RSL vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Three Questions with Eighty Six Forever

1. UK preseason! That's a little unusual for MLS teams. What do you think you got out of it?

You have to remember, the Whitecaps were playing against mostly U23 squads, so it's hard to gauge just how competitive their opponents were. I certainly wouldn't call those matches a litmus test, however, the Whitecaps did look very good as a group when they played. Specifically, Kektua Manneh and Alphonso Davies seemed to be building chemistry. That's great news for the Whitecaps, scary news for the rest of MLS if those two start working well together.

2. It seems like there might be a little uncertainty with your team. How confident are you in how things will shake out ahead of the 2017 season?

The Whitecaps can be summed up in one word; Potential. They have the potential to be an amazing team in MLS this season, but here's what would need to happen. The backline, which looked awful last year, will need to improve with Sheanon Williams at the RB spot, or perhaps the newly drafted Jakob Nerwinski. Kendall Waston will need to re-discover his form at Center Back. The attacking unit the Whitecaps have right now, which includes no DP's, will need to be absolutely explosive. Simply put, I think there's more potential for things to go wrong for this club, then to go right.

3. What's the one big story we should know about the 'Caps?

Our attack is unbelievably questionable. We have yet to sign an attacking DP, and it appears Head Coach Carl Robinson is putting his eggs in the baskets of Erik Hurtado and Giles Barnes. That's scary for Whitecaps fans. Hurtado has never been a consistent MLS goal-scorer, and Barnes looked very average in his time in Vancouver last season, before the final match of the year when he scored 2 goals. Robinson needs to bring in help ASAP.