Issue #29 - Müller League Soccer
Exploring Thomas Müller's impact on Whitecaps FC, discussing game strategies, concern over Jayden Nelson's performances, and becoming sports parents.
Hello!
If you subscribe to this newsletter, you likely already understand how good Thomas Müller is.
But did you know that since his arrival back in August, the Whitecaps FC have yet to lose a match and have gone 6-0-4 during that stretch? (h/t to Har over on X for this info)
Unfreaking-believable.
Something else that’s unfreaking-believable is how awesome you subscribers are. Y’all step up all the time! Including today’s guest (and pretty much semi-regular) contributor, Jordan.
Let’s pass it over to him.
The View
Most of the time, with a pretty comprehensive 4-1 drubbing of an almost-eliminated-from-the-MLS-Cup-Playoffs team, I wouldn't spend too much time nitpicking on performances across the board for the Whitecaps, but I feel like this is actually the best time to be doing it, because we have nearly the widest possible sample size for the season as a whole to understand where the players are at, and where we kind of need them to be.
My first-half thoughts:
Rayan Elloumi did well on his goal. Made the run for the corner play, got contact, ball went in. In open play, however, I feel like both Elloumi and Daniel Rios have the same distinct trait and playstyle that differs from Brian White that makes them both feel underwhelming as strikers in our system, and that's that they very rarely, if ever, make the runs in behind the centerbacks to stretch the game - instead, always choosing to drop deep to pull CBs in and act as a pivot point to break the lines that way. Both are fine, but I find that with how the Whitecaps choose to play, it's not as effective as running deep.
Across the Whitecaps, it feels like almost everyone has bought into the club ethos that nobody is bigger than the club itself - except maybe for Jayden Nelson. I was extremely critical at halftime of him after a late opportunity where he dribbled in from the right channel, and instead of laying off to an onrushing (and open) Ali Ahmed, chose to dribble directly into Daniel's (SJ goalkeeper) waiting hands. The most worrying part is that this isn't an isolated incident, and I called it out to Asa Rehman and Colin Miller on the post-match show, to their agreement. It feels like he's trying too hard to force his one play (knock-past and beat the defender with speed) and things just aren't clicking, mostly. (For the record, I extremely disliked the body language in Nelson's celebration of the 4-0 goal against Forge a couple weeks ago - for a goal wrapping up a semi-final, that goal felt like it meant way too much to a guy who's pretty obviously struggling to find success in his game again.)
That last point about Jayden Nelson is kind of telling too, because I felt like as soon as the subs came in, the entire team just started clicking - one-twos were connecting, we weren't giving the ball away as much, and the goals started coming. Thomas Müller picks out a corner from outside the box, Sebastian Berhalter hits not one but two spectacular finishes from 30 yards out. Sure - we gave up one off of a deflection, but that's why we score 4. It all comes back around to timing though - the substitutions seemed to give the club a lift and get them to really impose themselves on the game, and it showed.
So, where do we go from here? I feel like if Ryan Gauld is 100% fit, he starts on left wing over Jayden Nelson. He's capable of playing left winger, and he already has insane chemistry with Thomas Müller. I would play Ali Ahmed on the right, with Brian White in front at the 9. This allows for the insane double-pivot of Sebastian Berhalter and Andres Cubas to smother out any fires in the midfield, and our backline is just "whatever we have available" these days. Ideally if we're talking "everyone not on the Season-Ending Injury list" is back for game 1 of the playoffs, then our backline should be Edier Ocampo-Matias Laborda-Tristan Blackmon-Tate Johnson. But who knows at this point.
My final thoughts? Let's talk playoff brackets for a minute here. Right now, the top 4 in the West are set - it's just a matter of seeding. Additionally, Seattle are stuck in 5th and can't go anywhere else. In my opinion, the winner of the Western playoff bracket is either of us, LAFC, or Seattle.
My follow-up logic to that is, I want to eliminate one or both of those teams before we have to see either of them.
So if Seattle is stuck in 5th, the only places where LAFC can finish and end up on their side of the playoffs bracket is 1st or 4th in the West. 4th isn't likely to happen unless losing both Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min this week for their 2 games in hand causes them to drop 5 or 6 points. Here's how the top 4 currently looks:
SDFC - 33 played, 60 pts, 18 wins, +19GD (first tiebreaker in MLS is wins, then goal difference)
VWFC - 32 played, 60 pts, 17 wins, +28GD
MNUFC - 33 played, 58 pts, 16 wins, +18GD
LAFC - 31 played, 56 pts, 16 wins, +24GD
66 points is the absolute most any team in this group can reach (VWFC), so we hold 1st place in the West entirely in our grasp. LAFC can reach 65, SDFC 63, and MNUFC 61. LAFC play TFC and Austin this week, we play Orlando, which brings everyone in this group up to 33 games played, and will define where everyone can finish more clearly, but here's what we want, in my opinion: if LAFC win on Wednesday at TFC, we want them to win out because that gives them the highest chance to finish 1st and thus play on the Seattle-side of the bracket. If they lose or draw to TFC, we want them to lose out and stay in 4th.
Our best-case scenario for "strength of bracket" is to finish 2nd or 3rd, which gives us the 6/7 teams on our side of the bracket, which is looking like a mix of teams we've kind of dominated all season long. Anything can and will happen in a playoff bracket, though, but I take us at BC Place over most teams in the field across the entirety of MLS. We'll see, we're in for a wild last couple of weeks!
Around the Pitch
You’ve seen me allude to a few thoughts on youth sports in past issues, and those of you who follow me on social media have likely seen a little bit more there.
Sports parents are a problem.
This is not to suggest that every parent who happens to support their child in sport is completely at blame for much of the behaviour we witness, but there’s a good number of us who aim to be good sports parents who don’t do enough to be better.
While I encourage you to give Bird’s Rant over on Bluesky a complete read, I also encourage you to check out this podcast when you have moment:
Hosted by veteran Vancouver sports broadcaster Scott Rintoul, Better Sports Parents has him connect with some pretty powerful guests to discuss various topics when it comes to youth sport and more specifically youth sports parents.
Aimed to equip us with the tools we need to “navigate the complicated world of youth sports,” I’ve enjoyed the few episodes I have listened to and have picked up some ideas on what I can do to better support my daugther (and the kids I coach).
As parents, we set an example that our kids will follow and it’s upon us to do better!
Can you believe we only have two more matches before the MLS post-season? And while the Supporters Shield is now out of reach and in possession of the Philadelphia Union, first in the West is still within a kicks distance.
That said, you won’t find me in my usual seat (with the usual view) for what I hope is a lengthy Whitecaps FC postseason run. Unfortunately my budget only consists of the money I set aside for the season tickets, so I have to partake in continued ‘Caps action from the comfort of my home. Food is cheaper and I can still have poutine if I want. 😆
And thank you again to Jordan for stepping up and sharing a few thoughts. Look for him regularly should he wish to shoot some notes my way!
From my seat to your browser!
If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing on social media or forwarding it to someone that you think would love it just as much! ❤️
-Chris (@lyteforce.ca)