He might be interested in coming here because of il Bruce. If we could get him, that would be good. @xbhaskarx thanks for the X links. I have deactivated my account over there so I wouldn’t see these posts on my own. Go Quakesfans!!
1865132948397154432 is not a valid tweet id 1865133310634266740 is not a valid tweet id the Quakes are not quite Gladbach...
Vasquez is good but the guy I really wish the Quakes could snag is Leo Campana from Inter Miami. Miami is probably not going to want to give him up though, especially since Suarez is on his last legs, and getting more and more last legs all the time. In their MLS careers, Campana scores every 162 minutes, Vasquez every 218 minutes. Jebo every 228 minutes.
At 26, this is probably about the.. last opportunity to get to Europe in his career. However, if he wants a chance at the WC in 2026, he will need to be playing, not sitting on the bench somewhere. So, it will be a fine balance.
Given he's like third string at Monterey I'm pretty sure the top Euro leagues are out as an option. The point is Cincy chose to not sell him to Gladbach because they were trying to win a trophy (which they did)... now instead of Gladbach he could be going (via a short stay in Mexico) from the Supporters Shield winners to the wooden spoon winners lol 1865123394766660052 is not a valid tweet id
This is going to be a recruiting problem for us, and has been for the last several years. Until we start winning and show that we want to win, we're going to continue to shop in the bargain bin and for guys on the bubble. What champion would want to come here? (There actually, because I'm not in San José.) We have to show serious improvement this season and we have to look like we have a commitment to win, from the owner down to the equipment guys. Otherwise, it's going to even harder next year and the years after. Go Quakesfans!!
Yeah and not sure how much Il Bruce helps us with recruiting. I'd think somewhat - a proven winner, though I don't think he has any sway over the USMNT at this point.
Why? Because Hercules Nomez says it's a step down? Who wouldn't want to live in San Jose after living in Cincinnati and Monterrey? And, yeah, the Quakes were last place -- last year -- but they have the winningest coach in MLS history at the helm now. Not like Vazquez is Lionel Messi, anyway. He should be so fortunate to grace our bench.
Herculez Gomez has been condescending about the Quakes for quite a while, starting with the “see you in Houston” comment after the USOC game in 2004 or 2005, and continuing with disparaging remarks as a “pundit”.
Players always want to play for successful teams. First, it's way more fun. Second, you get paid for championships, and making deep runs into the playoffs. Third, if you aspire to move up to a more prestigious league, it's easier to take that step from a winner. Fourth, it's easier to achieve your personal bonuses if the team around you is good. Having Bruce should be a help in recruiting. And while he may not have any direction connections to the Men's Nats, I'd be willing to bet that there's a good chance the Nats coaches will listen to him. Or at least players might rationally believe so. The thing that will help us the most in recruiting good players is a winning record and a willingness to pay the freight for those players. We have shown neither of those things in recent times. Go Quakesfans!!
I’ve always felt that I wanted the kinds of players who didn’t think we’d be a losing side if we signed them.
Definitely agree we need a finisher, but I'd rather see Hernan way up high either wide or central...really going after defenders..he is one of our best finishers, he's classy around the box. I'm in the minority, but for me he isn't all that as a creator, especially on our side of the midline. I know after the absolute dearth of anybody remotely resembling a true 10 in SJ, we should be grateful, but when I think of a creator, I prefer a guy who's head is always up and passes first instead of the head down dribble first and then pass...hoping to get enough separation from his defender. What I saw from Hernan last season was some insane moments of skill and finishing and equal or more moments of complete boneheaded turnovers in bad spots of the field...decision making well below his technical skillset. I think Ian had a comment about this after a series of games where he was losing the ball a lot...something to the effect of I'd rather he got himself higher up field, instead of trying to beat the entire team from his own 35 yard line. Puig to me is a stone cold 10...he can drop a dime on someone or beat someone by dribbling, but he always makes the right read and quick decision and advances the attack nearly 100% of the time... you never see him getting stripped of the ball trying to do too much into pressure defense...that is Hernan's achilles heal...Hernan has a different style, the legato drag back style...he puts his head down and wants to turn a guy inside out...not a creator style that advances the attack at a high enough rate of consistency...and really dangerous for turnover/counters. Imo, we greatly overspent for Hernan for that 10 role, but He could light it up if played as a pure attacker. I'm waiting to see how Bruce sees his role...and what he will do if he sees too many dribbling induced turnovers... gotta gut feeling he'll play him higher or in a free role to create havoc in the attacking third i think Bruce realizes Espinoza and Lopez are his only danger men...he'll find a way to get them closer to goal...the other thing to consider is if we can actually bring in 1-2 more truly savvy players for hernan and Espinoza to play with...so teams can't simply double or triple Espinoza and Hernan...we'll see if Arena can squeeze Fish for a couple more bonafide quality players...a true 9 and for me a sharper better decision making 10. I don't see that coming this next season though...maybe a 9...I'm really curious to see how things play out for the Bruce/Hernan chemistry and how Bruce feels about Hernan soaking up a big portion of his roster budget.
Re: Vasquez...imo, he wants a club that pretty much guarantees him major minutes...that's not Europe...but would be the Quakes...it's all about playing time.
Vazquez to the Quakes talk is about 40-45 minutes in... Tom Bogert says - Quakes are interested in Vazquez - Monterrey are not looking to move him, he would cost around what they paid so ~$8 million - Obviously Vazquez would take up a DP slot and the Quakes are currently using all three, so Gruezo would be leaving if he can't be bought down (Bogert didn't know but I don't think he can be) - Kaye and Harkes were brought in to replace Gruezo - Other MLS teams are also interested in buying Vazquez The good news is it sounds like Gruezo will be gone, after that not sure if a better option is buying Vazquez (that's a lot of money for a guy who had one good season) or getting some other young attacker from down in South America, but personally I'd go with the latter because for that kind of money the Quakes can get the next Gabriel Pec or Cucho Hernandez!!
My dog could beat out Preston Judd, and the ball is taller than she is. What a colossal mistake resigning him was/is.
The Quakes are usually pretty tight-lipped about interest in players. I wonder if someone said - "Go ahead and leak it, we need to do something to try to sell season tickets."
Judging by our regulars here, I believe we're down to you, @don gagliardi, @SeaJayBee, @SalinasQuakesFan, @Seismothusiast and @Earthshaker...so six STH's whereas we used to have a bunch more. So, it wouldn't surprise me. Most people tapped out (on season tickets) for various reasons, years ago, but mostly because we don't have a serious team. I'd prefer that Fisher had to earn that kind of loyalty by actually trying to compete in MLS.
I'm sure that there are new people getting season tickets all the time, and it's not just like a pure degradation of some static set from 5 years ago or something. Shawlee said they had their best new season tickets holders year ever last year (2023), or something to that effect. But it's a hard sell this season for sure, after that terrible season where we hardly even won or tied any home games.
It has to be one of the toughest jobs (selling Quakes season tickets), and not just because last year was one of the worst performances by any MLS team ever, but the cumulative effect of so many poor seasons for what seems like an eternity. Shawlee would have to back that up with some actual data for me to believe it. My guess is we have less than a few hundred, at best. We will never know, of course, these numbers are kept secret, but it can't be good. Just look around the stadium on gameday, attendance is dwindling every year. Quakes need to get in the game. Just once I'd like to see us ready to go with a competitive roster on opening day.