Carlyle Mitchell

It is hard to give Carlyle a glowing review because the RSL offence was dreadful tonight. But, I did like what I saw, and he has more potential than I first expected.

I hope he gets to play the remaining three games and show us what he can do. He is also young so I am feeling more positive about his future with the Caps now that I have seen him play first hand.

 

this is a recommended signing from the new coach-in-waiting, Martin rennie-- certainly his judgement is more respected than others in the Caps organization

 

Thanks for all your insight Kick the Ball. I must say, I like Mitchell a lot based on what I've seen. Mostly, I like his positioning (always manages to stay goal side, no matter what), the fact he keeps it simple, and his tackling. He dished out a couple beauties against RSL.

What I haven't seen yet is his work in the air in the opponent's 18. This is a department the Whitecaps were woefully inadequate in this year, so I'm looking forward to what he can do next year.

 

Kick the Ball,

How is Phillip in the air? I find Joe Cannon to be a good shot stopper too, but very weak when it comes to cutting out crosses sailing into the six yard box, or as far out as the penalty spot. He usually stays on his line hoping defenders will deal with crosses. I think the Whitecaps need a goalie who is much better in the air, a more intimidating/imposing figure inside the six.

 

Interesting. I read a Q & A with Barber in either the Sun or Province recently, where Barber was asked how much control Rennie will have over player acquisitions next year. Barber answered by talking about the "collaborative process" around player decisions, saying Rennie has fit in well. He then gave a more specific recent example, and listed the individuals in on the conference call: Barber, Rennie, another FO suit, and "a member of the ownership group." Conspicuously absent from the list was Soehn. Odd, if he's the current coach and goes back to his old job in the FO next year. Inadvertent omission by Barber? He chooses his words so carefully, I can only hope it was deliberate, and a sign of things to come.

Is Barber just waiting for Soehn to resign as the odd man out, especially if Rennie shows he can coach AND handle player acquisitions?

 

both-- Paul Barber being the epitome of a bureaucrat/dark suit-- couch all words carefully, but never answer directly to the question- look good, wear the right tie, use intelligent words and always, always SMILE

and hopefully TS is on the way out- simply put- he is in the wrong job and it must 'eat him alive' to see what has happened to him in both DC and now Vancouver

but in the real world of professional soccer, after consultation from others in the organization, the coach should always have the final decision-- do you really think that sigi s. in seattle and john s. in portland dont have the final say?? look at the results

 

Agreed. Rennie has a reputation for being a one-man show everywhere else he's been. He's demanded, and been given, a free hand, and seems to have brought about serrious improvements. Hopefully that'll be the case here too.

 

I believe Mitchell has been approved by Rennie. I honestly hope so because he has looked the most comfortable partner for Demerit so far this season. Rochat had a couple decent games at CB but he has played his best at LB. He could be the best LB in the league if he can stay there the entire season. I think Boxall has a future in MLS but has developing to do. I like what I've seen Mitchell thus far. He's very active and very vocal. He looks like a leader. If Mitcheel can keep this up and Rochat can stay on the left then the Caps defence will be much improvied.

 

Mitchell shows plenty of promise and he should be protected but would still like to see a few more games and additional situations where he is under defensive pressure. The one time he did not look too good was on the second Colorado goal (the entire defensed looked awful) where he lunged for the ball at the attackers feet and ended up a metre short.

Four things I do like are:
his long range passes seem to be remarkably accurate
his vocalness on defensive communication is excellent
his jumping ability
his running speed

Would like to see him more involved in offensive corners. He has the vertical jumping ability to provide for a decent air attack.

 

I also like his positioning. For the most part, he always manages to get goal side of attackers, and is rarely chasing.

I'd also like to see him get in on offensive corners more. I'm guessing that'll come next year as they (hopefully) work on set pieces. Corners were dismal for the Caps this year.