For some reason, the Vancouver Whitecaps seem to love conceding goals almost as much as they like scoring them.
Four games in, the good guys have no blank sheets. They've only managed to hold the opponent to one goal twice: in Philadelphia (where they lost) and against New England (whom they drew). They conceded two goals to Toronto FC and somehow allowed three at home to Sporting Kansas City, which is bloody hard to do.
And this team's defense was supposed to be a strength! Oh, sure, Jay DeMerit and Greg Janicki have been hurt more often than my feelings at a speed dating night, but Alain Rochat (the best one) and Jonathan Leathers (the most surprisingly good one) have played constantly. Joe Cannon and Jay Nolly have both been nursing injuries in goal, but apart from the first Kansas City goal where Nolly apparently thought he was bowling rather than playing soccer, we haven't conceded any goals that made me resent the 'keeper.
Excuses are everywhere if you're looking for them. But excuses suck. The truth is that the Whitecaps do have a few problems we couldn't necessarily have foreseen as well as ones we could have. And those problems mostly affect them at the back.
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The problem that could be foreseen is the Vancouver Whitecaps' lack of depth. I know because I foresaw it, put it down in writing, and I'm the sort of guy who can't even tell when his shoes are tied.
Injuries happen, fatigue happens, international callups happen. This is Major League Soccer and everybody knows all of that; it's been a problem for every MLS team since this league sprang from the ground. With MLS rosters recently expanded to thirty players each, there was really no excuse for the Whitecaps to go through shorthanded. And yet, four games in, that's what they've done. It's a good thing that Michael Boxall, a supplemental draft pick, turned to be a serviceable centre back because otherwise we'd be screwed.
The Whitecaps have spent too many roster spots on guys like Bilal Duckett and Jeb Brovsky who they hope might be good someday. They've been carrying Mouloud Akloul around trying to get him back into shape, but haven't stocked enough pieces to get them through the interim period. Kevin Harmse might be able to do it on paper, but he's had injury problems, he joined the team late, and he was only ever a journeyman. They need some MLS-scale Chris Williamses, guys who have no flair and can sit on the bench every game but will be there when you need them. It says something that injuries to just two defenders, DeMerit and Janicki, threw the back line into turmoil: in this league you have to be able to make up losses like that without relying on guys like Blake Wagner. It's not like DeMerit or Janicki were ever the healthiest guys in the world, either.
The situation isn't bad, not really. If Mouloud Akloul gets back to one hundred percent fitness, the depth on the back four is decent. If either one of Duckett or Brovsky is a usable MLS player by midway through the season, the depth will actually be good. The problem is that the team has put itself behind the eight-ball for the first half of the season. Everybody knew were they were doing it, and they did it anyway hoping the team would stay healthy enough to get them through. Nope.
The second, less anticipated problem has been in midfield. The team's suffered some serious injuries there as well: John Thorrington only just made his season debut, Shea Salinas has finally managed to return to the bench, Davide Chiumiento is seemingly never healthy, and nobody even knows if Michael Nanchoff is still alive. But, unlike in defense, the team had the depth to mostly make good those losses. Who hasn't been impressed by 19-year-old Gershon Koffie, or pleased by the energetic Wes Knight, or willing to put up with the erratic but sometimes brilliant Nizar Khalfan?
No, the depth players have been fine. The problems have been where we least expected them. For all their flair at moving the ball up the field, the midfield has turned out surprisingly turnover-prone. Terry Dunfield remains a masterful shutdown defensive midfielder, but his passing has let him down slightly at MLS speed and he hasn't been splitting defenses like we were used to. Koffie has actually been frightened out of offense, and when he goes on the attack you can see why. Khalfan, of course, is erratic as ever, and for all his energy and intelligence Knight was never exactly a precise passer. As a result, the team struggles to retain possession against good midfields.
Some of the problem has to be experience. MLS players tend to be a lot quicker than in League Two and Terry Dunfield is being asked to carry a lot of the playmaking mail. No doubt he has to get used to MLS speed. He had moments against Sporting Kansas City which showed he was at least starting to figure it out. Koffie is just nineteen years old and wasn't even an everyday player in division two, so any growing pains on his part are easily explained and forgiven. But some of the players, like Khalfan and Knight (and, I fear, John Thorrington) are turnover factories.
The Whitecaps have conceded some chances and a few goals, such as the New England equalizer, just because they haven't been able to hold onto the ball through midfield. There's so much skill and speed in the centre of the park that they also get some marvelous scoring chances that way. But there's no denying that the midfield is letting the team down at times.
The defense should get healthy, of course, and hopefully the midfielders will improve with experience. But for now, the causes of the Whitecaps' goal-stopping woes are obvious. And it's probably too late in the season to do anything but hope they'll take care of themselves.