Was already hoping that we'd be bringing in a backup ball winner/distributor in the summer, as have been thinking there's just too much of a drop from Godoy to Judson/other options on the roster. Now am really hoping.
It is sad for both Godoy and the Quakes just when we began to see the good version of Godoy again. I don't know what position we originally planned to strengthen in mid season. Now a high caliber CM seems a high priority.
Sad for Godoy. Not good for the Quakes. The US Open Cup showed we have big problems with central midfield depth. Felipe would get my vote.
I think that is the best idea for now since the drop off is so bad at midfield. Might change our summer window strategy now though
I'm been screaming for years that we need an attacking midfield general in the Carlos Valderrama mold, somebody that can direct traffic on the field and control the flow of the game. I hope the front office finally makes the move in this direction, actually they have no choice now.
We have that now, it's called Jackson Yueill. Godoy is the guy behind that, no? Well more of both can't hurt.
Considering Cummings is still not back, I don't think Almeyda will risk moving Jungwirth up into the midfield when there are three or other players he can choose from to play there instead. I'm also of the apparent minority opinion that Jungwirth is not really that good as a central midfielder. I'd certainly enjoy being wrong about that and see him play well there, but the lack of center defender depth is greater than the lack of center midfield depth, so if it were me, I'd try to figure out how to get Judson up to playing at a bit higher of a level, or Luis Felipe.
I like the idea of moving Flo up, at least to try it. Maybe move Tommy centrally again and put Marie at right back? Would be curious to see what a Tommy-Yueill midfield would look like given the circumstances. Maybe fast-track Haji?
Flo is too slow in the midfield last year. This could change with the current system, but I wouldn't move him at the moment with the success he has had at central defender. I'm open to moving TT. Haji was terrible in the US Open Cup. Rather keep him as a sub and get limited minutes when the other team is tired.
Kevin Partida is getting healthy and his natural position is the six. I would pair him with Yuiell at the eight. I think Judson is better coming in as a sub with fresh legs to disrupt the midfield. Partida is better passing forward and I feel like he is more of a threat to score. Frankly Luis Filipe has looked confused on his assignments in Almeyda’s system at the six. He may be better off on the back line where things are more simple.
Hard to tell who is more at fault in the midfield from the one game. Judson and Luis Felipe both looked like they were struggling, and that is probably due to a lack of playing time first and foremost. To have two new starters in such critical positions is always going to be a challenge. I wouldn't write either of them off yet. Judson stood out to me as the player who struggled more out of the two, but again, I don't want to jump to any conclusions from a single game in heat after a long stretch without competitive minutes. That said, Luis Felipe actually looked very composed as a central defender. Sacremento was pretty tired by the time he was forced to move back, so I don't the he was under the kind of pressure he'd get against LAFC, for instance, but there was some promise there.
I was also referencing the Monterrey game where Filipe was one of the poorest players on the field at center mid. He’s had more time in the system but you can’t lose your mark on transition defense. In the back line you just play everything in front of you. At center mid you got 360 degrees of spacing to be responsible for.
Kevin had potential last year. He might be a good option. However, I would like to see him in Almeyada's system (Open Cup Game or friendly) before slotting him in.
.@a_godoy03 player cards will be available tomorrow at @ArteagasFoods! 🇵🇦 Visit the location nearest you to start collecting the first of 12! #VamosSJ pic.twitter.com/6MsbWrWLED— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 18, 2019 GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Why do we bother signing foreigners if we think a better option for us is a USL player coming off a serious injury and has not played this particular position as a Quake ? Don't you think that if Judson is 100% healthy he gets the nod over Partida???
By MLS season standards, that game against Monterrey was ages ago. Not that there isn't serious room for improvement for Luis Felipe, but you have to consider where the biggest drop off in quality is. If the alternative to Luis Felipe or Judson is to move Jungwirth into the midfield, then you are forced into a combination of either Affolter and Ockford (which I don't think anyone wants to see tested) or Affolter and Luis Felipe. But that's taking it as a given that Jungwirth is an improvement at center mind than Luis Felipe or Judson. Jungwirth's past history for the Quakes as a center mid doesn't support that, frankly. He certainly improved himself as a defender compared to last year, so it's possible that he'd improve himself as a center-mid, also. But when's the last time he played there, and is his lack of mobility a problem? While the center midfield position might be considered more difficult (which isn't an argument I care to entertain right now) it's probably more important to make sure the players available are up for the tasks you're giving them. Almeyda is an excellent motivator, so I'm willing to any pretty much anything is possible. I just don't see Jungwirth as a good replacement for Godoy, either short or long term. He's far more valuable as a dedicated defender. Edit: Forgot to put in that to your points, I'd have no objections to Partida getting an opportunity to play there. I would just urge writing folks off after a couple games several weeks apart. That's nowhere near enough information to know whether a player will work well for Almeyda or not. Look how long it took for Wondolowski and Vako to produce this year.