HOME GAME VS RSL, APRIL 27- 2-0: 1. I am the Whiz- i predicted a win and my son a loss- who's the smartest????? 2. A reporter who got it right- FINALLY!!!- nick dasovic called techera selfish for getting his second yellow by taking off his jersey, and waston childish for going on a rant, then getting a yellow 3. As predicted- knowing mutch would get another injury was easy as connecting dots- hasnt played much in 1 1/2 years, played most of his career on grass and is over 30- DUH!!!!!!!!!! (henry is in the same boat) 4. Dyed blond in the wool- anthony blondell had a very good game- mind you, RSL had a very weak defence due to multiple injuries 5. Want entertainment- plead with robo to not start Kid Davies on the bench- the gaffer continues to make serious mistakes in using Coaching 101 6. Mr pudgy- techera wearing his short out doesnt hide a pouch, just like 2016 7. What the hell??????????- placing mutch in the #10 role just shows how daft the gaffer is 8. MOTM- russell teibert worked his socks off and had a high % of successful passing- robo will probably bench him the next 2-3 games 8. Enjoy the win- still a weak team
Robbo has lost the team. But, they will win a few here and there. Nice to get some points in yet another weird game and another stupid red card.
apology to robo- davies had food poisoning so he couldnt go a whole game- bringing him on as a sub really changed the team energy and belief... and entertained us supporters
Hard to believe, but Mutch is only 26 (Dec 1991). He has some quality but he plays like he is 30+. When he pulled his shorts up when hurt, the thing I noticed was a lack of muscle definition in his legs. Plenty of beef, just no definition. I thought the Teibert/Ghazal partnership worked well. I think Russell benefits defensively having a rangy guy like Ghazal near him. Techera is a total idiot. Before the stupidity, I was impressed a number of times with his defensive work. He was getting back well into the 18 on defense and was showing up all over the pitch. Have to wonder if Waston deserves to be captain the way he loses his head but there aren't many other options. Maybe a change is made when he goes to WC. The 3 points probably wouldn't have happened without Davies. He is a game changer. I thought Blondell might go a long, long time without scoring but he was given a tap in by Davies.
I don't think Waston is the best choice as captain for reasons you stated. But, who else was there? He still is the best choice out of what we have on the squad. Techera should be on the same airplane Reyna is on when they are shipped out of town (or at least I hope). Two 450k+ salaries right there. Yeah, Mutch. When we got him I read some posts on a CP forum, and his lack of commitment to fitness and overall work ethic was made quite apparent. Robinson does not ask the question "Why is this guy with this talent available for cheap or nothing" with any of his international signings. Mutch is a flop and will do a bit here and there until his loan is over. I can understand a coach getting a player wrong or the player going off the grid after signing; but year after year the sheer number of Carls international signings that underperform or are out right flops is way above acceptable levels. This year we already can count Mutch and Juarez, and Reyna and Techera are plunging fast. Blondell is just not good enough for this level (getting a goal does not change that).
I don't think Robbo is totally naive about a Championship player who isn't getting time and is willing to come to Vancouver at age 26. If he was decent and had prospects, he wouldn't come to Vancouver. Getting players to MLS is like mining. You have to go through tons of dirt, rock and crap to find the occasional nugget. You can go to almost any MLS team forum and hear similar complaints about players brought in. Doesn't mean it can't and shouldn't be better. But, if you wait for the best, you could wind up with none.
WOW!! i would have thought mutch was in 32-35 age- u r right, he looks well-worn, like he hasnt trained hard in his career robo has more fools gold than golden nuggets for out of MLS players- a turnover rate of an average of 14 players/year over 4 years makes him a very poor miner and has led to erratic team performances over the 4 years his only golden nugget that i can think of is kendall waston; you could say another 2 nuggets were pedro morales, but that was only for 2015, and fredy montero in 2017 i really think that robo could benefit from a noted soccer expert for advise before signing any non-MLS player
I only saw part of the game from about the 20 minute mark until when Davies came on and that stretch was pretty much unwatchable. RSL is a really weak team with no cutting edge in attack because they don't have a legitimate striker, while the Caps continued their League Two attacking strategy of Route One passes over the top. Fortunately, Besler the Younger had a brain cramp causing a penalty and then Kid Canada puts the match on ice. I'll re-watch my recording of the game for the parts I missed but I'm glad I stayed in my Vancouver hotel room to watch this and not blow money to see that product in person. Frankly, the only reason I would watch this team is for Davies. That's it.
GAME AT MINNESOTA, MAY-- 5- 0-1 LOSS-- ANALYSIS: 1. The Flying Loon- loon goalie, shuttleworth, soared through the air to steal a goal from brek shea- tremendous left hand- POTM 2. Molasses stew- ibini and ghazal look like they have concrete glued to their feet- how does robo pick ghazal over teibert is bewildering- rusty is fitter, quicker and a better passer/distributor 3. WELCOME BACK- while his timing was off, kamara still had 4 good looks at scoring- he makes a difference- blondell does show better, but his shooting is horrible as he just waits too long to wind up 4. Energizer bunny- yordy reyna did finally have some energy and enthusiasm- a great shot off the post 5. Sleeping time- bret levis feel asleep on the Loon goal- a rookie mistake- set the alarm to ON 6. MF woes- our MF trio of felipe, ghazal, ibini are just subMLS par as a group; mezquida is a buzz, but rarely accomplishes much 7. Trickery reigns- did you see alphonso apply his dribbling trickery through 5 Loon players in the first half- worth the price of admission to see that- not many MLS players can do that- but he seemed to fade in the second half and never really sliced and diced the Loon defense who packed the last 30 meters 8. Double weeks- the last 2 games we have come up against injury-weakened teams and we struggle to take advantage- we are NOT a convincing team
i think even his most loyal supporters- not KJ- are getting tired of his stratopheric comments that cover over a loss when a win should have been taken
with most MLS teams upgrading, the Caps are a fading franchise- come august-september playoff push, we will be left behind there are 6 play-off spots- we can expect SKC, LAG, LAFC, Portland, Seattle- so that leaves 1 spot left for the other teams- unless there are significant upgrades in MF, we will be # 8-12... and i dont expect to see significance upgrades we are not a good TEAM
GAME VS HOUSTON, MAY 11- 2-2- ANALYSIS: 1. MOTM- little doubt that the big TICO, kendall waston, with an assist and a tying goal- what more can be said?? terrific performance and a tireless attitude of never giving up- he will do us proud at the WC 2. LEFT BARE- houston's defence is just plain TERRIBLE, but they have quick strikers and a better MF- they need to spend on defenders, but HEY, the owners are even cheaper than our owners 3. SPEED KILLS- watching the duel between the 2 speedsters- davies and ellis- both are electric, but REALLY, does any player really match THE KID 4. SWITCHEROO, YAHOO!!!!- defenders scored both goals- aja and waston- maybe the gaffer should do the big switch?? 5. UP, UP AND AWAY- kei kamara is misjudging the aerials coming in and sends the headers over the bar 6. GOTTA FEEL- felt sorry for eric hurtado who has been low-balled to the point of being a kids' toy at half-time- he takes the rub wonderfully well, but how does his confidence deal with that ???? 7. THE FIELD IS BALANCED- i thought that home games are slanted towards the home team,but BC Place is as even for both teams 8. PHANTOMS- only 18 600 showed up, a drop of about 3 400 - as the reporter JJ Adams said, APATHY is setting in- what will it be for mid-week game vs SJ next wednesday ??? even STHs arent showing up and others are thinking of it- after 4 years as head coach, the gaffer still doesnt know his best team and the best formation- NO WONDER IT LOOKS DISJOINTED AND AT TIMES, A MESS
HOME GAME VS SAN JOSE- MAY 16- 2-2--- ANALYSIS: 1. MOTM- Yordy Reyna- nice to see him romping around and making himself dangerous attacking defences- its been a long time since we have seen him make an impact- 1G, 1A- could have had another 2 goals- but he does too much simulation for my liking 2. Honorable mentions- Marcel dejong- some great dribbling and crosses into the box, but he sure lets his checking slide too far back from the opposing strikers; Felipe martins- sprayed passes around and made a lot happen with his set pieces coming into the opponent's box 3. Missed points- 2/6 points against 2 mediocre teams on our home turf is simply not good enough 4. Where are the bums??- lots of empty seats- the whitecaps risk becoming insignificant to their loyal STHs- the 17 300 announced attendance was not accurate for how many people actually came to the game- the last 2 games have seen crowds significantly under 20 000 and it could become a trend 5. Costing money- a total of over $2 mill in players' salaries as bench players- shea (played 12 minutes) and ghazal (never got on the field) lead that list- sometimes its not about how much MLS money is available, its what you do with that money and therein lies one of the dilemmas
GAME IN DALLAS, MAY 19-- 2-2-- ANALYSIS: 1. The Karate Kid- the dallas goalie, Jimmy Maurer, did a great chop to blondell's throat leading to a drawing PK 2. Will you just hit the ball- watching blondell wind up for a shot on goal and taking so long to do it doesnt compute with me- Yeh- i know... its a long way from the brain to the foot 3. The missing Gaffer- why is it so obvious to us supporters and yet not to coach robinson that teibert is such a HUGE improvement from ghazal and does more than juarez? is it because the gaffer would have to admit he is spending so much of the salary budget ($700 000) on such a weak, slow-footed players? 4. The coming dread-- when CB kendall waston leaves for the WC, we are left with his replacement of either henry or maund, alongside Aja (who is not even close to Tim Parker)- YIKES!!! 5. Points won, points lost- 3/9 points in the last 3 games- should have 6/9 6. Hot ice- baking temps had many Cap players wanting to see the coolnees of vancouver 7. Spin the telescope- would rather see hurtado than ibini (a 3rd tier player); shea is only effective as a sub; felipe is a decent MF and set piece specialist; davies looks tired and restrained; techera blows hot and cold; de jong is better than nerwinski; mutch isnt missed; 7. Dont be fooled- while we are in 5th place, we have played 2-3 games more than teams below us, 4 more than seattle- the piper will be paid come august-september- this is a weaker team than 2017 8. Average is half-decent- we have 2 MLS average goalies in marinovic and rowe- steady but will never win you a game 9. Back to the future- 2018 looks more and more like the doom and gloom of 2016 10. The reporting dummies- both TSN reporters kristian jack and Steven Caldwell call coach, carl robinson, one of the best coaches in MLS- its laughbable that carl's 2 pals from his TFC days would sell themselves to such a myopic view of the gaffer
^Yeah, KJ is looking like an idiot these days. I understand Carl is his friend so I am not expecting him to bury the guy,but to say things like Carl is one of the best or the Caps should never spend more than a million on a player ,is asinine. And yes, this 2018 squad does seem to be not as good as last year, in spite of Carl turning over 15+ players. He has A LOT of players under performing their salaries this year. Not only is he a poor recruiter of talent from outside MLS, he also doesn't have that cap saavy to rate players versus their salary cap hits and assign values and so forth. They will not make the playoffs. And once all those games in hand are made up, they may be very low in the final table.
GAME VS NEW ENGLAND, MAY 26--- 3-3: 1. In a heartbeat- pass the heart defibrulator- i cant believe i saw an exciting, albeit mistake-ridden, game at BC Place 2. The King rises/MOTM- cristian techera with a hat trick had his time of glory and 'abused' the young, out-classed NE defender- good shooting!! why the NE coach took so long to replace the defender is a mystery 3. In wonderland- still baffled how kei kamara missed 2 sitters- he was in another space, another dimension, but it sure the hell wasnt his finest moments- embarrassing 4. What the hell was the gaffer thinking- putting aly ghazal at CB was a disaster- talk about a howler of a game- as i have said before, Ghazal, mutch and juarez- 3 of the gaffer's off-season signing mistakes of near $2 mill in MLS money- goes to show robo hasnt an eye for selecting talent for the MLS level of play 5. We have our answer- RB, sean franklin, is another slow-footed player who was easily beaten- jake must be licking his chops for the next game and robo has to start him- RIGHT???? 6. The stone is sinking-with 4/12 points (3 ties at home!!!), the Caps will be sinking in the standings as other west teams will be making up their extra games... and never count seattle out (i expect significant changes come the july new player window) 7. Dont believe- while the attendance count was 22 000, there were loads of STHs- like myself- who didnt show- the actual bums in the seats was in the 18 000 area- we are loosing belief in the team and its leadership... and the owners dont give a rat's ass 8. My own space- i am thinking of turning my soccer time into the possible CPL team in surrey (if it happens) or the team that plays out of swangard- supporting the Caps after 45 years is turning me into a soccer grump- i cant bear to support a team that has a goal of having a playoff game once every 2-3 years (even amateur teams have a goal is to win it all)
yordy reyna- his attitude is narcisstic and all bout HIM example in the game yesterday: davies was rushing upfield with the ball on a 2 on 1 against a single NE defender- reyna on the outside, both running hard towards goal, a classic counter-attack davies made a great run-on pass for reyna to have a free run to goal... and reyna stopped running- then yordy had the audacity to blame davies and then held up his hands blaming God it was a great pass for yordy and for whatever reason he stopped running and blamed the KID- arrogant twit- a clear illustration why reyna has his professional and personal predicaments
Yordy needs to be gone; there are reasons a guy with his talent was available on free transfer and not called up to Peru in several years... we have learned them. Can't see him being a positive force in the locker room.
GAME VS CHICAGO, JULY 7-- 3-2 WIN: ANALYSIS-- 1. Is it happening to kei ???-- so many missed chances and for an experienced goal scorer like kei, its quite shocking that he doesnt have a lot more goals, what with all the chances he has been given- so its either AGING or he has a foot/lower leg injury... but what a great mentor for alphonso- a special relationship 2. Tired looking- the Kid looked somewhat tired last night, but he still made things happen and really, IMO, he had 3 assists- if you watch the highlites, you will see that he was active as the second passer on kei's and mutch''s goals- he was scintillating on kei's second goal as he blew by 2 defenders and made an equisite pass to kei part of his development now is creating space for himself to be in a more dangerous position-- its a gift that a player has the smarts- much like robbie keane had- of drifting away from defenders and that at the last moment, popping into open space with nobody checking him he really does need to work on his shooting skills- when he does that, he will be in double figures and become a total package ready for europe (and i would hope for a team/head coach like at liverpool- the Kid will be a better player than raheem stirling... IMO) 3. POTM- Yordy Reyna- the Caps will miss or make/be in the hunt for the playoffs on the performances of yordy reyna- - every quality team needs the scintillating play of a #10 and yordy, when his behavior and mind-set is on the game, elevates the Caps - he did last night and Caps got 3 goals and should have had more the question is- CAN HE MOTIVATE HIMSELF TO BE THAT PLAYER OVER THE NEXT 4 MONTHS? history says he cant, but here's hoping 4. Happy to see- the play of CB, doneil henry, has been solid and here's hoping he can be the partner for waston as he is a better player than Aja- the Caps needs his maturing game... and so does canada as CB is a major weakness 5. Just got to say it- the play of goalie, brian rowe, is just not good enough for MLS- his rash decisons to come out for crosses in poor goalie positions in the last 10 minutes almost cost us the game and must shivers up the spine of his defence and head coach 6. Got to admit it- the play of MF, juarez last night, was the best of the season for the mexican and he made a solid performance; mutch played well, but his fitness level is always going to be a concern- he's a 60 minute player, at best i think that the rigors of the last 4 months as teams push for the playoffs will be a hard test for both players (felipe is a solid MF)