Martin Rennie came to the Vancouver Whitecaps with some mighty high expectations for someone who had never coached at the first division level. The reason: He's won everywhere he's gone.
Martin Rennie’s Latest Personnel Decisions A Bit Puzzling - 86 Forever
But Friday's decision to cut ties with both Designated Player Mustapha Jarju and Homegrown Player Philippe Davies has Benjamin Massey of Whitecaps blog 86 Forever questioning that faith. Massey points out that Jarju was only given 10 games to prove his worth and the team stands to get essentially nothing in return for whatever investment they made. Still, it's the decision to cut the 21-year-old Davies that really has Massey scratching his head:
I'm grasping for rationalizations here because, on the surface, letting Davies go is indefensible. It looks like Rennie signed Jun Marques Davidson, decided "I have one midfielder too many", and cut the bottom guy on the totem pole while ignoring the bigger picture.
At least in the case of Davies, though, there’s still a chance the Whitecaps can get some value. Although he is not under contract, the Whitecaps could still trade his rights within MLS. Jarju, though, is a complete sunk cost. For a team coming off such a bad season, such miscalculations must be limited.
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