Game in San Jose- march 11- 2-3 loss 1. THE SNEAKY HAND- it definitely was a red card for ousted, caused by a mix-up between the 2 CBs missing a long header and wondo breaking in 2. ADIOS MR BUSTOS- if he doesnt know it by now, marco is a slow learner- a new MF from the WC 2 team- ben mckendry- gets the start ahead of bustos- time to blow dodge, marco- it aint happening for you here!! 3. MAN, O MAN, O MAN- WHERE ARE YOU??- kekuta's lazy awareness on the SJ 3rd goal was a real piss-off- if anyone thinks that manneh will get a USA nod in a meaningful game, give your head a shake 4. KUDOS- players like teibert, mckendry, nerwinski, and mezquida (until subbed) played well; hurtado got a nice goal; techera hustled more than usual, but is still a lazy twit and i would squish the BUG out of town 5. SO MUCH FOR THAT GREAT IDEA- coach robinon's idea to better prepare the team for 2017 was to train- at great expense no doubt- in wales; i wonder what happened to such promising trainees like ross jenkins, jarju, the young mongolian striker and the2 hungarians- we have 1/6 points to start the season- the Caps will be at or near the bottom of the west conference unless there is a noteable MF brought in and bolanos and montero connect 6. IS IT POSSIBLE???- can SJ really be an offensive, entertaining team? they have added some serious punch this year; same goes for houston- these 2 weaker teams in 2016 look better than the Caps at this juncture 7. YIKES!!!!!- TFC is our next opponent- we could be 1/9 points after saturday!!
You write nice game reports potato..... I don't like Carl thinking the ref made a bad call on the Ousted red. The rules are written and what he did was a textbook case.... just accept it and move on. At least this means we get him in Mexico Tuesday I would think. Teibert's hair along with the beard made him look a bit like Tom Heinneman! I am not ready to predict them at the bottom. I want to see 4 - 6 games with Bolanos and Montero starting together.
HOME GAME VS TFC- MARCH 18- 0-2 LOSS- analysis/comments: 1. Fear, fear, unbelief- the Caps played the game in the first half very tentatively, almost like they were afraid to loose, rather than having the belief they can win- TFC had almost complete control of the play- i dont think we even had a shot on goal!! 2. What is a goal??- 2 goals in 3 games says it all- playing the failed system of a 1 striker attack is like a return to 2016- does this coach ever learn?- montero looks completely lost- is it the return of rivero and kudo??- maybe they are pen-paling with montero as freddie will soon need a shoulder to cry on 3. Stupid is as stupid plays- 2 weeks, 2 red cards, both were stupid plays by ousted and shea-both changed the game 4. Oh really!!- CB kendall waston has been a goat in the last 2 games, directly involved in giving the opposition a goal- he makes big blunders and causes goals- making him captain is a poor choice- too erratic and is disliked by the refs 5. My heart suffers for welsh air- pre-season training in wales was supposed to help the Caps get a good start to the season- at least, that is what coach robinson said- we now have 1/9 points- thank goodness MUFC is looking like a weaker team- sorry to their fans as they suffer from weak ownership and a naive head coach 6. Money lost- attendance is down over 4 500 people- at a ticket rate of $35, it comes to over $ 155 000 in lost revenue- do the owners care?? 7. Where is the ball??- over the 90 minutes, TFC had 60% of the ball in our home stadium!! 2 home games, no goals- WTF!!! 8. Kryptonite Pill- the Caps must be taking the green pill, especially our MFs who, as a group, are one of the weakest in MLS 9. The Plan is a failure- regardless of what the owners- nash and mallett- say, the team's Plan is a failure and will continue to be so- this market will suffer as long as the same owners are directing this ship and keeping the same head coach who is over his head- we will bleed for another 4 years under this Plan with the same owners and the same head coach
I agree with all but I would include Parker as also culpable in the goals (and I am a supporter of Parker). On the first goal, Parker was caught ball watching instead of sticking with Vasquez. As a result, Altidore's header popped over his head and made it easier for Vasque who had separated from him to nod it in. On the second goal, Parker got back but left too much space to help Waston close down Altidore allowing him to get the shot off cleanly. I like Parker but this isn't the first time where I felt a little better/quicker reaction from him in the box could have helped prevent a goal. And with what looks like an anemic attack, the defense is going to have to be perfect for Vancouver to get points.
good comments- parker is a strong, assertive CB, but he suffers from lack of quickness- he would make a good CB in the english championship- i am not sure that the team can have parker and waston as the 2 CBs as they seem to fill the same role- keep parker as he is smarter and not so erratic the defence is better because the RB is steadier than 2016, but he is not up to the level of beitashour- laba is a pit bull but slow as molasses do you agree with my analysis of robinson??
Tchani comes on and immediately Laba becomes a goal scorer! Just kidding, but certainly unexpected to see Laba net two goals. LA was terrible but good to see Vancouver take advantage of their numerous defensive mistakes. I predict that Robinson will keep his job longer than Onalfo.
VANCOUVER VS LA GALAXY- APRIL1, 4-2 : 1. A LIGHT WENT ON- finally, finally, robo starts the skillful and creative bolanos in the #10 MF role and he showed his stuff in a very good performance- dont let the light go out- bolanos IMO is the most skillful and soccer-intelligent player we have 2. SQUISH, SQUISH, SQUISH- the BUG was back and had a terrific, inspiring game- can he play like this again?? 3. THE HOUNDS GOT LOOSE- the players were flying, especially in the last 35 minutes- they played like kids who finally were released from the coaching pen- great to see- the most entertaining game since 2015 4. ALL FOR A FREDDY- montero only played the 2nd half, but had a goal and 2 assists- he has a knack for finding open space inside the box 5. LABELIN' LABA- what was that you say?? mattias gets a brace- YUP- and he was pit bull on defence 6. THE TOUGH KID- davies,at 16, shrugged off the LA players with his strength and swagger- this guy is a BEAST 9. PHEW!!!- finally, the weight came off the players, coach and us fans- its a wonder that the roof didnt deflate with fans taking air into their lungs 10. TAKE IT EASY, TAKE IT EASY- a win is a win, but lets see what happens in the next 2 games- away vs RSL, and home vs Seattle
ANALYSIS GAME VS TIGRES- APRIL 5- 1-3 LOSS: 1. Applauses are in order- with so many reasons- money, money, money- for the whitecaps to have been overwhelmed by tigres, the team came up very well and gave the mexican club a run for it- if bolanos had have scored, it would have been 2-2 in aggregate and game on 2. What a difference- having bolanos as the #10 player in MF is showing a big dividend- his skill, creativity and soccer-intelligence finally shows us why he is a top 11 player in CONCACAF- why it took so long for the head coach to realize that is a bewilderment, but i think even robo sees it 3. Emerging leader- regardless of his age and only 3 years in MLS, tim parker ticks all the boxes, unless the Caps have some other significant player coming in... which i dont see happening 4. Has his wheels back- DMF, mattias laba is playing like he did in 2015- and he is pushing more into offence also which is adding to his game 5. It is happening, sad to say- defender jordan harvey, a tremendous professional, is slowing down- never fast, he is loosing a 1/2 step which is a big difference for quickness against fast opposing players- i can see de jong getting some more time at RB 6. Learning curve- it looks like kendall waston is learning to control his emotions and his over-the-top aggression- his play is not so erratic and allows parker to settle his game
GAME ANALYSIS RSL VS VANCOUVER, APRIL 8- 3-0 LOSS: 1. A twinkie wrapped in a mystery- after being 100% spot on for the game players and team configuration vs LA, robo went with a new 3-5-2- it bewildered the players, especially on defence, clogged up the MF so we could not find enough space to connect with each other, allowed RSL to expose wide areas of our defence and had montero almost being totally disconnected)- IMO, (it wasnt the time to experiment (arent pre-season games meant for that??) 2. is he or isnt he??- christian dean struggled a lot in this game and was beaten frequently- the 3 man defence really exposed his softness and lack of judgement- i am not convinced he will ever be a MLS quality player (de jong was also in no-mans land but i consider the strange team format the reason) 3. success builds success and confidence- IMO robo should have maintained the successful format from the LA game with 3-4 bench players added in to allow some rest for some starting players- WHY START ALL OVER AGAIN?? PUZZLING TO SAY THE LEAST!! 4. MIA- we really missed the intelligence and skill of bolanos, but a good rest was probably in order- he is our #10 player and our best player
the next game at home vs seattle will tell us a lot about the quality of the team and robinson's abilities to coach the team- will i see a team/format like vs LA, or like vs RSL? stick to what works and stop changing- a 3 man defence/5 man MF will not work well for the Caps IMO
GAME ANALYSIS VS SEATTLE, APRIL 14- 2-1 WIN: 1. What is happening here?- CB defender, kendall waston, is finally getting the message from the spiritual world and the coach- play with controlled emotion and physicality- and its working- for me, kendall was the man of the match, regardless of montero's 2 goals 2. The flow over- with waston playing with greater control, it has allowed the other CB, tim parker, to play a more steady game 3. Turning the game on its head- when was the last time that a whitecap scored 2 heading goals in the same game, and against the MLS Cup winners! montero did just that!! if freddy ever gets injured long-term, the Caps are in serious goal scoring trouble- protect him at all cost 4. Isnt it obvious- cristian bolanos is our #10- another strong performance from the costa rican 5. Cross-over player- techera does a sweet job of crossiing the ball into the box- its was a good choice to keep him and trade manneh- this is the techera of 2015- can he continue is the $64 000 000 question? 6. Swatting at flies- goalie, david ousted, has a habit of coming out for crosses and making a hash of it- he did it twice last night and it almost cost us- he has to do better 7. Remembrance Game- the new RB, williams, played like the lost/traded steven beitashour- steady, reliable- definitely an upgrade from last year's mess 8. The lost ball- sending high, lofting balls up to montero is an absolute waste and places freddy in a position where he could get injured- keep the ball on the ground as much as possible 9. Slicing- a beautiful run and pass to techera by rookie, alphonso davies, in the 1st half was a thing of beauty- he cut through the seattle mid-field like a hot knife going through butter and then made a terrific outside of his right boot pass to techera- unfortunately, the bug squished the play 10. Thank God- last year was unbearable when seattle was beating the Caps- the seattle supporters, directly behind me, were singing -THIS IS OUR HOUSE- last night, NO SINGING!! nothing like silence to please my soccer soul
Enjoying your game reports hotpotato..... The Province should publish them as they have no soccer writer on staff anymore.
GAME IN PORTLAND- APRIL 22- 1-2 LOSS: ANALYSIS 1. The Rabbit in the magic hat is Dead- head coach, carl robinson, decided to play a defensive MF with laba, jacobson and tchani- their most talented and effective MF, bolanos, was stuck out on the wing after having played 2 supreme games at home where the team won- what the hell is the coach thinking when he tries to take a simple decision- keeping bolanos in the #10 role- and making it difficult by putting him on the wing and keeping a very defensive MF, limiting the creativity of the game? 2. He is what he is- robo is a naive coach who never seems to quite learn- stubborn, stubborn, stubborn- there are 5 players you dont remove/alter their position- outside of injury or fatique- ousted, parker, laba, bolanos and montero- its the spine of the team and for team consistency, you dont change it- we now have different line-ups for every game 3. A blind squirrel can find a nut- darren mattocks got a goal and i can imagine that some supporters will say we should have kept him- NUTS!!! darren will get any team 3-4 goals each year- is he really worth over $300 000?? so much money for so little return 4. Apples and worse apples- last year, the team had a dismal 42% winning point total; this year, we have a disasterous 33%- is this progress under robinson?? if montero gets a lt injury, the Caps will be the worst team in MLS IMO 5. Rotten apples- can it get any worse?? well, we have the next 3 games on the road- SOOOOOO yes it can and probably will get worse than 33%- and with the owners' reluctance to spend money on intelligent signings- is that possible under robinson??- the Caps will not be in the playoff hunt come august- if we get more than 3/12 points on this road trip, i would be surprised- my guess is 2/12, a 30% clip at 9/30 points 6. The ROBO spin vs the truth- see #4 & 5
I was not able to watch the game. I agree that is a weird midfield (Laba, Tchani, Jacobosn). Saw that Davies did not start. Not too surprised about that as he looked very leg heavy in last game early in second half. Guess that is why Bolanos wound up at wing. They need to get Reyna healthy and hopefully he is decent.
reyna has been on 6 teams in 6 years- he has 28 goals in 120 games (about 1 goal every 5 games)- reading between the lines, jordy is a player that has potential but never lived up to it and is now 23; something is amiss in his soccer DNA- thinking he will be a significant difference for the Caps is wishful IMO he is an underachiever and is trying to get his career back on track with a team that is trying to find an identity, much like him- not a good combination- by the time he returns and gets in top form, it will be august so i dont expect too much from him- but i would love to be surprised
GAME IN MONTREAL, APRIL 29- 2-1 WIN 1. Player of the match- andrew jacobson was easily the best whitecap player- who would have thunk he could score a goal like that??!! 2. The bug seems to have risen- its beginning to appear that techera has got the message about putting in a complete shift- his work rate has dramatically increased- KEKUTA WHO?? 3. Steady as she goes- waston is showing that he has learned to control his body when tackling- less can be more- no yellow cards this year says it all 4. What could we become- with a bigger, shit-disturbing central striker for montero to play off, more goals would come, more wins- if fredy gets injured, we are not a team of committee scoring, regardless of what happened today- unless he comes cheap, it wont happen 5. Enjoy the air- well, we moved up to 6th place in the west conference and the breathing becomes a lot easier... at least until the next game where in the MLS plummeting to 9th can happen in 1 game 6. Got it right- the head coach stuck with the same lineup as last week- unusual behavior for robbo- but he got it right 7. Ride it out- a win is a win is a win- enjoy it as we play 2 more road games, the next being in the rarified air of colorado- pass the air bottles!
Colorado has problems this year but getting 3 pts from them on the road is still quite an accomplishment considering the altitude. I always get a kick out of how sea level teams way overcook their passes in the first 15 minutes or so of games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The thin air definitely has an impact on the flight of the ball. Plus, away teams tend to fade in the last 10-15 minutes of the game at Dick's. Once Shea gets back to 90' fitness, we will see Bolanos starting at ACM where everyone wants to see him. Montero will be up top and Shea can start at LM which is a far better position for him than forward. In the interim, the Jacobson, Tchani and Laba midfield has done better than expected. Great to see Shea score. Let's hope for things continue to look up for him. Still, he is not and never will be a forward. LM or LB, certainly.
GAME IN COLORADO- MAY 5- 1-0 WIN- my analysis: 1. Sliced and diced- the pass through by mezquida to shea for the winning goal was a thing of beauty- the Rapids- after a very good 2016- has returned to its former years of mish-mash- gotta feel for their true supporters 2. Smart is as smart does- the head coach stays with the same lineup for 3 consecutive games, earning 6/9 points on the road- even if they loose in the last road game, coming back with 6/12 points is a small miracle (and i predicted 2-4 points!!! nice to be wrong) 3. The Who from whoville- barnes and manneh?? the grinch has had the last laugh- the trades for tchani and shea have benefitted the Caps more than orlando and columbus- getting rid of the lazy, poorly-skilled kekuta manneh perhaps impacted the play of techera who has had a very good month 4. Nada, nada, nada- i am not convinced that this team has the force to make the playoffs, but it has been more promising over the past month than i anticipated- THUMBS UP TO THE PLAYERS AND COACHES 5. The worry warts- maybe with the opposing teams worrying about the scoring threat of montero, the MF and AMF players are scoring- laba, jacobson, shea, techera- still waiting for the skillful bolanos to show his scoring touch 6. The beastie boy-man- i watched the 16 year old rookie, alphonso davies, shrug off 2 Rapid players with ease, attack and then make a terrific pass 7. Hiding but not forgotten- i wonder what the young striker/AMF, yordy reyna, will add to the Caps- he should return by june- if he can capture some of his potential that other teams gave up on, then he will add another piece of the puzzle to adding a scoring touch beyond montero
HOME GAME VS SPORTING KANSAS CITY, MAY 20- 2-0 WIN- analysis: 1. The Boys Have Landed- after a grueling, yet successful, 4 games on the road, the blue and white landed- welcome home! 2. Weren't they supposed to be- one would think the players would be gassed out after a month-long road trip- after a slow start, they picked up the pace in the 2nd half and should have won by 4 3. Of course he was- the Caps best player, bolanos, was the man of the match, assisting on both goals- such a smart, skillful player 4. Dried and wrinkled- striker, fredy montero, looks all pruned out with his lack of goals over the past 5 games- nada, nada, nada, nada, nada- he telegraphs his PKs and has had his last 2 stopped- he must be banned to the training ground for practice 5. The tandem is working- the duo CBs of parker and waston are doing a tremendous job of shutting down the opposing players- beasts to say the least! 6. The Bug is snug- Techera has elevated his play this season and looks very comfortable in his role of delivering precise crosses into the box... and 5 goals to boot 7. My electric chair- everytime the Kid, alphonso davies, attacks the opposing goal, i am zapped off my seat- i hope my butt gets more zaps this year 5. Five and counting- believe it or not, but head coach robinson has gone 5 games in a row with the same starting line-up- and we have 9/15 points- maybe... just maybe...
GAME VS MONTREAL, MAY 23, CANADA CUP AT BC PLACE- 2-1 WIN- analysis: 1.Right off the top- lets get it straight from the start- is it any wonder- after a goal and an assist- that Man U is scouting the young alphonso davies? the Kid lit up peoples' eyes and hearts with his thrusting play in the opening 45 minutes- such an electric talent- you could light up thousands of homes with his electric play 2. Steady as she goes- that sums up the play of utility player, marcel de jong- a valuable player who can play many positions 3. Sleep time- ben mckendry fell asleep on a corner kick, allowing patrice bernier an open shot at goal- saved by the wonder foot of the Cap goalie, spencer richey-ben needs to set his alarm better 4. The beautiful legs are gone- the aging mauro rosales struggles with the pace of the game- time to hang up the boots and move onto coaching- young players like mckendry deserve to be on the starting 18 5. Time to admit the truth- Cap player, marco bustos, must now realize he will never play regularly under robo's coaching- time to smell other roses in other fields 6.The sizzle came and was eaten- the game was very good entertainment, unlike past CC games 7. So smart- i sure would love to see patrice bernier take 10 years off his legs as canada could use his talents and there is more juice to the team than in past years 8. Gotta love him- the tireless and passionate play of nicholas mezquida is a pleasure to watch- i call him the BUZZ (not to be confused with the Bug) 9. Where, oh where, has my baby gone- the young debyi flores- signed by the Caps on a 5 year contract- didnt even suit up for the game- did i say he was not good enough for MLS? YUP, i sure did 10. The fantasy might be a reality- heard from 2 sources that alphonso davies is applying for canadian citizenship, opening up the possibility of him putting on the red and white jersey for canada- we are producing some young significant strikers- larin, hamilton, ricketts, jackson, hoilette, akendele, osorio and i hope, davies
I agree and your comment on Rosales is right on. I was at the Seattle match which was his first game for Vancouver. He only played the last 5 minutes but he looked like he was already fatigued and very slow. I don't see him able to contribute this season unless he is hiding an injury that gets better.
GAME VS DC UNITED AT BC PLACE, MAY 27- ANALYSIS: 1. The bite in the arse- you only get so many chances in a game to score- i stopped counting after 10- lack of finish and some determined DC defence- count the teeth marks on the Caps' arse 2. The 12th DC player- damned woody had his way- 4 balls struck the posts- the CD goalie needs to send some love to woody 3. The phantom strikes again- how the ref missed a flagrant dive to earn DC a PK is a mystery- he was only 2-3 yards away 4. The evener- like in all sports, over the course of a season the bad calls and woody will equal out- an unlucky day at the office for the boys 5. Where is fredy??- he seems lost out there- maybe a sit on the pine will do him better 6. Caps MOTM- cristian bolanos did his stuff again- worked his socks off and connected the players- a driving force on the team 7. I hate them!!!- waston's passion to kick long balls to the front players like the short montero and techera is just too easy for defenders to pick them off- cant kendall be smarter than that??!! 8. The big thanks- seeing goalie, bill hamid, giving thanks to the soccer gods on our PK miss- yup it was woody again- is just too much to bear- PS- they dont exist