<i>The months of waiting are finally over and the new MLS season kicks off on Saturday for most teams. The Whitecaps kick off their fourth Major League Soccer season with their fourth consecutive home First Kick match, this time against New York and not Canadian opposition.
We have a couple of preview articles for the new campaign coming up today and tomorrow, and we kick things off as Steve takes a look at the 2014 Vancouver Whitecaps and brings you, especially those who haven't been following the Caps' offseason all that closely, bang up to date....</i>
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<b>Last Season:</b>
(13-9-12, 7th in the Western Conference) After a strong first half of the season which saw the club near the top of MLS standings, the Whitecaps slipped in the table which saw them miss the playoffs. The disappointment of missing the playoffs saw a coaching change, from Martin Rennie to Carl Robinson, as well as some major player movement.
<b>Additions:</b>
MF Sebastián Fernández, MF Nicolás Mezquida, MF Matias Laba, MF Mehdi Ballouchy, MF Pedro Morales, DF Steven Beitashour, DF Christian Dean, DF Ethen Sampson, GK Paolo Tornaghi, GK Marco Carducci
<b>Losses:</b>
FW Camilo Sanvezzo, FW Corey Hertzog, FW Tommy Heinemann, MF Daigo Kobayashi, MF Jun Marques Davidson, MF Matt Watson, DF Lee Young-Pyo, DF Brad Rusin, DF Greg Klazura, GK Joe Cannon, GK Brad Knighton, GK Simon Thomas
<b>Key Addition:</b>
The Whitecaps have been looking for their "number 10" since Davide Chiumiento left and they may have finally found it in Chilean <b>Pedro Morales</b>. Coming over from La Liga, Morales is expected to deliver creativity and goals from the midfield while providing more quality from set pieces and corners.
<b>Key Loss:</b>
If not for the departure of <b>Camilo Sanvezzo</b> it would have been difficult to identify a player that the Whitecaps would miss this coming season. While there were no guarantees that he would have repeated his golden boot effort the Caps will almost certainly miss his 22 MLS goals.
<b>Underrated:</b>
With two aging starters in the centre of their backline, the Whitecaps will count heavily on <b>Johnny Leveron</b> as the first man off the bench. The Honduran international plays a smooth game at the backline and will further the attack from the back with excellent distribution. He will also be hungry to succeed and secure minutes in a last hope of getting back into World Cup reckoning.
<b>Player on Hot Seat:</b>
There are many in the soccer community that still question the ability of <b>David Ousted</b> being a number one keeper. It didn’t help in the last week of preseason when backup Paolo Tornaghi played stellar and Ousted let in a weak goal against the Timbers. A few sub par games and the pressure will most certainly mount on the Dane, but this could yet bring the best out of him.
<b>Breakthrough Player:</b>
Ending the season with a flourish including three goals against Seattle Sounders <b>Kekuta Manneh</b> should be a prime candidate to develop into a star. Would not be surprised to see him in the starting lineup once he shakes off some rust after missing the most of the preseason with an injury. The pressure will be on him though to have that same impact more regularly and it is key for his development that he does not suffer a Mattocksesque sophomore slump.
<b>Ideal Starting IX:</b>
(4-2-3-1) David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Andy O’Brien, Jay DeMerit, Jordan Harvey; Nigel Reo-Coker, Matias Laba; Russell Teibert, Pedro Morales, Sebastian Fernandez; Kenny Miller
<b>Three Key Questions:</b>
<b>1. Where do the goals from?</b>
Robinson stated early in his regime, before the Camilo debacle, that he wanted balanced scoring, which will be more prevalent now that the Caps 22 goal striker is off to Mexico. The biggest factor will be a bounce back season from Darren Mattocks, the rise of Kekuta Manneh and a relatively healthy year from Kenny Miller. Those three should benefit from the improving midfield who will help create more chances.
<b>2. How long does it take to gel?</b>
At this point there looks to be 4-5 new starters on Saturday from the team that played most of last season. The importance of the chemistry will be vital up front where the South American additions will add flair and creativity to the attack.
<b>3. Will the kids play?</b>
Youth was a big talking point when the new coach was appointed but since training camp has opened the Whitecaps have signed a number of veteran players. As of right now only Teibert, Mezquida and Laba are players under 23 that are likely to be in the starting eleven, with only one addition from the Residency in goalkeeper Marco Carducci. With no reserve league, where will the minutes come for young players like Dean, Alderson and Adekugbe?
<b>Best Case Scenario:</b>
They survive any chemistry issues through the first ten games and keep their heads above water. Through the summer Robinson has the team roaring through the schedule as they start piling up victories and enter the playoffs as a fourth seed.
<b>Worst Case Scenario:</b>
The Caps suffer injuries to their strikers and are unable to get on the same page which sees them suffer through a long winless streak to start the season. This forces more changes to the club during the transfer window and will see them out of the playoff picture before the summer is over.
<b>Prediction:</b>
6th in the Western Conference.
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