Speaking of traitors, Jacob Lensky is on trial!

What a waste all around: I feel for the kid as I understand he's had a huge problem with alcohol and depression, but he's already fucked both Canada and the Caps over in the past. What's with the 3rd and 4th chances? I guess talent will get you those...

I'm sure the mods will move this to a seperate Lensky thread, which it deserves.

Frankly, couldn't care less about the whole Canada/Czech thing. More concerned whether he comes to the Caps with an attitude or if he has turned over a new leaf.

If he is keen on a new beginning then having a manager around him that cares for this players the way that Martin Rennie does will only be a help to get the guy back on his feet. Rennie won't stand for any bullshit.

We badly need some midfield depth and I wish the guy all the best.

piltdownman said: Let's also remember that Lensky is from Vancouver and thus likely has family and a good support net here to help him with this new beginning.

Agree, and besides a good footballer is a good footballer. Lensky all troubles and mis haps aside (which are many) is a good footballer, and if he actually has shed some demons and is ready for a "new beginning" I can't see anybody better than M. Rennie to help him with that and at the same time the Caps get a good midfielder.

Time will tell

When I first watched this a couple years ago, I really thought he was messed up. I have to say though, watching this now he doesn't seem to different from most (then) 21 year-old guys. I guess it's just surprising to hear a professional answer a question honestly.

The fact that he has 50+ appearances in the Dutch top flight since this maybe gives me a little hope. I retract my previous comments. :)

After I read this story http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=d7684f95-406c-4b82-ae1f-9b102cec4624 back in 2009 I thought man this kid is going to help us .... then he bolted to Seattle to trial with them ! so dont hold your breath he will stick around even if he does impress.

Lord_Bob said:

ynwasouthside said: Speaking of traitors, Jacob Lensky is on trial!

What a waste all around: I feel for the kid as I understand he's had a huge problem with alcohol and depression, but he's already fucked both Canada and the Caps over in the past. What's with the 3rd and 4th chances? I guess talent will get you those...

He's fucked over Canada, FC Utrecht, and Feyenoord (I'm not sure leaving a trial with the Whitecaps for a chance with a bigger club counts as fucking us over). His time at Utrecht was cut short to get treatment for alcoholism. He did a video interview bemoaning how much he hates soccer. He is not a well kid.

I don't want him on my team, I could never cheer for him, but booing a guy like that would feel wrong even for me. He's not just some Bunbury-esque scumbag, he has actual problems.

Anyone who fucks over Feyenoord scum is "A OK" in my books!

He's on trial, if he makes the squad I'll support him like I do everyother player on the team until the slightest chance of "fucking over" comes into play....it is what it is.

I'm behind this guy already. Drank too much, made some shitty decisions and now he's giving it another go. C'mon kid!

You guys do know he also laced up for the Czech youths as well, before he played U20 and U23 for Canada.

ynwasouthside said:

When I first watched this a couple years ago, I really thought he was messed up. I have to say though, watching this now he doesn't seem to different from most (then) 21 year-old guys. I guess it's just surprising to hear a professional answer a question honestly.

The fact that he has 50+ appearances in the Dutch top flight since this maybe gives me a little hope. I retract my previous comments. :)

Did I hear the video correctly when he said "no i don't like to watch football,.. I find it boring and uninteresting".... "I like watching Canucks"... Was he just being sarcastic or?

As a footballer, shouldn't this be your passion?... even watching it? I don't get it. Unless he was referring to gridiron,.. but I don't think he was. Why would you find the game you have built your career on, boring to watch? explanation?

Those words make it sound like the passion was never there from the beginning... Or maybey a sign of his depression, as people who go through deep depression find boring the things they once loved.

Well that's just it. He retired from professional football at age 20. He obviously didn't have much passion for football and doesn't hide it. This interview was after his "comeback." From here, he had to leave his last club to seek treatment for substance abuse.

I hope the management is able to discern quickly whether he's matured and has found the passion to play for his hometown club or whether he's simply realized that he can't do anything else to pay the bills.

Based on my estimate of the club salary cap, I can't see them being able to offer him much more than what he'd make working at any other entry level job. He should already know this, so maybe this comeback is genuine.

Lord_Bob said:

GoF said: You guys do know he also laced up for the Czech youths as well, before he played U20 and U23 for Canada.

No, I don't realize this. My recollection is that he played his entire youth international career in the Canadian set-up, then turned down a call from the Canadian senior national team he'd already accepted so he could go play with the Czech U-21s. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Basing it on this http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/04/19/mls_vancouver_whitecaps_jacob_lensky/

Molinaro says played at youth level for Czechs, unless he's mistakenly classing U21 level as youth level.

Like others have said, depression can make you not care about life itself much less a sport. I hope he has worked out his issues. Perhaps Europe was just too much pressure too young? Whether he stays or doesn't I hope he has put his problems behind him.

I was curious so did a google search. Here's what I came up with regarding his international matches:

15 April 2006, Portugal U20 v Canada U20, 90 minutes, left centre midfield

3 March 2010, Czech Republic U21 v Finland U21, 90 minutes, left centre midfield

11 August 2010, Czech Republic U21 v San Marino U21, 59 minutes, left back

9 February 2011, Netherlands U21 v Czech Republic U21, 44 minutes, right back

He also played one other game for Canada U20, and two for Canada U23, but I couldn’t find dates on them.

seathanaich said:

TunnelBandit said: (or turned out for the Czech team for all the the nationalists on the forum)

Nationalism and Patriotism are two very different things. I can't speak for others, but I'm a patriot, not a nationalist.

Well, I was going to make an SS joke but it's probably not worth opening up that can of worms.

Wrong choice of word, I agree, but the point I was trying to make is that sometimes there are more than just selfish reasons that someone might choose to play for a different country than Canada. And this is possibly one of those times.

Lensky seemed to pick up a knee injury in the reserved game. Got stretchered off by the paramedics.

Subhedgehog said: Lensky seemed to pick up a knee injury in the reserved game. Got stretchered off by the paramedics.

Lord Bob said he needed oxygen on twitter. I am not sure I have ever seen someone look less excited for a football match.

Have to agree. He just didn't have the pace/desire to track back for Portland's second goal.

Too soon to expect anything...we'll see if this was a courtesy or a long-term trial. It's really up to the club to decide. Personally, trials are not a waste of time as long as 1st team players are protected from injury during practice.

TunnelBandit said: I know it is just a trial, and he wasn't exactly playing with the FIFA World XI, but Lensky's lack of fitness and interest in playing were actually shocking. Wow.

If this is how he is trying to fix his career then it may be over. Very sad

Photos from the match http://www.flickr.com/photos/vosie/sets/72157629884625119/

As for Lensky, he retired from football a few months ago. He spent that time living a normal life, with normal eating habits – which is to say, poor. He is nowhere near match fit. The talent is there, but he’s like athletes used to be at training camp. He’ll need a few weeks before you can even begin to assess him. I was told he wasn’t even going to a gym until about a week before he got his trial with the Whitecaps.

During the match, he looked good early on, but it was a sharp downward spiral. I’m told that he didn’t puke, but he was close to it for long periods of time. If you or I went out there, and tried to keep up with athletes in mid season form, we’d get winded after a few minutes, or seconds in some cases. It was a mistake to put him out there so early, but he looked good in training and the talent is there, he just lacks fitness.

Right now, he’s surplus. He’s not depriving our club of anything but a few loads of laundry and whatever stipend he’s getting, if any. Given his talent, he’s worth the risk, especially given our manager fancies himself as a psychologist. He’s the ideal manager for someone like Lensky. If he earns a spot here, that’s terrific. If he ends up going elsewhere, then we’ve helped someone get his life back on track. If he doesn’t work out, then we’ve lost nothing.

After the first day of his trial, the first words out of his mouth afterwards was that “it's hard on the lungs”. Let’s give him the time it takes to figure out what we have.

I'm rooting for him and would love to see him live up to half the potential he showed as a teenager. He looked nervous as fuck at half time standing on the pitch by himself. I thought his inability to track back on the 2nd goal was lack of ability and not lack of effort. If he makes it back at this point I think he'll have proved his mettle. C'mon Jacob!!

OldFan said: I think he is worth giving a long chance to

I don't disagree, there is no downside if he doesn't two foot anyone in practice, or bring the attitude down. Rennies' best skill seems to be making it fun to come to the park everyday and improve yourself. Hopefully that will help the lad out.

Brenton said:

Lord_Bob said: For any old ex-player, you might want to give him the benefit of the doubt. For a 23-year-old with serious issues who just retired for the second time, the sign that he didn't keep himself in shape or get himself in shape before the trial and just decided to come on in isn't a positive one.

I think that would depend on the timing. Was this planned a month in advance? Was it a spur of the moment thing?

If it was planned a month in advance it obviously wasn't very well-executed. And if it was a spur of the moment thing from a guy with proven commitment issues, it would be hard to judge whether he's really in for the long haul this time.