Posted by

Harjeet Johal ,

October 3, 2018 Twitter

@HarJournalist

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VANCOUVER, B.C - Who is Craig Dalrymple? The 44 year-old, Dalrymple was thrust into the spotlight after the release of Coach Carl Robinson on Tuesday, September 25. With 5 matches to go, Dalrymple was given the coaching reigns to try and lead Vancouver to a western conference playoff spot.



What do we know about Dalrymple, not a lot. He's from a Melton Mowbray in the midlands of England, and he grew up supporting a famous Irish midfielder.



"Roy Keane was one of my favourites as a player," Dalrymple told Red Nation Online. "He came from Forest. I was born just outside Nottingham. He played for Forest as a young player and then got traded to Man U. He was a player that I modelled myself after. I took a number of yellow cards for this club back in the 90's."



How did a young lad from the central midlands end up moving to Vancouver?



"My family immigrated out here when I was a young child," Dalrymple explained. "I had opportunities to go to a number of schools on scholarships, and I choose to come to Vancouver. My intent was to be here for four years, and then move on, but I fell in love with the city and ended up staying. Fell in love with a Canadian, and got married. That's all she wrote."



Dalrymple spent the 1993 season with Capilano College, and was named Scholar Athlete of the Year. He joined SFU for the 1994 season, and helped the university to National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championship appearances in 1994 and 1995.



Dalrymple was drafted by the Vancouver 86ers in 1995. During his four seasons with Vancouver, he made 41 regular season appearances scoring 2 goals, and adding 4 assists.



What does he remember about those days as a Vancouver 86ers midfielder?



"Carl Valentine was my coach at the time," Dalrymple recalled. "Dale Mitchell was the Assistant Coach. Bob (Lenarduzzi) was the GM slash President. Those guys are still around as you know. It was humble beginnings for the club. Back in Swangard (Stadium) four or five thousand fans out, and most of them family and friends. You could pick out pretty much every fan in the stadium. I loved it. For me it was a real bond with the city, and clearly there was a little soccer culture here that was growing, and budding in to what it is today."



Not every footballer lives the Alphonso Davies dream, and at that particular time, Dalrymple knew he had to start earning a proper wage. In 2001 he went back to SFU and spent six seasons with Clan as an associate coach. Whitecaps FC came calling in 2007 and that's when he joined the Caps.



"I wasn't earning enough as a player," Dalrymple described his journey. "Back in the A-League days, you were getting paid $1,000 dollars a month, so that wasn't going to cut it. I was coaching as I was finishing my playing career. I just fell in love with it. I felt I was a much better coach than I was a player."



Now that he's Coach of Whitecaps FC, could there possibly be an up-tick in his wages?



"Yeah, that's undisclosed (laughs). To be honest, I haven't even spoken about it. I have a full-time job here at the club. I've been here for a number of years as you know, and I'm just happy to give back to the club."



Yes, he's happy to give back to the club, but what does he do outside of football? Everyone has a hobby, Netflix favourite, or something they enjoying doing when they can grab some time away from work. Dalrymple of course, he has a second job.



"Take care of my family," Dalrymple said. "I have three young girls at home. We do as much as we can. Yesterday (Monday) I was out with them on the soccer field, after my day of meetings. I'm trying to handle my five-year old who doesn't like going to school. I'm trying to convince her that school is a good thing."



If there is something Dalrymple has picked up since taking over for Robinson. It's likely the stress of trying to guide an 11-12-7 team into the playoffs. It won't be easy with Toronto FC, LAFC, Sporting Kansas City, and Portland Timbers on the fixture list.



It's no wonder Dalrymple has turned to an unsavoury beverage to fuel his energy.



"I'm not a coffee drinker until about 8 days ago," Dalrymple explained. "I'm kind of bouncing off the walls, but I'm a tea guy. I always remember drinking tea at halftime in England, that was kind of the standard approach. I never understood why. I'm just a general English tea guy."



Now if he was to put the kettle on and settle in, perhaps a biscuit of his choice would go hand in hand with a delicious brew. Nope, not Craig Dalrymple, he's no biscuit man.



"Yeah, no biscuits for me. I'm purely tea. I'm a health freak. I try and keep away from the sugars."



Whitecaps FC will be hoping Coach Dalrymple will be able to cut out the teams goals against as he has with his sugars. Playing for a manager who has given his all for the organization as a player and coach. That's exactly who to be rallying around now.