Good Monday morning Caps fans, hope you all are getting up and running after a lovely weekend.
September is almost upon us and that means the home stretch of the MLS season. We shouldn’t forget the Voyageurs Cup, however, with the Caps looking to kill off their two-legged tie against Pacific at BC Place on Tuesday.
Their attention will then turn to securing a playoff spot and, most crucially, a home playoff spot. Competition will be fierce for the latter but if they make the most of their games in hand (always a tricky proposition) they would have an edge over mosts of their rivals after Houston and Portland dropped points on Saturday.
The Caps will have a new/old piece to help them do that, with Deiber Caicedo officially returning to Vancouver in the somewhat unusual situation of being asked to help a team that he seemed OK with leaving (and which seemed OK with moving him on).
After being unable to work out a deal extending Caicedo’s loan, he will give the Caps some attacking depth. I’ve gone on the record here before as seeing a real place for Deiber back in Vancouver, even as his attacking numbers in Colombia weren’t elite. He would fulfill the “pacey, dribble-y winger” model quite well and provide another option in the Fafa Picault role.
He isn’t a substitute for a bigger, better attacker (a DP, perhaps?). But this team needs quality depth and Caicedo needs to show someone he’s worth signing on a free if the Caps don’t pick up his option or, if they do, that he is worth a transfer. There is a mutual interest in this all working out.
Best of the Rest
The Whitecaps 2 side scored late, then conceded late, then won a penalty shootout against LAFC 2 on Sunday night to earn two points.
Speaking of stoppage time drama, Columbus scored twice in stoppage time to claim Leagues Cup and enter dynasty status with a 3-1 win over LAFC.
What are the unanswered questions that are still out there over drone-gate?
Kwasi Poku is headed from the CPL to Europe. What does that say about the state of Canada’s top league?