Yeah, I think this is really cool news. I hope they make an effort with Swangard and put up some food trucks and such so there is some game day experience. They should also consider putting bleachers behind the goal to attempt to attract the original Southsider crew that lived behind there for a decade. There must be some of the old guard that are not happy with the bloated mob the SS has become mocking people who have different views or bullying people away or micro managing everyone's way to support. The old days of just having beers with a few dozen people and enjoying a match should come back! I can certainly see myself taking a game out there in the summer just to remember those 20 + years of the Caps/86ers out there. With the rumors that WFC2 will be gone after this season; they may be able to benefit from taking loans from the Caps. Swangard is interesting because when the Caps announced the USL club, Burnaby (and it's mayor especially) wanted nothing to do with it and wanted to keep the stadium for community use. Perhaps they had a change of heart, or the PDL requirements are so minimal it won't cost them much (the Caps were asking for investment and modifications and upgrades ). I will check out a game to see what they are presenting! I also am getting a Langley pack for FC 2 (even though I live in Vancouver, TBird never really caught my interest however I really enjoyed a couple of afternoon games in Langley last year in the nice weather).) With the MLS club going in a direction I am very sad about; this will be a year to embrace these development clubs!
good- i will take in a few games myself- i might leave happier than when i go to BC Place which was a painful experience in 2016 and isnt offering any hope for 2017
well, training camp is 2 weeks away and what do we have: 1. a rejected, but serviceable RB from bottom dweller houston 2. the signing of 3 WC 2 players, the release of 3 WC 2 players 3. the inablity to agree to a fee to release DP giles barnes to an english team- he doesnt want to be here 4. the trialing of a MF player from england and romania who has been rarely used in the past 5 years 5. the releasing of morales, perez and kudo- no replacements for #9, 10 6. the returning to their former club of loan players aird and smith 7. the drafting of 2 young defending players from college 8. the leaving of WC 2 coach, alan koch 9. a season-long injury to reliable defender edgar 10. no leader/captain 11. using words like: interested in; attempted unsuccessfully; tried to draft higher; looking at players; hoping to sign; we have a strong core after finishing 9/10 in the west 12. loaning parker to brighton of the english championship for training- will he return?; might sell LB adekugbe who is on-loan to brighton- both players should leave if they can 13. 1 of the former players has been reported to have said that robinson is over his head and is a bush league coach is it possible that good players, especially offensive 9, 10 players, dont want to come to the whitecaps and its not because of the turf?? the club PLAN is a messy failure and it isnt getting any better- even the blissfully naive supporters must be seeing a pattern and are getting worried
word has it that WC2 player, kianze froese, might be sent out on loan to a german 2nd division club i think the WC2 team is being put out to pasture and the caps are looking at affiliating with some USL team, or even a proposed CPL team- montreal is doing that with ottawa- it saves money and we all know that canadian youth on a WC2 team has little opportunity as the Caps would rather go with other young players who never panned out- like aird, smith, flores, rodriquez- all from other countries word also has it that fraser aird has been loaned out by rangers to 2nd division falkirk of the scottish league
Prophetic words- said this on october 31, 2106: ... i doubt that any of the owners want the club to be anymore than what it is- until the fans start to openly criticize the product on the field- and maybe stop buying STs-, the circus and mess will continue an active and noticeable owner's (s') involvement is critical for any company and club to be successful sadly, they do not see the great potential in this market and are basically screwing up in making it an elite MLS franchise
its interesting to note that some of the supporter group members are no having the epiphany that the head coach is a major source of the problem- others like myself and old fan have been saying that since late 2015- in a recent survey on AFTN twitter (https://twitter.com/aftncanada), the % of responders are increasingly pointing the finger at robo and his game tactics and formations yet- what do they do?? they foolishly signed carl and his inept crew to 4 year contracts, ending in 2020- it will take a bundle of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to buy them out.... and we all know that the owners are all about saving money rather than the good of the club- their lack of involvement and voice is appaling- their PLAN is a failure and will continue to be so, just as i have been saying for over 1 year its becoming obvious that the veteran players are tuning him out- his spin rhetoric is wearing thin- the team looks weak, lacking connection, spirit, belief, creativity and leadership surely even the disengaged owners are beginning to have the proverbial light turned on, especially when the attendance is beginning to plummet and will get worse with STH non-shows, like i did on saturday- the next home game is another rivalry, LA and should be an automatic 22 000 at a minimum- they will be lucky to crack 20 000 and there will be a lot of empty seats from the STHs, the life-blood of any sports team- when they disconnect, the club is in a serious marketing void the coach will use his spin, but truly, can any soccer-knowledgeable person believe it will work?? he is stubborn, naive and unable to reflect and improve when it comes to being a head coach of this once proud club the FO and owners must show some leadership and do something quickly- like RSL has- the fortunes of 2017 and the club rest on their collective shoulders
potato you keep jumping around in different threads, hard to follow you... Carl is a liar... whether he is lying to himself and oblivious, or it is intentional.. it is lies..... his post games are the same garbage time and time again. He abuses officials from the sidelines for stuff that deserves to be called so he just looks like a dishonest whiner... Hey Carl... you are not THE problem, the owner is... however, I am muting the sound when your voice comes on.. tired of hearing about accountability and honor and work ethic and so on. You are in game 3 and the players have already given up on you. wake up.
ya, sorry about the moving- has a brain freeze over the weekend- i dont think carl is a liar- i truly think he believes all of his words and that is why he never changes- its this quaity of not admitting his tactics and player formations are wrong, so he rarely changes- it really is his achlles heel as a coach and he needs to open his ears and listen to what soccer-knowledgeable people are saying- unfortunately, i dont think he will- he lucked out with owners motivated by money and silence- most teams would have fired him by now, much like RSL did with their ineffective head coach this week
I don't think Carl goes much higher in his career.. he will be able to find work of course..... he won't be managing anyone at a higher level than Caps MLS for very long if he gets a job like that. He is not capable of it will be sacked in short order. There is a school of thought that if he didn't have such inept bosses he could do better. I contend that if he had the ability to sign 3 serious DP's he still would under perform to frustrating levels because he is just in over his head and has no ability to make significant changes to how he views the game. Nobody other than the Caps would reward three years of declining results with another four years. And anyone who is surprised at what is happening in 2017 needs to understand this is no surprise. Carl is not a "one off bad year", it is a trend and this is the manager he is. And it's pretty clear that his international recruiting is a bust as this season he came up with blanks other than Reyna (and we don't know what will happen there). Montero was gifted to him so I don't consider that his recruiting.
there is no delight in seeing a person fired, but a soccer coach has to be all about results and entertaining the fans- unlike his friend, caleb porter in portland who had a terrible 2016 year after winning the MLS Cup in 2015 and has now bounced back, carl shows a remarkable inability to learn- recruiting mistakes and weak game tactics and player assignments continue- the players are performing with little creativity, connection, inspiration and confidence- i dont see the results getting much better should the Caps loose to LA on april 1 at home and not entertain the supporters, the heat will intensify and the disengaged owners will be forced to face the truth... at least that is what i hope for its not too late to turn the season around, but robo will not be able to accomplish it- dont listen to the same spin, watch the actions and results and this is NOT about getting robinson fired-- its about improving the fortunes of the Whitecaps in MLS and in the community- only a qualified, effective coach can bring the hope that it can be done
U.S. Soccer UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO TO MAKE HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT ON APRIL 10 IN NEW YORK CITY Media Event Scheduled for 2 p.m. at One World Observatory at One World Trade Center ORANJESTAD, Aruba (April 8, 2017) - CONCACAF member nations the United States, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to make a historic announcement on April 10 in New York City. The event will take place at 2 p.m. ET at One World Observatory on the 102nd floor of the One World Trade Center. Attending the event on Monday will be: Sunil Gulati - President, United States Soccer Federation; Member, FIFA Council Victor Montagliani - President, CONCACAF; President, Canadian Soccer Association Decio de Maria - President, Mexican Football Federation; Vice President, CONCACAF -- Press Conference Information -- WHO: U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati, Canadian Soccer Association President Victor Montagliani, Mexican Football Federation President Decio de Maria WHAT: Press Conference to make historic announcement WHEN: Monday, April 10 at 2 p.m. ET WHERE: One World Observatory - One World Trade Center - 285 Fulton Street - New York, NY 10007. Please use the West Street entrance. HOW: Media who wish to attend must apply for accreditation by clicking here. Media applications MUST be received by 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 9. *Please note this venue has extensive security - everyone must be on guest list prior to the event and everyone will go through a detector and bags will be scanned before entering the elevator. Approved media are encouraged to arrive by 12:30 p.m. ET. A live world feed from the event as well as a VNR will provided to broadcast media. Uplink information will be available soon. -ussoccer.com-
co-hosting a WC with mexico and the usa will be amazing, but we can assume that the games in canada will be near the beginning knockput rounds, however the tournament is formatted- probably in 2 stages- for example, a pre-tournament knock-out stage for 32 countries numbered #17-48 by FIFA (8 groups of 4 countries each, playing 3 games against their group countries with the top 2 teams in each group (2 x 8= 16) getting into the top 32 country event); and the top 16 countries (FIFA ranking #1-16) will automatically get through- the regular WC will be the top 32 teams that have qualified or- a 48 team seeded by FIFA into 12 groups of 4 teams playing each other; the top 2 teams in each group make it to the final 24 country format which might be centered in the USA and mexico (8 groups of 3 countries wirh the top country in each group advancing to the quarters); the quarter finals (8 countries, single knockout game) will be centered in mexico and the semis and final will be in the USA or ????
I really really dislike 48 teams.... that is around a quarter of FIFA members. Yes, it is big big money by having so many more games on TV, but it makes so much junk in the qualifying round / group stage. 48 teams is a huge tournament and makes it even harder for countries to host it and adds to their expenses greatly. I can't see any country being able to launch their own bid anymore with that many teams except the US.... I suppose England and Germany could pull it off at great expense. Joint bids are about to become the norm if they give this 2026 to the NAFTA nations.
a couple of things since i wrote last time pre: USA/Canada/Mexio joint bid- 1. it seems like i am right- canada will be a front loader for pre-tournament games to select the top 24-32 teams- mexico and the USA will get the opening stages for the usual 32 group stage, the quarters (maybe just mexico) and semis and final (probably the USA) 2. i am not against joint bids- spread the goodwill and the greatest event in the world around to more than 1 country
even though TF were a shell of the team in 2017, they still qualify for the CCL in 2019 and i expect them to bounce back, even if altidore and/or gio ask to be traded, wanting to head back across the pond- Gio's contract ends dec 31, 2019 and jozy's ends dec 31, 2020; on the transfer market, Jozy i s worth around $6 mill USD and Gio is worth around $8 mill USD they have ambitious owners who want a second crack at the CCL and are willing to pony up the money- loosing both jozy and seba would free up + $12.1 mill USD in salary for recruiting replacements, plus their trade value of around $14 mill USD- buying out loan misfit, Aketxe, would garner another $1.3 mill USD in saved salary plus a transfer fee of about $3 mill USD those 3 players alone will yield $25-30 mill USD to go after replacements i expect the Reds to bounce back
THE BEST RESULTS OF 2018: 1. the multi-millions coming from the davies trade, some which will go to the acquiring of new and better players ( i am hopeful of $3-4 mill USD) 2. The sacking of robinson with the hope of a more astute coach who can recognize talent and develop strategic game plans 3. Seeing the special relationship between kamara and davies 4. watching an aging kei kamara astound us with his talents and enthusiasm 5. watching the growth of a potential world super-star in The Kid- he is electric and made a bad year become tolerable THE WORST OF 2018: the ridiculous non-MLS signings by robinson with juarez, blondell, mutch, dominquez and emnes- robo's spins were even more ridiculous and - FINALLY- most supporters saw it too
robo's last signing was to stick it to the owners and FO and ultimately, the fans- emnes is injured and, as old fan said at the beginning, will never see the pitch in 2018 and hopefully never as his contract runs out december 31, 2018 the off-season will be loaded with lots of decisions by the new head coach, but he will have the luxury of a lot of extra money- robinson would have wasted most of the money on ridiculous non-MLS players recommended to him by unscrupulous agents and stupid scouts and players out of shape and/or not motivated and/or often injured and/or just not good enough for MLS the new head coach can almost start from scratch and can build HIS TEAM in a great market that wants to embrace the Caps on a whole new level- HE WILL BE A LUCKY COACH IMO!!
Yes, the new coach will be in the right place at the right time. A ton of options that can be declined, several expiring deals, and the puckered up owners having no choice but to lay out some DP money out of their dusty wallets. There will be enough there to put together a solid squad over the next 2 seasons. Let’s hope they get a good one and not go another Carl Robinson type of smooth talker with little substance.
FANTASY WORLD OR REALITY ???? https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/whitecaps-president-lenarduzzi-dont-want-average/ THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE MARKET AND CLUB SUCCESS: Lenarduzzi: What I would say is we’d be the first to assess our performance over eight years in MLS. We’ve made the playoffs in four of those eight years and we’ve got to a Champions League semifinal… But I think we would describe ourselves as “average.” We don’t want to be average. We want to be winning an MLS championship. We have an opportunity now to re-set, not just with the coaching position, but also with recruiting and youth development. I’m optimistic we can do that. I look forward to that final whistle blowing after beating Portland on Sunday and getting on with the task of bringing a championship team to Vancouver. finally, finally, finally- its what i have been saying for 3-4 years... and for whatever naive state i am in, for the first time, in a long time, i believe that the Club is serious about being more than mediocre- and maybe, just maybe, the owners will shell out more of the Davies transfer money than i have been stating which has been in the $4 mill range- can we dare for more??
What does "resetting" with "recruiting and youth development" exactly mean? Does it imply that their youth development scheme has been wrong in many areas? Or does it mean that the new coach will be expected to do a better job of incorporating academy developed players into the senior team, especially home town born and bred guys? Or does it mean that ditching Whitecaps 2 and doing some half arsed affiliation with an American USL side in California was a step back for the club's young player development?
i think its your 2nd - the new coach will be expected to do a better job of incorporating academy developed players into the senior team, especially home town born and bred guys- and i see the Club using a better USL connection (Fresno was basically useless) or even the CPL if it truly launches (maybe Victoria) just looking at some of the amazing young canadian talent joining the CMT (such as davies, david, anthony-kaye, tabla, busti, cavalini, crepeau, osorio, miller, larin) makes me more aware that there are golden nuggets to be found and developed a canadian head coach in MLS makes it even better
WHAT A DAY FOR THE CLUB ! well the shit certainly hit the fan with the FO and the players getting it on- its an implosion... and i am happy about it out of the darkness can come light and after 7 years of mostly misery watching the Club try its best to be joe average, i have hope that a big turn-around is coming i believe that the owners will give lenarduzzi 1 more kick at the can with a lot more money to get it right - bobby has to be more hands-on when it comes to the signing of new players- he allowed robinson too much latitude after constant failures- his job is on the line and i hope he succeeds- he is MR SOCCER IN VANCOUVER there has to be a new vision for the Club and a strategic plan of how to get there and holding people- coaching and scouting staff- accountable for meeting those standards by bringing in the right players to take us into the top 12 teams in MLS for 2019 and then the top 6 by 2020 Marc Dos Santos has a coaching pedigree of success after success within 2 years with every club he has coached- he has a great opportunity to put his stamp on the Club IMMEDIATELY by who he keeps, who he resigns on an option year and who he releases- by december 31, we will have some answers FINALLY i have hope for 2019-
with minority owner, jeff mallette, being the leading spokesperson because the majority owner has a social/emotional/whatever else phobia to be seen or heard, it would be best for the Caps if jeff became the majority owner... and he has a record with the san francisco giants in MLB in being ambitious to win, win, win and win championships gotta say, i would love to see him as the majority owner and he is canadian from victoria https://canadac3.ca/en/expedition/the-people/jeff-mallett/
^I agree that it would be an improvement. Mallet has been a good talking puppet for Mr Kerfoot, but times need to change.