Posted by

Harjeet Johal ,

October 5, 2016 Twitter

@HarJournalist

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VANCOUVER, B.C - You can make no bones about it, the 2016 Vancouver Whitecaps have been a major disappointment this season. A record of 9-15-8 won't be good enough to for the Whitecaps to make the MLS playoffs. A season abound with bad discipline, suspensions, soft goalkeeping, poor defending, and not enough goals scored has left Vancouver 9th in the western conference with two matches remaining.



When a team struggles, the axe often falls on the manager. We all know it's a lot easier to sack the manager instead of getting rid of an entire roster. However, there will be an exception to this theory. Carl Robinson will likely return as Whitecaps manager next season. Whitecaps President, Bobby Lenarduzzi has let folks know that Carl Robinson won't be going anywhere. To the bewilderment of some impulsive fans, and media from outside of Vancouver, they aren't sure why Robinson should be back. A new voice could be a good thing, but you should be careful what you wish for. What does Carl Robinson think about all this noise?



"I don't think I need to answer to the people outside of my market," said Carl Robinson. "As a manager, you're hired to be fired, it's the reality of it. I know what I do is the correct thing. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't. You don't turn into a good manager overnight, and you don't turn into a bad manager overnight, and I've not said I'm good or bad. I know there's a process and I know what my work is all about. I'll let others write good or negative things, it's no problem."



I'm so mad that Carl Robinson converted Pedro Morales to a CDM. It actively makes me angry. — Mark Kastner (@mkstnr) October 3, 2016 It's a results driven business. To go from finishing second in the conference a season ago and now second from bottom in the conference is a massive shock for a young and talented Vancouver team. The Caps came into this season with high expectations and it wasn't crazy to think they could hoist the MLS Cup. Now it seems that the team has taken a step or two back. Without actually watching a match, practice, or attending a team event, outsiders will look at the Whitecaps record and try to justify why Carl Robinson should be sacked. That's a lazy approach, and a hasty decision, Robinson understands why people feel this way.



"Rightly so, we haven't been good enough," said the Welsh gaffer. "You can look through all the excuses under the sun that you want, it falls on me. I pick the team, I pick the players. I've got to go find more players, so they can talk."



Where exactly is Carl Robinson going to find the next MLS hidden gem. In his first three seasons, Matias Laba, Kendall Waston, and Octavio Rivero all looked like potential players that could be sold off to clubs in Europe. Rivero drifted into a pot-hole sized slump and was sold to Chilean club, Colo-Colo. Kendall Waston can't avoid suspensions, and Laba hasn't been the same player since his suspension for a tackle on LA Galaxy striker Mike Magee. Even goalkeeper David Ousted has been off this season.



@HarJournalist @squadplayer we've waited 3 years for him to turn into a good manager,it's not happening — Vancouver Owls (@Vancouverowls) October 5, 2016 Carl Robinson plans to explore the lush green pitches of South America, Central America, Spain, Portugal during the offseason for potential transfers. He will be doing his best to find the next player that can come in and help improve the Whitecaps. Whether that player costs $500,000 or less, or $1,000,000 or more, remains to be seen. It's not about writing a blank cheque, it's about finding the best player that fits into the Whitecaps group. While other MLS teams have spent money like drunken sailors on a night out, Vancouver will never adopt that philosophy. The team wants to develop talent around leaders and difference makers.



It won't hurt to open the purse strings just a bit, but that doesn't always guarantee success. You can bring in a player like a Shaun Maloney, Jermaine Defoe, or Barry Robson and he could turn out to be a bloody big disaster. There will be a large roster overhaul and not every decision Carl Robinson makes is going to be viewed favourably by supporters, and we know that.



"Listen, if you're going to try and compare us to the Toronto, Seattle, and New York City FC that spend, no were not, and I think that's fair to say. We want to bring in better players and the players I get to work with are a great bunch of lads and I won't fault them. I know sometimes you think I stick up for them too much based upon their performances, and probably I do, but it is, what it is. We do know we need difference makers and we've got to find certain difference makers within the parameters that it will work in, and we will. Whether that satisfies everyone, I'm not sure. It will satisfy my group because we have some fantastic young talented players here that need guidance, that's why we talk about leaders and difference makers. I said that from halfway through the season, I had that feeling, I was proved correct and we need to remedy it now."



#WhitecapsFC coach #MLS winning percentage:



Teitur: 8.3%

Soehn: 22.2%

Rennie: 35.3%

Robinson: 36.4%

Pert: 100% — Mike Martignago (@MikeMartignago) October 4, 2016 Vancouver wants to be a progressive MLS club that's always moving forward. 2016 has been a hiccup on the road to success, and it's hoped that Carl Robinson will be able to turn the team around for next season. For a manager that was first overlooked for the job, Robinson has been a pleasant refreshing surprise during his tenure as manager. He deserves the opportunity to right the ship, and alter the team before he is written off by folks who know nothing, but somehow claim to be on the Whitecaps pulse.



"We've got a lot of work to do it relation to trying to bring in better players for this football club, and I know that. We do need difference makers in the team, obviously that's pretty clear, especially after this season. We need people to obviously step up their levels as well. I don't think it's rocket science, but we do to go and find them. My job is to try and go and find them."



Notes: Vancouver will return to action on Sunday, October 16 against the San Jose Earthquakes. The Caps close out the season on Sunday October 23 vs Portland Timbers FC at B.C. Place Stadium.



