If it ain't broke don't fix it!

The Vancouver Whitecaps formally announced that they will be sticking with Teitur Throdason as their head coach going into their first MLS season.

If you look at the results shown by for example TFC in their first years of infancy one of the major issues that they have had to deal with is inconsistency on the bench; 4 coaches in 4 years. I think this is where Portland have made a big mistake. That being said I think I speak for everyone in the lower mainland when I say "I hope Portscum never win another game ever!"

Back to reality though, Teitur's resume is much stronger than any other coach in the MLS. Most notably having lead Estonia to rank in the 60's on fifa's charts. Canada would kill for that kind of placement.

The even keeled Thordason was the right choice for numerous reasons but most of all the whole "if it ain't broke don't fix it" line says it all. In 3 seasons he's been to 2 Championship's, Won the Cup in his first season, and The Whitecaps sit in first in their division (second in the league) at this very moment.

If you really look at it though despite the fact the Caps have 13 draws on the season they're doing pretty well. It may not be as beautiful to watch as Teitur's mentor has Arsenal play, but they haven't been losing either. I challenge you to point out a 3 game stretch where 11 of the same players started. With 8 roster additions in the last month, the uncertainty of having a job at seasons end and all the other hoopla surrounding the club one thing has remained the same, Teitur and his demeanour. Ok and his haircut but again if it aint broke don't fix it right?

New Players, Same Old Story

Caps Tie! Caps Tie!

On a day where the air was filled with anticipation, for the first home game featuring all the Whitecaps new signings the home fans we're left with a bit of a bittersweet taste in their mouths. Cornelius Stewart scored a goal on a perfectly placed shot to take the lead in the '16. On the goal Martin Nash was given his league leading 7th assist of the season.

In the dying seconds of the first half Austin scored of a series of headers after Yohance Marshall finally nodded the ball past the Whitecaps line.

Ridge Mobulu potted a beauty of a goal in his home debut. Showing great patience he came down the left side of the box down to the touch line and waited for the defenders to pass him by. He then shot the ball from a tight angle into the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead.

Youngster Ethan Gage was subbed into the game in his first game back since his recent engagement with the U-21 National Team. Not to place the blame on him but moments after his insertion for team captian Martin Nash, Austin were able to capitalize on a set piece.

The Dynamic Duo of Cornelius Stewart and Ridge Mobulu gave Austin fits. Stewart had a multitude of chances in the first half and Mobulu had a couple opportunities that went just wide of the Austin goal. While newcomers Cody Arnoux, Ridge Mobulu, Willis Forko, and Terry Dunfield, all made appearances, Mobulu was certainly the most note worthy of the new players on the day.

The Aztecs who are in second place on in the USL Division started the game without five of their regular starters on the pitch. Jay Needleham and Lawence Olum were injured. Forwards Eddie Johnson and Max Griffin sat out until Johnson came on to score the equalizer. Yordany Alvarez didn't even make it out on the Aztec's 2 game West Coast swing.

Jay Nolly had a great game as per usual and made several great saves in the dying minutes.

Clash of The Titans

As the season winds down we get a chance to check out Austin's potent offence while Jay Nolly tries to earn another clean sheet at home. With all the buzz about the new signings added to the Whitecap's most people probably don't realize that several of our players are in the Top 10 in most of the leagues statistical columns. Martin Nash leads the Deuce in assists with 7 including the one he got as I am writing this post and Cornelius Stewart has 4 putting him in a tie for 5th. Nelson Akwari although currently injured is 8th on the chart for Minutes Played while Jay Nolly sits in 3rd. Coquitlam standout Luca Bellisomo has commited the league high in fouls with 56, that's 9 ahead of Austin's Edward Johnson. Greg Janicki rounds out the foul table in 10th with 34.

Stay tuned for a post game update as the Whitecaps currently lead the Aztec's 1-0 on a Cornelius Stewart goal in the 16'

also look out for a podcast that I will be putting together in the coming weeks.

Omar Salgado's trial comes to an end.

The teenage American sensation (16 years old!) will not be continuing his Loan to the Vancouver Whitecaps as the club was unable to secure his registration papers to complete the agreement made with the MLS. It's just as well since the kid seems to have his heart set on continuing his training in the US after his joining the U-20 National Program recently and thus being forced to leave Chivas Guadalajara who only sign players who are eligible to play for the Mexican National side. It sounds like this kid had quite the upside to him fast and strong (6'4 ) but maybe the club saw enough from him to select him in the MLS superdraft this spring...

New Whitecaps Striker Jonathan McDonald

Whitecaps FC add Swiss pair - Highlights

Tommy Soehn has been Workin' Hard

It seemed inevitable more international players were on their way into the Whitecaps dressing room with the departures of Justin Moose, Johnny Steele, Ricardo Sanchez, Devor Orgill, and Marlon James. Facts are facts and if you are taking up an international roster spot and can't crack the starting line up you are going to be let go. Every game from here on out is going to be viewed as a trial for next season. Over the last 2 weeks the signings have come fast and furious. Alain Rochat (D), *Willis Forko (D/M), Kyle Porter (M), Terry Dunfield (M), *Alexandre Morfaw (M), *Davide Chiumiento (M), *Ridge Mobulu (F/M), *Cody Arnoux (F) and Costa Rican sensation *Jonathan McDonald (F).

*denotes an international

While the 'Caps have continued their strong play in the deuce it is going to be very interesting to see how all these moves affect the team chemistry. Alain Rochat and Davide Chiumento look fantastic in their video that has been posted on the clubs page and Jonathan McDonald appears to have blazing speed upfront. With Malould Akloul still sidelined with his ankle injury his status is still up in the air but it definitely sounds like the competition is heating up as the 'Caps fight for a championship in their final season before making the jump to MLS.

The one thing I appreciate the most is the Canadian representation in the signings, I am especially excited to see Alain Rochat who brings so quality experience in UEFA Champions League games, and can't wait to see these new additions perform against Austin on August 29th at Swangard.

Tough Loss at Home Gives Cascadia Cup to Portland

Tonight's match at Swangard was one of the best games the 'Caps have played all season. The atmosphere in the stadium was incredible, it always seems to get that way when the visiting fans are good and loud. Many people will point the finger at the officials for the unfortunate result at tonight's game, some may even have the audacity to blame Greg Janicki, for taking a red on a poor tackle on the leagues leading scorer. Janicki was running hard to catch Ryan Pore who was sprung on a breakaway he then cut across right to left and got Janicki to make contact and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

It is always tough to blame the refs because they aren't really playing the game but they surely had an impact on the evenings fixture. There were a couple of questionable calls or even non calls for that matter. Including a Portland hand ball in their own box and a penalty was given to Ryan Pore, even though upon further review you can see that Pore wasn't actually in the box when the foul occured. Jay Nolly sprawled out to make the save but just missed a perfectly placed ball. A few minutes later Nolly ended up getting caught out on a crossed ball and after a bit of a scramble Portland was able to hammer home the winning goal. But lets try to focus on the positives here because there were lots of them tonight.

Nizar Khalfan had a heck of a game up front creating all kinds of chances as did Cornelius Stewart. Khalfan took advantage of a fortunate cross for Phillipe Davies in the first half and blasted a shot to the short side on Portland's keeper to give the Whitecaps a lead early in the second half. Dispite what I would refer to as his only mistake this year, Jay Nolly made a couple of brilliant saves, as we have come to expect from him this year. The usual supects on the back line all had strong games and same up the middle.

It was a tough loss but you can't win them all... or even tie them all too bad our first home loss of the season had to come to the hated Portscum Timbers. I guess they were due seeing as they hadn't won at Swangard in 6 years. Tomorrow I am supposed to be getting my burger from Malould Akloul, he says just a burger no frosty, it was worth a shot to try.

Empire Stadium and A Quick Peek at BC Place

I know that it is old news to some but Empire is complete. The BC Lions have played a couple of games there already and will play the entire season there. The Whitecaps will continue to play this season from Swangard before moving over to Empire for the beginning of next season.
Here are a few picture's of Empire that were actually taken by Tyler Green of the Team 1040 and posted on his twitter. The ones of BC place are a couple weeks old I took them as I went up the Harbour Centre Tower. Whitecaps CEO, Paul Barber called Empire a world class facility and said that it was as close as you could get to a true English Football Stadium in North America. I think it is really a shame that they won't be able to play in it for longer then half a season but the reality of the situation is that it is in a less then ideal part of town for transit and for parking. It definitely has one of the best settings for views of the mountains as you will notice in the picture to the right. Although its hard to top the scene at Swangard. Really though, Swangard is in Burnaby. The coolest thing in my opinion as far as Empire is concerned, is how its located beside the PNE. If you are heading west on Hastings the view of this neat little stadium against the backdrop of roller coasters is pretty neat. I'll try to snap some pics this week also.

By July of 2011 the Whitecaps are expecting to move into BC Place which should have 2 retractable ceilings the first one to be on the top of the dome creating a actual retractable roof.

While the second would close off the upper bowl reducing the stadium from a cavernous 60,000+ person venue down to an intimate 20,000 + person venue. The computer generated images I have posted don't show the new Whitecaps branding but they definitely give you a great example of

the difference between the usage of the two systems for changing capacity.

As the week progresses I will try to get pictures of the construction going on at BC Place.

Malould Akloul owes me Lunch!

So as some of you may know I get the pleasure of hosting many of the Whitecaps half-time events and contests. This affords me the opportunity to interact with all kinds of people. So last Wednesday when the 'Caps hosted Miami I had a very special interaction with a couple of the players which is quite a treat for someone who is a fan above all else. So I'll paint the picture for you.

I was going over the script of our contest (kicking a ball blindfolded from 30ft at 10 bowling pins) with some of the other interns from the club and we were not really successful in our attempts at knocking the pins down. Actually almost everyone missed the pins completely. If you happened to catch the actual contest at half-time the results were much the same.

So we tried and we tried. Testing moving the kicking position closer, not using a blindfold, etc, etc; then Teitur came out and in his infinite knowledge told us we would be far more accurate if we didn't take any lead up steps and just stood there and kicked the ball from a standstill position. Then he kindly demonstrated by covering his eyes and from 30 ft away. STRIKE! every pin! He did it on multiple occasions.

As our pregame set up of the stadium progressed some of the players decided that they were going to give it a shot. So Chris Williams and Mr. Akloul had a go as we watched and I politely informed them of Teitur's earlier success.

This created a situation where the always entertaining Malould Akloul challenged me to do it and if I knocked em down he'd buy dinner. So I stepped up and covered my face with my arm. The result is displayed to the Left. Since Wendy's is a sponsor I think I deserve a Classic Triple and a Large Frosty.

Jonny Steele and Ricardo Sanchez traded to Tampa Bay...

and in return we got.... future considerations. Right now its hard to see any value in this move as the future means next season, and we're going to be in a different league. Now if these "transfers" remain through the transition from USSF D2 on to MLS it could prove somewhat useful if the Rowdies happen to have someone talented pushing up through their ranks.

While both players came in with decent resumes, neither seemed to make much of an impact. Sanchez while brilliant in deadball situations, lacked the consistency to stay in the line up, and was even left home on a road trip to Portland. Sources tell me he was a little lacking in the department of work ethic. Which could explain his stints during practices and exhibitions with the PDL team.

Steele also was involved in last weeks pre-game PDL kick about but I've never really heard anything about him to the negative. Any opinions I throw out would be purely speculation, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was a situation where he just wanted to be closer to his home. Supposedly he lives on the East Coast during the off season, and maybe just was homesick. Even guys with tattoos have a sensitive side.

Finally Decent Internet Access Again!

It has been nearly a month since I have been able to maintain this page and now we are finally back on track! In the next 5 days there will be 4 games played by either the Men, Women, or PDL teams so hold please fasten your seat belts and raise your trays and seats to the upright positions.

Oh yeah! we Played a Game Last Night!

So the Whitecaps played last night, and should have pulled off a victory had it not been for a fishy play at the end of the first half that saw Carolina be awarded a penalty in the dying seconds.

Carolina came out strong to start the first half put on a wee bit of pressure in the first five minutes but after that the first half was dominated by the Whitecaps playing with the ball in the Carolina end. Strong game all around for the caps as guys like Johnny Steele and Martin Nash consistently pushed the ball into the box with lovely service. In the 31st minute on one of these such runs up the field Johnny Steele played a lovely ball on to a streaking Zurab Tsiskaridze, as the defender caught up to the ball on the left wing, he struck a low hard cross into the box and Ansu Toure flicked a cheeky little back heel into the goal.

As the half was drawing to a close Carolina's keeper punted a ball out of his box and an airborne Tsiskaridze was undercut by a Railhawks player at half, the play continued on and eventually led to Nelson Akwari bowling over Carolina's Etienne Barbara in the 18 yard box. A penalty was awarded and Barbara converted on the free kick.

After that the best chances of the second half came from a Marcus Haber header in the 53rd minute and then another head by Phillipe Davies in the 65th. Not a whole lot else happened in the later stages, Doudou came in for Ansu, in a Toure for Toure substitution, only to be involved in a head on head collision almost immediately after entering the pitch.

A draw while not ideal still keeps the Caps on top of the table.

The next home game from the men will be on July 8th almost a month away! the Residency Team will play Friday and Sunday this week up at SFU I urge you to come up and check it out. I will be announcing the Friday game but will not be at the Sunday game so maybe you guys could keep ME updated on that one!

The Women's next game is at Mcleod Athletic Park in Langley, on June 27th. They will be facing The Pali Blues from Los Angeles. I would imagine we will finally get to see the recently signed Kara Lang, who will have just graduated from UCLA. She actually was a member of the Pali Blues last season so hopefully she will be able to knock a couple past her former club and win one for the good guys

New Kits to be unveiled today

The Vancouver Whitecaps will be Introducing their new uniforms at a press conference today in Downtown Vancouver at Bentall Building 5. According to the Vancouver Sun we should expect to see communications giant Bell smeared across the front. Neither the club or representatives from Bell would confirm this to be true.

From what the rumour mill is spitting out its going to be Bell though. They have offices in the building and lets be honest It would fit their colour scheme, mind you not everyone is into kit porn like I am.

Supposedly Martin Nash and Kara Lang will be modelling the new kits in just under an hours time. 10:30 am pst.

The whole shindig will be streamed live on the Whitecaps website.

Quick Hitter

The Whitecaps Women played a home game not this past weekend but the weekend previous, against the Colorado Force FC, they were a little short handed as many of their recent signings were with the Canadian National Team in Norway. We did get a chance to see the Defensive brilliance of Robyn Gayle and the brute force of striker Melissa Tancredi. Kaylyn Kyle set up both Tancredi's and Martina Franco's goals and had a strong game defensively in the middle of the pitch.

I didn't get a whole lot of time to watch the game as I was running around the stadium making sure things were in order but the Whitecaps Women looked to be the better team on this occasion.

Later in the week they travelled to Colorado to play the rubber match in this head to head series and drew 0-0.

They went on to play the Colorado Rush earlier this week and again drew, this time to the tune of 1-1.