Good Monday morning Caps fans. Hope you all had a lovely weekend and are preparing for the week ahead.
The Whitecaps wrapped up their road trip Saturday with a drab 0-0 draw with Minnesota United. I will confess that I didn’t watch live but it doesn’t seem like much was missed. Vancouver over corrected from their 4-3 loss in Cincinnati by strengthening the backline but not creating much of anything going forward.
It was a rough week and, simply put, the Caps are up against it right now. Three wingers are hurt and one other one, Cheikh Sabaly, is returning from injury. Ryan Gauld and Thomas Müller are still feeling out how to play together. And the team must figure things out without Sebastian Berhalter. Things were even more complicated on Saturday with Edier Ocampo suspended due to yellow card accumulation, meaning another possible creative engine was unavailable.
That doesn’t mean that this is the beginning of a tailspin but it does certainly represent the most on pitch adversity this team has faced so far this season. Things don’t get easier with LAFC in town next weekend.
The good news is twofold. One, the Caps return to BC Place and will get a lift from what will surely be a packed house, eager to welcome them back to town. After that, they will have Leagues Cup to figure things out and get healthy.
And, two, the transfer window beckons, with the Caps having much more flexibility than they did at the end of the winter window after clearing out some deadwood and picking up a transfer fee for Berhalter. There have been no hard rumors yet to go off of but I wouldn’t be surprised if those pick up, now that Axel Schuster and company have handled the outgoings. Signings are imperative, as the Caps are on the brink of falling out of the Supporters Shield race and falling behind their competitors in the Western Conference. Stay tuned here for more as we forge ahead firmly into the dog days of summer.
Shameless Self Promotion
Our post match recap from Saturday’s stalemate in Minnesota.
Best of the Rest
More on how the post-Berhalter era has been off to a sluggish start.
Andres Cubas has been called up to the All Star Game amid some roster reshuffling.
What does the future hold for MLS’ next media rights deal?
MLS is investigating possible tampering by Inter Miami’s in their deal to sign Casemiro.
we can be assured that Axel Schuster and his scouting staff have been busy for the last 2-3 months as it wasnt a mystery that Berhalter was going to Europe
the new player might be: (the Caps do have $2 mill to use and $1.2 mill in salary)
1. free agent and with berhalter’s and schonlau’s salaries off of the Cap roster, a decent player could be found
2. inter-MLS trade- give a player and cash
3. purchase of an experienced player from a Club outside of MLS
4. a loan player from a Club outside MLS (it could lead to a potential purchase if all parties agree)
5. a promising young talent (i dont think this is the way to go)
while we will all miss his playing ability, this is a well-deserved move for him- Middlebrough just missed promotion to the Premier League and with Seba adding to their roster, there has to be serious hope that they will succeed next May
Salty