Whitecaps’ Rennie says Jarju simply didn’t fit into his plans
- Tuesday, 24 January 2012
- Written by Modou Lamin Beyai
After Major League Soccer franchise Vancouver Whitecaps announced that it has parted company with Gambian Mustapha “Toubabo” Jarju, head coach Martin Rennie has gave the reason behind the club parting ways with the player.
“I have a specific idea of how I want to play and Jarju doesn’t fit into that plan,” Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie told the official MLS website on Friday shortly after the player’s contract was bought out. “He’s at a stage where he needs to be playing and I can’t guarantee that.”
It was long thought among many observers that Toubabo Jarju would be jettisoned by the Whitecaps upon Rennie’s arrival, but as time ticked on and the club gave reassurances the Gambian would be given another chance to demonstrate his ability, there was a level of ambiguity about the situation.
But it was always hard to believe that a coach who reportedly had plenty of offers on the table before choosing Vancouver would agree to carry the albatross of a Designated Player who, at times, seemed to struggle to make the matchday squad, let alone the starting XI during his brief spell with the club.
“I had a pretty good idea it wasn’t going to work out,” Rennie said, speaking of his evaluation of Jarju following his postseason evaluation camp. “I didn’t rush into making a decision then. I took some time to think about it, but he didn’t fit into my plans going forward.”
So why did it take so long for the club to come to an official agreement with Jarju?
“I think we did this in plenty of time,” Rennie said. “Preseason is next week and the season is still months away.”
Mustapha “Toubabo” Jarju, Major League Soccer’s first African Designated Player, signed with Vancouver on July 11. He played 10 matches during his spell, starting five, but didn’t feature at all in three of the club’s final four matches. The striker failed to score a single goal during his 450 minutes on the pitch and never seemed to capture the form that saw him score 18 goals in 33 games during his final season in the Belgian second division with RAEC Mons.