Whitecaps add a Designated Player

So last evening the Whitecaps official twitter account tweeted that at 9:30 PST this morning, July 12th, they would be making a major player announcement.  This tweet of course started off a huge amount of speculation all over my twitter feed as every fan of Canadian soccer seemed to have their own couple of suggestions for who it might be.  The early front runner was of course Owen Hargreaves who has bee often linked to the two Canadian clubs in recent weeks as well as having been spotted training in British Columbia of late.  That speculation of course caused the expected reaction with die hard Canadian fans hoping that all the worst possible things happen to Hargo.  The rumour of Hargreaves being the player coming in were squashed only a few minutes later when rumours came out that Vancouver's new player was going to be an African who had been in Belgium recently where he was a decent player.  It was also reported that this new player might have been the captain of either his national team or his club team.  So of course many fans who wanted to be the first to report the name, including myself, spent a few hours on the internet trying to find out just who all met these criteria.  I for one never even came close to getting it right though and really only helped to add to the outlandish speculation that was going on with the likes of Eto'o and Drogba being linked just because they are captains of African nations.

So this morning all the rumours were put aside and the actual announcement was made that the Whitecaps would be adding another Designated player to their team in the form of Gambian international Mustapha Jarju.  He is a striker who spent last season playing for RAEC Mons of Belgium's second division.  So he did indeed fit all of the criteria that were being put out in rumours the night before.  He also fits the needs of Vancouver as last season he scored 25 goals for his club last season and has 58 career goals despite only being 24 years old.  So he will bring the Whitecaps a second scoring option that should provide the sort of partner that Eric Hassli has been lacking all season long.  Hassli has 6 of the teams goals this season but the introduction of Jarju will take some of the pressure to score from him as well as drawing some of the attention of the defenders away from him.  The Whitecaps will be counting on their two designated players to get the job down and give them the attack that has been lacking in so many games this season.

Jarju will be counted on for scoring and to also create goals for the other attacking players.  He has a good record of both in Belgium but that is by no means a guarantee of success in the MLS.  His record in Belgium would suggest that he is worthy of that DP tag but now Vancouver has 2 of its 3 potential slots filled and has used both on them on attackers.  It could limit their ability to strengthen other areas of the team but even with that aside there is still the question of whether a relatively unknown player from Gambia is worth that kind of investment rather then the team going after players with proven MLS quality.  I personally think that signing Jarju is a worthwhile risk and as he won't command that massive of a salary and it is also possible that as soon as next season he could no longer be a designated player which would free that spot up to be filled by another player.  His upside is very large as a 24 year old who has a proven ability to create in front of goal and if this move pays off he could be a huge factor in any improvements that the Whitecaps will make in the coming seasons.

The other big part of todays signing is that Jarju becomes the first African player to be signed to an MLS contract as a designated player.  His move to the MLS could be seen as opening the door for more African players to make the same move in the near future which could only be good for the league that needs to continue exploring new talent markets in hopes of improving the overall quality.

For the Whitecaps they now have the attacker they needed but reports suggest they are still in the hunt of a midfielder which could even see them bring in a third designated player.  That does mean that their fans will have to continue to worry about the potential of Hargreaves being signed in the coming days or weeks if he can prove he is fit and ready to play.  Fans will likely be hoping that if the club does make another big move that it is on signing a proven player with real quality rather then gambling on a player from a small African country who plays in one of Europe's weaker leagues.  Hargreaves would fit that bill but the fact is he has a major history of injury so playing him at Empire field would just be asking for disaster and that is my attempt to avoid discussing other reasons why signing him would be a terrible idea.

For the Whitecaps todays signing was another step forward but as a team that has only scored more then one goal in a match just one time in their last 21 matches there is clearly a lot of work left to be done.  Jarju is possibly one piece of the puzzle that is success in the MLS but at this point he only address one problem on a team with a multitude of them.

Vancouver Whitecaps need a lesson in virtues

The idea that patience is a virtue is more then just a nice thing to learn in Sunday School.  In fact it can even be applied to the development of any successful team.  This lesson appears to have been lost of the folks in charge of the Vancouver Whitecaps who announced earlier today that after only 12 games into the clubs first MLS season they are parting ways with head coach Teitur Thordarson as well as goal keeping coach Mike Salmon.  The reason for firing on the surface seems to be fairly obvious as the Whitecaps have only managed 1 league win thus far and that came back in the emotion filled season opener against Toronto FC.  The move means that for the rest of the season director of soccer operations Tom Soehn will take over the role of head coach.

Thordarson, who is from Iceland, took over as the teams head coach back in 2007 and played a big part in the success that led to them making it to the MLS.  He had a long resume as both a player and manager before the club signed him which had seen him have a fair bit of success in some of Europe's less prestigious leagues including Norway's first and second divisions.  With the Whitecaps Thordarson won a USL first division title, the second ever for the club, which he followed up with another run to the finals that ended in defeat to the Montreal Impact.  His success in the USL ensured that Vancouver extended his contract and took him with them to the MLS level.

As an expansion team in the MLS Vancouver would have been wise to look at the first 5 years of Toronto FC and try to learn from any mistakes that they made.  The biggest issue in Toronto has been a lack of stability as managers have come and gone without being given a real chance to make their mark on the club.  It was one bad season and you would be shown the door.  For Tietur I would have thought things would be different and that Vancouver would have a lot more patience with him due to the success that he brought them at the USL level.  They are an expansion team after all so to expect him to lead the 'Caps to success in the first season was asking to much.  It is fair to say that 1 win from the first 12 matches has to be seen as a real disappointment but it is to late to really turn this season around and this move is only going to destabilize the team.  Now they have to deal with having an interim head coach the rest of the way and by the time they kick off their second league season they might already have their third different head coach.  That kind of turnover will do no one any good.

The reaction around the country seems to be very similar to my own with many expects questioning the move on the part of Vancouver. Craig Forrest for example responded by tweeting: "I like what #Vancouver has done up to now. The firing of Teitur and Mike is a mistake. Lost sense of reality." and "WhitecapsFC were building a real solid foundation. TFC started like this if you remember. It has been dysfunctional ever since. Be careful".  Mr. Forrest is not the only one confused by the move though as the twitter account of Vancouver's largest supporters group, The Southsiders, has been very vocal in supporting TT and questioning this move going as far as to say: "We expect many things from the @WhitecapFC FO before wins: Class. Decency. Good decision making. This fails on all fronts."

It is clear that across the country people who follow the Whitecaps and know the game are left scratching their heads after this move.  The question is if 1 win in 12 games is not good enough for an expansion team who are still learning at this level then what are the actual expectations.  Do the people in charge at Vancouver seriously think that they were capable of challenging for a playoff spot in their first season because of thats the case I can see it being a very tough journey for the club to develop if coaches are given such a short leash in the future.  I am with the Tietur Tots on this one, poor move on the teams part and showed a lack of class and insight.