By any standard, it was a strong season for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The side qualified for Major League Soccer’s playoffs, successfully defended its Cascadia Cup, and earned its first-ever berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.
But in order for the club to continue the progress made this year, coach Carl Robinson has some serious decisions and moves to make this off-season to solidify the gains made and begin to establish his team as a regular contender for the MLS Cup.
Here is a list of five priorities Robinson must address if the Whitecaps are to have a successful 2015 MLS campaign.
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Find a goalscorer
It’s the most obvious missing piece in Robinson’s squad. The Welsh tactician took over the coaching reins right as the side’s Brazilian star, Camilo, was making his break for Mexico.
The natural question last off-season was who the club was going to go out to replace him. As it turned out, the Whitecaps never did. Instead, Robinson elected to strengthen his midfield with two Designated Players: creative maestro Pedro Morales and defensive specialist Matias Laba.
So, Robinson gave Darren Mattocks and Erik Hurtado a chance to win the job, with mixed results, with both players having decent but inconsistent seasons. Newcomer Sebastian Fernandez also had his share up top, but he’s one of those players who is not quite a winger or a forward, but rather something in between.
Either way, the Whitecaps need to bring someone in to play up top with a proven ability to score consistently because qualifying for the playoffs as the lowest scoring team puts an awful lot of pressure on the defence and goalkeeper to have flawless games.
Find a target man
The Whitecaps have never really had a player who can hold the ball up well in the final third. Hurtado improved in this regard to a degree this season, and at times Mattocks can fulfill the role. But neither are physically imposing players who can take down aerial balls and maintain possession before allowing the midfield and other attacking players to come for the ball.
There are other benefits to bringing in a battering ram. In matches where things aren’t clicking for one reason or another and Robinson’s favoured possession style game is proving ineffective, bringing on a bully as a substitute can shake things up and make things uncomfortable for opposing centre backs.
Figure out the centre back situation
The most immediate decision that needs to be made is on Andy O’Brien. The 35-year-old defender had a strong year and logged plenty of minutes, but has struggled with injury at times in previous years. Does Robinson want to bring him back for another season, or is it time to move in a different direction?
Johnny Leveron is waiting in the wings and Christian Dean is a raw specimen who looked MLS ready last pre-season, but didn’t figure much at all during this past campaign.
Robinson can let O’Brien leave and let the kids play, or he may choose to bring in an experienced replacement.
Or, we could see O’Brien come back again and Robinson could opt to maintain the status quo.
Find a true winger
Mauro Rosales is the closest to this that the Whitecaps have had in some time, but there were games in 2014 when the team looked very narrow.
Fernandez and other players asked to play in wide positions often tucked inside too much, which made things very congested at times.
Acquiring a more conventional winger who likes to hug the touchline and cross into the box could stretch opponents and open up space centrally for the team’s attackers.
Captain Morales or is there a better choice?
Given the Whitecaps made the playoffs, Robinson will likely let Morales keep the armband.
But it’s fair to say the Whitecaps coach likely didn’t get the reaction he hoped by giving the Chilean star the title of captain when Jay DeMerit retired mid-season.
People look to captains for various qualities—leadership, a talismanic effect, inspiration—but Morales provided little of that, despite his obvious technical qualities and game-changing attributes.
In short, while he can win a game with one of his set pieces or with one of his signature defence-splitting passes, when it comes to rallying the troops there does appear to be a bit of a deficit, at least on the outside.
There’s no obvious heir to wear the armband, so Robinson will likely let Morales keep the armband barring a more natural leader arriving this off-season.
Martin MacMahon is a Vancouver-based writer. Follow him on Twitter