while while older, i am smarter than my son-which means, i am a better player than the slow-footed mutch and quicker than my son- thank-you very much mutch will NEVER be an impact player and ihis signing just shows us show bad a player selection robo is- he really is NOT very good evaluator of talent- a player turn-over of 13-14 players each year tells us all we need to know about robos' signings
It worked good last week so I'd say yes they will. With Shea and Davies you have interchangeable parts for LB/LM and they play together very well. Excellent communication between the 2.
5-2 win at home. Davies is amazing. 3 assists and one goal. We are sloppy when playing a man up. Maybe we should decline the next red card?
he has to be MLS player of the week after that performance- he's another raheem stirling of Man City in the making and again i state clearly, the coaching staff have done a terrific job of developing the Kid's game, now making him more effective in making goals with accurate passing, something lacking in march and april- defenders dont know what the hell to do when Phonsie gets on the ball unfortunately, this performance will have scouts all over europe taking even more notice- the bidding will begin in december and it will be in the millions as i have said before, davies is the most exciting young talent to wear a whitecap shirt since the mercurial peter beardsley who was 21 when he came, then after 2 years headed to play for newcastle, liverpool, everton and england but we will get to see him play for canada and that brings hope for future WCs
^the most rewarding of all this is knowing he chose to play for Canada. he could have waited, gone to England or some other top tier nation, waited for citizenship, and so forth. We have had people actually born in Canada wanting to play for higher tier nations (some made it like JDG and Heargraves, some relented and played for Canada like Holliet). He played for the country his parents immigrated to from a war torn country. Canada was the country that accepted them, they could not get into some others they tried. I am so proud that he chose to return that gift to Canadians. And , he and his family are one of millions of examples why immigration is what made Canada what it is today.
Canadian youth in MLS: We are in good hands (feet?). Osorio has been as consistent as Davies has been brilliant. Both had terrific games. Osorio has had only 1 game under 400 on the Opta Index (aside from his injury 22 minutes last week). He has taken his game to a new level. Davies has now cracked the 4 digit mark TWICE this year and although not as consistent as Osorio he's 4 years younger. Best news of the year is Kaye getting his chance with LAFC and taking a starter spot with a consistency only outdone by Osorio. 7 games below 400 for Kaye but close on several. Piette is averaging just below 300 despite his team totally sucking. He has had several 400+ games. What do those 4 have in common? None were developed by the MLS academies. Zero, zip, ziltch, nada.
osorio, davies, larin, kaye, piette does give us some hope for WC 2022 why do you suppose none are from academies ?? the whitecaps, after investing millions, do not have 1 legitimate starter; same goes for their USL team which is now gone to fresno
You already have 2 players who can play LM/LB so do you really need a third? Given how good the Shea+Davies combo is working out we'll see more of it I'm sure. By the way Davies gets another article on MLS https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/06/11/team-week-presented-audi-alphonso-davies-shines-week-15 "Davies earned the Audi Player Index Performance of the Week with the highest points total of the week in the league. The teenager notched a goal and three assists, and won 66 percent of his take-ons in the match. He also completed 11 passes in the final third."
Damned if I know. It has perplexed me a lot. If you add in Larin (SigmaFC) you have 5 first rate young players none of whom have come from TFC, Impact or Whitecaps academies. Very bizarre IMHO given the amount of money and resources compared to the clubs they came from. I was expecting at least one MLS level starter per academy per decade so where are those 3?
if i were a whitecap youth with potential, i would blow dodge asap and look for more promising digs, much like adekugbe and froese have done- the whitecaps have been a dirge for developing canadian talent and that was always one of their major pillars when robo plays ghazal ahead of teibert, i just cringe when its so obvious that rusty is a better MF in the #5-6 role and earns a hell of a lot less (i clump mutch and juarez in the same way- too costly with little pay-off) i would much rather have teibert and mezquida on the field- unfortunately, i am not the Caps coach
Not Whitecaps news but Thank you very much John Horgan! Well, not really. I still think he was a dick to shut us down as a bid city. People may not have realized that it was non binding and there was up to 2 years to cost it out, see what FIFA really wanted in terms of security needs, and to pull out if it was a disaster. He could have done that but instead wanted to be Mr Taxpayer Warrior on this one while plotting to dig deep into our pockets in other ways. This guy wants to be Mr Bold Decision and ends up making some stupid ones. Looking forward to how he will find another 4 billion a year to get his holy grail of $10 per day child care . Watch out , their "school tax not going to schools" will head below $3 million dollar homes, their "speculation tax not for speculators" will go to other areas, and so forth. It won't be pretty if he stays in power for several more years. If you have a job, are above the social assistance level, own a business, or even save a little bit, THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU.
Except none who have gone elsewhere are playing at or beyond the MLS level. All went to lower leagues. Maybe that is because they are just not good enough (yet) for MLS. At some point you have to put the onus on the player to be the best choice the coach has. I've noticed that when playing against teams with bigger midfielders Robbo goes with Aly. Mutch I still think could make it. He has a great shot and plays very smart. Juarez will be gone at the end of season.
the only reason i think robo now plays ghazal is that it makes it obvious he made a bad signing if he sits ghazal on the bench and starts teibert, even though rusty is a better and more influential player- placing aly at CB is a disaster as he is far too slow and has a poor distribution rate- we can hope that henry makes it at CB as aja and maund are not quite up to MLS level as far as mutch goes, when he was signed, i did some research and predicted he would come down with a lot of injuries, especially playing on turf- jordon is not a strong or fit player IMO- to this point of the season- almost 50%- mutch has been MIA- as the season grind of summer and the playoff heat of august-september rolls around, i am not sure we will see much more of Mutch yes he has shown a few nice touches, but his salary is bloated for what he has done
Aly at CB I hope to never see again. Coaches do have their favourites and try to give their picks the best opportunities but you should check out the Audi Index numbers for the players. For example Aja has played in 13 games and only been negative once. Average is +256 (journymen MLS is about 200, good journeymen about 300 & excellent is 400+). He had 2 mediocre games (+17 & +21) but has been very consistent and dependable. Atlanta +267 LA +410 Columbus +283 RSL +158 LAFC +586 SKC +230 RSL -130 Minnesota +21 Houston +372 Dallas +17 San Jose +267 Colorado +1027 Orlando +171
I think Ghazal is stronger defensively than Teibert (forget that CB misadventure). legs proGhazal's longvide more of a screen in front of the CB's and he is less likely to get physically knocked around. No doubt Teibert is better with the ball and a better passer than Ghazal. Also, an overall better workrate. Just my opinion.
Ghazal is a better fit as a holding mid in front of the central defence. He takes away passing lanes effectively in that specific role. However, because of other shortcomings in his game (possession passing, back tracking recovery), it's hard to justify his price tag.
As with all stats (lies, damned lies and statistics) the Audi Index numbers have some uses. It does not account for how long a player was on the field etc. If you come in as a sub you will probably get a low score. All the limitations acknowledged it is an impartial view by someone who is not a Caps fan. With that and all other disclaimers fully accepted it is also a great rose coloured glasses remover. In all the games where they both played Aly had higher rating than Russ. The average so far is +81 for Russ and +149 for Aly. Hardly world beaters either of them. The fact that neither are at the MLS journeymen level yet this year tells me we need an upgrade if neither can up their game. Opponent Russ Aly Montreal +130 NA Houston +59 NA Atlanta NA NA LAG NA NA Columbus +16 +56 RSL NA NA LAFC +151 NA SKC +6 +79 RSL +96 +348 Minnesota NA +191 Houston NA +12 San Jose NA NA Dallas +112 NA New England +130 +309 Colorado NA +57 Orlando +32 +144 +81 +149
the rumor of turkish club, besitkas, having interest in davies has some merit--- for 2 reasons- atiba hutchinson and cyle larin, both canadian internationals, play at besitkas- its a step up from MLS and allows him to mature with 2 known soccer friends and it would help canada as larin and davies could start up an understanding on the field- hutch would be a great teacher of what it takes to be a professional player and how to control and make successful passes- a very intelligent and canada-gifted player, probably the best canada has developed
However, the Caps ownership want to maximize $ return on Davies. I'm not sure this is the club that will do it in a transfer deal.
Regardless, after this season, he's moving away onto the next stage of his soccer journey. I just don't see him being here next season, so enjoy him while you can.
If the Caps want to hit the jackpot, an EPL team is the way to go. I don't think the Turkish club could offer the kind of money one of the big English clubs could offer (If they chose to go after Davies). I suppose one of the big French clubs too, but I have not heard rumors about them sending scouts over here. Just the EPL clubs.
Dreaming of what he could be at age 23 playing at a big club with better players after years in youth, reserves, and the 1st team is mouth watering. I would not be shocked, if he could make a top 25 active players list sometime in the middle of his prime.