Listening to his coach’s suggestions. Jesse is gonna ride or die with Almeyda. Might as well get the players Matias wants. Remember when Jesse first brought Vako to the Quakes and Kinnear didn’t know what to do with him? Or when Jesse selected Yuiell in the draft and Kinnear basically ignored him and played his preferred guy in Alashe?
The GM and coach should absolutely be on the same page. The issue with Kinnear highlights why Fioranelli should be the one in charge, though. It's pretty easy, all things considered, to fire a coach and hire a new one. The Quakes have done it a bunch over the last few years. Changes in coaching staff are much easier to deal with than trying to rework your roster to meet the demands of your new coach every time you get one. So the issue isn't that Almeyda has suggested players he wants so much as it's that Fioranelli seemingly has no interest in signing anyone that Almeyda hasn't suggested. And I've said it before, but Almeyda's job is not to identify and acquire talent. It is to coach. If we have to ask what it is that Fioranelli is actually doing as GM, that's not a good sign to me. If he were fired or left, would any of really notice? Or would it be like a Fox situation?
It would be close to a Fox situation. Matias is kind of wearing both hats these days, coach & GM. Glad we at least picked up one player this offseason. Hope we don’t lose Flo in that CB position though. If Alanis also plays CB, maybe Kashia could take I’ve over at LB for Shea who could then go back to his LW sub role. LB has been our weakest spot for years now.
Nevertheless, I would rather have a coach have access to players that know his system, personality, and what is expected of them, than trying to fit square pegs into round holes. But, interestingly, Matias did a much better job with the Swedish player than the Swedish coach did.
You’re argument works very well when Stahre was coach. It would have made much more sense for Jesse to get his players rather than listen to Stahre. Almeyda is different though. He’s a star, at least he’s the biggest start the Quakes have (Wondo is bigger in the local market or maybe in the MLS market, but Almeyda is bigger in the Americas). In this case Almeyda has basically taken over. Yes, there are obvious negatives to that, but realistically Almeyda is the best thing we have and it makes sense for him to call the shots. I don’t think it’s unusual for a star coach to call the shots. I’m pretty sure that’s how things are working at Liverpool and Man City. Klopp gives the GM a list of players he wants and it’s their job to make it happen. Klopp is Liverpool right now. I think Jesse is the bridge between what Almeyda actually wants and what Fisher is willing to offer. There has to be a lot of tension there (I don’t care what Almeyda says about not wanting stars, I’m sure he wants better players). I get the sense that Jesse is able to keep things working to some degree (although I believe that tension is the indirect root cause for Almeyda getting thrown out of two games).
If Alanis plays, it will be at centerback, so, no if there. And slow Kashi at left back? Both Lima and Lopez would be better options. Unless perhaps Matias wants to try three at the back. And with Lopez having more time to learn Almeyda's system I think we will see him improving. I still would have liked to see a Carlos Gil like creative attacking midfielder added.
I don't think players will be incompatible with a system just because the coach didn't hand pick them. I don't really understand why people seem to think that if the coach doesn't pick them, they automatically won't be able to adjust or whatever. Sure, some players won't, but in those cases, that probably just means those players aren't really all that good in the first place. The Kinnear example brought up before is not a good one to me because Kinnear was not a good coach in the modern era of MLS. It didn't matter when he and Doyle were on the same page. The team's results were still bad. It never would have mattered what players Fioranelli got with Kinnear because they didn't agree and Kinnear was no longer effective in his job. This is what frustrates me. It shouldn't be interesting that a good coach gets more out of whatever players they are working with than a bad one. That should be a given.
The one position we had nailed down is Flo at CB. He’s not a midfield player. He’s as solid as Muma was back there. I agree Kashia is slow and easily gets burned by speedy forwards, LB would be tough for him. But, if Alanis is paired with Flo at CB, which sounds like Alanis’ natural position, we’re still without a solid LB, unless Lopez can play LB, as you say and Lima at RB.
I wouldn't bet that that's how it works at those teams. Maybe it is, but definitely wouldn't bet on it. And even if it is, you're also talking about teams that spend ludicrous amounts of money to be competitive. That situation is so different from how the Quakes are operating that they really aren't comparable. And even then, I would say every single time that the GM (or whatever title the head of team ops has) is the one who should be driving talent identification and acquisition. No exceptions. If your coach is doing it, then you don't need a separate person to be head of ops. You'd just have a situation like Arena, where he was in control of both things and just worked out stuff with his assistants to do the tasks he couldn't accomplish. That approach is also fine, but it makes no sense to me to have a GM if they are just going to go after players the coach wants. Just consolidate at that point.
LOL. Fioranelli is implementing the strategic plan. You might not like the plan, but the owner does, which is why Jesse is still around.
I didn't say just because a player wasn't picked by a coach that they would be incompatible, but, with Ameyda's unique coaching philosophy it makes sense to acquire players that he feels would be a good fit. The easiest way to do that is to get players you know. I certainly don't want to limit our pool of potential players to only those who Almeyda has experience with, but, I am not going to fault him for going the route he has.
I don't know if I've ever read about Almeyda playing a three back system, but I love that idea with Kashia and Alanis on the outside with Flo in the center in a more free marking role... I think Nick and TT could flourish in that system as the outside winger/backs.
Found this: https://www.reddit.com/r/SJEarthquakes/comments/9mrnwp/matias_almeydas_formation_history/ Not many times with a 3 man back line.
No opinion on Alanis yet, but I certainly wouldn't trust Kashia to do outside defending on a regular basis. Honestly, I don't really trust any of the Quakes defenders as individuals, and defending is very much a coordinated effort among those players, anyway. You'd see flashes of just three defenders when the Quakes had possession in the opponent's half, which is probably enough. I'd sacrifice a fourth defender for a third forward every day of the week, but it's not likely. Unfortunately, we'll probably have to watch a frustrating mix of Jungwirth and Kashia or Jungwirth and Alanis, depending on how well each is doing in training.
Fair point. I'm sure that Klopp is responsible for the signing of players that are 'known quantities' (i.e. the expensive ones). For the cheaper players (relatively) I'm sure they have a team of scouts/analysts that are watching games and analyzing data. I'm sure they find the players and Klopp signs off (think players like Keita or Minamino). However I'm sure Klopp requested Van Dijk and Allison (the big difference makers) - no special analysis needed for those guys. However, do you think Almeyda specifically requested our super draft picks? I don't get that feeling at all. Do you think Almeyda is choosing which guys to sign as homegrowns? If so, why? I think Almeyda is driving the bigger impact players (who unfortunately we can't afford anyway). If we were in contention for Pulido it was because Almeyda wanted him. So, at least to me, the model seems pretty similar to the current greatest team in the world. That's not bad.
Alanís is a center back with a nice left foot technique, he always finds the way to pass the ball. He wins a lot of air balls in both boxes.Penalty kicks and close range free kicks are his specialty.You will see him score during the season.— Jesús Bernal (@Jesus_Bernal) January 28, 2020
A loan means the Quakes can defer the decision later. It sounds good for now and we don't need to commit multi-year contract to a 30-yr old player up front. If he is not working out, then there is no obligation. However, if he is a decent player and does well, then we will have to make the same decision but the player is another year older. Plus, I don't know if a transfer fee is already agreed upon with this loan arrangement. Will Chivas jack up the price?
Trying not to derail too much as this probably belongs in either the Almeyda thread or the Fioranelli one. But yeah, I highly doubt Almeyda knows much, or anything, about college players in the US. So he isn't likely leading the charge on those picks. Homegrowns, maybe a bit murkier given how he was Yueill's advocate. Won't continue that discussion here, but I will say that I'm not even down on the Alanis signing on its own. I am not really impressed with any of the current Quakes defenders, anyway. There's just a trend that this signing provides more evidence for, and it's a trend that leads me to believe this is Almeyda's team now, not Fioranelli's. I think there are obvious issues with that arrangement.