After reaching #1 ranking and winning MLS championship, what else can our soccer players possibly do to try to keep the Quakes in San Jose. When your best obviously still isn't good enough. Those are "HARSH" words coming from a Manager with minimal management experience after a roller-coaster season. You don't need to be harsh to be a strong manager. One can also reason that after having a Stellar 2003 season w/other management and having a lack-luster year in 2004, perhaps Lalas should be looking over his shoulder.
And next year that team will be in San Jose. After that, it'll either be in San Jose or in Santa Clara (or at least somewhere in the South Bay). I'm not sure what to think about Lalas getting heavily involved in the personnel decisions that a coach usually makes without first having decided on whether or not to keep Kinnear, but one statement from the article does make some sense: This is actually a pretty smart move on his part. It seems that the same affliction is influencing some of the more negative suggestions in this thread (especially the ones suggested early on). GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
I hope Alexi is doing everything in his power to keep Donovan here. If there is a change in the coaching staff I hope Doyle is the one to go. When FY was in charge he spoke very highly of Dom and it seemed like many decisions that were made and executed were between the two. With Doyle it almost seems like he's just along for the ride.
If Alexi was doing everything in his power, then Donovan wouldn't have said that "No One has asked me to stay." Keeping Donovan would also have to come from Ivan Gazidis at MLS headquarters. He was part of the process that kept him in MLS. Just as important, IF "someone/organization" is considering & negotiating to buy the Quakes, I hope they would rather have the Quakes with Donovan than without him. I know if I was the new-CEO of the QUAKES it would be CRITICAL to my business that he stayed on the squad. Remember to CAST your opinion. Call your favorite MLS suit to put in your vote on why QUAKES need to stay. (212)450-1200; Don Garber, Ivan gazidis, Mark Abbott, Douglas Quinn
See, that's just it. Lalas has to do his job regardless of the team's location (he has to assume he'll be keeping his GM post until he hears otherwise). Definitely, the more this stuff drags out, the better it seems that we'll at least have a team in '05. I actually like the tone of the article, because it's "no B.S." I know this is going to be a painful offseason for some Quakes fans, because many of you seem to be really attached to some players who probably won't be back. But to succeed, the Quakes need to cut some dead weight. I think people have done a good job identifying some of that dead weight in one of the other offseason threads.
What is he planning to do? Bring in Sigi and get rid of the heart of the San Jose Earthquakes?!?! My god, I dislike this man. To me, it sounds like he is going to rip the team apart...yeah, that'll be great!
Sigi has a new job. U20 Nats Coach. If Alexi dumps Doyle and brings in a sharp assistant (Agoos?) I'll be happy. But I find it a possibility that he will dump Dom and bring in...himself. That would only happen if the Quakes stay put next season.
What I find kind of disgusting with this whole Landon Donovan deal is that a few years ago when Leverkusen really wanted him back, I remember reading comments from Gazidis saying that they'd negotiated to keep him and that it was up to Landon to put pressure on Leverkusen to let him stay. So Landon did and he stayed - and according to his agent, Landon left a lot of money on the table. Now that the deal is up, Leverkusen is saying once again they want him back, Donovan is saying he'd be happy to stay in MLS but no one has asked him to stay - and Gazidis is silent on the whole thing and apparently MLS is not negotiating to keep him. Guess now that he's got Freddy, Landon is expendible. So much for "thanks for helping to make our league legitimate and a viable place to play. Don't let the door hit you on your way out."
Has Richard Motzkin said MLS isn't doing anything? We don't know that MLS is or isn't doing anything; there were reports earlier in the season that MLS was "prepared to break the bank" to keep Donovan here. You know, it just cracks me up to read that Lalas should be doing everything possible to keep Donovan. Of course, he should, but as he doesn't set the budget or have final say over MLS contracts or have any influence over how BL acts, other than calling Donovan/Motzkin/Gazidis once in a while to say 'We'd love to have you here Landon', what exactly is he supposed to be doing? Tony
Yes, in a recent interview Motzkin has said exactly that, that MLS hasn't contacted him at all. I'll try and find the link. And I'm not saying Lalas should be doing it. Of course, he'd want Donovan to stay. The point of my post was as regards Gazidis - and his apparent lack of concern for the Quakes team in general.
No big surprise. Some of us expected more changes last year. We have an older team which took a step back this year. Agoos, Dayak, Onstad, and Ekelund are all on their downside of their careers. Some of the players are injury prone (I.e. Dayak, Robinson) and the younger players either stopped developing or took a step back (Dunivant, Walker, Alvarez). Add the fact that your star will be leaving and the coaching staff didn't do anything worthy of merit (except may be draft Cochrane). Changes should and need to occur. Unfortunately, we have inexperienced GM and coaches running the team. Change and inexperience is not a good mixture....
Problem is that Adu has proven to sell tickets. Not so sure about Donovan. How much can MLS be willing to spend? I'd love for him to stay but am not sure MLS is the best place right now for him to further develop and for him to prove what American talent can do. Anyway, the rest of the Bundesliga season will barely go into the 2005 MLS season. Is it a real problem to give it a trial run?
No doubt. Or what may or may not be worse, we could be seeing some of these favorite players in a different jersey because of the expansion draft. I understand what you're saying but I think the players that brought us not one but two trophies deserve a better appellation than 'dead weight.' I hope we have the chance to applaud all of the champions that depart (much like we were able to for Cannon, Conrad, and Lagos). We believed and they brought home the hardware. I salute them.
There are going to be some players who will be gone due to salary cap concerns or injuries. The big wild cards are Kinnear, who could be gone if the team changes hands and relocates, and Donovan, who seems to be leaning more towards BL04. Whoever ends up getting this team in 2005, if Donovan leaves, if I were the new suits running this club I would get a superstar player (allocation) and quick. I would hate to be investing this team and I don't have the best player on that club. In regards to the 2 games DC came to town yes. Donovan had trouble attracting people to the gate even after the 2001 and 2003 title seasons. I don't have the stats now, but if Donovan is an attendance draw outside of San Jose the league might consider trying to retain his services. ----- Lalas' job is safe no matter what, unless someone buys the team outright and decides to bring in their own person. The plot thickens...
Lalas has conceded that Kinnear had the difficult task of dealing with injuries and rumors of the Earthquakes' relocation. Finances could play a part in the decision. "We are not in a business that is in the position to constantly eat contracts and throw money away,'' he said. "But having said that, we have to make decisions that we feel are going to ensure quality on the field." If Lalas fires Dom I'll be really pissed. Dom has too much character, too much knowledge of the game, and too much history with the area and the team to be judged harshly by Lalas. And give the guy a chance to grow in the job just as AEG is apparently giving to Lalas. The idea of Dom having to answer to Lalas just doesn't seem right. It's like a kid coming back from college for the summer and sitting his father down for a critique. "Now the lawn could use an edging, and couldn't you have gotten a better raise this year at the company"? I think Lalas is latching onto the player / coach personnel stuff because this is something that he understands and can control. The whole sale / relocation / stadium deal predicament is largely out of his control.
That's it... he's the star player of this team--a prospective owner would want him to be the key to any deal... If he leaves, the team doesn't become attractive to a buyer, unless he can get someone of equal or greater value. If he remains, he stays as the cornerstone of this franchise. By the same token, all his fellow mates in Convey and DMB have left for the pastures of Europe and they've elevated their game. He might feel that he's proven himself here and is ready to challenge himself in the European game. An owner who is looking in the team would rather buy in knowing that he will have a star who will put people in the seats, past averages aside.
The worst thing about Tony Amanpour backing out of buying the Quakes is that friggin galexi lalas gets to remain our GM and Pres. As for the Coaches, I'd definitely replace Doyle, preferably with Agoos. I might keep Dom, but we'd have a long talk about the proper use of subs and how to identify those players who are off-form and what to do about it. I throw the rest of my comments in the "Where do we go from here?" thread. It tees me off that galexi gets to reap the benefits of SSV's efforts to boost season ticket sales and Johnny Moore's marketing plans and so he gets to stay. In Dom's defense, we got ripped off by the refs more this season than any I can remember. LONG LIVE THE QUAKES!! - Mark
Sorry bout my earlier post...I was pretty livid when I read the article. I personally, have not seen a single thing that Alexi has done to impress me this entire season. I realize that a lot of people around here like him, but I can't stand him....so sorry. What JazzyJ just posted (the one I quoted) is pretty much wut I meant to say...Bravo JazzyJ!
I am sorry Landon is leaving, since he's the best player in the entire league. But now that means that FC Dallas's Major Player Allocation will now be the best player in the league. But...you will get a major allocation. The league is going this about right. They kept him as long as they could and not get their guts ripped out by the Euros. Landon can play a few years in Europe and become a world class player, get his pub and his major money, and come back to the US in five or six years to finish up. He could still be under 30 and probably among the top 20 in the world. And he can come back to MLS when MLS is paying real money. The credibility MLS will get when he comes back will help every MLS team.