On the coaching record, ball don't lie. I wouldn't mind if CL fired Luchi, hired himself to coach, and gave Vassili Cremanzidis the GMship. Maybe his relative success as coach would not continue but I wouldn't mind finding out. I mean he's the one coach we've had since 2008 with a winning % over 40. Given all of the challenges we've had with coaches, we can't bother to find out if that was a mirage?
those road blowouts on the regular weren't a mirage! maybe that's why he only coached for a few months and was promptly replaced. I don't know. Leitch has been with the Quakes in one role or another since 2009. By soccer team standards, that's an eternity! The fact that he has us sitting last in the league at this point...unbelievably poor from the Quakes long time veteran. The fact that he doesn't talk to us at all just adds insult to injury. Anyway...this is a celebration thread, don't want to piss and moan too much about the guy. I thought Jason Hernandez was great for us.
Mani Hernandez scored the very first goal in club history 3 minutes into our opening match on May 5, 1974 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps.A San Jose Sports HOF member, he has been crucial to the growth of soccer in San Jose since the early 70s.#ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 15, 2024 A pioneer of San Jose soccer. Mani Hernandez set the tone in '74 with the first goal in club history. #ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes pic.twitter.com/QDbOIPts8e— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 15, 2024 GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
The 7-1-0 record at home was not a mirage either! We have to remember that he essentially switched out the engine while the car was running, started playing several players who had been relegated to the bench, switched tactics and philosophy, and still managed to meet his goal of getting us into the playoffs and we made our deepest USOC ever -> semifinals. Instead of knickers in a bunch over bad road losses and hiring the dire Mikael Stahre we could have instead given CL a chance to add some pieces to make his preferred 3-5-2 work better (e.g. some help at winger and mobile CB), and see if we can build on the success we had in the 2nd half of 2017.
I know, I know, switched out the engine, car running, etc. That ship has sailed. He's not going back to coaching the Quakes now. It was a good home record, I'll give you that, unlike his record as GM.
Yeah, that ship has probably sailed. Best hope we have now is that he hires a coach with a similar philosophy to his own coaching philosophy. Not sure why he didn't do that in the 1st place. I think he went the safe route and so far, it hasn't worked out great for us.
Mani Hernandez was a great player. I see him now and again. One time we played his team and beat him and George Lamptey 3-1.. We felt like studs because we beat a team with two NASL players. They did however run us to the bone.
Scottish GK Mike Hewitt became a fan favorite in San Jose with his outstanding work over seven seasons in goal. In a Mercury News poll after the NASL ended, Hewitt was voted “Mr. Earthquake” by the fans, cementing his place in team history.#ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 16, 2024 After posting a goals against average below 1.0 in 1976, Mike Hewitt became the mainstay between the pipes through 1982.His 14 shutouts in '76 & '77 helped the Quakes to back-to-back playoff appearances. #ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes pic.twitter.com/8L0kN0TBlv— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 16, 2024 GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Dynamic English-born attacker Godfrey Ingram helped propel one of the best NASL Quakes teams in history to an unbeaten-at-home season in 1983. With 15G & 11A in 27 games that year, and 17G the year prior, Ingram was lethal in front of goal. #ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 16, 2024 Godfrey Ingram was a goal machine in the early 80s for the NASL Quakes 😤.#ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes pic.twitter.com/sANjiXJiaa— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 16, 2024 GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
List so far! 34 Guys so far, 32 if they're counting Gordon/Lenhart & Demlings as 1 pick! Which leaves me to believe the following guys will be picked from the modern day, other wise, it could be less depending how many more NASL guys are picked? Manny Lagos Eddie Lewis Justin Morrow Brian Mullan Richard Mulrooney Eddie Robinson Ian Russell Shea Salinas Craig Waibel Chris Wondolowski Eric Wynalda Jackson Yueill List so far Jeff Agoos 01-04 Jeff Baicher 96-99 Wade Barrett 98-02, 05 Bash Brothers (Gordon & Lenhart) 11-14 (AG) / 11-15 (SL) Steven Beitashour 10-13 Victor Bernardez 12-17 George Best 80-81 Jon Busch 10-14 Laurie Calloway 74-77, 79, Head Coach 96-97 Joe Cannon 99-02, 08-10 Ronald Cerritos 97-01, 05 Paul Child 74-79 Brian Ching 03-05 Jim Conrad 99-02 Ramiro Corrales 96-97, 01-04, 08-13 Cade Cowell 19-24 Sam Cronin 10-14 Chris Dangerfield 82-85, 88 Troy Dayak 96-98, 01-05 Simon Dawkins 11-12, 16-18 Mark & Buzz Demling 74-78 Dwayne De Rosario 01-05 Landon Donovan 01-04 John Doyle 87, 96-00 Jeremy Ebobisse 21-Present Ronnie Ekelund 01-04 Cristian Espinoza 19-Present Gabbo Gavric 74-76 Jason Hernandez 08-14 Mani Hernandez - 74-76 Mike Hewitt 76-82 Godfrey Ingram 82-84
Not the top 50, but the worst guys to ever play for this team. You can add just about anyone but Wilson, Daniel, Hernan Lopez, Espinoza, Pellegrino and Akapo from this season. @markmcf8 liked all these guys Luciano Abecasis Ayo Akinola Chris Aloisi Khodadad Azizi Michael Baldisimo Leandro Barrera Ousseni Bouda Scott Bower Mike Burns Altimont Butler Francisco Calvo Mamadi Camara Chris Carrieri Cordell Cato Abdul Conteh Tony Crescitelli JOhn Cunliff Tighe Dombrowski Gabe Eastman Eduardo Innocent Emeghara Justin Evans Michael Fucito Gilberto Fuentes Nick Garcia Olmes Garcia Sam Garza Gavin Glinton Cornell Glenn Henok Goitom Luchi Gonzalez Jan Gregus Maxwell Griffin Carlos Gruezzo Daniel Guzman Siad Haji Atiba Harris Matt Hatzke Paul Holocher Omar Jassey Preston Judd JAIR Harut Karapetyan Jovan Kirovski J.J. Koval Matt Luzaunaris Walter Martinez Joey Martinez Ellis McLoughlin Noah Merl Sanna Nyassi Jimmy Ockford Dominic Oduro Pablo Campos Kevin Partida Paulo Renato Jean Philippe Peguro Pablo Pintos Caleb Porter Joel Qwiberg Eric Remedi Antonio Ribero Andy Rios Jamil Roberts Scott Sealy Kofi Sarkodie Billy Schuler Brian Sebapole Mark Sherrod Adam Smarte Davide Somma Josh Suggs Mohamed Thiaw Abu Tommy Marcos Urena Francisco Uribe Daniel Vega Tim Ward Cam Weaver Tommy Williamson Andrew Weber William Yarbrough Zico Edmundo Zura
Unless they throw a swerve and put him and Ronnie O'Brien together? That would be A+. Only bright spots from 2008 + Wild Joe Cannon.
Mike Hewitt was a great GK. He was the only player to have lasted during the NASL halcyon era from 1976 to 1982. He was traded to the Montreal Manic in 1983 and I remember him in goal for them against the Quakes who won 7–1. I recall feeling quite bad for him because he was labeled Mr. San Jose for his longevity and had only been traded a few months prior to the season. He came to the US and signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies who purchased him from Dundee. He spent the season mostly as a sub with the Rowdies and was sitting on the Spartan Stadium bench when they played the inaugural Soccer 75 between Tampa and the Portland Timbers. I don’t think he knew that he would be staying in the area at that point but stay he did and later became some kind of finance specialist when he retired in 1984. We tried to get him to play for our amateur teams, but he never had much interest in playing after he retired from playing. We watched the 1994 WC games together at Guido’s and was a great guy. I believe he is now living in Phoenix but would love to see him if he comes out.
Spending 5 years with the NASL Earthquakes, Scottish midfielder Davie Kemp was a member of the inaugural team in 1974.An NASL Indoor champ in 1975, he finished with nearly 100 appearances under his belt for the Quakes, with three playoff seasons.#ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 17, 2024 5 years, 3 playoff berths and a NASL Indoor title. Davie Kemp was integral to the early success of the NASL Quakes.#ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes pic.twitter.com/8DMbsHgEnD— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 17, 2024 GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
I was in WI or ID during the majority of the NASL era so I have no connection with the guys in red. That said, I do know a lot of fellows who worked for the NASL Quakes and have to say that Johnny Moore is a fine fellow and a first-rate MLS GM.
Davie Kemp and Godfrey Ingram were great players. Kemp marked Pele out of the game. Ingram was a quick, dynamic English forward who was ahead of his time. His skills were unique as far as English forwards from that time were concerned. He actually scored the Quakes last NASL goal in a 1-0 win over the NY Cosmos in front of only 10,00 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey. I'm surprised they haven't honored any of the Yugos. Ilija Mitić , Mike Keri and Steve Zungul were exceptional players and contributed quite a lot. Zungul was the final NASL MVP
Few three-year stints with the Quakes have been as impactful as @Manny_Lagos’ 2001-03 stretch.With 2 MLS Cups, an All-Star selection, and a USMNT call-up in 2003, Lagos goes down as one of the best wide midfielders in Quakes history. #ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 17, 2024 Big man in the midfield with a knack for scoring & creating goals. @Manny_Lagos was instrumental in the Quakes' 2 MLS Cups.#ThisIs50 | #50GreatestQuakes pic.twitter.com/AiULveab8G— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) June 17, 2024 GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
The very 1st Quakes game I attended (Quakes vs Columbus in 2022) Manny Lagos was one of the 1st players to catch my attention. And it wasn't because of anything he was doing on the attack initally. It was because he kept winning challenges / contested balls one after another in midfield.