The Official J.J. Koval thread

J.J. Koval meeting his first EarthQuakes fan on draft day. I'm pulling for him to make a great impact on the team and league.

 

Wonder what his (real) first name is? Quakes have a J.J. and an A.J., and I guess I would be a distant non-playing cousin, Jazzy J.

Koval appears to be a Ukrainian name, FWIW.

 

Saw the comment about Cronin being injured. Would they really start Pierazzi and Koval against Toluca?

 

I'm guessing that is why Khari Stephenson is in camp.

 

I think so.

Khari is in camp because you want two backups. If Cronin were injured and Koval or Pierazzi were to recieve a red card (or yellow accumulation), you want a viable central midfield sub.

 

brad ring would be more useful than khari if we want a cheap backup cm... i'd rather have a young clogger who can hold his own defensively but may not be good going forward if we are looking for 4th or 5th cm's.

 

Khaki is far better than ring. I love ring, he does t give up and plays hard. But he wasn't too good with the ball.

 

khari is better at attacking but ring is better defensively. for a backup cm we need a clogger like ring who can cover a lot of ground and do a job. khari is so slow and broken down you can't rely on him, he's gonna get burned a lot.

 

A lot of guys I know wore khaki.

 

Why isn't he starting?

 

I think he's starting... to be starting. :--)

BTW, the article say 6'1", 195! He doesn't look that stout. He is probably more like 175 (which is what his mls bio says) or maybe trending towards 180.

By comparison Bernardez is supposedly 6'2" and 190, and that's probably after a day of fasting. Goodson is supposedly 6'4" and a buck 25 (kidding, supposedly he's 180).

 

Given Barklage's questionable status, my best guess is that JJ starts at right back this weekend.

 

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stahp with the 3-5-2... stewart and salinas cannot play wingback

 

Why not?

 

wingbacks have to be adept at wearing multiple hats... playing both winger and fullback at the same time. stewart isn't fast enough to play two roles at once and salinas doesn't have the ability to play the fullback role... he's like cato back there.

 

I think Stewart is fast enough and he was a winger early in his career but yeah the position is a hard one to play. I'd be more concerned about Salinas but don't forget there is a reason for having 3 CBs in that formation. In any case, Stewart is apparently out with an injury again so never mind.

 

Didn't impress me at all against the CRapids today!

 

Friends and fans of the Quakes,
I am pleased as anyone to see J.J. make a great impact on our team. It makes me very happy to have met the young man on draft day this year and I hope all of the rest of you are giving him the utmost in support. He will be a great player for our team...let's keep supporting him doing so.
It was a great thing to meet him on draft day...I can only hope he continues to make great contributions to the Quakes.
I'll always keep my eye on this kid, since it was my pleasure to meet him on the day he became a Quakes player.
DRR