Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are having a good week and that you can have a well-deserved break this weekend.
Well, it wasn’t the week the Vancouver Whitecaps wanted. It appears Stuart Armstrong’s tenure in Vancouver will be short lived, with the Caps officially announcing a deal to send him to Sheffield Wednesday.
This is obviously enormously disappointing, as we saw in the playoffs how good this team could be with Armstrong fit and serving as the secondary chance creator this team badly needed for some time. The fact is, the Scot didn’t shine (or really play much at all) in the regular season so his time in Vancouver will undoubtedly be considered a major failure.
I don’t blame Armstrong, who it sounds like has a young child and a wife in the U.K and probably wants to return for personal reasons. Wednesday also is on the cusp of pushing for promotion to the Premier League. One wonders if he didn’t take a gander at a map before signing with Vancouver but I certainly can appreciate that the personal side of things is not always easy to see until you are living through a long-distance relationship with your wife and kids.
This leaves Vancouver up against it on many levels. For one, it removes another first team player on a squad that was paper thin. Sure, Jayden Nelson could play as more of an Armstrong-esque midfielder but wasn’t he supposed to be signed as a depth piece anyway? I do believe more signings will be coming (for one to help Vancouver avoid a fine for being shorthanded) but they probably won’t fill out this team in a major way before they travel to Saprissa next month.
But the biggest impact, of course, is it means the Caps are back to the “Gauld and White and pray” strategy that underpinned much of their last couple of seasons. And they will be doing so without Fafa Picault or another third generator of attacking output to really hang their hat on.
Like most fans, I have little faith the ownership will get right on finding a replacement, given that we had to wait for 75% of the season to pass us by last time around before they signed Armstrong. For most teams, an open DP spot is a godsend. And I do think there is a world in which the Caps can sign another DP and be very competitive, particularly given the Caps are probably turning a profit here. I just haven’t seen a ton of evidence that we’re going to be living in that world anytime soon given the sale and everything else happening with the club.
This move definitely drops the Caps down a notch (or two) in the Western Conference. Based on how things are going elsewhere, I thought this team, plus another signing or two, could really be a strong shout for top four. Now, we’re back to hovering around the playoff line.
Shameless Self Promotion
Caleb Wilkins dives into how the Caps should move forward in a post-Armstrong world. And this certainly merits an emergency podcast to break things down.
Best of the Rest
Where does Armstrong rank on the list of worst Caps DP signings?
The Caps drew 1-1 with St. Patrick Athletic, putting in a sharper performance in their most recent friendly.
Matthew Hoppe is no longer a Caps trialist, and is instead finalizing a move to Denmark.
The Caps will get a pass from Leagues Cup, with MLS announcing the format for that competition and U.S. Open Cup.
Canada Soccer claims they’re on the path to being profitable after years of financial distress.
“I have little faith the ownership will get right on finding a replacement” … what an idiotic take. Ownership doesn’t find replacements, Axel and his staff do.
it has been reported that the deal with Stuart Armstrong allowed him to leave should he get/accept an offer to join a team in England – he came to get and stay fit, but really had no long-term intention to stay… and the Caps knew that BUT never told the fan base- so it did come down to making money for the sell-on, probably in the $1.5 million range
WE- THE FAN BASE- were DUPED by the Club as we thought Armstrong was a serious, long-term upgrade- he never was
the only good news is that the Caps must use the sell-on money to add to the squad- and the Club/Owners didnt have to spend a penny
what a crappy way to treat the fan base- honesty doesnt resonate with the Owners and Axel !!
I blame Armstrong. And most players these days in the way they respect their “contacts”. I hope he does poorly.
Incorrect that the contract had a built-in out for Armstrong. According to Schuster, Armstrong was clear with him that he did have a “dream” to return to the Premier League and was not giving up on that. Schuster then knew that if that opportunity came Armstrong would want to take it, and as it has then the org decided to not hold him back from it due to being under contract. That’s a front-office and investor decision they chose, but were not obligated to by Armstrong’s contract.
Take issue with that fairly, however fans were not “duped.” Shuster took a risk, hit and hope, and it bit him. He is never going to share such a desire by a player proactively, that’s not how it’s done. Personally, it’s poor judgement by him I think, but isn’t fair to say he “knew” for certain this is how it would play out.
on further reflection of the Stuart Armstrong sale- i am thinking that Axel Schsuter always intended to sell Stuart and the player knew about it and agreed to come for several months- its why his family remained in England- the scenario:
pick up Armstrong as a free agent hoping he would help the Caps for the rest of the season; then sell him in the January transfer window and get a winfall of $2-3 million from an England team desperate to make a promotion run- enter Sheffield Wednesday — sneaky or a good business dealing ??
then the Caps can take the Sheffield money and go out and get another DP player … and it has cost the Caps ZERO (the Caps used some available MLS money for Armstrong’s salary for 4 months- who knows the details of his salary)
From Schuster’s mouth, if you choose to believe it, he knew there was a possibility Armstrong might over the course of the contract want to get back to England. He did not intend to try and sell him, however, of his own accord. He seemed to be surprised it happened when it did.
It has played out to be a risky signing that is now a poor one, particularly as the return is not near what a DP replacement will cost the investors if they choose to replace Armstrong.
Are they just selling all there assets to get as much money out of the venture leading up to the eventual sale? Make as much money on players trades, because they already have an insider deal and the club is already spoken for by Las Vegas or Detroit? None of the movements over the past months seem to be strategic…even for a team that has a history of marginal strategic thinking.
Another dumb signing?………we keep allowing players ..and coaches to leave before replacement available……We are “Disneyland North” and our “Director of Football” and Ownership are clueless! UK Press says Gauld has been given permission to talk with both Hearts and Sheffield United who are the most likely to persude hiim to join Armstrong. {Just who is at pre season? Amed even talking to UK clubs?
its sheffield wednesday
We must be just about the most poorly run club in MLS at the moment. Axel must have known Armstrong was not happy in Vancouver at least two months ago – Sheffield Wednesday certainly knew.
Yet what has Axel done so far as regarding finding a replacement, as well as signings to replace the players released two months ago? Zilch.
I know the owners don’t care, but Axel is very well paid to get the Caps in a position where we start the season in good shape. We are so far from being in good shape, its unreal.
you are saying the same things as me, but in a softer way
we all were hoping that a healthy Armstrong would line the way for the Caps to enter the top 4 in the West- his few appearances were impressive- with what we have now, we are a weaker Team and making the playoffs will be dicey, especially if our top 3 players- gauld, white and cubas- get a long-term injury or through a sell-on- Gauld, of course, would be a serious blow, probably fatal for the playoffs- why the Club signed Armstrong without doing a due diligence on his family- a major, major, consideration with any foreign player- is just poor optics placed on Axel Schuster (shows incompetence IMO)- but of course, it was the Whitecap special— a free agent- now the Club has made a profit in the millions for selling him- sounds like the Owners are mercenaries and have had little interest in the Team- and Axel has supported that
we- the supporters- are tired of being screwed over by the Owners, so thank goodness they will be cashing out and blowing Dodge after they each have huge profits from their investments- i was surprised by your statement that the Caps are turning a profit- 2 significant player signings would have the potential to have paid for them by an increased attendance – i am expecting 2 signings, maybe a free agent and an underperforming player who needs a career refresher
the best soccer signing in Canada— Kevin Blue who is leading the CSA – we gotta keep him for a lot of solid reasons
Anyone know if Caps got reasonable cash for Armstrong? He was under contract, so you’d think there would be something, but every report I’ve read is quiet on that.
WHITECAPS AGREED TO RELEASE HIM CITING FAMILY ISUES~
Report is they’re getting at most $600k, if all the bonuses are hit.
TransferMarkt have him listed at $2.5 million CD- i doubt your $600K – between his 4 month salary (probably in excess of $600K CD) and the sell-off, i reckon the Caps got in the neighborhood of $1-1.5 million CD which they must use it all on new player signings according to MLS rules
what a way to screw the fan base !
You can doubt, but you’re incorrect. It has been reported by multiple well-connected sources that the base is 600K (three installments of 200K), the extras are targets that he’s unlikely to hit most of, and his salary was ~ 900K.
If the org is very, very fortunate they’ll break even on what it cost to have Armstrong for a short while. Likely will take a small loss.