Martin Rennie has put together a 2013 squad which promises more excitement, more creativity, more goals and more depth.
Despite all of the players at his disposal, there appears to be a pretty general consensus as to who should fill the majority of the positions, but there are still a few questions and disagreements around who should play in some areas of the park.
Who will be the starting goalkeeper? Who will cover for YP Lee when he doesn't travel? Will Nigel Reo-Coker be used as a defensive midfielder or a central one? How much starting time will Rennie's young rockets see? And just where will Kenny Miller and Camilo Sanvezzo fit into the plans?
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We polled AFTN writers Steve Pandher and Jay Duke for their views, along with my own, on who their preferred choice of Whitecaps starting eleven would be if Martin Rennie has a fully fit squad available and at his disposal.
Here's what we came up with:
Jay and myself are basically in agreement, apart from the goalkeeping position, but I feel that Rennie will want to go for the experience and for me, Cannon is the better shot stopper and big save specialist, although Knighton perhaps has more stamina and is the better distributer of the ball.
I personally think that Martin Rennie will go with a home starting eleven, full of youth and speed, and a slightly different away side, more set out to sit deeper and try and grind out what they can.
Kekuta Manneh and Erik Hurtado may split game time, but if Kenny Miller doesn't start the season contributing what he is expected to, both may end up starting at his expense. Camilo Sanvezzo could find himself used as a starter on the road, where some more experience is needed in there, although Jay feels that Rennie may give him the nod as the regular starter with the left wing spot being his to lose.
Although Steve would rather see Salgado and Hurtado in there as starters, he does feel that Rennie will go with Manneh and Miller instead.
So what are your thoughts on that?
The great aspect of the current squad is that there should be strong competition for starting places week in and week out, a fact that many of the veterans like Kenny Miller and Jay DeMerit have already addressed this week.
And that can only be good for the team's chances.
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