Semi-Official 2017 San Jose Earthquakes Roster Thread

We know Tommy Thompson started out living with Khari Stephenson and maybe a few others, that's probably common. Not sure it's really worth discussing beyond that...

 

Depends. Are most kids professional athletes who get everything handed to them and who need to eat, sleep and train like pros? Even college players get free room and board and fairly good accomodations....

 

I'm still of the mind that one more player is likely to be added. The deal with NE was announced so close with the trade of Francis that it's hard not to think they could be related. I think Vako was signed "roster compliant" because Jesse had said since the preseason that he was going to bring in a DP during the summer window. I think they had already set the cap room aside for Vako (they held a roster spot open it seems).

So now they have one spot open and 175k plus Francis's pro-rated cap hit to spend. I see two major needs and perhaps two minor. A rangy center back that can win headers all day is probably the most pressing. Goodson has left a vacuum that I'm guessing Cummings was suppose to fill. Question is, do the Quakes believe that Wynne could return this year and they can afford to wait until next year for Cummings? Second big need is a bookend for Lima. Many of us assumed it might be Colvey, but the Quakes don't seem to believe it. A wide player who can play defense but has skills to attack and cross would be great to play on the opposite side of Lima. Cato and Salinas are fine as subs, but neither has the soccer IQ to be an elite players there.

Two minor needs could be a real speedster to bring in for late game counter attacks when the Quakes are ahead and the opponent goes into full pressing mode or the opposite, a big target guy that can knock down balls during Goonie time.

 

The way it seemed when I talked to Khari, I don't think they got along too well. Khari was a lot older than Tommy and I don't think he appreciated the fact that they were giving him a huge contract while he was making peanuts. He didn't go into specifics but that is the way it seemed.

 

Contracts are given based on performance, talent, and potential, not age. TT had 2/3 in his favor, by that point Khari had nothing but the age thing, which again, is not some skill to be rewarded.

 

Khari was a much better player than perceived and very experienced. He could have done more if they let him start continuously.

 

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/21/earthquakes-go-back-to-europe-to-boost-the-defense/

 

I'm pleased that we signed another defender, and one who is only 26.

We still need to get a lot more young players in the pipeline, and we need to shed some of our older players, or at least move them to sub roles.

Go Quakes!!

- Mark

 

Wonder what we're doing for international slots...

Right now we're at 7/8, before the additions of Vako and Affolter:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/rosters/2017/san-jose-earthquakes

Possible solutions:

1. We acquire an int'l slot from some other team
2. One of Dawkins / Godoy / Imperiale got their green card
3. We part ways with one of the current 7 (Barrera, Mfeka, Silva, and Cummings wouldn't count), so most likely Dawkins

Most to least likely: 2, 3, 1

 

This we've known for awhile. He can't play at all this season.

 

Yeah, and there's no need to speculate, because Cummings is listed under "international players that don't count against slots" here:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/rosters/2017/san-jose-earthquakes

 

Right, not that we should entirely trust that site given they don't even proof read for spelling let alone accuracy.

 

Vako and Affolter will both require international slots, obviously. I'm sure that will eventually be updated on the roster page.

 

If this was a mystery novel, I'd be tempted to turn to the last page and find out already. The problem I have with the Dawkins idea is who would even have any interest given the price tag and his poor form. I could see other teams having interest in Urena maybe...and I guess he could be seen as expendable with Quincy back. But Quincy's on too high of a contract so I see him as having less of a long term future. And you'd think the deal would have had to be done before they could sign a new intl. Did you look if anyone has open international slots open who could use Ceren?

 

Yeah, maybe a bottom feeder team that is looking to have some semblance of a bighting chance to make the playoffs.

 

Wait, do you mean (A) we trade Ceren for another team's international slot, or (B) another team trades for Ceren because they have an open international slot which would free up an international slot on the Quakes' roster?

A is doable, there are certainly teams out there with open slots that could be acquired. Some teams don't bring in very many foreign players, see DC and New England.
B doesn't work, because Ceren has a green card and doesn't take up an international slot, so trading him wouldn't free one up for Vako/Affolter.

 

I meant A. Sorry I wasn't clear. DC might need a player like Ceren.

 

I'd say they do, they've needed one ever since Perry Kitchen left for Europe. They have Ian Harkes as their 8 and Luciano Acosta as their 10, but their #6 options are guys like Marcelo Sarvas (way past it, basically just makes awful tackles now) and Jared Jeffrey (average at best)... you don't need to look much further than their last two games to see they could use a d-mid:

It looks like they have traded away 3 of 8 international slots, but are only using 3 of their remaining 5 after releasing Ortiz a few days ago:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/rosters/2017/dc-united

The transfer window is open and they could be looking at foreign players to fill those slots, but we know that DC prefer to acquire players from within MLS, whether it's because they're cheaper or because they're already used to MLS and playing well here (it's likely their scouting isn't very good).

I know many Quakes fans are pissed at Ceren (rightfully so) because of the biting incident and want him gone, but it might be preferable to trade Alashe instead. Ceren probably works better for what Leitch wants to do, whereas Ben Olsen might actually prefer an Alashe-type.

Of course none of this matters for Vako/Affolter specifically, because there's no way the Quakes acquired them without having already figured out the international slots for everyone, but if Jesse is looking to make another signing (fullback, winger, wingback?), Alashe or Ceren to DC for an international slot would make a lot of sense for both sides.

 

I would be fine if SJ traded BOTH Ceren and Alashe to D.C. or Minnesota (they were rumored to want to add 5-6 new players). Take their first round super draft pick (top 3 most likely) and a slot if Jesse needs one. With Francois, the Quakes have yet another guy that can play D-Mid.

If both players were traded, the Quakes could add Luis Felipe from Reno (maybe international though). I think his skill set fits with Leitch's tactics better than Ceren or Alashe. The Quakes really should look at adding a big striker specialist to come into games to win headers on both ends of the field late. Alan Gordon didn't just score Goonie time goals, he also helped protect on defensive corners and set pieces. The Quakes are very weak and venerable to giving up those types of goals.

The one problem with adding a foreign slot is it's only good for the remainder of the season. That means that someone has to leave during the offseason (Dawkins most likely, but they already could need him to go to use the slot for Cummings return). So if they bring in a player, they would likely say goodbye to someone like Imperiale next season.

 

Not true. The team should begin the green card process with every foreign signing as soon as they arrive here. Having an extra international slot for just a year is good enough if you get other players green cards in that time and they no longer take up international slots.

At the beginning of the season, it looked like Atlanta United was WAY over in terms of the number of foreign signings to international slots, and then in February, before they had even played their first MLS game:

Chris McCann and Kenwyne Jones Finalize International Paperwork

Atlanta United internationals Kenwyne Jones (Trinidad & Tobago) and Chris McCann (Ireland) have finalized paperwork to acquire U.S Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards), which means they will no longer count as international players according to MLS rules.

After signing with the expansion club in July of last year, both Jones and McCann spent the remainder of 2016 on loan; Jones with Central FC in his homeland of Trinidad & Tobago and McCann with Coventry City of League One (England’s third division). The theory behind inking international players early on is to not only secure their signature, but to also get a proactive start on the immigration process. In Atlanta’s case, this was in order to have everything cleared by the start of the 2017 season.
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Yeah they should dump Dawkins because he's crap, but it's also about time he got his green card. Same goes for Godoy and Imperiale, since both have been here for a few years now.
It basically took Atlanta half a year to get Jones and McCann green cards because they began the process immediately. I doubt they have some special "green card fast track process" that only applies to their players. They're just on top of it, more than most MLS teams. Do the Quakes even have people in-house to work on such things?

 

Haven't you heard that Jamir Apple Pie Hyka and Florian Chevrolet Jungwirth have applied for permanent resident status?

 

Since Hyka's a Muslim, I wonder if that will complicate matters <<<edit>>>

 

Aside from loanded out Mfeka and Silva, the only two players that seem like they might be close to green card status are Imperiale and Dawkins and I doubt they're staying beyond this season.