Post-match: Vancouver Whitecaps FC - San Jose Earthquakes (Saturday, 7/20) postgame thread [R]

Vancouver paid some sort of record fee for a defender for him according to the announcers. So maybe he reacted really badly to being shown up...or maybe he’s just an asshole. There was another comment about the Craps coach saying the team didn’t live up to their identity or something like that. Seems to me their identity of poor sportsmanship is intact.

 

God, that’s hard to think about but entirely true. Hyka absolutely could have done a job with this team I think

 

And just wait until Fierro is up to speed and gives another reason for our opponents to worry.

 

Stop it!!!

 

Unless Almeyda can mend ruined knees with his touch, nothing for Pelosi.

 

If you add in the Minnesota game, in our last three road games we have had 91 shots. Our opponents new defensive formation.

 

JJ Koval i think is a valid talking point. I always wanted him to convert to center back. This place was a black hole for young players; it was a MLS journeyman in their twilight graveyard for much of the past decade.

 

Or Scott Sealey.




jk

 

Happy birthday!

You look a lot sleeker in the water...

 

Boooo!

 

Just buy Espinoza already. Please.

 

When we were suffering under Stahre and looking for a new coach, did some of the folks here suggest Marc Dos Santos to be our next coach? Vancouver basically overhauled the roster in preseason. Should we assume their current players are the new coach's choices? I don't know what Marc Dos Santos' style was but it looks like Vancouver is built as a counter attacking team relying on athleticism. Kind of like DomBall. I am enjoying how we play today under Almeyda and I don't want the Vancouver style.

It may be just coincidence. I wonder if we used the game vs Real Valladolid, also a counter attacking team, as part of the preparation.

 

I wonder how much of Dos Santos' approach at Vancouver is based on the fact that their stadium has the hardest turf surface in MLS? The MLS refs I've spoken to attest to the fact that the surface is very hard and unforgiving. That would seem to favor the sort of strategy he is developing...

 

It's great that the Quakes are doing better at holding the ball and moving it around now, but there's nothing wrong with counter-attacking soccer especially when you have a player like Espinoza. The way Vako has been running with the ball at his feet, and the offensive-mindedness of ALL of our outside backs helps as well. That's actually been one of my favorite things to watch this season. The way we transition, other teams are toast. Just a little more clinical finishing and some of our game scores would start matching Atlanta 2018 and LAFC 2019 scorelines.

I finally got to watch multiple replays of the goals from this game. Interesting, since they all had some oddities.

I couldn't figure out why Wondo got an assist on the first goal because I never saw the "behind the goal" angle... which clearly shows that he intentionally directed the ball backwards to keep it out of the keeper's reach. It's like a reverse-Blanco move. Pretty impressive, even if some luck is attached to it. It's an excellent assist.

The second one would have been save of the year if Wondo hadn't cleaned up the mess. I wonder why JY jumped over the ball the way he did... was he trying to avoid a handball or offside call and intentionally missing? A slightly different jump and he essentially would have scored with his weiner... confusion from commentators understandable and ultimately Wondo goal seems correct from the replays.

On the third goal, you can see why Vancouver players might argue for a handball call in real time, but remembering to play the whistle is kid stuff. And they were wrong and the refs were right. I wouldn't want to be one of their defenders in team discussion when they review tape this week. Good to see Magnus get rewarded with a goal, he really has been stellar this season since things have been going well.

 

The good news for the Quakes compared to the 49ers is that Fisher isn't interested in being known for owning pro sports teams, at least not publicly. He seems perfectly happy letting his GMs and coaches take all the credit for their successes, and their successes are largely the result of their work, obviously. He may have inherited his wealth, but he actually seemed to learn some things about managing that wealth and venturing out on his own for other business opportunities.

Jed York is an actual moron whose parents gifted him a team he has no business running. I'm sure Harbaugh is an absolute jerk to deal with, but it's clear that he and his staff were doing everything that made those teams successful. I personally don't mind the 49ers being perpetually terrible as I am no longer interested in the NFL as a professional league, but if any team deserved to have its owners ousted for performance (or lack thereof), it's them.

Fisher's job in retaining Almeyda is somewhat capped by the types of opportunities that come Almeyda's way. If the Argentina or Mexico jobs come up and Almeyda is considered, he's leaving. I don't think any amount of money will persuade him to stay under those circumstances.

I also wonder whether Almeyda will want to take on another rebuild project if and when the Quakes start winning some stuff. I could see him bowing out after a few years if they manage to get an MLS Cup win or appearance to find another team to lift out of the ashes.

If I'm Fisher, and I'm watching my team win games against LA, and win away games at Vancouver in that convincing a fashion, I'm going to do quite a bit to keep the coach happy (or be easily persuaded by my GM, if that's how the process works). We know he's willing to keep coaches around for a while that he likes. Melvin has been with the A's for what seems like forever now, and he stuck with Beane for 20 years as a GM/President of Baseball Ops or whatever his title is.

So it's really going to come down to what Almeyda wants to do and what opportunities come up for him, which is what the team has basically already stated publicly.

 

Unbelievable soccer the team is playing.
Funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Quakes still score goals with a right-footed left mid running diagonally at the defense, while the center mid is more of a ball-winner and distributor. Paging Manny Lagos and Ronnie Ekelund!

 

I think the Quakes are playing the best soccer in MLS right now. If they could finish better, I would feel more confident they will get victories in their upcoming games at Atlanta and at LAFC.

 

I'm hoping the Rios signing applies the necessary pressure on all 3 of Hoesen, Wondo, and Rios himself to finish better.

I'm hoping Fierro will also apply pressure (and needed rest) for our midfielders.

These new signings aren't so good they automatically deserve to play 90 of every game but hopefully they are good enough to compete for that role.

Only wish we could have brought in a CB as I think we drop off a bit when Affolter plays.

 

Have we signed Rios? I hadn't seen anything official and nothing at all lately.

 

A lot of moving parts. He can’t officially sign until the Quakes open up an international slot. That’s why Kashia went back home so he can get his green card. They loaned out Ockford and also acquired TAM so you have to expect it’s a done deal once the green card goes through.

 

Not to mention Rios didn’t show up to preseason games with Racing.

 

And I have heard from an FO source that the signing is still in the works. My guess is we will hear something fairly soon.

 

Thank goodness, or Doyle would have signed any others.

 

As it was, he signed him twice.