Sources say Leitch will likely return....

How do we feel about this? I always thought that CL was an interim coach, but maybe we keep him on? He has the guys playing a more attractive style, that's for sure. We are also experiencing growing pains, and growing old pains. Next season will be a rebuilding year, no doubt about it. Bernardez will be gone, maybe Imperiale, Dawkins for sure will be gone, hopefully Sarkodie, maybe Affolter? He hasn't played much lately. We need to rebuild our defense for sure. And will Darwin come back? I bet not. Not sure who else might depart. Maybe Wondo? Maybe Wynne? So next season will be a transition season. We'll try to play more offensively, and we'll try the 3-5-2 again.

I'm alright with Leitch returning as Head Coach. Works for me. The main thing is that we're getting away from the Yallopian doldrums.

Go Quakes!!

- Mark
Apologies for not being around lately.

 

By the sounds of Jeff Carlisle on ESPNFC it sounds like Leitch will. Both Leitch and Fioranelli are positioning themselves as if they just need a bit more time with the help of an offseason to really implement their "new" style of play. To me Fioranelli just sounds like another Doyle or Kaval.

http://www.espnfc.us/club/san-jose-...s-ride-learning-curve-to-cusp-of-mls-playoffs

 

I'm kinda "meh", on CL, but truth be told as a mid-season replacement think he has acquitted himself well. The only glaring bump was that Chicago game at home. We are in position to make the playoffs. Sure we go blown out on the road, but zero points is zero point regardless of losing 1-0 or 5-1.

Who do we get that is instantly an upgrade? I wouldn't want to get someone from the MLS carousel, but I also don't want a foreign name that is completely unfamiliar with the style of play in MLS. I say give CL an off season to build up the way he wants it, and barring a massive stretch of losing next year, give him the year. Despite what many people think here, I believe our foundation is solid going into next season if we can get another DP attacker/creative mid in place of Simon, and some additional assistance in the back and minor tinkering with the wings. Keeping CL would give us some stability, along with roster stability, ostensibly would lead to better preparation going into next year.

If we Fire CL now, when do we get out new coach, if it is in typically Quakes fashion, we wouldn't have one named until March...

 

If we make the playoffs, playing younger and more attractive soccer, then keep him. If not, he's out.

 

"Multiple sources" are saying he's coming back and yet the club doesn't comment? Then who are the sources? I suppose "people close to the club".

Anyway, if he stays, it is not a surprise to me. I posted a week or so ago that we should not consider it a foregone conclusion that he's gone, and that was before the "big tie" in Vancouver. He is a Jesse guy, and if the team wins on Sunday, he'll actually have an equivalent PPG to Dom I think, and a better win percentage. And has been mentioned, he would have achieved it while incorporating younger players more and experimenting with formations / tactics. There's the awful road GD but other than that, it hasn't been too bad. And we have to assume he'd do better in the near future as he's on a fairly steep learning curve as a new head coach.

 

If he returns, I wonder if it is because he is viewed as "moldable" by Fioranelli. Perhaps Jesse would find it more difficult to put "his" stamp on a team coached by someone with a more refined coaching pedigree?

 

I think that's part of it. The less cynical way to think about it is that they are somewhat aligned philosophically. And sure, it seems likely that Leitch is much less set in his ways than Dom was.

 

We need to rethink our back line. You can't have an thin, aging, slow, and injured back line and survive in this humongous travel league.

I think if we can do that...then CL could be successful here.

 

I still hold out hope that both affolter and cummings come good next year. That would take a lot of pressure off acquisitions there, maybe one more to shore it up.

 

There is hope for cummings (are we using lower case personal pronouns in honor of ee cummings?) but I have not been very impressed with affolter. He has been pretty meh. I don't really see the upside.

 

I think Affolter will end up being a decent addition. His lack of playing time lately is not necessarily indicative of anything. Hyka was on the bench for ages, and it certainly doesn't seem to be because of performance reasons.

We have literally no data on Cummings in MLS, so that is anybody's guess. His questionable off the field decisions could end up making him a liability like Lenhart was, in which case he's not worth offering an extension to. Although I assume he had a multi year deal.

 

When you lose your starting spot to a 58-year old Victor Bernardez, then you are probably not all that good. Affolter is just kind of meh - tall, but not that strong in the air, average speed at best, not all that tough physically, and decent at distribution. I think his contract is around 100k, but that is probably for the 1/2 or so of the year that he has been with the team. If he would be a 200k cap hit for a full year of service, I'd say no. Better to develop a younger player in that spot. If he is a 100k player for the year, I think he'd be a reasonable backup and worth considering.

 

For his salary, he's a sure keeper. He'll make a great back-up across the back line.

 

Are you talking about Chris Leitch?

 

If his (if we're talking about Affolter) salary is around $100k I guess so, but if the $100k he's getting now is for half a season and it takes $200k to keep him, I'd say no.

 

I hadn't thought about the fact that was actually half his yearly salary...that explains why it's so low. Still, I'd say he a better value than say Quincy for roughly the same price.

 

Probably a better value than Quincy, but both would be not very good value IMO at that $200+k range. Anyway I suspect $100+k is for half a year because otherwise I'm not sure that someone would come over from Europe for that small amount.

 

I've been saying for years that we need to rebuild our backline. A number of you have argued with me, but now we're there. Now we have to rebuild our backline. Not a good position to be in. Any in league players we try to sign will demand higher salaries, and will be able to get them. Going to other leagues means paying a premium for talent. We need to draft young defenders two or three seasons ago and mold them into the kind of players we want. Now we're screwed.

So of the guys playing defense now, who do you really want to keep? Florian, Shea (who is clearly transitioning to defender), and um ... Some of you like Affolter and some do not. Most of you don't like Imperiale. Bernardez will retire or get moved upstairs (scouting?). Wynne isn't coming back. Pelosi is still on the mend and may never play for us. Cato has fallen off the radar and I think most us don't want him to return. Sarkodie blows. What about the mighty Kip?! Will Kip start for us next season? Will Cummings be able to play? What about Lima? Surely Lima will be a lock down starter at right back?

That's it for the defenders on our roster, so we're going to need to sign some. Let's say that Florian, Shea, and Lima are three of our four starting defenders next season ... oh wait! Are we going to play three in the back? In which case ... Florian, Affolter, and Imperiale? No you don't like Imperiale. So Florian, Affolter and a new guy? And then in reserve ...

And if we do that, we play five in the middle, with Shea and Lima or Lima and Kip on the wing spots, with Hyka and Vako inside, and TT in the a-mid spot and now we don't have a d-mid?

We have some thorny problems ahead. A starting striker tandem of Marco and Danny sounds pretty good to me though, and that means that Wondo either retires or becomes a super-sub, OR takes over as president of USSF replacing Sunil Sucking Gulati!!! Now that sounds good!!!

Go Quakes!!
Stay Columbus!!

- Mark

 

Well, except that the team basically did attempt to rebuild the backline, but for one reason or another, the players selected aren't playing.

Wynne's condition was unforseen, and he likely would have been starting alongside Cummings, who injured himself prior to the season starting. That would have left Bernardez and Imperiale as backups for this year.

Colvey has been on the team, and they selected Lima, both of whom have struggled to get playing time for reasons we can really speculate about. That would have left Cato and Sarkodie as backups for this year (after Francis was traded).

They also acquired Jungwirth as a role player, then got Affolter in the midseason to help out. So your assumption that the team didn't rebuild isn't exactly correct. Maybe the rebuild was a failure, but it is not true to say they didn't sign people to take over the roles of the aging players. It doesn't look great for the remainder of this year, but so what? They have an entire offseason to draft more and sign players.

The turnover from this year to next is going to be big, I would wager, so whatever issues you are seeing now will probably not be issues for long.

 

Interesting quote from Wondo:

"The locker room, just the way everything happened, was not a settled or unified place. It was definitely tough, and he has done a great job of righting the ship and deciding how we want to play and continue going forward.”

I'm going to assume that Dom getting fired midseason made things "unsettled" or not unified, but it is a curious statement.

 

Interesting info. I wondered what exactly happened after the Chicago debacle. Did the vets speak up and ask to be given the opportunity to put the best 11 on the field. Did they essentially force the decision, or did Leitch come up with the idea on his own. Imo, the answer to that question goes a long way in determining how valuable Leitch is going forward. Does he have enough presence and credibility to bring the team together or is the new found spirit in the team due to the players telling him what needed to be done.