NO! It’s not best for Us! Only if we were getting a ton of cash for him, but we’re not. Hey, is CL going to LaF#ck too? Go Quakesfans!!
Yeah, it sucks for us. I mean *maybe* if we got a bunch of GAM or a player in a trade for him, or some $ in a transfer, and we magically were able to turn that into getting the best player on our team to replace the best player on our team. But 1) the chance of that happening is small and 2) we're not getting the capital to do that anyway. We're getting nothing.
There is no explanation. My point is, he was here for 7 years , won nothing and is now turning 31. What are we going to do keep crying about a player who is no longer here and is on LAFC? Espinoza is gone and won’t be coming back so the way I see it, let’s just MOVE ON and hope for the best.
I can move on but I can also say that this is a firing offense for Bruce. Bruce out. Dumping Hernán, and Verhoeven - a sure bet MLS starter in the making from our academy, was bad enough. But this one takes the cake.
Since 2008. we have seen many instances of players exceling elsewhere as soon as they leave San Jose. Off the top of my head, Justin Morrow, Steven Beitashour and Ike Opara all did better after leaving the Quakes. I seriously doubt Pellegrino, Hernán, and Verhoeven will have improved had they stayed with the Quakes. Time for new blood
Serious question: is Bruce responsible for the (incredibly badly executed) business end of these transactions? He may say "I want player X gone!" but does he also say "I don't care if we give him away for free! Just make him go away!"?
Well I think both the technical decision and the business end are very bad, certainly in the case of Espinoza. So in any case, the moves reflect badly on Bruce. We don't know what happened though in the case of Espinoza. Here are some theories: 1) Oops - They just missed the deadline to exercise the option by mistake. It's possible that this would have led to Leitch's firing if he was responsible for keeping up with those things. But if it was just a mistake, and Espinoza really wanted to stay, then everyone could act in good faith and simply re-sign him for similar terms. 2) Nickel And Dime - We wanted to nickel and dime Espinoza and renegotiate his contract. If so, I can easily see Espinoza taking offense, after all he's given to the franchise with his effort and leadership, and telling them to take a hike. It's also possible that Espinoza is not happy with the club for dumping his buddy Hernán, which leads to: 3) Lemme Out Of Here - It's possible Espinoza went to the club, and possibly pissed off over some of the decisions made, including the Hernán dumping, pro-actively asked to be moved. Of course, then you do what any sane club would do. You pick up his option and then trade him, as there would be many suitors. 4) Let's Dump Our Best Player - Bruce could have decided he wants to move on from Espinoza, and may be thinking "better to get rid of a player a year or two early than a year or two late". But that doesn't really make sense because 1) Espinoza's form was not really declining, and 2) Bruce praised him repeatedly during the season, and 3) you could still take his option and trade or transfer him. Of these, I think Nickel And Dime and Oops are the most likely because each of them would explain why we didn't do the obvious thing, which is to take Espinoza's option and then, whether he wants to leave, or we want to move on, we would get compensation for him, and likely very healthy compensation.
I think this is still a rumor, yes? Maybe hold off using the pitchforks until some sort of real confirmation?
It’s not a rumor that he’s a free agent. That’s why my pitchfork is out. I don’t care what team he goes to if he’s not on the Quakes. There’s no good reason he should be a free agent. As to what that bad reason is, that’s the subject of my last post.
I think I heard that they are. If we keep him, we'll probably have to give him a big raise because he'll have a lot of suitors, when we could have just exercised his option at more or less his current salary. :facepalm
I don’t want to fight about this. Not with loyal Quakesfans. The Quakes will be worse off without Espinoza, and losing him for no cash is criminal. You’re looking at this from Cristian’s perspective, whereas I am looking at this from the Quakes perspective. We screwed the pooch here. This is a screwup of Titanic proportions. If we wanted to trade him, fine. If we wanted to sell his contract, fine. But giving him up for free is like giving away your house. It’s stupid and self-destructive. If CL was fired for this, that’s good. If this is Bruce’s fault, then he should be sacked. This is unacceptable. Sure, maybe it’s better for Cristian, but my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priorities are the Quakes. I’m really pissed about this and moving on is not an option. You move on from a job, or (in extremis) from a marriage. I’m not suddenly going to start rooting for another team. Sure, I’ll follow the Quakes next season, but right now, it looks like the team Wants to lose. What am I supposed to do with that? Go Quakesfans!!
Espinoza has announced on Instagram that he is leaving." Dear Quakes family!! The time has come to say goodbye after six incredible years..."
This is all part of Bruce's brilliant 4D chess playing that involves getting rid of your best player, club legend, and team leader who never misses a game.
Bruce is always going on about Carlos Gil as a role model, and then here in San Jose putting Ezpinoza in that same class. If that is the person/role model/ example you want on your team, why fail to renew him?
Will we ever get the story about what happened? Reposting my analysis of the possible explanations. As I said before I think "Oops" and "Nickel And Dime" are the most likely explanations along with the theory that Espinoza was pissed off at either of those occurences + may not have liked how Bruce managed the club, in particular the dumping of his buddy Hernán. ------------ ...We don't know what happened though in the case of Espinoza. Here are some theories: 1) Oops - They just missed the deadline to exercise the option by mistake. It's possible that this would have led to Leitch's firing if he was responsible for keeping up with those things. But if it was just a mistake, and Espinoza really wanted to stay, then everyone could act in good faith and simply re-sign him for similar terms. 2) Nickel And Dime - We wanted to nickel and dime Espinoza and renegotiate his contract. If so, I can easily see Espinoza taking offense, after all he's given to the franchise with his effort and leadership, and telling them to take a hike. It's also possible that Espinoza is not happy with the club for dumping his buddy Hernán, which leads to: 3) Lemme Out Of Here - It's possible Espinoza went to the club, and possibly pissed off over some of the decisions made, including the Hernán dumping, pro-actively asked to be moved. Of course, then you do what any sane club would do. You pick up his option and then trade him, as there would be many suitors. 4) Let's Dump Our Best Player - Bruce could have decided he wants to move on from Espinoza, and may be thinking "better to get rid of a player a year or two early than a year or two late". But that doesn't really make sense because 1) Espinoza's form was not really declining, and 2) Bruce praised him repeatedly during the season, and 3) you could still take his option and trade or transfer him. Of these, I think Nickel And Dime and Oops are the most likely because each of them would explain why we didn't do the obvious thing, which is to take Espinoza's option and then, whether he wants to leave, or we want to move on, we would get compensation for him, and likely very healthy compensation.
His destination will tell us a lot. If it is out of MLS to a bigger payday, or to go home to Argentina, that is one thing. If it is to another MLS team, that would be a different message.
Either way, the message is bad. If he wanted to leave or if we wanted to move on, we could have still exercised his contract option and received substantial compensation. It's not only dumb, it's criminal incompetence.
Speaking of Carles Gil, he's now 33yo. I wonder if Bruce is gonna make a play to trade for him. The Revs might be amenable because he's 33yo, if the offer is good is good enough.