Show of hands: back in November who here thought we’d be a week from the opening match of 2026 with one new signing of note and only one DP and what - six senior slots empty? I remember we used to complain about the “empty bucket”, but with this current roster I’ll be shocked if by mid-season we aren’t seeing an empty stadium. Is there ANY reason to be optimistic? I sure can’t see any…
<hand> I could not possibly have imagined a worse off-season. I don't think we have ever started a season with more than two empty roster spots, and those were held open specifically for the summer transfer window. We have no idea why they aren't signing more players. We lost several starters, and we've signed only one guy to replace them?! Even if we sign JoGo, that's only two guys to replace five. Given that our replacement players were last season's second string, who's going to back them up? This is so dismal. My only hope is that the team is for sale and the deal is being closed now. Failing that, I can only conclude that our ownership and FO Want to have a terrible season. This is just flat unacceptable. F- me! Go Quakesfans!!
I personally was hoping for more of the addition and less of the subtraction. But we still have, what, four+ days?
Subtraction is addition if the numbers are negative. Perhaps we will get new players soon, but they will make the team worse. Just a thought.
Ah, yes, you have correctly identified the corollary to "addition by subration" - "subtraction by addition".
Does MLS Know The Season Starts Saturday? https://bsky.app/profile/tombogert.bsky.social/post/3mf5clzmfvk2p
Doyle? He had us as his “dark horse” to win MLS Cup this year, so…? Our mlssoccer power ranking (Sam Jones) is 21, FWIW.
Sounds like one of the “one or two more players” that we’re not getting may be Chucky. He. was offered a deal from “an unnamed CA team” and turned it down. He’s still on SD’s payroll probably looking for a buyout or to just not play for $7M. https://www.reddit.com/r/SanDiegoFC/s/3HcQ0xvGGl
This guy?? 🅱️reaking Bryan Lozano, Hirving’s brother, openly criticized him in an interview with ESPN, calling the winger “rude and arrogant” and blaming his behavior for recurring issues throughout his career, including clashes with coaching staff at former clubs like Napoli and PSV… pic.twitter.com/lu88vmliPi— howells-nworie chinenye donald (@kaivryn) February 19, 2026 In an interview with ESPN, Bryan Lozano spoke bluntly about his brother Hirving Lozano 😳⚽️🎙“At Napoli he had issues with Gennaro Gattuso and the staff; at PSV as well. He is rude and arrogant, and that leads nowhere; it has influenced many not to like him.”He also said that… pic.twitter.com/LqiE2pzCLO— NextMex (@NextMexOficial) February 17, 2026
Yeah but Mark referenced “Armchair Analyst”, which was his handle I think. Maybe he read him on whatever platform he moved to?
We made a tier. I think we should be by ourselves at the bottom. https://tacticsfreezone.ghost.io/ranking-all-30-mls-teams-by-tier-for-2026/
Well, once again, on the one hand Doyle had the Quakes as his dark horse to win MLS Cup, and on the other he has us in the bottom tier (which is probably right). So, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Also, he's pretty off on our lineup. We could play a 4-4-2 or similar, but...? 4-4-2 diamond: Daniel; Jones, Roberts, Romney, Kikanovic; Buck, Vieira, Tsakiris, Leroux; Judd, Werner Who's gonna play outside mid? He's got 4 center mids in there - Buck, Vieira, Niko, and Leroux. Again, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. No Bouda? And Buck? Really? He's barely played in preseason. Also, he's got a center back pairing of Roberts and Romney. No Munie. I'm not glad that mlssoccer let an analyst go, but Doyle's Quakes analysis was often off the mark.
"...most likely "we’ll wake up tomorrow, the alarm clock playing “I Got You Babe”, while the DJ welcomes us to another February 2nd. Time to hit that snooze button." Ouch.
That's not actually a line that Doyle wrote. It was from this piece by Trevor Wojcik of American Soccer Analysis (Doyle credited it - did not just steal).
I'm a Doyle fan, but his Quakes write ups are kind of close but there's always 1-2 things that are out of tune with what the hardcore fans know to be true. Not the best but, he's spread thin writing a blurb on every team. I can't understand at all how he could miss Munie in his starting 11, or include Buck...imo, he's way overselling Buck. He should have easily spent a few hundred words detailing how important Leroux is to the Quakes. He does get the Arena vibe going with his young grinders...but it's a crapshoot whether Arena can get the youth to collectively gel. I'm Pro Bruce so, I actually like the approach...and if the young players are struggling we'll bring in players...he's giving his roster a chance to prove themselves.
My Worry: Cristian Espinoza, Chicho Arango and Josef Martínez represented like 70% of the San Jose's scoring, and they're all gone. Daniel's bad might not have been an outlier, and Werner hasn't been a consistent goalscorer since before Covid. His partner up top is likely to be Preston Judd (at least until San Jose get another DP forward in), and while Judd could be the next Danny Musovski, it's more likely he's just a useful third forward/super-sub. Seems bad but then what do I know...
He’s a bit conflicted. He rated us #24, but said that he thought that was low. In his yearly predictions he rated us low-ish, but also called us a dark horse to win MLS Cup. He thinks that Bruce is awesome, so his heart tells him that we’ll do better than his head tells him. He’s conflicted. Go Quakesfans!!
Bruce: we are "young and exciting"... repeats the "one or two more signings" thing with no new details: https://bsky.app/profile/robertjonas.bsky.social/post/3mfactklb3y2h Quakes still waiting for Timo Werner s paperwork to be completed. Unlikely he'll be available for the season opener. The expectation is that he will be in San Jose next week, available for the second game of the season. Essentially, Bruce is happy with the squad he has, calling them "young and exciting," which will certainly be bolstered once Werner arrives in San Jose. Bruce Arena added that he's still looking to add one or two more signings, but he didn't elaborate on a timetable. He wouldn't share any specific names.