Signings of Edgar and MDJ help Whitecaps on the field — and in the PR department

There is no doubt that the Vancouver Whitecaps could use some help on the backline; the team has conceded 33 goals in 19 matches, the worst defensive record in MLS’s Western Conference. And late defensive miscues cost the team the Voyageurs Cup and allowed Colorado to salvage a draw at BC Place last weekend.

But, there’s a hell of a lot more to the signings of Canadian internationals Marcel de Jong and David Edgar — both announced Monday — than improving the defence. The Whitecaps have a more glaring need, and that’s in the PR department. And the signings of two Canadian internationals who will likely get MLS minutes is a boost for a franchise that is often criticized for not playing enough Canadians on the first team.

In Saturday’s draw with Colorado, no Canadians played for the Whitecaps. Of the five Canadian MLS and NASL teams, the Whitecaps give the fewest minutes to Canadian players, averaging a little more than 90 minutes a game. To put that it in context, Toronto FC, FC Edmonton and Ottawa all give Canadians an average of more than 200 minutes a game — more than double what the Whitecaps do. And, while the Whitecaps have graduated a few youngsters to the first team over the years — from Bryce Alderson to Caleb Clarke to Marco Bustos — none have been able to get the first-team opportunities that Toronto FC has been able to provide to the likes of Mo Babouli, Jonathan Osorio and Jordan Hamilton.

And now that Vancouver has become the de facto home for the national side, the

Whitecaps lack of, well, first-team Canadian-ness was only accentuated. But, on Monday, the Whitecaps were able to tweet out highlights of their new signings playing for the national team and wrap themselves in the flag.
Of course, the Whitecaps were aided by the fact that fans filled BC Place for Canada’s World Cup qualifiers, and that the city of Vancouver has done such a wonderful job as a host city. Being part of that atmosphere for the national team makes BC Place seem, well, a little more homey. De Jong said as much in the release issued by the club: “After seeing the atmosphere at BC Place when the men’s national team hosted Honduras and Mexico, I knew I wanted to be a part of this club.”

In the end, what motivates the Whitecaps isn’t important — for Canadians, it’s important to see our national-team players get away from the clutches of Unattached FC. But, let’s be real; it’s been a decade since any MLS team has averaged more than two points per game over the course of a season. As bad as the Whitecaps have been defensively, the team is in a playoff spot; and if there’s anything that MLS has taught us over the last decade, it’s that a lower-seeded team has a much greater chance of post-season success than a high-seeded one. The key to winning in MLS is to keep tinkering throughout the season till you find the right formula, get hot late in the season and carry it through the playoffs. For all practical purposes, a smart team will treat each and every game until the beginning of August (and maybe even later) as preseason; keep experiment and fiddling about till you find the right mix for a quick surge in the fall.

Edgar and de Jong are parts of that midseason tinkering that every successful MLS team must do. But, if it isn’t successful, and the team keeps bleeding goals, at least it will be able to claim a bit of a higher moral ground.