Hello!

I know the turf at BC Place takes a lot of stick, and rightfully so - it looks considerably rough from my seats in 231, so I can't imagine what it's like playing on it.

But if there's one thing you'll never have to worry about are divots. And I'm not talking about a little turf getting pulled up, I'm talking full patches of turf as if some duffer was swinging their clubs with wild abandon.

I'm not entirely sure what's going on down in San Jose pitch-wise, whether it's related to too much activity, not enough water, aliens, or whatever... but man oh man does it make me appreciate our subpar turf just a bit more than I did previously.

Speaking of the pitch at BC Place, the grass is now in for the World Cup and it certainly looks stellar. Have to say it's a shame it can't be kept, but I do appreciate the complexity in maintaining it with both the Whitecaps FC & BC Lions tearing at it over the course of year, let alone all the concerts, conventions, and whatnot being placed on top.

The View

Typically a point on the road is an acceptable result. Certainly an argument could be made that a point on the road against the side at the top of the table is better than an acceptable result.

Yet why do I feel Vancouver missed out on two points? Am I greedy?

Probably.

But the standard I hold this team to now is much higher than it’s ever been.

So watching San Jose’s Preston Judd split the pairing of Tristan Blackmon and Mathias Laborda only a few minutes in and putting the ball past Yohei Takaoka had me upset.

Jordan too:

“I get to be mad for 90 minutes instead of 40 today lmao.” shared by Jordan in the From 231 Discord server.

In the days since, I’ve gone back and forth as to who I hold most at fault. Certainly Tristan could’ve hollered at Mathias that Judd was behind. And I’m not entirely sure why Mathias didn’t a better attempt, or any attempt for that matter, to block the inbound cross.

Regardless, good teams don’t make these types of mistakes. And even better teams look to take advantage of them.

Much like the home match earlier this season, San Jose attempted to take that 1-nil lead to the bank. While they didn’t literally park a bus or two on the pitch - I imagine they would’ve sunk in that sand - they weathered nearly every Whitecaps predictable foray up the pitch.

The Whitecaps attack seems to have four modes.

Mode One is taking getting the ball up the wing with a cross into Brian White or whomever in the middle.

Mode Two is from Sebastian Berhalter set-pieces.

Mode Three is the long ball from Takaoka to a streaking forward.

And Mode Four is desperation times, throw everything towards the net.

What’s clear is how teams have read this report, and have a really good idea on how to hamper the first three. Lock down White. Don’t get burned by Ocampo, Sabbi, Sabaly, or Bruno with a sudden burst of speed. And don’t sleep on Takaoka.

I’m not certain what Jesper Sørensen can do in the short-term to infuse a different approach in training, considering the match congestion prior to the World Cup break, but it’s definitely clear the ‘Caps are lacking creativity right now.

So it took Mode Four late to secure the point, with Sebastian Berhalter being in the right place at the right time on a deflection to finally get the ball past Daniel.

Thank goodness for Mode Four.

The Good

• Andrés Cubas. Played a very bright and intense match. Just a shame he’s only a card away from a suspension. The ‘Caps are much weaker without him in the lineup.

The Not So Good

• Early miscues. I suppose all miscues are not so good, but those that happen early or just before half need to stop.

• The Paypal Park Pitch. I think the schoolyard pitch I played youth soccer on was in better shape than it was this past weekend.

Around the Pitch

As I write this issue, the future of the Whitecaps FC remains uncertain.

The #SaveTheCaps campaign is continuing to do their part, and credit to supporters around the league stepping up to do theirs on our behalf.

Yet the past few days I’ve found myself having a little more optimism than I had previously.

This past weekend Wilson Williams, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) council chairperson, joined CBC Radio One Vancouver’s On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko to discuss the Seńáḵw development. Near the end of the segment, Gloria asked Wilson about his thoughts on the potential of the Whitecaps FC relocating to the Hastings Racetrack grounds on səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nation land.

Simple enough segue.

Yet intended or not, Wilson took it as an opportunity to effuse about the importance of the Whitecaps FC and how he - as well as the the səlilwətaɬ and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) - were involved in ongoing discussions, discussions which were continuing throughout the weekend.

While I encourage you to listen to the segment, Wilson shared the potential of numerous future stadium locations (not entirely sure they all work) and how he felt there was a deal to be done with a local ownership group.

Obviously nothing certain comes from a few minutes on a radio bit, but his optimism was infectious.

And I want to believe.

I hate to admit this, but I’ll be missing the Whitecaps FC match against Dallas FC. With my daughter in swimming lessons and softball on Wednesday nights, a 5:30pm kickoff just doesn’t work with her busy schedule… and therefore mine.

It sounds like we might see Thomas Müller return to the pitch after missing the last two due to illness, and I have to think Ranko Veselinović is close to making an appearance. And I imagine with me not watching, they’ll both return and each will score a brace.

I’ll try and watch the replay.