Preseason is upon us, and to the surprise of many, midfielder/forward Darren Mattocks is still with the Vancouver Whitecaps – but is he staying?
MLS off-season is over, and head coach Carl Robinson has been busy, with a flurry of signings from all corners of the globe giving the supporters reason to get excited for 2016. Robbo brought in fresh, potentially goal-scoring blood in the form of Japanese forward Masato Kudo and seasoned Costa Rican midfielder Christian Bolanos, as well as a couple young forwards from the Superdraft who will be looking for first team minutes. It’s all stoking the speculation that Darren Mattocks, forward and midfielder for the club since 2012, may not be plying his trade at BC Place this season.
There have been signs. Since the team’s mournful exit from last season’s playoffs, Coach Robinson’s every public statement has referenced the need to score more goals and his intention to get players that would make that possible before the season begins.
In late November, Mattocks removed all reference to the Caps from his Twitter profile and changed his profile pictures to ones with non-Caps kit, and most recently, Mattocks was not at the inaugural Media Day last Friday, January 22.
None of this may be meaningful – Robbo has also never said anything critical of Mattocks, in fact he praises him and genuinely seems to see something in him that is not apparent to the increasingly impatient fan base.
According to AFTN’s Aaron Campbell (via Twitter), Mattocks had permission to be absent to be with his pregnant girlfriend and was expected on Monday. Besides, Mattocks has never been one of the Caps’ go-to media guys. On the contrary, he seems rather private.
A move away from Vancouver may be as much in the interest of the Jamaican forward as it is for the Canadian champions. Robinson’s favourite formation, 4-2-3-1, requires creative and opportunistic forwards and midfielders, and puts a lot of pressure on a single striker to take advantage where he can. Mattocks may do better in a team playing two or three up front, with striking partners for him to play off of and midfielders more focussed on serving the attackers.
But where will Mattocks find such a home? I didn’t find a lot of transfer rumours floating on the internet, apart from a piece posted at the beginning of January on whitecapsrosterrumours.wordpress.com saying Alianza FC in El Salvador is reportedly interested. If any other parties are looking at Mattocks, both they and the Whitecaps have done a good job keeping it quiet.
It’s worth taking a look at Mattock’s stats since the Whitecaps chose him as the second overall draft pick in 2012; they have been impressively consistent – he hasn’t lost form at all, and at 25 should be in the prime of his career. Four seasons of MLS experience may make him attractive to another team full of youngsters, like the Whitecaps. In terms of potential resale value, he’s not a total dud. That’s something the front office has probably noted, since they did spend a little this transfer window and probably wouldn’t mind selling Mattocks as an asset.
But what if he isn’t leaving soon? His contract lasts until the end of 2016, so he could spend another year doing what he’s been doing – not starting a lot, neither scoring or assisting much, not creating a lot of chances, not looking engaged on the field and generally annoying goal-hungry Whitecaps fans.
Maybe the new signings, including those Superdraft signings I mentioned, Christopher Hellman and Thomas Sanner – probably destined for the Whitecaps 2 but hungry for first team minutes – will bring out the competitive edge in Mattocks, as we hope to see them do with the other returning forward, Octavio Rivero. Maybe we’ll see Mattocks wake up and fight for his place. That would be an exciting possibility in what looks to be another exciting year.
