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Vancouver Whitecaps 2018


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It was a game of two halves, one dreadful for the Whitecaps, and one better, but still of concern. In the first half, Vancouver could not string together two passes and the game plan seemed to be to launch the ball up the field and have Blondell or Shea run on to it. This did lead to a chance or two, but was largely ineffective and was dreadful to watch. RSL, on the other hand, routinely strung together several series of 5, 8, 12, 15 passes, held possession for long stretches, pressed the ball high, and were much the better team for most of the game.

It took Davies brilliance to set up the second goal, and Mesquida hard work to create the first goal (PK), but on the whole, the Whitecaps did not have much creativity or imagination in their play. That is a concern and Robinson needs to fix it. He did get the substitutions right for a change, so give him credit there.

Otherwise, the team needed and got the points which is, at the end of the day, what teams need. Waston's comments on ugly wins were fitting for this game.

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5 hours ago, MtlMario said:

Yeah and the ball was going in anyways. Too bad the ball wasn't let go and let Davies get credit for it.:D

No, it would have been an own-goal. The CB got a foot on it. Glad Blondell tapped it in for his first. Having said that, nobody who saw the goal will be giving anybody but Davies credit for making it happen. It was all his doing!

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1 hour ago, Stoppage Time said:

It was a game of two halves, one dreadful for the Whitecaps, and one better, but still of concern. In the first half, Vancouver could not string together two passes and the game plan seemed to be to launch the ball up the field and have Blondell or Shea run on to it. This did lead to a chance or two, but was largely ineffective and was dreadful to watch. RSL, on the other hand, routinely strung together several series of 5, 8, 12, 15 passes, held possession for long stretches, pressed the ball high, and were much the better team for most of the game.

It took Davies brilliance to set up the second goal, and Mesquida hard work to create the first goal (PK), but on the whole, the Whitecaps did not have much creativity or imagination in their play. That is a concern and Robinson needs to fix it. He did get the substitutions right for a change, so give him credit there.

Otherwise, the team needed and got the points which is, at the end of the day, what teams need. Waston's comments on ugly wins were fitting for this game.

Yeah, I agree with pretty much all of this.  Levis had a very good game, so that is a positive.  And Mutch certainly has good vision and played some lovely early balls forward.  As tidy as Tiebert is, he creates almost nothing. Love his work rate and attitude, but he feels like a dead spot in the midfield. 95% of his passes go backwards!  Ghazal was very good, and he'll only get better as he gets more games. Shea was a bust for the most part. He is a great super sub--like Mezquida--but I am rarely impressed when he starts.  

But yes, there was very little chemistry through the midfield. I could see Mutch being a positive player in the midfield, perhaps alongside Ghazal, with Reyna playing in front of them, but the jury is still out on this midfield and Robbo's ability to do anything other than play Long Ball 24/7.  

Not sure what official attendance was last night, but I saw a lot of empty seats. Yeah, RSL is not much of a draw, but when the Caps are winning the stadium is usually packed.  I hope the FO is paying attention.  Come on, go sign Scotty Arfield. Now.

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11 minutes ago, The Beaver said:

No, it would have been an own-goal. The CB got a foot on it. Glad Blondell tapped it in for his first. Having said that, nobody who saw the goal will be giving anybody but Davies credit for making it happen. It was all his doing!

Well his teamates certainly gave Davies credit for it as they all ran to him to celebrate... I think Blondell ran off by himself lol ?

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On ‎4‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 10:02 AM, Stoppage Time said:

RSL, on the other hand, routinely strung together several series of 5, 8, 12, 15 passes, held possession for long stretches, pressed the ball high, and were much the better team for most of the game.

They had no bona fide centre forward and as a result they ended up playing a peripheral game, conjuring up their best chances from outside the box (Baird off the bar and Plata forcing Marinovic to tip it over).  Fine lines. ;)

Apart from Davies's explosiveness and ability to make something out of nothing, it was a tough match to watch between two second tier level clubs.

At least Robbo got his sub right by putting Shea to LB and keeping Davies more advanced.  Glad to see that the club has staff monitoring these comments to give him much needed tactical advice.

Nothing out there led me to want to phone the club ask about buying season tickets. 

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On 4/28/2018 at 11:50 AM, The Beaver said:

Yeah, I agree with pretty much all of this.  Levis had a very good game, so that is a positive.  And Mutch certainly has good vision and played some lovely early balls forward.  As tidy as Tiebert is, he creates almost nothing. Love his work rate and attitude, but he feels like a dead spot in the midfield. 95% of his passes go backwards!  Ghazal was very good, and he'll only get better as he gets more games. Shea was a bust for the most part. He is a great super sub--like Mezquida--but I am rarely impressed when he starts.  

But yes, there was very little chemistry through the midfield. I could see Mutch being a positive player in the midfield, perhaps alongside Ghazal, with Reyna playing in front of them, but the jury is still out on this midfield and Robbo's ability to do anything other than play Long Ball 24/7.  

Not sure what official attendance was last night, but I saw a lot of empty seats. Yeah, RSL is not much of a draw, but when the Caps are winning the stadium is usually packed.  I hope the FO is paying attention.  Come on, go sign Scotty Arfield. Now.

Unfortunately it has been that way going on 3 seasons now!

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1 hour ago, masster said:

Unfortunately it has been that way going on 3 seasons now!

Teibert has been better this season. His forward passing is more frequent - and when he is does make those through balls we can all see what might have been had he had better coaching over the years.

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Teibert's default setting is to play the way he faces when under pressure.  I don't see a guy who can consistently turn his way out of one on one pressure.  I'm guessing Felipe is more adept at juking his way out of trouble in similar situations so with that, I think he is the better candidate for that job alongside Ghazal.

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24 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Teibert's default setting is to play the way he faces when under pressure.  I don't see a guy who can consistently turn his way out of one on one pressure.  I'm guessing Felipe is more adept at juking his way out of trouble in similar situations so with that, I think he is the better candidate for that job alongside Ghazal.

And for the longest time I gave Tiebert the edge over Osorio, if only because Russell is tidier with the ball, but man has Osorio improved. Osorio has the audacity and, increasingly, the skill to play forward. I wish Rusty could get there too.

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Well I actually feel we deserved to win, we had the play 11 vs. 11, and after their red card too. Their goal was against the flow, and we missed maybe 4-5 good chances, Kamara especially. The other thing I take away from it is that we have some better ball possession, especially coming out of the back and transitioning forward, which basically only works when our rival is weaker, but still, a good sign.

For me only Ghazal was extremely errant, he's has serious technical gaps. Would have preferred Teibert to do that job. 

There was a long complex and really amazing Davies run, with dribbles, in the first half, that the Minnesota fans applauded, it was quite impressive. I think we should have left him on the wing the last 20 min to get speed and depth out wide, which we lost when they moved him in.

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13 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

There was a long complex and really amazing Davies run, with dribbles, in the first half, that the Minnesota fans applauded, it was quite impressive. I think we should have left him on the wing the last 20 min to get speed and depth out wide, which we lost when they moved him in.

was it this?

 

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1 hour ago, mpg_29 said:

was it this?

Yeah but that is just part, there is a little lead in, then after he takes on the last defender, tries to dribble him, takes it to the end line, almost loses it then turns back saving it....the ball goes out and the crowd applauds, you can hear it clearly. 

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1 hour ago, Gian-Luca said:

Davies is apparently leading the league in successful dribbles

Yes, and what I love to see most is how he is learning the game more and more. He seems to be able to take on instruction and apply it fairly quickly, which is a great sign of talent.  He is very strong defensively, always responsible, but his passing and decision making have improved a lot, too.  There is still a lot of room for growth, but the good news is that he IS growing with every game.  I think it was Dasovic who said that Davies has been the teams' best player all year, and I am not sure he is wrong.  Guys like Waston and Reyna should push him for that title, but both have been very inconsistent.  

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The night before the game against Minnesota i saw a clip of Davies being asked about his ball control in tight spaces having improved and he said that he had been "doing a lot of drills with the guys". Now, not sure who "the guys" are, but at the very least the environment he's in is providing him opportunity for improvement - which was a big concern after he seemed to flatline last season at club level. So kudos to both him and the Caps for his improvement so far this year.

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50 minutes ago, RJB said:

The Whitecaps have reverted into average team territory.  It's tough to get excited for their matches.  I'm thinking that Robinson doesn't make the end of the season.

Reverted?

From day one in MLS it has basically been a betrayal of what longtime fans have expected of the Caps, which was a bit of flash, and class, and a very tough competitive spirit.

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On 5/7/2018 at 3:10 PM, Unnamed Trialist said:

Reverted?

From day one in MLS it has basically been a betrayal of what longtime fans have expected of the Caps, which was a bit of flash, and class, and a very tough competitive spirit.

Fair enough.  I suppose I was hopeful that they would continue to build year-on-year. 

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On ‎2018‎-‎05‎-‎07 at 2:18 PM, RJB said:

The Whitecaps have reverted into average team territory.  It's tough to get excited for their matches.  I'm thinking that Robinson doesn't make the end of the season.

I suspect, even with the recent mediocre run of form, that he'll last the entire season. The FR remains big on him, from all accounts. And they know that they are not giving him the sort of cash to sign a couple of bonafide DPs.  But at some point this franchise needs to rethink their "Moneyball or nothing" strategy, and when they do, they are going to want a manager who can get his guys playing real football.  Or maybe this is all wishful thinking.

Having said all of that, we've not seen our best 11 on the pitch even once this year, and as a result the team has shown very little quality, consistency and chemistry.  They need a run of games with the bulk of their best players out there to see if they can actually develop some chemistry.

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On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 8:34 AM, The Beaver said:

They need a run of games with the bulk of their best players out there to see if they can actually develop some chemistry.

I honestly don't think it would make a lick of difference in how they play in the attacking side of the game.  It's almost as if the offensive strategy is basically each individual doing a "you do you" philosophy and maybe some good things will happen as a result.

Having said that, they'll probably steamroll Houston at BC Place tomorrow night with 3 or 4 goals and all will be well again in Lotus Land.

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10 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I honestly don't think it would make a lick of difference in how they play in the attacking side of the game.  It's almost as if the offensive strategy is basically each individual doing a "you do you" philosophy and maybe some good things will happen as a result.

Having said that, they'll probably steamroll Houston at BC Place tomorrow night with 3 or 4 goals and all will be well again in Lotus Land.

I think the entire strategy for offense is "cross it to Kai",  even if Kai isn't on the field.  One-dimensional. Houston will not be an easy date tonight.

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