The Official 2016 Whitecaps FC MLS Thread
 

Seeing as the old one keeps being bumped up, I figured it's time for a new one.

Mood throughout the first two games so far...

http://www.thecoli.com/attachments/m...ate=1411715767


Schedule | Vancouver Whitecaps FC

4-4-2 pls

Rivero is the WFC equivalent of Linden Vey

Absolutely brutal start. Are our center backs slow or am I just crazy? Watson can clear the ball but I feel like if hes ever out of position we're a bit screwed.

Losing Beita was a lot more significant than I thought to be honest

Didn't get to see much of Smith last season but so far he's nowhere near what Beita can do
Fraser Aird seems to be having a tough time adjusting to RB and is honestly better suited for Right Midfield/Right Winger rather than a Right Fullback

I'd give it a few more games, but i'd seriously consider putting Parker on the right, and bringing in Dean to play CB

Overall though, it's been a pretty ugly mess so far. I'm hoping this is just new guys that haven't gelled yet.

I didn't mind losing Koffie as I thought he was hit or miss depending on the game. But the loss of Beita is now rearing its ugly head. He was solid every game and rarely made mistakes. With Koffie's contract off the books, and Mattocks traded, I have absolutely no idea why Beita was traded to TFC when there was no proper replacement available. Sometimes too much youth is not a good thing.

Fraser Aird is a natural winger, but in an attempt to get him more playing time, Rangers tried to convert him into a right back. He seems like a harder worker than Smith, despite having less size, so I'd continue to slot Aird in the lineup.

Losing Beita looks bad, but I can't blame Robbo for taking the risk in a salary cap league. He needed to spend money on the attack because we simply couldn't score when it counted. The loss of Koffie hurts right now too, considering that Rusty is injured and Laba is not in form.

Optimistic me says it's a brief out of form for off-season, but otherwise Waston and Parker have been shit so far. Harvey keeps getting himself caught forward forcing the CBs to spread out, and while Aird can lob in beautiful crosses from 20m inside the attacking half, his defensive skills need serious work.

Leicester City have been gods with a 4-4-2, but Robbo is trying too hard to be old Stoke City with the ugly long ball and his dying 4-2-3-1. Rivero can't jump, and when Perez took his place, he was doing a better job with the ball since he managed to bring the midfield into the play by moving towards them. Current Stoke now passes in triangles on the attack, and with the current talent pool is perfectly possible with the Caps. Hell, I'd love to see a 3-5-2 and let Aird play as a wingback to see what happens since Parker has some pace.


As a video game aside, the Caps will have given up two FIFA 16 in-form cards in consecutive weeks after letting Piatti and Dwyer score twice.

EDIT: This is what happens when you have two strikers up front. Leicester v Newcastle today

https://streamable.com/ryxq

Robbo's great and all...but he strikes me as someone who's pretty resistant to changes when it comes to formation

i think we're stuck to watching 4-2-3-1 for the next little while, unless they get blown up or get absolutely picked apart over the next few games

They can potential be down 0-3 in the first 3 games which is not great! Smith did not look good and beita was a loss when they traded him but don't think it's that significant I watched him during the tor vs Nyc game and he does not look strong in the box vs bigger forwards! Would like dean to get in for a shot!

Weber: Darren Mattocks ? the good, bad and ugly

sucks that he might potentially be ripping through the Caps in the future but so far I think the Caps got the better end of this deal

he was never gonna be that striker here

Robbo at a media scrum saying forwards "need to take chances". How can they if the ball is lost as soon as it gets into the attacking half on a long ball?

Robinson needs to take the "chance" with a new formation next game.

going to my first white caps game tonight! Anything I should look out for?

should be the B squad out tonight with bolanos, waston and perez playing for their national teams...Im hoping to see kudo getting a chance to start! Also hoping they get a decent turnout at the game and that it isnt a bust like Canada/Mexico game! Bust meaning home team will actually score some goals and win haha

Might have to run Jacobson at CB with Kah. Kudo/Rivero is a strong possibility, with Techera, Manneh, Laba and Morales at mid.

thinking of putting a few bucks on them to make it more interesting haha

Decent game on Saturday. But anyone else notice that after the Whitecaps scored on the penalty kick their offence dried up and they totally parked the bus? I'm not sure if they had one scoring chance the entire second half. Playing at home, Robinson has to get his guys going all out to score that second goal early in the second half and put the game away.

I want to catch a Whitecaps game for my first game. Budget is less than $40/ticket. Which teams to watch for? What are the ideal sections for that price range?

The cheapest tickets are now about $30 before service fees. These tickets would be in the corners. Service fees are about $10 per ticket.

Your best bet is to search Craigslist a couple of days before game day to find a ticket in your price range.

We definitely tempted fate in the late stages of the second half. We were pretty lively in the first half and we really should have taken advantage of the high line Houston's defense was playing. However, Manneh is clearly playing at half-speed likely due to his injury. If we had his pace, we could have stretched the defense in the second half.

Who are the stars on this team? Who should I look out for?

How do you separate the genuine tickets from the fake?

Pedro Morales - 77 - always fun to watch when he's on his game
those long passes will either make you tear your hair out in frustration or in awe

Cristian Techera - 13 - don't let the size fool you, the guy is probably our smartest player and is a foul magnet. I still think his offensive capabilities are underrated

Kendall Waston - 4 - dem headers and is a rock at D

I'd keep an eye out for Kudo - 9, Bolanos - 7 and Blas Perez - 27, new additions that may change the offense look (if we could just finish)

Take a pic then post on RS...obviously :troll:

pm'd you a number you can call for ticket availability and prices from the Whitecaps office
i used em last year, not sure if some of their prices are cheaper than what's listed this year though but give it a try and let me know

You treat buying tickets like any other private sale. Ask to see ID from the seller, ask why they're selling, etc. It also helps if the seller can correspond with you using proper grammar.

I've never had issues buying tickets from people using Craigslist. Then again, Whitecaps tickets aren't exactly a hot item either.

Sounds like Los Angeles on Saturday will be. Team announced that they are moving to opening the entire lower bowl.

It'd be a bit of a hard press to find a cheap-ish ticket for a Galaxy game. A ton of locals are Liverpool fans and would go just to see Steven Gerrard. But if the turf keeps Slippy-G away, then it may be a bit of a disappointment. That said, other good ones to watch would be Orlando for Kaka, Montreal for Drogba (if he recovers from turfbitch-itis) and NYCFC for Pirlo. They were all big names in Europe cashing checks in MLS.

Drogba's never gonna play on turf lol

i'm gonna try to get tickets for Kaka...and probably one for a Cascadia game, those are always fun

saw Pirlo and Villa last year...that was good, Pirlo's definitely a few steps behind but he can still be magic