Dominating possession in the final third but not looking remotely dangerous. I feel like it's going to take a nice individual effort to get a win before it's over.
Made it out to the match tonight. Great effort again against a short handed opponent. And after bashing the Southsiders after the Seattle game, I must say that they definitely sound louder and more organized 3 games into the BC Place era. Playing both Rochat and Harvey on the left side is looking like a brilliant move as both swung in great balls for the two goals. And the Long Tan chant is the best of all time.
We're no longer last in the MLS! That alone is worth celebrating.
I guess Soehn wanted to reward the players who played the Salt Lake game with another start. Good on them for earning another chance, but it's also becoming clear that the Whitecaps are giving up on Jarju. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to ship him out in the offseason.
Camilo was again by far our most dangerous player. I know that he's been fretting about his salary within the squad, and I hope that he can be adequately compensated based on his performances, or else we might lose him. Tan was good and I'm happy he got his goal, but his technical deficiencies were evident, especially in comparison to Hassli, as his first touch was often poor enough to either slow down or scuttle the offensive.
I was critical of this decision in the past, but I have to admit that Brovsky is adapting well to his new role on the rightback position. He covered the ground well, he kept the defensive line, and his tackling abilities are improving.
Overall, though, I was concerned about how the Caps dropped their level of play after the second goal. They let DCU take over the game, and the goal was a case of the midfielders ball-watching and completely failing in their marking duties, leaving DeMerit alone against 3 DCU players in heading the ball away. More concerning was Mitchell's reaction to the goal with DeMerit. He appeared to be screaming at the captain for not being able to outjump 3 DCU players, which I found distasteful. Having said that, he's been a good addition to the lineup so far, and I hope his injury is not too serious.
On a final note, it was another bizarre Man of the Match selection by the Whitecaps, who selected Thorrington over Camilo with the honour. I'm not entirely sure what criteria this is based on, or if they are using it for ulterior purposes that have nothing to do with the performance of the players, but this is an annoying feature of games that they should really cut out.
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On a final note, it was another bizarre Man of the Match selection by the Whitecaps, who selected Thorrington over Camilo with the honour. I'm not entirely sure what criteria this is based on, or if they are using it for ulterior purposes that have nothing to do with the performance of the players, but this is an annoying feature of games that they should really cut out.
I agree. Last game I though it was one of Rochat's worst performances of the season, at least by his standards, and he won man of the match. Almost anyone else would have been better.
On a side note, I will be really disappointed if Thorrington and Vagenas are still on the roster come next season. It seems like they should give other guys a tryout in midfield, like Morfaw, given that it's just the last couple games of the season now.
In my opinion, Salinas is probably a waste of space and certainly shouldn't be starting. And what the hell happened to Russell Teibert? If he isn't still injured, Soehn needs to give his head a shake. That kid was the only one on the roster who had the talent to consistently cross the ball or take corners.
Last edited by The Jackal: 10-13-2011 at 12:43 PM.
Reason: Removed youtube
Uh so what's going on with Chiumiento? Apparently he wasn't even dressed as a sub last night and didn't play in the RSL match either? Both TSN.ca and The Province seem to suggest that he and Soehn are at odds with one another right now. I hope it's more smoke than fire -- despite the fact that we won both games without him I still think he brings a lot to the team.
Uh so what's going on with Chiumiento? Apparently he wasn't even dressed as a sub last night and didn't play in the RSL match either? Both TSN.ca and The Province seem to suggest that he and Soehn are at odds with one another right now. I hope it's more smoke than fire -- despite the fact that we won both games without him I still think he brings a lot to the team.
Who knows. But it's certainly got some weight behind it. I mean look at the last two WhiteCaps matches? 5 goals! Our offensive basically was going through Hassli and Davide but with those two out we played two of our best games.
I love Chuimento's skill, as does everyone. But many have noticed that he's the type of player that can either be going in a game or is completely useless. Perhaps it was just too much of the latter lately?
And on the note of players, I like that the Caps have lots of GOOD players now but I think in the MLS a collection of good doesn't even put you in the playoffs.
IMO we have 4 great players
Hassli
Rochat
Demerit
Cannon
and all of
Koffie
Salinas
'mento (due to lack of consistency)
Camilo
Tan
Tiebert
Harvey
Leathers
Boxall
Mitchell
Thorington
are 'Good'. Koffie, Camilo, Tan, Tiebert, Boxall and Mitchell are all young players that we can hope we continue to get better but other on the list we should be looking to upgrade.
Also there is NO place on any MLS team for players that are bad.. Vagenas, Morfaw and Duckett all need to be curb-stomped
I'd say Camilo has earned the right to be considered a "great" MLS-level player considering that he's behind only DeRosario, Henry and Chris Wondolowski in league scoring (especially when you consider that he wasn't the go-to guy to take penalties for most of the year). On the flip side I don't know if Cannon has done much to distinguish himself as "great" -- at least not this season. He's solid but that's about as far as I'd go.
Pretty telling though that all our top guys are either at the back end or up front. It's not difficult to see what position we need major upgrades at for next season. Koffie is probably our best and most consistent midfielder but his offensive upside is pretty limited. And of course Chiumiento is really talented but needs to be more consistent.
I'd say Camilo has earned the right to be considered a "great" MLS-level player considering that he's behind only DeRosario, Henry and Chris Wondolowski in league scoring (especially when you consider that he wasn't the go-to guy to take penalties for most of the year). On the flip side I don't know if Cannon has done much to distinguish himself as "great" -- at least not this season. He's solid but that's about as far as I'd go.
Pretty telling though that all our top guys are either at the back end or up front. It's not difficult to see what position we need major upgrades at for next season. Koffie is probably our best and most consistent midfielder but his offensive upside is pretty limited. And of course Chiumiento is really talented but needs to be more consistent.
Yeah, that's fair. What I find funny is when asked Koffie seeing himself more as an attacking midfielder. But if he keeps developing into the holding midfielder he's showing he can be I will be quite thrilled. Add a Joseph esque midfielder and we're a playoff team... easier said than done of course
Who knows. But it's certainly got some weight behind it. I mean look at the last two WhiteCaps matches? 5 goals! Our offensive basically was going through Hassli and Davide but with those two out we played two of our best games.
I love Chuimento's skill, as does everyone. But many have noticed that he's the type of player that can either be going in a game or is completely useless. Perhaps it was just too much of the latter lately?
And on the note of players, I like that the Caps have lots of GOOD players now but I think in the MLS a collection of good doesn't even put you in the playoffs.
...
Also there is NO place on any MLS team for players that are bad.. Vagenas, Morfaw and Duckett all need to be curb-stomped
I'd say that Hassli, Rochat, Demerit, Koffie, Chiumiento, Camilo should be on the "essential" list. Yeah, we won a couple games without the skilled players. But they're meaningless games where I think Soehn has let them play a little more. In my opinion, the fact that they won two games with their most talented players out is very telling. It shows that Soehn has no idea how to use true quality.
The only two guys on the team who have "European"-quality touch are Chiumiento and Hassli. Teibert actually looked like he was getting there early on under Thordarsson, but who knows. Also Koffie is the only midfielder who can look up and make a pass (and receive one) without having to panic and just try to boot it forward and lose possession. These are the guys you build around. It's a shame they fired Thordarsson. He was getting the same results, I guess, as Soehn, but he did it while playing a more flowing, attacking, and attractive style. None of the "boot down the wing, cross poorly into middle, try to get header or scramble a goal in" style. It's not a very good advertisement for the game.
