Vancouver Whitecaps - 2023 Season Thread

[BearcatSA]

Just now, Unnamed Trialist said:

Probably the worst moment to be visiting TFC, who might symbolically awake for the rest of the season.

TFC will be pretty jacked for this one.

[Watchmen]

Reports that the buy option on Caio Alexander are going to be picked up for $2.5m. I thought he'd essentially finished up his contract, so that's not bad at all.

[BearcatSA]

5 hours ago, Watchmen said:

Reports that the buy option on Caio Alexander are going to be picked up for $2.5m. I thought he'd essentially finished up his contract, so that's not bad at all.

That's good but on the other hand, the FO has to avoid cap eating contract extensions for guys like Martins. 

You win some, you lose some.

[Watchmen]

23 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

That's good but on the other hand, the FO has to avoid cap eating contract extensions for guys like Martins. 

You win some, you lose some.

Yeah, they've definitely signed a number of extensions that were dubious. Though I will say they've managed to unload some of them.

I'm concerned about what they do with Teibert in the offseason. They should cut him loose when his contract is up. At the very least they need to work his salary down to a much lower level. They absolutely can't pick up his option.

[BearcatSA]

4 hours ago, Watchmen said:

Yeah, they've definitely signed a number of extensions that were dubious. Though I will say they've managed to unload some of them.

I'm concerned about what they do with Teibert in the offseason. They should cut him loose when his contract is up. At the very least they need to work his salary down to a much lower level. They absolutely can't pick up his option.

As others have suggested, I think he gets his golden handshake to an off field position with the club after this year.

He has hardly played, clearly behind the younger Berhalter.  I sense that the club will be looking for another young d-mid type in the off season, likely international, to have in the mix with Cubas and Berhalter. 

Rusty should get a big celebratory send off in the first home game of next season.

[Watchmen]

[BearcatSA]

Another good recovery after dropping the ball with this signing.

Are they able to get another DP now?

 

[Stryker911]

I wonder if they would continue the trend of signing Canadian internationals with Hoilett. He would fit much better than in Toronto, would be an awesome bench option for a playoff run, and likely wouldn't need DP money.

[narduch]

3 hours ago, Stryker911 said:

I wonder if they would continue the trend of signing Canadian internationals with Hoilett. He would fit much better than in Toronto, would be an awesome bench option for a playoff run, and likely wouldn't need DP money.

Apparently this is actually happening 

[Ruffian]

https://x.com/TheRealJJAdams/status/1702047261029790110?s=20

Edited September 13, 2023 by Ruffian

[Stryker911]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

Apparently this is actually happening 

Wow good job me.

[Unnamed Trialist]

I am feeling that maybe the man behind Laryea's maniacal stare, looking for some sort of satisfaction at BMO, might be enough to counter the untimely turning tide at TFC with Herdman manipulating the moon.

Actually looking like one of the better games of the year.

Edited September 15, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist

[Watchmen]

Transfer is completed. Never really fit in with how they wanted to play.

 

[saladroit]

this is a good read

[Unnamed Trialist]

15 hours ago, Watchmen said:

Transfer is completed. Never really fit in with how they wanted to play.

 

To be fair, if he'd just converted 2-3 sitters he'd be one of our heroes.

For me it's a shame Vanni hasn't found a way to keep Becher active, such a great start and it seems the system is burying him a bit.

[BearcatSA]

6 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

To be fair, if he'd just converted 2-3 sitters he'd be one of our heroes.

For me it's a shame Vanni hasn't found a way to keep Becher active, such a great start and it seems the system is burying him a bit.

I see a fairly limited technical player when I watch Becher.  I don't see a good hold up possession  player or a guy who can draw fouls in dangerous areas.  However, he's a sniffer type who would be good in the final stages of a match to find a goal, so not unlike Ricketts.

Cordova?  I guess you could look at it in the way of a fine line binary between hero and bum.  When not scoring, he had moments of linking play, and you could see some really good skills on display (as displayed in that scrimmage clip I saw of him on Twitter, or was it simply that Yao is a crap defender?).   Whatever the case, the braintrust made a decision to move on when they had the opportunity:  I didn't read of any rumours of a move happening until this news broke, but maybe others have links.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Got to see this free on the Apple app. 

Not a very good game. For me it was mediocre. TFC hardly pressed except in a few moments, like after the Kerr goal. He had a lot of really bad touches so good for him on the goal, he did that right. Osorio I thought was quite poor. Insigne looks like he's going through the motions.

Whitecaps just have a bit more balance through the entire squad. And I like that we pressure the ball in certain moments. We build with an extra pass or two to not be stretched, usually, except in very fast counters, our mids accompany the attack: if it isn't going to go pushing at goal, we have someone to pass back to. We're also confident about our scoring and know where it's supposed to come from. I liked that TFC did not pressure Gauld on that pass, he had the ball on his left and did not even have to prepare the centre, it was already there. 

Then, most important these last weeks, we've properly closed out four on the road. Even vs. NYCFC, where we could have been tempted to push for the win, we read their desperation for the points, their frustration with the draw, and held the draw.

I know this may sound greedy, but we are 8 points behind St Louis with two games in hand. And we play them at home next month. Even winning the game in hand we have with LAFC, we go second overall. 

So it is not so crazy to think about 1st place, a playoff bye and a Concacaf Champions spot, which we don't need.

Edited September 17, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist

[BearcatSA]

8 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Not a very good game. For me it was mediocre. TFC hardly pressed except in a few moments, like after the Kerr goal. He had a lot of really bad touches so good for him on the goal, he did that right. Osorio I thought was quite poor. Insigne looks like he's going through the motions.

That's my take, as well.

8 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I liked that TFC did not pressure Gauld on that pass, he had the ball on his left and did not even have to prepare the centre, it was already there. 

Raposo had a ton of joy on the left, as well, including two shots for saves and a really nice curler that, had it gone in, could have been a goal of the week candidate.  That's probably the worst back line in MLS.

 

8 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

The Whitecaps just have a bit more balance through the entire squad. And I like that we pressure the ball in certain moments. We build with an extra pass or two to not be stretched, usually, except in very fast counters, our mids accompany the attack: if it isn't going to go pushing at goal, we have someone to pass back to. We're also confident about our scoring and know where it's supposed to come from.

Then, most important these last weeks, we've properly closed out four on the road. Even vs. NYCFC, where we could have been tempted to push for the win, we read their desperation for the points, their frustration with the draw, and held the draw.

So, does the walking billboard Italian get any credit here?

[Watchmen]

10 of 12 points on the road.  A hell of a run.  Next 2 games are going to be much tougher: at Houston and at Salt Lake.  Will be happy if they get anything out of them.  But, top 4 in the West is still definitely possible.

[narduch]

The West is really bunched up.

If Whitecaps lose both those games v Houston and RSL they could be right back in the battle for 9th. They are only 6 up on 10th. 

They may get lucky v Houston if they rotate their squad in anticipation of the US Open Cup final v Miami a few days later.

 

[Stoppage Time]

10 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

 

Wow. Where was the TFC defence on the second VWFC goal? Bradley had no clue where White was and Rosted just backed away and backed away from Gauld. With that kind of space, I could have had the assist on White's goal. That was a pretty header, but, my oh my, what terrible team defending!

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

That's my take, as well.

Raposo had a ton of joy on the left, as well, including two shots for saves and a really nice curler that, had it gone in, could have been a goal of the week candidate.  That's probably the worst back line in MLS.

 

So, does the walking billboard Italian get any credit here?

He's going to have to eventually. He is obviously doing some things right, and will have to get a lot of credit if they get through a playoff round, for example.

Maybe this image I have of the players not buying in or not liking him is erroneous. 

Question: who are his assistants, and is it a good team?

[Watchmen]

4 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

He's going to have to eventually. He is obviously doing some things right, and will have to get a lot of credit if they get through a playoff round, for example.

Maybe this image I have of the players not buying in or not liking him is erroneous. 

Question: who are his assistants, and is it a good team?

Vanni's in-game management is still a problem.  Subs are frequently poorly timed or an ill fit for the direction of the game.  Now, if they win a round or two, it's hard to argue against bringing him back.  But I think Schuster thinks he's built a fairly strong squad (and one that's catered to Vanni's style of play), so if they don't win a few rounds then I can certainly see the club moving on from him.

As for assistants, Florian Jungwirth transitioned in to the role after retiring last season and Michael D'Agostino was the one who took charge for a game when Vanni was suspended, though I couldn't tell you much about how either of them perform in their tasks. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Didn't watch. What happened? Any concerns or just the gameday circumstances?