Tag Archives: international football

Comma’n You Girls!

Not too long ago, an article appeared on the beloved Pucked in the Head spotlighting a rather odd request made by the Seattle Sounders. Jason, being the man that he is, took it upon himself to broadcast the faux pas to the masses, not because he wanted to embarrass the Sounders and their supporters, but because it was the right thing to do.

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Must have been served meatloaf.

Surely this was merely an oversight on the Sounders’ marketing and design teams’ parts, and really, who can blame them? Most of us here in North America speak English and Seattle happens to be located approximately 2469.6 miles from the birthplace of the language. That’s a lot of space in which to lose a comma or two during transport. It happens.

But there’s no excuse for the fabricators of this little gem:

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PUNCTUATION OPTIONAL!

With England set to take on our beloved Canadians in the quarter-finals at the Women’s World Cup, the cast of the “Bend it like Beckham” musical decided to counsel us to “Come on [their] girls.” My favourite part of the whole thing is the exclamation point, suggesting their message isn’t merely a prompting, but rather a full-fledged directive with authority.

They probably would have been better off sending their well wishes via show tune and skipping the whole “writing” thing altogether.

Whitecaps Wednesday – Yet More MLS Expansion

Let me tell you a story about soccer, greed and spending outside your means.

Once upon a time, there was a league of soccer teams in North America called the North American Soccer League. (Nobody in 1968 had an imagination, more’s the pity. ) Despite a rocky start, the NASL accomplished quite a bit in a short time. In 1969, the league had only five teams, and an average attendance under 3,000. Only a decade later, the league’s heyday saw 24 teams compete before an average attendance of over 14,000. Vancouver fans saw a championship team in the midst of that heyday, as the Whitecaps won the NASL SoccerBowl in 1979 over the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Five seasons after that, however, in 1985, the league was dead.

Carl Valentine was one of the darlings of NASL soccer in its heyday, helping the Vancouver Whitecaps to its only SoccerBowl trophy in 1979. Today he works as an ambassador for the MLS incarnation of the club. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Carl Valentine was one of the darlings of NASL soccer in its heyday, helping the Vancouver Whitecaps to its only SoccerBowl trophy in 1979. Today he works as an ambassador for the MLS incarnation of the club. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

Continue reading Whitecaps Wednesday – Yet More MLS Expansion

Photo Gallery: Whitecaps 2, Dynamo 1

Vancouver Whitecaps FC is undefeated after four matches, and have played damned entertaining soccer in exactly half of those games. Sure, the draw against Chivas USA on the road was disappointing, but let’s be honest — if we asked you if you’d be happy with eight of a possible twelve points to start the season, you’d have salivated all over us. And while we don’t have a drool fetish, exactly, let’s just say we’re damned happy with the start to the 2014 MLS season.

Jordan Harvey and Kenny Miller scored for the homeside, putting home the first two goals Houston has conceded this season.

Darren Mattocks continued his tradition of coming this close. Methinks he spent too much of the off-season watching Canucks games. He had one glorious chance on a short cross in the first half; he got the ball in perfect position, at the top of the six-yard box just shy of the left post. He one-timed his volley, his eyes on the back of the net, his form perfect as he levelled his foot at the incoming pass. The result? So high over the crossbar the ball hasn’t come down four days later. Mattocks is working hard, at least — goals will come, one assumes — but so far he’s had to settle for close calls and a sweet assist on Kekuta Manneh’s goal against those goats in Los Angeles.

Below, thar be pictures. (I’ll add more as I get round to the editing.)

By the way, David Horst, a Houston defender who features in this photo gallery, at one point during the game, wiped out a Whitecaps forward two metres from the right sideline, then took umbrage when the whistle blew. He stood inches away from the linesman, screaming over and over, “WHAT IS THE FUCKING CALL!” That’s right, ladies. He’s a charmer.

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Whitecaps Wednesday – Musings On The State Of The League

As many of you know, I’m a member of the Vancouver Southsiders’ Board of Directors. As Director of External Communications, I’m responsible for responding to media requests we receive. Last week, I got an email from a young, aspiring journalist who was looking for a supporter’s perspective on the current state of the league.  Continue reading Whitecaps Wednesday – Musings On The State Of The League

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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Whitecaps Wednesday: What’s With The Price Gouging, Adidas?

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?

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?

Alain Rochat Traded to DC United for Peanuts

Vancouver Whitecaps FC defender Alain Rochat had an effective game on the back end, but could have handed off set pieces to other, more offensively-booted teammates in the 2-1 win over Columbus. Photo courtesy of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC defender Alain Rochat, one of the first confirmed MLS signings for the club, was traded on Thursday to DC United. Photo courtesy of Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Well that was fun. I woke up to a text saying that Whitecaps FC defender Alain Rochat had been traded. (Shut up, I was on a night shift last night.) My good friend Jason was kind: he didn’t tell me who the Whitecaps had got back. Had I received those twin shocks at once, I believe I would now be trying to get brain matter out of the curtains. No easy task when your head has just exploded.

Let me get this straight: Martin Rennie has traded another fan favourite for draft picks, and he’s done it just one week after a heartbreaking Voyageurs Cup loss had many people were howling for his scalp? Wow. Nobody’s ever questioned the gaffer’s testicular fortitude, anyway.

My questions about the deal after the jump.

Continue reading Alain Rochat Traded to DC United for Peanuts

The Elusive Road Win

The Vancouver Whitecaps have seen an impressive run of play from young Canadian forward Russell Teibert. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
The Vancouver Whitecaps have seen an impressive run of play from young Canadian forward Russell Teibert. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

The Vancouver Whitecaps pulled a rare animal out of their hat this weekend — a road victory. After outplaying and outchancing opponents in several draws (and even a few losses) over the past few weeks, the boys in blue and white stole a 2-1 win in a contest they had no business winning.

Karma dictated the Caps had to come out on top of a decision like this sooner or later. Despite riding a four-game unbeaten streak into the match, they hadn’t received all the points they had deserved. Wednesday’s heartbreaking draw against Montreal lost the Whitecaps their first Voyageurs Cup. They had run the show for 85 minutes, hitting the woodwork twice and putting several shots just wide. By all accounts they could have scored a half-dozen against the Impact but only gave Craig MacEwan two opportunities to say “it’s in the back of the net!”

The previous game was another 2-2 draw, this time against Portland. The Caps scored two marvellous goals, but the Timbers played with twelve men — unfortunately the twelfth one carried a whistle and wore a referee’s jersey. While that may seem unfair, both goals for the visitors were contestable. The tying goal in particular was quite stinky, as Jose Valencia clearly used both arms to corral a hail-mary pass in the Vancouver box before depositing it behind Brad Knighton.

So yeah, gutting out a win when the other guys probably deserved it? Karmic payback against all those other teams that have nicked points from the Caps earlier in the year.

More, including match highlights, after the jump.

Continue reading The Elusive Road Win

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, FC Edmonton 0

The Vancouver Whitecaps delivered a convincing 2-nil win over FC Edmonton in the second leg of the Canadian Cup semi-final. With the win, the Caps move on to the final against the Montreal Impact, who embarrassed Toronto FC 6-0 in the other semi.

I’m sure Chris Withers will have more to say about the match, but here are a few shots I captured at the game.

Corey Hertzog scored a dramatic second half goal to lift Whitecaps FC to a 2-0 win over FC Edmonton on May 1, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.
Corey Hertzog scored a dramatic second half goal to lift Whitecaps FC to a 2-0 win over FC Edmonton on May 1, 2013. Photo by Jason Kurylo for Pucked in the Head.

More after the jump.

Continue reading Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, FC Edmonton 0