Let's hope not. The Quakes should bring him back as a DP, and build their team around a DP trio of Vako, Espinoza, and a future forward signing or Magnus upgrade. Regarding Fierro, this quote from Almeyda suggests they're not counting on him to be one of their difference makers in the short term: “I know that he’s a player that is going to add [to this team]. I repeat, Carlos is not a savior. He’s going to be just another player on this team. Surely, at some point in time, he’s going to be a key player.”
MA said it would take 4 years to turn the team around. So ‘some point in time‘ is what, 2 or 3 weeks? Seriously though if he can sub in or replace an injured midfielder without dropping the quality that should be good enough progress for the remainder of this season. If he wins a starting spot that’ll be tremendous but I’m not counting on it.
Perhaps I am reading too much into this, but I think I see some Almeyda management technique here. Fierro was a strong youth player who later did not meet expectations. Here Matias is taking pressure off Fierro and essentially saying "I believe in you, and want you here for who you are, not for who someone else thinks you should be". If this can help Fierro adjust to this new family, and he is inspired by this coach's trust, maybe he can play to more of his potential just as Vako has.
its a great versatility signing. as mentioned before, Vako has Shea backing him up, but Erikson and Espinoza have been getting a lot of burn. Also, keep in mind, there is a strong chance this is Shea Salinas's last season barring signing for vet minimum. So, a needed signing with an eye on both the present and the future
With the Quakes luck, Espinoza will have a great year this season, come back as a DP and turn into a flop like Simon Dawkins did....
Dawkins was carrying some personal baggage, and as a player never was the give 100% every game kind of player. Maybe a coach like Almeyda could have turned him into that kind of a player. Even when he went back to England and ended up at Derby he seemed a bit disinterested when on the field, unless he had the ball. Kind of like a pre-Almeyda Vako.
I was actually thinking about this for a bit the other day. I think you're probably right in that his personal life was the biggest barrier to him becoming the player we hoped he'd be the second time around in San Jose. It's understandable given the circumstances, but I get the feeling that Kinnear and co. did not make that situation any easier for him. I hope it wasn't the case of a lack of managerial support that led to the end of his career, though it's hard not to wonder how things might have been different had the team had a master motivator like Almeyda at the helm during that time. It was a brilliant move for Almeyda not to put the pressure on Fierro. And thankfully, he has the team in a position where expectations can be lowered a bit. If this team was in the dumps, we'd all be hoping Fierro was ready to go and I'm sure we'd be demanding more of him and Almeyda. Right now, the team is playing about as well as it can, so Fierro just has to contribute and commit to the work ethic that the rest of the team has committed to.
In 2011 and 212 , Dawkins I thought was this great player but at the time, from his comments, he always seemed to want to go back to England. I think when he came back, even as a DP, he probably felt like he let himself down and was never the same player...
#BienvenidoFierro 🇲🇽Meet our newest signing @werofierro this Thursday, July 25 at @soccerkraze in Campbell!RSVP HERE: https://t.co/a4fisfPc9J pic.twitter.com/R3enokTKqF— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) July 23, 2019
From what I think I see happening with Almeyda in charge, he does not want a "savior" (re: his quote regarding Fierro), regardless of who it might be. So far, Almeyda has shown an ability to motivate his players to rise to whatever potential they personally possess. It would appear that he is not particularly interested in the single player taking a majority of responsibility on his shoulders (my take on some of his statements)...maybe someone will (let's face it, some players have the abilities to rise above the others.), but only in the context of leadership, not in the context of being THE star on the team. VAKO and Espinoza are already showing some of that philosophy, IMO. They play key roles while on the pitch, but so far I am not seeing any evidence of either of them taking on the "I am the star" attitude. Wondo has always been that guy (I would say that arguably, Almeyda might be about the best type of coach for a player like Wondo at this time of his career).
I wonder how much we are paying him. I know he needs to earn a spot on the team but things are looking crowed in the MF. I have a hard time believing we are paying him less than 500K which means he would be a very expensive bench player. I am concerned that Espinoza is lost as Fierro is the next one up. Not sure when Magnus are Vako are out of contact but someone needs to leave to make room for him. And don't forget we are also signing Rios as well to play in the front.,
Without giving away my "secret" source, I think that NedZ can confirm this... In discussion with some FO folks who would know, we are currently in negotiations with Espinoza to have him become a permanent transfer. No clue on terms and conditions but it is in discussion.
¡Feliz Cumpleaños @werofierro! 🎂🎉 #VamosSJ pic.twitter.com/4LcgopE6Yj— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) July 24, 2019
I think you’re on to the essence of the Almeyda system. Earn your minutes and the team alaways comes first. Look at what happened when Vako embraced his system - my wife tells me I gotta go...
While I was browsing through FIFA 19 player ratings to see what they rated Andres Rios, I happened to look up Fierro's stats. WOW His speed ranking would make him one of the FASTEST players in MLS. His sprint speed rating was as fast as Innocent and faster than Djalo. WHAT? Sprint speed rating: Fierro 91 Lima 79 Espinoza 74 Salinas 73 Hoesen 71 That's insane. If he really is that fast than teams will have to play a very low block to keep the Quakes from getting behind them. That will mean more space in the midfield and more time in possession and in the attack.
I think the Quakes better be ready to pull out the big checkbook if they are going to sign him. The signs that his club team, Villareal, value him pretty high start with his loan agreement. Historically MLS only takes loanee's with a buy clause. Apparently, Villareal wouldn't agree to that but the Quakes took the loan anyway. It is likely they wanted too high of a buy clause than the Quakes would agree to. And I'm sure Villareal are tracking MLS enough to know how well he is doing here. Buying Fierro and Rios should make the Quakes look a little less desperate to sign Espinoza. If the Quakes look desperate, the price only goes up!
Here are the sprint scores from some of the fastest guys I’ve seen in MLS: Ema Boateng (LA Galaxy) 88 Paul Arriola (D.C. United) 82 Darren Mattocks (Cincinnati) 91 Alberth Elis (Houston) 91 Yordy Reyna (Vancouver) 86 Now if Fierro is as fast as these guys than YOWZA. Just imagine what he could do coming off the bench in the last 10-15 minutes of a game where the opponent has to chase the game and leave themselves open to counter attacks.
Does having great speed mean all that much in soccer or for that matter, in Almeyda's system? I never really believed how having great speed turns you into a great player. Having skills, technical ability and quickness in certain situations or bursts helps but I don't think about soccer players having great speed when watching a game. Maybe overlapping defenders need to sprint back into position but that is also because they move up too much. I mean its not like being an NFL wide receiver or defensive back.
Anyone can learn great skill, technical ability and, to a lesser extent, quickness (Wondo isn't quick footed but quick of mind). You cannot learn to be much faster.
Running is a skill. You can learn to be faster than you currently are up to whatever your maximum ability. What do you think professional runners spend all their time doing?