Divorce papers signed: Soehn, Whitecaps part ways By Steven Sandor Posted on November 16, 2012 Comments Off on Divorce papers signed: Soehn, Whitecaps part ways 0 721 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter The divorce papers are finally signed. At least, that’s what it felt like when the Vancouver Whitecaps issued a press release late Thursday afternoon to announce that Tom Soehn had moved from director of soccer operations to ex-director of soccer operations. According to the ‘Caps, the move to release Soehn was made by mutual consent. The move has been coming for a long time — really it was just a matter of when it was going to happen. Soehn hasn’t had his fingerprints on the team since 2011, when he finished the year as the club’s interim coach after Teitur Thordarson was sacked. But, once Martin Rennie arrived in Vancouver to take over as coach late in 2011, the team has been his and his only. He brought in a cadre of ex-Carolina RailHawks from NASL to MLS to begin the 2012 season. He exerted more of his influence as fellow Scots Barry Robson and Kenny Miller were signed by the Caps. None of these moves had any hint of Soehn-ness to them. He had already moved to periphery. In marital terms, Soehn the team had already filed their separation papers. Soehn came to Vancouver in 2010, a man with MLS experience who had success as an assistant coach, but diminished returns after he took over as the head man at D.C. United. And he was front and centre for the club through 2010, as the team acquired some key pieces ahead of its inaugural 2011 season. And he was waiting in the wings to return to coaching after Thordarson learned just how short his leash just a couple of months into his first MLS campaign. Soehn returned to the bench,and earned the ire of most Whitecaps fans for not only leading the team to a last-place finish but, unlike Thordarson, not encouraging his team from playing end-to-end soccer that brought goals to the games. But, when the season ended and Rennie took over the reigns, Soehn when from Whitecaps Fans’ Public Enemy No. 1 to the Forgotten Man. So, you’d be forgiven for hearing the news that Soehn and the Whitecaps parted ways and thinking “I thought he was gone months ago.”
