Hi, I’m Chris.

You may remember me as that guy who used to write things on this site from time to time before inexplicably going away for several months!

I’m back now, having dusted off the ol’ keyboard, and I have opinions about the Whitecaps that I will be relaying to you presently.

(Note: Mr Withers is not only a snazzy dresser and the co-founder of PitH — he’s also pretty active as the Director of External Communications of the single largest Whitecaps FC supporter group there is. So much so, in fact,  that he appeared on a recent episode of From the Backline podcast to discuss the Southside experience.)

(No) Big Signings
The Whitecaps, as you may have noticed, have not made any big splashes this offseason. Last year, Vancouver snagged Nigel Reo-Coker, a reasonably well-known player if not exactly a household name. The year before that it was Korean superstar YP Lee. This year we’ve seen very little but for a couple of young Uruguayans of unknown value. Some see this as a problem because Toronto FC is spending the combined franchise values of Chivas USA and the Colorado Rapids to bring in two big stars – Michael Bradley and Jermaine Defoe – at what appear to be grossly inflated salaries. The Whitecaps are being derided as cheap and satisfied with mediocrity. I disagree.

The Whitecaps are acting like they thought they were close last year. They were.

They had one of the highest point totals ever for a non-playoff team. Losing Camilo and his 22 goals was a sore blow, but not one they can’t recover from. His defection opens the door for exciting youngsters like Kekuta Manneh and Omar Salgado to step in and replace those goals. Will they score 22? Probably not.

When you look at Sanvezzo and the Whitecaps last year objectively, though, they were one of the luckiest teams in the league. A repeat of that goal total was unlikely. Vancouver is counting on a new coach and a new system to get the most out of players that were under-performing under Rennie, while giving the youngsters in the squad a chance to show what they can do. There’s no need for them at this time to gamble on a big-name player, especially since they can’t afford to absorb losses the way Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Toronto FC’s parent company, can.

Season Ticket Packages
It’s becoming an annual tradition for season ticket holders to be disappointed in their Whitecaps season ticket package. Vancouver set a high bar in 2011 with a package that included a scarf (also your game ticket for the opening match, which was a brilliant promotion) and a ticket booklet with cool hand-drawn renderings on each page. Each subsequent year has seen the package dwindle. 2012 saw no scarf. 2013 the ticket book was replaced by a plastic card. 2014 there’s not even any packaging, just a purolator envelope with the cards stuffed into lanyards.

Let me be clear: I’m not threatening to walk out on the club because I didn’t get a scarf. I’m not going to give up my season ticket because I’m dissatisfied with the amount of free swag I get. I am, nevertheless, disappointed. Colorado recently included the names of every one of their season ticket holders on their authentic jersey. Philadelphia this year sent out a scarf to its season ticket holders with the same idea. Houston gives its best fans points, similar to the Caps, but unlike Vancouver the Dynamo has items available for immediate redemption for all ticket holders. The items range from a behind-the-scenes stadium tour to a free scarf. As one long-time fan said on twitter: “Personally I’m disappointed in the club. Do I need a scarf? No. But I do need them to give a fuck.”

Formation
At long, long last, we appear to have a coach who won’t try and shoehorn his players into a formation that doesn’t work for them. Martin Rennie’s 4-3-3 was a fine theory, but the execution was lacking. Defensively, the team did all right – at least until Alain Rochat was inexplicably traded away for about 0.5% of his market value – but the team was lost offensively without the individual brilliance of Camilo. The club never had true wingers that could play the formation properly, never had a true central attacking midfielder after Davide Chiumiento left, and put tremendous demands on fullbacks for which they had few if any suitable replacements, and the club suffered because of it. Robinson appears to be shifting to a 4-2-3-1, a formation that many were calling for last year. Russell Teibert and Nigel Reo-Coker appear to have the clubhouse lead for the two holding/defensive midfield spots, while Gershon Koffie and Bryce Alderson will both be trying to push their way into the lineup.

There are a couple of pieces still missing, but Robinson has said he’s not finished trying to add to the squad. Rumblings that a new central attacking midfielder would appear this weekend seem to have been unfounded, but a new midfielder or two in the next 12 days would not be a huge surprise.

Camilo
Is an asshole. He has yet to play for Querétaro due to a hamstring problem. This brings me a grim amusement.

Twelve Bloody Days
It’s been 120 days since the Whitecaps last played a game that counted. Only twelve more to go.