Semi-Official 2009 San Jose Earthquakes Roster Thread

Well the first thing I notice is that you cheated! It's not 2009 yet!

Well OK, close enough.

Looking at our roster, I would ditch Cunliffe [$51K] and Glinton [$60K] and save $111K and an international spot right off the bat. My next thought is that Ned, the Mighty Grabavoy, makes way too much. If we can't get him to play for less, then we trade or cut him. (I think he'd do great in Portland, by the by.) So that gets me to $201K saved, and an international spot.

Now I've got real cash and three open roster spots to play with. Cool!

That's enough cash to offer Sealy $70k. He might or might not go for it, and then that 6'3" Scotsman might be more what we have in mind, but dumping Cunliffe and Glinton gives us immediate options.

If Lima doesn't come back, and I half hope that he does not, then we get another $207 and international spot.

I might trade or cut Garcia too. Can we get Aron Pitchkolan from Dallas? Can we sign a quality central defender from elsewhere? If not, then we keep Nick.

This gives us some room to sign that mystery disgruntled striker from Central America. It allows us to make a play for other MLS clubs starting central defenders.

The thing is, we absolutely have to get better, and that means replacing some of our starters from last season.

GOOOOOOO QUAAAAAAKES!!!!!!!!

- Mark

 

Rights
---*San Jose holds first ranking on the allocation list.


Here is the link and quote. As winners of the wooden spoon, we were second on the allocation list. Now we are first. This is a big one. Hopefully we do better with it this season.

Sounders FC Announce the Signing of Goalkeeper Kasey Keller

 

To Mark
I agree about Cunliffe, Glinton and Lima,
But I would trade sealy, and go for the Scotsman. Sealy just seem uninspired at the games.

And I would Never!! trade Garcia, he was awesome, and I think he played real hard and will continue to...
As for grabavoy, idk, one thing we really need on this squad is physical players, most of them are short and are merely skilled passers, grabavoy being an excellent example of that. I thing we could improve alot in that area.
Sure getting a good central defender for depth wouldn't hurt, but we need a good central midfielder that can match huck and ronnie's ability on the wings. Our defense was already pretty strong (with the exception of denton, who had as many good games as he did bad ones) But if we get a good offensive central mid our strikers might get a bit more service and be a bit more productive.
But you're right the only way we'll move up is if the starters that stay improve, and we bring in some stronger players to start/add depth (and we had very little of that in 08)

 

With the Birchall and Kyle rumors 2009 could start like this

------------Alvarez-----Kyle----------------

Huckerby------Corrales-----Birchall-------O'Brien


Denton-----Garcia------Cochrane------Hernandez

---------------- The Joe-------------------


Would also like to experiment and see Ramiro dropped back into Denton's position, slide Alvarez into the midfield, and pair Johnson with Kyle.

Ramiro would be much more effective then Denton on the overlap, and Arturo's speed and slashing runs might play off the two power guys up front better than Ramiro would.

Shea would still be our super sub, but would probably see more time with Ronnie and Darren's knees a year older.

Still think we need another quality centerback.

 

I didn't think that Sealy was especially great. I do think (hope?) that if he plays with our guys for a full year he'll do better. But in case, I suspect that he will leave us for Europe. So bring on Kyle! (or some mystery player from Central or South America, or elsewhere.)

Sorry, we disagree here. Garcia, especially in the last few matches of the season looked old and slow. He got caught out several times even when he had not ventured very far forward. He doesn't direct Cochrane or the other defenders well either. I want my main central defender to direct traffic in back. I don't see Nick doing that. (Of course, I could be wrong about this, I just do not observe it on TV or at the one match I attended.)

I think we need to bring in several guys who can play central midfield so that we have some choices. We're going to need backups too in case of injuries or national team call ups. Some of us think that Somma can play central midfield, and some think Alvarez can. We need to make sure that one of them can, at least as a back up. Then we still need to score two more guys at least. We've got more forwards on the roster than we need, so we can afford to let Cunliffe go and Sealy is probably moving on of his own devices. We're going to need guys who can play more than one position as backups, so RJ, Kelly Gray, Somma (if he can play forward and central mid), and similar guys. Our roster will be four players smaller next season, so that flexibility in our backups will be more crucial.

I still hope that somehow we get to keep Jay Ayres. I think he could develop into a serious central defender.

GOOOO QUAAAAAAKES!!!!!!

- Mark

 

Birchall is listed as 1.75 m (about 5' 8") so i dont know about him being any more of a physical presence over Lima or Grabavoy, but he's probably a tidy player w/ int'l and championship experience that could work well w/ Corrales. Corrales is good cover at LB, but recall how badly we dropped off as a team when we lost him for two months and after a long layoff, he came in for the last game against TFC and just bossed 'em around. he's our CM, until somebody better comes along. if alvarez can play in the middle ala the way holden progressed from wing to CM for houston, maybe arturo can too.

Agree that we need another solid starting CB and fullback. Cochrane while capable of having good games is not the answer, and you usually have to have a young stud matched up w/ a longer in the tooth veteran. maybe ayres will be that guy one day, but Gray is a versatile player who i recall in some of his first games for SJ was a right back who could get forward, so maybe his playing time gets a bump by showing this side of his skills again. haven't seen enough of Somma to say where he may work best. he's a big guy and can worry defenders so maybe's he's a 3rd option behind RJ (unless his finishing skills are better).

 

Chris Birchall does look like he is coming over, however I don't know how much time he saw in the Coke Cola Champs league with 11 subs on 17 appearances in 07' he could of done less and 150 minutes. He had almost no time last year. On the up side he did play every minute for TnT in the 06' WC!

http://www.carlisleunited.co.uk/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10361~19729,00.html

http://www.soccer365.com/us_news/story_2109204325.php

 

I believe after watching their shots that Somma's finishing is stronger than RJ's

 

Possibly, but RJ's not a guy that you play for his finishing. It's probably the weakest part of his game. But he has a lot of positives in other areas.

 

for sure, I would want the identy of the team to reflect his on field attitude as well. The guy is ravenous.

I'm just happy to be hearing rumors again. No news + my xbox360 away at the repair center = drop in my geek stock (without the Sharks i woulda lost it).

It's crazy how much the league is changing every season, and near impossible to guess what teams will be powerhouses (besides them Quakes)

 

I agree, before I knew who Somma was. I saw him on the pitch with the ball, I said to myself, this guy is a dangerous player around the defense, I hope he plays more next season.

 

I think the best part of Johnson's game is making Eddie Robinson his biatch.

 

Good one!

 

Yep, that's exactly one of the things I had in mind when I wrote "a lot of positives in other areas".

 

I just checked, and MLS.net is yet to post the roster rules for 2009. I believe that all of our information came from a Garber speech following an owners meeting. I don't think details about how those four developmental spots would work were given at that time.

That last question is a really interesting one. As I read the rules it seems to depend on what action was taken. If their contract all expired (an I think all dev contracts are one season or less), then we hold their rights indefinitely. If these players were waived, then they should be available in the next waiver draft, becoming free agents if they are not chosen.

Here is the link to the 2008 roster rules. This being MLS, who knows how much will apply this year.

 

Why Europeans? It seems like the teams that did well had South Americans as impact players. go quakes!!

 

Reserve teams no longer exist. We still get four Dev Roster spots.

Senior Roster increases from 18 to 20.

Total, we get 24 roster spots, which is four less than last year. Thus, utility guys like Gray and RJ will be more valuable than ever before. (Personally, I think reducing the roster sizes is a HUGE mistake, more on that later.)

Right now, we have twenty-one (21) guys listed on our roster. So, one of them will have to take a dev contract and we will need to cut or trade some in order to sign anymore guys. If we assume that Sealy and or Lima leave on their own, then we get two spots there. If some of our current guys are dev players, then we get more spots. So maybe Hatzke, Roberts, and Somma are all dev players, but then we'd only have one open dev spot for a draftee or invitee this year.

We need to develop more talent in this country. Our College system is weak at best. Our MLS clubs are only just now starting youth academies. (OK, a couple have been up and running for a while, but most teams are only just now starting youth sides.) So killing the dev roster, or greatly reducing it, means that fewer players will have a chance to work with MLS clubs to get better. This is bad. This is movement in the wrong direction. We need to develop more, not fewer US domestic players (and for that matter, any youngsters that come here for college or soccer or both). We have to have a deep pool of talent if our league is to improve.

So I've been looking at our roster with a very critical eye. We need to jettison some guys to make room for new players so that we can get better. My top candidates for the recycle heap are:

Lima (not because he sucks, but because he wants to leave)
Sealy (not because he sucks, but because he wants to leave)
Cunliffe - because he sucks
Grabavoy - because he costs more than he is worth (I feel guilty about this.)
Glinton - because he costs more than he is worth
Hatzke - because he's terrible
Garcia - because he costs more than he is worth, because he is not fast enough any more, because he is too short, because we need to get better.

So the four guys that I would deliberately toss are Cunliffe, Grabavoy, Glinton, and Hatzke. We may or may not lose one or both of Lima and Sealy. I still think we need to upgrade from Garcia to someone younger, taller, faster, and louder. I'd try for Aron Pitchkolan of Dallas, or failing that, there are some USL guys who might be good enough. Nick let us down in several matches late last season.

But the reason I want to ditch some players is that we need the open roster spots to sign new guys who can take us to the next level.

GOOOOO QUAAAAAAKES!!!!!!

- Mark

 

I did a depth chart and we lack hardcore in many areas. Upgrades are needed.

2009 Depth Chart

? - Uncertain of a return.

Goalkeepers (Need a 2nd & Possibly A 3rd String)
Joe Cannon

Right Back
Jason Hernandez
Kelly Gray
Matt Hatzke

Right Center Back
Ryan Cochrane
Jason Hernandez
Jamil Roberts

Left Center Back
Nick Garcia
Ryan Cochrane

Left Back
Eric Denton
Nick Garcia
Ramiro Corrales

Right Mid
Ronnie O'Brien
Shea Salinas
Ryan Johnson

Offensive Center Mid
Chris Birchill ?
Ramiro Corrales
Ned Grabavoy ?
Ronnie O'brien

Defensive Mid
Francisco Lima ?
Ramiro Corrales
Kelly Gray

Left Mid
Darren Huckerby
Shea Salinas
Arturo Alvarez
Ramiro Corrales

Forwards
Arturo Alvarez
Ryan Johnson
Scott Sealy ?
John Cunliffe ?
Gavin Glinton
Davide Somma
Michael Ghebru ?

Target Forwards
Ryan Johnson
John Cunliffe ?
Scott Sealy ?

Rumored Players
Chris Birchill


Starting 11 (With what we have & the rumored guy)

Joe Cannon
Jason Hernandez, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia, Eric Denton
Ramiro Corrales
Ronnie O'brien, Darren Huckerby
Chris Birchill ?
Ryan Johnson, Arturo Alvarez​

On paper that team should be able to contend, but for the long stretch, Suspensions, Injuries, Call-Ups, The depth will be key. So so much needed upgrades & additions will be in order.

Now in reality a team that will be able to contend with the big dogs would be something like this.

Joe Cannon
Jason Hernandez, Ryan Cochrane, Nick Garcia/Upgrade/New Player, Upgrade/New Player/Denton/Corrales
Ramiro Corrales/New Player
Ronnie O'brien, Darren Huckerby
Chris Birchill ?
Target Forward / Alvarez or Johnson​

Things we need most.
Back Up Goalkeeper (Countess, Saunders, Pickens, Other are available .)
Defensive Depth & Upgrades. (Pitchkolan & Others)
Target Forward & Scavenger Forward (Think Graziani).
And Maybe 1-2 Midfielders to add decent depth.

Out of the remaining players this is what we have.

Goalkeepers - None
Defenders - Kelly Gray, Jamil Roberts, Eric Denton, Matt Hatzke
Midfielders - Shea Salinas* , Kelly Gray, Matt Hatzke, Ned Grabavoy, Michael Ghebru
Forwards - John Cunliffe, Gavin Glinton, Davide Somma, Ryan Johnson*

* - Salinas & Johnson will be in first team rotation regardless. Maybe Kelly Gray & Eric Denton.

I left Sealy & Lima off, because there almost 100% going abroad.

Our Roster

Right now we have a bunch of open spots.

Senior Roster (20 Players) (8 - Can be Internationals) (5 Slots Open)
1 - Arturo Alvarez
2 - Joe Cannon
3 - Ryan Cochrane
4 - Ramiro Corrales
5 - John Cunliffe (I)
6 - Eric Denton
7 - Nick Garcia
8 - Gavin Glinton (I)
9 - Ned Grabavoy
10- Kelly Gray
11- Jason Hernandez
12- Darren Huckerby (I)
13- Ryan Johnson
14- Ronnie O'brien
15- Shae Salinas
16- Open / Scott Sealy (I) (?)
17- Open / Francisco Lima (I) (?)
18- Open / Chris Birchill (I) (?)
19- Open
20- Open

Internationals (Up to 8) (5/8) (Possibly 3/8)
1 - Darren Huckerby
2 - Gavin Glinton
3 - John Cunliffe
4 - Open / Scott Sealy (?)
5 - Open / Francisco Lima (?)
6 - Open / Chris Birchill (?) (Possibly A New player)
7 - Open
8 - Open

Developmental / Generation Adidas Players (Up to 4) (Full)​

1 - Davide Somma (GA)
2 - Matt Hatzke (DEV)
3 - Michael Ghebru (DEV)
4 - Jamil Roberts (DEV)

I expect some wheeling & dealing in the upcoming Super Draft, and except around that time, to have our roster come together, and some late pre-season additions & finds.

Ok I'm done sorry for the long rant.

 

Thanks Roblar for keeping this going

I hope Sealy and Lima are gone soon. They're not good enough if we want to get better next year, but sooner rather than later helps us a lot to know who to shop for. I still have hope we use the DP slot for a forward.