Yeah, no way that Beau sits for Hernán. He's been one of our best players so far in the season. If you look at our current 11, the weakest player IMO is Costa. So one solution is that you go back to 3-5-2, Jones goes to LWB, Espinoza to RWB, and Hernán to CAM. But I don't like moving Espinoza back again. I think for the short term he'll be a sub at one of the 3 forward spots but then which one? He's best on the right because he can cut in and shoot but that's Espinoza's spot. He can play on the left where Bouda plays but Bouda's been doing so well there it's not clear you'd want to take him off the field while Josef is out. It's a real conundrum. I guess if I really wanted to have him in the starting 11 I'd go 3-5-2 and move Jones to the left and Espinoza back to RWB. That's the only thing that really makes sense even though it's a bummer to have to move Espinoza back. I don't see Bruce taking off a 6/8 for Hernán in a 3-4-3. We'd be super porous defensively in central midfield.
Not bad... wow Vancouver must really suck! Percent of all goals, they probably just don't concede very many goals...
I'm still waiting for *scoring* after 90'. How long has it been since we got an extra time goal to tie or win? I can remember a few *possibly* in the Almeyda era but I don't remember any from the Luchi / Colvelo era.
Credit to the people running MLS.... The MLS has the most competitive parity among top 20 first division leagues in the world https://i.redd.it/5jr4awtxyd2f1.jpg
Instead of signing some random no name GK with less than 10 games played in his entire college career the Quakes need to go out and find a legit GK option to back up Daniel so they can stop playing Earl Edwards. Surely there are dozens of random backup GKs scattered throughout the league who could manage to not be terrible, and wouldn't cost much. If not they should go see what Steve Clark is up to, he was one of the better GKs last season, aside from in PK shootouts. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/char...n-seattle-s-focal-point-more-from-matchday-15 I don’t know what to say about San Jose’s 3-3 draw with Houston, which gave us an entire game played in the Tactics Free Zone™. The Quakes are just an incredibly fun team that take all kinds of risks, as you’ll see on this goal: 64' Preston Judd subs in66' Preston Judd scoresInstant impact cuts the deficit for @SJEarthquakes. 👀 pic.twitter.com/DAjnbnmGBt— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 25, 2025 That’s d-mid Beau Leroux (arguably the biggest surprise package in the league this year) getting all the way to the endline for a pullback to an underlapping wingback because why not, right??? For some real fun, check out the network passing graphic. And remember Leroux (34) and Ian Harkes (6) are dual d-mids: That’s not where d-mids usually operate! It’s must-watch on the other end as well, especially with Earl Edwards Jr. in goal (he started in place of the injured Daniel). Edwards has played 341 MLS minutes this year, and he’s faced 14 shots on goal in those 341 minutes. He’s conceded 10. By the numbers (it’s the advanced stuff as well as the boxscore stuff), this is the worst start to a season by any goalkeeper in American Soccer Analysis’ database, which goes back to 2013. Nice job by the Dynamo taking advantage, but I’m not sure anything you get from Quakes games is applicable in any other setting in MLS. (And to be clear, I love that.)
When you fall behind 2-0 in the 51st minute, you don't have much choice but to take "all kinds of risks". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ It's called "trying to get back in the game". I don't think the Quakes are leading the league in scoring just because they "take lots of chances". They lead the league in scoring mostly because they are a very good attacking team. Yes, lots of goals conceded too but some of that is due to the aforementioned Earl Edwards, and a crop of young defenders.
I don't know disagree that we need a better backup GK, but 2 of the 3 goals were deflected. First goal was on the Quakes defense with poor marking. Overall, you are correct. Edwards foot speed and decision making is not good enough for a backup who is getting to get playing time because Daniel gets hurt tying his cleats. I wouldn't call Leroux a DM. He is a classic two way player. Even Harkes had two assist in this last game. They are playing more of a pulley midfield.
Some Quakes players halfway through the season... We're halfway through the 2025 MLS season, so here are some fun stats🧵 THREAD 1/— Ben Wright (@benwright) June 2, 2025 Non-penalty xG: 8) Josef Martínez (7.13) Expected assists: 1) Cristian Espinoza (7.02) Aerial duels won: 5) Dave Romney (48)
Quakes have to rank near the top if not first for most improvement across all three based on those arrows right?
Shot stopping went from the worst of the worst to not great. Not sure if I read that so positive (though certainly better).
Improvement is what we’re looking for! No, our shot stopping isn’t great, but it’s waaay better than last year. Our team is clearly improved. We need to get even better, but we aren’t the dumpster fire we were last season. Right now, I want another GK, another d-mid (or 8, or whatever you want to call that spot), and maybe another defender or two. Possibly a right-side middie to replace Vitor Costa. (I like Vitor, but we could do better.) And I like that we are playing a 3-4-3. It’s not my first choice, but we look much better that way. Go Quakesfans!!
Man, NE on goals allowed! The Tanner Beas(t) Effect! LAG on goals scored... And then there's our shot stopping - from awful to mediocre. I'm gonna call it the "Post Yarbrough Effect".
How much of that is Earl Edwards... Daniel is one of the top GKs once again based on the advanced GK stats.
Daniel third among starters Edwards bottom five with the four below him all having played less and allowed fewer goals