Hello!

Were you there Saturday night? How good was it to be back in BC Place, eh? Great atmospehre, Whitecaps FC dictating play, and phenomenal TIFO from the Southside!

Even had that new turf smell! On that note...

The View

Before we chat about the match against LAFC, let’s do a little housekeeping:

• Sebastian Berhalter has already started to ply his trade in Middlesbrough FC. The Whitecaps FC received a transfer fee of $2M less the league share and sell-on from their earlier acquisition of Seba from the Columbus Crew, but will receive a percentage of a future sell-on should he go elsewhere.

• Kwasi Poku, a Canadian international, was acquired via transfer from Belgian side RWDM. Unfortunately Kwasi is dealing with a preexisting knock and won’t be available for some time. While not the replacement for Berhalter, he’s one of two transfer targets that Axel Schuster has spoken of. Still no word on the second.

Now on to the match.

The View

If you recall last week, I shared how the Whitecaps FC were the fancy stats darlings with a league-leading xG of 39.93 but lacked the clinical ability to capitalize on the offensive generation.

I spoke further about there being a disconnect between there seemed to be a disconnect between Brian White and Thomas Müller and hoped the insertion of Ryan Gauld could help bridge the gap.

And I wondered if Jesper had something cooking that might solve the lack of ambition in the final third.

Well, as we discovered on Saturday… no.

Much like we’ve witnessed far too often, the Whitecaps FC presented themselves as a the better side through dominant possession and rigid defending, yet found themselves unable to get much value for the work.

And much like we’ve seen in a few of the tougher matches, all it took was once mistake to punish the ‘Caps for their offensive inadequacy with LAFC scoring on what amounted to their only opportunity the entirety of the match.

On the final whistle, the Whitecaps FC held an xG of 2.6 to LAFC’s 0.3 (yes, that decimal placement is correct), put 20 shots towards the net to LAFC’s 5, and held the ball for close to two-thirds of the entire match.

Yet it required a penalty kick from Müller to get them the much-needed goal to offer a draw.

Ouch.

Making this further concerning was the lackluster approach we saw from LAFC, prior to their goal and significantly after and the inability of the Whitecaps FC to do anything about it. One might be forgiven for believing that MDS-ball was the reason the ‘Caps saw no joy, yet it simply felt like they didn’t have much idea of what to do to generate offence beyond getting the ball to Ocampo up the right and hope for a cross to work out.

I wish I had the solution to the ‘Caps problem. And if I were to be honest, the fact this team can play so “badly” (maybe a harsh assessment) yet still get a result bodes well for when they finally figure things out… should they figure things out.

But I do worry this lack of offense will punish them down the stretch and into the postseason.

Let alone ahead to the Leagues Cup matches in front of us.

The Good

• Édier Ocampo. He had a very bright match and the few opportunities the ‘Caps had were from his foot.

• Oliver Larraz. As is my way, when a player who’s been on my shiznit list has themselves a good match, I give them credit for it. And it felt like Oliver had himself the best match so far in a Whitecaps FC jersey against LAFC.

The Not So Good

• The turf. Obviously I’d love the ‘Caps to play on a grass pitch, yet I understand the logistical considerations inside BC Place do not make this a possibility. And I also concede the pitch that PavCo acquired is the best on the market, one that is found in many other MLS and whatnot stadia. But boy-oh-boy did it look long and boy-oh-boy did it suck any life out of the ball. Hopefully that changes.

Around the Pitch

Leagues Cup action gets underway this week, with the Whitecaps FC facing LIGA MX side Atlante tonight at home, Juárez at home on Thursday, and Tigres away next week.

And if I were honest with all of you, I like the idea that we get to see how the ‘Caps line up against some really good sides from a league that some consider as slightly better than the MLS.

Yet the fact this tournament happens midway through the MLS season, and punishes teams who do well with additional schedule congestion, has it make little sense to me.

When the Whitecaps weren’t involved last year, the MLS trotted out a line that teams would only be involved in a certain number of competitions to avoid fatigue and schedule congestion.

This made some sense.

Yet it also meant that ‘Caps players missed out on an additional pay cheque, which wasn’t entirely fair to the squad.

And apparently the reason Vancouver is involved this go-round.

So my hope going into the match tonight is the Whitecaps do well, stay healthy, and figure out a way to generate more offense. And it would be a bonus if White, Gauld, and Müller could work some magic.

While I’ll be back to pen Issue #58 next week, I’m heading out on the road for a much-needed vacation with the family, so I’ve lined up Jordan to help cover in my absence for Issues #59 & #60.

Prepare yourself for much better analysis, a fewer less vibes, and a far more potent couple of newsletters!