The Vancouver Whitecaps hardly knew Stuart Armstrong and he is one foot out the door.
He hardly knew them either. After less than six months as a member of the Whitecaps, the Scottish midfielder is heading back to England. On Wednesday evening, Har Johal dropped the bomb for Canadian Soccer Daily that Armstrong will leave the Whitecaps for Sheffield Wednesday in the English Championship.
This news was like a kick in the groin for Whitecaps fans. Actually, it felt like 1000 kicks in the groin.
Armstrong’s time in Vancouver was as short as the popularity of the average internet meme.
Armstrong’s time in Vancouver was shorter than Beady Eye’s run. The Scottish international was signed on a free in the summer and was excited to be reunited with Ryan Gauld and to start a new chapter in his career.
It looked like an exciting signing. Armstrong was a former teammate of Gauld at Dundee United. The Scotsman also had experience playing in the Scottish Premiership, English Premier League and UEFA Champions League and was the midfielder the Whitecaps needed. Vancouver looked poised to go on a deep run in the MLS Cup Playoffs with him.
Armstrong took a lot of time to get settled and get match fit. The Whitecaps stumbled into the playoffs. They drew twice and lost five of their final seven MLS regular season games. Armstrong scored one goal over 123 minutes in six regular season appearances.
But Armstrong made a big impact in the famous 5-0 wildcard round win over the Portland Timbers. He scored a goal in that game and added two assists.
There was the hope that a fully fit Armstrong would live up to his Designated Player status in 2025. Well, that hope is gone, reduced to atoms. After all, hope is a dangerous thing, it can drive a man insane.
Rumours of Armstrong going back to England have surfaced over the past couple of weeks with numerous Championship clubs reportedly interested. Burnley was one of the rumoured clubs.
It is worth noting that Armstrong’s original plan was to stay in England after leaving Southampton. The Scotsman had interest from numerous clubs and even had a trial with Brentford in the EPL, but ultimately settled on Vancouver.
It is unclear whether the impending sale of the club and the firing of Vanni Sartini played a role in Armstrong’s decision. However, AFTN is reporting that Armstrong’s young family (he has a wife and an infant daughter) is a factor in him leaving the Whitecaps. Area 51 Sports Network can confirm this as well as we have heard the same.
The Whitecaps offseason: A disappointment so far
Well, if you expect disappointment, you won’t be disappointed. Whitecaps fans know this. Since coming into MLS in 2011, it has been nothing but disappointment.
Armstrong is part of a list of high-profile players who forced a move out of Vancouver in recent years. This trend is alarming.
Aside from hiring Jesper Sørensen as head coach and signing Jayden Nelson, the Whitecaps have done nothing else this offseason. The club is in Marbella, Spain for preseason and return on February 8.
Yes, signings take time. This isn’t EAFC or Football Manager. Plus, it is harder to sign players in the wintertime due to many leagues being in the middle of their seasons. However, it is very disappointing that there has been very little activity in this offseason. Nelson isn’t enough for the Whitecaps to take it to the next level.
After an underwhelming 2024 season which Vancouver lost to LAFC in round one of the MLS Cup Playoffs again, sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster made it clear the club had to take the next step.
“Everything you have achieved last week doesn’t matter for next week,” said Schuster back in November after Sartini was fired. “It’s unfortunately like that. That’s something for the history books. We can always come together and celebrate those amazing moments, but it’s always about the next game or the next season’s challenge.”
Right now, the Whitecaps are not up for next season’s challenge. It feels like one step forward and two steps back. They lost Picault, likely Ryan Raposo and now Armstrong. Nelson seems like a Raposo replacement but a true starting attacker needs to come in and replace Picault. Now there is a hole bigger than a crater on the moon in the midfield that Armstrong is leaving.
So what Now?
It is unacceptable for the Whitecaps to go into the season with this thin. Of course, there is time to make some signings as the MLS winter window runs until April. Right now, it seems unlikely that they can sign a DP of Armstrong’s calibre or better until then, but things can change. After all, Cubas was signed late into the 2022 window but did not play until May due to his Visa getting sorted out.
So the Whitecaps have a DP spot open. It is also possible that they could stick with Gauld and Andres Cubas as the DPs and have four Under-22 spots. A silver lining is that Vancouver will be getting a profit for Armstrong. It’s up to them to decide how they will spend the money though.
2025 is supposed to be a year where the Whitecaps go all-in. Despite the disappointment of 2024, there was lots to build in. The core of Gauld, Cubas, Brian White and Ranko Veselinovic are in their prime. They can’t waste this core any longer.
But it’s hard not to blame Whitecaps fans for screaming, crying and throwing up (as the kids say) over Armstrong’s departure. He was a big piece of the core.
It’s infuriating and annoying that this happened, and this kind of thing has happened for years with the Whitecaps. As frustrating as the past two seasons have been, there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, that light looks further away.
This is just another chapter in the painful, frustrating and disappointing saga of the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS era. Fans want better, but losing Armstrong shrinks optimism and hope.
As mentioned, there is still time to make signings. But if the Whitecaps struggle out of the gate, the heat will be on Schuster.