We are at something like 26 MLS regular season games without an open play goal...... this is while he is playing AS THE STRIKER IN THE FORMATION. The disgrace is not Octavio himself; it is Robinson continuing to start him. What have you go to lose doing something else? You can't do worse than zero in 26. This is a major hole in Robinson as a coach, major. There are all sorts of cliches about sticking with something that is failing and repeating it over and over. The only thing I can fathom why he keeps starting him is trying to prove to our cheap owners he spent their money wisely. What a mess this is turning into. Not only with our DP's but the damn nickel and dime show they run in the office. The top money people squeeze everything they can as a badge of honor to come in as much under budget (which is already low) as possible. You know the type.... grind people for paying 5 dollars for a pack of paper when they could have got it with a coupon somewhere for 4.25. Getting as many unpaid staff as possible, offering entry level wages and then baffled why their team are not up to the task. All so the money person can go to ownership and say "hey, I got in 14% under budget... yay me!". It's bizarre... Because a full lower bowl week after week (which is possible), would pay for a multi million dollar DP and a front office that actually has deeply qualified and talented people in all areas of the business. Anyone who gets good at their area has to leave because they won't be moving up in the pay scale. You think Montreal's Drogba expense was paid for? Yep.. the attendance increases after they signed him were significant. I am not saying go sign middle 30's guys who are going to have "leg injuries" or not play on turf. THere are plenty of players in their prime that could be purchased if the money was available. I don't get why this ownership team, with a net worth of multi billions, is running this like a minor league club. Seriously, if you don't want to put the resources in, then sell the damn thing to Aquilini and get on with penny pinching your other businesses and keep hiding from the cameras. Before the attacks from here on Aquilini, he at least is an owner who does provide any and all resources his management team asks from him and spares no expense. He is a guy who would get a DP in his prime who can score goals and get the job done. He is a guy who would plant several career people into his front office who are paid good money because they are experienced people. My true advice our ownership team...... if you want to run a tight office budget, minimal resources, and low cost DP's.... you are in the wrong league. Go buy an AHL team or something and run it on a shoestring. Stop grinding us to the bottom of MLS. You have no business owning this team if you are not going to put it up at the level of where the league is headed.
WOW!!! you are really angry at the whitecaps slow, groaning start to the season- i am just as frustrated as you, but i must admit that i over-valued this player group- i thought that the signings of bolanos, kudo and perez would give the Caps the ability to compete at the top- the first 2 have been complete busts and look disinterested and uninspiring- i hold the players accountable, and one might guess that kudo was given a free release by his japanese team because of some personal problem unbeknown to the Caps; while aird is making progress, he still is culpable for being exposed over and over again by pacier wide players and then strolls back when beaten rivero should have been benched in 2015- works his arse off, but $800 000 as a DP is a huge salary for so little return- should have kept tom heinneman or long tan for a lot less money- and i dont see any reason to hope that it will get any better, even if morales returns as he is also over-rated; manneh and techera lack courage to go into the box- last night, manneh cringed his head on a free header at a goal from 3 yards out when he spotted a RSL player coming his way; i barely remember techera going inside the box there is a good core of players, but the coach, FO and owners have to realize that this team is on a downward spiral without reinforcements- get a true goal scorer and a creative #10 and how this would turn around ; if not, if they deny the reality, we will have a longggggg season of frustration and groans... and anger... and a lot of scoreless games for its front runners we love the whitecaps and its hard to fathom what is happening- and it does have to start at the top- owners, FO and head coach- they shouldnt wait much longer, june at the latest- who you get and how you create player/salary room for them is their problem, but they need to start looking and PLEASE, no cheap bandaid solution
he must have read my mail about rivero: http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/vanc...-octavio-rivero-carl-robinson-real-salt-lake/
This is one thing I dislike about online forums. People just plaster the word "anger" upon you if you give a critical opinion. I am not angry by any stretch; I simply am highly critical of how the front office runs its finances I am not sure that qualifies as anger quite yet. However, serious talk about something is often discounted as "angry lunatic" when you talk in the online world. The financial management of the club is implementing policy from the ownership. This is where everything starts. It really isn't Bobby or Rachel who are the final people responsible for the operational shortcomings, it is the owners who want to run this a certain way. They own it, they can do what they want. I just feel, very passionately, that if you do not wish to put the club in the top echelon of this particular league, then perhaps you own the wrong club and should consider taking your passion for sports ownership somewhere more suitable. The MLS is not a nickel and dime league anymore and any owners that want to stick to that belief are going to be left behind and not realize the full potential in their local marketplace. The thing with Rivero, is he will feed ownership's fears even more. They don't want to spend a bunch of money on DP's because it is a risk and might bite them. So, here they paid 2 - 3 million in a transfer fee, and a salary for 2 years, and he is an absolute bust. Will the current owners want to try that again? Less likely. They will certainly replace him with another DP, however, likely a free transfer and certainly a sub 1.5 million salary I don't know the answer as to what ownership is going to envision. However, this is season #6 and the club really has struggled in the over all picture. We should not accept that one home playoff match is the sum of our MLS success and be happy with it. We should want more at this stage. It all starts at the top and so I think serious questions need to be asked about our ownership beliefs and what they want to do. Replacing Bobby or Rachel will not change things much because new executives would still be implementing the same policies. The Vancouver market has made it very clear they want to support this club and will come out in large numbers if the club is successful in the league. With the Lions and Canucks going through off years, the opportunity is there and it is not being taken. They could , without question, build this to 26,000 AVERAGE, with upper bowl openings for big matches from time to time. That won't happen without a change in their financial beliefs.
i understand what you mean now about the word, ANGER- my apology for misreading-- i agree with what you said- the vision and implementation of that vision starts at the ownership- they, as a group, lack the bigger vision to capture a great market- and we will be left with MEDIOCRITY, middle of the road performances, which is what the team is performing at- the seeds for what is happening this year- no run-of-play goal by a 'striker'- began in 2015 and they saw it and tried to fill it with cheap priced players lacking in passion and honor- hello bolanos and kudo; morales IMO is finished as an effective player- if he ever was-. manneh and techera lack courage and finishing skill, mezquida gives 100% and adds impetus to a lousy set of strikers and we have a decent defence that misses beitashour and we are blessed with a great goalie in ousted the best things coach robinson has done is draft tim parker, sign waston and acquire laba and sign him to a long-term deal; the jury is out on techera, but he has more potential than manneh at the worst, he is responsible for resigning morales to another contract, sent rosales packing to bring in bolanos, keeps starting rivero who has not scored in over 25 games, invested huge amounts of patience and energy in to mattocks (but i would have started him over rivero), signed rookie flores to a 5 year deal, not kicking the butts of techera and manneh, traded away beitashour for a rookie in aird, not going after a dynamic #10 player (an energetic mezquida tries his best) and stubbornly kept a 1 striker formation regardless of how ineffective it is getting a player like giovinco and keane takes courage and ambition to believe that the team and market can explode to be the #2 sports team in the vancouver area- and i have little evidence that this set of owners are willing to take that risk or have that vision- so we will stay in mediocrity and struggle to score goals- the playoffs seem impossible at this time zero goals from run-of play by a MF or striker in 7 games says it all
Sorry guys, players like Giovinco, Keane, Drogba... will not be signing here. Heck, most of them wont even play one game here and possibly have it written into their contracts. The club is doing what it can, with a few headscratchers of course. I wouldn't expect things to change in that department unless the club gets its own stadium or gets natural grass in BC place. How many clubs play on an artificial surface anyway?
Below is from Squawka showing placement of Rivero's shots this year. Not bad putting them on target but unfortunately seems the target is the GK, at the perfect height to save, no less. Also seems like he isn't getting the best angle on goal for his shots. Against RSL he had a hard shot on goal but the angle made it an easy save for the keeper. Not that he had another option. Kudo looks to be an intelligent and skilled player but have to wonder if he has the speed and strength to compete physically in MLS. But, whoever is up front, service from midfield is not great and Vancouver is not getting enough players in the box.
Rivero has an amazing ability to shoot directly at the keeper. Just watch, over and over he just blasts it at the keeper. He doesn't seem to have the skill to make twists and turns with his feet to send the ball around the keeper or just have the awareness to think about where to send the ball. He puts his eyes on the keeper and kicks it. He just is not a natural goal scorer. He works hard, he has some talent and skill, he just is not a finisher. Whether it is the league being too good or just him naturally, he really is not going to make it here. It looks like he will continue to start as long as he is healthy and when he does get one goal, that will grant him the latitude to start the rest of the season. He will not be benched for anything other than rest, injury, or just a squad rotation situation. Robinson is hanging onto the belief that he will explode once he breaks that wall and scores one. He wouldn't do that with any other player so one can assume it is because he knows what he sold to ownership and what it took to convince them to pay this transfer fee. Admitting defeat on the Rivero transfer could cost him his job so he is going to stick it out.
Well, I guess people are going to do what they would do with Mattocks and think he is now a star because he got one goal. Funny thing was, my last post was bout him always shooting at the keeper...... yesterday, he did the same bloody thing.
this is a potential game changer for the whitecaps fortunes and if true, i congratulate the whitecaps owners, FO and coaches for pulling off a stunning trade... and good luck to octavio as he needs a fresh start http://www.theprovince.com/sports/whitecaps fire game fireworks/11913115/story.html Is Octavio on the way out? Perez’s goal had fans buzzing as they left the stadium, but the hot topic after Wednesday’s win was, Who will be the Caps’ strikers come Thursday? Octavio Rivero — he of the recently-snapped extended goal slump — is reportedly on his way to the Columbus Crew in exchange for disgruntled striker Kei Kamara. Ives Galarcep reported late Wednesday that the deal was done and that the Caps were also sending allocation money Columbus’s way. Rivero wasn’t on the Caps’ bench on Wednesday. Kamara, meanwhile, is serving a one-game team-issued ban for his post-game blow up on TV after a penalty kick squabble with teammate Federico Higuain. Kamara, 31 and born in Sierra Leone, has 79 goals and 31 assists in 234 career MLS games. Aaron Campbell, who writes for AFTN.ca, first tweeted that the move was in the works and that report was subsequently backed up by the Columbus Dispatch. Rivero scored five goals in his first six games for the Caps but has just six goals in his 38 games since.
Another rumor says the players were told of the deal, but now it has fallen apart. Guess we will know in the morning. kamara has to go somewhere as the transfer deadline has passed and they won't keep him on ice for another 2 months.
If they told the players and then the deal didn't happen.. what a shit show for the Caps. Rivero will know they want to deal him, what a mess...... Weber is staying dead silent and shallow, it is other reporters that are breaking this stuff... gosh he is useless. He will never dig enough to give us the story as to why this trade broke down.
From what I can piece together.... Deal was agreed upon and Rivero and Kamara were informed. When Kudo went down and it looked bad enough at the moment that he would miss some games, Columbus came back and asked for more return in the deal. The Caps said no, so they shopped around again and got the Revs Deal. Disappointing to say the least; I doubt Rivero will be overly thrilled at how this all went down. However, he already is non productive on the score sheet so he can't get any worse by sulking or something. Unfortunate, this deal could have completely changed the Caps from a middling team to a potential champion. Now we get the rest of the season with Rivero starting the bulk of the games and scoring maybe one or two more times and that is about it.
my wet dream went sour when i heard the news- kamara would have been the added piece for the weak scoring strikers my guess is that the Revs came in with a better last-minute deal- allocation money plus 2 draft picks, plus an international spot for 2016 so the crew will go shopping- its better than what vancouver were offering (rivero plus allocation money), BUT if the crew and whitecaps had a hand-shake deal, that should have been honored by columbus- it appears like bad form from them as for the caps, we are stuck with rivero, probably for the rest of the year- not fair/good for him or the team- the next trading open window is july got to say watching perez- and he can not be a starter for all of the games being 35- he spits blood for the team and is the type of player u love to have on your team; but the caps definitely need another goal scorer- maybe they will pick up 1 from the Revs who now have kamara, but none will will be as good as kei- DAMN! and kudo- who literally is spitting blood- now has another set-back- it might be a long season for him also
Well, my theory is Columbus jacked up the price when Kudo went down; your theory is the Revs offered more and Columbus just went to it. Mine has more credibility because this magically fell apart just an hour after Kudo went down. I don't think that is a random event. Either way, too bad. We will be stuck with Rivero lumbering around and getting 2 goals the rest of the season. Kamara would have changed the team's outcomes significantly. Also, this is another epic fail for Marc Weber. I mean, he does zero investigation and will never report anything on his own. He is the Caps beat reporter who never digs, yet this deal was reported else where and Weber just quoted them as a source. Sad state of affairs our local paper gives to the Caps.
NE offered a better deal. Who is going to take Rivero as a DP? Poor Kudo, he really took a huge hit. It would be surprising to see him again before July. He kept running, never giving up on that ball over the top like there was no possibilty of a collision with someone almost twice his size.
Ironically, he came out of it with a lot less damage than it looked. I was worried he smashed his face in, broke nose, eye sockets, and a jaw, and crashed his head on the turf. I would bet he is not gone too long; depends on the concussion and if he has ever had one before. We need Perez's 35 year old body to be able to handle more playing time.
kudo- broken jaw, surgery and a probable concussion- at the best, think 2-3 months before we see him on the field; with perez heading to play for panama in june, the caps will need to count on rivero to score goals- GOOD GRIEF! the whitecap owners had a high scoring goal scorer, kamara, ready to come, but the ante was ramped up and they didnt want to pay the price- it describes why the caps will be a middling team- close but no cigar and i feel sorry that rivero has to be on a team who wanted to trade him- he needs a fresh start- it aint happening here for him
There is an old sports cliche when it comes to player moves... "addition by subtraction".... Rivero fits this to a tee. It looks like he is moving onto Chile and even if they don't fill the DP spot until the off season, they are better with him out. In a lone striker formation (which Robinson is married to), he is a liability because he can not score much at all. The Caps score more in their 4-2-3-1 when he is not in the lineup. Great move for both sides and I wish him well in Chile. It just didn't work out here and it is time to move forward. I am not a fan of mid season DP signings; so I will not be upset if they hold the spot open until the off season. However, if they fill it, they still need to find more goals!