Episode 650 – The AFTN Soccer Show (Everything Is Temporary These Days with special guest Tommy Wheeldon Jr)

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps and Canadian Premier League chat.

Our extensive interview with Axel Schuster in the last episode certainly produced a lot of chatter and we unpack some of what the Whitecaps CEO told us in this episode around the search for a new coach, the search for new owners, the search for new players, and more.

Our first feature interview of 2025 sees us sit down for an in-depth chat with the man that lifted his first CPL North Star Cup last year, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. We chat with the Cavalry head coach about the successful 2024 for the team, the chance to take on Mexican opposition in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the return of an Albertan derby, taking the next step forward in 2025, Jay Herdman, Myer Bevan, the state of the CPL, his beloved Everton, and more.

We also look back at Pacific's two latest additions, the current quiet time at Vancouver FC, and look at an interesting year for York United, both on and off the pitch, as we chat with Mexican owners the Pasquel brothers about their first year in charge. Plus we get the thoughts of Bobby Smyrniotis, James Merriman and Tommy Wheeldon Jr about the need for some kind of VAR in the CPL and look at the stadium issues that plague Canadian soccer.

Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode:

01.35: Intro - another new year awaits
07.30: Unpacking Axel Schuster's State of the Whitecaps interview
38.33: Pacific add two, all quiet at VFC, and Forge busy again
68.32: The Pasquel brothers' first year in charge at York
75.20: Canadian soccer has a stadium issue
93.30: Tommy Wheeldon Jr interview
142.25: The vital need for some kind of VAR in the CPL
149.55: What we'd love to change in the CPL
169.45: Wavelength - Robb Johnson - Life Is Football