Very simple. I've watched Cal over the years, and the current edition has one big problem. They don't own the midfield. I can never tell if they play with 2 midfielders or 3 midfielders, it always seems like there is just one midfielder, and in fact one who doesn't move laterally across the pitch - he stays centrally shielding the cb's and is good in the air but doesn't initiate attacks like Seth Casipli used to do, with simple passes. I watched their PAC-12 network games and some home games this year and a few things stand out for me. First is how much time and space opposing team midfielders get against Cal. Next is how easy it is to get crosses in against Cal by creating a 3 v 2 on one side of the pitch (winger, fullback and a forward or midfielder who shifts wide, going against one winger and one fullback). Third is Cal players don't seem to move very much off the ball when they're attacking, so they soon run out of ideas and options, pass the ball back or force a pass or play a long ball and turn it over; conversely when they're defending they don't read player movements off the ball very well, leading to aforementioned 3 v 2's and wide-open midfield situations.
Although I've lost touch and I'm sure it happens everywhere but it seems to me it takes Cal 2-3 years to rebuild after a great season. The 2010 team made it to the quarterfinals I believe losing to Akron on pk's. They didn't do well 2013 team with Alec Sundly, Steve Birnbaum and Stefano Bonomo and were ranked highly. Then those guys graduated and they had to rebuild. UW played well yesterday and even though CAL was missing Klinsnann in goal, they seemed to fight hard on defense. I saw a lot of big guys in the back like Ugo Rebecchini and they seem to be fast but also lacked something offensively. This is the Kevin Grimes way of playing though and he seems pretty consistent with each passing year. Glad that he is complacent in his job but I'm not so sure that he would have lasted as long as he had if he were at another school.
I'd say the midfield issue is right on. Always felt they had a lot of guys that focus on attack and don't put in the work defensively. Also their holding mid is a tall converted CB and doesn't seem to cover a ton of ground. So there is often a lot of space, especially to counter. In general, I thought Cal's teams historically have had pretty good movement but I have only been able to get to watch a couple of games this year.
As opposed to many, at least he had a 6 year pro career after college. Good luck AJ! Head Injury Forces A.J. Soares Into Retirement
Big Nick Lima News: Hearing that Lima's homegrown case has been approved by MLS. Quakes now have the freedom to offer him a HG contract.— Quakes⚡️ (@QuakesForever) December 14, 2016
Very good player -- good ball skills, speed, hard-worker. When he realizes there are 10 more players on the field that he can work with, he'll be very successful; if he doesn't, he'll end up like Marvel Wynne, running into an impossible situation each time. It is interesting that the Quakes also drafted a right back (Colvey) last year out of Cal Poly, now on loan at Sacramento's USL team. Given that Wynne is 30, Lima or Colvey will have a good shot at starting soon. Lima originally played as a Forward at club level, so he could also get used as a speedy sub on the wing or up front. Other than his decision-making, Lima is ready to play at the next level. That one thing, though, could be a career limiter. I hope he does well.
If this wasn't accurate he almost assuredly would have been invited to the combine. Very few better prospects at outside back.
I watched quite a few Cal games and didn't notice his decision making either good or bad. One thing that I did notice was him getting beat from time to time. He's extremely good going forward, but the most important thing for a defender is being able to defend. Don't really focus too much on defenders so I'm not sure if it is truly an issue for him or I just happened to notice a couple uncharacteristic plays. If decision making is an issue, then being a wide player helps as the decisions are vastly simplified.
Grimes sure can identify talent, recruit and develop players. If only he could win games. Maybe he should head an MLS academy or coach a reserve team.
His record is way too inconsistent. I think CAL loves him because he brings in money with his soccer camps and is a perennial winner. The Bears I believe were ranked #1 just a few years ago and that looks good on paper...well for their soccer program anyway. Grimes also has job security staying in school whereas he may not in MLS.
Since Grimes became Cal head coach in 2000, 36 different head coaches have made the Final Four, including eight Western coaches a combined 16 times. Sasho Cirovski – 2002, 03, 04, 05, 08, 12, 13 Elmar Bolowich – 2001, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12 George Gelnovatch – 2006, 09, 13, 14 Jay Vidovich – 2006, 07, 08, 09 Brett Simon – 2000, 01, 02 Jerry Yeagley – 2000, 01, 03 Dave Masur – 2001, 03, 08 Jorge Salcedo – 2006, 11, 14 Jeremy Gunn – 2011, 15, 16 Schellas Hyndman – 2000, 05 Tim Vom Steeg – 2004, 06 Jeremy Fishbein – 2005, 13 Carlos Somoano – 2011, 16 Caleb Porter – 2009, 10 Ray Reid – 2000 Tom Fitzgerald – 2002 Bob Warming – 2002 Cam Rast – 2003 Mike Freitag – 2004 John Rennie – 2004 Trevor Adair – 2005 John Bluem – 2007 Oliver Weiss – 2007 Sam Koch – 2007 Ken Lolla – 2010 Steve Burns – 2010 Todd Yeagley – 2012 Brian Wiese – 2012 Bobby Clark - 2013 Pete Caringi – 2014 Craig Stewart – 2014 Mike Noonan – 2015 Jared Embick – 2015 Ian McIntyre - 2015 Bobby Muuss – 2016 Jamie Franks – 2016
Whether it matters or if it has anything to do with success on the field or not , Grimes doesn't usually recruit out of state. I remember a goalkeeper a few years ago who was from Arizona and this year there is one from Texas and one from Washington. All the rest though come from California and through a few different youth academies like the De Anza Force. You also have Ugo Rebecchini, an Italian player on this years roster. They have him only because they toured Italy a few years back and played a primavera youth side where they faced him and he had met former player Stefano Bonomo who speaks the language and in turn, Grimes told to contact him in Italian. I don't know if it's the university that wants this or Grimes himself. Unlike Vom Steeg who gets players from Africa (and I heard borderline professionals and older players) , Cal's players are mostly from California or at least on the west coast. Again, I'm not saying this is the reason on why they don't win but it could be a factor.
Recruiting players from California is strongly in his favor, and there is no shortage of talent there.
I must say though in speaking to Ugo and many other players who played at CAL, the facilities as well as the beautiful campus the university offers , it has to be among the best in the land. The stadium is old and decrepit but the fields are all in great shape and probably the best in the world. Ugo who played at Bologna and Roma's youth academies told me personal, very few professional clubs have the fields and training grounds that CAL offers. He also told me the weather is the best on earth. Considering I've been to other parts of the North America and Europe with their hot , humid brutal summer heat and the incredibly cold winters, I agree that Northern California has to be among the best in the world. If Cal did become a perennial winner, I don't see how any top player wouldn't relish the chance to go to school there.
Yet as nice as Cal's facilities are, they are probably at best in the middle of the conference. Stanford has a ton of land and even more money and the best facilities that money can buy. No accident US national team decided to train there. UCLA is also has fantastic facilities and is a favorite spot of top European teams. Not sure about UW, but my guess is their facilities are also very good. I also believe money is tighter at Cal which is probably a significant reason they choose to almost exclusively recruit much cheaper in state students. When you couple the significant disadvantage with the way teams are selected and the tournament is set up with Grimes lack of focus on defense needed to grind out wins on the road in bad weather, its not surprising Cal under performs given their talent level.
Yes I agree about UCLA and Stanford's facilities. Their campuses are also pretty incredible. I actually use to work for the guy who donated money to UW's indoor training facility. I remember their soccer team was very grateful and thanked him for his "gift". Even though he later welched on his promise. The problem with UW though is they play on turf and it's constantly raining. The weather is not nearly as nice as anywhere in California.
Tab loves Klinsmann. I’m cooler on him. Only kept one shutout for Cal last year. Gave up more than two goals seven (!) times. https://t.co/KnUKCKNZNL— Will Parchman (@WillParchman) February 9, 2017
Quakes elevate season expectations with win over Montreal Monterey County Herald HIGHLIGHTS: Best Moments From the Home Opener Cal rookie Nick Lima played his first professional game last night in MLS for the Quakes. He provided speed along the wing and should have had a goal that curved around the GK that just missed. Nice to finally see two Cal alums in Bingham and Lima on the field. I think that is a first for the Quakes coming from Berkley.
Nick Lima made the team of the week! 2017 Team of the Week (Wk 1): Lions and Quakes and Timbers, oh my ...
The success of Cal players away from Cal continues to underscore the point that Grimes is a great developer of talent who is awful at game-management and thus vastly underachieves on the field given the degree of talent he has.
I saw Cal at UCLA a couple times and Nick Lima was a real standout. I had a chat with his dad at halftime which kind of invested me personally in his success. I'm glad he had a strong showing in his debut. I think he still got a lot more to show.