If Nosa had history of being difficult with previous clubs during contract time, then that's poor vetting, for sure. But there was no error in scouting with regards to his skill set fitting in with the club. I though he might be a good player for this year.
whenever i hear of a whitecap player coming to the club especially as a free agent or sometimes as a loan player, i am suspicious of 2 things: 1. does the player have the skill set to make the team better? 2. does the player have the professional attributes to use the talents he supposedly has? rarely do free agents in the prime years of their playing career become a valuable addition, but usually bring a host of problems that begin to show up in 2-3 months- lack of training ambition and/or off-field life style habits- look at his pattern of moving from club-to-club over the past 4-5 years- usually there is a pattern of a revolving gate (reyna, reo-coker and nosa all have this pattern- and there are reasons why) so why does vancouver sign these types of players? they come cheap
When players with the talent of Nosa, Reyna, etc are available for free transfer or have been at a lot of clubs, something is fishy more often than not. The Caps seem to look for the "zero transfer fee" type of player, and then scout their talent. They don't as questions around "why is someone with this talent not under contract, or already sold via transfer. Teams don't let talent go away for free". Our new Venezuelan brings me pause as well. Why is he 23 and not signed to a better league in South America or in some club system in Europe? So, I take his goal scoring accolades with a lot of salt. Why is Juarez available for relatively cheap considering his resume. Again, something says to me that he may not be as great as we hope on a long term basis. The Cap's don't ask these questions and this is why several international signings look good to them but don't pan out very well.
Juarez was with Monterrey last three years although obviously not getting major minutes. Monterrey is a strong club in Liga MX so Caps obviously weren't going to get one of their stars or even a prospect. Not easy to attract Giovinco's and David Villa's to MLS, much less Vancouver. The Caps could have offered the same money to those guys and they still probably would not have been able to get them to Vancouver. Vancouver isn't a major market or metropolis and they play on turf, albeit, good turf. Those don't help when trying to attract names. And yes, the purse strings are tight. So, you wind up with players who usually don't have the best options and then still have to overpay. We will have to see how Juarez does. He should be more than technically competent coming from Monterrey and getting those numbers of caps for El Tri. It is usually a matter of how players adjust to the physical demands of MLS staying healthy, fitting in with team mates, etc.
juarez is just another defensive specialist- 4 goals in 211 games says it all- i dont expect anything special from him- he will be challenged in the speedy, atheltic and physical game in MLS as well as playing on turf and having to travel so much- probably will be injury-prone
The one player they have signed who, imo, comes with documented baggage in regards to team chemistry, is Kamara. That one could go sideways pretty quickly if Robbo's much hyped man management skills don't kick in. I could see that player going off the rails in a hurry if things don't go well.
^Other than Carl, the club, and a few supporters, does he really have hyped management skills anymore? I think even for the few media that occasionally write for the papers, the bloom seems to be off the rose on that one. On the surface I would be fine with Juarez coming in and Laba leaving. he eats up a DP spot (sort of, the club can TAM him down and not actually spend on a DP). and is quite slow in relation to the league. Last season, when he went down, I did not feel a noticeable harm to the long term results. Tchani and Ghazal seem to be fine in that role, we still have Teibert when Carl feels the whim to play him. By the way, we almost fleeced Columbus in the Tchani deal. We got a guy who is rock solid and could be here long term along with money and I believe a potential draft pick. They had Kekuta and his flashes of brilliance and lack of consistency and now he is gone for no return. One of the better deals Carl has made within the league. But, if the Caps are not going to get an actual DP, then I suppose keeping Laba is fine for depth. He does have a lot of strengths.
Speaking of Manneh, he played with Pachuca U-20's today. I watched a bit of him in a Pachuca cup match earlyin the week and he looked like the same old Kekuta which isn't going to cut it for a decent Liga MX team. Someone knowledgeable of Pachuca mentioned that he will probably see a lot of U-20 minutes.
i remember the time when, back in 2014, some naive southsiders were predicting that kekuta would head to a top euro team and the whitecaps would reap millions- i said the opposite and was mocked- he is on a training, look-see with pachuca- i would be surprised if he stuck, even as a sub as i always said about manneh- speed wthout skill and ambition/courage is 'like blowing smoke up someone's arse'- the smoke is just about finished
He signed with Pachuca although I don't know how long the contract is. Before that, he was on trial with a 2 Bundesliga team but no offer was made.
^I think he will end up bouncing around a lot. If he wants to stay somewhere long term in this hemisphere, it will have to be USL. If he wants to try Europe again it may have to be something like Scandinavia 2nd division type of level. he has his moments of brilliance, and is exciting as a "super sub". As a regular starter, he is so inconsistent I just don't see him sticking in a first division role. Considering Tchani's contribution last year, and projected in 2018, it is one of Carls most astute moves.
as far as i know, kekuta is only on a trial with pachuca- a plane trip and some living money- how he even got that, is bewildering to me- he hasnt even been a regular starter in MLS with both vancouver (traded) and columbus (not resigned)- how that translates to playing in mexico 1 is shocking and a dreamer's folly
Well, he played 56 minutes in a cup match earlier this week. He would need to be a rostered player of the club, not a trialist, to do that.
With the 3rd and 4th rounds complete we have added (surprise, surprise, surprise) another wingback who is also a Kiwi. What is with Kiwis that we keep signing them? Anyway here are 3 coming into camp and I don't know how it will work out. 17 - Justin Fiddes (wingback) 26 - Lucas Stauffer (wingback) 62 - Cory Brown (kiwi wingback) 86 - Pass
Speed is seductive. Plus, Liga MX teams have much deeper squads than MLS. They might be willing to sign Manneh to just be a cup and bench player.
Pachuca's salary cap is also much higher than MLS. They spend what the owner wants to so having a speciality sub like Manneh is way more feasible than in MLS.
the latest quote from the head coach, which finally is the truth- its all about saving money- when other clubs/owners are increasing spending, we are decreasing: “I’ve brought different players in for certain reasons,” said Robinson. “We’ve reduced the age, we’ve reduced the salaries, we’ve brought in hunger, we’ve brought in energy. so in other words, getting cheaper players will make you a better team- in what soccer world does that happen?? if that were true, then a lower standing team in the EPL would be leading the premiere league and Man City would be at or near the bottom does robo really believe what he is saying?? in his soccer world, 2018 would mean that TFC will finish at or near the bottom and the whitecaps will be at or near the top- anyone who believes that, please stand up and support him does anyone besides me get tired of his ridiculous spin and not taking the very wealthy owners to task ? aiming for cheap mediocrity should not be acceptable for a great market like vancouver
http://www.spotrac.com/mls/cap/ We were 10th last year. I am not a fan of the "spend it with both hands" TFC'esque approach but I do feel they are not pursuing the top talent but endlessly trying to find a magical combination that would last for a year or two. Their near term focus is myopic and limiting.
Well it looks like Robbo is thinking of something other than a 4-5-1 and he's thinking of the 3-5-2 https://www.whitecapsfc.com/post/2018/01/24/preseason-storylines-caps-considering-formation-change The question in my mind is "does that become the 5-3-2?" because he is very defensive minded. Parker, Waston, Henry make a decent back 3 and Nerwinski & deJong love to attack but are both good defenders as well. Blondell & Kamara up top so that only leaves 3 midfield positions. Techera, Rayna, Juarez?
That would be a tiny central midfield. Juarez sees himself as an 8, so maybe Ghazal, Juarez, Reyna, or, Tchani for Juarez. Is Reyna even in camp or stuck in Peru? Will be interesting to see how Ghazal does this year. Appears extremely good defensively but not that great with the ball. Opponents will figure that out and try to have the Caps play through him.
even if reyna comes back as an AMF, he is a fader come the tough going of the last 2 months- thats why he has moved to so many teams in a short period of time and why he came as a free agent- its his soccer DNA- there are reasons why a talented young player comes as a free agent... and we are now seeing his off-field behavior in peru at this point, the whitecaps have the weakest counter-attacking creative and attacking mf in MLS- lots of defensive toughness, but creativity and linking with tecehra, kamara, blondell and hopefully davies will be a whisper... as we saw in the 2 playoff games vs seattle with a smaller budget for players-and most MLS teams spending more- can we really hope for an exciting, play-off team- i dont think so
Perhaps but all are very good passers and receivers. It would be difficult to get the ball away from them. No idea about Reyna
the best DMF for passing is ... russell teibert- but he rarely gets a sniff besides the sub/canada games- remember when robo said that russ would be the Caps captain 1 day- i laughed when he said it then- its just another robo spin doctoring take out reyna- which is a real possibility (and both old fan and myself said he should be gone 1 month ago)- , and the Caps lack for an AMF with inspiration and creativity solid defense, some attacking ability, but OMG, the AMF is woefully weak- ever since this club entered MLS, we have suffered for a #10 player any1 hear about the return of davide chiumiento?? whitecap 2011-2012 (2 goals in 46 games); fc zurich, 2012-2017, 11 goals in 150 games) he used to have some quality but is not an offensive threat and MLS is a lot better from when he was here 6 years ago and was very good- not convinced he is the answer anyways- but if he signs, its because he is a free agent- do we really need another player like this ???
Davide Chiumiento is 33 now so might have a year or two as a playmaker type MF but it would be to setup the forwards and link with the defenders & wings in a Pedro Morales sort of way. I'd pass but if he is free then like you say that's the Caps MO