This was a bigger move than the Quakes entire draft, i'm stoked! Dude has a bunch of talent, and is definitely a potential CAM of the future, which seems to be what all quakes fans have been demanding!
It's can be easy to trash the Quakes FO and John Doyle in particular, but they deserve a big thumbs up for this one. They really do.
"Quakes, Thompson agree to terms for Homegrown Player deal" (SJEarthquakes.com - Friday, 1/17/14) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
This just made sense of our draft... I was pissed we weren't going after a player who could be a playmaking midfielder... Mission accomplished.
Haven't had a chance to see him play. Hope the team can be patient and provide an environment he can keep growing. I am a little cautious because of the way we play and how some of our young players did not flourish. More incentives to catch the reserve games and scrimmages.
Isn't that what we usually do? I wouldn't want this kid to become the next Sam Garza. If he's good, let him play. Let's not protect his career away. First team minutes!
Yeah. This is really good. We needed some offensive creativity, and here it is! I still think that we need to sign a veteran CAM, probably from overseas, but this is a big step in the right direction. And yes, makes our draft day and team re-building look a whole lot better. GO QUAKES!! - Mark
Yeah, he's definitely ready to get 1st team minutes. Maybe he doesn't start right away, but maybe start him out as a sub to spark the team when they need a goal. He could play an attacking wide mid position to start with or CAM. He played forward it IU but midfield when he played for the Quakes. I've seen him play in games where Garza was in the game also, and he looks significantly better than Garza. He just makes plays and does not lack in confidence.
I agree Mark. I doubt TT is going to step in right away. We need an experienced player for the immediate future.
This is the most significant move made all season, and one of the most important in our organization's history. Monkey is off our back! our first homegrown is Tommy Thompson!!
I don't want to burst anybody's bubble here. They'll probably play him out wide like they did Simon as opposed to a central role. But you can see from the video, he operates well out there in space.
Bringing in a veteran CAM is even more important now that Thompson has been signed. That would give Watson more confidence to play a system properly utilizing an attacking midfield and by extension more opportunities for Thompson to get some first team minutes (which is an important part of development). Now if they pick Dylan Mares in next week's draft, Garza is given another chance and he finally seizes it, Schuler turns out to be a revelation, Koval ends up being a stud, Jahn works his ass off to improve athleticism and stamina in the offseason, we might actually end up with one of the most exciting young attacking rosters in MLS. OTOH, it's possible none of that happens and instead Watson tries to convert Tommy to a winger...
Gotta wait and see how he does but if I had to guess I would think maybe start him out on the wing in the beginning and then maybe transition him to the middle once he's up to speed like the Revs did with kelyn rowe.
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. He's small and light - may not even be 150 pounds, and has been susceptible to injuries. He would get hacked up more in the middle. On the outside he'd have some more room to operate. Donovan was a similar build and age when he started with the Quakes so it's not like there is no precedent for this sort of thing (young, small, light player getting significant 1st team minutes with the Quakes).
he and Shipp given the circumstances and team need are up there for rookie of the year candidates. Mullens situation with New England and Dean's situation with Vancouver also afford them that chance too.
I'm all for starting him, he has to be an improvement over Baca. Hell put him an Pierazzi in the middle together and you get a net improvement in attacking ability from the center IMO. Pierazzi cleans up the mess and TT raises hell.
Revs play a 4-3-3 ... "wing" in that formation is a link/possession role. Playing Tommy as a pure winger in a 4-4-2, expecting him to go 1v1 on the flank and whip in crosses (not to mention chesting down long diagonal balls), is a good way to destroy his game and confidence. We've already done that with Garza, hopefully learned from the mistake. Dawkins could play wide in a 4-4-2 because he has a tremendous shot from outside the box that he can use when cutting in.