AHHHHHAAAAAA!!!!! Whitecaps!!!!! You have just made my day! Congratulations and may you feel as good as I feel...
GAME VS LAFC-- APRIL 17-- 1-0 -- THOUGHTS: 1. Finally, Finally, Finally-- tremendous team effort that can only bodes well going forward- add on the points taken by 'criminal' VAR decisions and the Caps would be in 7th or 8th place 2. POTM- anyone else than ali ADNAN wouldnt be right-- this guy is an awesome LB and has the most quality on the team 3. Good hands, safe hands- goalie, max crepeau, had a very solid game- he is a player that defenders can have confidence with 4. Cry me a river- doesnt it make you almost vomit to see the LAFC whine and complain- they think too highly of themselves and a fall will come 5. Most improved Cap player- yordy reyna worked his socks off and had more influence than either montero (who looks soooooo slow) and ardaiz (who is slow)- KEEP YORDY THERE 6. Throw me the hats-- congrats to inboem, teibert, erice, henry, godoy for playing tough all night- BIGGEST CONGRATS TO THE COACHING TEAM 7. Sleep well, maties!-- enjoy the win- the road game in orlando on saturday will be tough- how the hell can MLS make a team go the farthest distance after a mid-week game??? 7. I was waiting for it to happen-- finally, jake nerwinski didnt have a major blunder- played solid- i am surprised that LAFC coach, bob bradley, didnt move carlos vela to jake's side
forgot to add PC to #6 the Caps have a lot of players who wont win you games, but usually wont cost you a game- the sooner we add more quality- 3 players with 2 being DPs ( or can we only have 1 DP ? ), the sooner the Club can take the next step to being a west conference playoff contender for 2019 and a serious contender for 2020 the 1st new signing by july has to be a creative AMF, the 2nd a goal poacher as it seems like montero and ardaiz are not the answer, and the 3rd is a RB- some existing players will be gone, mostly DMFs, which we are packed with, and either venuto or bangoura-a few younger canadians will have to go out for seasoning
were you like me during the final 15-20 minutes- waiting for a ridculous VAR call to go against us ?? the Caps played smart inside their box- NO LUNGING
Dang, you go back to the origins of Big Soccer but you don't post very often. This must have meant a lot to you!
Good effort but was always going to be difficult for the Caps due to the travel and quick turnaround. Caps certainly have two good keepers. Some damning comments made in the broadcast at end of match about Ardaiz.
GAME AT ORLANDO, APRIL 20-- 0-1: THOUGHTS: 1. Gutsy effort, bad luck- the Team deserved a point on the day after MLS schedulers set them up for a loss- but a horseshoe goal by the Lions 2. Cement man- fredy looks like he has 5 pound cement bags taped to his legs- slow, out of connection with reyna who again worked hard, but no montero to work with- will fredy EVER be ready?? 1 shot on goal in 9 games for a DP striker??? i know MDS wants to get him going, but i see nothing to suggest fredy is even close- he is excess baggage on the field- something is seriously wrong 3. MOTM- once again, doneil henry 4. Solid, solid, solid- the defence is leading this team, but the offence STINKS- 3 reasons why- montero, venuto, bangoura-- all have been disappointments; dont know enough about ardaiz, but he seems too slow for MLS 5. Wish it could be league-wide- the referee, alan kelly, is a model and standard of what MLS needs more of 6. Reform Day- after suffering embarrassing stuff , defender, derek cornelius, played well today-- GOOD ON HIM !! 7. A change of plumbers is needed- lets face it-- the Caps have too many plumber-type players, especially in MF-- changes have to be made by summer, spending in the $4-6 mill USD range or the owners have lied to us... AGAIN
I forget Schaad’s partners name. Basically said that Ardaiz was listless and did nothing to help the team after being brought on. Said Reyna and Montero were tracking players all game long but Ardaiz as a sub was just out for a stroll. Schaad then added that MDS has been talking to Ardaiz about the need to show more hunger.
thx for the update- i think MDS was hoping to get a phenom of 3 years ago back-on-track and come out looking like an astute signing- i dont think it will happen- whether its lack of ambition, being lazy or just that he never went to the next professional level, i dont know- but he is not MLS material and bair hopefully will get time over ardaiz and montero- sometimes, good coaches can get it wrong but i doubt any of us would have thought that monetro would be an absolute BUST-- what do you suppose is up with him?? or should we all be more patient?
Well, he is 31 and didn't get much playing time with Sporting since October. Maybe below has something to do with what is going on with him. He seems like he has to rely completely on guile as he doesn't appear explosive enough to get separation.
As an aside: do these guys not have the same instant access to the replays the viewers have? Do they not have a spotter/director giving them proper info into their headphones because neither Schaad nor Paul Dolan could figure out who scored the Orlando goal, despite the replays. Schaad thought it was Akindele right away. That's not a problem in itself because Dolan acknowledged that it was Nani's goal due to it hitting him before going in. Yet he incorrectly continued with the Akindele theme by saying he "stroked it nicely," though on the replay the shot was clearly hit by Kljestan. Then Schaad thought Nani hit it but the ball hit Kljestan's heels on the way in (??). That call came across as community cable amateur.
Haha, they had me doubting what I saw and had no idea where the Akindele part came from. I think they finally got it straightened out but took awhile.
Maybe were having simultaneous strokes! It was a preconceived Cancon narrative they were trying to push. I actually rarely listen to the Caps pbp but I did turn the sound on for the replays of this goal. As a result, I was left to listen to that masterclass of commentary. With the winning goal, for all the praise I have given Adnan since his arrival (regardless of the daft penalty attempt), I don't know what he was thinking with lifting his leg Karate Kid style. All day long, when he was in his proper defensive footwork posture, he was unbeatable 1 v 1 but then he put himself off balance when he lifted his leg to block a perceived early cross (the Orlando guy didn't really attempt to sell a crossing attempt) and he couldn't recovery to block the cross when he took it wide. Maybe fatigue had settled in at that point.
GAME VS PHILADELPHIA, APRIL 27- 1-1-- THOUGHTS: 1. The Beast continues- doneil henry continues his run of tremendous game performances... and he gets the Caps only goal- MOTM 2. Thats gotta hurt!- after another good game, yordy reyna goes off with a hamstring- probably minimum 3 games -- he had 3 good looks at goal, but he has so little help with other 'offensive' players 3. AHHHH shite!- 1 defensive mistake- by adnan of all players- and the Union get a point 4. Why dont you damn-well shoot???- russell teibert flouts good chances to have a go at goal and ALWAYS decides to pass- he lacks belief and courage 5. This is the most- this game had the most significant Cap goal-scoring chances for the season- DAMN!! we need a true goal scorer- unfortunately both ardaiz (too slow) and montero (has he lost it?) havent got any kind of groove going and there is no hint it will will get better- MDS must be pulling his hair out for such collosal underachievers, but i dont blame him 6. The SCREAM- this team is screaming out for a leader, like a #10 AMF-- get him and true goal scorer or quick winger and it changes the team outlook
^I agree about the leader part because this has the look of a team of role players. I still think that if you want to bring in a big time attacking DP, looking for a inverted wing/forward type, like Piatti/Vela or even a Blanco, and get him to combine with a more advance HIB (it seemed like he was playing too deep today). Keep Reyna a striker or shift him back to the flank if they get another forward should they ditch Ardaiz and/or Montero at the summer window.
Disappointing to not get 3 pts given Philadelphia had to travel to Vancouver and they rotated out something like 4 or 5 starters. Gifted them a goal.
GAME AT COLORADO, MAY 3--- 3-2- THOUGHTS: GAME AT COLORADO, MAY 3--- 3-2- THOUGHTS: 1. WHEW!!!!!- my stomach was a cement mixer- the Caps are looking for ways to loose and DAMN the VAR... again 2. NO WONDER- what we saw was 2 teams with struggling game plans, a mish-mash of play and inconsistent players-- colorado is a lousy team and we barely won which shows us where we are 3. Lacking a face- both teams lack a clear leader and until that is addressed, neither team will do much this season 4. Celebrate- fredy had a terrific first half- goal and assist- did he play the second half ?? but its good to see he made an impact- is it a start of a roll? 5. Its a mystery to me- why did MDS sub in levis when he had felipe, sutter and rose- all better players? brett is USL level 6. Torture- seeing how few people come to the game - something has to give as MLS cant let the situation continue 7. Can MLS ever get it right ??- the head referee was sub-par and is not good enough for MLS-- this is an area that needs serious fixing 8. Calm down and enjoy- take any kind of win and enjoy it as portland and atlanta are next up
Apart from some urgency and hustle on the field, that was a terrible advertisement for this league: lack of quality players, poor officiating, no attendance. I can't get those two hours back.
GAME VS PORTLAND, MAY 10-- 1-0 WIN- thoughts: 1. PLAYER OF THE MATCH- goalie, max crepeau, solidified his place as the Caps starting keeper- under lots of pressure in the 2nd half, but Max didnt crumple and made several very good saves- good punch-outs, saves with no loose balls and - except for 1 bad kick- distributed the ball well 2. Most improved- finally jake nerwinski had a very steady game and only did 1 winning lunge 3. How did he do that ?- defender, ali adnan, skied the ball over the net from 5 yards out and with no pressure- even i might have scored !! 4. What is he doing??- CD doneil henry was a monster on defence... AGAIN- he and erik godoy are a very good pairing 5. Rest time- MF, inboem hwang, made several bad passes-- methinks he needs a rest and should sit out wednesday's game 6. Grooving... - Fredy montero is getting in his famous roll and we can only hope it continues- we need another serious goal scorer as venuto and bangoura dont look capable and ardiaz will never be 7. The trend is ramping up- fans are staying away and in the last 3 games, it adds up to 15 000 which has cost the club at least $500 000- it aint going away- the owners and FO need to smell the coffee 8. A BIG THANKS- the Timber supporters walked out at the 35th minute mark
GAME VS ATLANTA, MAY 15- 0-1-- THOUGHTS: 1. New team tactic- keep any striker-attacker out of our 18 yard box- another stupid PK, this time by lass 2. My eyes couldnt take it- such a horrible game by the Caps and who can lead this team ? 3. He needs body surgery- goalie, max crepeau, hurled his body at every shot- an amazing example from a goalie who could be canada's next #1- best player on the night... BY FAR--- POTG 4. He must be pissed- coach MDS must be royally pissed, this time at bangoura for giving away a stupid PK- bangoura has to be 1 of the players that MDS benches or sets free come july- Lass and venuto are simply not good enough for MLS and must be major disappointments for Marc 5. Would you ?- would you keep ali adnan- if he wants to stay- and pay the transfer fee in the $1.5-2 mill USD range - sometimes he looks like the best LB in MLS and at other times, he looks disinterested and overly-confident 6. Screaming!! - this team screams for a #10 leader and significant DP on the attack and another striker- lass and lucas are second stringers IMO- we will see if the ownership group, led by jeff mallett's promise to use the davies transfer $$$$$$$$$ has merit or just another lie from the Club and they will pocket the money 7. Did you see it ?- the attendance was horrible- 16 000- apathy and non-interest are setting in- the Club is loosing 3 000- 4 000/game- upwards of $140 000
GAME AT SKC, MAY 18-- 1-1: THOUGHTS: 1. A plumbers' game- not a great endorsement for soccer and MLS in particular- johnny russell and russell teibert (Cap POTM) were noticeable players on the night 2. A smile to my face, joy to my heart- to see derek cornelius score a terrific goal to tie the game was a wonderful sight- the look on his face said it all- he has suffered for his early-season mistakes, so this was a sweet moment 3. Goodbye- CB doneil henry has picked up a hamstring injury and will be gone for a minimal 2-3 games, maybe longer--i think it is serious so 6-8 games- the Caps and Canada need a quick recovery- here's hoping- we can surmise that cornelius will be a replacement and hopefully Jasser Khmiri will be ready to show us what he can do 4. 6 weeks to go-- MDS will have decide what to do with ali adnan- try to sign him and wave him goodbye- is he worth $1-2 mill to sign in a transfer fee and then pay him a high 6 figure salary ? ? 5. How long ??-- CB erik gody has played every minute- how long before he gets injured, just like his partner did last night ?- the compressed schedule is affecting so many teams and so we are seeing more USL-quality games and replacement players with minimal skills 6. it wouldnt surprise me- with so many games in a short span, the travel and now the growing list of injured players, i think MDS will start giving the young canadians a shot at starting and/or subbing
GAME AT NYRB, MAY 22- 2-2: THOUGHTS 1. Not what i imagined- when i saw the Caps starting line-up, it sure looked like a weak offensive side with lots of plumber players playing behind the ball and trying to eek out a point 2. So what happened- we did defend very well, but our counter-attack surprised me and we could have/should have taken 3 points 3. The cap(e) crusader arrived- we finally saw some of ardaiz's potential and he could have/should have had 1-2 goals- alas, he lacks a killer instinct to finish as he just takes too long or makes a poor last touch- now he is injured for probably most of june and then he has to get in game-shape AGAIN!! will we see him again on the field or will MDS send him packing as he is on a loan ? (even sutter can shoot on goal better than ardaiz) 4. What did he show us AGAIN ?- lucas venuto lacks the pace on a break-away- a winger is supposed to be quick and fast, but neither he or bangoura have MLS-quality to make an offensive difference- it underlines the need in July for a winger/striker who CAN make a difference 5. What did i like ?-- the team plays well as a unit, has clearly-defined roles, throws their body into shots so the ball rarely makes it onto the goal and keeps their shape very well- MDS and his staff have done a very good job at building a team concept 6. Struggling- inbeom is running out of steam, tries to do too much and sometimes wants a goal so bad, that he fails to connect with teammates who are in a better position- we need a true #10 DESPERATELY and inbeom can play a different role in the MF 7. The biggest surprise- the game was exciting to watch 8. 3 days to go- until the next match- MLS will have to allow teams more money to upgrade the depths and numbers in the squads- the compressed schedule is creating havoc and rather than increasing the amount of games, especially as new teams arrive, the league will have to move it back to 32 games and teams will sometimes have to face each other every 2 years