Every Thursday, sportsnet.ca will talk to a member of Sportsnet’s soccer broadcast team (Gerry Dobson, Paul Dolan or Lloyd Barker) specifically about one of Major League Soccer’s three Canadian clubs.
This week, sportsnet.ca chats with Paul Dolan about the Vancouver Whitecaps, and captain Jay DeMerit’s future with the club.
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What did you make of coach Martin Rennie’s experimental three-man central midfield in last weekend’s win against San Jose, which saw Gershon Koffie sit in front of the back four, and Nigel Reo-Coker and Daigo Kobayashi playing further up the pitch in the middle?
Paul Dolan: I think Reo-Coker has to play further up the pitch to have the type of influence and impact he did in the second half against San Jose. He’s a player that can contribute anywhere, but I think Koffie can be an effective holding midfielder, allowing Reo-Coker to support the front-line better as he did with that fantastic solo run to set up Camilo’s goal versus San Jose. Koffie had a pretty good game against a good team and some strong players in front of the back four against the Earthquakes, and he has all the attributes to be very good there. For me, it was a “step-back” game for Kobayashi, though, as he looked more determined to get involved the previous week against Portland. He needs to make a better effort to get on the ball, with better runs away from defenders or coming back to the man on the ball.
Central defender Andy O’Brien was on the bench, but he didn’t play against San Jose. How quickly should Rennie introduce the Irishman back into the starting line-up?
Dolan: It’s very hard to change a winning line-up and Martin Rennie has stood by his practice of rewarding players who play well with more first-team time, so I don’t know how he will drop Carlyle Mitchell after the strong match he had against San Jose. I think O’Brien will want another game or two in the reserves to get fully up to speed anyway, but there is no question that with his contract extension last week that he is an important part of this team and he will find his way back into the team shortly.
David Ousted has now started two straight games for the Whitecaps. What’s your evaluation of his play so far, and do you think he has displaced Brad Knighton as the starter?
Dolan: He has definitely displaced Knighton, as the starter as it’s not a position you look to go back and forth with, and Ousted has looked very steady so far. He was very calm and composed in Portland in his league debut and organized his defence well in both games. In addition, he has been almost flawless coming for crosses and, as importantly, has made good decisions to NOT come for crosses if it didn’t make sense to leave his line. Ousted’s distribution has been excellent as well and he made two outstanding saves against San Jose that earned him a well-deserved clean sheet on his home debut.
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The club is in contract renegotiation talks with captain Jay DeMerit, who has missed most of the season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon. If you were the Whitecaps’ GM, would you re-sign the defender or would his history of injury problems scare you off?
Dolan: I think the Whitecaps proved last week that continuity is very important to building a stable and competitive squad with the contract extensions given to Kenny Miller and Andy O’Brien. Jay DeMerit had an all-star year in 2012 and is making great progress to get back fit by the end of this month. If he can show he has fully recovered and shows the form he had last year, I think yes, the club would look to keep him. He is an excellent leader and strong performer in a position where being a little bit more experienced is vital alongside younger defenders such as Mitchell, Johnny Leveron and Brad Rusin.
Kenny Miller flew to London to play in mid-week friendly for Scotland against England. How much of an adverse effect will the travel back and forth have on him and Rennie’s plans ahead of the Whitecaps’ visit to the Colorado Rapids on Saturday?
Dolan: It won’t be easy, especially when you have to play at altitude in Denver in what is likely to be very hot weather conditions, but Miller is an experienced player who knows how to manage himself throughout the game. I don’t see him starting in Colorado because of the travel, but he’s too good of a player to not be involved at some point.
NEXT WEEK: sportsnet.ca talks to Lloyd Barker about the Montreal Impact. Do you have a question you want to ask Lloyd? Send your queries to John Molinaro via Twitter and he’ll use the best one in next week’s Q&A.
