After my article on the Whitecaps’ midfield enjoyed some success I decided to do a version of it for their centre backs. Doing so was an incredibly depressing experience. Part of the reason I like stats is that, if used correctly, they cut through subjective opinion and bias. If you’re a person, you have biases. We all have players we have a soft spot for, for one reason or another, or a player who’s style has just always rubbed us the wrong way. But stats don’t care about any of that. Until now I had been of the opinion that the Vancouver Whitecaps’ defence was basically fine but they were under so much pressure that they eventually conceded goals.