Episode 144 - The AFTN Podcast (Striking While The Iron Is Hot)

Vancouver Whitecaps hit the training pitch for the first time in 2016 and AFTN was there to bring you all the action! Well, all the audio.

As players new and old try and make a lasting impression on 'Caps coach Carl Robinson, he'll just be hoping that one or more of his strikers can put the ball in the back of the net on a more consistent basis. We chat with two of those strikers, both of whom have been linked with moves away to pastures new this offseason, Jamaican international Darren Mattocks and Erik Hurtado.

Mattocks talks about those transfer rumours, finding his international form at club level and his new found maturity and perspective as a soon to be father, while Hurtado tells us about his loan period in Norway and trying to come back and crack the 'Caps gameday squad.

If both players hang around, they'll have a new striker's coach, with former Welsh international Robert Earnshaw announcing his retirement to take that position along with becoming head coach of the U14 Residency team.

We chat with Earnie about his decision to retire, his coaching path, the challenges ahead, what he hopes to bring to the U14 team and a lot more.

And there's still time to hear from Christian Dean about trying to unseat the centre back pairing of Waston and Parker and making an impression of his own, along with some of the big stories from the first week of preseason camp.

Have a listen!