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Vancouver Whitecaps - 2023 Season Thread


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31 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

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.  

Agreed that this was their thinking. Like all MLS teams, they're much better at home than on the road. Still, St Louis away was still a bit of a rough spot.

35 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

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.

The Cordova situation is going to be interesting. They'll keep trying him for now. Otherwise, yeah. I don't see much activity this summer.

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11 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

 

First time seeing the highlights since I don't have the subscription but judging from what I have seen here and on TSN broadcasts, the Caps have been far more entertaining, despite Sartini's shortcomings, than what I have seen in a long time.  Sure, there is dodgy play contributing to the scoring chances, too, but I like the leadership of their captain, Gauld, and the drive and determination of almost all of his teammates.  

 

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10 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

First time seeing the highlights since I don't have the subscription but judging from what I have seen here and on TSN broadcasts, the Caps have been far more entertaining, despite Sartini's shortcomings, than what I have seen in a long time.  Sure, there is dodgy play contributing to the scoring chances, too, but I like the leadership of their captain, Gauld, and the drive and determination of almost all of his teammates.  

 

Yup.  Just about every game has been a lot more entertaining this year than the previous...5 years?  I guess the first half year under Vanni was fun because they were on such a roll.  But last year was pretty bad, the final years of Robinson were poor, and the MDS era was a disaster.  Sartini still doesn't know how to manage his squad and seems to just go with "having a feeling" about something far too often, but the players are good enough they overcome his shortcomings.  

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23 hours ago, Goal_Kick said:

Question:  How many games before we can legitimately label Cordova as a bust?

He has one SHOT on net all year in MLS.  His cumulative xG is .05, according to The Third Sub.  Not .05/90. Total.  That's just unbelievably bad.  One of us could walk off the street and do that.

https://thethirdsub.ca/2023/06/04/report-card-whitecaps-draw-skc/

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3 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

He has one SHOT on net all year in MLS.  His cumulative xG is .05, according to The Third Sub.  Not .05/90. Total.  That's just unbelievably bad.  One of us could walk off the street and do that.

https://thethirdsub.ca/2023/06/04/report-card-whitecaps-draw-skc/

This is looking like an all time bad Caps signing because it came in the current analytics and moneyball media spin era of the club, not like a dud from the AVID sports agency time and the mom and pop store management team (the ones that needlessly kept Brek Shea on here with.his DP deal).

A signing that Schuster would love to have back, I'm sure. 

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5 hours ago, Watchmen said:

Rumours of there being interest from multiple clubs in Belgium for Brown, though no offers yet. I don't hate him, but I'd definitely be willing to sell him.

https://theathletic.com/4605960/2023/06/13/mls-transfer-news-almada-cifuentes-mbaizo?source=user-shared-article

Agreed. If a good offer comes along they should take it. I’m not super sold on the Raposo at fullback thing, but if he’s going to do it anyways, he might as well cover the right side.

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MLS writer Sam Jones points out how the Gold Cup tournament will have an impact on the Whitecaps:

Ali Ahmed (M, Canada)
Javain Brown (D, Jamaica)
Julian Gressel (F, USA)


We’ll go ahead and establish a ground rule here that if a player competes for Canada, Jamaica, or the USMNT, they’re more likely to miss more time. The tournament runs through July 16 and, for the 'Caps, that means they could potentially be without two players for six games. That will be a common theme here by the way. I know six games doesn’t feel like a lot, but it’s technically about 18% of the season.

Eighteen percent of the season without Julian Gressel is less than ideal. Gressel has been Vancouver’s best player this year. He’s one of three players in the league who has created more than 5.0 expected assists, along with Cristian Espinoza and Thiago Almada. It’s hard to see how they make up for that. Losing Javain Brown on the same side makes it feel even less likely.

It’s going to be an interesting stretch for a team hovering on the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/your-wednesday-kickoff-which-mls-rosters-will-be-hit-hardest-by-the-gold-cup

 

 

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4 hours ago, Stryker911 said:

Vancouver tried to start 2 Canadians and the universe knew that wasn't right so made sure that didn't happen.

Apparently the universe doesn't want me watching MLS as well.  Have just settled in back Canada and was looking forward to relaxing with a game (at a decent hour) with Canadians on both sides.

Became an old(ish) man yelling at clouds (almost literally).

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