Coffee with the Caps, Monday June 3

Good Monday morning Caps fans. No match this week means we can all catch our breathe after a whirlwind May which went out with a whimper, rather than a bang, on Friday night with a lackluster 1-1 draw with Toronto FC.

No real rant this morning but I wanted to take a second to respond to some of the frustration percolating around Whitecaps Social Media (TM), as you would expect after any disappointing performance. Sure, the match on Friday was rather listless and the Caps were in many ways lucky to get a goal at all given the nature of the match.

But I maintain my refrain of progress not always being linear. There were some real signs of movement towards the style of play MDS wants out of his squad in the NYRB and FC Dallas matches. The Toronto FC match was more reminiscence of Robbo-ball to be sure but it doesn’t mean there hasn’t been progress in the overall goal of moving towards a better system that produces better results.

The front office will have a chance to make amends as well in the summer transfer window and decide how much money they want to sink into this team and thus how far it will go. I’ve decided to be patient and see how that shakes out before panicking or not (maybe I’m too naive ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

It’s also worth noting that some of the players look absolutely gassed, part of the reason why Friday’s result was as low-energy as it was. The schedule makers are never kind to the Caps and they were especially brutal in the last month and a half, with the team crisscrossing the country multiple times. Adding on the fact that a player like Hwang has had obligations for club or country going back many months now and you can see why fatigue may be setting in.

Of course MDS is probably not interested in any such excuses, nor should he be. But, depending on the results of the summer transfer period, I do think this squad can punch above its weight. In the meantime, enjoy the week off Caps fans. Given the whirlwind that has been this season, we’ve all deserve a break.

Onto the links:

Shameless Self Promotion

We have all the #content from Friday night’s match, including our usual report card and recap. Sam Rowan reports from the locker room, wondering aloud whether the Caps match was better than the Champions League final. As a Spurs fan all I have to say to that is “[loud sobbing noise]”

But wait there’s more! Caleb checks in with two must-reads. First, he updates us on the fortunes of the Caps’ youngsters. And second, we start a series of special report cards grading the first half of the MLS season. Lots to read at your desk this Monday morning!

Best of the Rest

As mentioned above, I am still in mourning over Liverpool’s 2-0 victory to claim the UCL trophy in Madrid. But Rory Smith’s lovely recap was a bit of a balm on my wounds

Even though LA Galaxy lost to New England late Sunday night, Zlatan did Zlatan things in scoring a worldie of a bicycle kick. He’s still a jacka** though

Providence Park looks pretty sweet, as the Timbers christened their newly renovated stadium on Saturday. They got a rude awakening, however, as LAFC reminded everyone why they’re one of the best sides in league history

Las Vegas have a proposal for MLS expansion in the Sin City that includes the most Las Vegas stadium ever

A woman has accused Neymar of raping her in a Paris hotel room, according to a police report in Brazil. The superstar then released texts and images exchanged between the two, which also might violate Brazilian law