I might have you beat in the skepticism department. I see very little reason for optimism. its always the same pushback, they're spending more money, the newbies need more time...anyway, I hope they "get it right"...unfortunately, it looks to me like we're (incredibly) getting worse under the latest crop of president/GM/coach...but if you see this as evolving, I'm probably not going to change your mind.
Change my mind? I was among the first to notice the team does not play cohesively (back when the silly xG data said the loss to NYCFC was merely unlucky), and I scooped the Mercury News by several weeks in saying that the season was already lost. I have watched a lot of sports in my lifetime, and followed a lot of very woeful teams, many much worse than the current edition of the Quakes. Things get better.
Survey results right before the Cubs won their first World Series in over a century: "A Yahoo Sports poll conducted by YouGov surveyed 208 fans who identified themselves as a 'diehard Cubs fan.' The survey found 93 percent of those fans would like to see an end to the team's curse that has seen the Cubs go 108 years since their last World Series championship. "Yet the survey also showed 86 percent of Cubs fans 'find camaraderie in losing.' Also, one in four Cubs fans 'will miss their identity of losing if they win the World Series.' "Finally, here's the survey shocker: 3 percent of diehard Cubs fans in the survey said they don’t want to see the team win a World Series in their lifetime." https://sports.yahoo.com/news/survey-shows-cubs-fans-might-195413877.html
Well said, and you need to attend the viewing this Saturday! I assume as STH you have your own pass, but if not, then please join me! For those not going, What questions should I ask on your behalf? Must be short and to the point, please.
I am sure JazzyJ will want to know Tommy's status, if he was sick, what was he sick of, his favorite color, who he took to the prom...........
Answers inline above. My questions: - Some years back Johnny Moore answered the question "What is Earthquakes soccer" in some detail, including style of play. Can we define a general style of play for the club so that we can acquire and develop players to fit that style, and so that fans can sense that the club has a durable identity? - Can we commit to, this season, rotating young players into the lineup, i.e. make a commitment to youth? This will have a number of benefits. 1) engage and energize the young players so that they don't feel like they are just roster filler, 2) start to develop a strong domestic core upon which we can build for several years, 3) energize the fan base and give them hope for the team's future.
thanks for the invite and it would be great to meet you and be a part of this conversation but unfortunately I'm committed (firmly apparently) to domestic duties this weekend. and I mentioned that I had season tix, gave them up year before last. my questions would be along the lines of: now that we have all these new pieces in place (president, GM, coach, DP) why is it that we are actually getting worse instead of better? have we given up on this season or, are there significant steps we can take to salvage what's left of this season? what do you think it will take to make this team competitive? what can you say to fans who have endured 10 years of poor soccer (minus fluke season '12) to give them hope that we intend to be better. how important is winning championships to this organization and is that part of our vision for the future and what do you think it will take for us to be competitive with leagues' top teams? who should be accountable when team is sitting in last place? why does there seem to be no sense of urgency to get better? why is communication with fans so poor? how can we shed our entrenched small team status? will we ever sign a DP that anyone has ever heard of? when will we stop making excuses for our teams performance and actually grab the bull by the horns and build a contender. don't you think San Jose fans deserve better? for starters.
The questions I intend to ask are similar to Jazzy's: - Last year Jesse said his vision for the Club was to train players to see the field so they would have cognitive dominance and impose their play on other teams. He brought in new players and hired a new coach who is teaching a new system to the team. Do our current players have the soccer vision, the technical ability, and the adaptability to implement that system at the necessary speed of play? Does our record indicate a mismatch of expectations?
Expectation: "cognitive dominance" Reality: "youth soccer" I'd say we missed a little bit to meet expectations - so far.
I think Flo ("youth soccer"), Magnus, Vako, Hoesen, and Hyka were imports to the club who already have the "soccer vision", technical ability and expectations that other "men's soccer" players would already have the same ability. (I'd add that Wondo also has "soccer vision" because he is known for understanding and finding the "right" place to be). My question stems from the old adage that you should adapt your systems to the players you have rather than force "square" players into a system's "round" holes. If our expectations are off is that because it just takes time for the entire roster to smoothly coordinate on the field together, is it because the coach or GM have unrealistic ideas about this roster or about MLS, or is it because these particular players may be talented but don't mesh well? They look like "youth learners" who are slowly improving game-by-game but are going through the motions as they think about them. "Men's game" players can operate at full speed because they have mastered the awareness and technical skills and should be able to adjust to new systems.
I don't think we should assume that Jesse's vision translates thru Stahre. Stahre is his own guy - you can see that pretty clearly in their 1 on 1 interview. If Jesse says something Stahre thinks is stupid he will say it (he called one of Jesse's questions to him a stupid question). It is entirely possible that Stahre thinks the "cognitive dominance" thing is just management speak BS. And he is just coaching his defend + direct system. I haven't seen anything all that complex about what Stahre is trying to do. Either they high press or low press and when they win the ball back he wants a quick counter. The fundamental problem is that the Quakes are not really built to be a direct / quick counter team. He is slowly coming around to that realization and starting to allow for a little more possession. But he needs to keep the team headed in that direction and start to incorporate more of the technical possession players into the lineup. It is just painful to have to sit here and watch loss after loss while he slowly figures it out.
n the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that I have been a Jesse partisan since the first time I spoke to him and read about his ideas. So I may be biased in his direction in these discussions. That being said, I think your analysis has been consistent and well-considered.
In general I still support Jesse, but he made some significant missteps in the offseason IMO, and that starts with hiring Stahre. I'm not sure that the "cognitive dominance" thing is not a good thing, but I'd also want him to define the club's style of play. I'm not sure I can get behind a team whose style of play is "cognitively dominant" - if I'd be able to go to the games and actually see that in action. I just find it hard to believe that you're going to build a team that is so much smarter than the other teams that you are going to "dominate" them.
Yes, the Stahre hiring troubled me as well. I also wondered at the time about the enthusiastic re-signing of Godoy, though several Quakes players have expressed admiration for his talent.
Godoy is a highly talented player. But his head is not in the game. I don't know how you blame the GM for that. The coach can be blamed for not sitting him, but that presupposes he has another option on the bench.
We are indeed a small team: https://mlsplayers.org/resources/salary-guide Only one player makes a $1Million+ salary (Vako). Vako makes more than Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron... Magnus makes nothing (about 300K), yet we paid a substantial transfer fee for him. Interesting, I wonder if he is a DP then?
I thought folks were claiming Magnus was a big $2 million/year signing. $300k...that's our big off season pick up? what is the next size down after small team because I'm pretty sure we're in that territory now. minute? I'm going to need a smaller font.
believe me, it pains me to have been so right about our incompetent, miserly, ambitionless ownership situation for so long. there is no joy for me in having forecast precisely where this thing was going. the sooner we all realize our only hope is that this franchise gets sold to someone who cares about building a team our community can be proud of, the better. Fisher out! Sell this team already!
I think his transfer fee was something like $1.4 mil. His salary is $400k I believe. Well you don't usually "round" $399,999.96 to $300k, I'll put it that way.
More questions I'll write down for Jesse: - Last year we had two coaches, two systems of play, and each coach was given half a season. Quincy said he believes the team has the talent to be a winning team and given enough time they will be a winning team. However, he does not know if they will be given that time. How much time do this year's players and coach have, and what metrics will you use to make that determination? - Last year Jesse said his vision for the Club was to train players to see the field, achieve cognitive dominance and impose their play on other teams. What are our current players lacking? “Seeing the field” and awareness? Technical ability? Operating as a team? Speed of play? Communication? Adapting to circumstances?