Good Monday morning Caps fans, hope you all had a lovely weekend and that your work week is off to a good start.
This is officially the first column of the season, with the Whitecaps officially eliminated from the playoffs on Friday night at the hands of LAFC once again. It was a defeat that bore a striking resemblance to the first match, where a brave, intense first half performance was negated by a 15 minutes spurt of dominance from the home side in the second half, with the Caps unable to find an equalizer.
Ultimately, this playoff series will be viewed as a disappointment on a couple of levels. For one, if the Caps had been more consistent in the regular season and finished higher up the table, they would have gone through, as they outplayed every Western Conference team not from LA in the first round. Some poor performances down the stretch obviously ruined that and those will loom a bit large.
And, of course, it is frustrating to continue to put up credible performances against the same team, only to meet the same fate. The Caps went toe-to-toe with LAFC in this series and looked like a peer to the number one seed in the conference. Their ultimate demise was down to a couple of key areas.
For one, LAFC was able to tap into depth that Vancouver just doesn’t have. Bringing on Olivier Giroud and Eduard Atuesta at the half, while the Caps had … Alessandro Schopf in the wings. Atuesta in particular was dominant, flipping the midfield dominance the Caps had mustered in the first half. That helped them with the other development, which was a slight but important tactical change that got Denis Bouanga and the front line into more space. The Caps didn’t come up with any sort of response in time to prevent a goal.
Once again, a narrow Brian White miss 1v1 could have flipped the game on its head. I’ve seen some people on Twitter saying the Caps need a more reliable striker in the offseason. I can understand some frustration after this series but … come on. White is about as good of a non-DP striker as you can ask for and I still think a higher level Fafa Picault-esque winger would be a better use of funds.
This ultimately brings us to the big question: Was this a successful season? Vanni Sartini rated it as a B-, which feels about right, if possibly a bit high. This was supposed to be the season the Caps made some sort of a knockout run (outside of the Canadian Championship) and … that didn’t really happen. But, on the other hand, the postseason memories that were generated (a home playoff win, the thrashing of Portland) were fun.
The shortcomings of this team don’t seem to have changed but the prospects for next year with a fit Stuart Armstrong seem far brighter than they did as the season wound to a close. If they can consistently play like they did against LAFC (a big if, I concede) this is a team that can definitely finish top four in the west. Whether it happens, of course, will hinge on what this offseason looks like, with some salary likely to come off the books and decisions to be made about moves for guys like Ali Ahmed or Pedro Vite.
As always, we’ll be here for the ride. And it’s because of you all that we can keep doing what we’re doing at this blog. It is always a joy to share this team with all of you and I’m excited to continue to partake in silly season with you all. Onwards and upwards!
Shameless Self Promotion
We wrap up the season with one final match recap and report card, summing up where it went wrong for the Caps in their finale.
Best of the Rest
What did Vanni Sartini make of the season and his future with the Whitecaps?
Cavalry FC claimed their first CPL title, a deserved victory on home turf.
Meanwhile, the CPL is making noise about further expansion in the next couple of seasons.
Ali Ahmed is among those called up for Canada’s Nations League tussle with Suriname.
You’ve surely heard by now but Inter Miami flamed out of the playoffs against Atlanta United on Saturday, in a result that inspired a million takes.
Agree with your analysis but White needs a capable back-up when the inevitabe injuries or fatigue occur. The off season will be interesting – though likely left to the last minute going on past years – for upgrading at centre mid and fullback/wing. Time is up for the conservative Vite.
The international depth is/was subpar. Schopf has never amounted to anything during his time here and has been the most disappointing, Kreilach was a total bust, Caicedo came back somewhat anonymously from loan and was a Sartini afterthought. Bovalina was overhyped and disappeared from the scene while Ocampo is really just a prospect, albeit an international one.
The Canadian guys midfield and forward types (Raposo, Johnson, Priso) are very cheap (in Johnson’s case) or relatively cheap placeholder squad guys who will be in the squad until replaced by even cheaper younger Cancon prospects. As was mentioned by the podcast pair, they shouldn’t be facing stick for their roles and contributions. However, I would point out to that same podcast pair as well as one or two others who have posted here, these guys shouldn’t be hyped up as being able to take it to the next level, either. None of these guys will be up with the NT (or back with them, in Priso’s case, as he just lacks the quickness and engine room that Marsch or even Sartini clearly values in their respective systems).
I am never sure which Cancon contracts are salary cap hits and which don’t count against the cap. Is Adekubge’s a cap hit?
If Schuster gets a transfer offer for Vite, he should move him and make some money off his time here. He’s overrated by the podcast and he just isn’t a big game performer: quite simply, he’s a flatter to deceive type of guy with plays that pad his Opta stats. Though he has tight technical skill superiority of Berhalter, he is not nearly as impactful nor as versatile. Sometimes you need to give in order to get, and he is an asset that the club can capitalize on
I am not convinced with the way Ahmed finished the season that he is going to be jumping to a bigger league and bigger club situation.
P
onward to 2025:
1. absolutely agree with you about Brian white- i started out being a non-supporter- now i am a massive supporter- while he does go through dry spells- like most strikers- back-to-back years of 15+ goals/year is impressive – and he works hard in being a link and chasing opponents with the ball
2. YUP- a top-notch pacey, tricky winger that can link up with Gauld and White would further add to our game- and that is where i would add the extra money from not re-signing players like schopf, kreilach and hopefully takaoka- i am not sure at 34 whether Picault can repeat, but i would offer him a 1 year contract if he wants to stay – he would be a decent sub, a depth player
3. ANOTHER BIG HOPE- that CEO/Pres Axel Schuster doesnt try to hood-wink us with new players who are well-over the hill (hello Kreilach who i dont blame for accepting a contract for $440K)- enough of that type of BS from the Caps – we should demand QUALITY, but as long as the Owners see crowds averaging 24K, they probably wont change and invest- they just want to suck the money from MLS expansion and MLS investment/media- seeing Steve Nash at the last home game and getting on the Jumbotron is enough YUCK – as a minority owner he is part of the problem we have suffered with since 2011
4. Vanni rating the season as a B- is just ridiculous- i would rate it as slightly above a C (not a C+)- bad start and finish to the regular season is just not good enough, a weak home winning average is just not good enough, a head coach who was naive/stubborn in his in-game tactics, subs and team formations is not good enough- i still question whether we need a coaching change and i would lean to a YES, but that wont happen as a win vs Portland and a gritty series vs LAFC saved his arse
5. The HUGE need to upgrade our bench players is essential- and there is a serious need to start promoting and USING our academy players, otherwise get rid of the program that has been a serious failure for 13 years- giving them 10 minutes of a game 1x/month just doesnt cut it — why should we sign players from other countries that are not any better than our academy players?? either you believe in the development program or you dont !! Halboulini is one player that deserves more game time – and IMO, Isaac Boehmer should be given first dips on the goalie position (its my regular rant)
6. My Big Return- after watching the Caps from Game 1 in 1974, i have followed them regularly, usually as a STH- wanted to quit for the past 5 years, but my son- who started going with me when he was 7 years old as a STH- convinces me to stay- with the present set of Owners, we will see more mediocrity and a ranking in the #7-12 spot- adding Stuart Armstrong should help us in 2025, but we need another 2-3 players with a professional pedigree like his, but hopefully younger- but the Caps will have to go with the cheaper version- free agents