LEAGUES CUP 2024: Los Angeles FC - San Jose Earthquakes (Tuesday, 8/13) pre/in/postgame thread [R]

O’Flaherty’s Pub in downtown SJ.

 

Benji is a better defender than he is so I'm good with him at RB. Akapo would be nice depth though.

 

Won’t need him next year though, with Benji, Marie, and Verhoeven on the roster. We can free up that ~$500k. He’ll be 32, not getting any faster, and he’s a walking hammie pull waiting to happen. He’s also extremely one-footed.

 

So is Verhoeven.

Munie will play RB before Verhoeven. So will Paul Marie.

With Wilson coming back especially.

I grt the love for Oscar but that guy is fighting for space on a hill hes at the bottom of.

 

Verhoeven is not nearly as one-footed as Akapo, and can play on the left as well. You could never play Akapo on the left. Well you could but I don't think he ever has, and it would be a very bad fit. Verhoeven's still depth but I think next year we can move him up from "barely played" to "plays occasionally for depth". TT will almost certainly be gone so Oscar can take that 4th option outside back spot at the very least.

 

Oscar still might not make the bench and as a 4th option 2 and 3 are still ahead of him on the charts. Being 1 footed isn't really a monopoly card.

We've done the whole hype thing multiple times in the past, and almost all of them save Cowell have gone onto do anything relevant. Let's just be realistic and see what happens, as of right now, Verhoeven is a mid grade prospect. Claiming he's going to be anything more then a role player at the bottom of the roster is a little too adventurous at the moment, with the flux of the season he could easily have gotten minutes but theres a lot more to it then just giving young players minutes to 'develop'. His game decisions at the elite level are still about a step behind, his dexterity is still a step behind, and his composure is off key. He has to mature in all areas before he's considered to be apart of the rotation. Walls is a prime example of a player who's a step behind the professional level. He sits between bottom of the roster MLS and top of MLS 2.

 

If all he ever is is a role player then he’s perfect for the 4th / 5th depth spot. There’s Benji, Costa, Marie, and Ricketts all in the mix as well.

 

LAFC are going to treat us like a baby treats a diaper.

 

He's perfect until he's no longer needed. Lets just see what happens over the next 3 years.

Unfortunately the Quakes have a fetish for keeping players long past there sell dates because they're cheap. It's one of the many reasons for consistent low table finishes. We failed by keeping players like Tommy Thompson well past there expiration date.

 

You’re talking about opportunity cost here, and I agree with you. We need to be willing to cut dead wood and move on. Dropping our fourth string guys and replacing them is a good idea.

And I expect LaFck to torch us. Maybe they only beat us by one or two goals if we’re playing in our better Leagues Cup mode.

Go Quakesfans!!

 

Well, we got torched by them the last time we met, but we've beat them once this season and I think we're 2-2-1 against them in the last two seasons. LAFC need to be respected but I think we're a bit of a bogie team for them.

 

Not usually in LA though I think we have tied them there. Not sure if we’ve ever beaten them there.

 

I agree, LAFC is one of those teams that needs to be respected, they're the perfect example of a well oiled machine. The club is ran like a professional organization. Thorrington talks to the fans 1000x more then Leitch ever has. They play to win. No one is safe on the roster, if someone is better they get replaced (See Zimmerman, Vela, Acosta, Crepeau, McCarthy, Gonzalez, Torres, Blessing, Arango, Tello, Buik)

 

I really thought Quakes would have been 2 and out in this tournament. So happy I was wrong. Hopefully LAFC will come in an over confident and the Quakes will surprise many of us with a road win against a top team.

One can always dream.

 

Was Giroud sighted by Valley girls at the mall? All that hullabaloo can cause a quake.

 

Let's see. Last time that we played them in LA we lost 6-2. They are in second place in the conference with a +18 goal difference. We will lose, but it won't be as bad as last time.

 

Last time Quakes played them, Quakes won.