I have been intending to write an article about the Vancouver Whitecaps defensive midfield situation for some time now; however, after every match, the focal point of said article appears to change. A few weeks ago, the focus was on Efrain Juarez and whether he is even an option for the Whitecaps at defensive midfield. Luckily, my colleague CWilkins did a great job of summarizing Efrain Juarez situation. Although I was going to take a slightly different approach, I didn’t want a second Juarez article so soon.

Shortly after, the focal point of this article was going to be Felipe Martins. Then he went and had some of the best matches played by a Whitecaps midfielder.

Felipe also played quite well in #VANvSJ: 2 assists, 7 chances created, 1 shot, 88 touches, 62/67 (93%) passing, 3/4 long balls, 11 crosses, 3/4 duels won, 4 recoveries, 2 clearances, 1 block, 1 interception.



Secondary assists on both #VWFC goals, dictated flow of play. #MLS pic.twitter.com/1kJBZUtdEI — Jason Foster (@JogaBonito_USA) May 17, 2018

After the Whitecaps fourth-straight draw, the defensive midfield player de jour is Aly Ghazal. Ghazal’s errors led directly to two of New England’s three goals, while he was lucky to not give the Revolution the win at the end of the match, when his feet tangled with his opponents’ while in the box.

On a team that has way more defensive midfielders than it can actually play, it is almost shocking that it may be the position with the most question marks currently. Not because of all the options, but rather because each option comes with MAJOR limitations.

Closing out last season, Aly Ghazal proved to be a great replacement for Matias Laba. While Laba was a rabid pitbull, Ghazal was more calculated, not getting drawn out of the middle. He was also a strong, vocal, leader on the pitch. I was excited about the transition from the stalwart Laba. Despite the strong play of Ghazal, Robinson brought in Efrain Juarez and Felipe Martins to compete with, originally, a stable that already included Tony Tchani, Russell Teibert, and the aforementioned Ghazal.

Tony Tchani was moved to Chicago Fire prior to the start of the season, while Aly Ghazal started the season with an injury. That left a rotation of Juarez, Tiebert, and Martins. Upon Ghazal’s return, it was unsurprising that he was slotted into a starting position. He is certainly the best tackler of the group and offers the best protection for a surprisingly (?) porous defensive unit. While Ghazal’s calculated tackling ability is top-end quality, it is mirrored by an atrocious passing ability. At times I have watched Ghazal attempt to pass the ball and wondered to myself “how can he be THIS bad when he is such an accomplished footballer?”.

Against New England Revolution, Carl Robinson made the surprise move to slot Ghazal in at centerback, instead of giving Aaron Maund, who had a strong start to the season, the opportunity. This move did not seem too out-of-left-field, as Ghazal had primarily played internationally for Egypt at centerback, and I applauded Robbo for attempting to try Ghazal in the position. However, as we all know, it did not go well. To say that it was a disaster may be an understatement.

Not working out is an understatement! — Eighty Six Forever (@86forever) May 26, 2018

What may have been surprising about Robbo’s decision is that by playing Kendall Waston and Ghazal at centerback, the Whitecaps made their already terrible play out-of-the-back even worse. Luckily, the additional passing skill in the midfield seemed to make up for it somewhat.

With Waston heading off to play in the World Cup for Costa Rica, it has left a big gap in the center of defense for the Whitecaps. While Jose Aja has acclimated himself well, it seems Robbo does not have faith in Maund to play alongside. As a result, it is possible that we see Doneil Henry slot right into the starting lineup this weekend, after his month-long loan to Ottawa, where the Fury did not concede a goal.

For many, the obvious answer is that the Whitecaps miss Tim Parker (who was called into the US Men’s National Team this week). However, I believe that a) the problem is bigger than that, and b) that the Whitecaps are better off without Parker due to him and Waston being so similar. The problem I see right now is that Carl Robinson does not have the solution he needs at central defense. Because of his gluttony of defensive midfielders, he hoped that the problem could be fixed by playing one of them at center back. The problem with that decision is that the defensive midfield position is not exactly under control either. Felipe has seemed to settle into the club and appears to be a lock most matches, but Juarez looks out of his depth, Ghazal can’t even make a simple pass, and Teibert is steady without any game-changing ability.

Something I thought I would never say with a Carl Robinson-led club, the Vancouver Whitecaps have a serious problem with the heart of their defense and it doesn’t seem like an obvious solution is in the near future.

What is your take on the central defense of the Whitecaps? What about the defensive midfield position? What is the solution to these problems…or do you even see it as a problem?