Okay, im a new to the MLS and i gotta say im intrigued. MLS is unique in the fact it has no transfer system, the draft is an interesting thing in my eyes. However the fact that you miss the deadline day fracas is something the fanatics love, watching sky sports news listening to the news of a transfer making the deadline by 30 seconds and the 100+ transfers being completed, its truley amazing. The MLS is improving, the quality is not up with the europeans yet (it dont touch it) but this lack of quality creates exciting soccer matches which are as evenly matched as soccer can get, this creates exciting match-ups and can only improve. Im an earthquakes fan because of Championship Manager 3, a soccer management game (worth getting i your a fan get the new 1 though, champ man 4). I done the MLS and picked SJE, been in love wiv em ever since. Im looking for people who can update me or fellow fans who wanna update me with the Earthquakes, please help as i have little knowledge of the players but love the games
The Earthquakes have non-descript players, even by MLS standards. The two big names we have are Landon Donovan and Jeff Agoos, who you should know. Through a high-pressure game, solid central defense and a strategy of scoring in the first 15 minutes and holding on, the Quakes are pretty successful. Last couple of years we tended towards a slow ball control offense with scores coming from individual effort rather than nifty combinations. The Quakes are bit more circus and counter this year. The important players this year are: Corrales: Utility player currently in the center midfield. Good ball handling and defending skills. Ok vision and decent with short passes. Nice shot. Mulrooney: Center midfielder. Excelent defense, good long passer and crosser. Dayak: Center defender with Agoos. Veteran who can't be fooled with toughness and decent speed. Lagos: Left midfielder. Tall with surprising ball handing skills and a strong shot. Has a single move - dribble up the line to the top of the box, cut in to the center of the field, then do a small dump or shoot it. It still works. Not that great with the vision and passing things. Dunivant: Rookie left defender. Great offensive skills; likes to come up so often he gets caught out of place on occasion. Comfortable on the ball.
Welcome Geordieboy, A couple of other things that you might find odd or different: Overtime. MLS plays two 5-minute golden goal overtimes. Americans, we are told, hate ties. Playoffs. Eight of the 10 teams make the playoffs. Strict salary cap: The Quakes were forced to let go of the league's top-rated keeper, their leading scorer and a top defender. All in the name of keeping salaries in line. Nicknames. I'll bet there aren't nicknames like the Fire or Burn in England! The Earthquakes were born the Clash. Here's a pic. Truly hideous. http://www.puresportsart.com/warehouse/wynalda96sl.htm I'd be interested to hear your views of MLS quality - Of course the Premiership is the quality all leagues strive towards, but a lot us feel MLS is equal, if not superior to the Scottish League or England's 2nd division (which I think is called the 1st Division). I'd also be interested to hear about perceptions of Yanks playing in England.
Do you mean the quality of soccer played in the league or the quality of the league itself, as a league. I think the EPL actually suffers quite a bit from relying heavily on foreign talent, and from the problem of the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I think it would be a lot better if it had a salary cap to level the playing field within the league so that the rich clubs don't always dominate. That won't help the EPL compete in Champions League I guess, but it would make the EPL better within the domestic league. -KMJvet
      Actually, the current Earthquakes were born the Blackhawks in the APSL back in 1989.       You can read the team-name timeline here - and also don't forget to read some of the posts that follow it (including OldQuakeFan's correction of the 1989 entry of that timeline).       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Good to see that you've taken an interest in MLS. If you haven't been here yet you might want to check it out (it's a website for English fans of the American game.) Some things you might one to take note of: Three key departures from the 2002 campaign: Joe Cannon (GK) - Lens, France Wade Barret (LB) - AGF Aarhus, Denmark Ariel Graziani (F) - Barcelona of Ecquador Our Current line-up looks like this: ---Pat Onstad--- Craig Waibel---Troy Dayak---Jeff Agoos---Tood Dunivant Brian Mullan---Richard Mulrooney---Ramiro Corrales---Manny Lagos Brian Ching---Landon Donovan Out with injury: Dwayne DeRosario: Our "super sub" who probably would have won himself a spot up top with Landon, but he hurt his knee in a training match and is out for the duration of the season. Ronnie Ekelund: Our Danish attacking midfielder is currently out with an ankle injury, but should be back in a few weeks. When healthy, Ekelund can be the driving force behind San Jose's attack. Eddie Robinson: A young central defender, Robinson is going to be coming off an injury in a few weeks, but when healthy is an anchor in the back line (Dayak could make the move to right back with a healthy Robinson in the line-up.) Ian Russel: Ian will probably see his starting spot at right midfield claimed by the impressive Brian Mullan when he comes back from injury. Jon Conway: Conway was penned to be the Earthquakes starting goalkeeper when Cannon left for Lens in the offseason. However, a broken ankle has kept him out of action since March. To replace him, the Quakes acquired Pat Onstad, a Canadian international who was recently with the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the A-League (America's second division soccer league.) For more info on the Quakes roster, visit their team website here Welcome
Yeah, Bolton playing desperately for a tie in front of a thrilled home crowd -- that was a pathetic scene. I prefer the even scraps offered by parity. Now the red card and six minutes of injury time in Arsenal's favor - gotta admit that smelled a bit like MLS. P.S. Geordie: the exciting kid off the San Jose bench is 17 year old Arturo Alvarez. Coach Yallop's approach to (not) playing him conforms to the old English league cliche.
I disagree. Yallop's always been cautious playing rookies, particularly forwards and offensive types (Carrieri, Barclay, Gonzalez.) However, his approach with Alvarez seems a little different. He'll get his time, especially when Donovan is gone for national-team play in the summer months. Besides, he's got infinitely more talent than Carrieri, Barclay, or Gonzalez ever had. He'll get more time when the Quakes go into the second half with a comfortable lead, or are in desperate need of an offensive spark.
Geordie, does that sound very different from the old skool English league manager's approach to a prodigious young talent? Alvarez has "infinitely more talent" however Yallop's approach is seemingly just "a little different." Sounds cautious to me. I'm not saying Yallop's wrong, I'm just saying it's an old story Geordie might recognize.
I see your point Noah. If I had my way, every coach would deal with talented youngsters the way Moyes has dealt with a talent like Rooney over at Everton.
firstly im not your average english fan, im a hardcore newcastle fan, i follow my team no matter what, ive been everywhere with them. I love the beutiful game and follow a lot of leagues, my team is Newcastle United and because of Championship Manager and certain websites i have become a fan of the earthquakes, i cant follow them as in depth as my team in the UK however im doing it from afar. As for the quality of the MLS, i rate it better that the scottish premiership, worse than the Portugal game but on par with the Dutch game. The MLS is a very open championship and has a lot of quality which is evend out accross the teams, although there is a lack of quality compared to the big european leagues, it takes a massive amount of quality to match that league and for a league 7 years old to be beating the scottish and be on par with the dutch is a creditable achievement if not an outstanding achievement (i know being better than the scottish league is not much of an achievement, however having 3-5 teams which could beat Rangers and Celtic is a good achievement). Because of the spread of quality the MLS creates very entertaining games and if just based on the games alone the MLS is a very nice product, already more interesting than all but 2 of the european leagues (the english way and the Spanish game) which is also an achievement to be proud of. However the different system of transfers etc outside of the games make this league very intreguing for the neutral or partisan foreign fan who is used to the conventional european way of player exchange. This is what draws me into the MLS and what makes it really exciting for myself, the only part of the game which i dislike is the relegation battle, the relegation battle is totally enthrawling as teams give it there all as they fight for there lives, bankruptcy beckons for the 1 that goes. Now as i write this Newcastle are winning 1-0 and Rushden are also winning 1-0 in the 3rd division title decider, only in england. MLS fans, if you can tune into the Playoff finals in late May, if your a fan of soccer and want competitive games, these are always the best games in the english calender, remember Charlton V Sunderland
Oh yeah, i love Robinson, rosario and dunviant, and for a youth player policy, the americans are doing very well in that area, keep it up, you have the potential with the current crop of players to become world beaters, who knows, 2010 world cup final could be England V USA (i doubt it though, knowing england they will blow it at the semis against some poor opposition)
You'll fit right in here! The one thing we have here on these boards are a fantastic sense of humour. (I once compared to the Quakes to Everton -for tons of reasons but mainly for perennially under achieving and just recently, due to a change in management, start to fulfill promise..and both are helped by wunderkind strikers in Rooney and Donovan respectively). Come around more often then, great to make fans from across the pond! And here's hoping Newcastle can keep the red scum from securing a champion's league spot!!
Welcome to a fellow North Easterner...a bummed out one now that Pools just failed to win their championship EVER!! (although they did get back and draw with Rushden!) -Richard
yeah, its important for the north east teams to do well, the North East is like a miny MLS in the situation we are in, we gotta do well to get bigger players up here and bring soccer to where it belongs, in the area which loves the game more than anywhere on the planet, we just got a crap reputation. As long as newcastle win when ever we play anyone in the north east, i hope the rest of the teams win leagues, this works with the european contests. The brits support the brittish teams in the champions league, why?? cos if Man United win the Champions League, then it benifits all the league. Americans learn the lesson, if one of the teams you hate in the MLS are in the continental cup, support them, because the success they have will have an effect on your team as the league will get bigger and bigger with the more continental compitions you win.
Fellow Magpie Geordieboy - happy to have you on the board! I, too, support Newcastle United, and have for about ten years. My roommates in college ans I watched Match of the Day highlights every Sunday night, so I had to pick a side to follow every week. How was I to know that the season after I started following NUFC, KK would bring Beardo back and he and Coley kept knocking them in? I haven't been disappointed since (okay, maybe a little during the KD/RG days). Soon after, one of the lads got a bootleg copy of Championship Manager 94... I've been a CM addict ever since! My wife and I were the "Honeytooners" over last season for the Good Friday match v. Everton (6-2 to the Toon). I also saw the Toon beat Leverkeusen in Leverkeusen last February. Shola was terrific! I go to every Quakes home game, so let's make a deal: I'll help you follow the Quakes from here if you help me follow the Toon. Deal? There's another Geordie on here named Nicole, but I haven't seen her around in a while. Howay the Lads, and 2003/2004 is wor year!