I watched about 60 minutes of last night pre-season game with LA. These matches can be a little deceiving due to tired legs from conditioning. Anyway: * Maund was at LCB entire match. He didn't have much to do as most LA attacks were on Caps right side. He was fine, otherwise. * Teibert and Juarez started at CM. What was a little concerning was the Caps conceded possession for long periods of time and sat deep. Not sure that pairing will do much ball winning in midfield. They were ok, we will see. * Reyna was getting hacked, a lot. He looked good and dangerous when Caps could get him the ball. Big drop off when Mezquida came in for him. * Davies looked lively and had a sweet goal when he pounced on a defensive mistake in the box and quickly unleashed a hard shot near post, upper 90. *. Things got ragged when they brought in a lot of subs. *. One thing that was mildly concerning was Marinovic had two goal kicks that he pulled left badly and directlydoir of touch. His good goal kicks just made it the center stripe. Wasn't something that caught my attention last season. We'll see.
Maund's going to the be the first match starter beside Waston. But after that, you'd have to think Aja will be hanging in the wings and taking over. He's not getting paid to be a back up here. This will be a competitive spot. The danger for the coaching staff is to start doing a musical chairs scenario of unnecessary changes if things don't go right in central defence because this is a place where continuity/familiarity is really key. So, unfortunately for the 4th or 5th guys in the rotation, barring injury or suspension, they might not be seeing much playing time. Not sure how well that will go over with them at this stage of their careers.
I'm not sure if Maund is content with being a back up at this stage of his career, but Henry is using this stint as a springboard back into Europe, so he's not a long term guy here, and he still has to prove that he is healthy (how is his hammy?). Edgar doesn't have a contract and if he is seen as the fourth or fifth guy in the rotation, how content is he going to be with a pay packet commensurate with that level of depth player, let alone the lack of minutes (at least until Waston heads to Russia)? Or will the club give him one and opt instead to find a really cheap young option to be the number 5 guy?
tim parker did not play in the last preseason game vs LAG- maund played alongside waston- GOODBYE TIM PARKER- typically, LAG had far more ball possession ALPHONSO DAVIES GOT A HOWITZER OF A GOAL in a 2-1 win; in his last game, he did a 90 meter run with the ball, shrugging off 4-5 players and scored- promising- its plays like this that draw attention from euro teams- when he turns 18 in november, he will probably be gone
So Felipe & Mutch are added to the roster and Parker / Tchani are gone. Funny how all these trades are with the east league. I guess the Caps don't want some player to come back and haunt them. I am hoping one of the 2 newcomers can address our issues in the final third. According to the article on the Caps site "only two players have made more passes into the final third (Kyle Beckerman and Dax McCarty) than Felipe since he joined MLS in 2012. He finished fifth in that category in 2017 with 383 passes into the final third". We need it badly so here is hoping.
if felipe is so good, NYRB would never have let him go- same as montreal who also traded him- salary 2017- $305,000- a goal every 10 games so expect him to get 3-4 which is no better than tchani- he will take up an international spot- i would rather have kept nosa than felipe- he will be our #8 player, a C+player, steady, but not spectacular shit, am i ever getting tired of this club going cheap- its worse than its ever been, or maybe its just becoming more obvious as other MLS owners/teams are spending more it always comes down to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$
the gaffer's inane spin: "Felipe has consistently proven to be one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Major League Soccer," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson..." felipe's been traded 2x in MLS over the past 4 years- he's an ok player, but clubs can find him expendable
Felipe is a domestic as he has his green card so no int slot used up. Tchani was infamous for killing attacking plays with bad passes in the attacking third so we'll see but I bet Felipe will be an upgrade.
Felipe played 3200 minutes on 36 league games last year so I would say he was important. He's not a Lodeiro but a quality player
Felipe was traded because Parker’s position is a greater need for us than Felipe’s. He’s popular with the team and fans but we already have players that can take over for him. Teams in the east are getting better while our backline is our greatest liability. This was more about addressing a need rather than RB looking to dump Felipe
Thanks for the update from the other side of the continent "Night shift". Always good to hear what the fans who watch the games think of their players. You are getting a CB who is not only defensively sound but fast. The forwards will not sprint past Parker.
felipe is a durable player and might be an adequate #8 - its mostly about the $$$$$$$$$ the club attained which can be used to buy down players' salaries, such as shea and kamara
Reyna got the hook today for Felipe. He was the lowest rated of the front six according to Opta but he had some moments where he looked like he could make something happen. I wonder if Felipe will be starting in his place next match?
Reyna is someone the opposition needs to pay attention to. Things didn't work out great for him today, but he wasn't off by much. I don't think Felipe is a direct replacement for him. It worked today as they were protecting a 2 goal lead. Juarez and Felipe are more similar in position they play. Will be interesting to see how Robbo sorts out the midfield with Crutch coming in and Ghazal.
Reyna is not a "full season" type of player. He seems to be able to give a good 3 months and then fade. Or , in this case, may be starting slow. He did not do much today. Honestly, and I know Carl won't do this. But the Caps should really plan to phase him down to a sub role. With his off field issues still unresolved, they really need to give playing time to other options.
well, i dont think mutch will be very much in MLS- he is another robo reclamation project, has been passed around to many clubs in the past 4-5 years and rarely even made it to the sub bench for Palace in 2017- even at that, there is NO history of him being a creative, attacking #10 felipe has proved himself in MLS as a durable, quality MF player- while not a classic, impacting #10, he would be my choice
Or, Much (Freddy) Adu about Nothing, considering that that particular player's career is washing out.
No, you'll come up with better ones, I'm sure. You can contend for the Chris Berman Memorial Play-on-Words Award (I know he's not dead, but putting the word "memorial" in the title gives some gravitas to the honour.
"is" washing out? I think it washed out long ago.... didn't he just trial for a USL club and not make it? hard to find news on him. I remember his Tampa NASL run and he was so shoddy they didn't even bother to put him on the bench other than a handful of appearances and just carried his contract out. He needs to be subject of a ESPN 30 for 30 about how an over zealous commissioner marketed the gimmick of a 14/15 year old playing pro soccer because he was a prodigy, when really he wasn't a prodigy of that nature, and flamed out under all of that weird pressure and expecation. It was border exploitation and fraud by the league back then to do that with someone so young. All that ends up to him departing MLS and leading to 15 clubs or whatever he has had since (including trials).
Freddy Adu is playing for Las Vegas in USL. I was in DC area when Freddy first joined the league and saw him play. What a long, strange, trip. He has name recognition that allows him to get gigs.
I can't find anything that says they signed him. Is he still on trial or is he actually going to stay there past this month?