How soon may we be irked at the on-field product?

Discussion in 'San Jose Earthquakes' started by Airblair, Apr 27, 2009.

  1. Airblair

    Airblair Member

    Dec 8, 1999
    Redwood City
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    After yet another debacle this weekend, I spent about 2 minutes ruminating on the results, and I found myself going into automatic excuse mode. You know, where you say to yourself how you should be thankful you have a team to root for, they're still a work-in-progress, etc.

    When I caught myself doing this, I became more than a little angry. We're no longer an expansion team--we just got waxed by a team even younger than ourselves. We're looking up in the standings at this younger team, along with four others in the Western Conference. A point below us is one team that has played one less game than we have, and Dallas, which sucks.

    We've played 6 games, 4 at home. Those six games have netted us:
    • one win;
    • zero goals on the road;
    • zero goals in the second half from the run of play;
    • three shut outs against, none by us;
    • and we've allowed 2 or more goals in four out of the six games.


    It doesn't promise to get any better any soon. Five of our next seven games are on the road; we play at home three times between now and July. This season threatens to get away from us, real soon.

    And our uniforms, I've decided, are ugly.

    A look at our roster gives little hope that things will change any time soon. In fact, I think it shows that the people who assembled this team don't really know what they're doing. While we have some injuries, I'm unpersuaded that any of the injured guys beyond Jason Hernandez will make much difference. Huckerby's lost his mojo from last season, Cannon seems to have lost a step, and Convey hasn't shown much of anything. Since we came back from the dead the front office has strung us along as they trot out a series of "touted" young forwards who haven't shown diddly-squat besides their ability to be safely ignored by opposing defenses who can see they pose absolutely no threat whatsoever.

    I won't even go into my spiel about how fricking miserable this team has been, historically, dating back to the NASL days. (A look back shows they never made the playoffs after 1977.) And how the only exception to this wretchedness was a glorious 4-year period, which began with the arrival of a player who plays for our rival and who we now hate, and which ended with the team moving and winning two cups in its new city. And how we've racked up more Wooden Spoons than MLS Cups; hell, no other team has won more than one, and we've got three.

    Maybe it's because it's a Monday, and my office has about half as many people working here than it did last Friday. (God-damned recession.)

    But I am depressed.

    You're welcome to join me in my bitterness; I'm the guy at the end of the bar. Or you can just dance at the jukebox, as long as you're real purty. Or you can comment on my views. Or not. Sigh.
     
  2. Smurfquake

    Smurfquake Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 8, 2000
    San Carlos, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It feels like we're the worst team in the league at this point. Then I look at the standings and see LA, Dallas and Columbus below us, and Houston and NYRB tied with us, and I feel a little better. Then I remember how we gave up the late goals against both Chicago and LA and I feel bad again.

    I hope we stomp somebody soon.
     
  3. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here is my biggest concern. I don't know whether this franchise can afford to go into another Clash 1996-2000 era. I'm a huge fan, but by 2000, I had started talking to my wife about not going to the games. The product was so painful to watch.

    Fortunately, 2001 saved me and the Quakes. So, 2001 will keep me going even though the team plays likes the Clash.

    By the way, you are right about the NASL Quakes. The first couple of season were great, but after that, the team sucked. They were saved because it was entertaining to go to the games at Spartan (Crazy George, balls kicked into the stands, half time entertainment). I stopped going to the games the last season because of so many years of crap on the field. Plus, they weren't playing any American players...

    If they can't get a start on the stadium by this year or early next year and you continue to have crap teams, well, we are going to here move Quakes again and 5000 peopel in the stands...
     
  4. Beerking

    Beerking Member+

    Nov 14, 2000
    Humboldt County
    Preach it Brother! But be warned, there are some eternal optimists on our boards that will call you a traitor, fair weather or worse, a galaxy fan for your opinions and view points. They will question your loyalty because you aren't satisfied with a sub-par team, as they are, because you should be "grateful" to have any team at all. Make sure not to mention the mistakes the front office has made or the word cheap as this will drive them into a fervor of stadium examples and public funds discussions.
     
  5. athletics68

    athletics68 Member+

    Dec 12, 2006
    San Diego & San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As do I. And it is true we're tied with Houston and NYRB, and we've got 3 teams below us on the table. We're not doing THAT bad (and to date we're better than we were this time last season). Problem this weekend that's got everyone down is that we were outclassed on and off the field by this year's expansion team. If this game had been against New England or Chivas the complaints would still be coming in, but they'd be much less defeatist than they are now.

    It wasn't that we lost, it's that we lost to the new kids on the block. And they looked really good off and on the field doing it.

    That said I can't wait to be back at Buck Shaw this weekend. Qwest was just so damn fake. Fake grass, fake atmosphere generated with those "this is what we chant now" boards and the confetti machines, fake capacity (kinda like the Coliseum).

    Oh and while our uniforms aren't the best since they went to black (probably why they're going back to blue next year), at least we're not radioactive green.
     
  6. Albany58

    Albany58 Member+

    Sep 14, 1999
    Concord, CA USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Got the AEG Blues!
     
  7. cpwilson80

    cpwilson80 Member+

    Mar 20, 2001
    Boston
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We have close to $1 Mil invested in Alvarez, Convey, Garcia, Cochrane and Corrales.

    It could just be me, but this core doesn't give me great confidence. A DP-level talent at striker would help things immensely.
     
  8. Rick Kane

    Rick Kane Member

    Jul 23, 2007
    To me, it wasn't just that we lost, it was that we never looked dangerous and never really threatened the goal (okay maybe once).

    In addition, the first touch of a number of our players is embarrassing (Ryan Johnson).
     
  9. Qrom

    Qrom Member

    Oct 26, 2007
    east bay
    Yup.
    Alvarez- has no right foot.
    Convey- is a left winger or emergency left back
    Garcia- is long in the tooth
    Cochrane- it blows my mind that guys like this get paid while people like scott sealy was making like 33k.
    Corrales- has no offensive ability.no ability moving forward.mediocre at almost everything else.
     
  10. athletics68

    athletics68 Member+

    Dec 12, 2006
    San Diego & San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Don't know if even in my worst mood on Saturday night I'd have gone that far. While our FO has made a few mistakes, they're also doing a fair number of things right. And they're often quick to respond and correct what some of what we perceive as mistakes off field like the railing, keeping folks off the first row walkway, the jersey color, etc...

    As for on field, that's on Frank and John. They think they've got the guys that can get it done. I think most of us would agree with some parts, disagree on others. Hopefully they'll do what they did mid season last year and make some helpful moves. As it is, we're a better team at this point than we were last year, so they'll have more to work with.
     
  11. sko16

    sko16 New Member

    May 2, 2007
    Israel
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    Israel
    I don't think it's too soon. I can see why fans are disappointed.

    But for me, personally, it's Chivas. I know they're the best team in the league right now, but I will be pissed if we drop points at home against them. That is a game we need to be winning. Especially because of their cvnts for fans.

    We lose this weekend, then i'll be fuming. That game against Seattle was always going to be lost. The referee was completely influenced by the crowd, half of whom has probably never seen a soccer match or knows the rules. The field was awful, and in the 2nd half you could see that at least Seattle was more acclimated to the shit field. We were lost out there, and I do think that's an unfair advantage that shouldn't have been allowed into the league.
     
  12. Childs Play

    Childs Play Member

    Mar 29, 2008
    Behind you,.. BOO!
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Observations fwiw

    Goalkeeping:

    • JOE CANNON
    Joe is a fan favorite and some can argue, the face of the Earth Quakes. He is a much better than average net minder, whose ball distribution is suspect. His penchant for just booting the ball down field toward the forwards is, 8 times out of 10 just another way for the Quakes to lose possession. Joe has improved this bad habit in recent games, opting to roll the ball out to a defender. The problem is however, when he does this, he typically rolls the ball out to the defender who is in traffic or is the defender who is least likely to deliver a good ball forward to the midfield. Joe is in a bit of a conundrum when he has to choose between two bad options because of the fact that our current defensive line consists of players who have very little vision, speed or ability to begin an attack. I think this is why he prefers to just boot the ball forward. The farther the ball is from our defenders, the safer Joe's net is and the more time he will have to take up a decent position.

    Most importantly, Joe has shown his heart and dedication to the team and the fans by renegotiating his salary to free up extra money to sign more talent. Unfortunately, the front office played hard ball with Joe and then squandered the extra money he put in their pockets. Joe has many faults, but he also has heart and right now seems to be the only player on the team with any heart at all.

    • ANDREW WEBER
    In the few matches I've seen Weber perform in, he looked good. I'm glad he is on the team as he seems to be a serviceable back up keeper to Joe. I would both like and dislike seeing more of him for obvious reasons.

    • MIKE GRACZYK
    Is there any real logical reason the Earth Quakes are using a senior roster spot on a third keeper? I know a few teams other than the Quakes have a third keeper on the senior squad, but I am not a fan of wasting a roster spot on a player who will likely never appear in a match for the Quakes. If Joe breaks his leg, we have Weber and can then go looking for another keeper. I just don't see the upside in using a roster spot on a player who will never set foot on the pitch when we have so many other glaring needs.

    Defense:

    • NICK GARCIA
    Garcia is too slow and too slight to deal with the physicality of today's MLS. Nick may have been "nails" as some have called him, back in the day but today the league has passed him by. His field presence began disappearing late last season in a major way. I suspect KC saw this a year earlier and realized his future was not with the Wizards. The Quakes made a mistake by bringing him back as the anchor to our central defense. He was able to maintain a certain amount of respect last year predominantly because of Jason Hernandez and Francisco Lima playing in front of him. With their absence this year, Nicks failings have been exposed like a raw nerve. He is at best a bench player who can be serviceable on a stocked team. We are not that team and Nick is not the central defensive anchor we need.

    • ERIC DENTON
    Denton has been and probably will continue to be the butt of many peoples jokes. To his credit, he has been consistent on defense and has actually improved a bit on his attacking skills. Unfortunately his consistency on defense has been consistently mediocre. He is too often out of position and he is too slow. The quality and speed of the league has also passed Eric over. Like Nick, he is at best a serviceable man off the bench, nothing more.

    • CHRIS LEITCH
    Leitch has been a decent back, not a considerable improvement or detraction from James Riley. He has shown that he has good field vision, his through balls have been well timed and accurate. the fact that he leads our team in 'assists" is a credit to his play, but it also is a sad commentary on our midfield and forward lines. All in all Leitch has been a good addition to the team, though his lack of speed has shown itself to be problematic.

    • RYAN COCHRANE
    Ryan underwent surgery and will be out for at least 3 months. This may be the best thing that has happened to the Quakes this year. Perhaps now the powers that be will see him for what he is. An overpaid, under performing local boy. At best, Ryan is a bench warmer and at a considerably smaller salary.

    • KELLEY GRAY
    Gray has shown considerable improvement from last year and for that reason along with his height and ability to perform in spot roles in both the defense and midfield, I see him as a player to keep. I said keep, not start. Kelly is the kind of guy you want to bring into the midfield when you have 20 minutes left and are trying to maintain a 2-0 lead. He has value, just not as a starter on either side of the ball.

    • JASON HERNANDEZ
    Jason might be the only defensive player on our roster truly worthy of a starting role. He has heart, speed and an excellent field presence. He has good vision and can make the transition from defense to attack with more precision than anyone else in our defensive ranks. He cannot return soon enough, though I fear he will have to play like 3 men to make up for the rest of our lackluster defense. He is the real anchor of our defense and deserves to have quality players surrounding him.

    • JAMIL ROBERTS
    Jamil impressed me in pre season. He is quick and strong. What he lacks in polish is made up for with speed and heart. As bad as our defense has been this year, I wonder why Jamil is on the roster instead of being given a start? If he is not good enough to spell any of our current group, then certainly he is not good enough to be on the team. But this is more a coaching problem as I see it because Jamil is faster than Denton, Leitch, Garcia, Cochrane and Gray. He has also shown a knack for scoring off set pieces. His speed on the flanks is something sorely missing from our current squad. He deserves a chance to show what he can do and we the fans deserve to see if he can improve our current defensive malaise.

    • MIKE ZAHER
    Who?

    Midfield:

    • ARTURO ALVAREZ
    Arturo is fast, has good ball control skills, has a rocket left footed shot and could be an extremely successful professional player if the circumstances surrounding him were all correct. He either has no right foot, or just refuses to use his right foot, I suspect the former because certainly with practice and patience he could develop his right foot if he were a real athlete. Playing Arturo on the right wing is a mistake because his lack of a right foot means he will always be forced to cut inside and charge the goal instead of sending a cross when one is needed. Arturo can lose interest in the game if he is not involved and he disappears. When confronted with a solid opportunity from outside, Arturo usually tries to touch the ball and set it to his left foot too many times, causing him to miss the opportunity. I think Arturo is better suited to play a withdrawn forward position. This of course will never happen as Yallop is rigidly married to a 4-4-2. Arturo wears the #10 Jersey and he is not a true #10, yet he has the speed, youth and skills necessary to become that #10 if he was made to develop his right foot and taken off the right wing.

    • RAMIRO CORRALLES
    Ramiro is a mystery to me this year. Is he an attacking midfielder? A holding midfielder? Is he our general, the one who orchestrates our attack? Or is he the last line of defense before our backs? He seems to be trying to be all these things and is not succeeding at being any of them. He has not developed any chemistry this year with Convey or Elliot. His passes are weak, often being picked off by the opponent and he doesn't seem to have any vision beyond a 15 foot radius of his own footprint. Ramiro needs to have a single defined role and I suspect it is as an attacking midfielder, the problem is as I see it, Ramiro cannot possibly succeed at this role unless he has a strong defensive presence behind him. The absence of Francisco Lima has hurt Ramiro as much if not more than anyone else. In the first half of last year Ramiro benefited from Ivan Guerrero's steady defensive play. in the latter half it was Francisco Lima. Ramiro is not effective without the right type of player next to or behind him. Neither Convey nor Elliot is that type of player.

    • DARREN HUCKERBY
    Arguably our best player, he has not benefited from any of our off season changes. He is often all alone out wide while the rest of the team flails around aimlessly. He has shown the ability to take a ball down the wing and inside the box delivering a blistering shot or pinpoint cross. Unfortunately no one is serving him those balls or there to receive the same from him. I know he prefers to play our wide left, but I think with our current lineup he would be better played as a withdrawn forward in a modified 4-3-3

    • SIMON ELLIOT
    Nice guy, good MLS experience, too old and too slow to be anything but a man off the bench as a defensive holding midfielder.

    • SHEA SALINAS
    This kid is exciting when coming off the bench as an offensive spark. He has fantastic speed and can out run virtually any defender in the league today. He has shown time and time again his ability to take a ball and run right by 2 and 3 defenders delivering a cross right in front of the goal mouth. So what happened to him once he was given the opportunity to start? He was almost invisible. This kid has the speed, youth and heart to be wildly successful, but if he tries or is told to stifle himself and to confine himself to a conservative game, he will be tossing aside all the things that make his potential limitless. I'd like to see him starting on the right side in a modified 4-3-3 and let his unbridled enthusiasm go wild. He will inevitably draw more opponent yellow and red cards than he will receive because of his speed and enthusiasm.

    • BRANDON MCDONALD
    Young, fast and strong this kid deserves the chance to show us if he can be that holding midfielder we desperately need. in the few games in which I've had the opportunity to see him play I've come away impressed with his maturity and skill level. He is a deceptively powerful young man for his size. I think there is a lot of upside to him and now just may be the time to let him take his shot. He is certainly stronger and faster than Elliot. What he lack in experience just might be overcome with the skills of Huckerby and Alvarez next to him.

    • BOBBY CONVEY
    The first thing we need to do is admit we over paid Convey and over estimated his ability to play anywhere on the pitch other than the left flank. The conventional wisdom is that he will be Huckerby's replacement next year. Until then all we can do is recognize the only place on the pitch he can make a valuable contribution right now is as left back. Slide him into Denton's spot and hope he can make some decent runs into the attack. I'm willing to give him another year to adjust and settle into the left attacking midfield slot, but I think we need to take a serious look at renegotiating his salary downward. He has done nothing to justify being the second highest paid player on the pitch.

    Forwards:

    • RYAN JOHNSON
    Ryan has speed and heart but he needs to put on about 15-20 pounds of muscle. He is too easily pushed off balls by bigger MLS backs. Ryan has made a big jump forward from last year in terms of polish. His first touch has improved greatly from last year, though there is still often more heart and dedication involved than skill. He has god potential as a Striker if he is given the support to succeed. He is good in the air and has shown he can get even better with proper development. Often his shots are weak, i think he prefers his head to his feet which is fine if he is played as that type of striker but I think Yallop is asking too much of him by expecting him to be the quintessential target forward. I think Ryan has a place where he can be very successful as a striker in a modified 4-3-3

    • PABLO CAMPOS
    Pablo is the very definition of a second striker. He has very good vision and movement. He can seem lazy at times but he has the speed and skill to move the ball effectively when the opportunity arises. He has had several chances to strike a open net with a header and failed to capitalize, that should tell us using his head as a weapon is not his forte unless he is just moving the ball forward into space. He is calm when the ball is at his foot and he is in the box. He might just have the best vision of any forward on our roster and this is a very valuable attribute for a second striker. He is fast for a big man and I believe if used properly he could rack up assists like no one else. but he is a second striker at best and we have no first striker.

    • CAM WEAVER
    I think Cam may be a bit of a head case in the sense that he seems to have little or no confidence in himself and what little he does have seems to evaporate by the second. His performance on the pitch has worsened every minute he has played. I think he might need a therapist more than a coach at this point. He has height and not much else going for him. He is timid on the ball which is surprising for a man his size. This was the off season coup that so excited David Alioto. I think more than anything else this shows us just how little about Soccer David Alioto knows. Cam might end up being a good man off the bench one day but even that is looking unlikely.

    • DAVID SOMMA
    Is David in Frank's Dog House or something? is he hurt? We saw some real flashes of skill from this kid late last year and by all accounts he was the sole stand out of the generation Adidas team last winter. so why can't he sniff the pitch either as a forward or midfielder? Something is just not right about this whole situation. I wish I knew what it was.

    • QUINCY AMERIKWA
    Half a foot shorter than Cam Weaver and twice as strong. He is a ball of lightening, but he is a few years away from being really effective. That being said, I like his potential and enthusiasm. I think he will one day be a very good player on someones team. He's a keeper for now.

    Management:

    • JOHN DOYLE
    John Doyle is not an MLS executive of the kind of caliber necessary to succeed. He showed far too many mis steps this off season with players he pursued and was unable to sign and the players he signed and are not producing. Playing hardball with Joe Cannon was a major mistake and sent a bad signal to the rest of the leagues players. It was only Joe's loyalty to the team and fans that saved us from disaster in the keeper department. Doyle's hack job on Ronnie O'Brien was classless and regardless of whether you are a fan of O'Brien's or not, Doyle did him wrong. Every team in the league plays by basically the same rules and when it comes to recruiting and scouting talent, John Doyle has shown that just about every team in the league does a better job than does he.

    Of course scouting talent is not just the responsibility of the manager, the coach plays as big a part in recognizing whether players can be meshed into a team or not, so Doyle is not fully to blame for thinking 2 tall, weak, unpolished forwards would meld well together. I just don't know what Doyle or Yallop were thinking when they looked at Weaver and Johnson and said, "There are our starting strikers!" These 2 just don't compliment each other at all, they are basically the same player, although one is decidedly more active than the other.

    John Doyle however, is completely responsible for negotiating player contracts, and the very fact that he believes Ryan Cochrane is worth $150,000 shows him to be unqualified to judge and negotiate player contracts. As for the other players JD signed to new contracts and grossly over paid, count Nick Garcia at $198,000, Bobby Convey at $244,000 and Ramiro Corrales at $202,000 can you imagine Corrales and Garcia making twice as much as Jason Hernandez and more than Joe Cannon?

    • FRANK YALLOP
    It's hard to imagine that a Frank Yallop coached team would be so ineffective on the pitch, but that is indeed the case. No one on this team seems to be 90 minute match fit and that is inexcusable. The collection of players who inhabit our roster have not been able to create a team, and that is purely the responsibility of the coach. Frank is the eternal optimist and frankly I'm tired of hearing him say how he thought we played well after a 2-0 loss. If we were outplayed and won, we did not play well. if we outplayed the opponent and lost, we did not play well. Someone needs to remind frank that the only thing that matters in this league is winning matches. You can't console me by telling me we played better than New England or Seattle or Los Angeles, because in every case we came away with no result.

    Frank has players on his bench who he refuses to play despite the fact that the players on the pitch are not performing individually or as a team. Jamil Roberts and Brandon McDonald are two who come to mind who deserve the chance to start and see if they can perform better than our current starters.

    One of the biggest issues i see with Our team today is that there is very little movement off the ball, no one is running into space and this is solely a matter of coaching.

    Frank is far too committed to his preferred formation, playing a 4-4-2 despite not having the type of players needed to be successful in that formation. Frank is too rigid in his formation and too loyal to his players. It's time to shake it up. I would very much like to see Frank change to a modified 4-3-3 for just one match and see if the talent can meld into a team. I would like to see:

    RYAN JOHNSON
    PABLO CAMPOS--------------------------SHEA SALINAS


    DARREN HUCKERBY-----ARTURO ALVAREZ

    -------------BRANDON MCDONALD-------------


    JASON HERNANDEZ
    BOBBY CONVEY---------------------------CHRIS LEITCH
    JAMIL ROBERTS


    THE JOE

    I also think that no matter what, come the summer transfer window we need to be looking at acquiring a holding midfielder, a central defender and a proven goal scoring forward. I'd like to see the following cleared off our roster entirely:​

    Cochrane​
    Garcia​
    Weaver​
    Zaher​
    Graczyk​

    While the following be moved to the bench:​

    Denton​
    Gray​
    Corrales​
    Elliot​

    Ownership:

    • LEW WOLFF
    Lew Wolff is an old man with money from Los Angeles. despite having many Real Estate ventures in the Bay Area, he is not and never has been a "local owner". He was recruited by the several entities to purchase the Earth Quakes in 2005 before they were moved to Houston but declined, rather he signed an exclusive 3 year contract with the MLS giving him the rights to the Bay Area franchise, which he exercised 2 years later. Lew's love for the beautiful game apparently only materialized in 2006 when he attended several matches of the World cup. ​

    While I totally appreciate Lew's new found love for soccer, he is a late arrival to the Earth Quakes family and I can only wonder whether the leagues granting him an exclusive 3 year contract actually hindered the Quakes returning as a preeminent franchise rather than helping it since no one had the right to explore other ownership possibilities. Lew is a shrewd business man and Real Estate developer but in my opinion he looks at the Earth Quakes solely as a business opportunity and nothing else. That saddens me. Who is to say if the Earth Quakes are more important to Lew than the St. Louis Blues or Oakland Warriors were? i fear we are just one more wealth building opportunity for the developer from Los Angeles.

    • JOHN FISHER
    I'll admit that I know very little about John Fisher other than the fact that he is considerably wealthier than Wolff and has an apparently more dedicated love affair with the beautiful game. I often wonder what kind of a team and organization we would be if Fisher were at the helm rather than Wolff.​

    Would we more resemble the Seattle organization? Would the quality of talent on and off the field be more in line with the most successful MLS franchises? Something tells me that in very many areas we would be better off. The rumor at least is that Fisher does not share Wolff's plans for a down sized stadium and his reported attempt to purchase AS Roma last year makes me think he is more of a "Soccer" man than is Wolff.​

    I am happy to have the Earth Quakes back in San Jose, but I am not happy that our current ownership group is managed by a man who seems to operate on the principle that smaller is better. One thing to me that simply cannot be dismissed or have excuses made for is the fact that Lew Wolff and John Doyle have had one full competitive year and 4 cumulative months more than Seattle has had to build an MLS franchise. The results on and off the field have shown that Seattle has surpassed us in every area. This probably more than anything else bothers me. At every step Seattle has made the right moves while San Jose at every step has made the "conservative" move. There is absolutely no reason that can be used to justify why Seattle has been able to achieve all the things San Jose has not. None. Try as you might, there is just no reason to justify why San Jose could not succeed if they operated with the same dedication and vigor that Seattle does. In my opinion, San Jose has a second rate management team from the owner down to the coach.



     
  13. ThreeApples

    ThreeApples Member+

    Jul 28, 1999
    Smurf Village
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    "Earthquakes" is one word.
     
  14. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Wish I knew how to REP you!
     
  15. Brian Glennon

    Brian Glennon Member

    Oct 29, 2008
    Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Some fans will never be irked regardless of how feeble this team or organization becomes. The very word fan, derived from fanatic or fanaticism means an emotion of being filled with excessive, uncritical zeal. With some fans, reality just never enters the picture.
     
  16. ant0n

    ant0n Member+

    Jun 12, 2007
    San Jose, Ca
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I was the first to say this last season when we were shite.
     
  17. ant0n

    ant0n Member+

    Jun 12, 2007
    San Jose, Ca
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We lost the Seattle game because we are crap not because of the ref or some other excuse you may want to pull out of your as just to slight Seattle.
     
  18. KMJvet

    KMJvet BigSoccer Supporter

    May 26, 2001
    Quake Country
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It seems like you are depressed and it's pushed you into a state of hyperbole. We're not the LA Galaxy, FC Dallas, Toronto or the Colorado Rapids when it comes to strings of strange decisions and poor results.

    Take a deep breath. It's not necessary to overstate things in order to have concerns. I think franchises that struggle tend to over-react as well.

    If you see John Doyle and Yallop and Ian Russell in sandbox with their heads buried and a billboard overhead that reads, "We don't care about winning and our fans don't either. The Earthquakes are Perfect just as they are" then you can have a freak out. Otherwise, it's just over-stating and over-reacting.

    A lot of fan groups should be freaking more than us such as NYRB and Columbus Crew. It's not that bad yet. It starts to get bad a month from now if we're dropping this many points and simultaneously hearing too much "avoid the highs and lows and every team can win in any given week" from Yallop.
    I personally also think it's bad sign if we're not looking for a DP because that would a tangible "mediocrity if fine" mentality. I wish Centerline or the other reporters would put some of these tough questions to them.

    And uniforms? Seriously? You know that fashion is opinion and as many people will like as will hate just about anything. Hopefully you're not depressed over uniforms :(
     
  19. Earthshaker

    Earthshaker BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 12, 2005
    The hills above town
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Darn! I thought we had become the first "world" team.
     
  20. athletics68

    athletics68 Member+

    Dec 12, 2006
    San Diego & San Jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    CP, one thing I wouldn't necessarily do after going to Seattle is compare them to us. It's like apples and oranges. They are a fresh expansion market, and it shows (like Toronto). They're not a legacy market like San Jose, LA, KC, DC, etc... We were no more an expansion team last year than any of the other 1996 teams.

    And while yes the FO does have some of the burden of making the franchise a success off the field (and they seem to realize it otherwise they wouldn't have had the fairly large marketing push they did this spring), so too do the people of the city itself. But SJ, like the other legacy markets don't have that city love yet for whatever reason (I'm not going to single us out because other than Toronto no one has what Seattle does).

    Walking around Seattle this weekend I was shocked how much the city is behind the team. Average Joes had on Sounders scarves, jerseys, t-shirts etc... and this wasn't just on game day. I lost count of how many buinesses had Sounders flags in their windows or hanging on their awnings. And these things weren't handouts by the FO, these were the community putting forth their own love of the team. We (and the other legacy markets) just don't have that. Hell last time I saw a Quakes jersey or other paraphenalia in a random shop window... I was in Seattle.
     
  21. Albany58

    Albany58 Member+

    Sep 14, 1999
    Concord, CA USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Childs Play--You have too much time on your hands. How many hours did it take you to write that?
     
  22. Earthshaker

    Earthshaker BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 12, 2005
    The hills above town
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wouldn't mind seeing your line-up given a shot, however, I think we would be a tad weak defensively, and so would rotate a few players counter-clockwise. I would push Huckerby forward to where you have Campos, Campos would slide into the center, and then Johnson would drop back to left midfield. Johnson has played some left midfield in his career, is a natural left footer, and could cover defensively for Convey when he overlaps out of his left back position.

    --------------------Campos-------------------
    Huckerby -------------------------------Salinas

    -----Johnson----------------------Alvarez------
    ----------------- MacDonald------------------

    Convey-----Hernandez-----Roberts------Leitch
     
  23. JazzyJ

    JazzyJ BigSoccer Supporter

    Jun 25, 2003
    You can be just as fanatical about the team, but less quick to be critical of the FO, coaches, and players. Some people are more fanatically supportive, and others are more fanatically demanding. These are just two different "styles" of fans. Both are valid and one or the other is no less a fan. Of course if you get "irked" to the extent that you stop following the team, then you do become less of a fan.
     
  24. Childs Play

    Childs Play Member

    Mar 29, 2008
    Behind you,.. BOO!
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Not long, less than a couple hours cumulatively. It was done over the course of several frustrating days.

    Here is why I disagree. RJ's strength is with his head while in front of the net, he has shown no real skill in holding or accurately delivering the ball as a midfielder. I think you negate his only real value (his heading ability) by taking him out of the center forward spot.

    I also think Huckerby would be better suited on this team as a withdrawn forward, using his ability to deliver the strike off garbage left behind by RJ or crosses sent in by Shea and Pablo.

    What I see is Darren and Arturo as withdrawn forwards with Pablo and Shea taking care of the wings.

    In my line up we may be giving up something in the defense, but I think with a strong spine of McDonald, Hernandez and Roberts we might do just fine. Keep in mind with no Denton, Garcia and Cochrane our defense is improved through deletion as opposed to addition. Of course we all know Yallop will never let go of his 4-4-2 regardless of whether or not he has the talent to utilize it properly.
     
  25. Childs Play

    Childs Play Member

    Mar 29, 2008
    Behind you,.. BOO!
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Really?....

    Seriously?...

    That is all you can contribute to the conversation? :cool:
     

Share This Page