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Whitecaps 2017 Season


TRM

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Meant to post something after the game on the weekend, but might as well do so now in a lead up to the big game this evening.

I thought the Caps actually played fairly well on the weekend! No, they are not at Portland's levels yet, but I saw a core squad that looks very promising indeed.  Nosa was very good, and that is saying a lot for a guy who is clearly not match fit yet and was playing in his first game with a bunch of guys he is just getting to know.  If Montero has not taken a knock earlier in the week, then he would have started up top, and I would have played Techera instead of Shea, who did not have much of a game.  Ally and Nosa in the middle are going to be a terrific upgrade next year, once they are fit and in sync with the rest of the team. With Laba coming back, those three are going to make in nearly impossible for Tchani, Tiebert and Jacobson to see any minutes! I am relatively optimistic about this squad--for next year.

The shame in not getting the result against Portland is that Nosa could have used a full week for recovery. As is, I doubt he'll start tonight, and that is a shame. Once he is fit and develops chemistry with equally smart players like Techera, Montero, Ghazal and Reyna, then I think we might finally have the guy who bosses the middle of the pitch AND helps us create going forward.

I also feel we will grab the win tonight, maybe not in an overly convincing fashion, then face a very difficult series against Seattle. Seattle is probably the best team in the West, reasonably, but I know we've the sort of squad that will make that series bloody uncomfortable for them. 

 

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Ousted may be gone back to Europe as his contract is up. 

Now why didn't we just do that 2 weeks ago? Damn nice to put a beat down 5-0 on San Jose. Waston, deJong and Ally had great nights defensively and our forwards finished great.

Next up a real test. . 

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10 hours ago, TRM said:

Ousted may be gone back to Europe as his contract is up. 

Now why didn't we just do that 2 weeks ago? Damn nice to put a beat down 5-0 on San Jose. Waston, deJong and Ally had great nights defensively and our forwards finished great.

Next up a real test. . 

Haven't watched much of Vancouver this season but when I have de Jong has generally performed well, sometimes in less familiar roles than his LB spot. What puzzles me is how he was behind Harvey in the pecking order for so much of the season, unless his recent performances are atypical of his season.

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2 hours ago, jonovision said:

Haven't watched much of Vancouver this season but when I have de Jong has generally performed well, sometimes in less familiar roles than his LB spot. What puzzles me is how he was behind Harvey in the pecking order for so much of the season, unless his recent performances are atypical of his season.

Harvey has been steady but Marcel has been no slouch. As someone else stated in some thread Harvey was just a safer choice for the coach as he was there longer and played at a consistent level good enough for MLS. Last night was one of the better outings for Marcel if not his best this year. Offence, defence, interceptions (3), accurate passing (36/45), 3 tackles, 1 block, 7 recoveries. Damn good night's work! 

Harvey will be 34 when next season starts. MdJ will be 32 when it ends so I can see Harvey playing less and Marcel more. He definitely has a harder bite to his defending than anyone else on the team with the exception of Laba. I love it when those 2 are on the field at the same time. 

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3 hours ago, TRM said:

Harvey has been steady but Marcel has been no slouch. As someone else stated in some thread Harvey was just a safer choice for the coach as he was there longer and played at a consistent level good enough for MLS. Last night was one of the better outings for Marcel if not his best this year. Offence, defence, interceptions (3), accurate passing (36/45), 3 tackles, 1 block, 7 recoveries. Damn good night's work! 

Harvey will be 34 when next season starts. MdJ will be 32 when it ends so I can see Harvey playing less and Marcel more. He definitely has a harder bite to his defending than anyone else on the team with the exception of Laba. I love it when those 2 are on the field at the same time. 

Harvey's contract is up at the end of the year. Most expect him not to be re-signed. I agree that DeJong was excellent last night and has looked better than Harvey for most of the season and the preference for Harvey has been puzzling. Harvey has had a charmed existence as a Whitecap. 

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I'm happy with the win, and think we are set for two rematches with Seattle where we are going to try to reverse recent bad results, at home and away. I did feel the last two games they were psychologically stronger than us. We have to make them feel inferior. 

And of course try to keep the goal at zero, which is hard when you concede so many chances. 

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Also thought this was a well-played game by the Caps, though in truth San Jose is easily the weakest side of all the post season squads. Still, the Caps played very well on all fronts. It was a smart and focused effort for 90 plus minutes. And all of the goals were well taken.

Seattle will prove a huge challenge, of course. But this performance should give the Caps significant confidence and momentum. 

Big question: Does Robbo start Nosa instead of Tchani? I understand that this could be risky, but if Nosa kills it during training this week, I would start him. Seattle killed us down the middle last game and we need Nosa and Ally to shore things up. 

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On 10/26/2017 at 5:36 PM, Soro17 said:

Harvey's contract is up at the end of the year. Most expect him not to be re-signed. I agree that DeJong was excellent last night and has looked better than Harvey for most of the season and the preference for Harvey has been puzzling. Harvey has had a charmed existence as a Whitecap. 

Robbo has always trusted Harvey more as a defender. I don't think that is uncalled for, as Harvey is a better pure defender and has historically been a calming presence at the back. When the Parker-Watson-Nerwinski trio is playing well, as it is now, we can afford to sacrifice defensively in order to gain DeJong's attacking ability...and over this 5-6 game stretch DeJong has been very good defensively as well, though he's always a risk to get caught too far upfield.

I'm not opposed to bringing Harvey back next year, but after you consider that Chung is likely moving into the first team next season as a utility fullback and that Harvey has regressed this season I wouldn't want him back at his current salary. Shea/Williams provide enough cover at fullback until Chung gets up to speed. Plus there is always the possibility that Adekugbe comes back...though I don't think either party wants that at this point.

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34 minutes ago, Dub Narcotic said:

I'd be surprised to see any of Harvey, Shea or Adekugbe back next year. Harvey's just old in a game that demands young and active fullbacks, Shea costs a lot of money and Adekugbe will no doubt have his agent find something in Europe.

Well nobody is going to give Shea the money he made on his Orlando contract. If we can resign him for what he's worth, he'll be back. His ability to play almost every position on the field at an MLS level is pretty important to this team. Agree on Adekugbe.

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Well, that's what happens when you try to play Robboball against a team that has no interest in committing numbers forward. Can't even blame the players really, Shea and Bolanos were continually waved back by Robinson and Nerwinski/deJong never left the back third until the last 5 minutes. Don't get the gameplan at all.

 

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43 minutes ago, harrycoyster said:

Well, that's what happens when you try to play Robboball against a team that has no interest in committing numbers forward. Can't even blame the players really, Shea and Bolanos were continually waved back by Robinson and Nerwinski/deJong never left the back third until the last 5 minutes. Don't get the gameplan at all.

 

Tchani as an attacking midfielder was fun.

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1 hour ago, gator said:

Is Davies injured, he wasn't even a sub?

If you are going to sub in one offensive player it would be Reyna not Davies so no point. On the wing Techera has been much better so there again no point. Davies has been not up to par his last couple of outings. 

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We are not out of it so I guess that accounts for something. The strategy seems to be survive and hope you win it in a shoot out I guess. Not much offence but our possession has been better the last 2 games. A lot was in our half but we didn't give up 65-35 

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Probably in the minority in this opinion but 0-0 is decent, considering that Reyna and Techera didn't start. Definitely a missed opportunity at home and a pitiful performance attacking wise (solid defensively though), but the way we play will be much more effective on the road.

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It is a good result to take to Seattle. We concentrate on scoring and we are going to be in it until the end. We can be down 1-0 until m. 88, score, and take the series. We could score a 0-1 in extra time, and that would pretty well end it. That forces Seattle to try to win by two. 

So it is Seattle who has to commit more, not us, and that allows more countering space for us too. 

Only real worry is that MLS refs are terribly biased, that one last night was terrible, every doubtful decision went Seattle's way, they received all the benefits of split decisions.

Edit: the away match should be a better opportunity for Davies to run at them, he might be useful for us. But not late, early please (or late when we are a goal up). He does not read the game at all when the critical minutes come.

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4 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

It is a good result to take to Seattle. We concentrate on scoring and we are going to be in it until the end. We can be down 1-0 until m. 88, score, and take the series. We could score a 0-1 in extra time, and that would pretty well end it. That forces Seattle to try to win by two. 

So it is Seattle who has to commit more, not us, and that allows more countering space for us too. 

Only real worry is that MLS refs are terribly biased, that one last night was terrible, every doubtful decision went Seattle's way, they received all the benefits of split decisions.

Edit: the away match should be a better opportunity for Davies to run at them, he might be useful for us. But not late, early please (or late when we are a goal up). He does not read the game at all when the critical minutes come.

Yeah, and I think everyone is forgetting that the Caps just played on Sunday, and were missing two of their most creative starters--Reyna and Techera--so I feel that Robbo and the team got their tactics right. If we'd gone all out, or something closer to that, then we'd have been gassed and vulnerable much earlier in the match.  Look at how gassed Bolanos was, for instance.  If Techera and Reyna could get close to full recovery, and the rest of the squad recovers as much as possible before Thursday, then we'll have the legs to and skill to give Seattle a good test. Make no mistake, Seattle is still the superior team, but they are banged up too. Marshall is not at 100%, nor is Alonso and Svensson, and Morris and Rodriguez are still carrying knocks and might not see the pitch Thursday.  Century Link is a tough place to play, but the Caps have won there before, and they will not be daunted. 

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