All posts by Chris Withers

Articles, Soccer

Is O Magico’s next act a disappearing one?

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Camilo scored on a spectacular side scissor kick to pull Vancouver Whitecaps FC even with the Portland Timbers in MLS action October 9, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Camilo scored the MLS goal of the year on a spectacular side scissor kick on October 9, 2013. Now rumours swirl of his impending exit from Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Ugh. I typed that headline five seconds ago and now I hate myself. NO. The answer is no. Probably no. Ok, the answer might be no, and I would almost certainly say definitely no if we hadn’t been burned before by the Whitecaps. There. You will find no buried ledes here.

As one would expect concerning the MLS Golden Boot winner, rumours have been swirling recently regarding the impending transfer of Camilo Sanvezzo to various locales. Look, up in the sky, it’s a transfer offer from Rosenborg, it’s a transfer offer from Tigres… NO! IT’S A TRANSFER OFFER FROM QUERÉTARO! Continue reading Is O Magico’s next act a disappearing one? →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps’ Revolutionary Hiring Process Culminates In Appointment of Carl Robinson

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It's official — Carl Robinson has received the bump up from Assistant Coach to Head Coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club. Photo courtesy of Whitecaps FC.
It’s official — Carl Robinson has received the bump from Assistant Coach to Head Coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club. Photo courtesy of Whitecaps FC.

This morning, Vancouver Whitecaps FC ended a protracted search for a new manager and settled on Carl Robinson as the 15th head coach in club history. Well-liked by his players, the former assistant coach under Martin Rennie brings a wealth of experience at both the highest levels of English soccer, having played in the Premier League for both Portsmouth and Sunderland, and the lowest levels of Canadian soccer, having spent several years at TFC.

More snark (and press conference video) after the jump. Continue reading Whitecaps’ Revolutionary Hiring Process Culminates In Appointment of Carl Robinson →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps Residency Continues Cascadian Dominance

A young Caps fan celebrates amid the smoke after Vancouver drew level in the first half of Saturday's U-18 tilt. Photo by Chris Withers.
A young Caps fan celebrates amid the smoke after Vancouver drew level in the first half of Saturday’s U-18 tilt. Photo by Chris Withers.

In their last home games of 2013, the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency sides took to the pitch at Coquitlam’s Percy Perry Stadium on Saturday in front of perhaps 200 spectators, and handed the visiting Portland Timbers a pair of losses. The U-18 squad overcame an early blunder to win 3-2, while the U-16’s rode a pair of Dario Zanatta goals to a 2-0 victory.

It was an inauspicious start for Vancouver, and especially goalkeeper Nolan Wirth. Early in the first half, a Timbers attack died when a foul was assessed to one of their forwards. Wirth shooed his teammates away, opting to take the free kick himself from just outside his own 18-yard box. Instead of clearing the ball up the field, however, he tried to kick the ball across the field to left back Sam Adekugbe. The cross was easily picked off by the Timbers player – who must have blended into the turf, or something – and he had acres and hours to roll the ball in for a 1-0 Portland lead. Continue reading Whitecaps Residency Continues Cascadian Dominance →

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Whitecaps vs RSL Game Recap

Chris’s recap of this game comes in photo form. Some viewers have suggested that it’s just him being a big poopy pants. Others argue that his take on things is somewhat irregular.

Whichever side of the bowl you sit on, we at Pucked in the Head humbly warn you that the image is completely safe for work, it’s just… well, it’s more appropriate for break time than a board meeting, let’s just say that.

Bran muffin anyone?

Continue reading Whitecaps vs RSL Game Recap →

Articles, Soccer

How unlucky is “The Unluckiest Fan”?

Long-suffering Southsider Duncan Nicol has gone a loooooong time — and even longer road trips — without seeing a Whitecaps FC away win. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, PNG , The Province

It’s Saturday morning, and Norwich City is being so drastically outplayed by Tottenham that I just can’t bear to watch anymore. I haven’t seen something get hammered this efficiently on Canadian television since This Old House went off the air. It’s so bad that I would rather do math problems. In Friday’s edition of The Province newspaper, Whitecaps beat writer Marc Weber did a fantastic piece chronicling the misfortunes of one Duncan Nicol. Duncan, a passionate Caps fan who can often be found pitch-side with his camera at home games, has been to an incredible TWENTY away matches for Whitecaps FC. To date, he has not seen a win. The title of the piece was “The Unluckiest Fan.” This got me thinking: how unlucky is Duncan? Anyone who watches Vancouver with regularity knows that they are shit on the road. And not just any shit, we’re talking about the kind of intense coiler that Sigi Schmid drops pre-game after his 37th pie.

Continue reading How unlucky is “The Unluckiest Fan”? →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps Wednesday – Rennie Out?

Whitecaps WednesdayI’ve changed my mind on Martin Rennie over the past week. I was, in the not so distant past, a staunch advocate of the Whitecaps’ Scottish manager and a believer that he was young and intelligent enough to change his ways. A second straight late-summer Vancouver collapse (Rennie’s third in a row if you count his Carolina Railhawks tanking in 2011) and a series of bizarre decisions and comments have led me to think the club should exercise its rumoured out clause on the gaffer’s contract this winter.

More after the jump.

Continue reading Whitecaps Wednesday – Rennie Out? →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps Wednesday: What’s With The Price Gouging, Adidas?

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Whitecaps WednesdayWe’re now into the second week of English Premier League action. The last two Saturdays, I’ve been up at 7am to watch my chosen favourites Norwich City. What can I say; sports is my religion, and this is my flagellation. I knew going into the season that Norwich would be sporting new kits , but I hadn’t yet seen them in action. Holy cow, are those nice shirts! While watching the Canaries play a superior Everton side to a 2-2 draw on opening day, I couldn’t help but look up how much one of those bad boys would cost. Holy cow, are those cheap shirts (by sports jersey standards)! As a Whitecaps fan, I’ve come to expect that the bland shirts my club wears will cost the customer well upwards of $100. Imagine my surprise when I found that I could get a shirt from my favourite premier league side for only £45. (Yeah, yeah, I’ll do the math for you. That’s $73.80 CDN.) What’s up, Adidas? Continue reading Whitecaps Wednesday: What’s With The Price Gouging, Adidas? →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps Make Their Run-In Tougher With 1-0 Loss to Galaxy

Saturday evening, in front of 21,000 rather tense Vancouver fans, the Los Angeles Galaxy made things rather difficult for the Whitecaps. Just two weeks ago, the Caps were sitting pretty in second place in the ridiculously tight Western Conference. Today, after two consecutive losses, Vancouver sits in seventh. Such is life in the West.

LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan takes a corner kick during a 1-0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan takes a corner kick during a 1-0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

More after the jump.

Continue reading Whitecaps Make Their Run-In Tougher With 1-0 Loss to Galaxy →

Articles, Soccer

Marques Midfield Madness Should Continue: A Rebuttal

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Jun Marques Davidson often seems to be looking in the wrong direction, but he's continued to get starting XI status from coach Martin Rennie. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Midfielder Jun Marques Davidson is at the centre of a Pucked in the Head debate between Russell Arbuthnot and Chris Withers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Last Saturday, Whitecaps midfielder Jun Marques Davidson almost singlehandedly cost Vancouver three points and their undefeated home record by head-butting the Philadelphia Union’s Keon Daniel, earning a red card in only the 8th minute of play. Yesterday, Pucked in the Head’s newest contributor, Russell Arbuthnot, wrote a piece slamming Jun Marques Davidson and Martin Rennie’s insistence on keeping him in the Vancouver Whitecaps starting eleven. Today, I disagree with a lot of what Russell has to say. Read why after the jump. Continue reading Marques Midfield Madness Should Continue: A Rebuttal →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps Wednesday – Is It Time To Oust Brad Knighton?

Whitecaps WednesdayProfessional sport can be a cruel business. The Whitecaps have been rolling recently. They’ve lost only one of their last twelve games — winning five of their last six — and a big part of that streak has been the play of goalkeeper Brad Knighton. Yet despite that stellar recent play — two clean sheets in the last four games, another that slipped away on the last kick of the game and an MLS Player of the Week award — Knighton is in very real danger of losing his starting job to incoming Danish goalkeeper David Ousted. It might not be fair, on recent form, but will it make Vancouver a better team? Read on after the jump to find out. Continue reading Whitecaps Wednesday – Is It Time To Oust Brad Knighton? →