Vancouver Whitecaps: The plan is unfolding
The Vancouver Whitecaps have decided to rip it up and start all over again. The plan is unfolding, and it is being mastered by new head coac Marc dos Santos.
The Vancouver Whitecaps only finished two points out of the playoffs last season. They were far from one of the worst teams in MLS. Even with Alphonso Davies departing for Bayern Munich at the end of the season in a record deal, there was still the makings of a sound roster.
And yet, the Whitecaps decided to not settle for mediocrity. They chose to rip it all up and start again.
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Out went the rather vanilla Carl Robinson as head coach; in came the inventive, progressive but somewhat unknown Marc dos Santos.
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Dos Santos is a highly regarded young coach, renowned for his creativity, attacking style of play, and his development of young players. And he is the man that Vancouver decided to entrust their future in his hands. That means they are committing to his plan.
The Whitecaps have made a slew of offseason moves already, presumably under the guidance of dos Santos. They have not necessarily been praised. But, speaking to Sportsnet 650, dos Santos comforts fans by saying that this is all a part of the plan:
"“It looks ugly right now, because there was so much change and movement, but I can reassure you this is done with a plan, a vision and not looking at the short term. It’s looking to build something solid. For that, you need to suffer a little bit, in the beginning, to stick to where we’re going in our direction.”"
The plan that is currently being undertaken in Vancouver is an odd one, I must admit. Selling your best defender and foundation of your defence is rarely a smart strategy, especially considering the dearth of top quality centre-halves in the league at present. But there has been a very clear purpose to the moves that the Whitecaps have made: create opportunity.
Kei Kamara departed as a pick in the expansion draft. Kendall Waston has also gone, with an international roster spot and up to $825,000 in allocation money coming the other way, while the rather hefty wages of Brek Shea and Aly Ghazal are also off the books. Add in the $750,000 in General Allocation Money that comes with Davies’ sale, as well as the record transfer fee, and it is easy to see the plan in action.
Vancouver are amassing as many resources as possible to re-invest in other areas of the squad. Waston’s absence will be hard felt, as will Davies’, but the resources and roster spots that Vancouver have recouped as a result of their exits do provide them with the chance to spread out their talent across the squad, building depth and flexibility.
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The big question with all of this is whether dos Santos is indeed the right man to make the right decisions and to invest in the right talent. That will be answered as the plan unfolds. But make no mistake, the Whitecaps know what they want to do and they are doing it precisely as desired.