I don't think we can quite call Vancouver Whitecaps a 'Club In Crisis', but there have been a lot of worrying signs recently that all is not well on the good ship Vancouver.
After the shambles that was the 2011 MLS season, this was meant to be the beginning of a positive new chapter for the Caps.
The appointment of Martin Rennie was well received. A sought after, young manager, with a proven track record, albeit in the lower levels of North American football. He’s used to coming in, clearing out, rebuilding and still achieving success at the end of it all.
There’s been no outlandish claims as to what the Whitecaps are going to achieve next year, just an honest reality that this is a work in progress.
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When he landed in Vancouver post season, he stated that he will set <i>"ambitious"</i> yet <i>"realistic"</i> goals for the team next year, and these will be done <i>"incrementally"</i> based on full evaluation and operational factors, such as did he get the players he wanted to get.
So, no false dawns and amazing proclamations this time around. With Barber now out of the way, I believe we will see a much different public outlook from the Whitecaps Front Office.
The 2011 season has been plagued by ticketing fiascos, front office upheaval, a terse relationship with the Southsiders and the worst on field performance of any team in Vancouver Whitecaps history. Another major priority, the securing of a purpose built training facility for the Caps, is close, but still not a reality.
The on-pitch disaster goes without saying. Barber infamously stated that the Caps want to be one of the top 25 football clubs in the world. Under his tutelage, they struggled to be one of the top 25 in North America.
Off the pitch, it’s just been one clusterfuck after another.
With three Head Coaches, numerous other changes in coaching personnel, a turnover of front office staff and now the resignation of their CEO, Vancouver Whitecaps' 2011 can be described as tumultuous.
Such upheaval does not give the impression of a well structured, or happy, organization. What the whole football club needs now, is stability.
Can they get it with the old D2 team of Bobby Lenarduzzi and Rachel Lewis at the helm, or are the problems too deep rooted for a quick fix? What exactly are the problems and where did it all go wrong?
There is a genuine excitement in Vancouver about the season(s) ahead. A positivity that hasn’t existed for what seems like a long time.
We have a good team in the making and a very bright future with the younger kids we have coming through.
I can't wait to see what the 2012 season has in store, and I'm counting down the days till first kick.
In spite of this, the Whitecaps continue to give the impression of a Club verging on being in turmoil.
It’s been an annus horribilis if you’re a Whitecaps fan.
It’s not an easy one to pinpoint why. There are just so many factors. You can definitely see a slippery slope since Barber’s appointment, and no, I’m not laying all the blame at the Englishman’s door. He does though have to shoulder a lot of it as he was the grand overseer.
It has been a disappointing couple of years. It’s as if two years of Whitecaps history have been pretty much a non event.
At a season ticket holder event prior to the 2010 season, not long after Barber had arrived, fans were told that despite building towards MLS, the Whitecap’s goals were firmly set on landing the NASL Championship and a Champions League spot by winning their first Voyageurs Cup. They wanted to win every competition they took part in.
The Caps achieved neither. Sound familiar?
The 2010 season was meant to one in which the foundations were set for MLS transition. Players would be brought on board early that would bring a unity and familiarity into the new era.
It was a dreadful year for entertainment. The Caps may have lost out in the USSF D2 semi finals in a penalty shoot-out, but some of the football on display was hard to watch at times.
Players came and went at an alarming rate. It was like one big trial game, but one in which fans had to pay a lot of money to watch.
The whole year now seems like a waste and that is one of the factors causing problems today. The Caps did not go into MLS with a firm footing on the playing side.
Most of the players have moved on, including many fan favourites. We didn’t seem to learn or build anything and now, once again, we find ourselves rebuilding, although from a slightly bigger and better core group.
There were a lot of unhappy players last season, and even with the introduction of Head Coach number three, there is still unrest.
A story which has not yet broken out into the national spotlight is that the Whitecaps have an unhappy ‘Player of the Year’ on their hands.
Brazilian striker Camilo was one of the few shining lights in a season of despair.
He was most people’s Caps MVP. The top scorer in the side, he outperformed DP Eric Hassli, a player on a guaranteed $766,455 more than the South American star.
Camilo, rightly, expected to be rewarded and valued for his contribution with a payrise. The Caps seem to be happy to oblige, but it would appear that the parties are a little apart.
This has forced the striker onto Twitter and a series of worrying tweets these last few days have indicated that all is not well and fans fear they are about to lose one of the few real attacking threats in the Caps arsenal.
The counter argument to Camilo’s hissy fit is that he wouldn’t have taken a pay cut if he had underperformed and he has signed what is believed to have been a four year contract on a certain reward level.
When you consider that the flop that is Mustapha Jarju is raking in $426,883 and a DP spot for contributing nothing and sitting on the bench, it is only human nature to feel some ire, especially when a Chinese newspaper report was seemingly indicating that the unproven Long Tan was going to be earning $100,000 next year.
Whatever your feelings in this matter, the one thing I’m sure that everyone can agree on is that the issue shouldn’t have made it on to Twitter.
Who actually yields the control at the Caps FO and where is it? No one seems to be able to handle what should be simple control issues.
The Young-Pyo Lee signing was an example of how not to handle a transfer. It was the worst kept secret in MLS this year, with the player himself officially announcing it on Twitter the day before the Caps official announcement. Everybody already knew days before anyway.
Just when the Club are showing positive signs, an issue like Camilo’s future drags it back down into the mire again and it’s been like that all year.
For a team with megarich owners, and one which we are told is the envy of MLS through the amount of corporate money brought in, we appear very loathe to splash the cash.
The financial reward for having more sponsors than I could even begin to name, has not trickled down to the on-field product. The fans don’t really seem to be getting a lot out of it, apart from the odd headache when trying to deal with the official travel partner.
Marketing in the city has been terrible this year, with ads and promotions at an apparent premium. We sold tickets, so maybe I shouldn’t complain. Something seems to be working, but will it hold up in this financial climate?
The front office has not made a good transition from D2 to ‘major league’ level and you really do have to ask whether there is any hope of this improving next year. They can’t get much worse, but is the talent, personnel and numbers present to make it much better? This has been one of the keys behind a multitude of the mistakes this year.
Then we have the question of how much influence and input into the day to day running of the Club does majority owner Greg Kerfoot have?
Who ultimately made the decision to fire Teitur and to hire Rennie?
If Kerfoot does have influence in these major decisions, then this is still going to be an issue going forward.
Lenarduzzi and Lewis have worked with him for years, so are most likely to be on the same page, but if a new man was to come in, how would any such interference be viewed?
Few in Vancouver are prepared to knock Kerfoot. He is the reason that the city not only has a MLS team, but an actual professional football club in the first place. We owe him a hell of a lot.
I know if I had multi millions of dollars invested into a love, I would want to be shaping how it runs and have more of a hands on role.
He can’t be happy with how things have played out this year. No one is.
So many questions raised in this piece I know, and I wish we had the answers, or even some of them. And that’s the problem.
When so many things have gone wrong in such a short period of time, you can’t expect miracles over night.
The problems are not too deep rooted to make them impossible to fix, but they have embedded themselves for a couple of years now.
We are seeing signs of improvements. I'm very positive the Caps will turn things around.
An exciting new manager, better supporter relations and the promise of players arriving who will get the job done and homegrown prospects ready to break through. The same mistakes will not be repeated, but what Vancouver Whitecaps need most of all are football people, in the top positions down, that understand the uniqueness and challenges of the North American game.
Lenarduzzi and Lewis may not have all the fancy business qualifications, but at least they know the game here and have experience running the Caps organization. It’s enough to steer the ship into calmer waters. It’s a start and must only be for the short term, unless they prove themselves to be a formidable team, which would be a surprising bonus.
Many fans, and the local media, gave the team a ‘mulligan’ this year. They are unlikely to be so accommodating as we move forward.
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