Thorrington a disaster at right back?

September 13, 2011 at 8:41 pm | Posted in Whitecaps MLS Season 2011 | 3 Comments

Though I have been a critic among others when Vancouver Whitecaps coach Tommy Soehn has played his squad members out of position, I have to say I felt Thorrington was superb at right back in the first half against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday. Though he struggled a bit defensively, his calmness on the ball and intelligent passing out of the back gave the Whitecaps a whole new confidence in possession that made a real difference to the quality of our play. Players who can pass the ball intelligently out of the back can create goals with the right passes.

Some have blamed Thor for the Red Bull’s equalizer, but there are two other players who let the team down on that play as well. Camilo put no proper pressure on Marquez who crossed the ball, and Demerit allowed himself to be pulled out of his central position by Henri’s space creating dummy run. Thor was exposed, yes, but this experiment is one that I feel may actually work in the future.

Now if only he could last a whole game…

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Hi I’m afraid I disagree, he had issues tracking back and is not fast enough for someone of his size (if you are small you better be fast). The goal was his blown marking plain and simple. I hope we use the offseason to shore up both left and right back..releasing thorrington and his 250k us salary would help on that regard.

Comment by rhm— September 14, 2011 #

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I think Thorrington was always going to be a gamble, with his long list of injuries & long lay-off from competitive matches. I would not be a bit surprised to see him gone next year.

Comment by JES— September 17, 2011 #

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- Sobering comments, JES, I think you may well be right.
  
  Comment by whitecapsfan— September 19, 2011 #
  
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