Let's also not forget that Eriksson shaved his mohawk prior to this season, so that likely triggered a reverse-Samson effect. GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Two assists in a win?That'll get you on @MLS Team of the Week.Congrats, @Erikssonmange7! #VamosSJ pic.twitter.com/Nl4VDeynrH— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) August 26, 2019
yeah, this guy deserves a shout out. Him and Vako have been crucial in our squad turning the corner, cant even debate it. The coach has turned worthless DPs into crucial cogs (and one into a top 5 MVP candidate).
If you go back a few pages, we were all hating all over this guy. I could not stand to see him diving every other minute, not to mention the hair. And now...major turnaround, in him and in us.
He has turned my opinion of his play completely around. I have to give credit where it is due, he has a very pleasant (positive) surprise for us this year. Credit to Magnus and Almeyda!
The criticism directed toward Magnus last year was not undeserved, but, certainly the praise of his play this year is fully warranted. I was ready to send him on a longship back to the Old World, but, it is clear that Almeyda has managed to accentuate his better qualities and diminish the negative aspects of his play. Definitely the Comeback Player of the Year imo.
The question goes back, then, to how much of it was the fault of Eriksson and how much was it the fault of Stahre. Stahre insisted on Eriksson playing out wide, and when Almeyda's done the same thing, Eriksson has been far, far less effective. So it would seem that he just can't play out wide, and somehow, one coach never managed to realize this, while the other seemed to recognize it immediately.
Magnus was always slow, but had a good left foot and vision. It's not rocket science that he wouldn't work on the outside but he played there in Europe and I'm guessing Stahre just played the script. Even when he was moved centrally, the team didn't use him. He's still a wily veteran (slight touches usually get a foul called) but I think he's flopping less (but still flopping). I'm surprised at how well he's fitting in, in Almeyda's system, but very pleasantly so.
I recall an interview Magnus gave where he said he can't play on the wing in MLS because he's not as fast as many in MLS. So we knew it, he knew it, everyone knew it but the coach. Well, my guess is Stahre knew it too but he probably didn't think he had a better option. I don't remember if he ever tried Shea, Tommy, Calvillo, Felipe or if he did how that went. I'm not saying Stahre was a good coach but our roster had holes in it. I remember even Wondo criticized the roster construction at the time. Espinoza has made a world of difference for us.
This is true. And the games Espinoza has missed have been bad. But to not let Stahre off the hook, our offense wasn't the problem last year. We scored enough goals. It was the defense that was a mess, and those players are mostly unchanged (and we don't drop off badly when Lopez is out).
Yeah, Stahre tried to play Flo in the midfield which is now clear isn’t his best position. Shea was left back which it was always clear is not his best position. Quintero wasn’t ready to be a starter and yet he was. Lima was great at right back but was injured for a chunk of the season. Tarbell also not a starter. The back line looked better when we added Guram but it was still a mess. Looking back, stahre could have played Tommy at right back and nick on the left which means Shea can start or sub in the midfield. It’s now obvious Flo should have been center back along with Cummings and we probably shouldn’t have signed Quintero- that money could have been used for a better GK. Also in this situation we might not have needed to bring Guram- we could have used the money for a right wing and move Magnus to the center. So I would say Stahre did make mistakes on defense but he’s not 100% responsible. Was Cummings available last year or was that the year he missed the whole season? I’ve blocked 2018 Quakes from my memory apparently.
I definitely missed that interview, but kudos to him for recognizing his shortcomings. I still don't think he played particularly well in 2018, obviously, self-reflection is key to being able to improve oneself, and we've seen significant improvements in his performances. He's evidence that maybe Fioranelli is better at identifying talent than he initially seemed to be. Jury's still out on this overall, but I'm glad Eriksson didn't end up being a total bust. Were he not available now, the team would have a lot more difficulty winning games.
It was easy to miss. https://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/9xyzpv/magnus_eriksson_on_mls_being_a_dp_and_us_diets/
Stahre was unprepared for the league and never did well on tactics, technique or style of play. The team had no heart whatsoever. Looking at more or less the same core group of players while adding Judson, Espinosa and a few new reserves, Almeyda deserves all the credit in the world for recognizing the existing rosters strengths and weaknesses. I never would have thought Tommy for example would ever turn the corner and play as he has been. If Lima (who has made many mistakes this season) is a national team player, I’m sure Thompson could at least get a look. I started doubting Matias after both losing streaks but then he gets the team to bounce right back. This will have never happened in previous years under any of our coaches. Magnus has played a huge part in many of the teams victories this season and is living up to his initial billing as a Swedish international. He is having an exceptional season and who would have believed this from January until March?
Losing Streak #1 was growing pains. Losing Streak #2 is on the players. They absolutely should have had 6-9 points from CLB-COL-SKC-LAFC and ended up with 1. With the exception of LAFC they could have put the game to bed in the first 20 minutes had they finished chances. Hopefully it's something they will continue to improve on. I'm afraid playoffs are iffy, though, given the monstrous remainder of schedule. But then again if they make it, they will certainly deserve to be there.
So I may be a little new to this forum, but, uh, really not sure why you all thought Magnus was so bad last season? Were we watching the same team? I thought he was a good player who was in the wrong position with possibly the wrong coach. But definitely one of the better players. He has always been good, but it was hard to see perhaps because he wasn’t playing in the right place.
Watch him run. He is a good player, but he runs with his feet splayed apart. It’s like he is shuffling. As long as he gets stuck in and does his best for the team, he has my support.
Magnus Eriksson scored a beauty against Orlando. The guy is a stud. If the previous posts of this thread could only be restricted!
Doesn't need to be restricted at all... he was just plane ineffective last year and he dove and whined incessantly. He was signed as an aggressive, outside winger so the expectation was set from the beginning by the FO. He turned out to be slow as molasses and not particularly aggressive. And on our team last year, he was expected to do everything himself. In our new system he doesn't have to run nearly as much and it feels to me like he's diving less and he's using his gamesmanship to help the team. A new coach was all he needed but I assume that's true for most players.