Label me underwhelmed but the Kenny Miller move is done.. "@WhitecapsFC: We have just added Scottish captain Kenny Miller as WhitecapsFC 3rd DP! RT to welcome Kenny to Vancouver - http://t.co/9PKG7e0t"
I guess not a bad signing as of now. We have Hassli and Salgado injured while Camilo's confidence is real low, also Harris just had his first full training session in months. While our offense is not clicking, we cannot just rely on Mattocks for goals. Hope Robson can be what we expected him to be and link up better with Miller.
It seems like essentially Le Toux for Richards and Miller (doubt they would have been able to get Miller without the extra allocation money and cap space). I'm skeptical this is the right way to go but who knows. It's up to Rennie to make all the pieces fit.
At this point as a supporter I would have to trust and give support to Rennie. Martin was brought in with a vision while given the majority of the players were from last year. It takes time to build a winning team, but hes manage to turn things around for us with in a span of a couple of months. The criticism on Robson had came way too soon. This guy is in pre-season form according to European time line. Also his first few matches are all away on the road games. This guy isn't even settled completely into the team yet not to mention about the league. For those whose been saying he can't put a shot on target. They can f#%k themselves, it takes years and years of practice and confidence to shoot from afar. You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket. Robson offers what we need from midfield and his attitude is excellent towards the game (aside from yelling at teammates) and the refs (these refs needs some discipline, seriously). His ability to shoot from distance opens up more opportunities for our forwards. As of now, the caps are easy to defend because we mainly scores from one dimensional plays from our forwards. It's time we need to build a team to score with build up plays too. With Robson being a threat from the midfield, we can really open the game up without over relying on our forward to "miraculously dribbles pass the back line and scores" or "an unlucky touch by the defender and we converts".
Just curious. how did the Whitecaps get Kenny Miller? I thought the caps gave up their spot in the import allocation order. Wouldn't another team have priority selection on him? How do transfer fees work? What is the difference between the transfer fee and how much a player is being paid?
It's all business in the modern day football. Import allocation is for US players who are returning to MLS ie Bocanegra. Transfer fee is a fee that a club pays to another to purchase the player (price tag). That said the transfer fee is not the player's wage. Whitecaps probably used the money from selling Dede to buy Miller out of Cardiff. What Miller is making is a personal term negotiation with whitecaps which both parties agreed on.
robson was very good last nite vs the Galaxy-- scored with a terrific header, won many balls in the mid-field and smacked a free lick against the woodwork that would have made the score 3-1-- he showed the leadership potential and work rate that we are all hoping for
Aside from his two free kicks (one bending in from the right wing, and one ripping down straight). He also had a play where he cuts in between two galaxy CB and fires one just inches wide. If it wasn't for Saunders or the bar, he would have had 4 goals
Yup, Caps traded Hassli for a First Spont in 2014 SuperDraft which is close to almost nothing. There were no good bidders for Hassli.
You traded Hassli...>face palm> How could you trade the most iconic Whitecaps player to date, after some of the goals he's scored and the joy he's brought to your fans? Just speechless...and what you got in return, nothing. Sure hope Vancouver has another DP up there sleeve, but some how I think with Miller and Robson they don't. Real shame. Mattocks isn't the Jamaican Drogba people say he is. Not now, maybe in the future, but not now. Hassli? Really...I'm speechless, even as an unbiased casual MLS fan....
How I see it , Guarda-Redes, is that Hassli just doesn't fit into the system Rennie wants to play. I personally love Hassli because he brought us caps a lot of memorable moments. And he shows that he have a great passion and heart for the club as well. even when he wasn't given any chances to play, he would be the first one to celebrate for whom ever scores. The play style Rennie deploys is heavily based on high work rate and backtracking from the whole team. That being said means we do not have enough quality from midfield to open up Hassli for opportunities. Also Rennie seems to be cleaning the house quite a bit and bring in personals that he would prefer. I like the acquisition of Dane in place of Le Toux, he fills out for the width we have been lacking since day 1 of Whitecaps FC. After Galaxy performance, we finally have a good strong pair in the midfield with Robson and Koffie. Those two are very exciting to watch while both of them were on the scoreboard. With Dane, Camilo and Mattocks upfront our attack gives a lot of width and speed which will stretch the opposition defense. Allowing either Koffie or Robson to push up. Rennie sure got a lot of balls to make such bold moves, by trading and selling away our 3 starting XI within a week and transforming the caps into a completely different approach to their play style. I'm excited and sad at the same as I'm a big Dede fan myself. I'm just gutted that he will be playing in TFC. I would much prefer if he leaves MLS and go back to Europe.
I've got no idea what Rennie's end game is, but he better make it work or he is seriously going to be held accountable, for what I think at this stage, are some questionable trades. What the Whitecaps really need is to stop shipping goals in the dying moments of games. I dont think they have addressed that yet.
Your last point granted, wouldn't opening up another slot by trading Hassli be more likely to help Rennie get in another defender? In any case, I don't know why people would think this was a bad move for us. If the second half of the season looks the same for Hassli as the first half, unloading his salary (and DP slot) now makes sense; if his production had picked up in the second half (which I think is incredibly unlikely because I truly believe he is both a bad fit for Rennie's system and just not employing the right mindset and playing style for MLS with his size (stay on your feet dammit!)), then we'd have to bench Mattocks or Miller, so no matter what, a productive striker sits on the bench. Trade him now while we can get something for him, thank him for a job well done, and hope he doesn't score any winners against us. But keeping him? I loved him last year (I even have a pic with him!) but it's a bad fit for him and the Caps, so why pretend it's not? Even IF Miller ends up being a bust (which could happen), it won't change the fact that shipping Hassli now just makes good sense. Objectively I think 8 games is enough time to see if Rennie's moves were a step forward or a step back. After a lot of thought, I think this flurry of movement has left us with a MUCH better squad (now get healthy Omar and Atiba!), and I think Miller and Robson (and to a lesser extent) will only need the next 5 matches to show their quality. I'll say 8 just to be safe though because the next 5 matches are against some brutally tough opposition! (San Jose, RSL...etc)
truly, i got tired and frustrated watching hassli flail around with his arms, berate the referees, and hit the ground- and stay there for minutes!!!- he was an eyesore for the caps and was of little value to the team; while he did score 3 terrific goals over 1 1/2 seasons, his play was subpar and he had no taste for play inside the 18 yard box-- caps will come out a better team for this move
Didn't know you were changing your tactics. Hassli always seemed like the heart of your team to me. Didn't know he had a work rate problem, however that's the knock against 90% of targetmen (Luca Toni, Klose, Carroll) they don't do anything but stand around and wait for the ball. Hope it works out for you! I'm sure you'll make the play-offs before Toronto.
I think Hassli effed himself over about 10 games into his MLS career. What I mean by that is he charged like a bull at everyone and everything, drawing yellows and reds, and in so doing, managed to get the refs watching him for the wrong reasons - to see if he would be committing fouls on others, rather than other committing fouls on him. Strikers earn some of their goals by earning free kicks in dangerous places, but having marked himself as a bull, he lost all the benefit of the doubt from the referees. At around the same point, I believe the rest of the league's defensive units caught on to not only Hassli's offensive game, but also how to maneuver him so as to bother him psychologically. Hassli never lost the "bull" tag (and indeed, he still does a lot of charging and arm-bars), and lets the non-calls ruin the rest of his game. I like the guy a lot, but I think that he will NOT have his berakthrough with TFC. I think that they will utilize him better, and give him more playing time, but if I am correct about Hassli's problems, they are going to follow him to Toronto. He will still not draw those important calls around the box, he will still sit with his ass on the turf, he will still get called for fouls against MF and DF. He will still get the occasional jaw-dropping goal, because with space, and the right kind of incoming ball, that kid can destroy on a volley - but strikers in MLS don't get too many of those.
Meh. Hassli hasnt been the player he was last season. He hasnt fit in well with Rennie & just hasnt really played that well this seasom. Saw this coming tbh. Hopefully Vancouver has a 3rd DP in line. That would be nice.
I read on Preston North End's rumor site that your guys are offering 200k for Canadian International Iain Hume. That would make sense if you are unloading strikers. He's got a nice freekick and combines well around the goal. As a Quake's fan, I was hoping my team would go after him. I think he plays like Wondo.
A real big change since the departure of Eric Hassli, a fan favorite of most. I sure didnt want to see him go. He had highlight reel ability and was very recognizable. Hassli and Dede could of been the go-to players for years to come. I am not sure about Barry Robson. He seems to be quite the diver and whiner. Maybe those theatrics are necessary for winning football, I don't know but we will see. One concern is he seems to overhandle the ball, or underestimate the competition. He seems to get himself in trouble. Although he does seem to settling in a bit. Is it just me or is he spending more time coaching or more time playing? His teammates haven't seemed overly amused. Camilo didn't seem too impressed when Robson shrugged him off and took the penalty for himself either. Interested to see how this effects team chemistry.
I havent been impressed with him so far & really was underwhelmed by both DP signings from Rennie. Robson was phenomenal back in his Celtic days but heard negative to average things about him at Middlesboro. He's seemed to be complacent & too lax at times since arriving. I know its early but I dont see him ever really bossing things in MLS. He will be 34 relatively soon & will probably continue to go down hill which he has alot over the years already. The thing about the Whitecaps though is that its a very competitive team & pretty deep side so the Whitecaps dont necesarily need him to boss things. He's kind of just another card in the deck. Just a little bit better than Koffie & Davidson technically & makes more money. I wouldnt expect him to be a real catalyst though.
Is anyone able to do a comparison of Barry Robson and NY Red Bulls newest MF, Tim Cahill? Who is the better player?
Cahill has better pedigree, he's been part of Everton starting XI for 8 years now. As a reds fan, i'm not a big Cahill fan, but i guess his ability and experience is beneficial for the growth of MLS. While Robson has been SPL and second tier English footall with Borough while they finish 6-7th place. 1 million transfer fee is totally reachable for the whitecaps too, the only thing is that Vancouver isn't like other big cities in N.A. ie New York, California, L.A., where they offer a lifestyle of what the European superstars like.
I'll echo some similar sentiments. Loved Hassli year one, and still love his attitude, just wasn't getting the playing time and wasn't effective when it was given, largely due to the style and tactics employed round these parts these days. I wonder what the future holds... we need a CB desperately. Bonjour and Demerit will continue to lapse without help and depth at the position allowing some rotation. They will be burned out soon if no help arrives. Wish Eric all the best in the future, except for tfc v wfc matches.