The Official Cade Cowell thread

Can't believe how long a contract it is, very nice. I hope we win big with him, but also hope he's eventually on to bigger things (for a nice transfer fee).

 

He seems driven like Wondo was.

I hope his contract draws the interest of top players in the area and inspires them to want to join the academy and possibly earn their own contracts. We hear talk all the time about all the talent in the area. Let’s get that talent on the field for the San Jose Earthquakes.

 

I had the most god awful, but realistic dream that we sent this guy to Charlotte for 2.2 million. I would have retired my fandom. Ptsd level stuff. Says a lot about what the quakes have done psychologically to me I guess lol

 

Sure would have been nice to actually see some of this...

Cade Cowell closes out preseason with four goals and four assists in four games AT LWB most of the time. #Quakes74 #USMNT #MLS (📸Erik Lira) pic.twitter.com/FWfOf3EK95

— Favian Renkel (@FavianRenkel) February 18, 2022

 

One of the things I didn’t like about MA is all the bullshit. All practices and pre-season matches behind closed doors, always being the last out of the locker room, etc. That stuff is silly and unnecessary.

 

A very good preseason but against inferior competition. We saw Cade play wide plenty last year against MLS teams and he often struggled. I don’t anticipate that all those problems are magically solved so I would pump the brakes on the hype. We should of course expect that be continues to improve.

 

I will say that Cade did well in preseason last year against similar competition and then carried that confidence into a good early season start. It won’t surprise me if he starts out hot again. Hopefully he doesn’t feel pressure because of the new contract and just has fun playing.

 

I actually kind of like that he’s playing wingback because he’s going to have to defend more. With his speed and strength he has the potential to defend pretty well. And it doesn’t come with the pressure to score goals. At the same time you know he’s going to dangerous when he attacks.

There were a few games last year where he was defending deeper and I thought they were some of his better games. It allows him to get in the game in a way where’s he not just receiving the ball on the wing on offense with 2 defenders on him, feeling like he needs to do it all himself. If he wins it on defense, a simple pass to start a counter and he can rejoin the attack later.

 

The clips that were shared made the friendlies look like training sessions where someone kept score. One of the goals looked like it could have been staged, like they were shooting a scene from Goal the Dream Begins. I don't feel like I missed much.

My question is whether these friendlies are actually preparing us for full speed regular season games?

 

Cade as a wingback is interesting...much like an overlapping fullback...you're never marked going up field...always a positive overload situation.

But what's up with Lopez? I don't think I haven't seen his name in any of the preseason line ups. Are we really going to play Cade over Lopez at LWB... i don't think so...I still think it will be Lopez at LWB with Cade as a left flank attacker in a 3-4-3....or you could call it a 3-5-2 if Chofis drops off the high right flank and tucks into the right channel...or under Cade and Jebo as forwards.

 

I used to like it when they opened the stadium for a preseason game. Not because the soccer was any good but only because it was the first chance to get back in the stadium. I mean many of us watch premier league during the MLS offseason and so we get acclimated to that level of soccer - then to go from that to watching a preseason game against Reno or whoever just isn't great soccer.

 

Good question. And what about Yueill? He's been playing CB, but what happens when Nathan is in the lineup? Who goes out? Does Yueill take Remedi's spot? What about Gregus when Miro is ready?

I think the fact of the matter is that no matter how you slice it, there are going to be some good players on the bench. I'm hoping this year Almeyda really has a set rotation, and he uses it. For example I can see Lopez starting and Cade coming in at 70', especially if you need a goal.

 

We used to love going to Sacramento for pre-season matches. At the time, all our kids were going to school there and we would make a fun weekend out of it. Also enjoyed the LAG game at Cashman Field in Vegas. First time we saw Tommy & Lima play.

 

https://theathletic.com/3133983/202...st-in-gruezo-cowell-contract-details-notebook

I think this makes Cade one of the highest paid players on the team. Just behind Espinoza, Chofis, and probably Jebo.

 

Monteiro is probably 2nd or 1st. Grey Goose and Calvo are also likely in the same $750k ballpark, and possibly also Nathan. So he’s in there somewhere in the 2nd tier with Jebo, Chofis, Nathan, Grey Goose, and Calvo. And Yueill is right up there too at ~650k.

Based on production Benji is super-underpaid right now ($69k??) He was more productive than Cade last year per minute, and IMO outplayed him towards the end of the year. I’m sure Leitch made it clear that if he continues playing well he’ll get a big fat raise, probably next year, assuming he signed initially for 2.

 

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how much all these guys are getting paid when the data comes out in a couple months.

 

If Benji continues to produce like he did the last third of last season then, I'm afraid, he's off to Europe.

 

Not sure, I think he's going to fall under the radar. No one's talking about him this preseason (except maybe me ) - it's all Cade Cade Cade, and he doesn't seem to be figuring in the lineups. I guess he's going to have to prove his worth all over again. Right now I think his goal is to establish himself as an MLS player. He really only had 1/3 of a season last year. I'm pretty bullish on him - I hope he gets some decent playing time.

 

@falvo is clearly contagious! Better mask up!

 

I share Falvo's enthusiasm for Benji, I think he might be poised for a nice breakout year.

 

I don't recall what I posted about Benji but I do think he is ready to step it up.

Neither he or anyone else for that matter, will ever be able to replace Wondo but if he plays like a Lenny or Gordo, I'd be happy.

 

Something about his salary?

 

Innocent's, Vega's or Rios’ salary?

 

Every player's salary.