86 Forever: Taking A Closer Look At Whitecaps’ Signings
There are few people out there who know the Vancouver Whitecaps from the Division II days better than 86 Forever's Benjamin Massey.
As such, you should find his most recent piece looking at the trio of former NASL Whitecaps that were just signed particularly enlightening.
None of these signings (goalkeeper Jay Nolly, defender Wes Knight and teenager Philippe Davies) were particularly news-worthy, he said, mainly because all three were basically seen as being automatic members of the MLS team's future.
Of the three, the only one likely to break into the starting 11 immediately is Knight.
A quick right back with good defensive awareness and decent aerial ability for his size, Knight can also move the play up the pitch fairly well considering that he still hasn’t scored a goal in two professional seasons. He was one of the more reliable Whitecaps on a very, very good defensive line last season, and when injury forced Ethan Gage to take his place you could see why Knight was so highly thought of.
Massey also notes that a host of other former NASLers are either already signed or will soon be. Those names include Alain Rochat, Cody Arnoux, Davide Chiumiento, Terry Dunfield and Willis Forko.
Massey is less sure, and maybe even bothered, by the possibility that forward Randy Edwini-Bonsu and, particularly, defender/midfielder Luca Bellisomo will not make the move to MLS.
Not to take anything away from Knight, Nolly, and Davies, but Bellisomo deserves to be on the MLS team every bit as much as they do.
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