Speculation has been rife for months, but today it was made official – Brad Knighton is the newest Vancouver Whitecap.
The 26 year old stopper played with Martin Rennie’s Carolina Railhawks in the NASL last season, impressing the Scot so much, that he’s given him his third shot in Major League Soccer.
Knighton comes to Vancouver with previous MLS experience, following spells with New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union. The keeper was unable to hold down a regular starting spot with either, and will hope that it’s third time lucky with the Whitecaps, as he challenges Joe Cannon for the number one jersey.
Rennie is certainly pleased to be working with the keeper again:
<i>"Brad is a solid goalkeeper with strong communication and distribution skills, is excellent on crosses, and brings four years of MLS experience. Brad had an outstanding season last year with me in Carolina and now I look forward to seeing him provide healthy competition between the posts here in Vancouver."</i>
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Coming from a strong collegiate career with UNC-Wilmington, the North Carolina native played 11 games for Indiana Invaders in the USL PSL in 2006.
Knighton got his MLS break after joining New England as an undrafted free agent in 2007, and after impressing in pre-season, he signed a developmental contract with the Revs.
As third choice keeper in New England, first team opportunities were non existent to begin with, and Knighton found himself playing mostly Reserve League matches, before being loaned out to Portland Timbers towards the end of the 2008 season.
He made eight appearances for the Timbers in USL action, before rejoining the Revolution for the 2009 MLS season.
It was a season which saw him get his first Major League Soccer minutes, clocking up six appearances and making 36 saves.
That wasn’t enough to keep him in New England, but it did impress Philadelphia enough for the Union to take him as their third pick in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft.
He wasn’t to get his MLS debut for the Union until August 10th, when he lasted only 22 minutes before being sent off for a professional foul against Dallas. Undeterred, he went on to make eight appearances for Philadelphia during the 2010 season, keeping two clean sheets and recording an impressive 1.10 goals against average.
Knighton also played 180 minutes in friendlies against Celtic, Manchester United and the proper Chivas, without conceding a goal.
None of this was enough to keep him in Philadelphia and he was waived in January last year, which was when Martin Rennie swooped to bring the stopper to Carolina.
Knighton had an impressive 2011 NASL season with the Railhawks, playing every regular season and playoff minute for the club, keeping eight clean sheets in the process.
He made 30 NASL appearances in total (including two playoff games), conceding 26 regular season goals and 4 playoff goals for a goals against average of exactly 1.0 for the season as a whole (0.94 during the regular season) and recording a club record 125 saves during the season.
These exploits not only saw Knighton finish runner up in the NASL ‘Golden Glove’ award, he was named the keeper on the NASL Bext XI team and was enough to see him earn another deserved shot in Major League Soccer.
It’s a chance he’ll be keen to grab with both hands.
When fan favourite Jay Nolly left for Chicago last month, Knighton was the replacement mentioned by many.
He comes in with a great chance of challenging veteran Joe Cannon for the starting spot and establishing himself as Vancouver’s number one for many years.
Cannon and Nolly pushed each other all the way last season and that’s what you need. It may not have led to better results on the pitch, but that was more to do with the backline in front of them, rather than the men in goal.
Knighton’s lack of previous MLS minutes doesn’t concern me. Neither does him moving up from playing in the NASL, as seems to be the obsession of some.
Much is made of players coming in to MLS from D2 level and whether they can make the grade. Although this is true of some players, and maybe certain positions, I don’t feel that it’s anywhere near as big an issue between the sticks.
Put a good keeper in goal, with a strong defence in front of him, and it doesn’t matter whether he’s been playing in MLS, NASL or Mars, he’ll do the business.
Brad Knighton has the pedigree and potential to be a great keeper in MLS. When he’s been given his chance in Major League Soccer, he’s done well. I see no reason why that will not continue with the Caps.
We look forward to seeing what he can bring to a Whitecaps defence that has needed all the boosts of strength it can get after last season’s failings.
Welcome to Vancouver Brad. Another Railhawk and another strong addition to the Whitecaps squad.
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