Not to troll, but, even as a Fire fan, I have to say that you guys got screwed by the ref on that red card. That was nonsense. San Jose and the Fire played a tough match today and neither team deserved to lose. Good luck this season and kick the crap out of the Galaxy next week.
Good news: we are indeed scoring goals. Bad news: we can't keep a lead. What happened to our stellar defense of last year? We bungled loads of chances, in the box, within an inch of the goal---that's why we drew. Well, part of the reason I suppose. The Salinas red card was a joke. I am not sure about Campos. Ryan Johnson needs to know that when Salinas crosses the ball, he needs to atleast meet it and for goodness sakes, look up when you are double/triple teamed! Convey was WIDE open to your right and could have brought that goal home! Alvarez, Leitch, Elliot---all very good.
In defense of Campos, watch the highlights on MLS. He contributes nicely to 3 different goal scoring opportunities. Twice he controls balls and lays them off, once he runs down a ball and sends a nice cross to Johnson who cant quite get enough power on it. Im not saying that he was great, but he did contribute while he was out there in a positive manner. Next week I want to see the same starting lineup, although this time no changes at half.
He grabbed the ball on a throw in and handed it back over his shoulder, but not to the player that was closest to him. Its something you rarely see a player get a card for when they dont have any, to get a 2nd for it was shocking.
..and Riley.. god damnit he's been so good for the Sounders. I don't give a crap about losing ROB, our problem isn't scoring goals its keeping them from going in. Riley and Hernandez.. come back!!! And no, subbing in Denton is NOT the answer. As far as I could tell, Convey was doing just fine at LB, scored a goal in the second half from what I remember, but what do I know.
I think with the video evidence to exonerate him, they can petition US soccer to have to rescinded if they choose to.
"Earthquakes, Fire draw in back-and-forth match" (Saturday, 4/11/09) Arturo Alvarez (left) and Bobby Convey each scored a goal for the Quakes. (Getty Images) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
"Quakes let one slip away as Fire score late equalizer" (Saturday, 4/11/09) Bobby Convey had his best game as an Earthquake, but it wasn’t enough for the victory as Chicago came from behind to tie San Jose, 3-3. Photo: Joe Nuxoll, centerlinesoccer.com. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
i want to see that lineup also, except two changes if possible. Quincy for Compost Gray for Cochcrane
Salinas' first yellow was a marginal red. He was out of control on all the plays leading up to the near fight -- throwing himself around the field, being way too physical. I thought he was going to get a red for his swing at the Fire player who ran in after play had stopped, but the ref showed yellow to both. Salinas' second yellow was bull, of course. I would have rather seen Quincy come in instead of Weaver for the last sub. Weaver didn't do jack against a tired Fire defense -- you'd think someone with fresh legs could have stretched the defense but Weaver just doesn't have that ability. Quincy would have made them work. Still, if you'd told me before the match that we would score 3 against Chicago, I would have been very happy to hear it. I can't be too disappointed in a tie.
I understand what you're saying, and you're right. He did make some good plays. The problem was that he made enough glaring mistakes- in situations where he should have been able to create some real danger- that his routine decent plays were overshadowed. Maybe it seems unfair, but his gaffes today were really bad. I'm sure Yallop and Doyle have seen some evidence that the guy can play (better than this), and I sincerely hope it turns out to be true. By the way (and this is something I don't see many people mentioning), I don't watch the highlights on MLS.com. I watch the entire game replay (sometimes more than once) for free on Comcast on demand. For those who have been asking about the whole Salinas thing... on the first yellow, he lost his composure after a sequence of rough challenges against two different Fire players. I think he brought the whole thing on himself, as he was fouling them from behind. On the second yellow, he picked up the ball when it was a Fire throw, and as he turned to give it to them, one of their players knocked it out of his hands and over the advertising wall. The fourth official apparently didn't see what happened, and it was a bad call against us. On the other hand, the kid probably shouldn't have grabbed the ball in the first place.
A tie at home feels like a loss to me. On the bright side when I got home to fast forward through the highlights it was nice seeing the Earthquakes in HD.... Sunny day, playing one of the top teams in MLS, and it didn't look like the game was sold out...in our section (D), third home game in a row with a lot of empty seats...seems many didn't renew season tickets in that section. Sharks played in LA but the Oakland A's did have a home game, but I expected a bigger/louder crowd. I don't know enough about tactics to offer a suggestion, but the defense looked confused all 3 Chicago goals..... Not sure where to put him, but Convey needs to be on the field...he plays better each week. I sometimes think Ryan Johnson should be subbed for earlier...the enitre game guys are climbing all over his back and jamming elbows into his back and neck...thats got to take a toll on the guy after a while...Hopefully Quincy will be healthy for next week...and wish Jason Hernandez could return soon....Would Kelly Gray been a better choice than Eric Denton today ? Ultra's and Casbah allways fun hearing your chants.... Memo to Club America fans, Blanco doesn't play for them any more...Club America was not playing today at Buck Shaw...(actually part of me respects their dedication but I'm sick of seeing/listening to them....) Oh and the ref...well it could of been worse, I came home and watched the Chivas/Galaxy game...now that my friends was comedy... Please Lord let us crush the Galaxy next Saturday night.....
On the replay you see the ball going over the line where the "U" was on the boards, on a diagonal, so the ball was going to hit the boards and rebound further down the line. Salinas followed the ball over the line, picked it up, immediately turned without stopping and tossed the ball back (he was now near the "S" on the board) towards where the ball went out. So he did not hand it to the Chicago player, who was now past the point where the ball had gone out, but instead towards the original exit point. The Chicago player put out his arm and apparently hit the ball.
It was great to see a game where Bobby Convey really cared, played hard most of the time, and took some responsibility. We need this. I'm a bit worried about our fitness, with the exception of Garcia, Leitch, and Alvarez. Ryan Johnson is a liability still. He's either lost his toughness or is courage or he's still injured. But he's being timid and lazy and it was NOT being those things that made him look good last year. Compos has clearly been written off by the vast majority of posters, but he was more effective than Weaver. He made a lot of things happen and gave defenders trouble. His tendencies to behave like a prima donna are off-putting and his gaffs laughable at times, but he's still getting better with each subsequent game and these were his first really sustained MLS match-that-counts minutes. He'll try trickery and fail sometimes indefinitely. But some of his mistakes, I think he can learn his way out of if he can be as smart as he thinks he is. I'm not giving up on him yet, even i everybody else is. The problem of the Elliott - Corrales center midfield persists. While not conjoined twins exactly, they are yoked together like oxen at times. They both do okay as individuals....as a pairing, not working. The Elliott-Corrales problem reflects Yallop trying to play his best 11 players even if it means he plays some of them out of position. This isn't really working. Bobby Convey needs to play at LB, and work on improving his defensive positioning. And we have to find someone to complement Corrales or Elliott even if keeps one of the two of them sitting. Maybe we do need to give this 18 yo Brazillian true a-mid a chance since at the very least he probably won't have this problem of getting in each other's way that Elliott and Corrales have? In the first half, we played pretty effective counter attack because we bypassed our central midfield. We went up the wings or over the top. It worked pretty well. I don't know why Yallop went away from that at half-time. I think it cost us the game. We're not suited to defensive soccer. Joe got so flustered by the disaster that was the 2nd half line-up that he didn't make a save he makes routinely. MOTM to Nick Garcia for coping with Cochrane and Bobby Convey, who has a lot to relearn about the position of LB.
I haven't read the whole thread, and I didn't see the game. I watched the highlights on MLSnet. Anyway, I'm seeing a lot of the same comments, so I thought I'd chip in a remark or two. Sounds like Elliott was good, everyone seems to agree on that. Convey at left back seems like a good idea also. Corrales is still off his '08 form. Cochrane, not many comments, but where was he on Chitcago's first goal? I have to say, watching Chitcago's goals on replay, Garcia and Cochrane were on the same man far too often. Compos, we seem divided. RJ OK, but not effective as a lone forward. Duh. The PK for us wasn't soft. Their defender made no effort for the ball and just slammed Convey with his shoulder. It's a professional foul, a yellow anywhere on the field. In the box, that makes it a PK everytime. Most of us like Alvarez, but some of you are not convinced. I think he's been consistently our best player. I think Joe was screened on their third goal. Why do we keep getting screwed by the refs in our own stadium?! It's bad enough on the road, but at home? If our central defense blew, then maybe we should be thinking about putting Kelly back in there. I noticed that he wasn't even on the bench. That's a bad sign. Surely, Kelly is better in central defense, and passes better, than Cochrane? I kept most of your comments to show the difference in views. It seems that most fans thought Yallop's sub of Denton for Compos was a terrible, awful, rotten, no good move. I'd have to agree, even though I didn't see much of the game. If Convey was working out at left back, we should have left him there. Again, I think the PK was well deserved. Convey had the guy beat and the dude just fouled Bobby in the box. I think that Frank doesn't want Convey on defense because we need the offense and we're paying Bobby too much for him to be our left back. I think Joe was blocked on the third goal. The first one should never have even been a shot. Both of our central defenders were badly out of position. I agree that we have to get back to playing possession futbol. What's with all the long ball crap?! You know, Convey, or anyone else, would do better at central midfield if the other players would pass to him instead of hoofing it over his head. We need to improve in center midfield, and we need to do a better job of holding the ball, and we need to maintain our focus on defense. Yeah, we might not be very good this season. We look a lot like an expansion side that don't know each other well. go quakes - Mark
Is something wrong with Huckerby? Just wondering why Yallop keeps pulling him early every week when he is clearly your best player and makes things happen. Just trying to limit his minutes cause he's older? Hurt? Not fit?
He's been bothered for awhile by a hip (I think) injury. It's been mentioned quite a bit, so I wasn't all that surprised- especially since they seem so high on Salinas these days. However, it's not like Hucks was really looking uncomfortable before he was pulled. In fact, I thought he looked a little annoyed at being pulled (just the impression I got from his expressions). Maybe he was tired. Anyway, I'm not sure what to think. It may be a combination of all of the above. I think Yallop wants to get Salinas as much experience as he can (think back to last year when he used to pull ROB around the same point in every match and bring in Shea).
Others gave you more details but you really got to watch it. It's pretty amazing how bad a call it was. He really did nothing, other than try to quickly toss the ball to a Fire player. It even looks like he says "Opps, Sorry" when the other Fire player, that it appears he didn't see, bumps into him.
I thought Cochrane did really well. I think we have a problem with Garcia staying home. Once again he's left our outside back alone to cover half the field. I'd clearly put the first goal on his decision to be the fifth defender to go after the ball on the right side leaving BC alone to cover two on the left. Surprised he started. This is the best I've seen him. I think theres a golden nugget in there somewhere but it's covered with layers and layers of crap. I wonder what Franks expecations are. I had a really good view - Convey was hammered to the ground. Defenite PK. I like Chicago. Fun team to watch. McBride's goal was awsome and Blanco is Blanco. Great game, though I would have liked 3pts.
Yeah, that's the way I saw it. He was playing angry and out of control. Yeah, I'm dying to see Q back on the field. He was on the bench, but maybe Frank wants to give him another week of rest. I watched the PK a few times on the hilites, and the way I see it, the defender actually positions himself (w/o fouling IMO) just in-between Convey and the ball. Convey tries to get through him and goes down. I don't think it was a penalty frankly. As for the where to play Convey quandary, how about left mid and move Hucks to forward? I think Hucks would be a better forward than Convey, and Convey would be a better defender at LB than Hucks. Maybe it's time to forget about the twin target forwards thing and just flood the field with ballers (though I would continue to start RJ).