Vancouver Whitecaps - 2023 Season Thread

[SoccMan]

23 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

You've been then? Another good feature is that the stands are quite vertical, the fans are close to the field. Then you're in the downtown. 

Stands being quite vertical are something I wish more stadiums in North America were like , what a difference it is to watch a game where the stands are like that .

[Watchmen]

Loss to Portland on the weekend. Loss to Dallas tonight that put them below .500. Playing Seattle on the weekend. Away to Pacific next week. Honestly, Pacific could get a second Whitecaps manager fired.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[BearcatSA]

Get Ahmed back starting!

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[Watchmen]

Whitecaps were good, but Seattle was also bad.  I'll take it.  Ahmed with another strong performance. 

No idea how they call that an "Own Goal" for Frei and not a goal for Gauld.  Ridiculous.

[BearcatSA]

Didn't get to see this one but I strongly believe that good things happen when Ahmed's on the pitch, preferably starting.

[Watchmen]

2 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Didn't get to see this one but I strongly believe that good things happen when Ahmed's on the pitch, preferably starting.

Had a few friends join me for this one for the first time in a bit.  They enjoyed Ahmed quite a bit, that he was the type of player the team hasn't had in a while; someone willing to take on and run at the opposition with the ball, not just look to pass it backwards or go for the long pass/cross.

[footballfreak]

1 minute ago, Watchmen said:

Had a few friends join me for this one for the first time in a bit.  They enjoyed Ahmed quite a bit, that he was the type of player the team hasn't had in a while; someone willing to take on and run at the opposition with the ball, not just look to pass it backwards or go for the long pass/cross.

Owusu was a dribbly boi but he never quite knew what to do after that bit. Never seen a CM with such terrible passing numbers.

[BearcatSA]

1 minute ago, Watchmen said:

Had a few friends join me for this one for the first time in a bit.  They enjoyed Ahmed quite a bit, that he was the type of player the team hasn't had in a while; someone willing to take on and run at the opposition with the ball, not just look to pass it backwards or go for the long pass/cross.

He has a craftiness and deception on the dribble that make him a challenging opponent to defend against.  If Sartini/Schuster were to continue with "O Christmas Tree!" then I would like him in Vite's spot 

[footballfreak]

21 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

He has a craftiness and deception on the dribble that make him a challenging opponent to defend against.  If Sartini/Schuster were to continue with "O Christmas Tree!" then I would like him in Vite's spot 

Ahmed-Cubas-Gressel has been a great trio. Leave Ahmed at that left 8 spot with Vite as the other 10. Bench Schöpf.

[Watchmen]

Schopf has a had a few moments, and I could see him working off the bench: veteran for late in the game that can still attack against some tired legs.  They're paying him to be more than that, of course, but there could still be a use for him.

[footballfreak]

7 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

Schopf has a had a few moments, and I could see him working off the bench: veteran for late in the game that can still attack against some tired legs.  They're paying him to be more than that, of course, but there could still be a use for him.

Oh for sure. I wasn’t suggesting we banish him. He would probably be the first 8 off the bench if we’re trailing, and potentially the first 10 off the bench if we’re leading. 
 

edit: It won’t be an issue that needs to be addressed for the foreseeable future. If we get past Pacific, it would be two a games a week for three weeks, and then potentially Ahmed gets called into Gold Cup. The midfield depth will be tested and Ahmed/Schöpf can spell each other off.

Edited May 21, 2023 by footballfreak

[BearcatSA]

6 hours ago, footballfreak said:

Ahmed-Cubas-Gressel has been a great trio. Leave Ahmed at that left 8 spot with Vite as the other 10. Bench Schöpf.

Ahmed's strength is going forward with the offensive traits described earlier, and you still get a good defensive work rate guy on on the press as well as backtracking, which would make him effective partnering Gauld behind a striker.  I still have hope for Schöpf as the regular starter in the midfield three but he needs to stay healthy and contribute.

Glad to see Vite drive into the p.a. and score but I am not sold on him as a consistent threat.  Still a pretty inconsistent guy who shows flashes of class being direct but not enough at this point.

[footballfreak]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

Ahmed's strength is going forward with the offensive traits described earlier, and you still get a good defensive work rate guy on on the press as well as backtracking, which would make him effective partnering Gauld behind a striker.  I still have hope for Schöpf as the regular starter in the midfield three but he needs to stay healthy and contribute.

Glad to see Vite drive into the p.a. and score but I am not sold on him as a consistent threat.  Still a pretty inconsistent guy who shows flashes of class being direct but not enough at this point.

Re: Vite, his xG+xA per 90 is up to 0.43 from 0.29 last year. He should have 2+ assists by now, but the snakebitten strikers haven’t exactly helped. Gauld has suffered the same fate. I expect both to regress towards their expected numbers as the season wears on. Vite is on pace for 10+ expected goal contributions. For comparison, Gauld had 12.95 last year and took 2(?) penalties as part of that. Still room for improvement, but he’s trending in the right direction. 

[BearcatSA]

As much as I have been unhappy with the finishing at centre forward/striker this season, I also believe that the goalscoring/finshing contributions need to be more diversified among the front five as a group (not Cubas).  Vite notching goals in back to back games and Gauld finally bagging one is a step in the right direction.

[The Beaver 2.0]

These guys feel like they are one or two pieces short of a very good team. 

[BearcatSA]

29 minutes ago, The Beaver 2.0 said:

These guys feel like they are one or two pieces short of a very good team. 

I think they should be a comfortable playoff team, not one where its playoff fate always comes down to the final game of the regular season.

[The Beaver 2.0]

20 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

I think they should be a comfortable playoff team, not one where its playoff fate always comes down to the final game of the regular season.

I hope you're right. It certainly seems within reach this year.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[BearcatSA]

On 2/18/2023 at 7:27 AM, BearcatSA said:

^As I said earlier in this thread, if you are going to sign an international keeper on TAM, he's going to be getting a large majority of the starts, not a 1A/1B at all.  Hasal needs to be a starter somewhere at this stage of his career.

Well, you can see what happens when a guy hardly plays.  Then he has a tough match and gets sh*t on and written off.

I watched David Seaman whiff on two similar plays in a Cup Winners' Cup Final and WC QF, respectively, so he is in good company there 😉.  However, I was concerned about the shot stopping on the two long range free kicks he spilled, one causing a goal.  The guy could really hit that knuckleball shot that you really should just punch away instead of trying to catch cleanly.  It seemed like no one read and/or followed the scouting report on Lowen's shooting skills.

Just learn from it and go from there, that's all you can do.  

 

[Watchmen]

22 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Well, you can see what happens when a guy hardly plays.  Then he has a tough match and gets sh*t on and written off.

I watched David Seaman whiff on two similar plays in a Cup Winners' Cup Final and WC QF, respectively, so he is in good company there 😉.  However, I was concerned about the shot stopping on the two long range free kicks he spilled, one causing a goal.  The guy could really hit that knuckleball shot that you really should just punch away instead of trying to catch cleanly.  It seemed like no one read and/or followed the scouting report on Lowen's shooting skills.

Just learn from it and go from there, that's all you can do.  

 

He's played 3 matches and given up 3 goals each time. Maybe this match was the wrong one to put him in, and home vs Houston would have been better. And I think they did enter the season thinking they'd get him more game time. That hasn't worked out, and I think they need to send him out on loan.

[Watchmen]

Cordova is looking like he has no interest in being in Vancouver. Absolutely no effort out there.

[SpursFlu]

Cordova has a very peculiar demeanor on the field. He always looks grumpy and at times uninterested 

[BearcatSA]

2 hours ago, Watchmen said:

He's played 3 matches and given up 3 goals each time. Maybe this match was the wrong one to put him in, and home vs Houston would have been better. And I think they did enter the season thinking they'd get him more game time. That hasn't worked out, and I think they need to send him out on loan.

Keepers don't need much rotation.  It was never, ever going to be a 1A/1B situation here.  Far better to try (once again) to have a veteran journeyman back up who knows his role while Hasal plays as a starter in another league (seems to have worked with Sirois, so far).  Furthermore, Hasal has missed large chunks of developmental time due to injury, so he also needs to show that he could be a durable regular starter elsewhere.

St. Louis on the road I felt was a better place to start than against a key conference opponent, even at home.  I think in hockey they call those "6 pointers" so more at stake vs Houston.  

With Hasal getting a start, unless the team gets some new summer window acquisitions, the line up is pretty well set barring an injury scourge (though I think the striker situation is such that Johnson might get more of a look in MLS in the second half if the club doesn't sign a new striker).  So guys like Yao and Ngando will be on the bench or the pressbox while Habibullah and Coupland will remain in Next Pro.