Hello everyone and welcome back to a fresh update of my Football Manager Story featuring the Vancouver Whitecaps. We are now going into a busy summer period with international competitions which could have an impact on my squad and therefore results….
July 2013
The Conacaf Gold Cup was almost upon us, which meant we lost three players to international duty, Heath Pearce, Russ Tiebert and Tyler Hemming. Effectively going into our Cascadia Cup game with Portland we had no left wingers so I stuck youngster Villalobes (AMC) out there to see what would happen. Worked pretty good as we over-ran Portland with Villalobes setting up the opening goal for Nagbe who in the second half was brought down in the box for Edhino to score the second from the spot.
We stayed at home to take on San Jose where the BC Place crowd were entertained by a thrilling performance by midfielder Mustapha Jarju who bagged himself a stunning hat-trick the best of the three being the opening goal from 25 yards out. San Jose were simply no match for us as we piled on the shots and probably should have had at least a couple of more goals.
The international transfer window opened on July 15th and I eagerly awaited my new signing Traore from Mali but where was he? I’d made an incredible mistake in not reading the fine print of the contract and he won’t be joining us until July 2014!
We faced a two game road trip again with no left wingers which started out at Columbus where we pulled off a 2-0 win over the home side. A rare start by DMC Gershon Koffie set up both goals with two through balls finished off by strikers Castellijos and Hudson who I shoved out on that left flank.
In New Jersey it was like a battlefield as we fought to a 1-1 draw with New York in a game that featured 9 yellow cards and two sending offs. Nagbe opened the scoring off a well -placed pass from Davies but the home side soon equalized from a “training ground” set piece. From there the game deteriorated into a scrappy match.
Returning to BC we were ineffectual in front of goal despite having 60% possession over Dallas and ended up playing to 1-1 draw with Darlington Nagbe getting the goal for us. At the Home Depot Centre in Carson, California it was a completely different story as the return of Shea Salinas seemed to inspire the team as he set up two goals after the half hour mark. The first a diving header by Nagbe and the second by Villalobes with a glancing header who I was delighted to see finally get the ball in the back of the net. Header number three and goal number three came early in the second half with Cuesta hitting he mark after weeks of the ball going over the bar.
2013 Gold Cup
Meanwhile in the Gold Cup Canada easily qualified from Group A after their initial loss to Mexico which was very much expected and brushed past Panama in the quarter-finals. A dramatic penalty shoot-out against Jamaica completed their path to the final where they fought bravely against the Mexicans who ended up winning by a single goal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
August 2014
With the Gold Cup over and my prospects of becoming Canadian manager diminished once more thanks to The Canucks reaching the final I drew my attention to the Moneyball program that had been instilled into the club.
Defensively we were looking quite solid with perhaps the exception of Esnal whose heading stats weren’t quite up to the rest of his colleagues. To replace him would mean looking for a player with stats better than 3 and around 5 if affordable.
The first game of the month was at BC Place and after a very mundane opening 45 minutes two cross balls by right back Kofi Sarkodie were finished off perfectly by the left foot of Russ Tiebert who was returning from Gold Cup duty. The third came 15 minutes from time as Edhino played an inch perfect pass to Nagbe who struck it first time under the body of the sprawling Philly keeper to wrap up the game with time to spare.
Following the game we made an immediate bid for youngster AMC Joshua Galloway whom my scouts had found in the Dallas reserve team. What we liked about him was his pass completion ratio and also some good heading ability when compared to other midfielders. Dallas accepted a trade deal of our 2014 2nd and 3rd round draft picks.
Our next game was in California as we took on rivals Los Angeles Galaxy. Gonzalo Castillejos made his first start in some time and muscled his way onto the score-sheet after just 10 minutes brushing aside the Galaxy defender before striking the ball into the corner of the net. It didn’t take too long for LA to get back into the game but we soon restored our lead as Castillejos headed in off a delicate chipped cross by Steve Kramer. Just after the interval Jarju showed some masterful trickery before beating the keeper to make it 3-1 but lack of concentration allowed veteran Robbie Keane to pull the Galaxy back into the game. Not enough though to save the game and we came away with all three points.
After three exciting wins in a row we hit a slump, failing to win either of our following two games at home leaving the Whitecaps supporters well and truly upset especially after this seasons NACL draw had recently been made without us in the competition.
Next up was away to Eastern Conference leaders Kansas City but again were missing our scoring boots and had to rely on substitute Darlington Nagbe who got the equalizer with just a minute remaining of normal time.
Despite the lack of good form over the last three games we had qualified for the play-offs with eight games to spare.
The final game of the month and of the summer saw us cross the border for a Cascadia Cup encounter with Seattle. The home side applied the pressure early and kept Edson busy between the sticks but we took the lead thanks to a brilliantly executed free kick that resulted in a cracking shot by Edhino from 25 yards out. Seattle immediately searched for the equalizer but Salinas broke free on the counter and his low driven cross was finished off by Tardelly to make it 2-0 with 23 minutes gone. Seattle clawed their way back into the game with a goal after the break and kept us on the back foot for most of the second half but we did enough for the win and finally break this mini slump we had gone through.
The victory over Seattle left us clear of our rivals at the top of the Western Conference standings with a 17 point lead over Los Angeles.
As the play off table shows the Eastern Conference appears to be far more stronger this season and everything points to a showdown with Sporting Kansas City if we can reach the MLS Final for a third time.
Although we are in the process of building a new stadium it was decided to upgrade our first team training facilities once more in order to keep up with our rivals. The upgrades will be finished at the start of next season whereas the stadium is at least another 2 years away from completion.
Fixtures:
Just seven games remain of the regular season, four of which are away from home including two difficult ones in Texas and Washington DC. We will finish up the season at home to Toronto.
There we have it. That completes this 3rd Quarter update with the Whitecaps very much on course to reach another MLS Final. My next update will wrap up the season. Thanks a lot for reading this and have yourselves a great weekend!!
Johnny Karp
20 апреля, 2012 at 09:35
Good job Kevin, you will definitely be in that final. And that Galloway lad looks good, nice find. As for the Canada job, I’m sure you will have that chance sooner or later.
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:29
Thanks Johnny
Galloway is a great find I feel and has good «moneyball» potential :)
TomH
20 апреля, 2012 at 10:52
Brilliant stuff! How can I make an account on here to post stories?
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:30
HiTom
Glad ypou like the story. As for posting you have to start off in the forums fisrt though contact Johnny the site owner.
Bence Répási
20 апреля, 2012 at 13:06
Hi Kevin!
Your boys have a very good run lately, i hope they can maintain it. This season is very interesting and i hope it ends for the Whitecaps even better as the last.Good luck for the fourth quarter!
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:32
Hi Bence
We are far more consistent this season than last and to win the MLS again would be great!
Laxeyman
20 апреля, 2012 at 16:54
Good form Kevin, LA Galaxy have imploded, but you didn’t, and that’s the difference :) Keep up the good work and I can definitely see you in the final. Good luck!
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:33
Hey Laxeyman!
LA have an aging team and seem to sign older players spending lots of money. I’m going for cheap younger players focusing on their playing stats.
saltwater
20 апреля, 2012 at 17:23
I did say it was a matter of time before you ran away with it, and to qualify with eight games to go is feat anyone can be pround of. It must have been hard with the loss of those international players, but you came through well. The moneyball technique seems to really utilise the strengh of your squad and I will definetly have to look into it.
Good luck.
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:36
Yes you were right saltwater :)
My strikers turned wingers really helped us through the summer and my «moneyball» approach seems to be paying off at least so far.
vaibhavc
20 апреля, 2012 at 18:15
Great job Kevin! You managed to secure yourself a play-off place with still seven games left. Hopefully you can get that Canada job soon. And 5 points ahead of City! The derby on April 30 will be really crucial.
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:38
Thanks vaibhavc
I was surprised how quickly we got to the play offs and I want that Canada job so bad!!
Unlucky for m I’ll be at work for the Manchester derby :(
Darren Smith
20 апреля, 2012 at 19:41
Hey Kevin, must have been bitter sweet to see Canada do so well in the Gold Cup…but that job will be yours someday!! Excellent form in the league and cup, your side look like going from strength to strength and if the moneyball system can help unearth talents like Galloway then it must be working, he seems to have potential.
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:43
Hi Darren
Yeah, I was abit upset that Canada did so well in the Gold Cup :( Still on the plus side «moneyball» appears to be working thus far and i’ll give Galloway a few run outs this season but I think he has the potential to start next season.
TheZiggy
20 апреля, 2012 at 21:05
Looks like you need to remain patient for a while longer, but I’m sure you’ll be offered the Canada job at some point.
Apart from the little blip in form, you really are ripping the MLS up this season. To ensure a playoff spot with 8 matches left is quite a stunning job. Galloway might not have a huge amount of pace, but his flair and dribbling should make him a tricky prospect for the opposition to defend against. I’ve had similar players before, and that combination can cause all manner of panic, so I hope he’ll become one of those special players, especially if you can improve his passing ability, which is already quite decent.
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:47
Hi Ziggy
Patience is required with Canada at least for another season maybe. We’ve done a lot better this season for sure and was quite shocked that we qualified so early. Thanks for sharing your own experience with similar players. I’m realy excited by this find and i’m eyeballing another player at Philidelphia whose simliar.
Martin F.M.J.S
20 апреля, 2012 at 23:37
A great season so far Kevin, Some big results against LA galaxy and Seattle and qualifying with 8 games spare is impressive good work. It look like you will have to ask the board to extend your trophy cabinet too lol. :D
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:48
LOL!
Cheers Martin — it’s been a great season so far!
Tegar Triemanudigdo
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:50
Oh yeah, a great season there! Your team has done superb in recent match and I certainly hope that you can keep this one up. I’ll be looking forward on MLS cup and FIFA Club World Cup next time
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 00:52
Thanks Tegar!!
It’s been a fabulous season so far and I hope we can see it through to the end for a «three -peat» Championship!
Mohammad Sadek
21 апреля, 2012 at 02:11
fantastic results kevin specially with playing many matches without your left wingers ,also Galloway looks very good .
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 09:06
Thanks Mohammad
I was surprised how well we actually did without wingers — the strikers did an amazing job filling in that role.
CsAtlantis
21 апреля, 2012 at 04:08
Great lead in the western conference Kevin, no NACL football seems to have given your team a platform to dominate domestically, impressive to see your club improving their training facilities so quickly, still waiting for Traore! Good luck in the playoffs
Kevin
21 апреля, 2012 at 09:09
Hi CsAtlantis
Good point. Not having NACL games seems to have done wonders for our domestic form and I was happy that the board were quick to respond to improvement requests. I’m a bit peeved that a slipped up about Traore though :(
Sears
21 апреля, 2012 at 21:46
Still doing an awesome job Kevin! Your team is easily the best in America at the moment and with players like Galloway joining, you’ll only get better and better.
Kevin
22 апреля, 2012 at 09:44
Thanks Sears
Were really going great guns in the MLS and Galloway is just an excellent addition to the squad — or first team :)