I think you have to consider Agoos and Dunivant for Defender Of The Year honnors but that will probably not happen.
I have this dread feeling that somehow FY will be passed over for coach of the year by Bradley and maybe Hankinson. That's OK. I'll take all the hardware instead.
Yeah, Bradley was the first thought in my head when I saw this too. But I really hope we're not right.
I think Yallop has done more with less individual talent, I think if you put the other 9 coaches in charge of San Jose.....none gets the 49 points that the Quakes presently have......i'll go ya one better, i bet at the beginning of the season that most would have made the mistakes I would have made by passing on Mullan, Ching and Waibel.....who wouldv'e seen in Dunivant what Yallop did? I think Damani Ralph would still be sitting in Chicago if Faria hadn't left. Part of coaching is recognizing and utilizing talent in the right positions and situations......not just playing the guys with the best stats last season. Yallop is head and shoulders above the rest at that.
Yes, exactly. You're 100% right. WE all know that. But these things don't always go the way they should.
Yallop will win COY. Onstad won't win Best Goalkeeper. Hartman probably will. Bocanegra will probably win Best Defender based on reputation alone. (He has played well.)
Okay, for all your dread feelings, mine is that there are a lot of places that will want to snap Frank up, and not just Canada. He's the best coach in MLS and probably the best coach in the US no matter what the Bradley and (the coach of Chicago) fans say.
I voted for the grand slam. Even though the Quakes have the fewest goals against in the league they probably wont see DOTY or GKOTY.
Yallop and Onstad, though they may not get Coach and Keeper of the year certainly deserve it more then any of their competion. And as of now MLS Cup and SS seems to be ours.
Am I the only one who doesn't think MLS Cup is in the bag? We could easily choke against Colorado or Chicago. We will win the Supporters' Shield and Coach of the Year. Onstad will get screwed out of Goalkeeper of the Year even though he deserves it, as the voters will apparently decide that his GAA is devalued like the Canadian dollar. Donovan will not win MVP after he pulls a disappearing act over the next couple of weeks and/or gets hacked out of the games against LA. And after we sweep LA four games straight, the overconfident Quakes will lose a frustrating game to Colorado and set up the Colorado-Chicago final.
if only this was dunivan'ts 2nd year! i'd say we'd be a lock for DOTY, but as it stands, I think we not only have the COY and the MVP, but have the best shot at MLS Cup 2003 and Supporters Shield. No defender really has been as dominating in MLS as we have seen in the last few seasons. I mean really, let's try and make a list of worthy candidates for DOTY Jeff Agoos -SJ Todd Dunivant-SJ* Carlos Bocanegra - CHI Jim Curtin-CHI Ryan Nelson- DCU Eddie Pope-MET Joey Franchino-NE *rookie if anyone can even think of someone remotely in the running add them, but as it stands there really isn't one 'stand alone' player who has said yeah I'm the best...
Agreed. I don't like those "in-the-bag" prognostications, either. Too many things can go awry, and predictions like that can jinx you.
My opinion...Yallop IS the Coach of the Year, though there are a couple of very worthy candidates in Bradley and Hankinson. Metro's recent slide will hurt Bradley's chances. IMO, Hankinson is the biggest threat. FY will stay through next season but after that, he AND Donovan will become big question marks. The presense of one will weigh heavily in the decision of the other...but which will chose first? Onstad, though having a phenomenal season, will not get KOY, most likely because somewhere along the line "The Howler" will be brought up--the media can't let that go....a shame. Dunivant will not get DOY and will probably lose out on Rookie of the Year because D.Ralph is more high profile, scoring bushels of goals in a bigger market. Agoos certainly deserves consideration and might be an outside pick but Boca and Nelsen have done some big things this year, too. Donovan/MVP...an enticing point to ponder. I'd say this catagory is far from settled. In fact, the proving ground has yet to be reached. Preki was the early season favorite and if the season had ended at the AllStar break, he'd have been the choice. Unfortunately for KC, they seem to have thought the season DID end at the All Star break and haven't scored much since. Twellman...good, but.... Razov...rolling till his injury. Ruiz...the Fish is taking on water. Could bounce back if he carries them through the end of the season and playoffs--AGAIN. Spencer...too small a market. They'd have to win the whole chalupa and he'd have to score a couple in MLS Cup to get it. Same for his sidekick, Chung. No, I feel that if things stay their present course, Landon is headed for that prize. Notice how he seems to be heating up at just the right time?? Lastly...the MLS Cup and SS is NOT in the bag by any means. Have we all just started watching pro sports?!? Must play AND win the necessary games before you get to wave the trophy over your head. I'm right with you in hoping for it, though. I want that second star on everything next season!!!!
The Cup is NOT in the bag. I would feel a lot better about being close to a lock if you won it by winning the league, but with playoffs you have to win 4 games (OK maybe 3 and a tie with the first round) and a slip up in any of them will leave you on the outside looking in. I do feel that the Quakes are the team to beat for the Cup this year, and that's just what all their opponents will be looking to do.
I can't believe that Dave Sarachan hasn't gotten any mention for COY. He took a team decimated by salary cap moves and has had to coach them through all the US Nats callups that Chicago faces. Most people were picking Chicago to barely make the playoffs or be last in the conference and instead they are challenging you guys for the Supporters' Shield and have nearly locked up the East title. I think RELATIVE to expectations, Sarachan has EASILY outpaced Bradley, Hankinson and Yallop. IMO, Yallop still should get a lot consideration for having coached SJ through so many injuries -- but SJ were expected to be this good. So it's between Yallop and Sarachan for COY. Hankinson & Bradley don't belong there. As for ROY, despite a phenominal year, Dunivant doesn't have a shot. IMO, Ralph has it locked up but Clark also deserves strong consideration. In the DOY category, I agree with the poster that said nobody has particularly dominated, although Petke has had a very good year at DCU. Bocanegra gets a lot of props on reputation and US Nats performances but hasn't been quite as strong for the Fire as he has in the past -- or he has at least been inconsistant. I think that Conrad has had a strong year for KC too. I think I'd vote for Petke (as much as I don't like the punk), but Agoos, Boca and Conrad are all there too. As for MVP, if Donovan finishes the year like he has been playing the last few weeks, he wraps that up hands down. No question. But if he doesn't, then Spencer is still in the running -- or conversely, if Spencer finishes spectacularly, he could take it. Preki was the 1st half MVP, but I think his age caught up with him. He'll get some consideration, but he's not going to get it. I will agree that you guys have a legitimate candidate in each category and you're probably the only team in that situation. But you're probably only going to get at most 2 and depending upon who plays best down the stretch for the MVP race, you could even get stiffed.
Many in the press and on these boards did NOT expect San Jose to have a good year. Remember, the Quakes had lost Graziani, Barrett and Cannon in the off-season. Losing DeRosario in the pre-season did not help either. I remember reading many season previews predicting the Quakes either barely making the playoffs or completely out of it. Sarachan and Bradley have done great jobs but my "unbiased" vote goes to Yallop.
Yallop, without a doubt, as coach of the year. He could field almost any combination of 11 players and get points all around the league. MLS cup will require considerable focus, which the Quakes seem to have this year. Chicago will be the toughest to overcome, and we've not done well against Colorado this season. Hope we see LA, KC and the Metros in the build up to the MLS cup. Rookie of the year must go to Ralph. It will be a food fight, and Dunivant has plenty to contribute in this area. He is a great candidate for this honor. Hope he gets it, but I think hope is what is required. MVP to Donovan will be difficult to justify, simply because the Quakes win, with or without him. He is sure fun to watch, though.
I agree with the sentiment that Sarachan has to be on the short list and that it's really between he and Yallop. However, as pointed out by guamster, there was no universal expectation that the Quakes would be running away with the supporters shield at this point. I think of the major soccer writers, only Jeff Bradley had the Quakes among the top 3 IN THE WEST! Everyone was dooming and glooming the loss of Cannon, Graz, Barrett, the injuries, particularly DeRo, and Yallops *poor* draft, Agoos & Dayak's age, yada, yada, yada.
Absolutely not......besides you and a few people wearing blue tinted glasses.....after losing Graziani, Barrett, Cannon and Scott Bower(j/k)......not to mention the deluge of injuries that plagued the Quakes before the season even started. Many figured picking up Onstad, Ching, Mullan, Waibel and Dunivant was the Quakes trying to trudge through a Clash-like season to battle another day. Nobody figured on this....and I doubt any coach would have assembled this cast and crew and gotten these results from them. Yallop should be a landslide winner as COTY.....will he? Not quite sure.
Excellent posts, but I think that ldb, roel and guamster have got it. SJ was not "expected" to be as good as they have turned out to be. I remember too well the gloom and doom at the beginning of this season. As mentioned only Jeff Bradley predicted close to what has actually resulted. Bradley or Sarachan may get Coach of the Year, but as John Harkes and Eric Wynalda said the other night, Frank Yallop is the best coach in MLS and he's done that by coping with problems that would have swept most others out to sea.
I guess it will all depend on how the voters view the effort. Since FY just continues to do the same "how does he do that?" type of job, it may not stand out as much even as Sarachan, who's doing this in his first year at the top-flight as the head man (he's been an assistant for how long?).
The MLS Cup is up for grabs between 8 as-yet-unknown teams. In the format they're using this year, anything can happen (...and probably will, unfortunately).