With the Whitecaps seemingly unrivalled in Major League Soccer this weekend, the spotlight is on the fringe and reserve players as they get put through their paces in three friendly matches against top local university sides over six days.
This is an opportunity for some to convince Martin Rennie that they don't just deserve to be in the gameday eighteen, they should be starting. For others, it's a chance to break into that eighteen, whilst others still are wanting to show that they deserve to be part of the Whitecaps MLS squad this season.
Or at least that's how it should be. There wasn't much of it on display in Thursday's 3-0 drubbing by CIS Champions UBC Thunderbirds.
Sure, it's only one game, it's early in the season, and there's still an air of unfamiliarity amongst the players, but the nature of the defeat does raise some initial questions as to whether the 2013 Whitecaps currently have the quality of depth that the team will need to reach their goals this season and where is the hunger from these guys?
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But let's get something out of the way first of all. UBC played a great game of football and thoroughly deserved their victory. They bossed the game, were physical where it mattered, looked more creative, took their chances well and showed what quality there is at the top CIS level. They have a number of quality players that deserve to be given a look at the next level.
The footwork shown by Sean Haley for the second goal, as he waltzed through four Caps players, would have earned him MLS 'Goal of the Week' honours most weeks.
UBC not only outshot the Caps (12 to 10), but they did what the Whitecaps fail to do time and time again - get their shots on target. They outdid the Caps eight to three in that regard.
Let's take nothing at all away from the Thunderbirds. The Whitecaps played badly primarily through UBC playing so well. A view echoed by Martin Rennie, who spoke to the UBC guys after the game. So what did he tell them:
<i>"Just well done. I was really impressed with how they played. We're building a great partnership here with UBC and there's a lot of respect from us to them and towards their team and that respect grows even more when we play in a game like that, that's played with a great spirit and a great intensity.
"They've obviously had a very good season and they're a solid team, so I just wanted to encourage them and congratulate them. No-one likes to lose, but how you lose is important too."</i>
But there's no getting away from it, this was a woeful performance by the Caps. Matt Watson is probably the only player who came away from the game with pass marks, and that's just for his second half performance. He had the Whitecaps best scoring chance of the game, cracking a fierce 30 yard drive off the right hand post.
This wasn't a weak or third string Whitecaps side out there. The Caps used 15 players, 11 of them have MLS minutes under their belt, three of them this season.
For those that haven't already seen it, this is how the Caps lined up:
Brad Knighton; Greg Klazura, Johnny Leveron, Adam Clement (Ethen Sampson 57), Jordan Harvey; Matt Watson, Russell Teibert; Erik Hurtado, Camilo Sanvezzo (Paulo Jr. 67), Kekuta Manneh (Tommy Heinemann 61); Corey Hertzog (Caleb Clarke 75)
What's perhaps most scary about this line up is that if Martin Rennie put this team out to face Edmonton in the Voyageurs Cup, you wouldn't bat an eyelid.
So what went wrong?
Well for starters, UBC played as a team. The Whitecaps played as individuals that simply did not look to be on the same page. Communication was non existent.
There's that early season rustiness of course, but UBC are just back for their spring schedule too and haven't had an intense two month training camp under their belt. Every player is going to have off days and you can throw up arguments like it being the first time many of the Caps team had played a full 90 minutes in a long time, but that's just excuses and when the whole team is playing like that, then there's something not right.
UBC were more up for the game. You expect that. This is a bunch of college guys up against professionals, with a chance to put themselves in the shop window.
But as we outlined above, all of these Whitecaps had their own point to prove and there is no excuse for any of them not being 'up' for a game like this. This is exactly the kind of game that I want to see players go out and try and impress the hell out of their boss. They're not going to get better chances to do that.
Games like these show the character and attitude of a player and some of them frankly didn't look like they wanted to be out there.
Camilo struggled to get past the UBC backline on so many occasions, and this is the guy that we are probably going to have in the team against Houston with Kenny Miller being away on Scotland duty. I know he's a player that often needs the big occasion to see the best out of him, but it is concerning.
Corey Hertzog was hardly noticeable for the time he was out there and Tommy Heinemann lasted all of 15 minutes before seeing a straight red for first elbowing and then pushing Thunderbirds defender Will Hyde. Are either of these guys really going to offer more than someone like Caleb Clarke this season? Will any of them even see many MLS minutes?
UBC easily negated the speed of Erik Hurtado and Kekuta Manneh, both of whom were playing at a supposedly higher level than this last season. Hurtado looked lively in the opening minutes but then soon fell into the rut of the rest of the team and Manneh had a first half chance which he blasted over.
If this was a good look at the depth of the Caps midfield and attack this year, it was a bit of a worry. After all the good things we've heard about Russell Teibert this preseason. he played particularly poorly, maybe hindered by picking up a booking in just the sixth minute for a crunching tackle.
The defence looked a little slow and were often on the back foot and it wasn't Brad Knighton's best game in a Caps jersey. He looked a little bit frustrated out there, exemplified when he charged after a UBC player after a collision in the box. It can't be easy when just a few weeks ago you thought you were the number one keeper but now you're playing against a college team in the pouring rain. Again, this shows a player's character. How well do they handle such adversity?
Adam Clement's addition takes the MLS squad back up to 29 after Carlyle Mitchell's loan to Edmonton, and he had a quiet game. He looks a big lad back there and mobile too. Johnny Leveron was dwarfed beside him and although he didn't excel, he did show some touches that showed his international calibre. They were few and far between though. Greg Klazura was getting beat and caught out at right back at times and I much prefer him on the left. This is when getting him more meaningful minutes last season would have helped.
I still think we'll see Jordan Harvey traded, maybe with at least one other, and depending on what we trade for, this may help our depth issues and hopefully add a little bit of experience at lesser money.
Additional depth may also come from the MLS transfer window, which is still open until April 15th. Still plenty of time to see Peter Odemwingie camped in the BC Place car park.
Whether we add to the current depth now, or in the summer, you feel it is still needed.
Martin Rennie tried to put a positive spin on proceedings, but he was clearly raging at times, leaving his seat in the stand to go down and shout on the touchline:
<i>"Winning the game 3-0 isn't as valuable to us as losing the game 3-0 at this stage, especially when there is nothing really on the line."</i>
Although I understand where he's coming from, this group of players should not be losing a game like this 3-0 and certainly not with the performance that they put in.
But Rennie did also have some words of caution for players who may feel they can just turn up to games likes this and go through the motions:
<i>"The players who are not playing in the first team need to realise that one of their responsibilities is whatever game they're playing in they have to show up and represent the club well."</i>
With basically the same squad of players now heading to Victoria on Saturday to take on the UVic Vikes, what I'm most interested in seeing is how they personally bounce back as both individual and as a team.
The team had a whole different intensity when they came out for the second half against UBC. It would have been an interesting Caps dressing room at half time.
This next game will show just what mindset our fringe guys are bringing to the team this year. They should come out all guns blazing with many points to prove.
SFU are then up on Tuesday, in what will be another game against a side who will certainly be up for causing an upset and especially keen to go one better than UBC.
So should we read too much into this game?
Probably not (I know, I could have saved you reading 1600 words there!), and although it's far too early to describe our depth as a major concern (I'll reserve full judgement till I see it tested in MLS action), there are some initial worries and some questions do need to be asked.
These games are more about getting playing time and developmental minutes than the result, but you at least want to see the right attitude out there and leave with some feeling that there was some actual development!
Were they just caught cold by a team more eager to perform? Why were they not as eager? Do we have a group of fringe players who can turn it on and turn it off? How will they now respond to such a defeat?
Most importantly, can we rely on our depth players to come in and do a job when injuries and suspensions call on them? And do we have the players to sustain a possible extended season with Champions League and playoff games, and all the issues those can bring?
From Thursday's showing, the answer is no. It's now up to all of these players to go out in the next games and show that this is the wrong perception. That the UBC game was a freak result and that Martin Rennie has put together a squad with just the right level of depth, talent and desire to succeed. That if we were to put this team out in the initial stages of the Voyageurs Cup, that they will be able to get the job done.
What we don't want to go through is another summer squad overhaul, but if some of these guys don't shape up, then they'll most certainly be shipped out. That thought alone should surely be enough to see them raise their games.
Let's see what Saturday brings.
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