Ok, some early "answers" or at least what im leaning toward at the moment.... 1: I think it comes down to this. If Dom wants to try and tweak the existing team, then time to move on. If Dom realizes that this is a rebuilding year, and that shakeup is needed, then give him another shot. 2: Expansion draft: Protect: Mullan, Ching, DeRo, Conway, Corrales, Dunivant, Mulrooney, Waibel, Robinson and 3 others, not sure who yet. Maybe Agoos, Onstad and Ekelund, maybe not. I dunno. 3: Donovan is probbaly gone, I think Ekelunds time is done as well. Agoos I havent decided on. Brown, Russel, Hart and Roner all are expendable. 4: Best talent available. Only position to think twice about this is at right mid and central midfield. 5: I dont know, have to see what Salt Lake and Chivas do, and see if what becomes open to us. 6: Starting forward or left mid (I think DeRo could be a usefull LM and Alvarez needs to either be given a shot or traded.).Basicly, we need someone who can either attack from the wing or partner Ching up front. Heck, even both. Then, any real good players we can get our hands on would help.
This is a team that has not drastically re-tooled (except a couple of positions) in nearly 3 years. This means essentially that this team has grown old together. We may be seeing wholesale changes...not because Alexi deems it so or Dom deems it so, but because the players themselves deem it so. So let's look at the roster player-by-player and see if you agree or disagree: 1 - Jon Conway - is it time for him to step up and be the #1 that he was supposed to be two years ago? He's not my favorite keeper in club history, but he's shown me a great deal of improvement, and it would be interesting to see what he could do week-in-and-week-out. 2 - Eddie Robinson - I think we all agree that we like Eddie Robinson as a central defender...when he's healthy enough to play. Injuries have robbed him of a consistent starting spot over two seasons. Can we count on him to remain healthy for a full season? 4 - Chris Roner - Will he heal successfully enough to warrant a full time roster spot? 5 - Ramiro Corrales - In spite of the constant criticism he receives on these boards, he's one of our most versatile players and that makes him extremely valuable given the meager roster limits. The big question is, if Chivas skews its player selection process as Hispanic as we all suspect, would he be a likely candidate to be left open to the expansion draft? 6 - Ronnie Ekelund - Part of one of the great midfield tandems in the league...but after 16 years of professional football and a series of nagging injuries in 2004, will he choose to return? Personally, I think not. 7 - Ian Russell - On-again-off-again form in 2004...for the future, can he be expected to hold down the right midfield spot if Brian Mullan is asked to move up top? 8 - Richard Mulrooney - Easily the most reliable player on the roster, and quite possibly, and quite quietly, the most valuable. Could he be wearing the captain's armband full time in 2005? 9 - Brian Mullan - Following a breakout season for Rob Stone's favorite player, Mullan may become a marquee player in 2005 if certain conditions exist (and certain players exit). Will he remain in the right midfield slot? Or will he be moved up top to run at defenders in the box rather than on the wing? 10 - Landon Donovan - A decision that's largely out of the club's hands...it's in the hands of BL04, MLS, and Landon himself. If he leaves, there may be players already on the roster who could step into his position (but not out of his shadow). If he does return in 2005, does he stay up top or move back to an attacking mid role full-time? 11 - Arturo Alvarez - Whatever happened to this kid? Injuries and junior nats call-ups took him out of the club's plans for 2004. Do we dare leave him exposed to the expansion draft for Chivas to pick off? 12 - Jeff Agoos - God bless the Goose. 30 years from now we'll look back at his 5 rings and we'll marvel...because I'll bet in 30 years there still won't be another player with 5 rings. But he's 36 years old. His back is wearing down, his body is giving out. Will he call it a career? 13 - Jamil Walker - He couldn't match the magic of his late season run in 2003. Injuries and just plain poor form plagued him all year. Does he still have enough lightning to complement the physical thunder of Brian Ching? 14 - Dwayne DeRosario - His play on the left side of midfield was a revelation for Canada. Do we dare try to recreate that magic? Or do we stand pat with DeRo on the front line? 15 - Roger Levesque - Has rarely gotten the opportunity to show what he can do with the full side. Does he get an opportunity if Donovan ships out? Or is he left open to the expansion draft as well? 16 - Craig Waibel - He became one of my favorite players this season. OK, so he sprayed an occasional pass in the wrong direction -- he more than made up for it with grit and hustle. And I thought he was much improved in spite of that in bringing the ball into the attack. Pencil him in to return. 17 - Todd Dunivant - Injuries stole the opportunity to duplicate his wonderful rookie season. An off season of R&R should find him restored for the beginning of 2005. He stays too. 18 - Pat Onstad - After a rocky start he's been rock solid for two seasons. But, at age 36, for how much longer? Anyone know for certain his contract status? 19 - Troy Dayak - God bless The Beast as well. But is The Cowboy's body finally betraying him? Would he accept a back-up role if Robinson and Cochrane step in as the starters? 20 - Ryan Cochrane - Justified his top-draft-pick status. Made some mistakes of youth and inexperience, but showed the natural tools that should make him a solid central defender if he can remain healthy as well. 21 - Tighe Dombrowski - We only saw brief glimpses of him during the season but I, for one, was intrigued by what I saw. But given Dom's system, where does he fit in? 22 - Wes Hart - Say what you will about Alexi Lalas as GM, but the acquisition of Hart was one of 2 masterstrokes that kept us alive in 2004. Given the relative youth and relatively fragile nature of the young defenders we may field in 2005, I think he's an important insurance policy. 23 - Chris Brown - The other good acquisition by The Red Man...but, unfortunately, NE Revs fans warned us and their warnings were correct. He gave us a few good games and a couple important goals, but beyond that, nada. Thanks for your service but... 24 - Steve Cronin - Needs to see some US Open Cup action to shake off a season spent rusting as the #3 keeper. 25 - Brian Ching - Yes, he was the league's leading goal scorer. Yes, he's among the leading candidates for comeback player of the year. But there could still be improvement in his finishing quality. And in the playoffs, Jimmy Conrad showed that an equally physical defender can easily neutralize our favorite Hawaiian. Someone's got to step up from the wing spots, either midfield or forward, and help create some space for Chinger to operate. There, that's my assessment, feel free to pick it apart.
Good comments here. I'll try to be brief. Dominic: We should probably give him another season. He needs to use his subs sooner and more often (a fault of FY's too). Doyle: I'm not sure what he brought to the team. Someone else will have to make this call. I do know that too often the team took to the field looking depressed rather than fired up. Agoos: Jeff is great, but it's time for him to call it a day. I wish that he had retired at the end of last season, on top, and then become the assistant coach. This year, I think gAlexi should tell him, if you retire we'll make you the assistant coach. Cochrane: As much as I complained about him, I think that Ryan can become a very good central defender. He's a keeper. Dayak: I'd like to see Troy stick around in some capacity, even as a player. He didn't play as much as Agoos, but his minutes were better. Maybe Agoos as head coach and Dayak as assistant? Dunivant: A must keep player. One of the things that worries me about Dom is that he didn't notice that the team plays much better with Todd at left back. Hart: Keep him. He's versatile and probably not very expensive. Maybe not worth protecting though. (We can only protect 12 and Hart is not likely to be drafted away.) Robinson: I'd need access to his medical records. I think we should keep him, but I'd want to know more about his health. Roner: Another player we should keep, providing that he can recover. What does the doctor say? Waibel: Craig played well for us this year. If Agoos and Dayak retire as I want them to, we keep Craig for the gritty veteran role. Also, he's better in central-d than outside. Alvarez: Protect him. He has too much upside to drop. Brown: Don't protect, maybe trade him. He had some good moments, but we need space and we need to improve. Corrales: Put him in the draft. Ramiro had a terrible year. He's versatile, but we need to clear some space. Dombrowski: Keep Tighe and protect him. We need the youth and he's got to be better than nearly anyone we could draft. Ekelund: Another coaching candidate. It's time for Ronnie to hang them up. I'm a big Ekelund fan, but it's time for him to retire. Mullan: Protect Brian too. He's still young. He'll have another good season next year. Mulrooney: Protect Richard. Especially as we are going to lose LD, Ekelund, and Corrales. Russell: Keep Ian. (I'm a fan.) He's versatile, and he's got a long-term contract. Also, we're losing some middies, we'll want the experience with our system. Ching: Of course! DeRosario: Keep DeRo, especially in light of . . . Donovan: I'd love to keep him, but realistically, he's gone. Walker: Keep Jamil. He can bounce back to his 2003 form, especially with better coaching and more minutes. Hmmm. On second thought, sack Dominic and Doyle and replace them with Agoos and Dayak. That would clear a bunch of salary cap space and some roster slots. Also, it would honor those two war horses and hopefully make fans feel good about the team. So I only picked eleven players to protect and I was uncertain about Robinson and Roner due to their health issues. If Robinson and Roner are both likely to recover, then I might leave Ian unprotected. He's not likely to get drafted, but then he might. Also, I would try to keep Donovan, but I don't think that's going to happen. LONG LIVE THE QUAKES!! - Mark
Damn, The Goose should be proud of himself. Jeff I am giving you a virtual pat on the back. Well done my man. 5 rings just don't happen by luck. You are pretty damn talented. What does a man like Jeff do with all those rings? Wear them on both hands? If Jeff Agoos was a lady, he could turn those 5 RINGS in a charm bracelet.
wherever it goes, it's gonna be without Lannycakes http://www.yanks-abroad.com/content.php?mode=news&id=000313
OK I am the most depressed RIGHT NOW. If I was a prospective owner of the QUAKES, I large compelling reason today to buy would be to have Landon on my squad. Now what does that mean. QUAKE players, fans and staff....the house of cards is coming down. THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT TIMES. The Quakes went away and came back before, but is this the end for good?
Get rid of Hart. He sprays errant passes without the command presence in defense or corners of another sprayer, Waibel. Keep Cochrane, Roner, Dunivant and Robinson. Youth and the future.
I guess I have leveled a lot of indirect criticism in that direction, but have rarely called him out by name. But I think your description is fair. I think he has been slow to learn, afraid to experiment, and unable to turn the young players into viable options. To use a gridiron metaphor, he is Wade Philips, a great defensive coordinator who was just ok as head coach. But then, success in soccer depends far more on the players and luck than football. If the ball just bounced a different way in a few games we would have a totally different view of things (third place in the division would have made a lot of differnce). I suppose we fans just have to complain about something.
Pick, pick, pick... Minor comments: 1. I agree Todd stays, but I have to wonder whether this year was the real Todd or his first year. Plus, I believe injuries only effected the start of his season, not the rest. 2. Mullan shouldn't go up top. He played their in LA and didn't do well. I haven't been impressed with him when moved to the position. He is just doesn't have a good and consistant shot on goal to be playing up top.
I agree...Brian's most dangerous taking defenders on from the outside, or breaking down the side from the mid. Much like Landon, he needs that space and freedom to take people on.
Kinnear faired alright in his first year as a head coach, a year which was the tightest in MLSs short history. Perhaps what should be addressed is the assistant coaching position, and the dynamics between Kinnear and Doyle. Perhaps Wee Man can give us some insight/wisdom on that regard? A good point was that the core of the team has grown old together. Every year the league grows significantly stronger. Keeping the same group together will not be able to adapt/compete as well if the rest of the league is (IMHO) growing by leaps and bounds as a whole. Look at the Chicago Fire. Their situation is similar to ours. The only element that has been able to significantly counter that is the rise/development of Donovan, but he's gone. Regarding the expansion draft, it would probably be better to create a separate thread for that issue.
I'm still bummed about our season. We underacheived, no doubt. You have to look at what we lost and what we gained. Lost: Chris Roner, Rodrigo Faria Gained: Wes Hart, Chris Brown Net result: Push Roner can up with some big goals last year (and Faria one huge one), but he also was quite shaky at times. Hart made less of an impact (positively or negatively). Lost: Johnnie Moore, Frank Yallop Gained: John Doyle, Alexi Lalas Net result: Big losses Look, I don't think that Kinnear had a stellar year, but I also don't think he had much help. Doyle is in over his head. He's not "coaching" material. Kinnear won't say anything, but if San Jose returns next year, Doyle has to go. It's time for Agoos to retire and move to the bench as assistant coach. I promise you, Kinnear will look MUCH better if Agoos is assisting him. Lalas did the best he could as a "rookie" GM, but he was no Johnnie Moore. Too often, he just folded his arms and let things fall apart. He needs to step up and prove that he can handle this job. He needs to facilitate the change of ownership and prove to the loyal fans that he's interested in SJ's best interests, not just AEG's. He has to take a close look at Doyle's contributions and over-rule Kinnear's choice of assistant. He has to be a LEADER, not just a company spokesman.
To be fair, we still have Roner. He's just out for medical reasons. I expect he'll be back next year.
I meant we used his roster spot this year. You have to think he'll get a chance to return with the expansion draft, but he may be another Scott Bower.
With DeRo out of contract, I'm surprised so many expect him to stay. He was likely off to Europe (for a winter loan anyway) two years ago until he broke his foot. He's in the prime of his career and could make more money in the English first div or in Scandanavia then he would with MLS. He wasn't even starting all the time this season. Though his national team form in World Cup qualifying was garbage (minus two decent games against Costa Rica and a brilliant goal) after the Breeze Against Belize, but he has almost always been MOTM in our Euro friendlies. He was easily our best player against Wales last spring, so I would think people in Europe who were aware of him haven't been any less impressed with the last few times they've seen him. If English first div teams are gobbling up the likes of Josh Simpson, Adrian Serioux (a guy two MLS teams didn't want), Sandro Grande (from the A-League) and there's a bidding war for Jaime Peters, then there's bound to be interest for DeRo provided he can get a permit, but he got one before and is in the same category as Serioux, but has more appearance, so I think he would be fine. I have no inside info or anything, but I don't know why Dwayne wouldn't want to give it a second go in Europe, especially when he didn't get a fair break the first time he went. cheers, hobbes
I'm sure DeRo deserves better than the First Divsion. Surely he's good enough for at least the Coca Cola Championship, if not a lesser EPL side.
English football goes like this: 1. Barclay's Premier League (formerly Barclaycard Premier League) 2. Coca Cola Championship (formerly Nationwide First Division) 3. Coca Cola League 1 (formerly Nationwide Second Divison) 4. Coca Cola League 2 (formerly Nationwide Third Division) Not sure if the previous poster was referring to #2 or #3 on this list.