The holiday festivities are now over and it’s back to business for Vancouver Whitecaps, as attention turns back to what additions will be made to the squad before the 2012 MLS season kicks off against Montreal on March 10th.
The Caps squad is currently sitting at 23 players, which will increase to 25 after their two SuperDraft selections in Kansas City on January 12th. I would be amazed however if we see all of these players still as Whitecaps come the start of the season.
The SuperDraft will be shown live on TSN2, emphasising the channel’s commitment to the domestic game. Sadly that does deprive us of Sportsnet’s Craig MacEwen screaming <i>"would you look at that"</i> after each selection.
Vancouver has the second selection, after Montreal, in both SuperDraft rounds and the four additional Supplemental Draft (yawn) rounds on January 17th.
It is unlikely that the Caps will utilise all six of their selections, which would leave them one available spot on their 2012 squad, and Martin Rennie is clearly looking for some established talent and not raw, untried ability at this point in time.
<a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/01/02/vancouvers-rennie-uk-scouting-stays-mum" target="_blank">MLSSoccer.com</a> are reporting this morning that Rennie has been back in the UK for Christmas and New Year, taking in numerous games in Scotland and England on a scouting mission.
Whether this will prove to be a fruitful trip and who, if anyone in particular, Rennie was watching, is unclear at this moment, but the Scot has a history of bringing over Scottish and English players to his sides.
He’s already added one in Vancouver, Englishman Matt Watson, who signed from Carolina Railhawks last month, and I would be very surprised if Watson finds himself ploughing a lone UK furrow come the new season.
Not only can Watson expect to be joined by some fellow ex-pats, he is also likely to be joined by at least one other familiar face from his NASL days, and possibly two.
When Martin Rennie was announced as the new Whitecaps boss back in August, fans’ attentions turned to who he might bring with him from Carolina.
Assistant manager Paul Ritchie was a given, but speculation was rife that the Caps would go after goalkeeper Brad Knighton and striker Etienne Barbara.
With midfielder Watson having already made the switch, will the Whitecaps land a Carolina trifecta?
The word on the street is that the signing of Knighton is all but official and likely to be announced shortly.
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Following Jay Nolly’s transfer to Chicago, the Caps have had a space to fill in goal and the 26 year old Carolina stopper is thought by Rennie to be just the guy to do that.
Vancouver needs an experienced and talented keeper to challenge Joe Cannon for the starting spot and it will be interesting to see how much pressure Knighton will be able to put on Cannon, if he does indeed become a Cap.
Knighton has had two previous spells in MLS, but struggled to see much first team action with New England and Philadelphia, making just 14 appearances over four years.
He’s also had spells with Indiana Invaders in the PDL and a USL loan spell with Portland Timbers in 2008.
New expansion team Philadelphia Union selected Knighton in the 2009 MLS Expansion draft, but despite keeping two clean sheets in his eight starts for the Union, and having a 1.10 goals against average, he was waived in January last year, which is when Martin Rennie first came a calling and took him to Carolina.
Knighton had an impressive 2011 NASL season, playing every minute of the regular season and playoffs for the Railhawks, making 30 appearances, keeping eight clean sheets, conceding 30 goals and recording 125 saves.
His performances saw him finish runner up in the NASL 'Golden Glove' award and named as the goalkeeper in the NASL 'Best XI' side. His exploits over the course of the season have impressed Martin Rennie enough to seemingly give the keeper another deserved chance in MLS.
If this signing does come to pass, it will be a good addition to the Caps squad and a strong replacement for Jay Nolly.
The other Carolina Railhawk that the Whitecaps would love to land is striker Etienne Barbara.
The road to signing the big Malteser is not sweetly chocolate coated though, as Montreal currently hold his MLS rights, having laid a discovery claim on him.
If the Caps want him, and it’s hard not to see Rennie keen to complete his trio of Carolina signings with the dangerous hitman, then they will do all they can to make a deal to land their man. Of course, all that depends on the Impact wanting to play ball and not having their own plans for the forward.
Barbara had a breakout season in NASL last year, his second with Carolina. His league leading 20 goals and 9 assists saw him land the NASL Golden Boot, a spot on the NASL 'Best XI' and overall League MVP.
Holding eight Railhawks records in his short time there, his loss to any MLS club will be deeply felt by the Carolina club, already reeling from losing their management team and key personnel. You have to feel some sympathy for Hawks fans, as they watch their team basically rebuilding from scratch.
Barbara currently has 30 international Caps to his name, and whilst Malta search for a new national team coach, interim boss Robert Gatt has indicated that he may welcome Barbara back to the Maltese international fold for the friendly against Liechtenstein on February 29th.
All of which is bound to increase his already highly valued stock.
Will Vancouver have their Carolina trifecta?
Neither Knighton nor Barbara are currently listed as Carolina Railhawks on the Club’s website, mind you, not many players are!
Getting Barbara looks like being a little bit tricky now, but Knighton should be announced as a done deal very shortly.
With Rennie stating that he is keen to add more defenders and defensive midfielders to the Whitecaps squad, we may just have to do with just a couple of Carolinians - for now.
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