Hernendez played like his contract depended on it......i personally did not expect him to keep that post june form, he played lights out.
Since we didn't male the CCL again and assuming the league doesn't up the salary cap much (with all the reports of MLS profitability who knows), we are going to need to trim a good portion of our roster to meet the new, lowered cap. This is just the beginning... wait for some other much harder cuts (and I fully expect that Hernandez will be on that cut list if he's in a contract year).
I'm sorry to see Gargan go. He had the longest throwin-in on the team and also played with gusto. So what does that mean for us right fullback-wise, especially if they let Beita go?
don't we get allocation cap room for mising the playoffs? Also, we are still in the CCL so would think that increased cap space still applies.
Other than Nana, no real surprises or disappointments. My guess is that Nana concussion issues may have scared the team away. When you miss over half the season with concussion related issues, this is a major problem and you have no idea when it may occur in the future.
I think the back line is still fairly strong without them, although both were pretty good players. Hernandez, Bernardez, Goodson, and Morrow mean four good center backs (provided Morrow plays a little better). Can Morrow play the right side very well? He may be able to slot in for Beitashour or Stewart depending on the situation. I would take this as some evidence of an effort to keep Beitashour, too.
I have to assume that this either means: 1) Doyle is confident that Beita will be here through next season or 2) We have a line on a quality (i.e. starting) right back. If not, then he's totally lost his marbles...
Gargan is now 31 (or will be soon) and his salary was at about $90k. So I suppose you can make an argument that you could get a younger cheaper player at similar quality, but you are kind of splitting hairs there, and there is the "bird in hand" factor - he is a known quantity. I would have kept him, based on what I know.
This also better mean that Harden either has recovered, or is on the mend. Harden can play center back or right back, so it makes sense that we kept him, assuming that he's healthy, rather than we kept him because you can't waive a player who can't pass the physical. I liked Gargan, and he does have a great long throw-in. I suppose you can argue that he's a little spendy, especially at 31 ... 27. (Wait a minute, Dan is only 27. We should have kept him.) However, we weren't planning on starting him, only using him as a sub, with the occasional start. I'd have been comfortable with that. OK, let's hope that either we re-sign Gargan, or we have a couple of potential replacements in our sights. And let's not overlook that Muma and Goodson are both 31, so we need to have quality backups for them both. (And because Muma will collect too many yellow cards.) Harden is 29 and Hernandez is 30. And do we think that these were Doyle's moves? I bet that before they made any decision, JD sat down with the coaching staff and they had a long, probably painful, discussion about who to waive, who to trade, and how to restructure the team. I don't think any of these decisions are made by one guy. GO QUAKES!! - Mark
I'm not heartbroken over Gargan- a tough competitor but i thought he was a turnover machine as his passing was never sharp enough, in my opinion. $90k as backup? we should have better options in Harden- and hopefully Muller, who are both more versatile.
for a number two right back i felt he did all we could ask of him. You cant expect number one performance out of a backup and early on in the season lest we forget he and Harden were our best players early on.
I agree. He's a competent defender, but he struggles with passing. Especially early in the season. At times he had trouble even making a 5-10 yard pass down the touchline without it going out of play.
I'm not very bullish on Harden as an outside back. He's too slow maybe even for a central defender let alone an outside back.
These are the Quakes elegible for the re-draft: DF Nana Attakora, MF Mehdi Ballouchy, DF Dan Gargan, GK Evan Newton I never saw Ballouchy on the cut list, but no surprise that he is.