Whitecaps felled by Timbers

Tonight the Whitecaps suffered their first loss of the season. It was a tough game to try to judge their performances on as while they were facing their stiffest competition thus far they also had to battle what appeared to be one of the worst pitches I've seen in a good long time. Martin Nash didn't have his strongest game of the season turning the ball over frequently in the first half. The fullbacks appeared to have great difficulty judging the bounce of the ball off the turf at PGE, and Marlon James always seemed to be a step behind the man marking him (as demonstrated first by his brutal shove from behind on his check then later his yellow card on a poor tackle).
2009 Rookie of the year Marcus Haber was virtually invisible through no fault of his own but by poor service from his midfielders. When he did get the ball on the one occasion it seemed as though he wasn't quite comfortable on the ball after having spent the first 3/4s of the game running around without getting any touches. The two bright spots in this match were Jay Nolly's incredible saves to keep the 'Caps in the game and Jonny Steele's debut and instant impact on the game in the second half. He drew a free kick on the edge of the Portland box less then 2 minutes after coming on.
It was a great game to watch back and forth. It was extremely physical with by my count 7 yellow cards between the two clubs and red for Portland to put them a man down. Strangely enough the referee for this match (and one of his linesman) did not make it to the game and were stuck in Los Angeles. A local ref was brought in last minute. He called a rather fair game. I had been expecting a little home cooking but he did well. Upward and onward I suppose.
The Whitecaps play defending USL D1 Champions L'Impact du Montreal on Wednesday at 7:30pm. This will be Montreal's Second Game in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship. They lost on Wednesday in Toronto 2-0. More on that later...

Whitecaps 2011 Jerseys

With the Vancouver Whitecaps getting ever closer to their entry into the MLS the debate is growing over who the potential sponsor on the front of the uniform will be. The revenue created by getting a top sponsor on board is crucial to MLS teams. There are rumors going around that the association between new owner and fromer Yahoo President Jeff Mallett could put yahoo on the front of the jerseys. While current Vancouver Whitecaps FC owner Greg Kerfoot having been the owner of Business Objects before their merger with SAP there is the potential for SAP Business Objects being a front runner. Personally I would love to see SONY across the fronts of the 'Caps jerseys. I think it would look really classy and Vancouver is the perfect market for them to sink their claws into. Toronto FC who are the only club in the MLS to be deemed profitable for each of the last 3 years receive a paltry 1.5 million dollars from BMO. Seattle and LA each receive more then 4 million dollars from their sponsors respectively. Judging basically on market value with the Whitecaps representing a small market with an affluent population and high percentage Asian visible minority, Sony makes sense. It maintains this tech rivalry with Microsoft that seems to be a talking point among Whitecaps fans. While Toronto FC are the only team of the 3 previously mentioned MLS clubs to remain profitable over each of the last 3 years, all three teams have Designated Player whose salaries do not count against the teams cap. If Vancouver wants to compete in the MLS they will need to sign a designated player, the money for one of these players could definitely come from a sponsorship deal with Sony in the 2.5 -3 million dollar range.

.... and wouldn't it be nice to see a good Canadian boy like Paul Stalteri sign with the Caps to bring a little leadership to an already strong back line. I would imagine he has some connection with current CEO Paul Barber from their days back at White Hart Lane.

The 2010 Season Opener Is Quickly Approaching

With the season drawing ever closer I will do my very best to bring you the inside scoop about what is going on with the Vancouver Whitecaps, their bid to take the USSF D-2 Title, The Nutrilite Canadian Championship, Player Bio's, previews of up coming games, in depth reviews of the matches, the women's team, the PDL team, anything and everything I can dig up as we head into the MLS for 2011.