Whitecaps MLS news [Archive] - Page 7

jlousa

Jan 13, 2012, 2:00 AM

Hey guys,

just wanted to post a link, for the 2012 SuperDraft. 'Caps took Darren Mattocks of Akron University. Unfortunate we didn't get Andrew Wenger (most complete, and best overall player in my opinion). But Mattocks, from all accounts, isn't a bad player. We'll see if he contributes more than Wenger does this year (doubt it).

It'll be interesting that the opening game of MLS season is 'Caps vs. Impact, hopefully, the two draft picks can showcase their stuff in that game. Exciting!

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Whitecaps+Vancouver+picks+pacey+striker+Darren+Mattocks+with+SuperDraft/5985685/story.html

I'm sure Bobby is planning the parade already, Woohoo top 25 here we come. :rolleyes:

I agree we need help in the midfield and even in the back field. Guess they think offense will sell more tickets then victories will.

Vancity

Jan 13, 2012, 6:18 AM

I'm sure Bobby is planning the parade already, Woohoo top 25 here we come. :rolleyes:

I agree we need help in the midfield and even in the back field. Guess they think offense will sell more tickets then victories will.

Haha. I don't think they're planning the parade just yet. We have a long way to go. But it's a start.

Midfield needs a lot of help. We have a ton of forwards, and strikers now (I suppose that's good for depth, and when players are being called to their national teams, etc). I thought for defense, we're pretty good: Demerit, Lee, Rochat, Bonjour, Boxall, Harvey, and Mitchell.

For Midfield, we have the following: Alderson, Chiumiento, Davies, Harris, Nanchoff, Ngyuen, Koffie, Tiebert, Thorrington, Watson. Out of that bunch, I'd take Tiebert, Koffie, and maybe Alderson (if he can prove himself). Maybe Chiumiento, although, that guy's pretty up and down (look at last season).

To be honest, it looks like we have a better team already, than we did last year. Hopefully, Rennie hasn't stopped signing some players. We need a dominant Midfielder to come and play for us.

March 10th can't come soon enough..excited for season #2!

jlousa

Feb 3, 2012, 2:14 AM

Whitecaps where giving away Fifa 12 for XBox and PS3 this afternoon at Waterfront Station, managed to pick up the 2nd last copy. Certainly drew a crowd.

crazyjoeda

Feb 3, 2012, 2:44 AM

I have the iPhone version of FIFA12 it's awesome! Hard to believe such a complex game with great graphics and almost every team in the world can now be played on a phone.

Vancity

Feb 3, 2012, 4:16 AM

Whitecaps where giving away Fifa 12 for XBox and PS3 this afternoon at Waterfront Station, managed to pick up the 2nd last copy. Certainly drew a crowd.

I have a copy of fifa12 for ps3. good game :)

agrant

Feb 3, 2012, 5:17 AM

I've had the pleasure of working on FIFA titles in past years... FIFA12 is the best one yet. For one thing, you can play games in BC Place!

Prometheus

Feb 3, 2012, 2:08 PM

Did the Whitecaps ever publish their season tickets renewal numbers in the end?

I hope the Whitecaps manage to grow or at least maintain their fan base. I was looking forward to the energy of having two franchises playing their first full season in the heart of downtown together. In the four regular season games played in the newly refurbished BC Place Stadium last season, the BC Lions' average attendance was 37,000. After the sensational finish to the season and winning the Grey Cup, attendance is likely to continue to be strong for the Lions this year. For the sake of downtown energy and sporting dynamism in the city, it would be nice if the Whitecaps could draw good crowds too.

PaperTiger

Feb 3, 2012, 5:55 PM

The sense I get is that the renewals aren't going as well this season, which is understandable given the results last season combined with reduction in the novalty factor. I think they will still pull solid numbers though.

We all know the best way to sell tickets is to win games, regardless of the sport. I think the signing of Le Toux gives them a much better chance to do that this season.

I think we will be looking at a much better product on the field. They have managed to keep all of the very best players and add some really high quality pieces (Le Toux, Lee) and some great depth (Bonjour, Barbara, Watson) plus a new Manager (thank god).

For me seasons tickets don't make sense this year, but I am definately going to pick up a couple of the five game packs.

Prometheus

Feb 3, 2012, 6:02 PM

It will be interesting to see whether the signing of that famous Korean player succeeds in drawing a meaningful number of new fans from the Korean community to come to the games.

djmk

Feb 3, 2012, 6:17 PM

Did the Whitecaps ever publish their season tickets renewal numbers in the end?

I hope the Whitecaps manage to grow or at least maintain their fan base. I was looking forward to the energy of having two franchises playing their first full season in the heart of downtown together. In the four regular season games played in the newly refurbished BC Place Stadium last season, the BC Lions' average attendance was 37,000. After the sensational finish to the seasaon and winning the Grey Cup, attendance is likely to continue to be strong for the Lions this year. For the sake of downtown energy and sporting dynamism in the city, it would be nice if the Whitecaps could draw good crowds too.

I do not think anything has been published yet but the new season is still a little ways off. I renewed and I'm excited. With all the acquisitions, the vw are going to win all their games 7-6.

does the 37,000 include the playoffs and grey cup? If it does, that number is not that impressive.

Zassk

Feb 3, 2012, 6:21 PM

does the 37,000 include the playoffs and grey cup? If it does, that number is not that impressive.

"four regular season games"

PaperTiger

Feb 3, 2012, 6:37 PM

With all the acquisitions, the vw are going to win all their games 7-6.

Well, if we could get Chuimiento some of those new shoes that can run back as well as forward...

Prometheus

Feb 3, 2012, 6:52 PM

does the 37,000 include the playoffs and grey cup?

Of course it doesn't. That figure includes only the last four regular season games.

mrjauk

Feb 3, 2012, 7:25 PM

Of course it doesn't. That figure includes only the last four regular season games.

I was actually disappointed in the Lions' attendance for the last 3 regular season games. I attended one of those games. Given that there were about 52,000 in attendance on opening night, the other 3 games must have averaged about 33,000. It's certainly an improvement on what they were getting at Empire, but I had hoped that the way the team was playing at the end of the year would have given them an even bigger boost. Let's hope that the Grey Cup victory provides some momentum for next year.

As for the 'Caps, a terrible year all-round, except in the stands. I'm afraid that the novelty has already worn off and the 'Caps are in trouble this year. If they don't start quickly, it could get ugly.

Pinion

Feb 3, 2012, 11:27 PM

I've been getting multiple calls from a Whitecaps tickets salesman on my cell phone (despite being on the do not call list) because I bought one set of tickets in the first season. If I wanted to buy season tickets, I'd buy season tickets. They're lucky I don't report them.

jlousa

Feb 3, 2012, 11:49 PM

The Do-not call list doesn't cover that, exisiting customers are exempt as are marketing firms and I think something else.

We renewed our 4 tickets but I'm not sure if we'll do the same next year. My dislike for Bobby is almost greater then my love of the game.

djmk

Feb 4, 2012, 1:04 AM

My dislike for Bobby is almost greater then my love of the game.

really? will you say the same if they put a winning team on the field?

agrant

Feb 4, 2012, 1:14 AM

Yea, a lot of the novelty type fans won't be back, which is fine with me. If it doesn't happen now, it would happen next year...
And yes, to gain new fans, the team will need to start winning. I believe the caps can only have a much better season. How much better, who knows? The new coach, Martin Rennie, seems like he has a good grasp of things. I.e., the shoring up of the defence, getting rid of some useless baggage... Adding yet more depth up front. It'll be interesting to see how Rennie will juggle the forward positions... Two key new signings to watch for ->> Young-Pyo Lee (defence) and Sébastien Le Toux (forward/midfield). These guys basically replacing Jonathan Leathers and the failed designated player we signed late last season. Another thing... Hassli won't get as many reds, and hopefully Jay DeMerit will be injury free. Haha!

jlousa

Feb 4, 2012, 2:03 AM

really? will you say the same if they put a winning team on the field?

Yes. I'd be more likely to support a team 5 games under .500 w/o Bob then one 5 games over .500 with Bob. That's just me and my 4 tickets though. Unfortunately I don't seem to be the only one that isn't his fan. Even a large portion of the Southsiders dislike him, but they don't makes waves about it so that the team doesn't take it out on them again.

I think this year's team is better on paper then last years, but we need to be honest the teams problems were not Barber nor Teitur. I think we've actually taken a step backwards off the pitch.

Pinion

Feb 4, 2012, 2:43 AM

I learned to play soccer at Bobby's north van soccer camps and he seemed like a really nice guy? His son seemed well adjusted too - went to the same schools as me.

go_leafs_go02

Feb 4, 2012, 3:32 AM

I had a call from the MLS recently because I went to I believe 2-3 of their games last year. I explained I had moved from BC to Southern Ontario, and then on trying to sell me tickets to TFC....

Prometheus

Feb 4, 2012, 4:43 AM

Vancity

Feb 7, 2012, 9:37 PM

I noticed that Toronto FC's attendance has really dropped off the last couple of seasons. The Whitecaps will need to do all they can to become playoff contenders as quickly as possible if they want to avoid TFC's current situation.

Yeah. Toronto's team stinks. nobody wants to keep on coming to a team that sucks. Even the NHL in Canada is not immune to that (well, with the exception of the Leafs, they've stunk for years, and they're still there, with no threat of ever moving). But I remember a time when Vancouver almost lost their NHL team, because nobody was coming out.

Same thing with the 'Caps. Another losing season (this year, with NO progress) is going to discourage people from coming out. If you win, people will come. Lose constantly and consistently, and that fanbase will not keep coming. It's just how things are. Sadly, many people keep thinking that there's no market for the NBA here. But I truly believe that if the team had shown signs of improvement, and progress of getting better, the fans would have continued to support the team tremendously. It's unfortunate it ended the way it did.

Anyone hearing of Seattle getting an NHL AND NBA franchise again? WOW. Maybe it's not that far fetched for Vancouver to get another shot at the NBA?

PaperTiger

Feb 8, 2012, 12:36 AM

Does anyone know if they will be selling match packs again this year? I tried emailing the 'caps FO and haven't gotten a response.

Pinion

Feb 8, 2012, 12:52 AM

Anyone hearing of Seattle getting an NHL AND NBA franchise again? WOW. Maybe it's not that far fetched for Vancouver to get another shot at the NBA?

A millionaire is in early negotiations about an unspecified arena. He's using the press to drum up hype/public support. This is a long way from "Seattle is getting NBA/NHL back."

PaperTiger

Feb 8, 2012, 6:19 PM

A millionaire is in early negotiations about an unspecified arena. He's using the press to drum up hype/public support. This is a long way from "Seattle is getting NBA/NHL back."

Exactly, The article in the Sun quoted an article in the SeattleT imes that quoted comments made on a blog or something. Any time they have to put
"so-and-so Reports" in the actual headline you know they aren't exactly on solid ground.

djmk

Feb 8, 2012, 8:03 PM

WC did pretty well against seattle in a preseason game the other day. Things are starting to look really good.

agrant

Feb 17, 2012, 2:29 AM

Finally, a midfielder...

"Whitecaps FC announced today the acquisition of Scottish international midfielder Barry Robson as the club’s newest Designated Player."

More info here (http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2012/02/whitecaps-fc-add-robson).

PaperTiger

Mar 7, 2012, 1:32 AM

Vancity

Mar 9, 2012, 9:25 PM

http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2012/03/less-2500-tickets-remain-season-opener-against-montreal-impact

Looks like the 'Caps have sold 13,000 seasons tickets so far.

Not spectacular, but not to bad either.

It's not bad considering the team won an abysmal 6 games out of 34. But how many of those 13,000 tickets are renewals, and how many are new?

If we have a good year this year, the renewal rate will increase dramatically. this city is too much of a soccer hotbed for that not to happen, should the product on the field be a good one.

i'm excited about the 'caps this year. i think they're going to have a VERY good year. I'd say...11-16 win season - which will put us near the top of the western conference.

Overground

Mar 9, 2012, 10:35 PM

WFC are now up to 6th in the MLS power rankings. It will be nice to see our midfield shored up with the arrival of Barry Robson when the transfer window opens up in July.

We're ignoring Arena's advice when it comes to the Whitecaps, who blew everybody away in the preseason. This is a team that not only has skill, speed, toughness and flair in the attacking third; they're a group that's goal-hungry. They go hard after half-chances, and don't particularly care who gets the last touch.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/03/06/power-rankings-whos-top-team-first-kick

http://i44.tinypic.com/eao3fl.jpg
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/02/22/2012-depth-chart-vancouver-whitecaps

jlousa

Mar 10, 2012, 7:41 PM

News reports are stating that Pavco has sent cease and desist letters to both the Whitecaps and to Bell about referring to the field as the Bell Pitch.

Vancity

Mar 12, 2012, 7:07 AM

News reports are stating that Pavco has sent cease and desist letters to both the Whitecaps and to Bell about referring to the field as the Bell Pitch.

Yeah, but it was still referred to as "Bell Pitch" this past Saturday's home opener against the Impact.

What's going on here? How is it that Pavco can rip into one of their main tenants in the 'Caps?