Player / coach quotes. Who said what?

I just spent a few minutes trying to track down the actual quotes that have been published so far. I actually haven't come up with much yet, but I figured that others will be able to add to this. Anyway, here is the summary (person by person). Please add to this if you know of any more.

Kinnear
From: Seismic shift: Quakes to Houston; Tom FitzGerald, Friday, December 16, 2005

...Reached in Houston Thursday night, coach Dominick Kinnear said he was "sad and disappointed'' to be leaving the Bay Area. "The last vie[sic] years we've been the most successful team in the Bay Area,'' the Fremont native said. "For me, it's sad because the team has done so well and we have such great fans. We've had a great rivalry with L.A. Now it's taken away.''
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Doyle
From: Seismic shift: Quakes leaving S.J.; TEAM OFF TO HOUSTON; NEW CLUB TARGETED; By David Pollak, Mercury News, December 16th, 2005

For Doyle, the first player introduced by the team in 1995 and the only member of its hall of fame, there was no relief that the uncertainty about next season had ended. ``I'd rather deal with the uncertainty and keep the team here,'' said Doyle, who praised the city's fan base but criticized its elected officials for not taking seriously the need for a new stadium. ``I do believe that San Jose has had 10 years to come up with a plan to keep the team here, but it never did.''
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Waibel
From: Seismic shift: Quakes to Houston; Tom FitzGerald, Friday, December 16, 2005

"They've basically traded all of us and got nothing for the city in return,'' defender Craig Waibel said.
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Mullan
From: Seismic shift: Quakes to Houston; Tom FitzGerald, Friday, December 16, 2005

"I'm very sad things didn't work out,'' midfielder Brian Mullan said. "I had nothing but fun and good things to say about the Bay Area since I got here. I hate to pick up and move. It's a great place for soccer.'' (His wife, Kersten, teaches English and coaches the girls' soccer team at Andrew Hill High School in San Jose. While Brian goes to Houston, Kersten will stay in the Bay Area with their 8 1/2-month-old son, Brady, for the rest of the school year.) "She's not too happy about this,'' Mullan said. "She loves her job and her kids. I don't anticipate her moving out with me till June.''
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Ching
From: Houston , We Have a Problem; Andrea Canales, Updated: Dec. 18, 2005

"I think [the owners] believe there's a better chance of getting a stadium deal in Houston," Ching said. "I don't see much else as a positive, unfortunately. We've got to somehow get situated, and try to make a home there. I'm just going to have to give it my best and try to deal with it."

"It's going to be really tough on the families - very traumatic for them," observed Ching. "That's going to a tremendous distraction for the players on the field. I don't know how much that's going to affect things, but I foresee it being pretty big issue."

"I love San Jose," declared Ching unequivocally. "I love the fans there. I think they deserve a soccer team there." If that comes to fruition, Ching would like to return. He doesn't believe he's the only one who has left his heart back in the Bay Area. "If San Jose does get an expansion team in 2007, I think the majority of our team would probably want to go back there."
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Onstad
From: Houston welcomes MLS franchise; By Jim Carley, December 16th, 2005

Coach Dominic Kinnear and the two players he brought to the press conference, 2005 Goalkeeper of the Year Pat Onstad and team captain Wade Barrett, didn't seem to mind the cold weather. "I'm from Canada," Onstad said. "Thanks for the weather today. I feel right at home."
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That's all I have for now. I'll look back at this thread from time to time, and if we get a bunch of new quotes, I'll post a summary either at the end of this thread - or in a new one (especially if there is too much thread-jacking / trolling).

If possible, I'd like to know where the quotes came from, so please either link to the article or give the article title, author, date, etcetera.

Thanks in advance.

 

Thanks guys. I'm surprised that I haven't found more. I guess I'll have to go look at the MLSnet site sometime soon - I've kind of been avoiding that for now.

If anyone else has quotes (or paraphrases or first-hand stories) please keep them coming.

 

Addition.
Tim Hanley
Has a great post right here .

A highlight:

 

Beckham7 pulled this one up on a different thread.

Onstad

Several players said they felt bad for the team's fans. "A large part of me will feel sorry for the fans; they've been so supportive and backed us win or lose,'' Onstad said. ``Certainly, if we win one next year, it will be San Jose's championship as much as Houston's.''

From: Seismic shift: Quakes leaving S.J.; TEAM OFF TO HOUSTON; NEW CLUB TARGETED, David Pollak

 

Doing some more digging and not finding much. Probably good politics for former SJE players.

Quakes05 posted a summary of a conversation with DeRo here .

so... not really a quote, but it's close enough for now.

DeRosario

 

Some new quotes. All from
From: Ex-Quakes eager to make move; Players ready to start fresh, although transition will be tough; By BERNARDO FALLAS
December 20th

Given that it is a Houston paper, the tone is not quite what we may want to see, but I'm going to give them all the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are just being diplomatic/professional.


Barrett

"In essence it's something every MLS player has to deal with, the uncertainty that you might be in a new place," said Barrett, who has called San Jose home since 1998. "Because there's always the possibility of getting traded. "In this instance, it's like the whole group has been traded."

"I know it's going to be a tough adjustment," said Barrett, the team's captain last year. "The guys are going to have to move their families pretty quickly."
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Onstad

"We're very happy to be here," said Onstad, who joked that the cold that morning reminded him of his home in Canada. "I spent three seasons (in San Jose), three of the most memorable in my career. San Jose will be sorely missed, but we're excited about our fresh start here."
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Kinnear

"The emotion is 100 percent clear that the team coming from San Jose to Houston is a very good team," Kinnear said. "We're very excited to come to this market. We understand the opportunities and the challenge that we have before us on and off the field."
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...I only wish that Dom hadn't been so diplomatic. Then again, he may have prefaced this with a "Really tough to leave SJ."-comment which the paper edited out (not going to sell more papers in TX that way). And like I said - I'm going to continue to give them all the benefit of the doubt. They're in a tough spot too.

 

Beckham7 just pointed me to some quotes in a Soccer365 article.

All quotes from:
No more shaking Going On; By Richard Snowden, December 21st


Kinnear (already appeared in the Chronicle - see post #1)

"For me, it's sad because the team has done so well and we have such great fans," Earthquakes coach Dominic Kinnear, a Bay Area native, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We've had a great rivalry with L.A. Now it's taken away."
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Mullan

"I'm very sad things didn't work out," Mullan said. "I had nothing but fun and good things to say about the Bay Area since I got here. I hate to pick up and move. It's a great place for soccer."
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Out in Americans Abroad-land, and I ran across a Califf quote here .

Califf

"It came down to where I couldn't wait any longer or I would lose the contract (offer)," he told Soccernet. "We've been hearing for the last two years - 'We're moving. No, we're staying.' - I certainly couldn't count on the fact that the (Quakes) were going to be (in San Jose). So I had to make a decision at that point without the knowledge."
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It's interesting simply because of the implication that if the Quakes knew they would be staying, he might have chosen to stay.

 

Some of these quotes appear in nearby threads, but I find it useful to have them all in one place. These Barrett and Waibel quotes come from MLSnet here .



Barrett "I think it's possible to be both disappointed and excited at the same time," said former Earthquakes and now Houston defender Wade Barrett. "We feel like the fans here at Spartan have been some of the best in the league over the last 10 years and have made San Jose a great place for us to play. At the same time, we understand that this is the direction that AEG has moved, and they've certainly invested in us and in the league enough that if this is the decision that they make, we will get behind it and be comfortable with it."

"The players would have liked it a little better or had understood it if there actually was a deal that was set," said Barrett.

"To be honest, I don't completely trust any of that information," said Barrett about the Earthquakes possible re-emergence in San Jose. "We've been hearing for two years that we're moving. Considering whether or not to come back (to San Jose) isn't anything I'm thinking about right now. It's enough to get uprooted and move; I don't have the time to think about what might happen down the road."

"It's hard to predict what will happen with these rivalries," said Barrett. "There was just something about it that brought out the best in both of us. It's good for the game, good for the fans. If we can maintain that with L.A. and grow something like that with Dallas, then all the better for the fans."
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Waibel

"I think the big difference is the land in California. It is like trying to buy land in New York City," said defender Craig Waibel. "I think that's the problem (AEG) ran into. I want to believe that the ownership group pursued the stadium options during their time (in San Jose). I would expect that in three years time they truly believe they are going to get it done in Houston."

"I think this is the only year that you may talk to guys on this team where they say that a two-month preseason is appropriate. Every other year eight weeks is a bit much," he said. "It is going to take time for us to acclimate, accept the new structure and stadium. A lot depends on what happens with our coaching staff. The ship sails straight when (head coach) Dominic (Kinnear) is driving it."
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These quotes are from the Waibel-specific article on MLSnet.com .


Waibel

{While the disappointment of uprooting from the comfortable home that he has established in northern California is still evident...}"This is potentially a really good thing for me. Allowing me to focus solely on my soccer for a while is really fantastic," Waibel said.

"It's a hard move for me, personally, because I've been so active in this community. It has really felt like home," he said. "In that sense it is disappointing, but I know AEG is putting in the effort in Houston to make it home. I know it's a good community from my friends that grew up there. I don't think it will be that hard to transition the personal life."

{...it also could allow Waibel and his teammates the chance to immediately form a bond in the community through appearances and coaching.} "I think the players have to accept some of the responsibility of going in and doing the right thing," Waibel said.

{Waibel is one of the most experienced members of the Houston team. Perhaps it is that experience that has urged Waibel to look at the positives as he embarks on the next stage of his career.} "I'm leading the charge, I'm rallying the troops," he said enthusiastically. "I want people to get on board this train."
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