The Vancouver Whitecaps got to the playoffs in Carl Robinson’s first season as head coach. But, to do better than another first-round playoff exit in 2015, the team needs more scoring and defensive depth. And the team needs to address its needs while only being able to guesstimate what the salary cap will be after a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed...

Well, the only thing to do is crunch the numbers; to sift through all of the matches in 2014 — both MLS and NASL — and isolate all the games where a Canadian referee has watched over a meeting between a Canadian-based side and an American-based side.

Frank Yallop was widely expected to take over the reins of the Vancouver Whitecaps; instead, the former Canadian national-team coach chose to steer the Chicago Fire. In this interview, he tells us why he chose the Windy City, and how he hopes MLS can help Canadian soccer in the future...

The second issue of Plastic Pitch, out today, features a 16-page section on Canada's bid for the World Cup.

He’s been involved with Major League Soccer since he made his Toronto FC debut in 2007; but Carl Robinson’s first few months as a head coach haven’t been easy. From the perception that he was the fallback guy in the coaching search, to dealing with a star player who wanted out, Robinson has been under fire before the Whitecaps played their first MLS match of 2014

Now that Yallop is back in the realm of the employed, he join San Jose coach Mark Watson (and Yallop’s former assistant) as Canadian coaches in MLS. Now add to that the fact there are three Canadian coaches currently employed in NASL: FC Edmonton’s Colin Miller, San Antonio Scorpions interim boss Alen Marcina and Ottawa Fury head man Marc Dos Santos. Yes, we include Dos Santos because, even though the Fury won’t begin NASL play till 2014, Dos Santos is already working to identify players and hire his staff.

“From our point of view, it's not just this season, it's also last season as well,” club president Bob Lenarduzzi told reporters at a press conference at BC Place Tuesday. “In both of those years, we started well, and we tailed off toward the end...there's no doubt there's a fine line between success and what we would deem to be failure.

With Canada’s national-team coaching spot still vacant, and the Gold Cup a month away, more than a few ears will be to the ground now that Frank Yallop is unemployed.

The San Jose Earthquakes announced that the club has officially repatriated the player to the league, signing him to a new contract.

“This famous stadium brings back a lot of memories,” said Miller, thinking back to the many World Cup qualifiers he played for Canada on the old grass at Commonwealth, as well as that famous 1-1 draw with Brazil back in 1994. “Edmonton was our home at the time,” said Miller. “We were very passionate about playing here.”