Posted by

Michele Tossani ,

September 16, 2014 Twitter:

@MicheleTossani

Read this on your iPhone/iPad or Android device



Can Vancouver make due with attacking options?

Just before the transfer deadline, the Vancouver Whitecaps’ President Bob Lenarduzzi and head coach Carl Robinson made it clear they were looking for long-term, not short-term help. As a result, it was not surprising to see the ‘Caps made no moves at the deadline. Nothing occurred except graduating youth players, and neither Will Bruin (Houston) nor Jack McInerney (Montreal) reached the west coast. On the flipside however, Darren Mattocks, Erik Hurtado, Christian Dean, Carlyle Mitchell and Mehdi Ballouchy will remain Whitecaps. Vancouver were unable to find outside the organization their needed goal-scoring help. So, how can they fix their struggling offense? The only notable roster addition to boost team’s attacking flair was the trade Vancouver made to bring on offensive midfielder Mauro Rosales from Chivas USA. It can help, although Rosales is more an assist-man than a finisher. The first problem is that the Caps’ offense has been plagued by inconsistency this campaign. They have scored just nine goals out from their last 14 games. The team has created chances, but failed to capitalize them. The remaining question is simple: is Vancouver’s attacking corps not good enough or they are there better tactical options? At this stage, the truth is maybe lies somewhere in the middle. The departure of Kenny Miller certainly didn’t help as the veteran Scot was a real finishing threat netting 13 goals from 43 appearances in a two seasons stint with the Caps. Miller departure left a void they have yet to fill. Sebastian Fernandez, Kekuta Manneh, Mattocks & Co. are all good footballers, but no one has emerged as a real scoring weapon. Mattocks is the team’s main threat, but scored just six times this season. From a tactical viewpoint, Robinson deployed a 4-4-2 diamond formation during this part of the season. The Caps’s head coach changed his front line over the last three games, utilizing three different striking combinations up front. Against the Quakes, Robinson lined up Morales into the No. 10 spot behind Fernandez and Hurtado. Against DCU, he fielded Morales as attacking midfielder using Fernandez and Mattocks as forwards. Most recently, in the 2-1 loss to FC Dallas, Robinson went with Rosales some yards behind the forward pair of Mattocks and Fernandez. All this instability hasn’t pay off. In three games, Vancouver has recorded just 11 shots on target. The best effort came in the win over the Earthquakes, when Vancouver snapped their goalless stretch. You can argue that the attacking trio Robinson selected against San José is the most potent. However, let me stress this point: with no forward in a good form right now, the better way to score is simply increasing your scoring opportunities. This is a key point: the more chances you have, more probabilities there are to find the net. And the way to improve your scoring chances is to add more offensive flair to your team. That’s what happened against Earthquakes, when Robinson inserted Rosales as midfielder, adding the Argentine’s skills to his offensive corps. It worked against DCU too as Vancouver amassed 14 total shots, although just 3 were on target. Surely, playing Rosales in the middle of the field leaves questions about defensive compactness on the field. At this point, it is a question of priorities. Right now, the main problem here is how to generate more scoring opportunities and how take the edge from them. The answer is to bolster your offensive power with offensive players. Simple but obvious. Michele Tossani is a football tactician with a Ph.D. in History. Michele resides in Florence, Italy and is a tactical analyst for Futbol-Tactico.com