Saturday night in Commerce City, the Vancouver Whitecaps dropped the 4th of their last 5 matches in MLS play against the Colorado Rapids by a score of 3-0.
As much as the losing run is a concern, I think it’s been the way they have lost those matches that has been the most troubling. If a team is simply losing out to great performances or getting unlucky, that’s one thing, but the Whitecaps have simply been getting outplayed, and that’s becoming more and more of a serious problem.
Obviously, the Whitecaps remain without some of their key players, and even those who have returned are just getting back to action. Yet, I don’t think that’s enough to account for what is going on for Vancouver. Teams and players start to adjust to successful sides, and the Whitecaps not only need to rediscover their previous form, but they’ll also have to evolve in a way that keeps them ahead of the Western Conference arms race. This seems especially prescient with the transfer window looming on the horizon.
This match was characterized by Vancouver being reactive rather than proactive in all phases of the game. Jesper Sørensen’s tweaks to the starting XI, pushing Vite into the attack, and leaving Utvik in the centre of the defense, really did not work for the Whitecaps, as the communication and passing left a lot to be desired.
The two goals Vancouver allowed in the first half, Calvin Harris in the 12th minute, and Navarro in the 30th, were the result of the Whitecaps losing a number of little 50/50 battles all over the park. Vancouver’s spacing between positions was far too relaxed, and then the intensity to contest duels in a recovery effort left a lot to be desired. When you add Laborda’s goal-line clearance and a saved penalty right before halftime, it would be fair to say that the Whitecaps were absolutely thumped in the first 45 minutes of play, as they failed to place a single shot on target.
Perhaps there could have been a chance for Vancouver to respond after the break, as Sørensen moved Vite back into the midfield and inserted Edier Ocampo as a winger, but a crucial error from Yohei Takaoka off a set piece gifted the Rapids a third goal (no less than they deserved to be honest) and at that point the result was no longer in the balance. Vancouver’s most dangerous chance of the night was a Brian White effort that was saved from Zack Steffen at point-blank range, though it would have been called back for offside anyway, and that really says it all for the Whitecaps in this one, where very little went right.
If you’re looking for my big picture analysis of this Whitecaps team in recent weeks, I think the most important thing is to get the midfield three of Cubas-Berhalter-Vite back together again playing the way they can. Vancouver has not really controlled play for sustained stretches since that threesome was broken up in late May, and the whole team has suffered as a result. This has put more pressure on the defensive line, and it’s also limited the service the attack has been able to enjoy. I think this team has to start with that strength. From there, everything else will start to fall into place.
With Cubas close(ish) to returning, that future might not be very far away for Vancouver, but the matches are also coming rapidly, with the Whitecaps in Houston this Wednesday to face the Dynamo, and then in San Diego on Saturday. Buckle up.
” If you’ve never played goalie you probably don’t get it. Takaoka made numerous good saves plus saves a penalty.”
Colsmith – I played for 15 years as a GK at semi-pro level in Europe and after that had a 20 year career as a professional GK coach at a high level.
Taka is a poor GK. Yes he is decent with the ball at his feet as regards distribution and is capable of making the odd spectacular-looking save (as long as the ball doesn’t then land straight at the feet of an opposing player).
However he does not catch anything. He palms shots away, usually straight back into danger areas, and too many balls bounce off him. He hardly ever comes off his line to claim crosses either.
Yes, he’s an “all-star”, but that was based on a string of clean sheets where the ability of the Caps back four and midfield meant he had little to do.
This will not have gone unnoticed by Jesper, and he will be pushing Axel for a new GK at the end of this season. In the meantime I hope Taka gets back some semblance of form because at the moment our back four visibly have no confidence in him at all.
Before we decide the entire team should be traded away or benched (Brian White and Ryan Gauld excluded, of course 😏) we should consider all the information available.
The Whitecaps have played 21 regular season games. Some teams have played as few as 19, while, as of last night, Colorado has played 23. With the exception of the first two regular season games, for any number of reasons, the VWFC starting XI has changed every game. VWFC have played 11 other games, not counting preseason. Those games are not included in the following numbers, but they certainly had an impact on player readiness, fatigue, etc. But let’s not forget – these players are professionals (and adults) who are expected to maintain their health and their physical stamina on and off the pitch.
Philadelphia Union is at the top of the Eastern Conference with 13 wins (59%), 5 losses (23%) and 4 (18%) draws for a total of 22 games played.
San Diego is at the top of the Western Conference with 13 wins (59%), 6 losses (27%) and 3 (14%) draws for a total of 22 games played.
Vancouver is currently in 3rd place in the Western Conference with 11 (52%) wins, 5 (24%) losses and 5 (24%) draws for a total of 21 games played.
I’m not a statistician, but from my point of view, it’s not the losses that are hurting the team; it’s the draws. Vancouver has one less loss than San Diego, but 2 more draws.
There is no doubt player absences have hurt the overall performance of the group as a whole, but dumping players or bringing back previous players who were let go for a reason, or signing players nearing retirement just isn’t the solution, not to mention the players who didn’t want to be in Vancouver.
The thing I’ve noticed is there is a recurring push among fans to want to give regular minutes to players who aren’t proven contributors, and once those guys are circulated through and losses are suffered, the tendency is to “shout out” for a new coach or to trade more experienced players because those guys made a mistake. They ALL make mistakes.
Keep the faith. The season is far from over.
Feel free to check my numbers.
Great thought and great article by Samuel. The MLS season pass colour commentators are dead on in their praise and criticism of the caps. And the one that stuck out from last night was the caps not being able to implement their fast, attacking soccer. Missing Gauld, Cubas, Ahmed and Nelson leaving Sorensen to try and rejigg to recreate this style of soccer is just a bridge too far. The depth players just can’t do it in a starting role. They’re all fine coming off the bench but that’s a different ball of wax. My one criticism of Sorensen would be playing Vite at right forward. To my recollection this has not worked at all this season. Keep him in the midfield, even if that means using him as a 30 minute super sub, if he’s feeling game fatigue and stress
totally agree with you- 2 things i am hoping for in the next 4-6 weeks:
1. Axel brings in 2 higher quality players- an AMF and another solid striker above Daniel Rios, Sabbi and Nelson
2. the return of Ryan Gauld
do these 2 things properly and – i agree- the Caps will come back by September and head into the playoffs on an upswing
any thought of firing Jesper or applying a major overhaul are100% ridiculous
Salty
The test of a good Head Coach is how he deals with losing streaks. There is no doubt our winning run was destroyed by international call-ups, but now everyone is back we need a win sooner rather than later for the players to regain confidence.
Personally I think the GK position is a huge problem. Taka makes some good saves but he now gives away one goal every game through personal mistakes.
Gradually that has destroyed the confidence of our back line. They have no idea if Taka going to come off his line for crosses. They can’t let players shoot from distance as they have no idea if Taka will actually hold on to the ball, or just weakly palm it out into a danger area.
You can’t carry out maintaining clean sheets with that kind of weakness in goal. An upgrade is needed before the transfer window closes if we are going to regain our early season form.
Yet he is an MLS all star. The only play Takaoka had on goal number 3 was to let the ball hit him in the chest area and then smother the rebound, which is risky in itself with Colorado players close by. One of the hardest shots to stop is one driven down that bounces in front of you. If you’ve never played goalie you probably don’t get it. Takaoka made numerous good saves plus saves a penalty.
In the first half of the season Ahmed threatening their right FB created so many goals and kept the right side of the opponents’ midfield honest. Ali plays the touch line and loses the ball less than Sabbi and Nelson.
Let’s hope the rest and recovery is what Cubas needs. He was giving the ball away and getting yellows so much more in June after the debacle in CDMX.
Piso has been ok, and I like his work with the ball so much better than Cubas and JC, but he’s not quick enough on the recovery to do Cubas’s job unless Seb plays more conservatively, and we don’t want Seb doing that.
I feel the fans are being taken for a ride by MLS (and this includes obviously) ownership. Fans buy season long subscription. However due to MLS a) not aligning it’s with international breaks, b) playing in tournaments aimed only at generating money for owners (the MLS Mexican one) C) club world Cup etc we see many games with half our first team out of action. Also due to these international breaks our players sometimes return injured if they played or out of game time sharpness if they spent time on the bench (or watching from the stands).
The result is lack of continuity in building a strong team. You might say that all MLS teams are facing these challenges. And I would agree which is why the quality of the MLS is several notches behind other world leagues.
To fix this the schedule should be realigned with proper international breaks, all fields should be grass and promotion/relegation should be introduced. Unfortunately the MLS does not seem interested in any of these solutions so we the fans will see lots more mediocre football in the future.
“Mickey Mouse /Disneyland League?” … / think Whitecaps are being set up for a move to another City ASAP?… Just why would all Owners bail out on the club at the same time?…….one or two could have looked to sell their shares to a new Owner? ….No respect for fans… just like MLS!
I very much agree with your points.
MLS has decent teams, but is very poorly run, and also has the handicap of having a group of probably the worst referees in world football.
Though I was happy with the Caps early season play just as anyone else, I couldn’t help but feel…in the back of my mind, that the run they were on was tenuous…..not that they didn’t beat teams compressively, but that they beat them with very specific line ups and very specific play – we need to get back to that asap. The line up we currently have doesn’t have the flexibility to be toyed with and still expect wins. This is worrying as injuries etc force formation changes that we simply do not have the depth to convert into results. Our early success will do us no favours as you can guarantee Caps management and ownership will use that to justify spending ZERO money in the transfer window. This team can win when specific players are healthy and play in a very specific format – disrupt this in any way, and we’ll be seeing more of these losses.
spot-on analysis- you have a good eye
successful teams have a terrific MF; unsuccessful teams dont– for the first 3.5 months we had it; now we dont– we have lost our grit and creativity in the MF- injuries, call-ups and fatique — the replacements are now playing soft and lack instinct and pace with the ball to make any damage (but too often they punish us by playing the ball too slowly, mispassing or not fighting hard enough to win balls) — and i dont see this Team getting back any mojo until September… if Gauld is back-
we need that hope that will energize the team- a couple of good reinforcements would help, but mid-season additions rarely work out, but we could do withthe hope of a fresh burst
if we stay in the top 4 in the West into September, we should be happy; its iffy IMO
our energy is low and Axel and Jesper need to get us plugged back in again- and the players will have to dig into the Team and make it happen
Only tradeable asset is White….move him in a ‘3 for 1 one deal’ ..ASAP ?
We need quality not quantity
RIDICULOUS