Landon's gone -- Who do we get?

If Barrett comes back hopefully no allocation would be necessary. When he left the league's press release said that the Quakes retain his rights whenever he might return to MLS. There was no mention of the two-year limit that is the BigSoccer conventional wisdom about teams retaining the rights to players who leave the league when out of contract.

Two names that stand out to me from the Connolly article are Julio Medina and Tyson Nunez. The Nunez of 3-4 years ago would be tremendous--I wonder if he is too far past his prime now. Medina would be a risky choice with big upside.

 

Hmmm. I must have some selective memeory going on right now - I only remember him playing out wide. (...except for one game - I think CBs were injured...???)

I agree about Alvarez. ...and what's worrisome is that he's looked best in his minutes as a sub. He hasn't done as much with his few starts. However, as far as that goes, he has shown glimpses of good touch, nifty passing, nice dribbling. Given our current roster, he's the guy I'd pencil in. Sign someone new (or re-sign Eke), and things would change.

As for Levesque, he's got the right frame to be thrown up top with Ching. In the above line-up, we'd have Dunni, Wade, and Mullan throwing in crosses with the usual diet of Mulrooney corners, so having two target types to get on the end of it all could be beneficial. ...sign someone new (Mathis, can we really sign him?) and everything changes.

...this is all centered around the Wade returns fantasy though...

 

I don't think our coaching stuff know how to draft US players. Last year, Dempsey is really my favorite, but we choose Cachrane at the first pick. So I don't know if we still know how to draft beside to check out Santa Clara and Stanford.

If we really need a big talent, Redando may still have one or two years left and he is a great talent.

 

Wade started with the Clash at stopper, and was moved into defensive mid, in his first season with the Clash, if I remember correctly (and at Stanford Stadium while Spartan was having renovations done). He was similar to Mulrooney, with not quite as good possession. Good point on Levesque, but I've not seen him do anything in the air.

Here's hoping we can get a decent playmaker, whether it's Mathis (who I think would do well with this team) or someone else.

 

This is absolutely solid. I screamed for years about the Clash/Quakes needing a playmaker, and ironically can remember being very excited when Dom joined the team, hoping that he could do the job (nope).

Here's hoping the Quakes solve this....

 

In the Clash days, his starting position was defensive midfielder. He got 8 assists his second season. He played outside defender the first Earthquake year in a very injury-shortened campaign.

He's looked his best on the national team, which he plays for more often than the Quakes. Given some consistent game time, I'm sure he will bloom.

 

Not a bad lineup, but tooooo slooooooow IMO. On larger fields especially, I think it'd be a real problem. There'd be two forwards with slow to average speed (I believe, haven't seen Levesque enough to know for sure), a left midfielder with average speed, an attacking midfielder with average speed, and, if Waibel plays right back, a right back with slow to average speed. Just a lot of players with no high gear.

 

I wouldn't do it if it's true that the Quakes lose his rights anyway after 2 years, but otherwise I'd consider it. I'm not sure it's silly to give up rights to what many consider the best American player ever (and who will possibly be even considerably better when he returns) for what may be an unknown quantity. If you can get someone that's a can't-miss, then you probably would, but you also have to consider that you may have nearly as good a chance getting an impact player another way as you've mentioned. ("Maybe we get a good draft pick. Maybe we get a Discovery player. Maybe Levesque turns out to be the real deal.") I think if you looked at the last 5 years or so in MLS, there may not be much difference in quality between Discovery player and allocated player.

Of course, it depends on what the goal is too. If it's to try to win next year at all costs, then obviously you don't consider holding onto the allocation. If it's to try to have the best team possible over the next 10 years, or even maximize the number of championships over the next 10 years, it's a little different mindset.

 

This is one reason why I'd consider holding the allocation. (Small difference between allocations and discoveries.) Besides, I think that most Euro players have not panned out very well here in MLS. For most Central American players, a salary of $90k or so is a fair step up, plus playing in MLS gives them a better shot at going to Europe.

But, it all depends on who is available as an allocation. If we could get Reyna, I'd take him in a heart beat. I think it beyond unlikely, but you never know. Perhaps there's some Eastern Euro guy out there who would make a killer offensive mid, has maybe two to three years of high level soccer left, and would like to make some decent ducats for those years. (Assuming that US bucks are worth more than his native kopecks or whatever.)

Also, if Agoos retires, we probably get an allocation for him. So we need to be cautious here.

GO QUAKES!!

- Mark

 

Right. But that's our team right now. We were not fast to begin with except for: Mullan, LD, Walker, and maybe DeRo. (Possibly Russell) LD is gone, we gave away Walker, and DeRo might be off to wealthier pastures. We just don't have speed right now, and it's something which would be nice to address, but we may just have to "Go Gansler" on our away games next year and really nail it at home!

 

You know, the more I think about it, the more I'm becoming convinced that this will could become "The year of Alvarez".

It's early in the off-season, and there may still be time to find a solid/proven A-Mid, but given the team we have right now, our strength is in central defenders, and our weaknesses are: a-mid, (attacking) rightback, forward (in that order too -- IMO).

The first two problems disappear if 1) Alvarez has a good year, and 2) we move to a 3-5-2. Look at this (and assume no DeRo .....and no Barrett):

-------Ching--Levesque
----------Alvarez
-Dunni-----------------Mullan (Russell for Dunni if you like)
-------Tighe--Mulrooney
---Agoos--Robinson--Cochrane (swap in: Dayak, Waibel, Roner)
-------------ON (or cOn or crON - any"ON"e will do!)

Just think positive for a second and assume that Alvarez has a good year. If he can set up a bunch of goals (and get some himself), we'll be golden (just no Golden B... nevermind). The rest of the team should be able to produce some goals too.

Mullan and Dunni are good at getting in crosses, and Mulrooney is solid on corners, so our (tall) top two should be able to get a few goals there.

In Agoos, we have a solid free kick specialist, and all but the top three play SOLID and TENACIOUS defense. So, we're likely to be able to win once we get ahead - draw otherwise.

Can we improve this team? Undoubtedly. But it sure looks like a competitive MLS squad to me. Bring back DeRo and we're already better. Add someone new, and voila, perhaps we can throw a really solid 4-4-2 out there as well. (All we need is a solid attacking right back -- could Roner provide that? I don't know.)

 

The guy I'm interested in getting is Stern John. He's been more productive and consistent than Mathis and played great in England too. Last I heard he was considering returning to MLS and is only 28.

 

Does another MLS team have some sort of "rights" to him?

 

Hmmmm. Agoos as our starting left-back? That's a recipe for disaster. Sorry Roblar, but Jeff does not begin to have the wheels necessary to play outside back, even in a 3-5-2.

Clearly, we should try to re-sign DeRo if at all possible. Of course, MLS is probably not will to spend that kind of money for us.

How about we try to get McKinley Tennyson?

Here's another thought. Get Agoos and Dayak to take coaching positions. (I'd take them over Dom and JD, but that's not going to happen.) That frees up enough cash to sign a bigger name player. And we go with something like this:

- - - - - ONstad
Roner - Robinson - Cochrane - Dunivant
- - - - - Mulrooney
Mullan - Alvarez - New Left Wing
- - - - Ching - - New Forward

That leaves us Waibel and Hart off the bench defensively. Dombrowski and Russell as midfield subs. Levesque as a forward sub, or even starter. It's a faster team than any that features Agoos, Dayak, and Waibel.

We have to look outside MLS because no team in MLS is going to help us out. Also, with the expansion draft, most MLS teams are not going to be interested in trades.

Still, I'm optimistic.

GO QUAKES!!

- Mark

 

I'd be thinking that Stern John would consider returning to Columbus first before any other team.

We know that Corrales, Ekelund and Donovan are obviously gone, we need to get someone who could make an immediate impact on the team up front. Something where the loss of Landon is mitigated with an established star. Question is who--and Mathis' name has been tossed around. Cheers!

 

But would Columbus want him back at this time?

 

Isn't the amount of money the Quakes spend on individual players up to the Quakes -- as long as they stay under the cap?

 

Maybe you could get Bobby Convey from Reading as he seems to mostly ride the bench.

 

Uh, yeah. Absolutely.

 

Stern has been rumored to be heading back. It would depend on if the team wants to have him back. If they don't then he would obviously be heading to another club.

Presuming DeRosario stays their skillset is basically the same and I wouldn't think he would be a complement to Ching. Two good strikers, yes, but too similar. Cheers!

 

Nap

How are the skillsets of DeRosario and John the same? John doesn't dribble around defenders, he just scores goals. John would be a huge asset to any MLS club that picked him up, including San Jose. The guy would be an instant starter. However, I doubt he'd make it over here. I'm sure that if Columbus had the chance to take him back, they would, in a heart beat.

 

I'm reasonably certain that Stern John has been out of the league so long that Columbus has no particular rights to him. The Quakes were compensated when Cannon returned because he had been out of the league for less than a year when he came back and Colorado had to make a trade with us to get his rights. Stern John -- heck, we should bring him on just because of his initials -- left MLS after '99.

Has anybody seen him play recently? Does he still have something to offer? His MLS stats are impressive (52 goals over two years, including the playoffs) but a lot can happen in four years.

 

You're right, but this is MLS after all. Barret has been gone for two seasons now, but people seem to think we could get him right back. Why then couldn't Columbus find a way to bring back John?

Regardless, John still has it. He was a pretty regular contributor for Birmingham just a season or two ago, and while he never tore up the EPL like he did MLS, I doubt many players could. He's only 29 if I recall, and could still be a great contriubtor to whatever team could sign him. San Jose should definitely take a look if he does indeed come back.