Amidst the disappointment at the end of the Whitecap's season I am grateful to Eighty Six Forever for giving me a forum for expressing my own opinion about how the season went and how it ended as well as keeping me informed and entertained by the thoughts and reactions of other fans as well as the regular, well-informed posters to the site.

In much of the fan reaction to the end of the Whitecap's 2012 campaign I have heard endlessly resurrected the old lament "we should have kept Hassli and Chiumiento" and it is starting to get a little old and, quite frankly, boring. Haasili scored some marvellous, spectacular goals but more often he didn't and when he didn't he might as well have stayed on the bench. He did nothing if he wasn't scoring and he just didn't score often enough to justify his place. Like everyone else, though, I loved him. Chiumiento was clearly happier to be somewhere else and, creative as he was, he simply wasn't irreplaceable. Let us not forget that this is a franchise in only it's second season and, whilst they have a roster they can build on and, in particular, some intriguing prospects in the system with a couple of good draft picks on the way, it is still a work in progress. The skill base of the side needs to be improved overall and the team's ethos and character needs to develop and mature but in that respect, Thursday's gritty, hard working effort can only be improved by enhanced skill, technique and athleticism. I was very impressed with Martin Rennie's first season and we are fortunate to have a manager with vision supported by an ambitious organization to lead the way forward. I am excited about the off-season and the potential for growth in this team and I am eagerly awaiting seeing an improved VWFC take the field next season.