excited about what SEEMED to be growing chemistry and (relative) cohesion among a core group, but these last three games have me holding my head, despairing at what seems to be a regression in team cohesion--in both directions! I know we nicked the win in Kansas, but for my money we just played three terrible games in a row. Yup, lots of squad rotation, all of it necessary with international duty and all, but I am not nearly as optimistic about the Caps' playoff chances now as I was a month ago. 

Good news is that we have two more games where Robbo can get his best 11 on the field, all with the aim of building chemistry and momentum as we head into the playoffs. We just need one win to cement a first round bye! Was hoping to see Nosa today, but maybe he comes in for 30 minutes at home next week when we are up by two goals.

This, plus Bolaños linking and Techera being useful out wide. 

For me I don't get anything from having Tchani at all, he is worse than Jacobsen, who at least does the journeyman's job. And Ghazal, he is very unengaged so far. Slow running, no range, reacting late, and rather passive. Has not made his mark at any moment he's been on the pitch so far. 

I even pardon Nerwinski having an off day, as he's a rookie after all, and has done as well as could be expected. I also liked De Jong alright. For me our problem defending is not individuals, it is collective.

We have all the pieces to link properly and have more possession, playing forward more effectively. We just need to use them. I'd much prefer Jacobsen or even Teibert in front of defense, and would prefer Shea in the middle over Tchani or Ghazal. Shea has better criteria and is looking to link effectively always, and is strong and experienced. 

For me, sit Davies, Tchani and Ghazal. Use only one DM, who can link forwards, or if not put a linking player close to him. Put talent in the middle who can go both ways, like Bolaños, Shea. Reyna linking up with Montero with Techera wide. That is a team that could do something in the playoffs. 

 

 

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I'm at the point where I would glad take winning the MLS Cup without at all deserving it. 

Because plenty of teams who do deserve it don't win it. 

I mean, the logic has to go both ways. And I'd rather be the winner, even shamefully, undeservedly, than the elegant, dominant team that everyone admires that can't win it.

At least for now. I mean, in the long term, playing well and winning, sure, I'll take that. But I'm realistic, there is no chance of that at any time in the near future. 

So I am not stupid. The fact that TFC deserves to win it has no more basis in logic than Whitecaps not deserving to win it at all.  

We are even in that department. And all things being equal, go for it, sure, win the damn thing.

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With one win we guarantee first place in the West, as any tiebreakers are first decided by most wins in the season. And we have, as we sit, three more than SKC. 

So the Quakes game is a big one, and winning would enable us to not have to go into Portland with any pressure. Since we are out of Cascadia, we could rest players, get the team into defensive shape, rest anyone hurting.

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1-1 draw. Disappointing, given that the performance tonight was the best in recent memory. Tarbell having the game of his life didn't help us out, for sure.

When it comes to the Canadians, MDJ was solid and Davies was, once again, forgettable. He did some great work defensively, but that final product has been AWOL since the Seattle game. 

3 minutes ago, TRM said:

Well that was underwhelming. While our regional rivals are putting the boots to their opponent tonight we get 1-1 draw. 

Our opponents were playing, form wise, some of the worst teams in the league so that's to be expected.

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Just wondering if any of the Caps fans might think that the Caps finishing 3rd (if that should happen) might be a blessing in disguise. My theory is that the Caps are successful at home playing a counter-attacking style but they are often poor on the road in comparison. If they lose the first leg of a playoff series on the road, they may find it more difficult to play counter-attacking at home against at team that would themselves be sitting back and hitting them on the counter-attack because they would already have the lead.

I could be talking out of my rear end but I just get the feeling that Vancouver will be more successful if they play the first leg at home with their style of play.

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5 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Just wondering if any of the Caps fans might think that the Caps finishing 3rd (if that should happen) might be a blessing in disguise. My theory is that the Caps are successful at home playing a counter-attacking style but they are often poor on the road in comparison. If they lose the first leg of a playoff series on the road, they may find it more difficult to play counter-attacking at home against at team that would themselves be sitting back and hitting them on the counter-attack because they would already have the lead.

I could be talking out of my rear end but I just get the feeling that Vancouver will be more successful if they play the first leg at home with their style of play.

A lot of us have been thinking of this, but the thing is: true, we have had some poor results on the road, the blowouts. A lot of these were sort of thrown, we just did not go all in. It's not an excuse, when we have been on we've been a better countering side away and had success.

But in fact we are the third best team away in MLS this year, so you can't make too much of this. We play pretty well the same at home, rarely have possession, rarely take it to the rival, and just sit back anyways. With a bit of home team support, capacity to push a bit more in the pinch, and better results of course overall. 

I personally think the real goal of this season has to be to do something we have never done: win an MLS playoff series, of any way, shape or form. Do that, I can rest, since the quality of our play is pretty damn dissappointing. 

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1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I personally think the real goal of this season has to be to do something we have never done: win an MLS playoff series, of any way, shape or form. Do that, I can rest, since the quality of our play is pretty damn dissappointing. 

That would be the current goal. Need to move beyond just making the playoffs. 

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6 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Just wondering if any of the Caps fans might think that the Caps finishing 3rd (if that should happen) might be a blessing in disguise. My theory is that the Caps are successful at home playing a counter-attacking style but they are often poor on the road in comparison. If they lose the first leg of a playoff series on the road, they may find it more difficult to play counter-attacking at home against at team that would themselves be sitting back and hitting them on the counter-attack because they would already have the lead.

I could be talking out of my rear end but I just get the feeling that Vancouver will be more successful if they play the first leg at home with their style of play.

I have believed that counter attacking teams play better as underdogs than as favourites.  But the question is:  are the Whitecaps really a counter attacking team?  Or are they team that play an athletic,  high paced and very direct kind of style that can look like counter attcking.   Their games have an immense kind tempo with lots of running and very few lateral balls and sustained possession.     I could be wrong but dont see them as team that patiently sits back to pounce.  Montreal , to me, seems more like the classic counter attacking team with that kind of make up. 

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4 hours ago, Free kick said:

I have believed that counter attacking teams play better as underdogs than as favourites.  But the question is:  are the Whitecaps really a counter attacking team?  Or are they team that play an athletic,  high paced and very direct kind of style that can look like counter attacking.  

The way you have phrased this, I would say the latter.

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We lose the closer and end up third, eighth overall. I think that is about fair. 

The game could have been a draw, we played fairly well 2nd half, overall in fact. 

Still a few bewildering plays, like really dumb fouls on our end 2nd half, helping PT waste minutes and regroup. 

Our final month of the season has been pretty poor overall, any way you look at it.

The good news is that we play San Jose at home and that is better than having to face Dallas, IMO. It is also a bit of a grudge match after drawing them a week ago, so let's see it. Then, if through, stay home to Seattle. Travel is not a factor at all here, for any team. 

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With San Jose undeservedly getting into the playoffs with a losing record and a minus 21 goal differential (both of which should have been higher tiebreakers than "most wins" IMO), the Whitecaps ought to dispose of them easily and get that first playoff victory.

But as the fates sometimes have it, you can just see San Jose not only winning but going all the way to the Cup final and winning that as well just to make an even bigger mockery of the playoff format in MLS.

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1 hour ago, Gian-Luca said:

With San Jose undeservedly getting into the playoffs with a losing record and a minus 21 goal differential (both of which should have been higher tiebreakers than "most wins" IMO), the Whitecaps ought to dispose of them easily and get that first playoff victory.

But as the fates sometimes have it, you can just see San Jose not only winning but going all the way to the Cup final and winning that as well just to make an even bigger mockery of the playoff format in MLS.

As I mentioned, better San Jose than Dallas, it's a matter of principle. 

It shouldn't happen, but since Caps never control their own destiny and even less a lead, you can't really say. My feeling is that we are going to do something really special this week and stay in the playoffs, vs. Seattle at home next weekend.

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