after 2 1/2 years, this is what we have got to show: http://theprovince.com/sports/socce...ll-be-players-going-out-and-players-coming-in its been almost a complete failure, a team that has mostly been a mess all season, a winning rate of under 40% and a recruitment of players that have largely been embarrassing to watch on the field if he- and with the FO's permission-brings morales, techera, perez,smith and kudo back, then i will know he has learned NOTHING
I just don't know how you can analyze a team that has been built for three years, and the net result is 6 - 10 players need to be sent packing, and your solution is to bring back the architect. I don't get it. It isn't a cheap thing because at the very least they could promote the WFC2 guy if they want another "up and coming first time coach" (I don't recommend this, just saying you can still be cheap if you must). It just makes no sense to bring someone back who has had three full years to build a club and it is essentially in need of a complete overhaul and rebuild. This is not a simple situation of upgrading a player or two (which every good organization should do each transfer window), half the gameday 18 needs to be shipped out and that is unnacceptable to me after three years at the helm. A lot of these guys are likely still under contract next year, so it is not easy to just clean this up. Trades have to be made, players sold, and so on. I don't think Carl is the man to do that; and 3 years of history tells us that.
its actually 2 1/2 years with robinson as head coach which in MLS is light years- it doesnt take that long to turn a team into a contender and we are nowhere near that- even if the owners give him an extra $3-4 mill to go after RB, #9 and #10 players, i shudder to think what carl and his coaching staff would sign- their track record is down-right atrocious- does any soccer-intelligent person think morales, perez, kudo, the now departed rivero and mattocks, techera and smith would be signed by any other MLS team?? the answer is obvious
FINALLY- A HIGHLITE FROM A DISMAL SEASON - ALPHONSO DAVIES- 15 YEAR OLD STRIKER but its a good news/bad news story- THE KID was scintillating and kept me on the edge of my seat whenever he got the ball- sometimes it seemed like he didnt get enough of the ball in the second half but his first half play was the BEST of any other player on the field- trickery, pace, dribbling skills, soccer intelligent, competitive, strong, feisty- he will refine his shooting skills- davies has the potential to be the real deal and the most exciting North America prospect i have seen in decades- MLS should do everything possible to keep him, but probably wont be able to... and the whitecaps want the cash- its almost like 'soccer prostitution'- developing high-quality players to sell them, rather than doing everything to try and keep them- BUT IT IS A STATED WHITECAP VISION- REPUGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALAS, my guess is that the whitecaps are already shopping him to the highest bidder- we already know that 2 EPL clubs- Liverpool and Man united- have sent scouts and i would suspect others have or will be coming over the next 2 games- euro scouts probably dont visit without contact from/with the host team- phone calls have been and will be going on THE GUESS- a 1st tier team in euro will take him on a trial during the off-season for some money- if all goes well, then a selling deal with special monetary incentives over years will be coming to the whitecaps but we got to see him at the beginning of what should be a long professional career- i had hoped we would have him for 2-3 years, something like the whitecaps with the mercurial, peter beardsley, in the early 1980's (he went on to play for liverpool, newcastle and england DROOL- is there any hope that davies will play for canada??
Maybe I am wrong, but I don't think he can be sold until he is 18. Maybe released from his contract and then goes to an Euro academy where Whitecaps and MLS get sell on rights, but I doubt MLS would go for that. I think he is being scouted now to get a feel if he is likely to progress as a 15 yr old typically does going into his latter teen years or will he be more a Freddy Adu type who surprisingly turned out to be pretty much a finished product at 15. Of course, Alphonso is already bigger, stronger and faster than Freddy ever was. Anyway, whatever happens, MLS would have to agree and they would get 25% of a transfer fee.
I have looked around and it is tough to get the FIFA and MLS rules over this. He signed a professional contract which makes it different than an academy player being sold. I am not convinced scouts would go to all this effort coming out here if they can't touch him for 3 years. There must be some way to sell, loan, or have his parents move for jobs or something like that. We shall see. I think potato's point really is "If the Caps are able to flip him for cash, they will as soon as it is possible or allowed by the rules". I tend to agree with him on that, and I hate it. They don't need the money and this is a guy who could seriously be something that clicks with the Vancouver audience at a Trevor Linden level if he stayed here for 5 years.
i saw freddy in an exhibition game in seattle at QWest field in the early 2000's - he played for DC United against some major euro club- after watching adu for 20 minutes- he was 15 at the time- i turned to my son and said he is not good enough and will not make it- as it turned out, i was right on- freddy was a 1 trick pony- left foot- and had little pace davies IMO is the real deal, barring a swollen head or a major injury- he is light years ahead of adu and his impact on a game is profound, until his youthfulness catches up and he tires after 60-65 minutes which is what happened yesterday- he will mature and get stronger- his movement, trickery, pace and determination to drive for goal led to a PK- it was something to behold watching that sequence of events- not even manneh has that ability or courage/determination and he has 6 years of maturing and experience under his belt i just wish we could watch davies for another 2-3 years- its natural for a young star to want to go to europe for a big club; its not natural for a club to want to develop players to sell- its not my idea for my club to become an academy for european teams
I agree that Davies is more advanced now than Freddy ever was. Clubs will try to assess where he goes from here as it is far from normal for 15 yr olds to compete at professional level. What surprised people is that Freddy never matured physically or as a football player from age 15. 1/2 of that can be laid at the feet of MLS for making him a poster boy. I wonder if Davies would qualify for a work permit in England now without a bunch of international appearances for Canada. Seems his family is from Libetia and Monrovia and a commonwealth citizen needs at least one grandparent from England to waive work permit. Of course, he will be accumulating international appearances that will eventually cause that to be moot (that is how US players without US visa qualify). As far as Whitecap s as a feeder for Euro academies, I agree that is pretty much a pipe dream. Davies is a jewel that has fallen in their lap and they must be very, very thoughtful on how to proceed with him. He is under contract for 2 more seasons with an option year. If they can't get him to re-sign in 2018 because he wants to test himself abroad and make more money than in MLS, they would be foolish not to sell him and get some money.
For me this is an emotional situation because I can visualize what Davies could be and what he could mean to the Vancouver market and how big of a community connection he could make. It could be something special 4 - 5 years down the road. Not to mention national team potential. Yes, he may want to go to Europe one day, ... fine, sell him for a wad of cash when he is 22. To try to flip him as early as possible just to put some bucks in Greg's pocket upsets me greatly. It also costs us chance of cap tying him one day. he is not a citizen so if he moves to England then he won't be building eligibility for Canada and would likely be recruited by their youth program. In the history of the Caps/86ers.. he is the most talented teenager in the organizations history I can think of . (I think Carl was 20 or 21 when he came and Beardsley was around that too). No, I am not comparing Davies to either of those.. I just mean based on what we see out of a teenage player he is something to watch. And I tell ya, it is hard for me to accept he is only 15. I think we should start a birther movement and demand his long form birth certificate from Liberia or something
So, the Whitecaps sign another 6'-2" winger that can also play center forward. I would feel more comfortable if he was a center forward that can also play wide. Brek Shea is an example of a wide player that you can also put at forward. Meaning, he is much better out wide and a stop-gap at best at center forward. Anyway, welcome to Vancouver, Bernie Ibini!
I would be interested in what kind of salary they gave him. Looking at his body of work it should be on the lower side and i hope they didn't use funny money to pay him over the DP threshold. Wait and see for me.. I am pretty sour on Carl's recruiting abilities and feel that players go backwards under him. However, welcome to Vancouver and I hope to see a goal from you in a few weeks.! I do wish to eat crow about Carl and see the team succeed even though I rip Carl most of the time!
Some highlights from his play in A-League. Looks like a big, physical young guy with some speed and scores with either foot. Would be great if he can help out Montero up top. Best of luck to him and look forward to seeing him play. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...ian-winger-bernie-ibini-belgium-s-club-brugge
re: quote from robinson: ... had Ibini on his radar for six months but has never seen him play in person, said the injury isn’t thought to be serious. “An exciting young player whose got power, strength, is direct,” said Robinson. “He’ll fit into the group very well.” how the hell can a coach make a glowing report without having seen the player actually play in a number of games? he's another reclamation project that hasnt made his imprint on any team- being a sub player in the australian league is nothing to give raves to he's a cheap, cost-effective addition, a young player with some wheels, but has not been able to build a long-term career- at best, he is a MAYBE
[QUOTE="ChrisSSBB, post: 34664987, member: 63998" As far as Whitecap s as a feeder for Euro academies, I agree that is pretty much a pipe dream. Davies is a jewel that has fallen in their lap and they must be very, very thoughtful on how to proceed with him. He is under contract for 2 more seasons with an option year. If they can't get him to re-sign in 2018 because he wants to test himself abroad and make more money than in MLS, they would be foolish not to sell him and get some money.[/QUOTE] unfortunately, you are RIGHT- damn!!
Well, I will have to say that Robinson should get the rest of the season. Things are not a train wreck right now. He was never going to be fired as it is, because these guys will not pay out that many years left on a coaching deal. If they don;t make the playoffs, he wil likely "get another chance" as he is still very popular with fans and supporters. I dont like him of course; but, he has had a good run for a month so I grant him that.
the main reason the Caps have a good run of matches- even in the 2 losses- over the past road trip of 6/12 points- a very good result in MLS- is because he seems to get it that the team needs a regular lineup that shows success- one of robo's achllles heel over the past 3 years has been his naivity and stubbornness in undoing success with his constant- often non-sensical- player formations and player rotations i am still not convinced that this team will make it to the playoffs- we really dont have 1 magical player that can turn a game on its head (montero has some magic), but successful teams always have a magical #10 player like the 2 MLS Cup winners in portland (valeri) and seattle (lodeiro) had ya gotta play the hot hand
Andrew Jacobson has been a very good pick-up for the Whitecap s. To do well in MLS, you need guys like him who don't take up much salary cap but are steady and occasionally impactful contributors. Dependable player who is versatile enough to play CM, DM, and fill in at CB. I liked what I saw of him when he first joined Vancouver and is having a good season this year.
both utility players- jacobson and tchani have been solid additions- nothing too fancy, but reliable and hard-working- its also enabled bolanos to do more of his creative stuff without having to back-track so much- these 2 players add some steel to the MF, but i am not convinced that, come the playoff heat of the final 2 months, that the Caps will have enough juice to score; as we can see, montero is a hot-cold player who needs stroking for phantom goals these 2 players- jacobson and tchani- were smart pick-ups by robo (as well as williams at RB)
THE ALPHONSO DAVIES DILEMMA: as we all know, davies is an impact player and, if older, would get a starting spot instantly- he brings so many things to the whitecap table when playing coach robo is using him as 2nd half sub, not wanting to put too much physical demand on such a young player of 16- but he hasnt waned with physical contact and, in fact, often pushed older players out of the way having said that, i agree with the coach in holding him back- what i would do is put him in earlier in the 2nd half, something like the 50-55 minute so he will have a greater impact on a game- adding another 5-10 minutes to the game would enhance his team's chances of winning- alphonso can handle the extra time as he is an unusual 16 year old player
I agree that holding Davies back is a good idea. He is young and the MLS season is arduous with the travel and especially summer weather. Plus, probably going to be playing Gold Cup? Keep him fresh for end of season and hopefully a run at playoffs.
all passionate soccer supporters in canada would heave a big sigh of relief when we see alphonso pull on the red and white jersey- he can be the best canadian-produced player and be the most promising young player of all-time- HE'S OURS!! teaming up with larin, hamilton, jackson-hamle, hopefully tabla and edwards makes for the most optomistic CNMT in the last 30 years- and a team with the potential to actually score goals on a regular basis- WC 2022 (hopefully not in qatar!!!) is a distinct possibility
Tabla turned down the Gold Cup invitation. He was born in the Ivory Coast so it is reasonable for him to want to play for them; he is not being a mercenary. If they don't call him up in the next couple of years Canada may still get him; but for now I take no issue with him keeping the options open. Also nice to see that we only have one player from Unattached FC in this Gold Cup roster. It wasn't too long ago when we had 5 or 6 guys playing without clubs. Missing Atiba and Larin is tough for this tournament; it will be exciting to see how Davies does.
FYI- tabla scored a terrific curling goal from 20 yards out vs TFC in the canada cup game- along with ciman, he was the impact's best player... and he is only 18!! canada would have a bright future with both davies and tabla in the attacking MF- everything should be done to get him to pull on the red and white my guess is- SADLY- that he is leaning towards the ivory coast or he would have joined in for the gold cup in july- DAMN! he could be supreme stuff as a player
Heh. It’s sort of obvious that the Whitecaps don’t have but budget to consistently compete in MLS. Chicago, a last place team last season spent money on proven European players in Nikolic and Schweinsteiger and now are among the best teams in MLS. The ‘Caps reliance on their crappy academy (who hasn’t been able to produce any meaningful talent since coming to MLS) is continuing to be their downfall.
yup- completely 100% accurate- its cost millions to have an academy and USL team- not 1 player has graduated to the first team in 7 years- something is amiss