Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you are having a good week and that things are winding down for the weekend.

The first half of the week remained dominated by Tim Ford-gate, while the second half shifted to Thomas Mueller’s arrival in Vancouver, with a brief interlude for the Canadian Championship first leg in between.

Regarding Ford: PRO has seen the Instagram posts that we all have seen but all indications are he will remain a match official moving forward. While I never will not be fuming about Saturday, I’m ready to move on. I don’t want Ford to officiate Whitecaps games moving forward and that feels like an outcome that will make everyone happy. Beyond that, I’m increasingly ambivalent.

Moving on with things is easier, however, with the flood of content featuring Mueller’s arrival in town. All the stories about his easygoing demeanor seemed confirmed by videos of him with supporters at the airport and in town. The press blitz as part of his arrival came with news that the sale of the Caps might be more of a injection of cash with a new co-owner, rather than a full on changing of hands, as talks for a new stadium persist. That explains why Mueller’s signing came to pass. And while it is certainly thrilling to see Mueller in training, any sign that this is not a one-off but rather a sign of greater attention from ownership is an excellent one.

The Canadian Championship, meanwhile, was a bit of a mixed bag. This was one I was nervous about given Forge’s form as of late — despite the talent gap on paper, CPL sides always punch above their weight and that has obviously spelled danger in the past.

Well, the good news is the Caps mostly looked comfortable, particularly in the first half before Brian White had to be taken off with a knock. The bad news is the time they didn’t look comfortable involved two of the biggest defensive howlers you’ll ever seen from Bjorn Utvik (who, incidentally, is rumored to be returning to Norway). Now that Mueller is done, one imagines centerback is next on the shopping list for the final week of the transfer window, as you can’t have those types of mistakes in a playoff match. Otherwise, the Caps largely contained the danger from Forge, though the home side will likely complain about a penalty shout that went unanswered. But for the defensive errors, however, the Caps likely win this.

Instead they left themselves some work to do on the home leg. Crucially, however, Vancouver has a month to get healthy and rested. Once again the bench wasn’t very strong and a few more weeks should help considerably with that problem.

Shameless Self Promotion

If you missed the midweek Canadian Championship tie, we have you covered with the key takeaways.

Best of the Rest

More on the latest on the ownership issue, with fresh comments from Jeff Mallett.

It is safe to say that Mueller will sell a few shirts in Vancouver, if nothing else. More on how Mueller could help the Caps’ brand.

How MLS might have wound up in a political mess of its own making.

The major European leagues have kicked off or are doing so in the next two weeks. Here are the stakes for Canadian players abroad.

Vancouver FC will be dreaming of a derby in the Canadian Championship final.