Vancouver Whitecaps 2020 Season

[gator]

5 hours ago, Trois Reds said:

A few things, please excuse the long post:

The Argos would disappear if they moved to the 905. No-one in the 905 area acknowledges the CFL exists and haven't for the last 20 years I lived there (which includes living and working in Brampton, Vaughan, Oshawa, and Richmond Hill).  

The Impact aren't going anywhere. If I was Joey Saputo and I own both a Serie A team and my hometown team in MLS, I'm not losing the chance to bring good players to MLS on loan to give them time to grow, make my team better, and either be sold to Europe or to play for my Serie A team later. Also, players like Didier Drogba wouldn't join the CPL, and Montreal fans wouldn't turn out 15,000 strong to watch Choiniere play Carducci. They will watch Piette vs. Bradley, or Josef Martinez, or Carlos Vela. Most importantly, TFC. Impact fans will never agree to watch the Impact play second-fiddle to Toronto because they went to CPL. From a former Torontonian who has talked to Montrealers, trust me on this. Toronto-Montreal is the biggest rivalry between cities in North America, bar none.

Finally, how many fans in Vancouver are going to go watch a Whitecaps team that goes from "not that good in MLS" to "not that good in CPL? " Remember, if Vancouver goes to CPL, they'll have to start from scratch, with 8, 10, maybe even up to 16 CPL teams ahead of them. Does anyone really believe Cavallini, Adnan, Tiebert, or Crepeau will play for 40 grand a year? You'll have a team that's years behind Pacific to start, never mind the rest of the league. I have a hard time believing 20,000 Vancouver fans are going to watch a team that might take anywhere from 5 to 10 years to be competitive in the CPL. Also, why would the Whitecaps choose to go from a big dog in the Voyageur's Cup with 10 times the budget of the CPL (what happened last year with Cavalry wouldn't happen 9 out of 10 years) to a team that may, once every 5 or 10 years, have a chance at a CONCACAF league spot? It makes no sense.

I don't understand the "Whitecaps to CPL" talk. You would potentially set soccer in BC back years. Vancouver Whitecaps going from big dog in Canada to a minnow compared to even Pacific for a while would kill soccer interest in Vancouver for a generation.

The Hammer is 905 btw, we certainly acknowledge the existence of the CFL! 😁

[Trois Reds]

2 hours ago, gator said:

The Hammer is 905 btw, we certainly acknowledge the existence of the CFL! 😁

Oskee wee wee! I was more talking about places immediately surrounding Toronto.  Hamilton is 905, but I consider it as having its own entity as a city.  It has the history, distance from Toronto, and a large enough population to have it's own culture.  My sister lives in Hamilton; it's a beautiful city and I have met some amazing people there.  None of them are Argo fans either, but for different reasons. 🙂

Edited September 1, 2020 by Trois Reds

[BearcatSA]

I fully expect a strong performance Saturday night.  They have had a lengthy time to prepare at home.  A strong team performance should contain the Pozuelo led attack as well as expose the defensive shortcomings and create goal scoring chances against an Eastern time zone road opponent not looking in sync at the moment.

No room for excuses (unless they count the distraction of one their owners now coaching the Brooklyn Nets 😉).

[Shortdutchcanuck]

Baldisimo has looked great in this one.  Ability to accurately switch the ball long  is excellent.  Also comfortable operating in tight spaces at DM.  Have been more impressed with him than Fraser so far tonight.

[SthMelbRed]

They've played there way into the game. They need to keep it going in the 2nd half. All of the SIX Canadians have shown pretty well through 45 minutes.

[SthMelbRed]

Boom! What a hit from Baldisimo!

[Shortdutchcanuck]

Baldisimo needs to take over free kicks from Adnan and Milinkovic.

[Nate3322]

Holy fuck Baldisimo

[BearcatSA]

And they ... may.... finally have a player born and raised in their own backyard (Vancouver area) and who came through their academy to truly feature in their 11.   For me, that also makes me cheer hard for Baldi.

 

[Stoppage Time]

Who should VWFC target among Canadians in MLS? Are there some good ones (even if it might be hard or expensive to acquire them)? Would they be a good fit?

Alistair Johnston, Liam Fraser, Jonathan Osorio and Tajor Buchanan would be a good set to pursue.

Thoughts?

[SpursFlu]

Personally I think we're good on the Cancon front. Maybe the real question should be which Argentinian midfielder should the Whitecaps target?

[Bison44]

1 minute ago, Stoppage Time said:

Who should VWFC target among Canadians in MLS? Are there some good ones (even if it might be hard or expensive to acquire them)? Would they be a good fit?

Alistair Johnston, Liam Fraser, Jonathan Osorio and Tajor Buchanan would be a good set to pursue.

Thoughts?

Why??  Promote from within, you might have a couple of winners already this season with Hasal and baldisimo.  Make sure your next DP is a home run though.  

[youllneverwalkalone]

One guy out of contract with a Canadian passport is Gershon Koffie. MLS 3.0 may have passed him by, but he'd be some cheap depth. Could have a some Ghana chemistry with Owusu.

[toontownman]

1 hour ago, youllneverwalkalone said:

One guy out of contract with a Canadian passport is Gershon Koffie. MLS 3.0 may have passed him by, but he'd be some cheap depth. Could have a some Ghana chemistry with Owusu.

Hey would be a belter for the CPL. Likely a big wage cut though.

[Stoppage Time]

2 hours ago, Bison44 said:

Why??  Promote from within, you might have a couple of winners already this season with Hasal and baldisimo.  Make sure your next DP is a home run though.  

Hasal and Baldisimo are certainly revelations. You are right about that. Osorio could be a great boost for Cavalini, and given that Reyna has been suspended twice by the club for off field reasons (he missed the TFC game yesterday), there may soon be a hole to fill. Johnston is strong on the right side, and can whip in crosses. He can replace Malinkovic who has been underwhelming to say the least. Buchanan needs to play to develop, so he should be at the right club, maybe Vancouver, maybe not. All in all, VWFC needs to improve, so why not Canadians if they have something to offer. And, yes, a really good Argentine would be most welcome.

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Stoppage Time said:

Hasal and Baldisimo are certainly revelations. You are right about that. Osorio could be a great boost for Cavalini, and given that Reyna has been suspended twice by the club for off field reasons (he missed the TFC game yesterday), there may soon be a hole to fill. Johnston is strong on the right side, and can whip in crosses. He can replace Malinkovic who has been underwhelming to say the least. Buchanan needs to play to develop, so he should be at the right club, maybe Vancouver, maybe not. All in all, VWFC needs to improve, so why not Canadians if they have something to offer. And, yes, a really good Argentine would be most welcome.

I don't know what the obsession is with people wanting the Whitecaps to acquire Canadians who clearly aren't available except at an extreme premium.  Why would TFC sell Osorio to the Whitecaps?  They have zero reason to do it, and speculating on it is, quite frankly, just dumb.  It's the same as the people who say "just go out and get Mark-Anthony Kaye".  It's not happening, and there's exactly zeroes reasons to pay well above market price to get either of them.

[SthMelbRed]

13 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

I don't know what the obsession is with people wanting the Whitecaps to acquire Canadians who clearly aren't available except at an extreme premium.  Why would TFC sell Osorio to the Whitecaps?  They have zero reason to do it, and speculating on it is, quite frankly, just dumb.  It's the same as the people who say "just go out and get Mark-Anthony Kaye".  It's not happening, and there's exactly zeroes reasons to pay well above market price to get either of them.

People act like there aren't 3 sets of self-interest at play in any football transfer. They just see Player X isn't playing a lot for Team Y, therefore he should go to Team Z. They don't consider that Player X might be happy at Team Y due to non-footballing factors, Team Y don't want to let Player X leave, or Team Z aren't actually interested in Player X. They just carry on in their fantasy world where everything is just like their favourite video game.

[Bison44]

46 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

People act like there aren't 3 sets of self-interest at play in any football transfer. They just see Player X isn't playing a lot for Team Y, therefore he should go to Team Z. They don't consider that Player X might be happy at Team Y due to non-footballing factors, Team Y don't want to let Player X leave, or Team Z aren't actually interested in Player X. They just carry on in their fantasy world where everything is just like their favourite video game.

What is the cheat code to give the Whitecaps 10 million to spend on transfers??

[Stoppage Time]

1 hour ago, Watchmen said:

I don't know what the obsession is with people wanting the Whitecaps to acquire Canadians who clearly aren't available except at an extreme premium.  Why would TFC sell Osorio to the Whitecaps?  They have zero reason to do it, and speculating on it is, quite frankly, just dumb.  It's the same as the people who say "just go out and get Mark-Anthony Kaye".  It's not happening, and there's exactly zeroes reasons to pay well above market price to get either of them.

Oh dear! I just feel so "dumb", Watchmen. But wait. Isn't speculating part of being on a fan site? You know! What if our team was better? Have a fine day.

[Watchmen]

1 hour ago, Bison44 said:

What is the cheat code to give the Whitecaps 10 million to spend on transfers??

"Davies".  But unfortunately the Whitecaps blew it all on skins and cosmetics.

[Watchmen]

56 minutes ago, Stoppage Time said:

Oh dear! I just feel so "dumb", Watchmen. But wait. Isn't speculating part of being on a fan site? You know! What if our team was better? Have a fine day.

If you can lay out a reasonable debate on why TFC would a) sell Osorio and b) sell him to the Whitecaps, then by all means please do so.

[BearcatSA]

MDS has talked a good game recently about taking the time to get a player who is a good fit but this ownership has always been pretty reactive. Getting Cava's buddy Osorio is that kind of reactive move.

Edited September 7, 2020 by BearcatSA

[Stoppage Time]

1 hour ago, Watchmen said:

If you can lay out a reasonable debate on why TFC would a) sell Osorio and b) sell him to the Whitecaps, then by all means please do so.

Speculation! What if? Fun to imagine! VWFC needs better players which are situated elsewhere. Surprises happen. Osorio asks for a move for some reason. TFC drops off in play. Who knows? Likely? Not really! Would be nice? Yes. Cheers!

[Watchmen]

15 hours ago, Stoppage Time said:

Speculation! What if? Fun to imagine! VWFC needs better players which are situated elsewhere. Surprises happen. Osorio asks for a move for some reason. TFC drops off in play. Who knows? Likely? Not really! Would be nice? Yes. Cheers!

I will legitimately say, I don't think this would be "nice".  He's not the DP central midfielder the Whitecaps desperately need.  So if they're allocating funding to Osario (at a premium price), then they're wasting money.

I don't need to see "Team Canada" re-united in Vancouver (especially since the keys to the team are playing in much bigger and better leagues over seas).  I need to see the Whitecaps field a good team while developing their own residency players, not going out to overspend on players in the same league just because they're Canadian.

Edit: BTW, if you're really, really wanting a Canadian midfielder to go to the Whitecaps, then the guy to keep an eye on is Scott Arfield.  Check in with him during the remainder of the year, see if he's fine with coming off the bench at Rangers instead of starting, and if he's not then potentially make the move in January.  I don't think that's happening either, but it's much more likely than Osario.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Watchmen

[Stoppage Time]

3 hours ago, Watchmen said:

I will legitimately say, I don't think this would be "nice".  He's not the DP central midfielder the Whitecaps desperately need.  So if they're allocating funding to Osario (at a premium price), then they're wasting money.

I don't need to see "Team Canada" re-united in Vancouver (especially since the keys to the team are playing in much bigger and better leagues over seas).  I need to see the Whitecaps field a good team while developing their own residency players, not going out to overspend on players in the same league just because they're Canadian.

Edit: BTW, if you're really, really wanting a Canadian midfielder to go to the Whitecaps, then the guy to keep an eye on is Scott Arfield.  Check in with him during the remainder of the year, see if he's fine with coming off the bench at Rangers instead of starting, and if he's not then potentially make the move in January.  I don't think that's happening either, but it's much more likely than Osario.

Arfield is a pretty good idea.  I agree that making the team better is the first goal. Overpaying for anybody is always a bad idea, so, yes, that needs to be avoided. If improvement includes some Canadians, then s much the better.