Hallelujah. Gone for another year are the quiet days of the off-season, where supporters can only bicker about their new chant ideas while they wait for news of the next squad changes. You will no longer be forced to tune in to a grainy, poorly produced single camera online stream, that rudely interrupts play with a yogurt advertisement, just to catch a glimpse of your club playing it’s second teamers against a college soccer team. Now you can count the days left on one hand before you get to head down Robson Street to sing for your Whitecaps for another season.
It’s the third iteration of the MLS Whitecaps, and there is a buzz around the 2013 roster that is very reminiscent of last season’s squad. Although there were some significant changes this off-season, including the shipping out of a Designated Player for the second year in a row, there was a clear intent to maintain a core of players from last season.
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This is the starting XI from the Whitecaps last game of 2012 in LA. Nine remain.
So, let’s look at the additions and subtractions and consider how it’ll look on the pitch on March 2nd and beyond.
<b>Players Out:</b> Brian Sylvestre (GK), Martin Bonjour (D), John Thorrington (M), Michael Nanchoff (M), Barry Robson (M), Tiago Ulisses (M), Dane Richards (M/F), Etienne Barbara (F), Atiba Harris (F)
<b>Players In:</b> Simon Thomas (GK), Brad Rusin (D/M), Johnny Leveron (D), Daigo Kobayashi (M), Nigel Reo-Coker (D/M), Erik Hurtado (M/F), Paulo Jr.(M/F), Kekuta Manneh (M/F), Corey Hertzog (F), Tom Heinemann (F)
Most of the departures are not entirely surprising. Barbara picked up some injury problems early in the season and never managed to find his form. Sylvestre and Nanchoff never developed as much as the Whitecaps wanted, and Thorrington’s injury issues are well documented.
Martin Bonjour was an obvious case of salary cap management. A bruising physical centre back, Martin was plenty good to play in the MLS but just wasn't good enough to justify his hefty salary after Andy O’Brien proved to be an excellent partner for Jay DeMerit at a cheaper rate.
Barry Robson was the only real shocker, considering he did put his stamp on the game on more than one occasion including a dominant performance against the Galaxy at home. Now that some time has gone on, some sound bites from the likes of Jay DeMerit and Bob Lenarduzzi showed that it was perhaps less to do with his actual performance and more to do with his attitude on the pitch and in the locker room.
The new additions certainly add depth all over the pitch. On the back line, Brad Rusin adds a daunting presence and is quite good in the air. Johnny Leveron may just be the centre back of the future for the Whitecaps, a player who has oodles of experience for his age after playing both for Honduras’ Olympic U23 and 20 senior team caps. Both of these players will slot in ahead of Carlyle Mitchell on the depth chart and will give squad rotation options for Martin Rennie at the back.
Midfield is the most interesting transition this season.
Davide Chiumiento was much loved by fans and was certainly the most creative midfielder the Whitecaps had, and while he was full of flair and flash, he lacked consistency and occasionally floated out of games. He will be replaced by Daigo Kobayashi this season. Similar in their highly technical styles, Daigo will hopefully be able to provide consistent creativity, and if this preseason is any indication, he will have a bit more of a predisposition to make a run deep into the box and finish a few chances on his own or look to get on the end of a cross on a smart run.
Barry Robson’s tenacity and bite in the midfield will look to be replaced with Nigel Reo-Coker. It will be interesting to see which one becomes more effective in the MLS, as Barry Robson was coming off an MVP season for an upper table Championship side despite being on the downhill side of his career. Reo-Coker, on the other hand, is only 28 and is smack dab in the middle of his physical prime. Nigel has also played consistently at a higher level, but it has been a couple of years since he was considered a top talent in the English Premiership. Reo-Coker won’t have the set play ability of Robson, and isn’t known as much for his truculence, but he will certainly be a physical presence in the middle of the park and may be more of a fit into the style the Whitecaps want to play by maintaining possession and unlocking defences with smart passes to the speed merchants up front.
Erik Hurtado and Kekuta Manneh may be the most interesting new additions to follow. While both are MLS rookies, and it’s always scary to rely on first year players, they both appear to have the tools to contribute immediately. Both have jet fuel in their veins, and both can score. Hurtado is already a grown man and looks strong and able to beat defenders 1v1. Manneh has an absolutely lightning fast first step, and can even outpace Darren Mattocks. Manneh also has very good technical abilities, and still is smart enough to keep his head up and move the ball when it’s best. That all said, a handful of preseason games and a dozen PDL matches is not enough to exactly want to bet the farm on and expect both to have spells of disappointing play at times during the long MLS season.
In Paulo Jr., Corey Hertzog, and Tom Heinemann, the Whitecaps are really going after depth. All three have something to give, but won’t be good enough to challenge for a starting XI spot too often. Corey Hertzog has impressed this preseason, but he and Heinemann will have a hard time cracking a depth chart at forward that includes a rookie of the year candidate, the 2011 Whitecaps MVP, and a $1.2 million designated player.
Another exciting consideration is the development of current players.
Brad Knighton hopes to settle in to a starting position for the entire year and has shown he has what it takes to be given an opportunity as a number one. Gershon Koffie has been the most capable and consistent midfielder for two years running, and has seemed to develop more every game. He still can add more attacking prowess to his game and needs to work on his game to game consistency, but there is no reason to think Koffie couldn’t be an MLS All Star by years end, especially if Reo-Coker can be an influence on the still young Ghanaian. Like Gershon, Darren Mattocks will also be looking for a more consistent 2013, and if he can find it, he may be challenging for the MLS golden boot. Even Russell Teibert is getting a good run out in preseason and if he isn’t loaned out, he may get more of an opportunity to get minutes off the bench.
One of the main concerns going into the new season is the back line. While a back line of Lee, O’Brien, DeMerit, and Rochat could give any MLS club a run for it’s money, all four are getting a bit long in the tooth, with Rochat being by far the youngest at 30. It would not be unreasonable to expect at least one to have some time spent out of the line up due to injuries, and the drop off in talent is somewhat noticeable. Unfortunately, this is the reality of a salary cap league, and the Whitecaps will have to hope that the four remain mostly unscathed if the team wants to challenge for the top of the Western table.
My biggest fear is that we again are forced to watch a season with a lack of any creativity. While Kobayashi appears to be a good signing, and the class of Reo-Coker should help the middle of the park, and the speed and youth on the wing should help open things up all over the pitch, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we struggle to score if the rookies fail to take off and we’re forced to rely on a single attacking player again like the beginning of last season.
All in all you can’t have too many complaints going into March 2nd. On paper, the Whitecaps are better than they were at any point last season and there is some depth to cover squad rotation, injuries, and suspensions. Even better news for the Whitecaps is that their First Kick opponent is barely even able to fill out a 18 man roster, so there should be an abundance of confidence building play with plenty of ‘Caps goals and TFC gaffes to welcome the home crowd.
We’ll see you at the match this Saturday.
Damn that feels good to say.
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