In another move to reshape the roster the Vancouver Whitecaps traded local boy and alternate captain Terry Dunfield to their Canadian rivals TFC in exchange for allocation money and future considerations. The lone Vancouverite on the roster struggled recently on the pitch including missing a penalty kick against Columbus last week. With this trade it is clear that the Whitecaps organization are making the transition from the line-up assembled for Thordarson to the one that Soehn needs.
The trade itself takes $65,000 off the salary cap and brings back some of the allocation money that was sent for Jordan Harvey. The future considerations are unknown as well and could be the MLS rights to Keven Aleman, the academy player who was part of the Canadian team at the U17 World Cup. Aleman was released by TFC when asked to sign a two year commitment but said he would sign when he returned from the tournament. During the World Cup telecast it was reported that the forward would sign with the Whitecaps if an option in Europe was unavailable.
The season started well for Dunfield as he scored in the opener but the central midfielder started to wear down as the season continued playing in the majority of games, especially during their marathon stretch that consisted of 12 matches in 43 days across the continent. The back and forth trip tired him physically and mentally as he started to make a number of turnovers in dangerous areas. This caused a drop in confidence after that game that Dunfield could not shake as his play became overly cautious.
After a successful tour of international duty at the Gold Cup, Dunfield came back and there was a coaching change had occurred and once again Dunfield had to learn a different system. In fact the holding midfielder was asked to play as a withdrawn striker in a couple of games which was completely out of his comfort zone. In the games under the Soehn regime Dunfield appeared in four of six games, with two starts in which he was subbed off and two games he came off the bench.
The writing was on the wall for Dunfield’s departure with the lack of playing time and his lack of a role on the team. In order to succeed he needed to be partnered with a creative midfielder that could be a main force in the central midfield. He should have never been cast as a playmaker and was always the tough and hard tackling holding midfielder that would be the link between the backline and the attackers. It was clear in the friendly versus Ecuador when he played off of Atiba Hutchinson and was able sneak in and score his goal from distance.
Both Koffie and Dunfield played a similar game so it was on the veteran to take the lead in the midfield for the Caps. Maybe if John Thorrington was on the pitch from the start of the season it would have had a positive impact on Dunfield’s play. His play should definitely improve as he will play alongside de Guzman and newly acquired Torsten Frings. Whether it was Whitecaps looking to unload the Canadian or TFC wanting to acquire the midfielder, it was obvious Dunfield was never given a decent chance to succeed in Vancouver.
(image courtesy of Giamou/TorontoFC.ca)
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