For the first time in since 2016, the Vancouver Whitecaps won’t be going to the playoffs.
Officially eliminated from contention earlier this month, Vancouver played its regular-season finale this past weekend, sending Alphonso Davies off with a 2-1 home win over the Portland Timbers.
With the Whitecaps’ season now over, we asked Sportsnet 650 radio commentator Dan Riccio to dissect the 2018 MLS campaign and look ahead to next year.
SN: What went wrong for Vancouver this season? Was it more than one thing? What were they?
RICCIO: What didn’t go wrong? This team tore itself apart from the inside out. I could sense that there was something rotten within the squad, but nobody expected to see it put on full display at Tuesday’s shocking end-of-season media availability.
Clearly, this team struggled to get along. The problems stem from things off the field for the Whitecaps, but it ended up showing in their play on the pitch. You can’t expect to concede nearly two goals per game and have success in MLS, or any other league for that matter. It is easy to assume that the lack of unity in the locker room was a factor in the team’s poor defensive record.
You can also look back to the beginning of the season when defender Tim Parker was traded and see that may have been an early breaking point for this squad. There are a lot of factors that go into that, more than just what qualities Parker brought as a defender. First and foremost, they missed his leadership. One might also raise an eyebrow at how his contract situation was handled. That could be part of the disconnect between players and the front office.
Marc Dos Santos is the odds on favourite to be named the new Whitecaps coach after the club fired Carl Robinson late in the season. Is Dos Santos a good choice? Why or why not?
Dos Santos has had success in every position he has taken. He’s Canadian. He’s well connected in MLS. He certainly checks a lot of boxes. I think what may be his most valuable asset is the connection to Brazil; he spent a couple of years coaching there. The biggest concern is where the ambition level of the front office is with this club. We know the budget was a sore spot for Carl Robinson during his five-year tenure. Will that change? Will it increase? Time will tell.
How much will the departure of Alphonso Davies, who was sold to German club Bayern Munich, hurt the Whitecaps next season?
Davies was the saving grace for the club, a shining star in what was a mostly grim campaign. This team isn’t competing at the high-end of player transfers coming into MLS, so finding a true game-breaking talent such as Davies was a blessing. It’s a shame they didn’t make the playoffs, because Davies is the type of player that could carry them through the post-season. It took the Whitecaps a few years to find a player of this ilk and I’m sure the fan base is hoping it won’t take as long to replace him.
The Whitecaps outperformed some of the underlying data on the offensive end of the pitch, and Davies had a lot to do with that. He created so many chances with his pace and dribbling ability that it opened up space for others on the team. The Whitecaps shouldn’t try to replace him. They should try to bring in two or three quality players that can create opportunities in all areas of the pitch. This team needs more quality from top to bottom, and the Davies transfer fee should allow them to do that.
Who do you think will be the big player departures during the winter? Captain Kendall Waston is likely gone. But is there anybody else you see being let go or shipped out? What will Waston’s exit mean for the club?
Who are they keeping might be the better question. Whitecaps President Bobby Lenarduzzi talked about needing a culture reset after the explosive season end media availability on Tuesaday. That translate to “no one is safe,”
In my eyes, both DPs are gone, Waston and Brek Shea. Its’ also very possible that top scorer Kei Kamara moves on, as well. He’s out of contract and in his mid-30s. He was easily the Whitecaps’ strongest player behind Davies, and Whitecaps fans will miss him. I would also let Cristian Techera walk away. He always provides flashes, but also disappears for stretches.
As for Waston’s departure, it is a symbol of what the Whitecaps have been for years. They’ll find quality players, but never seem able to keep them. It always comes back to the budget. Waston is soon to be 31 years old, and has a family. He’s in the final year of his contract, and wants to set himself up for the future. I can’t tell you how the Whitecaps will replace him, but I can tell you that this story is getting old and until this narrative changes, the Whitecaps will continue to have issues building a serious contender in MLS.
What’s the most important thing that the Whitecaps have to do this off-season? Is there one area or position on the pitch (or more than one position) that you feel the club needs to strengthen?
They have to be better defensively, that’s obvious. But more than anything, the Whitecaps have to start building a new identity. One hopes that will start with the new manager, once he is appointed. They lost their identity this year, and now we’ve found out that there were more issues than we hadn’t even imagined. The term “culture reset” has been used, and while it sounds like a cliché, it is 100 percent true for this club.
They have to build an identity of how they are going to play, and figure out the types of players they are going to target for transfers/trades. It has to start at the top and filter all the way down to the lowest levels of the academy. The Whitecaps have settled for being mediocre over the last few years – make the playoffs and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. Vancouver deserves better.
Be sure to listen to Dan Riccio on a daily basis on Sportsnet 650. You can also follow Dan Riccio on Twitter
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