You have to imagine plenty of MLS owners are watching this all unfold and thinking “how the hell do I keep up?” #ATLUTD simply living a different reality than so many other teams. Incredible.— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) December 9, 2018
I heard Garber mention the Quakes last night. I didn't catch the whole phrase but I think it was in reference to the club's 2 MLS Cup wins. In retrospect, those victories seem eons away from where the club is right now....
The Quakes were clobbering Atlanta 4-1 back in September, in their only head-to-head meeting, until the officials decided to simultaneously remove a goal from the Quakes and award a penalty to Atlanta. I'd post the video justification for the fix but it evidently does not exist. Eons, my ass.
the Quakes and Atlanta exist in two entirely different universes. one consists of vision, passion, communication, ambition, commitment, talent, enthusiasm and excitement, the other is the Quakes who've been under the same ownership now for 10 years and still show no signs of life.
Sure we were screwed over with the VAR call. However, we were still up 3-2 at the time and a good team don't get down on themselves and know how to close the game. It's not an accident that one team has 60+ points while the other is stuck at 20 points over the course of the season.
Who said the Quakes were a good team last season? The point is that the difference between the two squads in 2018 was not eons. The Quakes lost by a single goal to Atlanta, even if for sake of argument the score was on the up-and-up, which has never been proven. Atlanta also lost 4-0 at Houston on opening day, and 4-1 at Toronto in the regular season finale, as well as 1-0 at the Red Bulls in the game immediately preceding the MLS Cup final (meaning Atlanta is currently residing on a mere one-game winning streak). Atlanta are not world-beaters, especially outside their indoor plastic-pitch arena. Congrats to Atlanta. Sliced bread was still a greater innovation.
They finished the regular season with 69 points, which is tied (with 2017 Toronto) for the second highest point total in MLS history. They were 10-5-2 away from home.... Their ten away wins broke the MLS record for the post-shootout era. link
That wouldn't make sense... the valuations of their teams are being lifted by the top teams like ATL. I’d imagine some of them don’t worry about keeping up. They’ll be happy with a boost in revenue due to increased popularity and media rights without spending money— Chris Rolfe (@ChrisRolfe17) December 9, 2018
Don't start your own NWSL team, have a problem with FC Barcelona doing so in the area... This reminds me of when the Quakes refused to affiliate with Sacramento Republic and then started whining when they partnered with the Portland Timbers instead. Barca has long pursued California as a home for an NWSL team - specifically LA. However, its focus on keeping its brand raised concerns w/both San Jose & LAFC, who Barca approached as potential partners.Barca is also looking potentially at Miami, alongside the future MLS club https://t.co/rhUdEncQvV— Ian Thomas (@byIanThomas) December 10, 2018 I have no problem with the Quakes not partnering with Barcelona on this, but then start your own f***ing NWSL team!
This is so stupid. I really wish that fewer teams would make the playoffs, rather than more. Making the playoffs continues to be a minimum level of achievement. At least they won’t last as long. Go Quakes!! - Mark
Armchair Analyst: 2018 Season Recaps – The bottom eight San Jose Earthquakes (#23) The Quakes made the playoffs in 2017. They celebrated by dismissing their coach, hiring a new one – their third in six months – signing a whole bunch of new players (but no left backs!), and then putting together the worst season in club history. A gif is worth a thousand words: They're now on their fourth coach in the last 18 months, and it's safe to say that any sort of slow-build plan GM Jesse Fioranelli came in with has been scrapped. San Jose didn't defend well and didn't attack well in 2018, and they didn't possess well, and goalkeeping was a season-long issue, and none of their young players reaaaaally took a step forward, and none of their signings really distinguished themselves. And there was sniping in the press, and an embarrassing sub in Montreal and... I guess there's a reason they're on their fourth coach in 18 months, isn't there? FORMATION & TACTICS: Mikael Stahre was all over the place. He tinkered with a 4-2-2-2 at times, but couldn't get enough protection in front of the center backs to make it work. He went to a 4-2-3-1, but there wasn't enough interplay to be dangerous in possession, and not enough speed to be dangerous on the counter. At times it was a 4-1-3-2, but that tended to get ugly quick. They really did look better in a 4-3-3 under Steve Ralston down the stretch, even if they ran into a buzzsaw of a schedule and didn't win any games under the since-departed interim. At least they were fun! HIGHLIGHT: They had only two wins over the season's final five-and-a-half months, and both were against FC Dallas. The second of those wins – the last Quakes win of the season – was a back-and-forth, 4-3 bag of fun: The reality, though, is that the season's only true highlight was the Matias Almeyda announcement and press conference. LOWLIGHT: From May 16 to the end of the season the Quakes went 2-16-6, so there are lots of candidates. The toughest one was probably the opener of the Ralston era, a home game in which the Quakes took a 4-1 lead on Atlanta United before losing 4-3. Yeah, you read that right. San Jose had were up 3-1, and Chris Wondolowski scored a goal. Then it went to VAR. Then it came all the way back, 20ish seconds, to a handball committed by Magnus Eriksson in the box that not only wiped out Wondo's goal, but gave Josef Martinez a penalty, making the score 3-2. Of course the Quakes melted down after that. REVELATION: No player earned that. The biggest revelation was that the team is willing to go out and spend on a coach like Almeyda, whose reputation in both Argentina and Mexico is damn near pristine. It was a genuine shock to see him come to MLS. DISAPPOINTMENT: The winter signings? The lack of playing time and progress from the young players? Andrew Tarbell in goal? All of the above fit, but nobody was a bigger disappointment than Stahre, who seemed out of his depth. And his handling of a pair of subs in a loss at Montreal was beyond bizarre. PLAYERS TO BUILD ON IN 2019: LB Nick Lima, CM Jackson Yueill, DM Luis Felipe, GK J.T. Marcinkowski, CB Guram Kashia None of those first four really stood out in 2018, but all had moments where they showed real talent and potential. Yueill even seemed to realize he has to defend if he wants to play in MLS. The defense as a whole got better for a hot minute when Kashia arrived. He looks the part of – and has the resume of – a veteran who can anchor a back four for two or three years. OFFSEASON PRIORITY: There's quite a bit that needs doing. Just eyeballing the roster, it's clear that 1) there's a lot of overpaid, underperforming imports, and 2) San Jose are probably at a talent deficit against almost everybody. It's not pretty. There will be personnel changes, and strategic changes, and tactical changes. The biggest change, however, has to be cultural, and it has to come down to Almeyda being able to put the past in the past and make sure this group isn't destined to relive 2018 all over again.
If Fisher doesn’t loosen his monetary sphincter, and if Jesse doesn’t produce some great signings, then (notwithstanding Almeyda’s presence) next season will look like this:
can someone break down the best times and opportunities (during the offseason) for picking up new players, specifically: - when is the draft and who should we be targeting? - at what point in the off season can teams make trades with each other? - when is the transfer window open? sounds like one just came and went and we did nothing, is that right? - has anyone heard anything so far from our FO related to adding players? I'm wondering specifically what we should be looking for as evidence that the Quakes are ready to make some serious player moves. maybe its still too early in the offseason to expect much news on this?
We already had the MLS Waiver Draft (Dec 12) and stage one of the MLS Re-Entry Draft (Dec 14)... stage two is Dec 20. The 2019 SuperDraft is January 11 in Chicago: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_MLS_SuperDraft Teams are already trading with each other, just today: Trades: Rowe, Castillo, Rubio get new teams Not sure about the transfer window dates, but here is that info from 2018 and it shouldn't be too different for 2019... https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations 2018 Roster Compliance, Freeze and Transfer Window Dates The 2018 Roster Compliance Date is March 1, 2018, at which time clubs must be roster and budget compliant heading into the start of the 2018 MLS season. The 2018 Roster Freeze Date is September 14, 2018, at which time clubs must submit their final 30-man roster. Rosters cannot be changed from that date through the day after MLS Cup. The registration windows - the dates between which MLS may request the transfer certificate of a player under contract in another country - are as follows: Primary Transfer Window: February 7, 2018 to May 1, 2018 Secondary Transfer Window: July 10, 2018 to August 8, 2018 MLS TRANSFER TRACKER: WINTER 2019 https://www.mlssoccer.com/transactions/transfer-tracker/2019/winter We haven't added any players yet. The only player linked to the Quakes that has been mentioned on the MLS site is the midfielder from Brazil: Dec 10, 2018 Report Report: San Jose Earthquakes to sign Brazilian midfielder Judson
What sort of kitchen utensil is awarded for winning the offseason? http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/16257004/rex-ryan-declares-buffalo-bills-won-offseason
As X-man describes, we might already be behind the eight ball. Other MLS clubs are making trades, but we aren't? Of course, we have only a couple of players that might interest other teams. Ugh. 2019, even if noticably better than 2018, might still not be a "good" season. Good thing I have lots of whiskey on hand. GO Quakes!! - Mark
Kashia is really too old to build on. Also, he only looked good his first couple of games. After that, other teams figured him out. He's vulnerable to speed. Dang. Yeah, that's about right. We're already in a hole. Worst season ever in forty plus years. Holy crap! Go Quakes!! - Mark