Whitecaps’ coach wants Waston seeing less red
All you need to know about Kendall Waston’s season in 2016 was evident in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Major League Soccer opener this year.
Waston did not play last Sunday. The centreback was suspended. Again.
The 29-year-old Costa Rican international is inarguably one of the best central defenders in MLS. At 6-5 and 215 pounds, he dominates in the air and tackles like a freight train. And for a guy his size, Waston can run.
After arriving in Vancouver halfway through the 2014 season, Waston was named among the MLS best 11 in 2015. He was the Whitecaps’ player of the year and the runner-up in league balloting as the top defender in MLS.
But Waston wasn’t nearly as good for the Whitecaps last season, partly because he couldn’t keep himself on the field. He produced more yellow cards than Hallmark at Easter time, and was sent off with straight red cards three times.
In the 26 regular-season games Waston played, he went into the referee’s notebook 11 times. This lack of discipline resulted in five separate suspensions — six if you include sitting out last weekend’s 0-0 home draw against the Philadelphia Union for a dangerous tackle in the Whitecaps’ final game last season against the Portland Timbers.
Waston missed another three games while away with the Costa Rican national team, and the constant churn in the middle of the back line hurt the Whitecaps, whose defensive ranking in their conference fell to ninth from first in 2016.
“Kendall needs to tidy himself up and get things right and cut out the nonsense,” Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson said after the team trained Friday at the University of B.C. for tonight’s MLS game in San Jose.
“You don’t want to miss any players for any games, whether it’s suspensions or international (duties). Unfortunately, when you’re signing players, the best players are international players and you have to accept that. But the individual discipline problem — getting sent off and suspended — Kendall needs to tidy up on that.
“I spoke to him about it at length. If you make a mistimed tackle or the ref sends you off for a last-ditch tackle, I accept that. But for ill discipline, answering back, naughty tackles, elbows, I don’t want that and I’ve let him know that.”
As every player who has ever been carded in the history of soccer will tell you, it’s not entirely his fault.
Some of the yellows Waston was shown last season were driven by reputation. Stern tackles that might have been a simple foul against another (smaller?) player were bookable offences for Waston.
It is not a good thing when every referee knows you by your first name and the league’s Disciplinary Committee has you on speed dial.
“What I think is I have to keep the same aggressiveness,” Waston said. “But a lot of yellow cards that I received last year, I blame on me. Some of them, maybe they are a simple foul that anybody else can do it but they give me a yellow card. I have to accept that sometimes. Referees are under pressure as well; I have to understand that. I have to just be a little bit smarter this year with them. It’s obvious if I have a lot of yellows, I can’t play some games. And I want to play every game. Last year was the most yellow cards and red cards in my career. I’ve never been so much times suspended in one season as last year, and hopefully that is going to be the last time.”
Obviously, Waston was not the only problem for the Whitecaps last season, but he was part of the biggest one.
The team was weak down the middle. Star goalkeeper David Ousted had a sub-standard season, and Waston was erratic in front of him. Because Waston struggled, his sophomore central defence partner, Tim Parker, tried at times to do too much. In front of them, holding midfielder Matias Laba wasn’t nearly as consistent and effective as he was in 2015.
Attacking midfielder Pedro Morales and last season’s central strikers aren’t even with the Whitecaps anymore.
Waston and Argentina’s Laba are the key vertebrae in the Whitecaps’ spine.
The team’s ability to rebound and return to the MLS playoffs this season hinges on being much stronger down the middle.
“David Ousted, Kendall Waston, Matty Laba, Fredy Montero — the spine of my team — need to have big years,” Robinson agreed. “Two years ago, everything was great. The spine of the team was fantastic. Last year, we were good but we weren’t consistent enough.
“And Kendall in particular — because you asked — yeah, he needs to tidy up a lot of things. He needs to cut out the silly tackles and not put himself in situations to give the referee a chance to make a dodgy decision. Because we know they do make dodgy decisions sometimes and because of Kendall’s size, he’s usually on the wrong end of those decisions.”
Before serving his MLS suspension last Sunday, Waston was in fine form and behaviour in two CONCACAF tournament games against the New York Red Bulls. So far in 2017, the Whitecaps have surrendered just one goal in three games.
“I’m trying to be better in every aspect, disciplinary-side as well,” Waston said. “I know I can be better. Hopefully, this year I can prove it. And not for the people or whoever, but for myself.”