The Rennie Era

Caps missed Harris a lot. He created a lot of space and drew a lot of fouls. He will be an important part of the team next season as I don't think Camilo will be back.

 

I've heard vague rumours that he's headed to the Middle East (Saudi Arabia?). Have you got any specific news?

 

Expect Rennie to make some unexpected signings - here in NC, he's known for his knack for finding talent in strange places and having it work out really, really well. (Case in point, the player who scored twenty goals in 2011.) And the cuts will be everyone who doesn't work with his style.

I'd be shocked to see him move to a new team and not retool it significantly.

 

Agreed. Obviously they aren't going to protect anyone unless Rennie thinks they at least might belong on his roster. (Some of the protected players might be more valuable to him as trades, but I'm sure he's at least seriously thinking about keeping them.)

 

I have no doubt they will try to keep him. Even if they were sure he was leaving they still need to protect him as they would want to get a transfer fee. Camilo is definitely in Rennie's plans but I'm not sure if the Caps are in Camilo's plans.

 

I'm basing it on the same rumours you have heard and also on his tweets. He has mentioned discussing his future with his agents. From what I understand, he is under contract for another season.
I was at the intersquad game a few weeks back and overheard DeMerit ask Camilo in a very casual, almost teasing tone, "So..are you coming back next year?" Camilo replied "I don't want to talk about that now"
Read into that what you will as I myself am unsure how to look at it. I think the caps may have to renew with him as a DP (like Fredy Montero) or they risk having him request a transfer to somewhere that will pay him more.

 

That sounds like it makes sense--and it's fair enough, honestly, since he ended up outscoring Hassli, and blew the Caps' other "DP" out of the water.

 

Do you know if any players are following him here from Carolina? There was talk here earlier of some players wanting to make the jump to MLS, but I haven't heard anything lately(?)

 

Bringing in more D2 players is not what the Caps need; this was one of their mistakes last season was bringing in too many D2 players and over-estimating their abilities.

 

None that I know of. But frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if Etienne Barbara and Pablo Campos (the top two goal-scorers in all of D2 last year, with 20 and 15 goals respectively in 28 games) both made the jump simply because Rennie knows how they play, likes them (and scouted them both personally for Carolina), and knows they work well together. They won't be superstars in MLS the way they were in NASL, and I wouldn't expect him to start them both almost every game like he did here, but I'd be unsurprised to see them both on the 'Caps roster.

 

Do either of those guys have defensive potential? I'm thinking as wingers in a 4-4-2 system(?) I saw some video of Jonny Steele and he looked good in the middle of the park--big, aggressive midfielder who seemed to distribute the ball well. If not him, necessarily, the Caps badly need that type of player in the middle of the park.

While I agree that filling the team with D2 players may not be what's needed, a couple of active wingers who can score and a tough player for the middle, who lit up D2, as depth players for next year would likely be an improvement on warmed over MLS hacks like Salinas and Vagenas. Not all the guys that came with the Whitecaps from D2 were flops.

 

Not really, no. Barbara in particular has an eye only for one thing: scoring goals. Shortly after his absurdly long streak of scoring a goal every game to start off this season had ended, we greeted each other after a match in which he had gotten two assists. I complimented him on his play that night. He gave me this "seriously?" look and glumly said something like "I should've scored a goal."

He puts it a bit more positively in interviews, but it's clear that he has a razor-like focus for finding the back of the net. It makes him a brilliant striker (league leader in goals, assists, and shots - he won't top the league at a higher level, but I'm damn sure he'll get results), but I suspect he would be neither useful nor happy playing anywhere else.

Steele is fine at the D2 level, and yes, you've characterized him perfectly. But I'm not sure how well he could do at MLS. (He wouldn't be an unquestionably bad choice; I just think you can find someone like him but better.) Also, he's unfortunately a little bit of a card magnet, though he seems to be getting less of those lately.

This is true. And I expect Rennie to look many places for talent, including every roster in his old league.

 

rennie does not appear to me to be a stupid coach-- he knows that bringing in a lot of D2 players will not fly with the fans nor make the caps more competitive

 

Agreed. And he pulls from surprising places, like Malta and the J-Leauge; that's part of how he finds unexpected new talent for D2, and I'm sure he'll do the same but with a higher caliber of players for the Whitecaps.

Will he bring a player or two with him? Count on it. (Latest speculation around here is, one of your new goalkeepers is Brad Knighton.) Will the roster look like it belongs in NASL rather than MLS? Not a chance.

 

Given that Rennie left both Nolly and Cannon unprotected in the expansion draft and in the reentry draft says to me he's not satisfied with them and that he is fine to see them go. This means he's confident he can sign a bona fide starter for next year. Another contributor said earlier that a Trinidad and Tobago keeper who was a team-mate of Carlyle Mitchell's was also being looked at by the Caps.

Cannon is weak challenging in the 6 and out to the penalty spot in the air, and Nolly tends to cheat and gets chipped. If Rennie can find a decent shot-stopper who is aggressive in the air in and around the 6, he'll have found a keeper that is better than both current Caps keepers, and better also than most in the MLS--but not that rare in other leagues around the world. Most important, that kind of keeper will give MLS attackers fits, as most MLS keepers tend to be timid in their box, so attackers here are used to putting crosses inside the penalty spot.

With an aggressive keeper and a solid revamped midfield core, we'll see a massive improvement in the wins column next year (if they can all stay healthy).

 

Leaving them unprotected doesn't mean he doesn't want them, it means he doesn't want them at their current salary. I'm sure he would love to have Cannon at less money and will renegotiate with him. I think he'll try to keep Thorrington too. The caps declined the option because they want to renegotiate not because they don't want them. I think Cannon is an adequate starter and Rennie will try to bring in Knighton to backup/challenge Cannon. Rennie even stated in an interview on whitecapsfc.com that he expects to keep a couple players from the re-entry draft last.

 

both joe cannon and john thorrington will be lucky to be picked up by another team that will pay them even $100 000, a drop of about 50% from their salary of 2011

cannon is 36-37 and thorrington has had a recent history of being injury prone

if i were the Caps, i would take only cannon back if he is willing to re-sign at a much lower salary; thorrington is just not worth the risk nor salary investment- the Caps need to make a major upgrade in mid-field and adding his salary is a waste of $$$

assuming that the Caps re-sign cannon for $100 000, i would get rid of jarju and the caps will have saved almost $500 000 from their MLS budget (plus the extra $$$ for jarju's DP salary that could be put towards another quality DP signing who can actually make an impact)

things are finally moving in the right direction under martin rennie- clean house and begin to rebuild/develop a new team over the next 2 years

 

I agree with Sportie: don't bring back Thorrington; he's way too expensive and almost always injured. You just can't keep a guy who's injured so much and who's making so much.

And bring back Cannon at 1/2 the price, make him your experience goalkeeper, while bringing in a younger guy other than Nolly who Rennie trusts more and has a brighter future.

 

Is there any kind of an injury reserve, so the injured player does not count against your salary cap for the games missed? Or does every player on your roster always go against your cap regardless of their status? I really liked Thorington in the last few games he played for us, but you guys are right that he was injured too much.

 

I agree Jarju has to go--way too much money, and he takes up a DP spot.

Can you re-negotiate a DP contract? To the effect, say, that you resign the player minus the DP designation and for less money? If that's possible, I'd say do that with Jarju, and offer him about the same money Brovsky made last year. If he accepts, fine, and he can try to play himself into the squad next year. If he does that, then the Caps gain a player for minimum outlay, and they can increase his salary as warranted later to keep him here. If he doesn't sign, then no great loss, as he did little last year.

As for Thorrington, I liked his play too, but given his age, physical build, and aggressive play (the guy seems to have no fear--remember the tackles he made with a cast on his arm), I can see why he may continue to be injury-prone. If he'd sign for the same money Vagenas made last year, though, I'd keep him as an experienced depth player in midfield. Maybe with fewer games, he'd stay healthy for the times they needed him. He's got lots of MLS experience, and loads more character than Vagenas. That mix of knowledge, character, and tenacious play might make him a good mentor to guys like Alderson coming up through the ranks. He might actually be able to fill the role Vagenas was supposed to fill last year.

 

I dont like to hear he is a hardcore Christian. I don't want to hear him say that his team winning is "part of God's plan", and it was God's plan for the Christians on the other team to lose.

Wally did this after the grey cup. On field he said something to the effect that he believes God has a plan for him and winning this grey cup was part of this plan.

THe question then becomes, does God give the win to the team with the most Christians?

I just hope Rennie keeps it out.

 

I don't think we'll hear much bible-thumping from Rennie. I think his faith shows itself more in a steady work ethic, and a desire to treat people with respect.

What I like most about him is that he seems to be a character guy who believes in giving and demanding hard work, that he seems to be able to also find character people for the team, and that he seems to be able to gain his players' respect. Those things (except for maybe the first one), were conspicuously absent in Soehn, and the team suffered for it.

Carlyle Mitchell, if it's true that he was Rennie's idea, seems to fit his mold. From day one, Mitchell came to play, made the transition without any fuss, and consequently made an immediate impact. If Lee is that kind of guy too, that can only be good, as this team has a couple prima donnas (especially up front) who need some grounding. What a breath of fresh air it would be to go to BC Place game in, game out, and see a bunch of steady guys playing hard each time, with the odd flash of brilliance. Win or lose, I don't think I'd complain much. May just be a winning recipe, both on the field and in terms of FO PR.

And yes, I'm also looking forward to the possibilty of two Rochats--one on each side--taking turns making dashes up the field with the ball.