OT: 2023 Soccer and Vancouver Whitecaps Thread

[SeawaterOnIce]

Yeah just don't see a VWFC goal happening tonight.

 

[trellaine201]

Snoozefest thru halftime as a soccer fan.

 

[DimitriL07]

Not a pen but at the same time, Whitecaps ain’t cooking anything up

 

[trellaine201]

I don’t understand why they didn’t play like this in the first half.

 

[Petey O]

If they lose this match, especially not scoring even one goal, I don't see the Whitecaps ever being relevant in Vancouver. May as well move the team.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

If they lose this match, especially not scoring even one goal, I don't see the Whitecaps ever being relevant in Vancouver. May as well move the team.

From Day 1...the front office/executive modus operandi was to be a mid tier team that could develop and sell talent while rounding out our roster with bargain bin shit. We were never going to be big spenders or see global high profile talent sign here.

Things have changed somewhat with the owners spending more but it's honestly too little too late. The league is too big and many franchises have more cash to spend along with having a comparative advantage when it comes to attracting talent.

The cheap bastard owners should have gone all in during that 2011-2017 period. Toronto at least brought one trophy to Canada but all 3 teams are going down the tube now.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

LOL PEAK MLS.

 

[DimitriL07]

Tbh idk what I even just watched

 

[Petey O]

From Day 1...the front office/executive modus operandi was to be a mid tier team that could develop and sell talent while rounding out our roster with bargain bin shit. We were never going to be big spenders or see global high profile talent sign here.

Things have changed somewhat with the owners spending more but it's honestly too little too late. The league is too big and many franchises have more cash to spend along with having a comparative advantage when it comes to attracting talent.

The cheap bastard owners should have gone all in during that 2011-2017 period. Toronto at least brought one trophy to Canada but all 3 teams are going down the tube now.

The club had such an opportunity while the Canucks were shit to really invest and go for an MLS Cup but sat on their hands and got involved in controversies and penny pinching instead. Completely unacceptable. Toronto FC, Seattle and Portland all have MLS Cups and this team is irrelevant comparatively.

Now the Canucks are good again and nobody is going to give two shits about the Caps. All of the opportunity for long term franchise success was wasted by the idiotic ownership.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

Whitecaps are garbage.

 

[Red]

LA was the better team over two games but don't know how you can say this Whitecaps team is garbage. They're a decent team with good structure that can't compete with the money that LA can throw around and a league that doesn't invest in refereeing.

That was the worst display of reffing I've seen in a very long time. My entire section was ready to full on murder the ref. Pretty much unanimous agreement on MLS social media that the ref was absolute garbage and determined the outcome of the game.

This'll be on all the footy shows and memes on Monday:

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

LA was the better team over two games but don't know how you can say this Whitecaps team is garbage. They're a decent team with good structure that can't compete with the money that LA can throw around and a league that doesn't invest in refereeing.

The Whitecaps need to do an overhaul of the backline. No one looks to be a natural fit back there. Blackmon and Veselinovic are not good enough to be starting CBs in this league. Laryea has talent but is highly susceptible to losing his shit.

That was the worst display of reffing I've seen in a very long time. My entire section was ready to full on murder the ref. Pretty much unanimous agreement on MLS social media that the ref was absolute garbage and determined the outcome of the game.

This'll be on all the footy shows and memes on Monday:

I agree. Reffing was hot garbage but this is an inevitability in football. You hoped it would be more level in the MLS but it's been hot garbage since the early 2010s. The LA Galaxy would get away with so much bs and guys like Donovan and Keane were heavily protected.

LAFC and Miami FC will always have the refs.

 

[bobbyb2009]

LA was the better team over two games but don't know how you can say this Whitecaps team is garbage. They're a decent team with good structure that can't compete with the money that LA can throw around and a league that doesn't invest in refereeing.

That was the worst display of reffing I've seen in a very long time. My entire section was ready to full on murder the ref. Pretty much unanimous agreement on MLS social media that the ref was absolute garbage and determined the outcome of the game.

This'll be on all the footy shows and memes on Monday:

Crazy that the collision led to that counter. Just wow. And to top it all off, I think the pass at the end was made to a player who was offside- the goal should not have counted (not that it would have changed things)

 

[Jyrki]

LA was the better team over two games but don't know how you can say this Whitecaps team is garbage. They're a decent team with good structure that can't compete with the money that LA can throw around and a league that doesn't invest in refereeing.

That was the worst display of reffing I've seen in a very long time. My entire section was ready to full on murder the ref. Pretty much unanimous agreement on MLS social media that the ref was absolute garbage and determined the outcome of the game.

This'll be on all the footy shows and memes on Monday:

I've watched soccer most of my life (including some real bush league South American matches) and I don't recall ever seeing a referee run into another player while the ball is rolling. That's ridiculously shameful.

 

[DFAC]

That

LA was the better team over two games but don't know how you can say this Whitecaps team is garbage. They're a decent team with good structure that can't compete with the money that LA can throw around and a league that doesn't invest in refereeing.

That was the worst display of reffing I've seen in a very long time. My entire section was ready to full on murder the ref. Pretty much unanimous agreement on MLS social media that the ref was absolute garbage and determined the outcome of the game.

This'll be on all the footy shows and memes on Monday:

Wow I have never ever seen something like that. Real bush league stuff

LOL @ the Caps coach saying good thing the Canucks players were in attendance today cuz they saw the referee being an enforcer

 

[Red]

Crazy that the collision led to that counter. Just wow. And to top it all off, I think the pass at the end was made to a player who was offside- the goal should not have counted (not that it would have changed things)

Ref was in lalaland and also missed the blatant offside. After 3-4 minutes of constant booing and a crowd ready to murder him, Sartini getting a red and pantomiming the ref getting blown by the LA team, and a bunch of yellows to complaining Caps players, the assistant ref finally realized the goal itself was offside.

The problem was it still killed the glorious chance that the ref bodychecked away, killed 3-4 minutes of time that the ref did not return on the clock, and killed all the momentum the Caps had. Absolutely disgraceful display by ref Tim Ford who then also proceeded to mouth off back to fans as they were insulting him when he was leaving. He should never referee a playoff game again.

 

[Frostage]

Well, I wonder what the prop bet for the ref taking out a Whitecaps player to deny a scoring chance was


I have never seen anything like it.

Egregious.

 

[Jyrki21]

LA was the better team over two games but don't know how you can say this Whitecaps team is garbage. They're a decent team with good structure that can't compete with the money that LA can throw around and a league that doesn't invest in refereeing.

Yeah, the essentialist arguments blaming ownership are lazy at this point. As I constantly point out, the Whitecaps are very much "MLS average", and had quite a good season. They just aren't elite because only a few teams are (and they are in the glitzy markets that foreigners have heard of). They've shelled out quite a bit of money -- the problem is they basically have to go after Canadian players (which is how you get a massive contract for Cavallini for example) because the real problem, and the real reason the Whitecaps will always have a ceiling in MLS is that they play in Western Canada on turf. That is it. They are not getting top international stars as long as that is true, no matter how ambitious the ownership is.

 

[VanJack]

Honestly, I tried to last through the Caps playoff game last night.....but as soon as LAFC scored on a penalty, it was safe to head over to the NFL Sunday-nighter.

I thought playoff games in any sport were supposed to be intense, and wildly exciting. But last night's game--at least in the first half--was about as lame as you can get. Most of the time the ball was just passed around in the middle of the pitch....I can't recall the Caps generating anything.

I'm afraid that the MLS suffers overall from a lack of skill...It takes skills to generate offense and score inside the box. And for that reason, I just find the MLS....boring....boring...boring.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Yeah, the essentialist arguments blaming ownership are lazy at this point. As I constantly point out, the Whitecaps are very much "MLS average", and had quite a good season. They just aren't elite because only a few teams are (and they are in the glitzy markets that foreigners have heard of). They've shelled out quite a bit of money -- the problem is they basically have to go after Canadian players (which is how you get a massive contract for Cavallini for example) because the real problem, and the real reason the Whitecaps will always have a ceiling in MLS is that they play in Western Canada on turf. That is it. They are not getting top international stars as long as that is true, no matter how ambitious the ownership is.

It's absolutely fair to be critical of the owners between 2013-2020. I give them some leeway with the initial expansion period but they really made it clear they were not in the business to buy, but focus on the investment or developing and selling players. Internally, the rumors and innuendo suggested winning wasn't really a priority with some of the owners because the fans would still come out. They struck gold with Davies and sold him, which was good, but then they were rightfully called out by the commissioner after not spending that money. It was a poorly run franchise and they had several windows of opportunity with a weaker field of MLS teams to go for it but elected to penny pinch. Seattle, Toronto and Portland won for a reason...

But I agree with your assessment post 2021. We can no longer call this ownership group cheap. They spent, and have tried to draw in several players but each time, these players have selected options elsewhere. Football players aren't like NHL players (I should say most NHLers), most of the internationally acclaimed stars come to markets like LA and Miami to seek money, fame and a certain lifestyle. The added pool of teams while having the ceiling of being a mid-tier team has really hurt any chances of winning any MLS trophy.

Honestly, I tried to last through the Caps playoff game last night.....but as soon as LAFC scored on a penalty, it was safe to head over to the NFL Sunday-nighter.

I thought playoff games in any sport were supposed to be intense, and wildly exciting. But last night's game--at least in the first half--was about as lame as you can get. Most of the time the ball was just passed around in the middle of the pitch....I can't recall the Caps generating anything.

I'm afraid that the MLS suffers overall from a lack of skill...It takes skills to generate offense and score inside the box. And for that reason, I just find the MLS....boring....boring...boring.

Skill is half the issue.

You see better fluidity in play in EFL League One (Englands third tier), with ball possession and attacks with a proper build up. North America's version of football primarily revolves around counter attacks. It can lead to scoring chances if both teams have skilled players that can thread decent passes, but more often than not, the ball gets turned over in the final third which leads to the sloppy play of the game resembling that of a foosball match in the middle of the pitch.

It's lightyears better than football here pre-2010. God, watching lower league games was rough.

 

[bobbyb2009]

Ref was in lalaland and also missed the blatant offside. After 3-4 minutes of constant booing and a crowd ready to murder him, Sartini getting a red and pantomiming the ref getting blown by the LA team, and a bunch of yellows to complaining Caps players, the assistant ref finally realized the goal itself was offside.

The problem was it still killed the glorious chance that the ref bodychecked away, killed 3-4 minutes of time that the ref did not return on the clock, and killed all the momentum the Caps had. Absolutely disgraceful display by ref Tim Ford who then also proceeded to mouth off back to fans as they were insulting him when he was leaving. He should never referee a playoff game again.

Wow. Didn't watch the game, so thanks for the summary. What a cluster.

 

[garbageteam]

Well, I wonder what the prop bet for the ref taking out a Whitecaps player to deny a scoring chance was


I have never seen anything like it.

Egregious.

Jesus, hats off to any betting agency or sportsbook that even conceived of such a thing. Quite a sight to witness. Any other player running into him like that would have been red carded for Denial of Goal Scoring Opportunity.

Whitecaps really aren't on LAFC's league now and in the future. Getting drawn against them is just going to be savage for any team with refs and international stars on their side, and as MLS attracts more talent worldwide the gulf will only widen.

I don't think VWFC will realistically ever win an MLS trophy outside of an extremely flukey year and the best outcome for the team is to be a perennial PO to a league that can one day become some sort of constant top ten fixture worldwide in terms of competitive on the pitch and the transfer market. The practically 1/3 chance (because let's face it, Canadian MLS teams will wipeout everyone else in the Canadian championship) every year of being in the Concacaf Champs Cup to possibly gain entry into the Club World Cup against the Arsenals and Real Madrids of the world someday will be the bonus.

I think the MLS even with the salary cap is headed towards a milder, more tamed European league style imbalance with the big NY, Miami, LA teams, and maybe even Vegas in the future getting all the stars and with special kinds of privileges used to buy down their cap hits.

 

[trellaine201]

As poor as the ref was that is not the reason they lost. They played poorly especially in the first half. I am tired of the media blaming the loss on the ref.

 

[trellaine201]

Whitecaps coach totally reminds me of Mr Bean every time I see him.

 

[VanJack]

I see Vanni has apologized and walked back his inflammatory rhetoric about the refereeing.

The refs didn't cost the Whitecaps in this series with LAFC. The couldn't score and they couldn't defend.