The Whitecaps return home from a week-long trip a different team and the jury is still out whether the changes have improved the club on the pitch. It is clear that Rennie will not stand pat even with the Whitecaps sitting in a playoff spot and already surpassing last season’s point totals. The changes seemed to come as a surprise although there were signs that changes would be coming in the summer transfer window.
There were reports the week before from Switzerland that Davide Chiumiento was being linked to FC Zurich where his former manager was signed to take over the reins. He had left training in LA early on Friday and was seen talking on the phone which gave the rumors more legitimacy. Then just before the game on Wednesday against TFC the transfer was confirmed and Chiumiento was on his way back to Europe.
It seemed like the transactions would settle down for the time being but then the day before the Chicago match the Whitecaps announced they had traded Sebastien Le Toux to New York in exchange for Dane Richards and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. The French striker had just been acquired in the offseason from the Union for an apparent large amount of allocation.
On Monday the Whitecaps made a major announcement as they signed their third DP by acquiring the captain of the Scottish national team Kenny Miller. This transfer came less of a surprise with the multiple reports on the internet coming from the British tabloids.
Many fans are looking at the Chiumiento transfer as Rennie not wanting to keep him around but when midfielder received a three year offer from Zurich the writing was on the wall. Because of the rules in MLS concerning salary cap and limitation of international players, there was no way the Caps could offer him that kind of commitment.
The terms of the deal from Zurich would have likely made him a designated player and Chiumiento hadn’t proven himself as a one, especially with his inconsistent play last year. If he wasn’t allowed to leave in the summer there is no way that anyone could have predicted how missing out on a lucrative deal would affected Chiumiento’s play for the remainder of the season.
It was the trade on Friday of Le Toux that no one saw coming but even that makes sense considering the recent play of the Frenchman. While he showed great work ethic there was no doubt that the touch around the box was consistently missing from Le Toux. He also played out of position on the wing and was often playing too deep in the midfield which may have affected his ability to score like he did in Philadelphia.
The arrival of Richards gives Rennie something that was missing all season, a pure winger with pace and the ability to whip crosses into the box. Similar to Le Toux, Richards is in the final year of his MLS contract and could leave for Europe in the offseason. However, the opportunity to balance the squad with players that fit their profile was too hard to pass up.
The arrival of Scottish international Kenny Miller seems to be the endgame of the initial two changes with the cap space and allocation money most likely used to bring in the striker. With Miller coming over it would be considered an upgraded replacement of Le Toux as Rennie described the Scot is described as a versatile striker who is a tireless worker with a touch around the net.
“He can play in behind people, has good movement having played at the level he has played at. Miller is a player that can play different positions as he can hold up the ball where he can create things. He has the ability to stretch the opposition and score goals but also to join in on the attack.”
It should come as no surprise especially considering when Rennie took over in Carolina there were only three players brought back from the previous season including current Cap Matt Watson. Even with the sudden change to the roster the Caps still have four spots available to fill so fans should expect more additions and subtractions to the roster including some more fan favorites leaving the club.
(image courtesy of whitecapsfc.com)
