Caption: "Having mixed feelings about sharing this holy land. ⚽️/ ⚾️ #GetOffMyLawn" #NYCvSJ #MLS (https://t.co/GIf5daArzj) pic.twitter.com/5PyYHmT3tR— Empty Seats Galore (@EmptySeatsPics) September 14, 2019
While post-1998 renovation Spartan Stadium was still sadly only 106 x 68 yards within-the-lines (pretty much the same as today's embarrassingly small NYCFC playing field) , our Golden Age teams were so unbelievably stacked with talent that they won there despite Spartan's pinball alley. After all, pinball alley sure didn't help our pre-Golden Age teams much there. Still, even back then I felt sorry for our players who were forced to play on it and I'd never wish having to endure playing on and/or watching a game played on such a shamefully-small field even on my worst enemies, whether in Spartan Stadium or Yankee Stadium or anywhere else. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
True. You're likely referring to Spartan Stadium. After Buck Shaw Stadium was renovated just prior to the San Jose Earthquakes' post-Golden Age return in 2008, it absolutely could accommodate the ideal 75 yards x 120 yards within-the-lines (i.e. corner flag to corner flag), just like Avaya Stadium could as was seen with the USMNT visits and most of the USWNT visits, which made Frank Yallop's and Dominic Kinnear's post-Golden Age choices to keep the playing fields inexplicably small even when they weren't physically forced to like at Spartan Stadium that much more bizarre and unfortunate (though Yallop thankfully relented near the end of his tenure which Mark Watson stayed with and thankfully Chris Leitch widened the playing field again post-Kinnear which has remained to this day). Here were the within-the-lines home soccer playing field sizes toward the ideal 75 x 120 yards the team played on over the years: Spartan Stadium (pre-1998 renovation): I don't remember, but it obviously must've been less than 68 x 106 yards Spartan Stadium (1998 - present): 68 x 106 yards Buck Shaw Stadium (2008 - 2009): 71 x 110 yards (except for the last few home games each season when it was lengthened to 71 x 115 yards) Buck Shaw Stadium (2010): 72 x 115 yards Buck Shaw Stadium (2011 - 2014): 74 x 115 yards Avaya Stadium (2015 - mid-2017): 72 x 115 yards Avaya Stadium (Mid-2017 - present): 74 x 115 yards GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
More likely one would have to go back to the Spartan Stadium years....something like 68.5 yards (just enough past 68 yards to claim 70) x 106 (if i remember, the goal line for Quakes game was about 2.5 or 3 yards past the Spartan football goal lines on each end. It really was a postage stamp. That place was a legit home field advantage. After the late 90s renovation, it was supposed to be 70 yards wide to qualify as a FIFA approved pitch for the 1999 Women's World Cup games.
And that's where Peter Bridgwater somewhat "cheated" in that 1998 renovation. While soccer field dimensions are typically given by playing field (i.e. corner flag to corner flag), the renovation instead knocked out the first two rows of the west side to give the total field (i.e. wall to wall) a 70 yard width, which also explains the dangerously close proximity of the walls to the sidelines. In an interview from around that time, Bridgwater explained that he could've instead chosen to renovate by knocking out a row or two from both the west and east sides and keep the stadium row symmetry, but that it would've taken longer and would've forced the FO to rent out Stanford Stadium for more home games than the first three that it did in 1998. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
I’m watching the game late. Just saw the 1st NYCFC goal at 40:10 of the 1st half. We were dominating this game until the play got sloppy around ~ 35:00 of the 1st half. The midfielders were trying to break out quickly but NYCFC were breaking up the flow well; resulting in counters with space thru the middle. That is what happens when midfielders lose the ball on a narrow pitch. the bone headed throw in by our LFB & RFB’s missed clearance were just the icing on the cake. I was hoping Almeyda would play for a tie on the road. Defend mid block with compact defensive lines & be hard to break down; but he chose to play an open & entertaining style. IMO we should have earned 1 point. I think Almeyda made a huge tactical mistake & we’ll be punished in the end! Hope I’m wrong as Mark would say.
By the looks of it, Spartan Stadium after 1998 actually looked bigger than Yankee Stadium. I’m surprised Garber as well as the rest of the league hasn’t (by now) put more pressure on NYCFC to have the team build their own park. He did that with other teams entering the league but it seems that Garber wanted NY in MLS at all costs didn't care about the facility. It seems some rules apply for some but not for others.
Tough stretch, we knew it would be tough. Everyone needs to bear down. going to be a crazy end to the season.
New York worked really hard to challenge every ball on the small field the whole game. I don’t know if I would call them more talented but surely they knew what to do on that field and in the chaos it created. It was kind of like some of the Buck Shaw games. It threw us off for the most part in the first half and it looked like pinball machine in fast pace. We tried to build up patiently but it was very congested. We had problems breaking down stacked defense in previous games and doing so on a tight field was even more difficult. It would help to have an Alan Gordon kind of center forward in this kind games when we are forced to go wide. Right now we can only do low cross like the Wondo goal. It will be good to have some options so we are not as predictable. Not a bad performance and we did ok as we did in some recent games. But it was just not good enough. To be a true contender, we need more quality. Playoff or not, we will need some upgrades to build on this year’s transformation and take it to the next level.
Much of the issue at Yankee Stadium is how that pitch is shoe horned into the baseball outfield (mostly). To me, it looks like this season they have managed to get the advertising placards placed in such a way to mitigate the some of the weirdness of the pitch being at odd angles to virtually everything else that is visible. In the highlight video (I did not see the game on TV), the oddness of the pitch location didn't so obvious (to me anyway). The difference of width however, was uncomfortable. I would hate to be watching from a seat behind the baseball home plate....if you notice, the pitcher's mound is a few yards to to camera side from the touchline. That pitch is a long way from what would be considered by many as the best seats for baseball. From that seating position, the far touchline is about 400 feet away. Many soccer teams that use baseball stadiums build their soccer field along either the third base or first base lines. That always leaves all of the baseball infield in play. Back in the NASL days, the didn't even bother to cover the dirt. The only thing they did was take out the pitcher's mound. That configuration usually gives the largest pitch area.
Watched only the first half. Sadly, a decent start of the game was lost half way through the the first half with poor passing and decision making. With about 15 minutes left, the Quakes seemed to lose their focus and boom - two goals given up. TT, Yuell, and Lopez had really poor games. Judson, Flo, Vako, and Wondo were fine. Espinoza couldn't get going with the lack of room. The good news is that we weren't played off the field. The results are just lack of focus at key moments. For those calling for Lima, not sure his game would have been any better - although he wouldn't have thrown the ball to the other team so easily...
Was out of town and couldn't watch. Was excited to watch it tonight but ESPN+ blacks it out (even after I went through a VPN based in New York -- they must have wised up and blacked my local market out based on my credit card billing address) and NBC has it nowhere to be found on their replay offerings. If NBC isn't even showing the replay, why the hell is blacked out? Am I missing something here? Was anyone else able to find a replay?
Watched the 15 minute highlights though. Wondo's goal showed real skill. He put a double move on that defender right before Vako passed it that Julio Jones could appreciate -- so savvy in the box. First goal was an absolute calamity of errors. TT needed to clear that ball Vega saved, but WTF was Lopez doing on that throw in? Even worse, the whole team seemed to stop playing, but Lopez especially is at fault because he didn't start full on sprinting back after his stupid throw-in until it was too late. Inexcusable from anyone in my opinion, but especially a 19 year old who hasn't done anything in their career yet and who's position is defender. I'd rip the head off my rec league teammates for that kind of shit effort after a mistake they caused -- I hope Almeyda gave him the hairdryer treatment. Wow and on the second goal it sure seemed Lopez could have given more effort or even fouled the guy who passed the ball to Mitrita. If we aren't going to buy Zlatan-caliber players, all 11 on the field need to give 100% work rate every game. Lack of skill is one thing, lack of effort is inexcusable. I paused each time I wanted to write something, so I'm glad to see Almeyda yanked Lopez at the half. Better learn quick not to pull that crap anymore, kid. Hell of a ball from Yuell on that ball where it looked like we should have got a penalty. I didn't get to see it in SloMO though -- was it a clean tackle? Both teams could have scored a few more it seems. We may not make the playoffs if this keeps up.
Impossible to tell from what they showed during the broadcast, and I've not been able to find a video that really allows one to see (although, if you're talking about Rimando tackling the ball from Vako, that occurred outside the penalty area, so would not have resulted in a PK either way).
Quakes are the New Orleans Saints of MLS. Officials screw us game after game, so it's hard to keep track of which eff-up is which.
Hmm, I'm trying to remember a potential penalty situation in the shittyYankees game, but nothing is coming to mind.
The pitches in seattle and portlandia are both short and narrow, and they have shitty BogusTurf, and seattle's pitch is crowned. It's a freaking disgrace! And yeah, clearly the rules don't apply to all teams equally, which is also shit. GO Quakes!! - Mark
Yup. Given the transparently duplicitous manner in which San Jose fans have been screwed by MLS over the years (starting with the Luis Hernandez situation, through the AEG-inspired move to the utterly inadequate Robertson stadium in Houston - ostensibly because of inability to secure a stadium deal in San Jose, through being forced to accept an almost unrelieved decade of sub-par soccer by a disengaged ownership) I think it's almost miraculous that the Earthquakes have any fans at all left. The almost comical level of favoritism given NY and LA's teams - along with Garber's 'flavor of the month' selections (e.g. Toronto, Atlanta, et al) should logically have turned off the majority of potential MLS fans in most MLS cities years ago. The fact that a lot of us are still here is a monument to either our devotion or masochism...
Let’s face it - there are only about 300 true Quakes fans, and the rest of us can’t find anything better to do
In San Jose, Avaya is the place to be . . . -- San Jose Ultras I can't conceive anything better to do than go to a Quakes game, so I guess I'm not a true fan.