I always thought suspenders were used to hold your pants up, to provide you with a feeling of security while letting the world know that:
- you have lost weight;
- you don’t know how to purchase appropriately-sized pants for yourself;
- you accessorize to appear unique.
Suspenders are a worthy yet unceremoniously goofy alternative to a belt that some, usually the over-80 demographic, still choose to employ, presumably because belts and sized waistbands hadn’t yet been invented when these people started dressing themselves. Suspenders are supposed to, you know, help.
In professional soccer, however, suspenders are quite different. They don’t protect you. They don’t offer you security. Their purpose is to expose you, to strip you bare and leave you hanging.
The MLS suspenders left Carl Robinson and his squad unsheathed after a pair of red cards sent Matías Laba and Kendall Waston to the showers early last weekend.
With a shorthanded Whitecaps squad looking ahead to Wednesday’s match against the Colorado Rapids, I thought we could explore the discipline handed down to the Whitecaps to date. Of course, this is a discussion that could produce a series of novellas. Perhaps one day we will elaborate to such an extent, but for now, let’s take a cursory look at the subject.
When talking discipline and the Vancouver Whitecaps, the conversation almost always centers around Kendall Waston and his predisposition to accumulate yellow cards. The question is, as some admittedly biased fans are asking, are Waston’s cautions justified or has he been targeted by MLS officials? The center back currently leads MLS with ten yellow cards in 24 games played.
The suspension handed down to Waston last weekend was his third of the season. While his first caution could be debated, few can really argue that his final yellow card of the game wasn’t justified. Let’s be frank: sometimes Kendall goes where he doesn’t need to go. During a season full of yellows received for being larger than his opposition, even homers like the Pucked in the Head honcho-in-chief sometimes shakes his head at the big man’s decisions. Case in point, remember that Canadian Championship game against Edmonton?
No way Waston should lower the shoulder into the back of the Edmonton player in the box. Why would you do that? #WhitecapsFC
— Jason Kurylo (@PuckedInTheHead) May 21, 2015
The problem? That subjectivity often makes a mockery of this type of discussion. Because of this, let’s strive to be quantitative in a largely qualitative control — in terms of both the interpretation and resulting discipline of the act as determined by the officials in charge. This makes things difficult, yet we’ll try. Thanks to Soccerway.com for the numbers.
From 2010 to 2014 in Costa Rica’s Primera Division, Waston appeared in 110 games and accrued 35 cautions. With a total of 8915 minutes played, that correlates to a caution for every 255 minutes he spent on the field or 0.35 cards per 90 minutes played.
In MLS, Waston has played 3037 minutes, and has received 16 yellow card cautions — an average of one card every 190 minutes or 0.47 cards per 90 minutes.
These numbers represent a 34% increase in his card accumulation rate since joining MLS. Now I’m not going to pretend to know the officiating standards of the Primera Division, and it has been well documented that MLS referees may not be up to officiating standards demonstrated elsewhere in the world, but qualitative or not, that is a shocking surge in yellow cards for Waston.
Referees in both leagues see him because he’s just so damned big compared to opposing strikers. And his aggressive play hasn’t gone unnoticed in the world of fantasy sports, either. As adroitly observed by @Caps_Scarf, yellow accumulation or no, Waston’s stock in FIFA gaming has gone way up in his season-plus with the Caps.
#Hulk @kwaston88 rating improved +12 @WhitecapsFC #VWFC #CostaRica #FIFA16 pic.twitter.com/WB4UJxXxUI
— Whitecaps Scarf (@Caps_Scarf) September 8, 2015
And the issue isn’t just resigned to one man. The Whitecaps as a team also sit atop the yellow card disciplinary table in MLS with 59.
According to mangameslost.com, at the conclusion of the 2013 season, Whitecaps players were suspended six times. That number fell to just one in 2014 (the result of Paolo Tornaghi entering the field from the bench to celebrate a goal — hardly criminal) before spiking this year to a total of 9 (and counting, with seven league games remaining).
When reviewing the suspensions handed down to the Caps this year, it’s difficult to find fault with many of the league’s decisions. In addition to Laba’s and Waston’s recent suspensions, Manneh, Techera and Rodriguez all got their money’s worth in earning their games off. Manneh, who dove cleats up into an opponent on the sidelines, was fortunate to get off with a mere one game ban, and likely had his relatively clean record to thank for that.
So what do we chalk this up to? Card-happy referees? Opponents embellishing and baiting? A mandate from the league to employ NHL-style “game management”?
I’m inclined to believe that elements of blame can be shared between the MLS officials and the Whitecaps themselves. In a league where referees are often the focal point of criticism, it seems as though they err on the side of caution and, well, caution. Their preference is seemingly to be perceived as harsh rather than weak and Waston has certainly been a victim of such.
However the Whitecaps have not done themselves any favours. They often allow their youthful exuberance to dictate their modus operandi, resulting in some spiteful challenges that leave refs with little choice but to act mercilessly.
To date, the squad’s depth has largely been able to negate any adverse effects from suspensions but the playoffs are fast approaching and if the Caps have hopes of advancing, they cannot afford to be caught with their pants down.
Only this time, let’s cinch up with a belt and leave the suspenders at home.