Undefeated after 6? Please explain it to me.

Neither do I. Before the season started I had them as one of the weaker teams, based on who they lost and the failure to pick up much to replace them-or so I thought. Obviously Ching has been a surprise, and has helped to fill the void left by Graziani. Also Dunivant has made the loss of Barrett a non-factor. It's hard to explain, but it may be a combination of things. Good coaching, Donovan, maybe they are not as good as their record shows, etc. I guess time will tell.

 

Agoos is playing much better. Perhaps he deserves to be capped again.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Landon is missing.

 

The league parady is such that with just a little bit of adjustment here and there, any team is capable of a very good run at times.
How many leagues will a team win a championship in their first year as Chicago did?
This is not the Scottish Premier League where you can guess which two teams will finish on top of the table 4 years in advance.

 

What's incredible to me is that these other teams with their big-ticket additions are sucking. LA with Hong is well known, but I saw some of the DC/KC game and noticed that Earnie Stewart hasn't done squat for DC.

Metros appear to be doing pretty well with their Honduran, and Hejduk is contributing for Columbus, so they're not all busts, but every week where the Quakes still lead the league makes Yallop look like more of a genius for picking up Ching, Mullan, and Dunivant.

 

I voted for other, and here's my other:

Yallop is a freaking genius!

It's more than a question of Yallop (and Kinnear?) picking good talent, it's also a question of picking players who fit both the style and mentality of the team they are trying to build (and re-build!). Yallop keeps signing work horse type players. Selfless guys that love to play team ball.

I don't think we can argue that Ching is a great player, even if he contributes a ton this season. It's not so much that he's great as that he plays well with his teammates. That's a different kind of greatness. I'm not sure that Ching would fit in nearly as well on another team.

I think the same can be said for Mullan. Dunivant was just a good pick. Frank had time to watch him play a lot and Mulrooney had some influence there as well.

Anyway, that's my take. Good coaching, good selection of players that want to work together, and maybe a little luck are why we're doing as well as we are.

GO QUAKES!!

- Mark

 

And just how many times in how many different threads are you going to remind us about this?

 

The team has been playing very good defense this year. I think we have the best middle defense in the league with Dayak, Agoos, and Mulrooney. Also the forwards have been working very hard on defense. When all 11 players play defense it becomes very hard for teams to score on us. Only 5 goals allowed all season. We don't give up many goals, therefore we don't lose many games. This explains undefeated after 6, why were in first place.... a little luck and a little Landon.

 

Combination of Frank Yallop's eye for new talent, and the other teams just plain suck.

 

Because a TEAM is hard to beat, and no one else in the league is playing with all 11 players working for each other. Add Donovan's touch and vision, the Quakes should easily have twice as many goals for as they do so far this year.

 

Hardest working team, selfless team spirit (lack of egotistical prima donnas this year) and yes, the coach is a frickin' genius.

 

It's parity or parody. Either will do, but take your pick: play it straight or play it sarcastic.

Or combine the two: paridy, as in 'a parody of parity.'

'nuff said, no charge -- but you haven't played Metro yet.

 

We're just that damn good mate. And don't forget we still have a game in hand over KC with our 4 pt. lead...and KC plays LA next....

 

Other choices...

1) Keeping Goodsport out of the stadium

2) Brian Ching invoking the power of a kahuna to bless the Earthquakes before the season started. Where's my Hawaiian dictionary...I need to translate Earthquake into Hawaiian...banner anyone?

3) Better to be lucky than good

4) Clean living

Remember folks, we were in similar straits last year...holding the Supporters Shield in our own hands until September. It's not how we start...it's how we finish.

 

Ah! Said with good humor and fun. I liked that typo too!

As for the Metrhoids, your lot are doing better than I expected. Four wins in a row, that's nice. Of course, beating up on Colorado and DC is hardly worth bragging about. -- and you haven't played the Quakes yet!

Looking forward to it too!

GO QUAKES!!

- Mark

 

Yes, yes, but with everyone in the West being in piss poor form this season, uncharacteristically of this conference/division, chances are we can distance ourselves enough to counteract any slight dip in form suffered during the Confederations Cup or Gold Cup, and finish relatively well...should we continue getting results as we have thus far.

 

I voted other.

1. Dayak and Agoos are playing at their 2001 levels.

2. Having Mulrooney and Corrales in center mid means two defensive mids effectively, so very few goals allowed.

3. Donovan has created good chances on offense, and others have taken the chances.

4. The rest of the league isn't all that good this year.

 

I went with "other". I freely admit I was one of the naysayers who predicted a rough season for the Quakes at the beginning of the year, and have been pleasantly surprised at our success. I think three factors are significantly contributing to the teams performance (beyond what was expected coming into this year). First, I think the performance of the central defence/midfield (Agoos, Dayak, and Mulrooney) has been particularly strong. Second, I think Dunivant has exceeded expectations in coming along as quickly as he has - I knew he'd be a player, but didn't expect him to hit his stride until the end of the year. However, I honestly believe, based on the games I've watched so far, that the quality of the league is simply not as high as it was last year. Perhaps teams are simply still trying to find a rhythm, particularly given that many teams underwent a significant amount of change from last year (e.g., Metros, Chicago, and Colorado). However, that doesn't quite jive with LA tanking as they have, or the Metros are doing as well as they are.

 

Hey Goodsport! You keep right on reminding! It's posts like yours that keep this board from getting as depressing as others might like it to be...for God's sake! The Quakes are at the top of the LEAGUE...just freakin' enjoy it!

 

LOL, this is what you are boasting about? That they could be good enough to finish fourth in a five team division? Heck even LDB and Noah_Dahl would have granted you that.