Whitecaps Player Purge Starting To Pick Up Pace – Will Alain Rochat Be Next To Go?

It’s been a busy day personnel wise for Vancouver Whitecaps and it’s only going to get busier in the days ahead.

Some moves we expected, but there’s been some surprises thrown into the mix.

There’s still an air of uncertainty hanging over the camp, as players and fans wait to see who is going to still be in the Caps squad come the end of 2011. Martin Rennie is clearly making his mark on the team.

The two part MLS Re-Entry draft is looming on the horizon for the next two Mondays. Vancouver have the first pick in both parts and we can only hope that they use them wisely and better than last year.

In preparation for the addition of new talent, the Whitecaps announced today that they were not renewing the current options on five players: Joe Cannon, Jay Nolly, Greg Janicki, John Thorrington and Peter Vagenas.

In addition, defender Jonathan Leathers is now out of contract.

Whilst there won’t be too many people up in arms at the thought of losing the four outfield players, it is surprising (to an extent) that both fan favourite goalies could be on their way out of Vancouver.

All six players could still be re-signed. The players and the Caps have until 2pm on December 2nd to renegotiate new deals, or else the players will go into the cyber Monday shopping basket, unless they choose not to be included.

Our first thought is that Cannon will get the chance to re-sign, but on a much lower contract. His 2011 base salary was $199,500, with a guaranteed compensation of $209,756.25 (that quarter could be the key!).

The contract makes Cannon the sixth highest paid goalkeeper in MLS, but way behind New York’s Frank Rost and his staggering $545,460 contract. Jay Nolly, on the other hand, is picking up $65,000.

I personally think that Cannon will get first refusal on a new deal, and if he says no, then we’ll see Jay back here next season, otherwise Nolly will sadly be on his way to pastures new.

The others are most likely to be on their way out, although Leathers may pick up the offer of a new contract if he wants to just be a squad player.

Midfielder Shea Salinas has definitely gone though, traded to San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for allocation money.

Not a big loss to the Caps as far as I’m concerned.

Salinas played 26 MLS games for Vancouver, starting 18, in a season curtailed by a pre-season injury. 1695 minutes clocked up, with only 1 goal and 3 assists to show for it. Not really what you’re wanting from a first team regular.

Perhaps that’s why he wasn’t one. He would get a run in the team, then drop back to the bench. Perform well one week, underperform the next. You just never knew what Shea Salinas you were going to get.

He certainly seemed to be more of an impact player for us when coming off the bench, having his best performances in a blue and white jersey when coming on late in the game and running at tired defences.

It’s a nice luxury to have, but not one Vancouver can afford right now, especially when the end results weren’t prolific enough.

And talking of Impact players, that brings us nicely to Brian Ching.

We’re going to write more about Montreal and the whole Ching thing in our Metro column on Friday.

For now though, we’ve been hatching a plan.

Ching is not going to play for Montreal. No way San Jose.

Will he retire or will Montreal try and cut a deal somwhere, somehow?

Rumours are that they want to play hardball with Houston and take Canadian defender Andrew Hainault from the Dynamo.

With Montreal still not having a Canadian in their squad, it may make sense to the Frenchies but is likely to be no dice with the Dynamo.

So just how important is Brian Ching to Houston?

He is their poster boy, long time servant and the dream for all the Orange men (and ladies) is for Ching to play one final season for the Dynamo, open their new downtown stadium and then bow out to a hero’s farewell.

It’s a nice happy ending, but is it one that Houston are prepared to lose a top player for? I think yes, but not Hainault. And that’s where Vancouver Whitecaps could come in.

Montreal best chance of a deal involving Ching could be with a three way trade and Vancouver may have just the player they are needing and wanting – Alain Rochat.

Although not officially confirmed, Vancouver should be adding South Korean defender Lee Young-pyo to the team by the end of the week.

An international who has appeared in the World Cup Finals, Young-pyo ticks the boxes as an experienced defender, if one who is getting on a bit, who will appeal to a certain demographic in the city, which always helps in getting some extra bums on seats.

He’s primarily a left back, and we already have two of them in Alain Rochat and Jordan Harvey, but he’s also been playing right back recently, in the latter stages of his career.

Harvey didn’t impress me much in that position after his move from Philadelphia, but he did once he pushed forward into a left midfield role late in the season.

He was great there and formed a productive overlapping partnership with Alain Rochat up that left flank.

When Young-pyo comes, it may be as another designated player, but if not, he’ll be commanding a fairly hefty salary at any rate and is unlikely to be a bench player.

So where does that leave Rochat?

Possibly on his way to Montreal.

Rochat moved to Switzerland at an early age but is from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in Quebec. He commands a Canadian spot under MLS rules. Just what the Impact need. Plus he speaks French and they may need that even more!

Trading Rochat for Ching, would then allow the Whitecaps to re-trade Ching back to Houston for Adam Moffat.

Moffat is the midfielder we need and is only over in the US thanks to Martin Rennie bringing him here from Scotland, as our previous interview with him outlined.

Pipe dreams or a realistic transfer possibility?

The next few days could get interesting.

Houston’s Adam Moffat Speaks Of Exciting Times For Vancouver Under Martin Rennie

”It’s going to be exciting for Vancouver next year with him leading them.”

That’s Houston Dynamo midfielder Adam Moffat’s take on new Vancouver Whitecaps manager Martin Rennie. And the 25 year old Scotsman should know, as his countryman Rennie is the reason that Moffat is now plying his trade in the States and in his fifth season in Major League Soccer.

”Martin brought me over. I had a contact who knew him and he asked me to come over and play for his team in Cleveland.”

At AFTN, it’s not everyday we run into someone in MLS that we used to watch playing against our other loves, East Fife. That’s where we first watched Moffat, as he played for Elgin City against the Fifers three times in the 2006/07 season of the Scottish Third Division. We even watched him score against us in the October 7th game at Borough Briggs. The audacity!

Did he ever think he’d end up playing in America when he was travelling around some of the toilets of Scottish football like Coatbridge?

”No. It’s funny how it’s all worked out. Going from there is an unusual journey, but I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I came over here, played in USL for a little bit, then getting into MLS and now I’ve been here for a few years.”

Moffat stood out for the perennial Highland strugglers and was a player some Fife fans even hoped we’d sign to bolster our promotion push that season.

As it turned out, Moffat ended up leaving Scotland altogether for pastures new in Ohio, where he played for the Cleveland City Stars in the 2007 USL Second Division season.

It was a standout year for the young Scot, being named in the League’s Best XI All Star team and getting attention from MLS teams in the process.

It wasn’t long before Moffat made the state switch south to Columbus to join the Crew, where he spent just over three seasons, notching up 44 appearances and 5 goals. The Crew won an Eastern Conference Championship, two Supporters Shields and a MLS Cup in his time there, although a serious knee injury hampered Moffat’s contribution.

Adam was nearly one of our Cascadia Cup rivals this season, as Portland picked him up third in the expansion draft. After making just four sub appearances for the Timbers, they let him go to join Houston in July, receiving two players in return. Moffat is now a regular starter with the Dynamo, playing 6 games and scoring one goal so far and he came close on Saturday to adding to his tally, crashing a first half effort off the bar.

Although now an established MLS player, Moffat remembers his time in Cleveland fondly and in particular the management of Martin Rennie.

”Martin’s a really good coach. His record shows that. I know it’s at a lower level, but he’s done really well each year and each level that he’s been at.

It’s a challenge for him. It’s going to be a little bit different but he knows what he’s talking about and he knows what he’s capable of doing.”

So what can Vancouver fans expect from a Rennie coached Whitecaps side next season?

”We had a good system [in Cleveland]. We were pretty attack minded, but at the same time we were solid at the back. That’s where we were a little bit more there. Really organised. I think that was probably the biggest thing.

Our organisation helped get us results and he’s kept that with his new team in Carolina obviously. He’s got them really organised and it makes a difference. So if he gets the guys here [in Vancouver] organised next year, it’s going to be good for you.”

And is Adam relishing lining up against his old boss next season?

”For sure. I keep in touch with him quite a lot, so it would be good and hopefully score I’ll against him!”

For now though, Adam’s mind is firmly focussed on the 2011 MLS playoffs.

This season, Houston are battling it out for a playoff spot, currently sitting in third place in the Eastern conference and eighth place in the playoff picture.

One of the things which has hampered their aspirations this year has been their away form. Or lack of it, as they remain winless on the road alongside Vancouver and Toronto.

With the pressure and chances they had in Saturday’s match, they must have surely felt that first elusive away victory was on the cards:

”Yeah, it’s disappointing. Not only not to win the game, but also to end up losing it at the end. We played well and had our chances but we never took them. Full credit to Vancouver, they finished well. “

Houston sit three points clear in the playoff race in eighth spot. Clinching that berth is now where the Club are deeply focussing their efforts for their remaining seven regular season games:

”Yeah, definitely. We had a chance to put some points on the board tonight. That’s our aim and obviously we didn’t, but we’ll keep going. We’ve been playing well lately. Getting to the playoffs, that’s our goal, and we know we’re capable of doing it, so we’ll keep working hard at that.”

And good luck to the Dynamo. With Portland Timbers harbouring playoff hopes of their own, Houston could be the team that stops them achieving that in their inaugural MLS season. As bitter and twisted Cascadian rivals, AFTN obviously hope they fail to achieve that goal!

From a personal point of view, it’s good to see a Scottish player like Adam Moffat come over to the US and do well in Major League Soccer. There were many that came over in the 70’s and 80’s for NASL, but far less so for MLS.

Does Moffat have any plans to go back to Scotland or somewhere else in Europe, or would he like to play out his career over here?

”I don’t know. I enjoy it over here. My wife’s from over here and I married her in California. So who knows. But if there’s an opportunity, I definitely would think about it, but I enjoy being over here. I’ve been in a few different states now. It’s fun. It’s a good lifestyle.”

Good luck to him. As a player who has played and impressed Martin Rennie before, who knows what his MLS future may hold in store and where it may take him.

Midfield isn’t the number one priority for the Whitecaps just now, but never say never.