Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are having a good week and that you are winding down soon in favor of a well-deserved rest.
It’s been a good week for the Canadian Men’s National Team, beating Peru and all earlier this week and with a couple of their emerging stars linked to bigger, European moves. They haven’t even hit their stride under Jesse Marsch and they still are on the cusp of advancing out of a tough Group A in Copa America, with a draw or win over Chile enough to punch their ticket.
The Whitecaps aren’t having quite as good of vibes at the moment, though they will be looking to get back on track at home this weekend against St. Louis City, who have not been nearly as good this year as they were in their expansion season.
The transfer window is nearing, however, and we have more reason to believe things will be a changin. Tom Bogert is reporting that Fafa Picault is hankering for a move back to the East Coast over the summer and the Caps, as has been their habit in recent years, won’t stand in the way of making that happen.
You can see why Fafa, who is Haitian and hasn’t played on the west coast before, might be homesick (though surely my guy looked at a map of North America before signing his contract?). And, while there will likely be some short term pain, this might wind up being a blessing in disguise for the Caps.
I’ve already talked at length about my desire for Vancouver to bring in a Fafa Picault-esque player with pace and dribbling, just someone who is better than the 33-year-old and (we can dream) a DP.
Doing that with Fafa’s salary on the books (assuming this won’t be a DP) seemed unlikely, however. And while Picault started the season in excellent form, he has come back to earth in recent weeks, having a hard time breaking through with the offensive struggles that have defined this team as of late.
You probably aren’t getting a huge fee for Fafa but this is about as close to selling high as you’re going to get. And given that Axel Schuster indicated Thursday that the Caps are looking for help in both the midfield and attack, there is surely a gameplan on filling Fafa’s spot if he were to leave.
The short-term difficulty is quite simply that, with Damir Kreilach’s injury issues this season, the Caps don’t have many bodies in attack. They are addressing that for this weekend by calling up Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau, one of the standouts of the Whitecaps 2 side. But that isn’t a long-term fix and unless a replacement comes back before Fafa leaves (or we roll with Deiber Caicedo), that could mean a literal shortage of players in these positions.
There was already set to be plenty of intrigue this summer. Why not pile on a bit more?
Shameless Self Promotion
Our podcast dives into the latest on the Whitecaps’ wild ride and the Salish Sea derby Thursday night.
Best of the Rest
Despite the win, Canada’s players expressed serious concerns about the heat Monday in Kansas City after the assistant referee collapsed on the pitch.
Meanwhile, Canada might be the only CONCACAF team to advance after the U.S. lost to Panama Thursday evening.
In what shouldn’t be a surprise, MLS will take a break during the 2026 World Cup.
The Caps are rolling out a really cool indigenous history month logo.
we all have dreams about this Team– and thats where they will stay– there will be a couple of new players, but at bargain prices, the typical Ownership specials- they have no vision, committment or passion for soccer in the city which could easily sell-out the lower bowl for most games
i need to keep repeating this so supporters stop blaming Axel Schuster, the coaching staff and the players- these are the easy targets, especially the players who usually give 100%, but just lack the overall quality to be anymore than a #8-12 team year-after-year (if we get Davies transfer $$$ in the $4-5 mill range, then Axel can make some better improvements) BUT rest assured, the DP purchase and salary wont come from the Owners
the Owners are longing– DROOLING- at the next 2 MLS expansion cities that will bring millions into their coffers- it only keeps them around longer until the expansion is finished probably at #36
wouldnt we all love to see an owner like the BC lions have in Amir Doman who is totally invested and visible in the Club ?
It’s a stretch to say the least to suggest any of us with a vested interest are under any illusion that the issues don’t stem from the current investor group. A Doman-esque investor is a great hope to have.
It is a stretch, I think, to suggest that there shan’t be any criticism of in particular Schuster. He has a job to do, he has resources (that yes, are more limited than some peers) and there are fair and valid questions to be asked about how he has deployed them. And of Sartini, and his coaching philosophy and squad deployment decisions.
Schuster and Sartini both have jobs to do, and they are independent of the investors in that perspective. Having a smaller pile of resource to use does not in any way mean they’re without scrutiny in how they apply it. There’s money to spend, and players to coach, and neither has been done well since last season.