It has been a tough couple of weekends for the Vancouver Whitecaps on the road, who dropped their second consecutive contest Saturday night in Portland by a score of 2-0.
With the loss, the Whitecaps are down to 9th in the Western Conference standings, and 7th in points per match. After a strong start to the season which showed potential for the Whitecaps to move forward from last season’s position, Vanni Sartini’s side has slipped into the mushy middle of the West, where seemingly any team can have the upper-hand on another depending on the day.
The absence of Andres Cubas over the last two matches should be a wake-up call for Axel Schuster and his recruitment staff. While Vancouver’s best XI has the talent to compete near the top echelon of MLS sides, they can only do so if their top players are putting in 10/10 performances every week. When you miss a player like Cubas for an extended period, it’s absolutely devastating.
There are two ways of attacking this problem. You either need exceptional depth pieces across the lineup, which I think it’s pretty obvious the Whitecaps don’t have, or you need a deeper host of top players you can rely upon to carry the team when things aren’t going perfectly. I’ve mentioned it for a while on The Third Sub podcast, but I think it’s crucial that Vancouver can find someone who can play alongside Cubas at a high level in this upcoming transfer window.
Without any consistency in the midfield, there were massive gaps between lines for Portland to exploit on both goals. While you could also point to individual errors in both of these instances, which is fair enough, a strong midfield presence can clean up many of these issues and prevent the backline from defending in compromising positions.
The match in Portland was a frustrating one for the Whitecaps in particular because they conceded the first goal just at the moment where they were starting to build some momentum on the ball and create some decent chances. That’s been emblematic of the way things are going for this team right now though. They can’t seem to catch a break, and when things go against them, they’ve struggled to recover from it.
Ok, enough doom and gloom from me, on to the ratings.
Yohei Takaoka – 6.5
He made 5 saves and his distribution was solid. I thought Yohei could have done better on the first goal as Rodríguez’s shot was pretty far from the side-netting.
Javain Brown – 5.0
Unfortunately for the Jamaican, this just seems to be the way things go for him. He’ll have a run of great form and then he’ll commit some costly errors which cost the team. He was strong in the air against Portland, winning 4 of 5 contested headers.
Ranko Veselinovic – 6.0
Ranko’s passive approach to defending drives me crazy sometimes. On the second Portland goal, the Serbian dropped off massively, giving Mora plenty of space to unleash his strike just at the moment where he needed to be placed under pressure.
Tristan Blackmon – 6.0
The American defender was alright in this one, but it’s not the kind of performance you’d be looking for after the manager calls you out in the week leading up to the match. I think Utvik should be a locked-in starter until proven otherwise.
Mathias Laborda – 5.0
The Uruguayan looked a bit overwhelmed, both in terms of covering ground from the number six spot defensively and in terms of picking out passes and getting the Whitecaps going in possession. Given how well Berhalter has played recently, it was a curious move from Vanni Sartini.
Pedro Vite – 6.5
Vite’s counting stats look very good from this match, though his impact was probably less than the numbers make it look. Nonetheless, Pedro completed an impressive 11 of 13 long passes, and won 9 of 14 ground duels, which was much better than his midfield counterparts.
Alessandro Schopf – 4.5
Even before the red card, the Austrian was not having a great match. His motor, or lack thereof, was exposed by Portland, especially with Laborda playing as a six. Honestly, I wonder if Schopf might have been better suited to play deeper, or at least go back to the wide role which worked for him early in the season.
Giuseppe Bovalina – 6.0
After some nice performances off the bench, the 19-year-old played decently in his first MLS start. Vancouver did not really get much going down his side of the pitch, opting to either play long balls to the front two or playing through Berhalter, but that’s not really on the youngster.
Sebastian Berhalter – 7.0
In terms of on-ball work, Seb was Vancouver’s standout player in this match. He created 0.51 expected assists from 4 key passes, and had some nice moments with the ball at his feet as well. He chipped in on the defensive end with 2 interceptions and 2 tackles.
Ryan Gauld – 6.0
It looked like frustration got the better of Gauld a bit in this one. Though his class always shines through, Gauld was not able to muster much in terms of chance creation, just 0.06 xG + xA. I don’t think the partnership with Picault worked at all, and White was only on for a brief period.
Fafa Picault – 5.0
After a strong start to the year, we might be starting to see why this is Picault’s 4th MLS team since 2020. Picault has a couple of really good traits, but he only has a couple of tools in his toolbox, so he’s not particularly versatile, and we’ve seen that with his struggle to perform in a central role. Obviously, his heavy touch trying to hold the ball up which led to Portland’s second goal is a pretty glaring example of that.
Substitutes – 6.0
Those who came off the bench were alright, but they played the majority of their minutes down a man and down two goals, so it’s not exactly the best conditions to evaluate performances. I really hope Brian White is alright after a scary moment with him going down after taking an elbow to the head, especially given his concussion issues. The Whitecaps not having a proper second choice striker is also something they have to look to address this summer.
Vanni Sartini – 5.0
I don’t think Sartini’s tactics are the reason that the Whitecaps dropped this match, but I also think there are some areas where perhaps the manager could have put his players in better positions, some of which I’ve outlined already. At some point, Sartini is either going to have to trust depth players to do their job or find someone else to replace them, rather than constantly experimenting with players in new positions. If you can’t trust Ralph Priso and Levonte Johnson to play meaningful MLS minutes, then what’s the point of having them on your squad? Equally, I think there were ways to cover up the Cubas-sized hole in the midfield without leaving a centreback on an island at that spot, but that’s just me.
The Whitecaps are back home next Saturday as they host St. Louis City SC at BC Place. Are you confident that the Whitecaps can turn things around at home?
Let me know in the comments as always.
Without Cubas in the lineup, why did Sartini use a 3-1-4-2 formation against Portland? We should be using a 4-4-2 until he’s back and play guys in their natural positions as much as possible.
Also, with Cubas in the lineup, Sartini should try out a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Totally
I appreciate that some are looking at the stats…and it’s undeniable they tell a story that helps explain the Whitecaps sub-par play….but I do take issue that our core of players is capable of playing “near the top” of the league. That is only true under fairlytale like conditions, where all WC players are healthy, available and firing on all cylinders on the day….and even then, it usually boils down to a diminished opponent or luck.
I agree that Gauld and Cubas are very good players – but ownership is providing only enough funds to surround them with a hodge podge of B quality guys who Vanni plays with the logic of air crash debris.
We need to spend some money – serious money for a transformational player. Someone who has played at some elite level – a leader who knows what it takes, can lead and who the other players can learn from….that includes Gauld and Cubas. It’s clear, the WC purse is tighter than a snare drum, and we will NEVER have anyone even approaching the quality of a Messi….but there must be someone we can attract who has the qualities I’ve described.
Vancouver is a fickle market for most things, with the exception of possibly Ramen and weed. If the WC don’t start putting a bit more into this team, I wouldn’t be surprised if attendance drops. Why keep throwing good money after bad for a consistently sub-par product? As fans we are left to hope every season….that is not a strategy. We are never going to be a Miami, but going into each season with a reasonable, supportable hope would be nice. At this point we are going in with delusional hope – there’s a difference.
WC need to spend more money and Vanmi needs to be more consistent in how he puts his players on the pitch. At this point, WC games feel like plate of spaghetti – a mess.
100% agree with you, except that after Gauld and Cubas, the other players are B level– the vast majority give effort, but little MLS quality, so more like C level, with a few at C+ and C-; and Vanni is a C level coach
it all comes down to the Ownership group that could care less about the Team, the supporters and the City- and the sports media dont mention that– strange HUH! i think they are hipped to the Owner who lives in Vancouver
we have 1 hope- Davies is sold to a another euro club for tens of millions and the Caps get a 10% kickback which MUST be invested in players and not into the Owners’ wallets- but then we also have to pay that player or players salaries and the Owners are glued to the MLS budget… PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we have a month to find out during the Summer transfer, etc window
Because there is no consistency, no one knows who the ‘best’ starting XI for this team is. Each week fans (and players) sit on the edge of their figurative seats waiting for the lineup to be posted. That may be a little dramatic, but it’s not far from the truth.
Because the defense gets the brunt of criticism from most fans, I reviewed some of the stats. Of the 18 regular MLS season games played ending June 22, the back three lineup has included 6 combinations of players. The first season game against Charlotte had one group of 3, then a different group started the next 4 games. Beginning with the April 6 game against Toronto, the back 3 starters never repeated in consecutive games. Takaoka has been in goal every regular season game. I don’t know if it’s relevant that Vanni was out on suspension for the first 4 games.
The following information doesn’t account for substitutions and doesn’t credit any player with an error that may have resulted in an allowed goal at any point during the game. There are other statisticians who do that work.
The Blackmon, Veselinovic & Laborda combination have started 8 of 18 games. There were 3 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie. A total of 14 goals were allowed in those 8 games.
The Blackmon, Veselinovic & Brown group started 2 games with 1 loss and 1 tie and 3 allowed goals.
The next group is Utkiv, Veselinovic & Laborda. They only started 1 game together, which ended with a win and no goals allowed.
Next is Blackmon, Veselinovic & Utvik. They started 2 games with a record of 1 win and 1 tie and no goals allowed.
Utvik, Veselinovic & Brown started 3 games with a record of 1 win, 2 losses and 5 goals allowed.
The last combination of Blackmon, Laborda & Brown started 2 games for 1 win, 1 tie and 2 goals allowed.
I don’t know of any other MLS team that changes its lineup as much as 50% of the time, especially their defensive back line.
The team is disjointed and out of sync. The complete reason is a mystery. They’ve proven they can win games with the personnel they have. When will the question of leadership be taken seriously?
We want to attack the opponent non-stop when we have the ball, when we lose it, and when the opposition have it. Put another way, defending is our first
offensive action.
-Jurgen Klopp
Or just stop,playing with three at the back.
I think there are more folks than you who believe a 4 man back line would be a much better defensive plan, particularly against power house teams and for the Canadian Championship games.
criticize Axel Schuster all you want, but we all know it comes down to the funds available to do the upgrades, especially a significant AMF DP and a pacey, tricky, skillful striker… and that costs $$$$$$$$$ beyond the MLS budget
and it takes investment and committment from the Owners, led by Greg Kerfoot- they will NOT do anything beyond the allotted funds- the only reason we got Cavallini a few years back with $7 mill is because of selling Davies to Bayern
our only hope is that davies is sold to Real Madrid or ? and then the trade-on money (around $5 mill) must be put into new players)— but then you have to have funds to pay the player(s) salary (ies)- its the same as always- its a merryless-go-round
we have beat this bush for a decade and nothing changes because the Owners havent changed- they have amassed over $125 mill USD in expansion fees alone, let alone money from media money, etc- and now attendance has significantly increased this year (they made millions on the Messi-less game- (the give-away of a free ticket was a joke as it was with empty seats anyways)
it has to be frustrating for Gauld (and we saw that for the first time vs Portland) and Cubas- how long can they wait ? – this is an average- at best- team with 2 talented players- all the other players are nothing more than interchangeable deck chairs- when berhalter is your best player on the night, then you have real problems as a Team (no disrespect to him as a person)
yes, they can fire Vanni (who is not a brilliant coach, BTW), but the new coach would face the same problem after a bump-up for the first few games
STOP BLAMING THE COACH AND THE PLAYERS- ITS THE OWNERSHIP GROUP !!!
we need some hope by mid-July- i am not holding my breath… not should any supporter
I really felt like this iteration of the Caps would be different after suffering for so long. If they don’t get some players this window what will be different is I won’t be around for the next iteration. If they can’t build around White, Gauld and Cubas in their prime they never will.
First problem is believing that this current team can compete with the top teams in the league. We have at best 2-3 players that cut it but the rest are average. The Caps desperately need that 3rd DP and a better/deeper supporting cast. The lack of depth clearly shows when a couple of players are not available. Schuster has been here long enough and should have assembled a better squad by now.