Post-match: D.C. United - San Jose Earthquakes (Saturday, 8/22) postgame thread [R]

Glass half empty. . .

"Wow!!! Who'd have thought? I guess it make some of the previous months performances so encouraging as our Q's have won three (shutouts in fact!) in a row, with the vast majority of the remainder of the schedule at home!"

Glass half full. . .

 

xbhaskarx, on the topic of Amarikawa I'm in neutral agreement, pausing only to wonder about his shelf life...and not saying I have immediate doubts. But a guy shows this well, as a journeyman, I can't help but think back to Mr. Lightning In Bottle incarnate: Marvin Chavez. But you know what? Shelf life is inconsequential at this point in 2015. Since I brought it up, I think Quincy is the better all round package than Marvin...but think back...Marvin dazzeled us and got it done. I'm just glad to even have this discussion, as we raise the bar on expectations for the season. I'm of a mood to just let it unfold, as this week has set us reeling in the best way

 

Amarikwa has transformed himself from a dribbling, shooting and sometimes scoring player (in losing efforts) to a balanced linchpin, attacking and distributing player in short order. An astonishing change that I think involves coaching in addition to his work ethic.

He arrived as a hard working, yet selfish and somewhat dirty castoff and has become a much more complete player very rapidly. I hope the trend continues.

 

Yeah, seems crazy to say that Dom somehow "molded him" in like 0 games :--).

But I would go a lot further and say that I think he's always been an effective player. I was a big fan of his right away, back in 2009, almost as much of a fan as I am of TT now :--). Even back then I was pointing out spots in the games where was throwing the defense out of balance with his physical runs. I may have to dig up some of those posts if I can :--).

I think with Quincy, yeah, he's gotten a bit better, but I think he was always good, mostly by virtue of his physicality and motor. He plays a little more in control now, and picks his spots, but I think he is still not an especially cultured player around goal. But that doesn't matter that much as he just wreaks so much havoc that he is very effective anyway. I think he's just a guy that needed a to get a chance and to be given the right role. Seems odd that you'd play a little guy as your target forward but it seems like a great role for him. He is just out there making plays in 1v1, 1v2 situations, which is what he does best.

 

Team got leads in both halves early, then there were a lot of little step up and runs that players were willing to do vs. KC, that they just didnt do vs DC. There was one break in the first half in particular, where noone on the play seemed in any hurry, and you could tell they knew what to do, they just didnt really want to do it it at pace.

The best way I could describe it is if you watch the guys off the ball on the ball in each game you wont see much difference. Its how hard the guys are working off the ball that tells you the difference between a team that is really going at it, and a team that is sort of coasting.

 

I don't think we are seeing anything from Quincy he didnt show in Chicago, but I think Dom has made it real clear to Quincy hes a starter and hes valued, and thats relaxed Quincy a bit. I think Dom also is fitting the players in around him better.

I think Quincy is a bit like Wondo in that hes needed a coach whose going to say "Dont look at me after you do something silly, Im not going to yank you or look to replace you, just play." Quincy had that at times in Chicago and played well, but it also looked like it was always in the market for a player to replace him, and I think that effects a guy like Quincy. Hell start to force things and try to do too much to keep his spot.

 

I think that's true. He's a guy that's going to do boneheaded things and blow great chances because he is not all that cultured around the goal. But his overall effectiveness / playmaking is so good that he is very valuable anyway. You just live with the occasional boneheadedness.

BTW, I have a very good / long memory sometimes, and I remember that you were one of the few who saw the potential in Quincy back in 2009 :--). Seriously, I don't even need to dig through old threads, there were just a few of us who really liked him. To be fair, he sort of scraped by on the fringes of MLS for a number of years, but has done great with his opportunities the last 2 years.

 

The amount of balls won by Quincy in this game was something to behold. It felt like everytime there was a scrap, Quincy kept bursting out of it with possession. Nice gritty team win but he is the MVP since coming back. Something weird about Yallop and Dom giving up quality forwards to each other for nothing. Thats twice the Quakes benifitted from those trades.

 

I had totally given up on the Quakes, and seriously pissed at management for not making more significant moves to bolster the lineup ... but I believe I was dead wrong.

I love Quincy, but did not think he was even close to the answer for a Wondo strike partner. I was dead wrong - Quincy has been exactly the spark the team needed up front.

Marc Pelosi and Goodoy have really helped the midfield. Would love to have MPG back in, but the team is showing some real depth in midfield. Plus, the two defensive mids look seems to be working really well.

I may have doomed the team with this post, but I am now bubbling with optimism.

 

Little guy, working hard, harassing the other team and generally creating havoc... Amarikwa is like what Mike Fucito could be if he was at the right level for him (certainly not MLS, probably USL)...

Okay so now Amarikwa just needs to score 97 more goals for the Quakes over the next few years... no pressure kid.

The first two replies in that thread:

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

Seems like we have been through this before :--). When a player gets traded, the people that tend to post are the people who liked the player, and offer good luck and that sort of thing. Maybe things trended a little upward at the end of 2009 and beginning of the 2010 season because Quincy scored a nice breakaway goal towards the end of the 2009 season. But this post from yours truly gives you more of a flavor of how people felt about him at the time. There was a lot of "all he does is run around", "chicken with head cut-off", "all he does is fall down", "he can't shoot, he can't pass", etc. And there were some folks who predicted he'd soon be out of the league.

 

Will be interesting to see the MLS Power Rankings this week. Last week, even after the win against CO, they said, basically, "yeah, getting some good young players, but long way to go".

Starting to build a nice 25-and-under core (Godoy, Bingham, Alashe, Cato, Pelosi, Thompson), but many more pieces are needed to compete toe-to-toe with the league's best.

 

It's crazy to see how 5 years ago the calls for Doyle's head were loud and we're still here saying the same things.

 

Two games...Riding that bit of luck and confidence. It is hard to say one way or another which way this team will head after this. You are only as good as your last game and you cannot ask for better form coming into the Galaxy match. Thing is we have played two journeyman-filled squads and beat them with our own journeyman-filled squad. Playing LA with their squad will obviously be another level entirely.

The thing is with such a bad string of losses the team was bound to win at some point. What does it mean though in terms of where the Quakes stand in the league? A low-tier playoff team. Is that ok?

 

Better than a no-tier playoff team.

 

Solid road performance, building on an excellent midweek performance. Amarikwa and Godoy continue to impress, but besides them the team as a whole is playing well right now. It will be interesting to see where MPG and later Innocent factor in to the lineup, because the 4-4-2 with two defensive-minded mids, pace out wide, and Amarikwa and Wondo up top seems to be the makings of a decent team.

One thing in particular I will note is that Quincy is an amazing target man with unique attributes. He rarely loses any duel or challenge (be it in the air or on the ground), he wins a lot of fouls, and he does it all without committing a lot of fouls of his own. Not only that, but he has pace and quickness that few target strikers have. I was glad to hear in the post-game interview that Amarikwa enjoys playing with his back to goal/as a target man. Jahn coming on for him is a big drop in quality.

Interesting to look back and see that many of his techniques, skills, and mannerisms were already present as a rookie. They've just been refined since then.

From this post in that thread:

Familiar-looking Quincy play 2:20 in:



Unorthodox and full of energy and hustle. Funny how all these years and teams later those exact types of plays are helping to propel an offensive renaissance for our team. I remember that Alvarez goal, but I did not remember that Amarikwa made the play that led up to the goal.

 

Sorry, but Kinnear should not get credit for molding a player he's only had for a few weeks.

What he should get credit for in the last two games is:

1. Having the team keep the ball on the ground instead of the typical long ball and header volleyball they have been known for.
2. Somehow making Salinas and Cato not blindly cross the ball in from the edge of the field every time they feel pressure, but instead work the ball in closer to the box.
3. Switching the formation to a 4-4-2.
4. Playing Wondo as a striker, not a midfielder.
5. Keeping the team hungry for goals instead of playing bunker ball.

I'm not a Kinnear fan, but these last two games looked very 2012-esque and he deserves credit.

 

Kinnear might not get credit for molding Quincy into whatever player he became but I think he does get credit for recognizing something in him that he could bring something to the team no one else could. So far, its turned into a great trade.

 

Was that Kinnear, or the man who originally drafted him, Doyle? JD did the same thing with Salinas.

Kinnear gets credit for starting QA over the likes of Sherrod or Jahn as far as recognition goes.

 

Maybe you are right. It could be Doyle as he knew him from before. Kinnear knew/knows Sherrod and I'm sure he was the one who brought him here.

 

@falvo When the team goes from playing like an expansion team to a reincarnation of the 2012 team in a matter of days, that's on Dom more than anything. I just don't believe in giving credit to people over things they don't control i.e. he didn't mold QA nor did he trade for him.

 

The facade that has been this week will reveal itself come the end of the season.