DeMerit Named Captain of Whitecaps

The Whitecaps did what was expected and named their first MLS signing, Jay DeMerit, as the first ever captain.  One of the main reasons DeMerit was signed by the MLS expansion team last November is the leadership he brings on and off the pitch.  The former captain of English side Watford took the long road to success in football by starting at the lowest levels of club football in the UK and making his way to the English Premier League.  The United States World Cup veteran will anchor the back line for the Whitecaps on the field and is the face of the franchise for the mainstream public following the team locally and across the league

Whitecaps Roster Update: Who's Left To Sign

With less than three weeks to go till first kick the Vancouver Whitecaps have tough decisions to make as they have almost half of a roster to fill with the players they have in camp.  If they decide to completely fill the 30 man roster they will sign up to eight more international players and six domestic players.  There is no requirement for the Whitecaps to sign the full roster as they may want to leave some spots open for players(strikers) that become available at a later date.  There have some intriguing rumored strikers mentioned on internet sites but there has been no signing and the forward position is lacking finish.  This was witnessed by the most recent trip to Arizona where the team were outscored five to nil and lost to the three MLS opponents.  The following is a breakdown of who has earned a contract, who is on the bubble for a contract and who is unlikely to get signed.

Whitecaps Local Broadcast Options Plus Other News

With TSN gaining MLS national rights in Canada to broadcast 13 Whitecaps matches on TSN/TSN2, there are 21 games available to be aired locally.  The Whitecaps have stated they will try to broadcast every match this season and as tweeted by Matt Kieltyka of Metro News the Caps hope to get it finalized in the next few days.  In addition to the games the Caps would most likely require their new partner to put together a weekly recap show with features on players.

If the Caps are looking to reach the widest audience then Rogers Sportsnet or CBC would be the obvious options.  Both networks have the announcers in place as well as the large potential audience and Sportsnet has multiple channels in their hand.  Since Sportsnet is owned by Rogers there may be some conflict with Bell being major sponsors of the Whitecaps.  Will CBC feel it's worth the cost to produce games for just a western Canadian audience instead of the national audience it normally did in the past.

Whitecaps Add Two Internationals. Who's Next?

The Whitecaps signed two international players today, as it was announced the team has inked Gerson Koffie and Nizar Khalfan to MLS contracts.   The signings are the first non-domestic footballers on the squad as both players originate from the continent of Africa.  Both Khalfan and Koffie are holdovers from the 2010 NASL squad, as the Whitecaps are allowed to sign an unlimited number of players from that roster.  The Caps still have eight international spots to fill in having acquired two through trade during the expansion draft.

New Quota Is Not A Problem For Whitecaps

After much negotiation with the CSA, the MLS announced that there would be a Canadian player quota for the Whitecaps and TFC in 2011.  Overall it was reduced from eight players that TFC required last year to each team needing to have three Canadians under contract.  Both teams already have the quota filled on their roster as the Whitecaps have three signed for 2011 and Toronto have five on their roster.  There may be even more Canadians signed by each team as they a number of players on trial during the preseason.

Post Draft Whitecaps Roster Analysis: Part III

The players that the Whitecaps have brought in to compete for the attacking positions will not strike fear into the opposition’s defenders and goalies.  There are only two pure strikers in camp, one who is on trial and the other, who is signed, can’t play for the team until he turns 18 in September.  I purposely made this the last part of the series because I was hoping management would have brought someone new through the transfer window.  Some of the players I have included in this piece will play the majority of their time as midfielders but they also have the ability to move up top to play the forward position.