Tag Archives: MLS Soccer

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.

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Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps VS Chivas USA in Haiku

Whitecaps WednesdayVancouver Whitecaps
A game report in haiku
By R. Arbuthnot

A big match at home
The Whitecaps are in a fight
The playoffs at stake

In the third minute
Chivas mounts its bicycle
Torres pedals fast

Fans were left in disbelief after a first-half brace by the visiting goats from LA. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Fans were left in disbelief after a first-half brace by the visiting goats from LA. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Fall behind early
A lack of concentration
An uphill battle

Dagger to the heart
Follows in minute fourteen
Torres strikes fiercely

Kekuta Manneh
Victimized before the cross
Rennie left upset

Continue reading Whitecaps VS Chivas USA in Haiku →

Articles, Soccer

Whitecaps gift the Goats a point

Vancouver Whitecaps FC entered Sunday afternoon with just one win in their last six games. They’d dropped from second to seventh in the Western Conference, and seen their league-leading scoring duo of Camilo and Kenny Miller suddenly go dry.

Kenny Miller steered this shot into the base of the post during the first half of a frustrating 2-2 draw against Chivas USA. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Kenny Miller steered this shot into the base of the post as Marco Delgado looked on during the first half of a frustrating 2-2 draw against Chivas USA. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

A visit from the MLS bottom dweller Chivas USA was just what the doctor ordered, then. The Caps had never lost at home to the Goats from LA, and surely they’d find their form, attack at will, and score a half dozen at least.

Right?

Uhhh, yeah. Right.

More after the jump.

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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.

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Soccer

Rockland Wonderland – A Leather Love Story

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Whitecaps Wednesday

When we last heard from Kenny Miller’s boot (hereafter known as Max Webster), he was boarding a flight to Sicily. On his lace was the defiantly beautiful and curvaceous ball (we’ll call her Alana) he slotted into the net back on June 16th in a game versus the New England Revolution. See here for the back story.

Their luggage included a 40 oz. bottle of Barbados’ finest rum, a pump and needle for when the love-life gets a little ‘flat’, a disk of shoe polish and small slip of AstroTurf on which to rest their weary studs and patches. All told, it had been a marvelous week spent drinking lager and ale and sipping margaritas beneath the patio lanterns at Hacienda Del Pancho’s cabin #14.

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Beautiful leather heart photo courtesy of http://www.janehornsby.com

It was such a marvelous week in fact, that at the behest of his fine lady, Max Webster booked a five-night stay in Sicily to lengthen the dream honeymoon come true. The dream, however, was about to become a nightmare.

Continue reading Rockland Wonderland – A Leather Love Story →

Articles, Soccer

Caps shake the Quakes

As is his wont, our man Russell chimes in with his thoughts for Whitecaps Wednesday. Give him a read. Give him your thoughts. Whatever you do, give him a round of applause.

by Russell Arbuthnot

Vancouver, B.C. – The boys in white and blue were back in the friendly confines of BC Place stadium after earning a draw versus the Portland TImbers last weekend. With only a single blemish on the Caps home record (8-1-3), the Bell pitch has been an important ally. This week the visitors were the dirty, rotten, stinkin’ San Jose Earthquakes, who trailed our boys by just three points in the Western Conference standings.

Whitecaps FC have had many reasons to celebrate on the Bell Pitch at BC Place this season — they've lost just one game so far, thanks to a stellar 1-2 punch up front of Kenny Miller (centre) and Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Whitecaps FC have had many reasons to celebrate on the Bell Pitch at BC Place this season — they’ve lost just one game so far, thanks to a stellar 1-2 punch up front of Kenny Miller (centre) and Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

More, including highlights, after the break.

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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? →

Articles, Soccer

The Sound beats the Sounders

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PITH Whitecaps writer Russell Arbuthnot sounds off on the fabulous crowd at BC Place for MLS soccer matches, and laments the fact that this same atmosphere is rarely seen in an arena that sits just metres away. This season, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and their supporters are putting together a remarkable symbiotic relationship. Attending games at BC Place really is a win-win situation these days.

by Russell Arbuthnot

Whitecaps FC keeper Brad Knighton put in his best MLS performance in a 2-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC on 6 July 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Spurred on by the most spirited crowd in Vancouver, Whitecaps FC keeper Brad Knighton delivered his best MLS performance to date in a 2-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC on 6 July 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Here’s the thing about Vancouver.  The city itself is beautiful; widely  recognized as one of the premiere places to live in the world, Vancouver is the envy of many. It has it all. Cradled in the bosom of lush mountains and caressed by sparkling rivers and oceans, Vancouver is indeed a trendy metropolitan area beloved by nature lovers and urban adventurers alike.

But there’s this other thing about Vancouver. It’s the ugly bridesmaid when it comes to professional sports.

More after the jump.

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