Harvey trade suggests more Whitecaps’ deals to come By Steven Sandor Posted on July 8, 2011 1 0 595 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Unless the trade that sent left back Jordan Harvey to Vancouver on Thursday isn’t the first of many dominoes to fall for either the Whitecaps or Philadelphia Union (or both), this deal makes no sense. Harvey started 16 games for the Union this season, which has become one of the stingiest defensive clubs in MLS in just its second campaign in the league. He’s not a bit player. He’s made 46 appearance with the Union over the past season and a half. And he was dealt to Vancouver, which has a high-profile left back in Alain Rochat, for allocation money. Definitely, one of those trades that makes you want to go hmm…. Does coach Tom Soehn, already cemented in last place with the Whitecaps, after failing to win the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, attempt to remake the backline halfway through what has been a disappointing season? Does Rochat get permanently moved to the middle, where he’s been when Jay DeMerit has been injured? Or, is the Harvey deal paving the way for more Whitecaps’ trades? When a team is going as poorly as Vancouver is — with just two wins so far this season — it’s hard to think that anyone outside of Canadian Terry Dunfield or the DP contract of Eric Hassli is untouchable. For the Union, the fact that the club was willing to deal an automatic starting-XI defender suggests that a lot of allocation money went the other way. That means Philly may be readying to make a major signing in the coming weeks. It would be the only scenario that would make sense, that Union domo Peter Nowak has sacrificed a big piece of his puzzle in order to get the resources he needs to turn the Union from a very good team to an MLS Cup contender. This deal only suggests that Nowak and Soehn have more moves to make.
